Persianfootball.com exclusive: Interview with Daniel Davari

Persianfootball.com – ZURICH, Ardalan Azari met Daniel Davari in Zurich for an exclusive interview for Persianfootball.com during which he talked about Team Melli, his Club GC Zurich as well as some personal matters.

PFDC: First of all congratulations on your comeback after your injury. How are you?

Davari: Now I am fine again. I wasn’t in pain but it was dangerous due to the fraction I had sustained under my eye. I had to recover from that first because another hit on that spot would have been dangerous. But now I am fine and I am able to play again.

PFDC: And how do you like Zurich? You have been here now for a few weeks and could settle down in Zurich.

Davari: Its nice. The people are very friendly, the city and the environment are very beautiful and I have finally moved into a nice apartment. So everything is fine and I am feeling comfortable.

PFDC: How are you dealing with the Swiss-German dialect?

Davari: I still have some issues understanding it. Especially when some of my teammates speak with a strong accent. But I am getting there and understand it to some extent.

PFDC: You have already mentioned your teammates. How do you see your situation at your club, especially about your spot in the goal and as a part of your team?

Davari: I see my situation at GC as pretty good. I came here to be successful and to develop further.
And regarding the team I am in the team council and I can say some things on and off the pitch. I think it does me well to take over responsibility. And of course I want to go ahead on the pitch. I want to take over responsibility on and off the pitch and develop further.

PFDC: An impression that I have had of you during your time at Braunschweig as well as the national team was that your relationship with the other keepers was always good or at least very professional. I have never heard of tensions or similar negativities with your colleagues. Is it the same way in Zurich now?

Davari: Yes, of course. I think it’s normal that there is competition among the goalkeepers. It always depends on the characters of the people and how they take that situation. I am a pretty calm and sociable type of person and I have no problems with competition.
Especially here at GC we have a very good relationship among our coaching staff and the other two keepers. And we have a very respectful and friendly relationship among each other and therefore the training is as well fun as also challenging due to a good competition.

PFDC: You got promoted to the Bundesliga with Braunschweig, later played against relegation. You played with the Iranian national team in Asia as one of the best teams in that area and later went to the World Cup in Brazil as an underdog. Now you are playing for a Swiss topside which is currently struggling. Do you feel that these events have rather damaged the continuity in your development or that the vast range of different experiences in such a short time has rather helped you to gain experience?

Davari: Well one has to add to that that I played for Braunschweig for five years out of which I was pretty much set except for two years. I think one can label that as continuity. I played two consecutive years in the 2. Bundesliga and last season appeared in 30 Bundesliga games.
And regarding the national team, I think it’s hard to build up consistency there because there are only few matches every now and then. I didn’t play in the World Cup but I came here to GC to play and to pick up more match practice.
I think I haven’t had many club changes in my career so far compared to some other players.

PFDC: Apart from your specific task at GC Zürich, what goals as a club player do you have in general? What are the goals that you want to achieve? Do you for example aim to play in the Champions League one day?

Davari: I think everyone has his own goals but I think one has to be realistic at the same time. I don’t wake up and tell myself that I want to appear the Champions League final in one or two years. I don’t think that it’s a reasonable thing to set goals for oneself that are too far away or for which also luck is needed.
My goal is to have an immediate impact. I have now experienced myself that one’s situation can change very quickly. I was lucky that I am not out for a longer time. What I want to say is that I have to focus on the upcoming training and the upcoming match and to get the most out of that.
I do want to play in the top leagues in the long run and gain international experience. But as of now competitions like the Champions League or the World Cup are a bit too far away to be thought of. I rather focus on the next challenge. I am not a dreamer or an unrealistic person.

PFDC: Regarding the national team: the Asian Cup I scheduled for January 2015. Would you accept an invitation for that tournament?

Davari: If I manage to stay healthy and feel good, I would definitely accept an invitation. But there is still some time until then and I have to perform in a way that allows the coach to invite me.
But as I said its still some time until then and I am not concerned about that right now.

PFDC: But you see that independent from your situation at GC? Even if you missed a few weeks during the season or because of your competition for the goalkeeper spot?

Davari: Well in January we’ll be in the preparation phase anyway, so we won’t have any games. But I haven’t worried about that to be honest. I first have to perform. Otherwise I am not entitled to be invited. So that is still too far away. I am happy that I am healthy and can play again.

PFDC: You make a down-to-earth and yet ambitious impression. That leads me to another question regarding the national team: a lot of fans were disappointed after the World Cup because they had hopes of other players joining European teams. To the contrary, Ashkan Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejhad went to the middle east. Do you see this as a negative trend for the national team*?

Davari: I think that I can’t really say anything about that. I don’t want to comment on that because I can’t judge the situation. I think a lot of people would have liked to see Iranian players going to top leagues and top teams but I think one shouldn’t overestimate it. Of course the middle east doesn’t have the clubs that Europe has but one should always also try to understand the player and leave it up to him. I think it’s also of no use for the national team and the player if he plays in Europe but only sits on the bench. The most important thing is playing time. And regarding Ashkan and Reza: I am not the right person to talk about that. They have played great and done a lot for us also at the World Cup. I think it’s not necessary to talk too much about that. At the end of the day we have a good team. The World Cup showed that we are a close and committed group of people that can also have very good tactical showcases with our coach.
So if a player plays in Europe or somewhere else: I think it’s up to the player on where he sees the best opportunity for himself to develop further.

PFDC: You have mentioned your team mates in the national team. I have been following Team Melli for years now and I can’t remember seeing anything like you did (among the goalkeepers) by going to Alireza Haghighi after the Argentina match in the World Cup and hugging him. The fans liked that a lot and one had the impression that that really was a genuine moment and you guys like each other. Would you say that you really have a friendly relationship with the other goalkeepers in Team Melli?

Davari: I think that was a development that went this way. One doesn’t join the national team and meets completely new people and is immediately their best friend. And of course the competition was tough and we didn’t back down from that. But at the end of the day it’s not the players burden on what decision the coach makes. It’s not something that you can be mad about. The coach decides and we have to accept that. Of course, one is disappointed. But I think through this situation a friendship has evolved between us three.
And I think Ali (Alireza Haghighi) played great and one has to acknowledge that ungrudgingly. He had great performances.
We also started to talk a lot and to created mutual trust for each other. We both didn’t have the attitude towards each other of not wanting to talk and only seeing one another as competition.
And after the game I congratulated him on his performance and told him that he could be proud of himself and that I also was proud of him.
I think he deserves respect because he didn’t play that much prior to the World Cup and then had such a great performance during the tournament.
Of course one is full of emotions after such a match and doesn’t have a lot of thoughts. I just acted instinctively and congratulated him.

PFDC: One question that always pops up in regards of you and that we have also received from some fans for this interview was regarding the communication with the defenders in Team Melli. Did or does the language barrier hinder your communication with the players during a match?

Davari: I have been asked this question a lot and I think it’s pretty easy to answer. I have never seen people tell tales on the pitch in which ever language it may be. One only gives short instructions. In addition to that we don’t have a stupid team that doesn’t understand that on the pitch. And also in English or Persian it’s pretty easy to say “left”, “right”, “ahead” or “back”. That never was a problem. Also everyone understands English. We spoke short phrases in English or Persian and it was never a problem on the pitch.
It is a fact that I wasn’t able to tell great stories in Persian and that’s something I need to work on. But it was never a problem on the pitch.

PFDC: So I hope we have finally clarified this for the fans. Are you still taking Persian classes though?

Davari: Lately I have reduced that because I had a lot to do with moving my flat and  changing my club. But I will continue learning Persian and one day be certainly able to speak the language.

PFDC: To wrap up the interview we have some more personal questions. Do you already have plans or wishes on what you would like to do after your active – and hopefully long lasting and successful – footballing career?

Davari: I feel old now that you ask such a question (laughs). I can’t say much about that. Of course one hopes to stay with the sport – be it as a coach, goalkeeper coach, manager or whatever. Right now I feel that I want to continue with this sport also after my active career. But I am 26 years old now and hopefully I will have another 10 years until I have to make that decision even though life can change quickly. So therefore it’s tough to say now what I want to do in the future.

PFDC: And can you imagine play or to have a different function related to football in Iran one day?

Davari: I would say “never say never”. I would never close out an option beforehand. If the situation should occur that I could take on an interesting task I would definetly listen to it and wouldn’t turn it down immediately. I have my family in Iran so it’s not farfetched for me to work in Iran.

*please note that the interview took place before Karim Ansarifard moved to Osasuna Pamplona and Saeed Ezzatollahi to Atletico Madrid