A Year in review

Team Melli finished yet another year on a winning note. The highlight of 2006 was the participation in the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany , the penultimate world soccer event. This was Iran's third participation after the initial 1978 , then after a long absence in 1998. The expectation in Germany were high and many have bet that Team Melli , despite tough opposition from Portugal and Mexico , can make it to the next round but it was not to be.

The reasons for the a relatively disappointing performance varied depending on the sources , but  on the field , the same old chronic errors resulted in 2 goal margin defeats against Mexico and Portugal. Both these matches ended with a draw in the first half , but defeat at the end perhaps indication a weakness in stamina at the biggest stage . The last match against Angola was also a great escape as Team Melli were trailing most of the match , despite their dominance on the African side. It took a late goal by a defender , Bakhtiyarizadeh , to save the blushes.

Earlier in the year Team Melli started its campaign for qualifying for the next year Asian Cup where in its last edition in China in 2004 , Iran managed to win the third place match , while performing some brilliant football during the competition. A semi-final defeat by penalty kicks against host nation China in Beijing was  a heart break for the Team Melli fans and many neutrals. The competition has a major shape lift beginning with the fact that it is held 1 year earlier after AFC decided to  offset the cycle due to the busy schedules in odd years. The other major change in the format is the selection of 4 countries to host the tournament.  Team Melli had very little problem dispensing Chinese Taipei in Azadi  by a 4 goal margin. However , the next match against the powerful Koreans were postponed by AFC to allow the Asian World Cup qualifiers to concentrate on preparation for the event in Germany.

A friendly against Costa Rican and then two matches against the ex-Yugoslav states Croatia and then Bosnia  indicated a high state of readiness by team Melli. Costa Rica was comfortably defeated as Team Melli lead 3-0 at one stage , before the Central American team came back with two goals. Croatia was by far the toughest competition before the World Cup and a thrilling match in Osiek ended in a draw after Iran was leading until 96th minute when a penalty was called for the host resulting in the equalizer. Bosnia surprisingly was defeated with ease and by 5 goals, despite having a considerable number of their players.

After the World Cup ,  Iran Football saw some major face lift , but not all to the better. Team Melli saw the departure of its most successful coach , the Croat Dr. Branko Ivankovic and the international career of its living legend Ali Daei came to an end. The Croat coach nicknamed the professor , had earlier on announced his intention to leave Iran after the World Cup to seek his fortune elsewhere, while the skipper Daei  was not selected in the next squad and with a new coach. However , the major event that would have a serious consequence later on was the removal of the Head of IRIFF  (Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation)  Mr. Dakdan by the Head of Physical Education Organization , a government run organization in charge of  sport affairs in Iran. FIFA declared the sacking of elected Dadkan and appointment of Mostafavi as an illegal move by the government of Iran and a violation of FIFA decrees and bylaws.

The  newly appointed  IRIFF board selected Amir Ghalenoei , a young coach who lead Esteghlal the popular club from Tehran to the league championship , to be the head coach of Team Melli. Ghalenoei started to assemble squad immediately to prepare for the next important engagement , Asian Cup 2007.  The new coach raised a few eye brows by a major change in the squad and the selection of inexperienced players while remaining loyal to his old club players. A first test against UAE in Tehran ended in a narrow win by Iran , but not too assuring with the whole change that the new coach has implemented.  The fear of the fans was realized in the first real test for Ghalenoei when the opposition , Syria came to Azadi to play their match in Asian Cup qualifier. A goal by Nekounam was maintained the lead of Team Melli until the last minute of the match when the usual defensive blunder allowed the Syrian to score the equalizer creating the first shock result for Team Melli.

A month later the next Asian Cup encounter was much more difficult against their nemesis Koreans.  The host nation lead by a solitary goal and was going to win all the three points , but with virtually seconds left in the match a brilliant individual effort by Vahid Hashemian resulted in a n equalizing goals and a shocked Korean exiting the stadium in disbelief.  Following that match. and with a relatively short break the squad flew from Korea to Damascus in an epic journey. This time , Team Melli left nothing to chance and a full squad including the legionnaires managed to defeat the Syrians at home to leave the host nation gasping for a unique victory and success against Iran. This victory away lifted the spirits and virtually ensured that Team Melli  can at least qualify as one of the two top teams in the group.

In October , Team Melli consisting mainly from local players participated in LG cup in Amman against Iraq and Jordan.  Both matches ended in favor of Iran and was a good preparation for the final two matches in Asian Cup 2006 qualifiers. The first against Chinese Taipei ended in a 2-0 win for Iran , which was not very satisfactory as the same team was beaten by 8 goal by Korea who were the guest of Team Melli in Azadi in the final match.

Once again , Team Melli managed to beat Korea at home by a two goal margin to ensure top spot in the group and qualification for the final stages as one of the top seeds. That was the final match of 2006 and with it , Team Melli concluded a relatively successful year , with only 2 defeats both in the World Cup. But that was not the end of events for Iran's football , as the post World Cup changes in IRIFF management result in the suspension of IRAN football activities at international level by FIFA virtually days before the Olympic football squad left for Doha to participate in the Asian Games 2006. Iran was the defending champion of the games and a 11th hour resolution resulted in the temporary lifting of the ban to allow Iran's U23 team to defended its title in Doha,.

In the Asian Games 2006, the largest ever sporting event of the continent , Iran football won the Bronze medal after defeating the Koreans once again. Qatar had earlier defeated Iran 2-0 in the semi and eventually won the Gold medal.

 

 

Most Goals:

Ali Karimi (4)

Vahid Hashemian (3)

Mehrdad Madanchi (3)