Sport360 - Team Melli have not lost a regulation time match at the Asian Cup since 1996 but in Australia, they fell to their kryptonite of penalty kicks yet again. Iraq, coincidentally, the last side to beat Iran in 90 minutes 19 years and 28 matches ago, were the opponents as Carlos Queiroz’s side went crashing out of the competition at the quarter-final stage.
Queiroz, Iran’s Portuguese manager, had set a semi-final target for the side and despite falling short, he and the team have returned home largely as heroes to the 77 million-strong Iranian public. Domestic critics, including a few members of the press and some Iranian managers, continue to lament the defensive style of football that Queiroz has instilled as well as highlight the fact that qualifying for the World Cup and getting to the final 8 at the Asian Cup is nothing that has not been achieved previously.
If one had to assess the work undertaken by Queiroz since he took over four years ago then it’s fair to say that he has navigated the obstacles as well as could have been expected. The Iranian Football Federation (IFF) and Sports Ministry have constantly been at odds during his reign. Contract disputes and public criticisms have not helped. In fact, a three-month tango between Queiroz and the two organisational bodies after the Brazil World Cup delayed a contract extension and prevented Team Melli from beginning their preparations for Australia earlier.
The IFF failed to back its chosen man to the effect that it had a passive role during all of Iran’s preparations under Queiroz. In fact, bafflingly, the national coach was responsible for arranging friendly games, training camps and even booking hotels and flights for the side.
Nevertheless, the team spirit he has instilled in the national side has been unprecedented. Never before has any manager gained the respect of all the players at his disposal as well as the unanimous backing of the other 77 million head coaches in the country. His approval rating is sky-high and the quarter-final elimination has done nothing to dampen that.
In fact, Iranians, who culturally live in the “what could have been”, are even more supportive of Queiroz’s reign due to the manner of the elimination. The victim or underdog persona is as big a tradition in Iran as anything else. Queiroz took over an ageing national side, which historically had the reputation for playing attacking football.
Being the pragmatic man that he is, Queiroz quickly realised that the players at his disposal were no longer capable of implementing that vision without hindering the side’s results and short-term goals (qualifying for the World Cup). During Iran’s final three World Cup Qualifiers, he undertook a 180-degree turn and created a robust, functional and counter-attacking side, which would go on to win its final three games and qualify for Brazil from what seemed a lost cause. That approach continues to work successfully.
One of Quieroz’s major achievements was been the fast-track introduction of a number of youngsters into Team Melli during the Asian Cup, something that didn’t seem likely given recent history.
After the World Cup, Iran only had one friendly match, against South Korea, until playing Iraq in another only one week before the Asian Cup kicked off. All four of Iran’s opponents had played between 13 and 15 matches in the same period. A major criticism of Queiroz during the World Cup was the presence of too many ageing players. The Portuguese had stayed loyal to most of the older members of that squad, as they had formed the backbone of the side for the last decade.
To illustrate this, during the Korea friendly match in November, Iran started with six players over the age of 30, as well as two others who would be over-30 by the time the next World Cup comes along in 2018. Due to a lack of preparation matches, as well as the IFF not having a long-term blueprint for the country’s football, Queiroz has always had to secure himself in the short-term far more than he would have liked. That has meant getting results, sometimes at the expense of the style of football or introduction of younger players such as Rubin Kazan’s Sardar Azmoun, who missed the cut for the World Cup due to inexperience.
However, ever the pragmatist, Queiroz undertook the second 180-degree turn of his tenure as he called up a number of uncapped players, including Naft Tehran’s highly rated trio Alireza Beiranvand, Vahid Amiri and Morteza Pouraliganji, for the Asian Cup. Having witnessed dips in the physical condition of a few of his older regulars, he was not afraid to make tough calls when he felt them in the interest of the side.
Queiroz fast-tracked the impressive Pouraliganji into making his debut seven days before the tournament, slotting him in at centre-back, a position he had never played before, next to veteran Jalal Hosseini. The youngster had an outstanding tournament bookmarked by the high of scoring in extra-time against Iraq, followed by the low of conceding a penalty a few minutes later. Others to benefit from the injection of youth and energy into the side included right-back Vouria Ghafouri and creative midfielder Soroosh Rafeie.
The Asian Cup was probably the final farewell for a few of Iran’s stalwarts. This includes captain Javad Nekounam, 34, who was seen in tears at the end of the penalty shootout defeat to Iraq. He is probably the last of a generation of players that included Mehdi Mahdavikia and Ali Karimi. Khosrow Heydari, on the wrong side of 30, as well as Masoud Shojaei, also 30, should both be coming to the end of their international careers too.
Jalal Hosseini, 32, will probably not take part at the next World Cup, whilst Andranik Teymourian, 31, should have a reduced role if he does continue. Similarly, Ashkan Dejagah, Mehrdad Pouladi, and Reza Ghoochannehjad, who lost his starting position to Azmoun during the tournament, will all be on the wrong side of 30 in Russia.
Replacing some of these players will be difficult. but it is a challenge that is sure to entice Queiroz - as the man himself stated in the aftermath of Iran’s elimination. On a brighter note Amiri, lively as a left winger, the aforementioned Azmoun, Netherlands-based Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who had been expected to have a much more integral role for Team Melli, as well as Pouraliganji and Ghafouri, will all play far more central roles if Iran is to qualify for the World Cup.
Stability and public satisfaction are invaluable cornerstones of life in Iran. In fact, as long as the people are happy, regardless of results, a change may not be forthcoming. On arrival at Imam Khomeini International Airport, the team was greeted by IFF President Ali Kaffashian who embraced Queiroz, in front of the gazing media, and thanked him for his work.
The public’s unanimous backing for Queiroz means that both the IFF and Sports Ministry will be hesitant to disturb that relationship. Subsequently, the Sports Minister came out stating that Iran’s dry run over the past four decades signals its current position in Asian football and expectations must be curbed. Interestingly, he did also say that he will not comment on Queiroz’s job performance until “experts have analysed the situation”.
Similarly, almost every member of the squad, including those who did not see any minute of action in Australia, have come out for the umpteenth time backing Queiroz and praising his management. Granted, some of those players may no longer be involved but it signifies a unified front in the side, something which Team Melli’s of the past lacked. The major obstacle to progressing though will be the IFF.
Will they be able to support Queiroz better than during the past four years? Will they be able to get the assistance of the Sports Ministry and invest a bit more in youth football in the country? The answers to those questions are likely no in the short-term. With that in mind, this cements Queiroz’s position as the best man to take Iran forward in the circumstances.
He must continue to use his international network and arrange friendly matches and training camps. However, he must also bring Iran out of its shell going forward and build upon the structure and defensive shape that he’s created too. During the early rounds of the World Cup qualifiers, expectations, even from the public, will be that Iran take the game to their opponents far more than they have during the last two years.