PTV - Iran's President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has praised the country's futsal team for its strong performance
in the 2008 Futsal World Cup.
“The Iranians have been very successful in the 2008 Futsal World Cup in
Brazil, as they have achieved great success in every field,” Ahmadinejad
said at a cabinet meeting in the country's Gilan province on Thursday
evening.
The President further added that the Iranian players exerted their utmost
against world champions although they did not have their key players.
“We regard them (Iranian futsal players) as champions despite their failure
to advance (to the semifinals). They played fairly and beautifully,”
Ahmadinejad explained.
The Iranian Futsal squad was welcomed back home by the Iranian Football
Federation (IFF) president Ali Kafashian and the IFF deputy president, Mehdi
Taj, and many futsal lovers at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International airport
early Friday morning.
Iran's national futsal team, coached by Hossein Shams, failed to reach the
world cup semifinals despite drawing 5-5 with Italy in its third match in
the second round of the event.
