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Bob wilson on Iran preperation for World Cup 1978.

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    Bob wilson on Iran preperation for World Cup 1978.

    Amongst my libray is a book called : World Cup'78 : The game of the century. One of the co-authors was Bob Wilson , the famous Arsenal goalkeeper and later a BBC sport commentator and presenter.

    This is an excrept from the book about Iran , enjoy.


    Iran
    Iran, unless disaster strikes, will be one of the sixteen finalists to parade its national flag in the River Plate Stadium on I June 1978. This proud nation will surely show the world football audience, for the first time, how well it has learned its footballing skills and how quickly it has developed into a major footballing nation. Iran has the right to compete with the elite in the World Cup, because the country has applied itself in a disciplined and methodical manner, spend*ing sensibly and employing only the best coaches and trainers. In every way football is an expression of the development of their modern society. The players are expected to devote themselves unsparingly and, in return, to expect financial reward. The philosophy is simple — give all, receive all. Players do strive to give everything they can and it is an attitude that should be observed and taken note of by many footballers across the world, who take all they can without giving much in return.
    Everyone who has an interest in football should be amazed that the Iranian game has made such rapid strides, since a national league was only formed some five years ago. Indeed, the league was only a year old

    In football you cannot buy success without the intelligence to recognise that it isn't always the most expensive man for the job who is best

    when Iran just failed to reach the 1974 World Cup; They lost narrowly on aggregate in the Asian zone final to Australia, winning 2-0 at home, losing 3-0 away. In 1977 the same two nations battled it out again for the right to fly to the Argentine. After already having drawn with South Korea away and beating Hong Kong at home, the 1-0 victory over Australia in Melbourne gave the team sweet revenge and an immediate tang of Argentine air.

    This country — ringed with shimmering mountain ranges and flooded by sunlight — is a high plateau bounded in the north by the Caspian Sea and in the south by the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. This is the land of one of the world's earliest known civilizations. The Aryans gave the country its name 'Iran' or 'Land of the Aryans'. The powerful Aryan tribes and the Persians united under Cyrus the Great and gave the world two of the most important con*cepts in history — one god and a political empire. From the seventh century AD Iran became a centre of Islamic civilization, producing a host of philoso*phers, mathematicians, astronomers, physicians and poets — Omar Khayam is a name that immediately springs to mind.

    The hunter will know of the unspoiled areas in which he can track down a variety of game, and wrestling enthusiasts will know that their sport is traditionally Iran's national pastime — the country has produced many international champions. Gymnastics and water polo are now two fast-growing leisure sports, but the biggest sporting interest is in the rapid development of football, a sport that is precocious in its progress here. Should the world audience see Iran as a competing nation in the World Cup finals, then football will be instantly recognised as the national sport.

    Tehran is the capital city and houses a superbly equipped stadium, where in 1974 the seventh Asian Games were successfully held. Since then the emphasis has been on football, with confidence in steady progress only wavering slightly when the 1974 World Cup finals eluded them by a goal average of one. Obviously Iran has the financial resources to aid its footballing programme, and the Shah himself has enthusiastically supported the aims and ideals of his football association.
    But in football you cannot buy success without the intelligence to recognise that it isn't always the most expensive man for the job who is best. However deep your money-pool is, sometimes you don't have to dig very deeply into it to find the right coaches and trainers. Iran has spent a great deal of money in establishing football in Tehran and the provinces over the last decade, but the policy has never been to attempt a vast buying operation to permit them to play in the international stadiums. However, one must remember that in many cases boys with talent, scooped up from the provinces, are what we might term 'hungry players', and the very idea of having their own kit and spending money gives them a great appetite for the game.
    Facing page: Coach Frank O'Farrell and his successful team pose with Crown Prince Reza after winning the Asian Cup for the third time in 1976.

    His legacy is still strong in Iran.
    Their aptitude is comparable to that of the Brazilians and they have a definite advantage over other Asian countries. Add to this the fact that they know the Shah has a real interest in the game — his son, Crown Prince Reza, has his own team in the palace grounds — and it comes as no surprise that the young and talented footballers of Iran feel encouraged in every way to work hard at their game and have pride in their country's national sport.
    At the beginning of the present decade, Iran thought in terms of developing and streamlining its football. The national team had already shown encouraging signs and had won the 1968 Asian Cup competition; 1972 saw them with the Asian Cup again. By 1975 there was a national league: the first division consists of sixteen teams and there is now a successful second division. Overall there are some four hundred clubs in Iran with two thousand teams and forty-three thousand players. With the Iranian FA's encouragement several leading clubs have foreign trainers and coaches, Russian and Yugo*slavians as well as Europeans. Most of the top teams come from the capital Tehran, whilst Tabriz and Abadan are also well represented.

    A great deal of thought has gone into the planning and aims of Iranian football. The grass roots of the game, youth, are well taken care of, and a national youth team has been in operation for some time. Many youth and senior tournaments have been organised and hosted by Iran, with an ever-watchful eye on developments in visiting national teams' tactics and approach to the game.
    Shortly after Iran's failure to reach Munich in 1974, Frank O'Farrell was approached and asked to take charge of the national team. This was a choice that met with much approval from the knowledgeable football bastions — a highly respected British manager who had achieved a great deal in his homeland and had just parted with Manchester United. His assistant was Heshmat Mohadjerani, and Jack Skinner, another English coach, was in charge of national youth football. The Asian Cup was won for a third time in 1976 — no mean feat, for Asia is a vast and varied footballing continent — and in the same year Iran reached the final stages of the Olympics.
    When O'Farrell left at the end of his two-year appointment Mohadjerani took over the reigns and continued with the work that had already been achieved. The Iranian FA seemed to be following the excellent example of the West Germans, who always have a man who has worked with and assisted the retiring national team manager groomed and ready to take over.
    Mohadjerani has taken charge of a national team which has enjoyed increasing success under his guid*ance. The country's outstanding player at present is thirty-year-old midfield general Ali Parvin, who has made fifty appearances for his country and captained the 1976 Olympic team. Team manager and captain have a great understanding and a deep respect for each other. Other talented players to watch for are Hejazi, their goalkeeper, Ghassimpur, another midfield motivator, Mazoulmi, a forward and Rowshan, who was Iran's match-winner in Australia, scoring an excellent goal.

    The organisation of their World Cup squad must be the envy of many nations, for at least a month before qualifying matches the team is called together for extensive preparation. Mohadjerani has complete control of his players in a manner unknown to his colleagues across the world. All this is part of the excellent planning and thought put into the game by the Iranian Football Federation led by K. Attabah.
    In June 1978 Iran will not arrive as the minnows of the World Cup finals. They will arrive convinced they are as good as any of the teams on show; they may not believe that they can lift gold straight away, but they do believe that they can play good and attrac*tive football which will please not just their audience but themselves as well. They will not leave the sporting arena without leaving a definite mark, for they are a proud and determined race with a famous history, to which they would very much like to add a little modern colour.

    f



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    #2
    Great read
    loved it

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      #3
      Fabulous thread, thanks. It's interesting to see how Iran was viewed back then.
      Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.

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        #4
        Originally posted by RaginG Inferno View Post
        Fabulous thread, thanks. It's interesting to see how Iran was viewed back then.

        Yes indeed.

        Those were the golden days. In particular I got attracted by the part of this article relating to the organization. At the time Kambiz Atabay was the head of the federation and he is one of the people who is credited with establishing the League (Takhte Jamshid).

        It is a long time now , but I still remeber the continouity , media coverage , the schedule , organization of the league was quite systematic and highly professional.



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          #5
          Thanks
          I still wonder if, Frank O'farrel has been the best foerign coach we have ever had...( Along with RayKov,in club level ).

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            #6
            Originally posted by zzgloo View Post
            Thanks
            I still wonder if, Frank O'farrel has been the best foerign coach we have ever had...( Along with RayKov,in club level ).

            Difficult to measure Bahram Jan , but he certainly made an impact. He was ex-Manchester United coach and a well respected personality in England. He can't be far of the top foreign coaches that Iran ever had.



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              #7
              Thanks for that. I assume you typed it all up, it was great.

              I wonder What our football would have been like if islamic revolution didn't bother showing up
              i surely think we would be right up there with European giants.

              GRACIAS PEP

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                #8
                Originally posted by shayan20 View Post
                Thanks for that. I assume you typed it all up, it was great.

                I wonder What our football would have been like if islamic revolution didn't bother showing up
                i surely think we would be right up there with European giants.

                To say for sure , is quite difficult , but I have no doubt that it would have been amongst the 20 best in the World or higher.

                Look at some of the results of the late seventies.

                Argentina 1-1 Iran.
                This was the Argentine team that won the world cup (plus or minus a few players). The match was played in Real Madrid 75th Anniversary.


                Then there was this match against France

                The famous match against Poland one of the strongest teams in the world at the time.
                Last edited by maij; 10-25-2008, 02:32 AM.



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                  #9
                  Originally posted by maij View Post
                  To say for sure , is quite difficult , but I have no doubt that it would have been amongst the 20 best in the World or higher.

                  Look at some of the results of the late seventies.

                  Argentina 1-1 Iran.
                  This was the Argentine team that won the world cup (plus or minus a few players). The match was played in Real Madrid 75th Anniversary.


                  Then there was this match against France

                  The famous match against Poland one of the strongest teams in the world at the time.
                  Wow Those are great results we got.
                  I had already seen our great showing against Poland. it's on Youtube.

                  reading the report of the match against france i can see we played a solid game against the world best.

                  GRACIAS PEP

                  Comment

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