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Guardian - It's make or break for
Iran and Iraq in Asia's World Cup qualifiers, and then there's the small
matter of North v South Korea
It may only be March but two of Asia's best teams, perennial rivals Iraq and
Iran, could see their bids for World Cup glory go up in flames before spring
rears its head.
Tonight is make or break for the Lions of Mesopotamia and Team Melli as the
second round of World Cup qualifiers take place. It should be a routine job
for both. Iraq take on Qatar - effectively a home fixture for both teams as
Baghdad is as likely to stage an international match as it is a 50 Cent
concert - while Iran travel to Kuwait City to take on arguably West Asia's
worst team.
Yet both are embroiled in off-the-pitch turmoil, having dispensed with the
services of supposedly troublesome foreign managers. You have to feel most
sorry for Egil Olsen. The Norwegian tactician, ex-Crazy Gang, erm, gang
master and card-carrying, welly-wearing communist has, or should I say, had,
the hardest job in international football.
The Iraqi national team job is fraught with pitfalls, and Olsen had been
wooed for years to take on the challenge of moulding the absurdly talented
Iraqis into a world force. Then, almost as soon as they got their man, they
sacked him. After one competitive game. Why? The official reason was that he
refused to travel to the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil for a training camp
on safety grounds. Unofficially, Iraq's tepid performance in the 1-1 draw
against China last month burst the team's sense of invincibility garnered
from their incredible Asian Cup victory. Olsen was also rumoured to be
carrying an injury that rendered him less proactive on the training pitch.
No one should be surprised at the Iraqi FA's behaviour. Despite braving
death threats against him and his family, fleeing his home and then bravely
coming out of hiding to lead the team once more, former coach Akram Ahmad
Salman was sacked a few months later for losing 1-0 to Saudi Arabia in the
2007 Gulf Cup. And to think Premier League managers feel they have it tough.
The match in Doha should be routine but without influential playmaker Nashat
Akram, suspended after being stupidly sent off against China, and taking
into account a Qatar team full of ringers that's still smarting after being
thumped by Australia, it's no foregone conclusion. Draw and they are still
in with a chance, but lose and they will miss out on a World Cup appearance
that could have had the biggest social and political ramifications of any
sporting event since Bobby Fischer brought down communism single handedly in
1972. Possibly. George Bush will no doubt be keeping his fingers crossed for
a convincing Iraqi display.
Iran isn't so much in crisis as in torpor. Iranians, brought up on a diet of
crisp attacking football, have had to endure five straight games without a
goal, including last month's first qualifier against Syria, which ended 0-0.
The Iranian FA clearly blamed the insipid displays on the will-he-won't-he
tug of love that surrounded the appointment of ex-Spain coach Javier
Clemente. It ended acrimoniously with Clemente refusing to be based in Iran.
You can hardly blame him: it must have been a hard sell trying to convince
his wife of the merits of glamorous Tehran. What was a surprise was the man
they turned to - a young ex-player with just one season of coaching under
his belt.
But Ali Daei is no ordinary ex-player. Since bursting on to the scene in the
late 80s, he went on to break the world record for the most international
goals scored whilst plying his trade in the Bundesliga. As he banged them in
for Armenia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin (Chelsea fans will
remember him well after he scored twice against them in the Champions
League) he became an embodiment of the Iranian zeitgeist among a public
still isolated from the aftermath of the 1979 revolution.
As captain, Daei lead the team to their greatest triumph, victory over the
US at France 98, before returning to Tehran as the country's most popular
man, conqueror of fields in European lands and vanquisher of the Great
Satan. His wedding was even broadcast live on state TV. Think Diana meets
David Beckham. Like Beckham, he is considered a heart-throb, has a huge
sports clothing empire and even has a slight speech impediment and
high-pitched voice, which he is lightly chided for.
Daei finally hung up his boots after the 2006 World Cup in which a crop of
outstanding players failed to live up to their dark horse billing. Daei was
off the pace and offered little in his first game against Mexico. The fans
pinpointed him as the weakest link, he was dropped and, some fans claimed,
booed - unthinkable a few years previously. Call it his 'Argentina moment'
if you will. But just as Beckham played like a man possessed in the
aftermath of his sending off at France 98, Daei braved the ridicule and took
his first coaching job with Saipa FC. Twelve months later he won his first
title, in his first season.
The decision by the Iranian FA to make him manager was a clever one. Most
fans were expecting a big name foreign signing, or the popular Iranian
American coach of Persepolis, Afshin Ghotbi. But in Iran no one commands
respect like Daei (OK, maybe Ayatollah Khamenei) and his ability to bring
unity to the national team shouldn't be underestimated. For anyone
questioning his experience, Slaven Bilic was hardly dripping in European
silverware before he masterminded England's Euro 2008 downfall. But if
Kuwait spring one of the great surprises of Middle Eastern football, Daei
and his squad are likely to be lynched on arrival at Imam Khomeini Airport.
Which, in a way, is pretty strong motivation.
Elsewhere, the Socceroos are continuing on their mission to prove that
switching to the Asian confederation wasn't a huge mistake, although for
Australian fans attending today's game against China, it might have looked
like a dodgy decision with Australia reliant on an 89th-minute penalty save
by Mark Schwarzer to hold on for a point. The location proved a leveller,
with the game played in Kunming, 2,000 metres above sea level. The thin air,
coupled with China's newly acquired reputation for being the hard men of
international football - they kicked Japan and South Korea off the park in
the recent East Asian Championships - helped to level the gulf in class.
One of either Singapore or Lebanon will also see their World Cup dreams
effectively end today. Both lost their opening group game but Singapore has
the advantage, following the fine result against Australia. And it always
helps when the opposition's best players are denied visas. According to
Emile Rustom, the team's head coach, four Germany-based players - Lebanon's
only professional players - have all been denied travel visas.
Japan, meanwhile, may find things a little trickier in Manama when they take
on Bahrain. The Reds brushed aside Oman in their first game before securing
a 1-0 friendly victory over Iran last weekend. But the tie of the round, in
terms of political intrigue, takes place in Shanghai between North and South
Korea. The match was due to be played in Pyongyang but a row erupted after
the North Koreans refused to allow their southern brothers to hoist their
flag or sing their national anthem. For the players, the match is a chance
to indulge in some Korean fraternity. But for the authorities, especially in
the North, the match is a publicity coup waiting to happen. A South Korean
win might not be enough to have the North Korean coach sent for
're-education' somewhere in the northern mountains, but by Thursday morning
there should be a few more names to join Clemente and Olsen on the Asian
managerial scrap-heap.
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