From: http://www.maisfutebol.iol.pt/

While considering it an elusive goal in a group that has Argentina, Bosnia and Nigeria, Queiroz is thinking beyond the group stages of the World Cup 2014.

Carlos Queiroz admits he will have difficulty in forming a group of 23 competent players for the World Cup. The coach of Iran is faced with a lack of high quality raw material, but does not give up plotting ambitious goals, so the goal is to go beyond the first round of the championship. Placed in Group F, Iran will face Argentina , Nigeria and Bosnia Herzegovina.

“The ambition is to qualify for the second round. I know it’s an elusive goal too, I know it’s a fantasy, but I do not believe  in the theory that we are going to the World Cup just to learn. To raise the level of commitment,  people only understand this, I do not care to create this fantasy, because it is the best way to raise the commitment “, The Portuguese explained during the Conference ‘Speak  Football ‘, which was held in Lisbon recently.

The Portuguese knows the difficulties Iran will encounter. “The team is structurally amateur and will face opponents with players who have much experience in international competitions, but we have crossed hell, that was the qualification rounds , now the World Cup is to cross the sky ‘, Queiroz  admitted that when it comes to counting, Iran had only one player in the national team who worked abroad and now has half the team out, because he was looking for players of Iranian descent who had never represented the country (…).

[quote]”Still, the group for the World will not have any player with experience of Champions League.”[/quote]

“In this sense, the strategy will be based on an intense observation of opponents shortfalls, known weak points and seizing the right moment to make a difference.”  concluded Queiroz as his strategy to play against the World Cup opponents.

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Editorial comment

Queiroz disturbing and unabated downgrading of Iranian football and players seems to continue unabated.  During a football related conference in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, Queiroz once again referred to the Iranian players as amateurs, thereby hitting two birds with one stone. The fact is very clear. None of over 30 players that Queiroz has selected in Team Melli in the last 18 months is an amateur. They are all professionals with the only mean of income , being football. But Queiroz still insist on referring to them as amateurs, as a mean of downgrading their ability as players rather than the true meaning of the word and their job status.

Of course, Queiroz talk could very well be tactical ploy as he is lowering the expectation of the rest of the world from his team and warning the Iranians not to expect much from a bunch of “Amateurs” thereby absolving himself of serious accountability when Iran comes empty handed from the World Cup.  However, his degrading remarks about Iranian football are seriously bordering a insults.

A famous Iranian football personality, who was quizzed about how tolerant the media are against all the humiliating remarks of Queiroz, while the same Iranian media are usually hyper critical and ruthless against their own national coaches of Team Melli, justified this change of attitude as the media’s desire to calm the situation and not create controversy harming Team Melli spirit , while approaching the World Cup! The same person who did not wished to be named, also remarked that many of the football analyst  talk about Queiroz as a necessity in developing Iran’s football and essential ingredient of Iran winning the AFC Asian Cup 2015.