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GOAL - It looked like it
wasn’t going to happen. It looked like Persepolis were not going to get the
goal they wanted. The second half against Sepahan was almost all one-way
traffic but few clear chances were created as the last minutes of the
2007-08 Iranian league season ticked away.
Countless corners, throw-ins and free-kicks came and went but the yellow
wall held firm and looked comfortable. As the end approached, the 110,000
fans inside the Azadi Stadium were faced with the fact that their entire
season was going to end in frustration.
It started so well on a clear day in Tehran. There are few better sights in
Asian football then a full Azadi with the Alborz Mountains in the background
and at kick-off few doubted that Persepolis would get the win they
desperately craved.
Only a win would do. The Reds started the day, the final day of the Iranian
season, two points behind their visitors and needed three poins for the
title. A draw would see Sepahan crowned champions.
Persepolis started well. Mohsen Khalili opened the scoring after 17 minutes
and hit the bar four minutes later. Then, after 28 minutes, the stadium was
silenced for the first time that afternoon – except for a small pocket of
Sepahan fans up on the second tier – as the visitors scored. It was the
coolest of finishes from teenage prospect Ehsan Hajsafi.
Try as Persepolis might, they couldn’t break down the Sepahan defence until
the 96th minute of the final game of the season. It wasn’t the best of
headers from Sepehr Heidari but it somehow found its way into the top corner
of the net.
The scenes of celebration were incredible. In recent years, rarely has the
Azadi been so excited and yesterday was a reminder of the effect that this
famous Asian arena can still have.
It was right that one team won the game. A draw would have been an
unsatisfactory result yesterday; one team had to emerge victorious to make
the effects of points deductions irrelevant. If Sepahan had won in Tehran,
the Isfahan team would have collected two more points than Persepolis over
the season even with punishments taken into account.
A draw would have given Sepahan the trophy but would have left the fate of
the league in the hands of lawyers as Persepolis appealed their six-point
deduction imposed by FIFA. Whatever the outcome of the appeal it would not
have satisfied anyone. Sepahan would be dethroned, Persepolis would have
missed the chance to celebrate their triumph on the pitch and it would not
have done the image of Iranian football any good at all.
It is good to have a clean win but it was a cruel ending for a Sepahan team
that has been consistent all season, even as it handled two Asian Champions
League campaigns that sandwiched an extended visit to Japan for the Club
World Cup last December.
As far as Persepolis were concerned however, it was an incredible end to a
real roller-coaster of a season. It is fitting that Persepolis are champions
of Iran. The team have broken records for wins and goals scored. The Reds
went through a serious wobble just a few weeks ago and the days of coach
Afshin Ghotbi looked to be numbered. But despite the stories, the reports
and the rumours of what was going on behind the scenes at the club, Ghotbi
will wake up Sunday morning as the toast of Iranian football –the red half
anyway.
That is a pretty big half. Over 100 ecstatic fans had left comments on the
Goal.com match report in just a few hours after the final whistle. These
followers from Tehran, Iran and all over the world make Persepolis one of
the biggest clubs there is. Managing Persepolis is not for the
faint-hearted, the club has a life and behaviour all of its own and it goes
through coaches at a rapid rate.
Already, talk is of whether Ghotbi will stay with the club after an
exhausting season on and off the pitch. But for this weekend at least, now
is the time to enjoy the victory.
They rarely come as sweetly and dramatically as this.
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