Team Profile

Iran
Coach: Amir Ghalenoei

For so long the most successful nation in the history of the AFC Asian Cup, Iran’s record as the country with the most titles to its name will once again come under threat this summer.

Three Asian Cup wins in the 1960s and 70s marked Iran out as the preeminent power of the regional game, but a failure to add to those in the interim has seen the Iranians lose their sole claim to being Asia’s finest footballing nation.

Saudi Arabia and Japan now share top spot with Iran in the ranking list, with all three having a hat-trick of Asian Cup titles to their name and while the Iranians have gone a long way towards restoring their reputation over the last decade, they are still lacking the all-important piece of silverware that will cement their reputation.

Iran’s last Asian Cup win came in 1976, two years before the country qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Argentina, but since then continental success has been lacking, although there have been mitigating circumstances.

The social upheaval caused first by the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and then the eight-year conflict with Iraq meant football took a backseat and it was only at the start of the Nineties that the Iranians started to make a significant impact on the Asian scene once again.

Third place at the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates heralded a new dawn for Iranian football and the arrival of a generation of top class players such as Ali Daei, Khodadad Azizi and Karim Bagheri but, despite their talents, they were still unable to land the continental title.

A disappointing showing in 2000 in Lebanon was followed by another third-place finish in China in 2004 as the Iranians once again fell agonisingly short.

This year, though, the Iranians are confident they can add a fourth AFC Asian Cup to their Tehran trophy cabinet and once again they have the individual talent required to launch a championship challenge.

The Iranians proved their quality by topping Group B of the qualifying competition, finishing above Korea Republic as the pair reached the finals ahead of Syria and Chinese Taipei.

With Daei now retired, a sense of long-lost harmony may just settle upon the team and bring with it the composure that has been lacking in previous visits to major competitions.

Former Asian Player of the Year Ali Karimi, recently of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, will once again be the creative fulcrum of the side while Vahid Hashemian is expected to lead the attacking line with Rahman Rezaei marshalling the defence.

And with the growing influence of Andranik Teymourian and Javad Nekounam in midfield following impressive seasons with Bolton Wanderers and Osasuna respectively, coach Amir Ghalenoei has a formidable unit at his disposal.

Indeed, if there is a potential weak link in the Iranian armour, it is Ghalenoei’s lack of international experience as a coach but with the usual impressive array of talent on show, Iran will be hoping to finally end over a decade of near misses.