Profligate Piroozi disappoints Daei
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AFC – TEHRAN, Ali Daei joked he would have to come out of retirement to lead the Piroozi attack after his team wasted a host of chances in their 1-1 draw with Al Wahda in Group C of the 2011 AFC Champions League.
The former Iran striker, who scored 109 goals in 149 appearances for his country, called a halt to his playing career in 2007.
But after his Piroozi players struggled to put the ball in the net, he warned them to improve their performance in front of goal.
“This is really bad when you create so many chances but you can’t finish well,” Daei said. “I think I’d better lose 10 or 15 kilos and play up front to score.”
Midfielder Hassan Ameen gave Al Wahda the lead after 54 minutes, but they were pegged back 12 minutes later when Hossein Badamki equalised for the Iranian hosts.
Daei added: “We created so many chances and we should have actually scored three of four goals.
“Everybody saw how they played. Al Wahda wasted time in the second-half. Their goalkeeper malingered a lot and squandered 10 minutes which is not fair play.”
He continued: “I told the players to make their best effort to score, but they didn’t and the referee’s decisions were mostly against of us.
“They (Al Wahda) only had one chance and converted it into their goal. What can I do from the bench when my player dribbles past the goalkeeper and fails to score in front of an empty goal?”
Al Wahda head coach Josef Hickersberger offered a different view, but admitted his players had been adept at running down the clock.
The Austrian said: “We deserved more in the game. I appreciate the efforts my players put in. The atmosphere was very good in the stadium and praiseworthy. I really enjoyed the football in here, because when there are many spectators and they’re noisy, it adds to the excitement of the game.
“I agree with you that my players killed time but it’s football and they did everything to take the point.
“On the other hand, Piroozi players did not respect fair play and this is what I don’t want to see in football, too.
“Piroozi had 95 minutes to score, but they couldn’t. It’s natural I wished the game would finish sooner. They created so many chances, but up front they had no good finishers. They should have someone like Daei up front to score for them.”
