Reports
Iran vs. Thailand
The win moves Branko Ivankovic’s team to the top of the group ahead of Japan, who beat Oman 1-0 in the evening’s earlier game. Iran, who warmed up for the tournament by winning the West Asian Football Federation championship, dominated from the first whistle but they ran into stiff resistance from a Thai side which made light of the absence of several key players. The 1968, 1972 and 1976 Asian Cup winners had the first opportunity of the game after just three minutes, when Yahya Golmahammadi’s downward header from a corner bounced just over the bar.
Three minutes later, Javad Nekounam was inches away from getting his head to
a floated free-kick from Medhi Mahdavikia, the reigning AFC Player of the
Year.
Thailand keeper Kosin Hathairatanakul came to his team’s rescue on 17
minutes when he acrobatically turned away a stinging shot from Mahdavikia
from 25 yards out.
Having weathered the storm, Chatchai Paholpat’s side gained in confidence
with Sarayoot Chaikamdee on the right causing panic in the Iran ranks with
his direct running. However, too often the Port Authority player found
himself without support in the final third of the pitch.
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Thailand’s best chance of the half came in the 37th minute when Choketawee
Promut, the Thailand skipper, drove narrowly wide from 20 yards out. Ali
Daei, the 1999 AFC Player of the Year, was denied by the Thai keeper’s
outstretched legs on 53 minutes, Moments later, Arash Borhani rose well to
but could not control his header.
Iran continued to pile forward but stout defending by the Thais ensured the
scores stayed level until a fine piece of individual skill from Ali Karimi
saw the Al Ahli weave his way to the by-line before cutting the ball into
the path of substitute Gholamreza Enyati, who side-footed home from six
yards out.
Iran doubled their lead on 80 minutes when Nekounam nipped in front of the
Thai keeper to nod home Mahdavikia’s free-kick. Their tales up, Iran made it
three four minutes from time when Karimi, who was a nuisance all night for
the Thai defense, was hacked down by Nataporn Panrit. Daei stepped up to
lash the penalty home to score his 95th international goal.
Iran coach Branko Ivankovic has sent out a
warning to the rest of the competing nations that there is still room for
improvement in the side that comfortably dispatched Thailand 3-0 on Tuesday.
"I am very satisfied with the win especially because the first game of any
tournament is very hard but we are well prepared and I believe that we will
play much better in our next game against Oman," said the Croat.
A battalion of Iranian journalists had followed the team to China on their
mission to claim the country's third Asian Cup title and a few of them
questioned as to why it took one of the tournament favorite's until the
63rd minute to break the deadlock.
"It is not easy to score after ten seconds and I have repeatedly said that
today there are no weak teams," replied Ivankovic, whose side added to Reza
Enyati's opener through Javad Nekounam and an Ali Daei penalty.
"I told our players that we had to be patient and that the game is played
over 90 minutes. I never had any doubts that because of the quality in our
side we would score in the 90 minutes."
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It was a good day at the office for
Iran, who top Group D ahead of Japan on goal difference, and Ivankovic was
particularly pleased with the way they dealt with the muggy conditions in
Chongqing.
"It was not good weather for playing football and the players were under
mental as well as physical pressure and our team coped with these demands
well."
Chongqing – Mr. Branko Ivankovic perhaps summarized it all in the post match press conference we he said “ Yesterday I told you all how Oman is a tough and strong opponent, but very few believed me” Indeed , tough they were and highly agile team that managed to really disturb the concentration of Iran’s slow paced game.
2 goals from 2 clear defensive errors was the result of the first half which was marked by a passive play from Team Melli. An offside trap that never worked created a two to one situation against the helpless Mirzapour for the first goal by Imad Ali Al Hosani on the 32nd minute, while on minutes 42 a bad defensive coverage resulting in a cross from the right saw the same player towering above all the Iranian defenders to score the 2nd Oman goal. Few attacks by the Iranian team none of which created a serious danger against the Omani defense, plus a lackluster defense were all that Iran could show for in the first half.
Iran took far too much time in building offensive moves. There were far too many square balls that yielded no results and generally played at much slower pace that the opposition. In contrast the Omani players were much more mobile and fast especially in counter attacks. They managed to execute their offensive moves in minimal of passes utilizing the speed of their wingers to the maximum. The forward line of Iran played in close confined space with both forwards, Borhani and Daei having difficulty in penetrating. Karimi was well and truly controlled by the Omani defenders, which collectively ensured that no real threat was created for Al Habsy’s goal.
In the second half Enayti was substituted for Borhani and that seemed to vitalize the attack. However the midfield players had difficulties in supplying the forwards.
While Oman was sitting on a comfortable lead, they relaxed and started the usual time wasting and injury faking tactics, an attribute of the Middle Eastern teams that have yet to be seriously addressed by the highly paid professional European coaches. Iran took full advantage and in a clever move, Ali Karimi scored in the 62nd minute to turn the game around.
Following Karimi’s goal, Oman sensed the danger and reverted to their original style and in true fashion they excelled. It was Mirzapour’s heroics that prevented two certain goals one of which he managed to save a one to one situation with Fawzi Bashir and on another occasion he deflected a venomous shot to a corner.
In desperation, 2 Iranian players had a go at each other after a verbal argument resulting in an ugly scene.
The match was on its 94th minute when Nosrati managed to head in Iran’s equalizer and save the blushes of the team.
It was a cruel result for Milan Macala’s team as he bitterly mentioned it at the press conference. He justly believed that if it was not for Mirzapour’s saves his team would have won with a better margin and things would have been bright. On the other hand, Ivankovic was happy about the draw and conceded that Oman was a strong opponent.
With that result, Iran is now in 2nd place after Japan’s comprehensive 4-1 victory against Thailand, however, Oman still stands a chance if they beat Thailand in the penultimate group match and Iran fails to get at least a draw they need for qualification against Japan.
Man of the match: Imad Ali Al Hosani
Best Iranian player: Ebrahim Mirzapour.
Chongqing Olympic Staduim- 24th July 2004.
Iran 2 - Oman 2 (half time 0-2)
Golas: AlHosani (32' , 41') - Karimi (62) , Nosrati (94')
Iran: Mirzapour; Nosrati , Golmohamadi (Kaebi 78') , Rezaei , Badavi (Zare 59'), Nekounam , Mahdavikia , Alavi , Borahani (Enayati 46'), Karimi , Daei.
Oman: AlHabsi ; Rabia, Ashoon, Yousif, Ayil, Bashir, Mubarak, Hadid (Bader Ali 61'),Shaaban,Alhosani (Hamed 65'), Almaimani (Ayman 81')
A tactical Battle
Iran vs. South Korea Quarter Finals
Exciting, exhilarating and a breathtaking victory by Team Melli Iran against the fourth ranked team of World Cup 2002 , South Korea.
In a 4-3 thriller , Iran managed to book its rightful place in the Asian Cup 2004 semi final to meet the host China. Against all the odds , The Iranian team played a superb match in which they lead the powerful Koreans 3 times, yet the Koreans kept coming back until the last masterpiece of Ali Karimi sealed it for good..
Although Iran lost virtually the whole of defensive line due to the suspension of Nosrati , Rezaei and Baadavi after the Oman match, the match against Japan and then this one against Korea tested its resolve and came out with just about full mark.
The Koreans who were the pundit’s candidate for the championship, with the least team amongst the 16 that were affected by injuries or withdrawal of players , did not concede a single goal in the group matches. But this match was something different as they cold not stop the prowess and magic of one Ali Karimi.
The Wizard of Iran scored a hat trick and was instrumental in his teams victory. Incredibly , Karimi is finding a magical touch of a different dimension. Two of his goals where scored by headers, one of which was from an acute angle.
Karimi’s feat would not have been accomplished however if it was not for the masterly work of Mahdavika and Kaebi.
Both teams started the match in a cautious manner showing respect and fearing the threats . Iran drew the first blood with a massive shot from Mahdavikia which was saved by Lee in the Korean goal, the same player tried again a few minutes later but to no positive result.
However, with such offensive mentality and good work rate, it took only a few minutes for Iran to take the lead form a clever work by Mahdavikia who found Kaebi with a precession pass on the right flank, and the youngster (who is surely a candidate of Young Asian Player of the year) crossed perfectly to Karimi who nodded the ball in in the 8th minute.
Korea was not shaken by that and replied within few minutes.
Despite that equalizer within seven minutes, Iran had taken the match by the scruff of the neck, according to Jo Bonfrere, the South Korean coach
“The problem was that we conceded an early goal,” said Bonfrere. “That affected our rhythm and we ended up chasing the game.
“It got worse because they kept on taking the lead. We didn’t have a chance to take stock and play our own game because we were always looking for equalizers. “We fought hard and created chances but it was Iran’s day today.”
The 4th Iran goal and the eventual winner came in the 77th minute from Ali Karimi and the Koreans despite their gallant attempts could not respond to.
“Iran showed football's true beauty today," beamed Branko Ivankovic as he now looks forward to having Rahman Rezaei and Ali Badavi back against Asian Cup hosts China in the semi-final to be played on August 3 (Tuesday) at the Beijing Workers’ Stadium.
"It has been a tough road so far but the players were able to show their best today. “
"Now that we are in the semi-finals, our suspended players can now return to the side and this is definitely a good piece of news for us.”
The hierarchy in AFC must be beaming in pride and confidence after a series of good and thrilling encounters in this edition of Asian Cup. Asian Football Confederation General Secretary Peter Velappan praised Iran for their never-say-die attitude after witnessing arguably the game of the 2004 Asian Cup Finals so far.
"It was a splendid win for Iran football today," said Velappan. "It was an exciting game, a thrilling football match that the fans had thoroughly enjoyed. Those at the stadium today definitely had gotten their money's worth.
"Iran played a fantastic game against the Koreans. The team was exceptional in midfield, working tirelessly all match long against one of the fittest teams in the world.
"In the end, Iran showed their class with a top notch performance. All of their foul goals were quality strikes to savor. The defense could not cope with a just as potent Korean attack and the fans were treated to a delicious end to end action.
"All of the four quarterfinal matches have been marvelous for the fans.”
In general , this was one of the better matches in this edition of Asian Cup despite of the dearth of goals. It was more a battle between the two coaches asked a reporter who wanted to know which coach won. Zico agreed , and declared that the result of off the filed battle was the same as the battle between the players on the field. It was a draw as the coaches could not defeat each other, he added.
Branko Ivankovic was satisfied with his team and said that he was aware of the Japanese power and subsequently arranged his line-up to counteract that threat while maintaining the pressure up front for goals. He thought that the defense played well and he is happy about the performance of the team in general.
Asked why Mobali was not drafted in earlier, he said that he had enough players in the midfield for this match and it was only Taghipour's injury that made him to substitute him for Mobali who did a fine job. He added that players are chosen based on many factors and the power and style of the play of the opposition is one such factor.
Japan’s coach Zico on the other hand admitted that Iran was a tough opposition with some very good players. He has studied Iran's style well before the tournament and he thinks that his team did a good job against the Iranians. He considers Iran as one of the favorites for the championship. Asked about Ali Karimi, Zico said in Portuguese "He is number one".
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n an intriguing tactical encounter, the superpower of Asian football and the defending champion Japan drew 0-0 at Chongqing Olympic stadium on Wednesday 28th July. The result assured the Japanese the group D lead at the top , while Iran clinched the runner up spot and a grueling quarter finals encounter with South Korea in Jinan on Saturday 31st July.
Iran was counting on the Chinese fans support , however as a bonus to raise the spirit of the team, a group of approximately 50 cheering and singing Iranian fans flew specially for the match
Branko Ivankovic's team started the match with virtually the whole of the defense line absent due to suspension. The observers expected a very tough day for the Iranian defense especially after Japanese offense shattered the Thai team 4-1a few days back. However, to their credit, the new defensive formation consisting of Kameli-Mofrad, Taghipour , Golmohamadi , Zare and Kaebi stood well against the Japanese although in earnest not many clear cut chances was created by them. The few dangerous attacks that Japan managed to conjure was excellently handled by the confident and brilliant Mirzapour in goal.
Cautious start
The first half was marked by cautious probing by both teams. About quarter of an hour into the match, Japan managed to exert pressure on Iran and possessing most of the ball leaving the Iran defense under strain, though none of the chances that were created achieved any results for Japan. From then on, Iran slowly but firmly started their own encounters up against Japan defense who withstood the pressure well. Late in the half, the referee disallowed a header goal for offside which resulted in vehement protest by the Iranian players for which Taghipour was awarded a yellow card for protesting.
A different Second half
In the second half , Iran had more of the ball and ventured up front with some magical moves by Ali Karimi. There was an appeal for a penalty when Kaebi fell in the penalty area after being sandwiched by two Japanese defenders, but for his efforts, he got a yellow card for faking. It seems that in this tournament, there is no love lost between the Iranian players and the referees, as many decisions have been taken against them on and off the pitch.
Japan's Zico realized the danger of the Iranian attacks and changed his team by retaining the ball as long as possible to thwart the Iranian threats. The game slowed down significantly after this tactical change by the cautious Japanese approach while the Iranians were also content with the draw and the second spot.
Chongqing Olympic Staduim- 28th July 2004.
Iran 0 - Japan 0
Iran: Mirzapour; Zare , Golmohamadi , Kaebi , Taghipour ( Mobali 66') , Kameli-Mofrad , Nekounam , Mahdavikia , Alavi , Karimi , Daei.
Japan: Kawaguchi ; Tanaka ,Makoto , Miyamoto , Santos , Kaji , Nakazawa , Endo , Nakamura , Fukunishi , Suzuki ( Motoyama 69')
