‘Iranian Messi’ Azmoun could steal the show
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Loading...F.Sports – BENGALURU, For Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Tuesday’s crunch game against Iran is more than just an Asian World Cup qualifier. It is, he says, what every Indian footballer dreams of – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play against a higher-ranked country, who in this case are also Asia’s top footballing nation.
Considering India’s lack of international friendlies against higher-ranked nations, Lyngdoh’s excitement is no surprise. “There is no psychological disadvantage,” the Indian midfielder said when referring to Iran’s 6-0 mauling of Guam earlier this week. “I’m very happy to play Iran. Who wouldn’t want to play Argentina or Japan? These are games that as a player you must make the best use of and give a fight.”
Visitors high on confidence
The Iranians, meanwhile, landed in Bengaluru on Sunday afternoon and were welcomed by a large number of their supporters at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium for their first practice session in the evening. Led by their enigmatic defensive midfielder Andranik Teymourian – the first Christian to captain the national side – Iran made light of their strenuous journey and enjoyed a fruitful drill and conditioning session. “We are a bit tired, we travelled a long way. I’m very hopeful that we can come up with a good performance against India,” Teymourian said.
Azmoun will be key
Good looks and great skills – Sardar Azmoun has it all. The 20-year-old striker’s stellar performance for the youth team and his heroics in the Olympic qualifiers and the Asian Cup earlier this year earned him the moniker of ‘Iranian Messi’. Though he failed to make the cut for the 2014 World Cup, Sardar’s exploits on the field, especially for Rubin Kazan in the Russian Premier League, won him lot of interest from clubs such as Arsenal, Milan, Liverpool, Tottenham, Juventus and Barcelona.
“Iran have a lot of young, talented players. I don’t know much about Indian talent but I know for sure that Indian football is improving and making good progress,” Sardar, who is currently on loan with Rostov, said. Son of former Iranian volleyball player and coach Khalil Azmoun, Sardar had a brief foray in the sport before switching to football.
“My father didn’t really gain enough from the amount of hard work he put in volleyball, in terms of his progress. But he always encouraged me to take up football. It was his dream and desire that I become a football player and I made sure it became a reality,” Sardar said.
