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GOAL - Iranian Under-23 coach Renê Sim�es and his team are playing several friendly matches in Brazil.

Reports stated that Iran defeated Santos in her first match.

Kaveh Mahjoob was able to enjoy a quick chat with Sim�es thanks to www.lastkick.com.

Mr. Sim�es, Congratulations for defeating FC Santos. How was the match?

Sim�es - The victory was against Potuguesa, not Santos as was printed in Iran. Portuguesa is in the first division in Sao Paulo, the most important state league in Brazil.

However, it is a club in the second division of the national league. The second division in Brazil is made up of 20 teams, much like the first and third divisions. Every year, four teams go up and down these divisions. Ten years ago the first division had 66 teams, so all divisions have good teams, some even former national champions.

Thanks for the clarification. What are the main goals of this camp?

The aim of this camp is responsibility. Each player has to feel responsible for what the team and his teammates do on and off the field.

I have observed that they worry very little about the results, leaving that task exclusively to the coach. This is the wrong idea, because worrying about the result is everyone's task. Great teams try to "read" the game and correct mistakes on the field.

Were you satisfied with the performance of Iran U23 against Potuguesa?

The team played badly in the first half. The team was slow and lacked vision of the future, so we allowed the opponent to get the ball and only then started to defend. By vision of the future what I mean is anticipating what the opponent can do and trying to stop it from happening.

We are playing against the players who are not starting in their teams or who only played a little on the previous day. Here the Brazilian championship is in action every Wednesday or Thursday and Saturday or Sunday. So the players who do not play those days play the next day against our team. They are players of very good skills.

Our second half was very good. We substituted a few players, gave the ball more speed and reduced our gaps on the field.

Who were the starters in this match?

The team started with Mehdi Arzani, Shic Rezai, Jalal Houseeini, Jalal Akbari. On the midfield Esmaeel Gharavi, Mohamad Noori, Behshad and Hosro, and foward Madanchi e Gholamim.

In the second half Arzani substituted Shic Rezai, Saeed Charchoee substituted Jalal Akbari, Yousefi substituted Behshad, and Ehsan substituted Gholamim.

Which other teams will you be playing while in Brazil?

The next games will be good tests for us. We will face Sao Paulo, world champion and current leader in the national championship, and then Palmeiras and Santos, all excellent teams. The players who will play against us have been or will be starters for the next games.

Kaveh Mahjoob

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