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PTV - Ali Daei, Iran's
national soccer head coach, says he has no intention of calling upon the
services of Iranian-born Ashkan Dejagah.
“I never intended to invite him to play for Iran,” the former captain of the
national team told reporters on Monday. “Besides, FIFA rules set an age
limit for players switching nationality.”
FIFA allows a soccer player to change nationality if he has dual citizenship
and makes the request under the age of 21, rendering Dejagah, 22,
ineligible.
“Dejagah considers himself a German and is currently playing for German
teams,” Daei, Iran's all-time leading scorer with 109 goals, added.
In 2007, Dejagah sparked an outcry in Germany after the VFL Wolfsburg player
announced he would not accompany Germany's under-21 national soccer team to
Tel Aviv, out of respect for his homeland.
"I have more Iranian blood than German in my veins," Dejagah said.
In October 2007, Iran's Vice-president Mohammad Aliabadi had expressed
willingness to have the Iranian-born German soccer player join the Iranian
squad.
Ferydoon Zandi, another Iranian-German soccer player, is currently playing
for the national Iranian team.
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