This truly had to be one of our major disappointments in our soccer history. It wasn't just the fact that we were eliminated in the first round for the first (and thus far only) time, but the way that it happened simply to ensure that the Japanese hosts escaped elimination. The many dubious calls in the game against Japan made it clear that the calls were biased and not human error. It wasn't so much his desire to see Iran eliminated but rather to see Japan advance. Had Japan not been our last group game, and if Japan had already accumulated enough points to advance with a tie against us, then we would not have been in this predicament with the ref allowing a late offside goal for Japan. I rank the game against Japan one of the biggest robberies in our soccer history, as unlike our games against Argentine in 2014 or arogh in 2015, it wasn't a single bad call but rather bad call after bad call from beginning to end. To top it off in spite of videos showing Pious as a innocent bystander, the AFC stuck with their 1-year suspension for him due to mistaking him for Moharrami at the brawl at the end of the game. To see how ridiculous the arab ref was you really have to watch the game in its entirety which I have included below.
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Following its triumph in the 1990 Asian Games, very little change was made as far as Iran’s lineup. A few youngsters had broken into the roster although they were mostly there to make up the numbers. Placed in an extremely easy group with India and Pakistan, Iran played its qualifying games for the 1992 Asian Championship in Kolkata, India. In the first game Iran demolished Pakistan 7-0 with Pious opening the scoring in the 2nd minute and further goals coming from Marfavi (2), Moharrami, Ghayeghran, Hasanzadeh and Abtahi. Iran followed this win up with a 3-0 defeat of their hosts with goals by Moharrami and Pious (2) to qualify for the 1992 Asian Championship.
Iran was placed in group 2 along with Japan, North Korea and the UAE. Preparations for the tournament included two games against a strong Cameroonian side that had advanced to the quarterfinals of the previous World Cup. A pair of ties (0-0 and 1-1 with Moharrami scoring) were decent results and demonstrated good physical conditioning of the team against a physical African team. Much of the 1990 Asian Games lineup would make the final roster with Shahmohammadi being the lone newcomer to break into the starting lineup.
Iran opened its campaign with a rematch of the 1990 Asian Games Final between Iran and North Korea. The highlight of the game was undoubtedly Pious’s goal in the 30th minute which he struck with a looping strike over the Korean keeper from outside of the box as he (Pious) was off balance. Zarrincheh would waste a one-on-one opportunity in the second half although ultimately Iran would go on to win 2-0 with Ghayeghran putting away a Shahmohammadi pass in the 81st minute. Contributing to the win was the fact that from the 70th minute onwards the Koreans completely faded out of the game while Iran’s better physical conditioning became apparent, in spite of not even making any substitutions.
Iran took on UAE in the second game and following an unimpressive performance the game ended scoreless. Perhaps overconfidence was the problem for the Iranians on this day as they showed no serious effort or interest in obtaining a result. It was almost as if Iran was treating the game as a friendly and on the occasions when they would suddenly snap out of their siesta, they would easily be present in the opponent’s penalty box. Once again Iran would make no substitutions throughout the match.
This tie would later come back to haunt Iran as now advancement would depend on the final group games with all four teams having a chance to qualify for the semifinals. Although Iran was in a better position, however, their final game (which would take place after – and not at the same time as – the North Korea vs UAE match) was against the host team which needed a win to ensure its survival. In the first game of group 2, the North Koreans lead UAE 1-0 until the 81st minute, but once again their poor physical conditioning cost them and they surrendered two late goals to lose 2-1, thus making Iran’s final game against Japan a bit more meaningful for both sides, with Iran needing at least a tie to advance. A Korean tie or win against the UAE would have sent Iran to the semifinals regardless of the outcome of the Japan game.
In the final group game against Japan, much like the previous games, for the first 15 minutes Iran sat back to evaluate their opponents. Japan took full advantage of this situation and launched some very rapid attacks on Iran’s goal. The speed of the Japanese team was truly remarkable and crosses by the two outside midfielders were followed by parallel runs by the two Japanese forwards on each side of the field. The confusion created caused Iran’s defense to stretch and thus leave a gap in the middle which allowed the Japanese central midfielder to go one-and-one with Abedzadeh. Abedzadeh came up big on these occasions and managed to stop all of such attacks. It seemed that Iran was happy to play for a tie. Suddenly, at the 15-minute mark, the tables turned and Iran started attacking. The Iranian attacks were extremely dangerous and most of the final shots were barely wide or just stopped by the keeper. Such attacks continued until the 30th minute when the game evened out for both sides. The remainder of the half was spent in this fashion and the teams went to the locker rooms tied at zero.
The 2nd half started with some more attacks by Iran and within the next eight minutes, Japan’s goal was under constant threat. However, at the 54th minute, and after a seemingly routine foul, the ref issued a red card to Shahmohammadi, one of the two Iranian forwards. To make matters worse, within the same time frame in the 2nd half, the Japanese were committing many more fouls, yet they were going unnoticed and/or unpunished by the ref. After the unjust red card, the Syrian referee seemed to go even easier on the Japanese, who made full use of the ref’s lenience by committing numerous fouls. It also appeared that the ref had redefined the offside law, although eliminated would have been a better description. During one incident later in the game, Moharrami tangled with a Japanese player and was brought down, laying there injured. He was carried off the field and as he received treatment the ref came over and issued him a puzzling yellow card. Hoping for a tie, Iran went into a complete defensive shell, relying on counter attacks for any chances, while the Japanese took control of the game. Japan made two subs and brought on some fresh players, one of them being their Brazilian-born center forward Ramos. Although Parvin had such players as Marfavi, Eftekhari and Noamouz on the bench, however, he made no substitutions. His unconfirmed reasoning was that he wanted to keep this particular lineup for now, and so he would be able to surprise his opponents in the semifinal and final with a completely different lineup.
Finally in the 86th minute, following a pass that might have been offside, the Japanese scored. The Iranian team protested but to no avail. Iran tried to claw its way back in the game but instead Mohammadkhani was stripped of the ball and brought down a Japanese player en route to goal, earning himself a red card. Players lost their tempers and surrounded the ref while they also argued with the Japanese players. Moharrami who was standing behind Pious, kicked the ref from in between Pious’s legs, resulting in the ref mistakenly issuing a red card to Pious. Iran continued the final minutes of the game with only eight players on the field. Following the red cards, Moharrami would once again express his frustration, this time at the delaying tactics of Ramos, by grabbing and pulling the opponent’s hair. In the 90th minute Iran received a free kick outside of the box. The Japanese wall seemed closer than regulation and the protests regarding the required distance were brushed off by the ref. The entire Japanese wall seemed to charge forward before the ref blew his whistle but yet nothing came of the ensuing freekick and moments later the ref ended the game. Following the final whistle, Kermani Moghaddam would approach and slap the referee and scratch his chin. The Japanese advanced to the semifinals on their way to their first Asian Championship, while the Iranians were left shaking their heads in total disbelief as they now had to cope with a rare early exit. After the tournament, the AFC issued suspensions to Moharrami, Mohammadkhani, Kermani Moghaddam, Shahmohammadi and Pious (in spite of footage showing he was not the player who had kicked the referee).
Highlights:
Full game:
Iran roster: Abedzadeh, Gholampour, Zarrincheh, Moharrami, Hasanzadeh, Mohammadkhani, Rezaeimanesh, Khakpour, Fonoonizadeh, Estili, Ghayeghran, Ashoori, Abtahi, Kermani Moghaddam, Eftekhari, Noamouz, Modirroosta, Marfavi, Shahmohammadi, Pious. Coach: Parvin
***************************
Following its triumph in the 1990 Asian Games, very little change was made as far as Iran’s lineup. A few youngsters had broken into the roster although they were mostly there to make up the numbers. Placed in an extremely easy group with India and Pakistan, Iran played its qualifying games for the 1992 Asian Championship in Kolkata, India. In the first game Iran demolished Pakistan 7-0 with Pious opening the scoring in the 2nd minute and further goals coming from Marfavi (2), Moharrami, Ghayeghran, Hasanzadeh and Abtahi. Iran followed this win up with a 3-0 defeat of their hosts with goals by Moharrami and Pious (2) to qualify for the 1992 Asian Championship.
Iran was placed in group 2 along with Japan, North Korea and the UAE. Preparations for the tournament included two games against a strong Cameroonian side that had advanced to the quarterfinals of the previous World Cup. A pair of ties (0-0 and 1-1 with Moharrami scoring) were decent results and demonstrated good physical conditioning of the team against a physical African team. Much of the 1990 Asian Games lineup would make the final roster with Shahmohammadi being the lone newcomer to break into the starting lineup.
Iran opened its campaign with a rematch of the 1990 Asian Games Final between Iran and North Korea. The highlight of the game was undoubtedly Pious’s goal in the 30th minute which he struck with a looping strike over the Korean keeper from outside of the box as he (Pious) was off balance. Zarrincheh would waste a one-on-one opportunity in the second half although ultimately Iran would go on to win 2-0 with Ghayeghran putting away a Shahmohammadi pass in the 81st minute. Contributing to the win was the fact that from the 70th minute onwards the Koreans completely faded out of the game while Iran’s better physical conditioning became apparent, in spite of not even making any substitutions.
Iran took on UAE in the second game and following an unimpressive performance the game ended scoreless. Perhaps overconfidence was the problem for the Iranians on this day as they showed no serious effort or interest in obtaining a result. It was almost as if Iran was treating the game as a friendly and on the occasions when they would suddenly snap out of their siesta, they would easily be present in the opponent’s penalty box. Once again Iran would make no substitutions throughout the match.
This tie would later come back to haunt Iran as now advancement would depend on the final group games with all four teams having a chance to qualify for the semifinals. Although Iran was in a better position, however, their final game (which would take place after – and not at the same time as – the North Korea vs UAE match) was against the host team which needed a win to ensure its survival. In the first game of group 2, the North Koreans lead UAE 1-0 until the 81st minute, but once again their poor physical conditioning cost them and they surrendered two late goals to lose 2-1, thus making Iran’s final game against Japan a bit more meaningful for both sides, with Iran needing at least a tie to advance. A Korean tie or win against the UAE would have sent Iran to the semifinals regardless of the outcome of the Japan game.
In the final group game against Japan, much like the previous games, for the first 15 minutes Iran sat back to evaluate their opponents. Japan took full advantage of this situation and launched some very rapid attacks on Iran’s goal. The speed of the Japanese team was truly remarkable and crosses by the two outside midfielders were followed by parallel runs by the two Japanese forwards on each side of the field. The confusion created caused Iran’s defense to stretch and thus leave a gap in the middle which allowed the Japanese central midfielder to go one-and-one with Abedzadeh. Abedzadeh came up big on these occasions and managed to stop all of such attacks. It seemed that Iran was happy to play for a tie. Suddenly, at the 15-minute mark, the tables turned and Iran started attacking. The Iranian attacks were extremely dangerous and most of the final shots were barely wide or just stopped by the keeper. Such attacks continued until the 30th minute when the game evened out for both sides. The remainder of the half was spent in this fashion and the teams went to the locker rooms tied at zero.
The 2nd half started with some more attacks by Iran and within the next eight minutes, Japan’s goal was under constant threat. However, at the 54th minute, and after a seemingly routine foul, the ref issued a red card to Shahmohammadi, one of the two Iranian forwards. To make matters worse, within the same time frame in the 2nd half, the Japanese were committing many more fouls, yet they were going unnoticed and/or unpunished by the ref. After the unjust red card, the Syrian referee seemed to go even easier on the Japanese, who made full use of the ref’s lenience by committing numerous fouls. It also appeared that the ref had redefined the offside law, although eliminated would have been a better description. During one incident later in the game, Moharrami tangled with a Japanese player and was brought down, laying there injured. He was carried off the field and as he received treatment the ref came over and issued him a puzzling yellow card. Hoping for a tie, Iran went into a complete defensive shell, relying on counter attacks for any chances, while the Japanese took control of the game. Japan made two subs and brought on some fresh players, one of them being their Brazilian-born center forward Ramos. Although Parvin had such players as Marfavi, Eftekhari and Noamouz on the bench, however, he made no substitutions. His unconfirmed reasoning was that he wanted to keep this particular lineup for now, and so he would be able to surprise his opponents in the semifinal and final with a completely different lineup.
Finally in the 86th minute, following a pass that might have been offside, the Japanese scored. The Iranian team protested but to no avail. Iran tried to claw its way back in the game but instead Mohammadkhani was stripped of the ball and brought down a Japanese player en route to goal, earning himself a red card. Players lost their tempers and surrounded the ref while they also argued with the Japanese players. Moharrami who was standing behind Pious, kicked the ref from in between Pious’s legs, resulting in the ref mistakenly issuing a red card to Pious. Iran continued the final minutes of the game with only eight players on the field. Following the red cards, Moharrami would once again express his frustration, this time at the delaying tactics of Ramos, by grabbing and pulling the opponent’s hair. In the 90th minute Iran received a free kick outside of the box. The Japanese wall seemed closer than regulation and the protests regarding the required distance were brushed off by the ref. The entire Japanese wall seemed to charge forward before the ref blew his whistle but yet nothing came of the ensuing freekick and moments later the ref ended the game. Following the final whistle, Kermani Moghaddam would approach and slap the referee and scratch his chin. The Japanese advanced to the semifinals on their way to their first Asian Championship, while the Iranians were left shaking their heads in total disbelief as they now had to cope with a rare early exit. After the tournament, the AFC issued suspensions to Moharrami, Mohammadkhani, Kermani Moghaddam, Shahmohammadi and Pious (in spite of footage showing he was not the player who had kicked the referee).
Highlights:
Full game:
Iran roster: Abedzadeh, Gholampour, Zarrincheh, Moharrami, Hasanzadeh, Mohammadkhani, Rezaeimanesh, Khakpour, Fonoonizadeh, Estili, Ghayeghran, Ashoori, Abtahi, Kermani Moghaddam, Eftekhari, Noamouz, Modirroosta, Marfavi, Shahmohammadi, Pious. Coach: Parvin
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