Turmoil has made us stronger, says Iran coach

ASIANCUP2004 - Iran coach Branko Ivankovic said the problems that have plagued his team throughout the Asian Cup has galvanized the players resulting in their sensational 4-3 victory over Korea Republic in the quarter-finals.

Iran had three players suspended during the first round, all defenders, and also suffered 10-hour wait in Yantai en route to Jinan after bad weather diverted their plane from Chongqing.

But the Iranian players showed no sign of fatigue as they stayed one step ahead of their battling rivals during the 90 minutes.

“It is a good feeling to beat a team as strong as Korea,” said Ivankovic. “We have suffered a lot of hardship since the tournament started.

“We had three defenders suspended, we had injuries and on the way to Jinan, we had to stop in Yantai for 10 hours. We were very tired but we didn’t let that affect us.

“The difficulties only made us stronger and the players were very determined to win this match.”

Iran had Rehman Rezai, Ali Badavi and Mohammad Nosrati suspended during the group stages for violent play. And the loss of three first-choice defenders allowed the Koreans to punch holes in the Iranian defence.

But Iran had a goal-scoring hero in Ali Karimi, who hit a hat-trick to bury the Koreans. Asian Player of the Year 2003 Mehdi Mahdavikia also had an excellent game, providing Karimi with two of his goals.

“Ali Karimi is one of the best players in Asia,” said Ivankovic. “And he proved that to everyone tonight.

“I was very proud of the way we kept at it. Even when the Koreans scored, we didn’t panic. We just kept playing our game.”

Ivankovic said he told the players before the match that it was theirs to win and not to let their problems affect the way they played.

“I told the players before the match to think about what we have gone through. But at the same time I told them not to be negative,” he said.

“It was important that the only thing on their minds was victory.”