World Cup triple: last chance For Nekounam In Brazil
(6 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
Loading...express.co.uk – LONDON, Iran’s long-serving skipper and defensive midfielder, some 14 years in the international saddle, aims to make some history when his side do battle 
with Argentina, Bosnia and Nigeria in Brazil.
In Team Melli’s three previous World Cup appearances (1978, 1998 and 2006), not one of their skippers – among them heavyweights Ali Parvin and Ali Daei -has managed a goal and the 33-year-old Kuwait Sporting Club player would dearly love to buck the trend.
It shouldn’t prove beyond him either. Boasting a strike-rate of 36 goals in 137 games for Iran – including five in the qualifiers for Brazil – the dynamic Nekounam has a clear liking for the big stage and with today’s Iran playing with far more dash and freedom than in the past, he should have more than enough opportunities to unleash that forceful right foot of his.
A popular figure at Spanish club Osasuna for six seasons (2006-12) – earning himself the nickname of ‘Caviar’ – he is an emblematic figure in Iranian football.
