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Reuters - Iran's national team
coach Ali Daei has appealed to his country's hostile media to give his team
a break.
Daei is a playing legend in Iran having scored a world record 109
international goals in 148 matches but has come under fire towards the end
of his career.
In his final year as a player, which ended with the 2007 Asian Cup, he
received a hail of criticism from the Iranian media, who insisted he was too
old to lead the line.
He is now under even more scrutiny in one of the most high profile jobs in
Iran outside of the government.
"The Iranian football fans are very passionate about their team, and so are
the media," Daei told Reuters after Friday's draw for the final round of
Asia's World Cup qualifiers.
"There is always pressure on us, especially from the media, which can be
very critical. If (the media) in Iran can lay off a bit and give us a
chance, it will make it easier for us.
"But when you are in Iran football, you know that you will be criticised.
Hopefully we can produce the results and get them on our side."
Daei's coaching report card reads well so far after he steered Iran to the
final round of qualifying for South Africa 2010.
In round three, after a sluggish start, they finished top of Group Five with
three wins and three draws, four points ahead of the United Arab Emirates.
Before Daei took over, Iran went almost a year without a competitive win and
did not score in six successive matches.
They face UAE again in the fourth round along with other Group B opponents
South Korea, Saudi Arabia and North Korea.
Kamran Ahmadpour, a journalist with Navad, a sports daily, said Iran's
vociferous soccer media is an anomaly in a country that exercises strict
controls on the press.
"In politics, the media can't write what they want. But when it comes to
football, there is no red line," Ahmadpour told Reuters.
"The only thing we don't write about is the players' private lives but
anything other than that is okay. Iranians love their football and the media
can be very influential.
"We keep a check on soccer in the country."
The top two teams from Group B earn automatic qualification to the World Cup
finals. (Reporting by Nazvi Careem, editing by Martin Petty)
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