https://www.vecernji.hr/sport/hrvat-...sam-se-1531075
HE WAS DRIVEN BY EMOTIONS
Croat on the giant's bench: When I saw that the Iranians paid tribute to Cica, I cried
- It has nothing to do with football and tactics, this man was simply wonderful as a person.
After playing 1: 1 with the strong South Korea led by Heung-min Son in the most demanding match so far , Croatian expert on the bench of Iran Dragan Skočić continues to walk towards the World Cup in Qatar next year in his incredible series of invincibility.
The fourth Croatian coach of Iran
He has led 11 games since joining the Iranian national team, and the last one with South Korea is the only one he has not won so far. In the first part of the qualifiers, he took over from Marc Wilmots the type that was in a "shaky" state (two defeats in four matches) and scored four victories to enter the second part of the qualifiers in which Iran is currently leading, ahead of South Korea. In 11 games under Skočić's leadership, Iran remained clean in as many as eight, and its total goal difference is 30: 3. What is the secret of Skocic's revival of the Iranian national team?
- I think that the most important thing is that we work with quality and detail. Of course, it helped me that I have been in Iran for seven years and that I know the league and the players, but quality work with the staff, which includes Mario Tot and Mladen Žganjer , is the main reason for good results.
Iran now has one of the best generations in the history of the national team. He is currently 22nd in the Fifa rankings, five places behind Croatia, and his best placement so far was 15th place in 2005, when the legendary national team players Ali Daei and Ali Karimi played, and the strategist was Croatian expert Branko Ivanković , highly regarded in Iran. In addition to these two of our experts, the Iranian national team was also led by Stanko Poklepović , Tomislav Ivić and Miroslav Blažević . Many other Croatian coaches worked in Iran, so we were interested in whether the strategist behind winning the Croatian Cup with Rijeka in 2006 contacted someone before taking over the Iranian national team.
- I was not in contact with them before the takeover of Iran, nor did I ask for advice, but we are all on good terms here and we communicate. Perhaps I was closest to Zlatko Kranjčar , who was really human. I was in Iran when I found out he had died and I cried all morning. That day I went to a Persepolis match in the afternoon and calmed down a bit, and when I entered the stadium and saw that a large picture had been placed in the stands in his memory , I cried again. When Branko and I once came to Qatar to watch the matches of Iranian clubs in the Asian Champions League, he heard that we were coming and welcomed us as friends by preparing a big feast for us. It has nothing to do with football and tactics, this man was simply wonderful as a person - Skočić said emotionally.
Now you have several European-renowned names in the national team, such as Azmoun (Zenit), Jahanbakhsha (Feyenoord) and Taremi (Porto), and among those European names is Dinamo's Sadegh Moharrami . What do you think of him?
- I have known Mohu since he was 16 because I was leading Malavan at the time , and he was in the junior selections. Even then, he showed a lot, and now he is growing into a top football player. He is still in Dinamo , but due to injuries and unfortunate circumstances he has not yet managed to reach his full potential, but if everything goes as it should, he will show it. He is a great guy and footballer.
How would you describe the difference on the field in the Iranian and Croatian leagues?
- Iranian footballers are individually technically savvy and physically resilient , truly at an enviable level. And what they lack and where I see a lot of room for improvement is tactical ability, they’re not that good at it yet, but when I look at the long term, it’s something that can be learned and that will raise the Iranian football ladder even further. Europeans have always been tactically tidy, and as Iran has more and more players in European clubs, that is slowly starting to change.
Lack of understanding
You have already talked about this in the talks, but we are interested in how you would briefly describe the Iranian mentality to a Croat , since many of our people do not understand the difference between Arabs and Iranians.
- The first characteristic that Iranians are specific for is exceptional hospitality , I would first say that to every Croat and I am already explaining it to them. In European countries, due to lack of knowledge and understanding, a completely wrong image has been created about Iran, and when you come to Iran you would realize how wonderful a nation it is and how much it respects and values other people.
HE WAS DRIVEN BY EMOTIONS
Croat on the giant's bench: When I saw that the Iranians paid tribute to Cica, I cried
- It has nothing to do with football and tactics, this man was simply wonderful as a person.
After playing 1: 1 with the strong South Korea led by Heung-min Son in the most demanding match so far , Croatian expert on the bench of Iran Dragan Skočić continues to walk towards the World Cup in Qatar next year in his incredible series of invincibility.
The fourth Croatian coach of Iran
He has led 11 games since joining the Iranian national team, and the last one with South Korea is the only one he has not won so far. In the first part of the qualifiers, he took over from Marc Wilmots the type that was in a "shaky" state (two defeats in four matches) and scored four victories to enter the second part of the qualifiers in which Iran is currently leading, ahead of South Korea. In 11 games under Skočić's leadership, Iran remained clean in as many as eight, and its total goal difference is 30: 3. What is the secret of Skocic's revival of the Iranian national team?
- I think that the most important thing is that we work with quality and detail. Of course, it helped me that I have been in Iran for seven years and that I know the league and the players, but quality work with the staff, which includes Mario Tot and Mladen Žganjer , is the main reason for good results.
Iran now has one of the best generations in the history of the national team. He is currently 22nd in the Fifa rankings, five places behind Croatia, and his best placement so far was 15th place in 2005, when the legendary national team players Ali Daei and Ali Karimi played, and the strategist was Croatian expert Branko Ivanković , highly regarded in Iran. In addition to these two of our experts, the Iranian national team was also led by Stanko Poklepović , Tomislav Ivić and Miroslav Blažević . Many other Croatian coaches worked in Iran, so we were interested in whether the strategist behind winning the Croatian Cup with Rijeka in 2006 contacted someone before taking over the Iranian national team.
Now you have several European-renowned names in the national team, such as Azmoun (Zenit), Jahanbakhsha (Feyenoord) and Taremi (Porto), and among those European names is Dinamo's Sadegh Moharrami . What do you think of him?
- I have known Mohu since he was 16 because I was leading Malavan at the time , and he was in the junior selections. Even then, he showed a lot, and now he is growing into a top football player. He is still in Dinamo , but due to injuries and unfortunate circumstances he has not yet managed to reach his full potential, but if everything goes as it should, he will show it. He is a great guy and footballer.
How would you describe the difference on the field in the Iranian and Croatian leagues?
- Iranian footballers are individually technically savvy and physically resilient , truly at an enviable level. And what they lack and where I see a lot of room for improvement is tactical ability, they’re not that good at it yet, but when I look at the long term, it’s something that can be learned and that will raise the Iranian football ladder even further. Europeans have always been tactically tidy, and as Iran has more and more players in European clubs, that is slowly starting to change.
Lack of understanding
You have already talked about this in the talks, but we are interested in how you would briefly describe the Iranian mentality to a Croat , since many of our people do not understand the difference between Arabs and Iranians.
- The first characteristic that Iranians are specific for is exceptional hospitality , I would first say that to every Croat and I am already explaining it to them. In European countries, due to lack of knowledge and understanding, a completely wrong image has been created about Iran, and when you come to Iran you would realize how wonderful a nation it is and how much it respects and values other people.
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