It has taken sometime, but eventually some foreign clubs showed interest in two Iranian players who were part of Team Melli squad in Brazil. Although the 2014 FIFA World Cup was less than brilliant for Iran as a team, the bigger disappointment was at the individual level , where most of the star players did not perform nor deliver.
There was so much expected from the likes of Ashksn Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejad and to a lesser extent , Andranik Teymourian and Javad Nekounam. None of those performed anywhere near what the fans were hoping for. While experts and fans alike, expected one young Alireza Jahanbakhsh to set Brazil alight , he was also unable to deliver what he is capable of despite Queiroz giving him some limited playtime.
Surprisingly the pick of the bunch were Mehrdad Pooladi at the defense line , who was the 2nd best performer in the world cup after the first round and Ehsan Hajsafy , whom many thought that Queiroz made an error of judgment taking him off in the Argentine game. Both Pooladi and Hajsafy operate on the left side.
Now , a few English clubs have shown interest in the duo and it is pretty certain that Pooladi will end up in the English Barclays Premier League.
As much as this piece of news will be welcome by many fans, the fear is that the English league is not quite the happy hunting ground for Iranian players. Very few Iranian players played in that league; in fact we can mention them all. Bagheri , Kaebi , Teymourian , and much later Dejagah and Ghoochannejad. The first two had a torrid time in England while they were at their prime as professional players, Ando fared relatively better and managed to score a few goals as well, while the last two are still struggling in the current league.
It is a big question if the Iranian players like Hajsafy and Pooladi can adapt and make the grade in England in a league known for its competitive toughness, physical & mental strength, endurance and power. EPL is not overly famous for producing players with finesse and high individual skills as the tough and long English seasons, without a break , is quite demanding with injuries very common to players. The English club has a large pool of players for this particular reason especially the top clubs that also compete in European leagues.
The onus is on the players to adapt, especially at the training grounds, where the English coaches make most of their decisions on their players. It will be a huge cultural transformation in sporting and social sense for Iranian players, and success hardly taken for granted.