PREVIEW: A Daei to remember

Ali Daei, a tall striker who sits on the bench for Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga, is Iran's greatest ever footballer. Along with Karim Bagheri, he is the focal point and talisman of their national team.

He is reputedly the scorer of 72 international goals. And he is still considerably less famous in Ireland than Bjorn Tore Kvarme. With Ireland likely to meet Iran in a play-off to decide the last remaining World Cup qualification spot, it's about time this was put right.

Daei is an outstanding player, who was voted Asian player of the year in 1999. His talents aren't confined to football though - he holds a degree in engineering, and is also a shrewd businessman.

He runs a sports clothing company whose kits are worn by 8 of the 12 Iranian first division teams and the national team. While he claims to have 'given away' his business profits, he has expanded his operation and now exports to Germany.

The story of how he got the contract to supply the national team shirts has been the subject of much speculation in Iran, but the famously litigious Daei doesn't like people talking about it. 'The media should choose their words more carefully,' is all he'll say, 'and not write 'bribe' in place of 'money request'. I am sensitive to this. They should be careful.' Best listen to the man.

Daei is poised to captain his country into their third World Cup finals. He believes the Iranian team is technically excellent, but tactically naive. 'I think our soccer has always been weak in teamwork,' he says. 'We are the number one team in Asia if you consider our individual talent and skill but in teamwork we are ranked 7th or 8th in Asia.'

It's a problem that Iran's Croatian coach, Miroslav Blazevic, has been working to counter, but Daei fears it may be deeply ingrained. 'This problem is in our blood,' he mourns. 'We Iranians have always been the best in the world individually but as a team we are always one step behind.'

He thinks the Iranian football team can show the way forward for the nation. 'Iranians don't have the unity that other races like Turkish, Russian and Yugoslavs have,' he explains, perhaps unaware of recent goings-on in the Balkans. 'If we are united we can succeed in our soccer, and that will help unity among Iranians.'

When Ali Daei finishes his football career, he wants to return to Iran. 'It is my wish to help the youth and the young of my country.' This may prove difficult for Daei. He may be a hero to many young Iranians, but he's not so popular among Iran's conservative mullahs.

Football, by far the most popular sport in Iran, is viewed suspiciously by the clerical establishment. This is partly because it is a poisonous Western invention, and partly because it is seen as competing with Islam for the devotion of the people.

However the main problem the mullahs have with football is that it provides an excuse for large numbers of emotional young people to gather in public places and make trouble. As used to be the case in the former Soviet bloc, football matches are breeding grounds for reformist and counter-revolutionary sentiment.

After Iran's recent 2-1 victory over (bitter rivals) Iraq, mass celebrations swept the country. As usual the fun got out of hand and a crowd of 20,000 delirious fans was soon breaking windows and smashing up ATMs to show their delight at the conquest of Saddam's boys.

The police beat them up thoroughly, but the mullahs were alarmed at the scale of the rampage. They don't like anyone to get this excited over anything except religion. According to stories widespread in Iran, they instructed the national team that in order to prevent further indiscipline they were to lose the qualifier at home to Bahrain.

If this is true, it shows that Iranian clerics have yet to master the psychology of the football fan. After Iran suffered an abject 3-1 defeat to the Bahraini no-hopers, Teheran was engulfed by the biggest riots for many years - which is saying something in Teheran. Furious crowds gathered in the west of the city and, incredibly, began to chant 'Death to the Mullahs!'

This outrageous behaviour brought the hyper-Islamic Basiji militia swarming into the streets looking for vengeance. The Basiji are a sort of Iranian Youth Defence, with five million members aged from 15 to 80, and their job is to protect the core values of the Islamic revolution as laid out by Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. Football is not among these core values.

With police support, the Basiji swiftly crushed the protestors in a bloody street battle. 350 of the protestors were arrested. Last week the government released a statement saying 200 of these had been released. God knows what happened to the other 150.

But even this kind of brutal treatment can only work for so long. Iran are almost certainly in the play-offs, and stand on the brink of their third World Cup finals. Last week's rioting has shown the government that it can't compete with the national team for the affection of the people. Further meddling with the game could conceivably cripple the political establishment. If you can't beat them ...

And so president Mohammed Khatami has given a belated blessing to Iranian World Cup fever. 'These victories and celebrations lead to further unity and unanimity among Iranians and the expressions of joy are totally natural in such occasions,' he announced.

Still, everything has its limits. Khatami warned that 'we will strongly fight ill-wishers and hooligans who take advantage of such occasions.' The Basiji will be ready all the same.

It's a pity that Ireland must shatter the dreams of the Iranian nation if they are to qualify for the World Cup. Iran could do with something going its way for once. If they succeed in beating Ireland there will be a carnival in the streets to match anything that happened here during Italia 90. Let's just hope nobody has to get too badly hurt.