 Mr. Dadkan, it's time to talk
Why did we appoint the same coach who got it wrong before?
April 1, 2004
iranian.com
On the aftermath of Iran's failure to qualify for
soccer matches in the 2004 Olympics, Nader
Jahanfard raises questions about
appointing Mohammad Mayelikohan to lead Iran's U-23 Omid side in
the first place. Jahanfard in San Jose, California, is a correspondent
for Irankicks.com where
this piece originally appeared.
Iranians are the most patient people on planet earth.
After all we have been
through so much in our history, we have proven time and again
that when it
comes to tolerance we are a unique nation. I am not here to teach
anyone a history lesson, yet I could not ignore the
fact that even for a great nation like ours this asset (tolerance)
can only
go so far. When push comes to shove we can stand up and show
our true heroic
selves and take care of the business. I am not here to talk politics either, because I
am not a politician or have
any remote interest on becoming one. However today's sport
is the direct
reflection of a society and one cannot ignore the fact that
to a certain
degree sports and politics go hand in hand, as a result one
can overcome or
destroy the other so easily.
Quite often the real loser in this unfair game is
sport. After all you
cannot let the tiny opponent beat you in a dirty game of
politics. Now you
may ask me why I brought this up? I would like to talk to
you about our
Football. This may not be much of an argument to some but
since Football in
our country is far ahead of any other sports including wrestling
and it's
about the only major event that keeps the youth of this great
country of
ours busy and entertained, it naturally gets more attention
than any other
major event in Iran.
The times may have changed but the attitudes and
the passion for this game
has not changed through the years, we still scream, shout,
laugh and cry the
same way we did 30 years ago.
Alright, I may be exaggerating a bit. I know our
fans have changed a bit too
but more or less we are in the same boat as we were years
ago, because of
this passion, Iran and Iranians have gained so much fame
and glory through
the years all over the world. One thinks that if our aim is to
show the people of the world that we exist,
we can be the best and we are a worthy opponent on
any given day, they
should be paying more attention to this game and benefit
from it!
Remember France 98? How could we forget our triumphant
victory over USA? How
much fame and recognition did we gain from that single
game in front of
billions of viewers? Did we not hold our heads up
for years because of it,
did it not change the view of many around the world
about Iranians in
general?
Show me one single event that can have such an amazing
powerful impact over
a nation! Do you remember the Iranian kids wearing
that jersey like there
was no tomorrow? Some of these kids had never seen
the motherland before
that game! Don't you get goose bumps thinking about
Iran vs. Australia ?
Did it not put Iran and Iranian sport on the map
again? Basically what I am
asking you is; did we or did we not see the great
effect of sport and
Football to be specific in our society? I have no
doubt that your answer is:
YES !
So why is it that after that infamous game in Lyon
against USA, we forgot
how good it is to feel like a proud Iranian again
and what we can lose by
not paying enough attention to it? Where did we go
wrong? Remember the
Bahrain game? I know, I know, here we go again with that game
and all the controversies
surrounding that game. But do you remember? How much
it hurt us? Aren't we
still bitter by the images of Bahrainis waving the
Saudi flag around the
stadium just to show solidarity with the other team?
What did we do? What
lessons did we learn?
It seems to me that people in charge of our sports
have not learned anything
from that humiliating experience. Aren't we supposed
to learn from the bad
experiences and make corrections for our future moves?
How about our
unexpected loss to minors Qatar a few years earlier?
Was that not
humiliating enough? Did we not almost miss the opportunity
to be in world
Cup 98? Who was the main cause of that costly mistake?
Why did we appoint the same coach who got it wrong
in WC98 Qualifiers to
lead our OMID team in Olympics 2004 qualifiers? What
record has this coach
got with his own club in the Iranian Premier League
this season that brought
you to the conclusion that he was the man to take
us to the Olympics after
more than two decades? Isn't Olympics important enough
to you guys?
We are talking connections here. We are focusing
on planning and
organization for the good of Iran and its sports.
Why was a person with a
horrible record all around appointed to lead the
OMID team? I wish I could
get inside your minds and discover why?
Look at the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region.
Do you see how much
they have advanced? How many stadiums they have built
and how much they
invest into their sports just to publicize their
names despite the limited
amount of talent they have? Why do we have to be
in the state of array all
the time?
Why should we lose our young talents to these tiny
countries because we
cannot satisfy the basic needs of our players in
their homeland? Do you guys
not realize what we are missing here? It's not about
you, it's not about me,
It's about the future of our youth and it's about
Iran.
When was the last time we lost to any team at Azadi
stadium the way we lost
to South Korea on March 17th? We had two shots on our
opponent's goal, two
corners in the whole game. Tell me why 300 Korean
fans out voiced us on our
own turf? Please find the reason behind the silence
of our fans?
Let me tell you, they are tired of it all. Iranian
fans in Iran are much
smarter than people like me who live abroad. They
know the reality behind
your funny moves. Once Mr. Kohan was appointed as
the head coach of the OMID
team they read right through your mind. So why should
they waste their
breath when they already know what the outcome will
be.
People are tired of mismanagement in our Football,
they are tired of being
humiliated, they are tired of being taken advantage of, they
are tired of
seeing no light at the end of the tunnel. Last Saturday we lost
to China. It
was not a close match either, we lost by a wide margin and completely
lost
the opportunity to reach the Olympics, again. Now you have sacked Mr.Kohan? Let me tell you; It's
too late, the damage is
done . We have completely lost fate in this federation, it will
take a lot
to have the fans voice back at Azadi stadium again.
Mr. Dadkan, the question is how are you going to
turn this around? Even a
better question is, are you willing to turn things around? Once
more, it's
not about you, it's not about me, it's about a nation.
.................... Say
goodbye to spam!
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Mr. Dadkan, it's time to talk
