Human Afazeli is one of the most respected football minds in Asia and, still only 37, is tipped by many to become a prominent coach.
So when Ali Daei became boss of Iran at the start of 2008, he wasted little time in calling up Afazeli to become an assistant coach.
When Daei was fired on March 29, following Iran's defeat at home to Saudi Arabia, his assistant resigned.
Goal.com: It was all going so well against Saudi Arabia but then Iran lost. What happened?
Human Afazeli: As we all know, football is not a logical phenomenon although there is some logic involved.
Definitely we didn’t deserve to lose the game, that’s for sure. But I am not that kind of person to say we were without problems. We had some clear weaknesses and we knew already about them.
First of all we don’t have decisive players in our squad, those who can decide the game with their quality, that is what we had before in Ali Daei himself, Ali Karimi, [Vahid] Hashemian, [Khodadad] Azizi and [Mehdi] Mahdavikia.
Some are not playing anymore, some are not in top form or in some cases their best days are behind them.
The young players couldn’t fill the gap as yet and stand up for our stars. Some need more time to grow and some simply do not belong to the league.
Also, the team is not experienced enough for crucial ties as against Saudi Arabia. That is why we get nervous and drop back after we score, and we stop playing.
That is what happened in last two-three matches, against North Korea, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. We could see this type of reaction even against Senegal. We dropped back, stopped playing football and tried to play long balls for 30 minutes rather than keeping possession or get Saudi Arabia on the break.
After Saudi Arabia scored their equaliser, we lost concentration and discipline, it was hard to control the motion of a young team and the second goal was totally due to the lost concentration.
We didn’t defend corners well. Everyone knew who should mark whom, but it didn’t happen.
Iran have only won one game in five. What's the problem? Why have results been disappointing?
We were on the track until we drew with South Korea at home. We were winning at home and drawing away, but when we drew against South Korea at home, that was a signal.
Then the defeat in Azadi was a catastrophe; it still hurts but it is a bitter taste we have to swallow. I already explained our weaknesses. It is something we have to work on if we would like to beat North Korea.
Ali Daei was trying to give younger players lots of experience. Was this successful? Should he have kept some of the older players?
When Ali took in charge, we sat together and discussed the situation. We were in the middle of a transition of generations and we already knew how hard it would be.
I even interviewed and told the press that transitional periods are difficult periods and coaches usually lose their job in such cases because there is no guarantee that new generation can match up to the old one.
We had three solutions: using the team of the past with more experienced players. That may give us better short term results but in long run, the level of performance would drop due to aging and it would ultimately fail.
Another solution was changing the team completely. That was also not logical because we were not sure first we had enough players ready to play immediately on international level.
So we went for the third solution, using young talented players and filling the gap with more experienced players when needed. I think we did a good job. Now there are some very talented players with international experience and also some experienced players both in the team.
What about Ali Karimi? Why wasn't he selected?
Ali Karimi is for sure an advantage for any team when he wants to play. Well, there was a misunderstanding between Ali Karimi and Football Federation [Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI)] for long time and he didn’t want to play for us.
But when he mentioned he would play, we closely followed him. Ali Karimi is one of those players that when he is fit, he should play. But I think he was not fit enough, he had a back problem and couldn’t train well and he showed in the Asian Champions League against the opponent from Saudi Arabia that he needs more time to be in top form.
We had no solution, but he would have been with us for North Korea if we were still at the helm.
Were you surprised that Daei was fired? Did he deserve more time? If so, why?
Well, honestly, he really deserved more time. Not because he was an Iranian football legend, but because everyone knew it was a very tough time when he accepted the responsibility.
You can not say the federation forgot when he took the team, the time that Team Melli had not scored was being counted by fans and the media and there were several games without a win. That was a proof of crises and Ali showed he knew what he was doing.
As I said before, a transitional period is difficult process, and it needs support of at least people who are in charge.
Why did you quit? Or did you have no choice?
Honestly, I have been in the team for a long time. Actually that was my third World Cup qualification campaign. I was thinking about it for long time. It is also necessary to mention that I didn’t have any problem.
Mr. Kafashian [head of IFF] asked me to stay and work with the new coach. But it is time for me to work first on my own as head coach, and second I would like to start at club level, where you are on the pitch and working on a daily basis.
At club level you see all ideas in your mind on the pitch as you have time to build the team. It is a totally different world. Any of these two would be satisfactory.
Is there something you should have done differently? Any mistakes made?
There is always room for improvements and there are times when you think it was better if we did this and that, but generally I have no regrets.
How is Ali Daei as a coach? What was it like working with him?
Ali is a natural-born leader. You can feel it in the air. He immediately gains the respect of players and that is a very positive note. He knows how to push players to the limit and motivate them. I am really proud of working with him.
Can Iran still qualify for the World Cup?
The deciding game is against North Korea. If we beat them, we can even get second in the group and it is very much probable. So I say yes, we can make it.
Which team has been the most impressive in the group? Who will qualify?
I would say in the long run, North Korea. In the 2006 qualifiers, they had a very disciplined team and compact but with individual weaknesses and inexperienced. This team now has good individuals and is experienced.
What will you do now?
I will take a break. Then I will think of some offers which are on the table. There are offers from Iran and outside, but I have to wait a little.
John Duerden
Asia Editor
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