Dragan Skocic, in the pre-match press conference, said: “It is definitely not an ideal situation, but if my players stick to the plan and give it their best, we can finish the game successfully.”
“As you know, tomorrow’s game is very important because we can seal our qualification. I saw the Iraq games in the FIFA Arab Cup. I know they are a young and tough team. Conditions are not ideal for us. We do not have 4 players due to Positive PCR tests. Mehdi Taremi has not joined us yet. However, our players are ready and capable. The team that we have is good enough.”
Asked about the next games and what changes he is implementing “My main concern is tomorrow’s game. After this game, we think about other games and how we can move forward. We will definitely have changes in the team. Each player who plays has his own unique characteristics. That’s why we may not appear with the usual squad, but I’m sure all the players will play with all their strength and we can get off the field with our heads held up high.”
Commenting on the invitation of Hossein Kananizadegan, who is sanctioned by the disciplinary committee for inappropriate and divisive comments he made, and how this situation differs from Taremi’s disciplinary action, He said ” I must say that moral principles are very important for my team and for myself. If there is one thing that is a priority, it is ethics, discipline, and behavior. We must be careful because we represent our country. I do not agree with such alleged behavior, and this behavior may be far from honorable on the part of this player, but at the same time, we have not received any credible evidence or instructions from the disciplinary committee on his case. It seems like the case is still open and being discussed in the ethics committee. I do not want to punish or judge anyone for talking in cyberspace and Instagram and retaliate prematurely. This situation was an opportunity to know our responsibility to the country and the people and to be careful about our behavior, and this is a lesson for others to be careful that this does not happen. “
For the record, Taremi was disciplined by Skocic for commenting on social media, which Skocic just said he must be careful not to punish a player on that basis. It is a case of double-standard in fairness.
The Croat Head coach then talked about Azmoun’s case and Zenit’s opposition to Sardar joining the national team camp and also the possibility of adding Azmoun and Hajjasfi to the squad for the UAE match: “This club (Zenit) can not do that. Our game is on FIFA Day and the club has no rights whatsoever to stop a national team player from joining his National Team. We have to review the FIFA & AFC rules regarding players who recover from a positive test and the subsequent tests prove negative. The players you mentioned are not available to us right now. We have to see if we can use them for the next game. “
“Every coach brings new things to the team,” Skocic said of his knowledge of the current Iraqi coach, Željko Petrović from Montenegro, who previously played for Dinamo Zagreb and also coached in Croatia for some time. “He (Petrović ) has rejuvenated his team. When he played for Dynamo, I was in Rijeka and I have a history of facing him.”
“Our team is ready and we know what we want from tomorrow’s game.” He was asked whether the substitutes in his team will have the same quality as the absent players and whether we will see a surprise selection in Team Melli. “I do not think the unexpected will happen,” he said. “We are still one night away from the game and it will be a long night for me to reach the final conclusion. It is clear that the Azmoun is difficult to replace. With these interpretations, the team that will be fielded will be on the game with all its energy and we will have the necessary quality. “
In response to whether the Football Federation could not have done better planning for the presence of players in the national team so that players like Mehdi Tarmi in Turkey would not be caught due to the weather? “The issue you are talking about is the federation’s duty to plan, and I know they did their best,” he said. “Taremi is our key player. I do not specialize in weather forecasting and for this, I am not in a press conference”