Iranian Farewell

Iranian Farewell
The Iranian team that played in the second half of this match, could have beaten mexico. They played attacking football, they moved teh ball well, the crossed, they shot, they created chances. The way they played in teh first half was purely defensive, with no creativity, no passing, nothing. Why ? Why could they not open the game the way they opened the second half ?




It is clear now that Brankovic, while a great coach no doubt, failed on the tactical level, in this competition. Let’s take a simple example. Ali Karimi was nearly invisible in teh first half. He’s a midfielder, yet Brankovic usually plays him as the striking partner of Hashemian. In the second half he had clearly dropped back and hashemian was attacking solo. However, until he was subbed for, Karimi started to distribute the ball. Mostly to the Best Iranian on the pitch, Mehdi Mahdavikia. There is a reason that this superb player is a key member of the Hamburg team that finished third in teh Bundesliga. He has pace, he has vision, and he has the ability to make the passes which are necessary, which create scoring chances. In the second half most successful crosses and passes came from Mahdavikia down the right side.

Also, i feel that Khatibi played well in his sub role, with good speed and drive to the net, but he was broght on too late.


What i DID not approve of, was the way iran played in teh first half. They played too rough, with bad dangerous tackles. THat is NOT the iranian style. I Dont’ care how bad it might be, Iran never has played that style of game. Our game is an attacking game, for better or for worse. Nothing wrong with playing strong and physical, but the way we played was almost illegal. The one player which i saw do this a bit too much was Madanchi, and Kaebi.

One thing that became clear was that the Iranians were far from great physical shape. And i’m not talking about injuries (although they did play a big factor) but rather physical fitness. One of the main reasons the South Koreans are successful is that they are in tip top shape physically, and can wear you down.