Eamon Zayed: I miss playing for Persepolis – INTERVIEW

TehranTimes – TEHRAN- Eamon Zayed was given the “Mr. hat trick” nickname when he scored three goals against Persepolis arch-rival Esteghlal in February 2012.

The Irish-Libyan forward cemented his place in the club’s history through his inspired days in Tehran.

Zayed granted an interview to Tehran Times, in which he showed he is very interested in returning to Iranian giant Persepolis.

First of all, tell us how did you decide to join an Iranian club?

In December 2011, I finished my season in Ireland. I was top scorer in Ireland with 26 goals and I was voted the best player in the league.

After that, I received an invitation from Iran, asking me if I would like to join the biggest and best club in Iran and Asia, Persepolis. I was nervous at the beginning because I did not know too much about Iran. I rang the Irish embassy in Iran and asked them about Iran. They said that I would really like Iran. They said that Iran had a great culture and that the people in Iran are very friendly and that they love love love their football. The Irish embassy gave me the contact number of Mick Mc Dermot, who was assistant coach of the Iran football national team in 2011. Mick said that I should come to play football for Persepolis because its fans are very passionate about Persepolis football team and if I did well and scored goals then they would love me. After that, I really wanted to play for Persepolis in Iran and also wanted to see the Iranian culture.

You came on as a substitute in Tehran derby in 2012 and scored three goals against Persepolis arch-rival Esteghlal. Did you think to score a hat trick?

I have many stories about my first month in Iran and the derby and I will tell these stories in my book that I hope to publish in Iran soon.

Did I think I would score a hat trick in the Tehran derby? NO!!!!  Did I think I EVEN was going to play in the derby? NO!!!! I have faith in my qualities and abilities and I know I can score goals if my team creates chances, I will always think I am going to score if I have a chance. But I will admit, that cold cold night in Tehran in February 2012, I didn’t think I was going to even play.

You’ve also experienced playing in Aluminum but I think it was not satisfying for you. Tell us what happened you decided to join the Bandar Abbas-based team.

Yes, unfortunately I left Persepolis and went to Aluminum. It was a very difficult period for me. I should never have left Persepolis. That was a big mistake. But Jose Manuel was in charge of Persepolis at the time and he was not giving me a chance, so I needed to go and play football somewhere else.

I think if I had stayed in Persepolis and waited for Ali Daei to come in as manager I could have been very successful working with Daei. He is a legend of the game and I would love to work with such a great goal scoring striker.

The people in Bandar Abbas were very good to me and I have no problems with them but living in Bandar Abbas was very different to living in Tehran. It was too difficult for me to live there.

Parviz Mazloomi became coach of Aluminum and from the first day he came I felt he never liked me. I think I know why he didn’t like me and I think millions of Persepolis fans know why Parviz did not like me!!!!!!!

The Iranian people, especially Persepolis fans love you so much and call you Mr. hat-trick. What’s your feeling toward them?

I really miss the Persepolis fans. I feel I have a great and unique connection with them. I feel honored and privileged to have played in front of them and scored a few hat tricks for them. I hope I made them as happy as they made me. My only regret is that I did not play for Persepolis longer. I hope and wish one day soon I can come back and play for them again. I am fit and ready to come back and I hope I can come back in the second half of this season.

Did you see Iran’s matches at the 2010 World Cup? What’s your idea about the team as a person who knows some of the Iranian players?

I watched all of Iran’s matches and I cheered them on and hoped they played well in their matches. I think the nation of Iran can be proud of how their team played. They were defensively very strong, well-organized and played well especially in their matches against Nigeria and Argentina.

They had a few good chances to score in these games and if they scored a few goals then they would have done even better. If you get a chance in the world cup, you must score. I think my former team mate Mehrdad Pouladi played very well and I think he deserves to play in one of the stronger leagues in Europe.

What are your favorite player and favorite team at the world and Iran?

Pouladi was my favorite player for Iran but I also like Reza Ghoochannejhad because he always looks dangerous in the box and he is a very good goal scorer. He was unlucky with a few chances at the world cup but he is a big player for Iran. My favorite team was Argentina and my favorite player is Messi. He simply is the best and he showed how good he is with a truly magnificent goal against Iran.

As you know Ali Karimi bade farewell. Have you a message for him?

You know, when I first came to Iran I did not know if Ali Karimi liked me or not. But the more I played for Persepolis and the more I got to know Ali Karimi, I saw that he is a really nice guy. Everyone knows Ali Karimi and how good a player he is. I am lucky to say to people that I played alongside Ali Karimi. He is a genius with the ball and if you see my goals for Persepolis, you see that he created most of them with a bit of skill or a great pass. For me to score goals, I need someone like Ali Karimi to help me.

I want to say thank and also to wish him good luck in his future. I hope he will go into coaching and management because he has so much to offer to the game of football and I believe he will be a great coach one day soon.

You are playing at Sligo Rovers football club on loan now. Why did you leave Shamrock Rovers?

I am playing for Sligo Rovers now and I am back to being 100 percent fit. In June, I had an injury, I broke my elbow and I missed eight weeks. So, I left Shamrock Rovers to play for Sligo Rovers and get back to 100 percent fitness. I feel really good now and I have scored six goals in 10 games and I have five assists, so I am almost back to being the Eamon Zayed.

I have heard you are going to publish your autobiography. Have you written about your Iran’s experience in this book and what’s the name of your book?

I am currently writing my book about my time in Iran. I have a lot of stories to tell and I hope to finish it soon. I would like to publish it in Iran next year in February, 2015, on the three year anniversary of the hat trick I scored in the Tehran derby. The book will tell of all my experiences in Iran both on the field and off the field. I will speak also about my time in Bandar Abbas with Parviz Mazloomi.
Actually, I have a great story about the night I scored that hat trick against Esteghlal. I also have an interesting story about how I almost missed that game because I was about to leave Persepolis after only three weeks in Iran! The book will be called 10-10-3!

(By Masoud Hossein)