Instead, he joins a long line of Iranian players with strong links to Germany and the Bundesliga; it is a lineage which stretches back to the mid-to-late 1990s when Iran were re-establishing themselves as a force within Asian football.Expectations were low, but after a battling draw with the Nigerians in their opening game, Iran went close to pulling off the shock of the group stages before losing to a fine injury time strike by Lionel Messi against Argentina.
With hopes of a place in the knockout rounds still alive, though, Iran succumbed to a 3-1 loss against the Bosnians, but Queiroz and his team left Brazil with their dignity intact and their reputation enhanced.While Iran went to the FIFA World Cup with few expectations, at the AFC Asian Cup in Australia the Persians will be expected to take control of games in the group stages against the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar before pushing on to mount a serious challenge for the title once more.
Iran have not progressed beyond the quarterfinals at the AFC Asian Cup since 1996, when one of the finest teams of their generation were eliminated in the semi-finals by Saudi Arabia.http://www.persianfootball.com/news/...medium=twitter