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GOAL - The seventh season of Iran’s Premier
League, named Persian Gulf League (PGL), started with a bang and a boom
For over 14 months, Iran’s football has been suffering from international
defeats at the world Cup, Asian Cup, Asian Games and varioust Asian age
group championships. For over 14 months, Iran’s Football Federation (IFF)
has not had a permanent president.
The PGL provides an avenue to get the fans exited once more and get them
involved.
Several major changes happened during the off season:
- The number of PGL teams increased from 16 to 18. -
- Pas, champions of season three, were moved from Tehran to Hamedan.
- Foolad, champions of season 4, were relegated to First Division.
-Both popular teams of Perspolis (REDs) and Esteghlal (BLUEs) began the
season with new coaching staffs. Esteghlal hired Nasser Hejazi, the great
goalkeeper and the member of Iran’s 1978 world cup, as her head coach.
Perspolis hired Afshin Ghotbi, former assistant coach with the Korea
national team.
All eyes were zoomed in to see how Hedjazi’s and Ghotbi’s team would do.
The Bang - Perspolis battled the heat,
the crowd (over 25,000) and the tough Sanat Naft in Abadan and came out
victorious. For Ghotbi and Perspolis, defeating Sanat Naft on the road was a
perfect scenario as Perspolis displayed enough fire power to score three
goals in a 3 – 2 victory.
The Boom - Esteghlal met her sister club of Esteghlal of Ahvaz. These
two teams share names but when they face each other, emotions run high. This
time, Esteghlal of Tehran managed a 3 – 2 victory at home in front of 50,000
fans.
Last year’s champion Saipa with Coach Ali Daei started the season with a
loss in Tehran. Sepahan, the other major contender won on the road.
Results:
Paykan 4 Barq 2, San’at Naft 2 Persepolis 3, Pas of Hamedan 1 Mes 0, Abu
Moslem 0 Saba Battery 1, Zob Ahan 0 Malavan 0, Fajr-e Sepassi 2 Shairin
Faraz 2, Pegah 0 Sepahan 2, Rah Ahan 2 Saipa 0, Esteghlal of Tehran 3
Esteghlal of Ahvaz 2
Behind the Numbers
Almost 3 – Average goals per game in for the first week was 2.9. In week 1,
defensces and goalkeepers were taking it easy with attacks on top. Three out
of nine games produced five goals or more.
3 for 2 – Three players scored two goals each in their matches. They were
Asghari for Rahahan, Rezapoor for Paykan and Zafarani for Shirin Faraz.
6 – Number of teams representing Tehran and surrounding region (Karaj). This
means a team from Tehran, like Perspolis or Esteghlal, will play 22 out of
their 34 matches at home.
6 – In the previous six seasons of Iran’s PGL, six different teams have won
the crown.
10 - number of players from Brazil and Uruguay that play in Iran’s League.
14 – Number of months since the IFF chief was fired and no one has yet been
selected as the permanent boss for the football federation.
35 – Total number of foreign players at the beginning of this season. That
is 8.5% of all players in the league.
45 – As the temperature in Celsius at the start of the Perspolis and Sanat
Naft match in Abadan. For those who have lost their calculator, that is 113
degree in Fahrenheit.
From 5,000 to 9,000 with 10,000 – Pas of Hameden was the host. 9,000 fans
watched the match live in a stadium with the capacity of 5,000. Another
10,000 fans were outside. That was a nice welcome to the former champion Pas
that moved to Hamedan from Tehran in the off season.
35,000 OR 50,000 – According to IRNA News Agency, Over 50,000 fans showed up
to see Blue play Blue when Esteghlal defeated Esteghlal of Ahvaz. A leading
sports paper, Jahan-e-Football, reported 35,000 attended the match. How do
we lose 15,000 fans in a ball game?
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