Iran’s former football coach, the Croatian Miroslav Blažević declared his readiness to join Basij and fight the US forces. Blažević currently coaches Iran’s club Mes Kerman.
When pressed for his future role as a warrior, he said that he does not want to coach the Basij, but rather wants to be on the field himself! There is only one condition though, Blažević insisted on wearing the jersey no. 10. That jersey is currently being worn by the Basij head Firoozabadi.
Sources tell ESPN that Khamenei may ask Firoozabadi to wear another jersey and turn no. 10 to Blažević. However, the officials at Nike expressed doubts that Firoozabadi’s jersey would fit Blažević.
When Iran’s other former coach and a fellow Croat, Branko Ivanković was approached about the subject, he said that he is not a warrior and more of a finance guy. It is noteworthy that Branko Ivanković is currently has a dispute with Iranian Football Federation for unpaid taxes amounting to $250,000. Ivanković who is currently coaching Al-Ettefaq in Saudi Arabia has refused to travel to Tehran for a recent match and coached his team remotely via cell phone!
Here is the article from Fars News.
