First the Game
The Iranian national team did what she
had to do and that was to defeat North Korea and take a
giant step closer to the World Cup festivities in Germany.
Winning 2 – 0 in Pyongyang where Bahrain had a tough time
against Koreans is sweet. We should also not forget how
well Koreans played against Japan.
With this victory, Iran is now leading
the group with 7 point, 1 point better than Japan and 3
better than Bahrain. Since out of this
group, two teams would qualify for the World Cup, it
is conceivable for Iran to advance with 10 points but 11
points
would seal a place in Germany.
Iran has three more games left and as
faith and draw have it, Iran will play North Korea again
in June, but this time in the Azadi
Stadium in Tehran.
Can’t Argue With Success
It is
easy to look at the 95 minutes of match, played over
2 hours and
10 minutes, get judgmental and criticize the Iranian
team’s style of play against North Korea.
It is easy to point out that we hardly
had any true offensive chance on the North Korean goal
and adding all Iran’s scoring opportunities including the two goals, we would end up with 5 decent chances.
It is easy to criticize the substitutions
when Zandi once again was taken out despite being the most
effective offensive player on the field while he also made
significant contributions to the left side of the defense
where we have had difficulties for over a year.
It is easy to point out that Alavi was
out of place, Karimi no where near form, Hashemian looked
lost at times.
But…
Looking at the game in context,
Understanding the strange elements around
the match,
Realizing the importance of gaining
3 points from this game,
Reminding ourselves that this team played
mighty Japan 5 days earlier, boarded an airplane to go
through “HAFT KHAAN” to
get to North Korea,
Remembering that Iran only practiced
once or twice on the artificial field,
And looking at the result and how it
has positioned us on top of the group,
We must then relax a bit, enjoy the
outcome, congratulate Branko Ivankovich and
his coaching staff and last but certainly not least, congratulate
our team.
Mirzapoor and Defense
Somehow
over the last three matches, our defense has matured, found
itself and is playing pretty good football.
Mirzapoor is now
a leader and not just a good goalkeeper. He saved the day three
times and
looked
so confident
that
made
me feel less worried.
In the middle of our defense, Rezai and Golmohammadi simply
rule. They switch places with each other with ease and
control
the balls on the ground and in the air. While Golmohammadi may not be the
World Cup starter next year,
he is a great choice for his current position during
the qualifiers. Rezai has arguably become the true indispensable player in our national team. We
do have other players to come in and fill in the shoes
of every position but I would argue that the same is not true with Rezai
and his position.
Kaabi is
a joy to watch. He runs faster than anyone else, attacks
well but runs back to cover his position, plays physical
with forwards
3-5
inches
taller than
him and
constantly shows high level of intensity on the field. Kaabi is also the exception to the rule of players moving to the Persian Gulf countries and losing their forms.
Satar Zare was a nice surprise against North
Koreans. He played for injured Nosrati and
judging by the quality of his play, Zare should be
given more starting chances in the left defensive position.
One other player that performed very
well against North Korea was Zandi. He
will be a star for years to come.
Coaching
It
is not easy to go through the Japan match and stay
focused
and yet
fight
all elements.
Some how Branko Ivankovich managed.
He had his team to play a patient match, look for
set plays and offensive counter attacks and use the “wounded” and “desperate” characteristics of Korean after two losses, to Iran’s full advantage.
I disagree with Branko’s substitutions but that is a subject for another day and Branko-led team got the most important achievement from this match – three
sweet points.
Doo Doo, Doo Doo, Doo Doo, Doo Doo – Welcome
to Twilight Zone!
Strange
you ask?
Strange it was.
- Somehow North Koreans saw it appropriate
to allow hundreds if not thousands to watch the match while
standing in the sidelines.
That caused a 10-12 minutes delay to start the
match. The
referee became
a “fan favorite” at that moment.
- The Stadium, covered with people dressed
in the same dark grey color uniform, looked like a black
and white artistic photo from the 50’s rather than a place in 2005 when two national teams were playing football.
- The choice of a Syrian referee-team
for a match between Iran and North Korea was simply ironic.
Only if this match had been played in Baghdad, then we
had all the elements complete for a good fun political
debate but we will not go there.
- North Koreans were very polite throughout
the game. They committed over 24 fouls, at least twice
as many as Iran. Yet, somehow when
they would go to our players and apologize, I tended
to forgive them.
The crowd seemed to enjoy being led
when to cheer and when to jeer.
Other than the strange
presence on the field, they were behaved.
Then, booboo boom, baabaabaam @##$%%…
An event out of script occured. A bad
call by the referee and yes I believe that foul should
have been a penalty call against Iran. At that moment,
the polite clean-cut Korean players became the wild angry
mob on the field. All of a sudden, 8 players went after
the Syrian referee and he was running for his life.
Ten minutes later, the red carded North
Korean’s face showed the ”Agony of Defeat” like
no other scene I have seen in a very
long time.
The Korean player was fighting not
to cry but was allowing tears running inside of his sole,
crying for a lost chance for himself, his team, his family
and his nation. I have no doubt in that moment, his anger
toward the referee was anger toward a world that see
his people as aggressors and strange nation.
Somehow, at that moment, I understood
the Korean player’s feeling and sympathized
with him. I had felt like that some 25 years ago.
Then
the crowd went wild. The polite nice
disciplined crowd lost control, or was it told to lose control?
Stopping Iran’s team bus outside
the stadium, throwing bottles and
objects on the field were far away
from
the image I had from North Korea.
Officiating
Every
referee makes bad calls just like
every player makes bad passes. What
was odd
and unprofessional
about
the referee-team
was
the scene after
the game
was
over. If you have the video, watch
it again. The assistant referee on
the near
side
ran toward the referee and in an
obvious way to show off the North
Koreans,
shook the hand
of referee
very firmly,
so firm
that it
looked more like
a high five.
Seeing the referee run away from the
Korean players twice followed by the above scene convinced
me that I was watching
a re-run episode
of “Twilight Zone.”
Last Words!
We won. I congratulate
all for that.
But, my last words are for those
country-men and women who lost family members in the
Azadi Stadium last week. Nothing would make feel any
of you better but please accept our nation’s collective
condolences and respect for your loss.
Our hearts go to you.
Signing off from a place far far away
from home…
Iran
vs. North Korea – A GAME FROM THE “TWILIGHT
ZONE!”