Denizli: Do Not Doubt Persepolis Will Be Champions

Football, according to Mustafa Denizli, has caused him to leave his country, and despite numerous offers, he returned to a league that had already left him unsatisfied once before.

According to him, he was not very familiar with Persepolis when he became the team's manager: "I did not have any information about the condition of the current roster of players at Persepolis. I accepted the position of manager with only a general familiarity of the team." However, he says he wants a different experience with this team than he had with Pas.

Denizli, in a detailed discussion, spoke about many issues: from his hopes for Persepolis to things that could have happened that would have made him the current coach of the Iranian National team, and the issues football clubs face in Iran and the comparison of Iranian football to Turkish football, and other issues.

• Coming to Persepolis Had Nothing to do With Gunes

Denizli first spoke about his coming to Persepolis. In response to the question about what happened that caused him to return to Iran for the second time, he said: "Persepolis had many preliminary discussions with me. The conditions of the talks led me to decide to come to Persepolis."

He does not consider his coming to Persepolis to be related to Senol Gunes, the coach Persepolis were most after before they landed Denizli: "After Arie Haan stepped aside, discussions about me coming to the team became more serious. This had nothing to do with the club's previous discussions with Gunes."
 

• I Had No Intention To Coach

Denizli emphasizes that after leaving Pas, he had no intention to return to coaching: "I had no intention to coach again this year, and I had decided to do things outside of football. I wanted to do those things, and even though I got many offers from different clubs, I had decided to spend one year away from football. Clubs from Turkey, Japan, Russia, and even 3 to 4 clubs from Iran held discussions with me. They gave me offers that I did not accept. It was in the middle of the World Cup that I even had discussions to coach the Iranian National team. All of these offers were available, yet Persepolis was the most serious and put in the most effort and that brought me to the negotiating table."
 

• Ansarifard in Istanbul

Denizli considers one of the reasons he came to Iran is to come to a club like Persepolis: "I knew that Persepolis is a big team. A few months after meeting with the people in charge at Persepolis, Ansarifard and Nazemi came to Istanbul to hold a meeting with me. It was then that the discussions became more serious."

Denizli believes that despite Persepolis's big name, it has recently not had any major successes: "Persepolis can get better results. We have many fans and with their support, we can win many titles."
 

• I Love Persepolis, and Tehran Even More

Despite the fact that Denizli believes that Persepolis possesses qualities that are different from other Iranian teams and that is what made him choose Persepolis over other teams, he confirmed that his love for Tehran is above everything else: "I really like Tehran. I returned to Iran because of how much I like Tehran. I was also thinking about the excitement of being involved in Iranian football."
 

• We Will Build Persepolis

Denizli said: "When I came to Persepolis, many of the former players had recently left the club. Still, I tried to improve the situation in a way that would allow us to get the results we wanted. After coming to Persepolis, I was looking to build a successful team. We have developed a good team. I think we have done well and we have played beautiful football compared to our opponents. Through my coaching career, I have coached many big teams. I have a lot of experience dealing with passionate fans and I understand Persepolis's current situation in relation to the huge amount of support that we have. We will definitely build a successful team that will get good results."
 

• Prerequisite for Ansarifard

Denizli says before coming to Persepolis, he put forward a few conditions to the chief executive of the club: "My first condition was to have an ideal practice ground. Second, was that before I had begun working with the team, the club would pay all the players what they were due. Ansarifard agreed to these conditions and fulfilled them. In the current Persepolis team, there are some shortcomings, but we will still try to have a good team with the current conditions."
 

• I Wanted Foreign Players, but...

Denizli stated: "At the beginning of my time at Persepolis, I wanted to sign some foreign players under my consideration for Persepolis, but unfortunately, because of financial reasons, we were unable to sign them. What is important is that we want to move forward with the current situation and the players we now have. We will definitely find a solution for the problems. Until now, we have solved many of the problems and from now on we will work to solve the other problems."

Denizli believes that Persepolis's results in the first decade of the Iranian Premier League have been good: "Apart from the two games against Mes and Fulad, our results have met my expectations. I know that this team is capable of big things. The only thing that is important for me is that I am conscious of the abilities of this team and I am sure that this will reap rewards."
 

• Do Not Doubt That Persepolis Will Be Champions

Denizli stated: "We currently have some problems, but according to what I agreed to at the beginning of the season, we will fight for the Championship. I do not have the smallest doubt that we will be champions. I want the fans to be sure that Persepolis will be the Champions. We want to make the fans happy and we have no other plans but to become champions. There should be no doubt in Persepolis becoming Champions."
 

• A Contract is Not Child's Play

Denizli emphasizes that he will live up to his obligations at Persepolis and says: "I have a contract with Persepolis and I will stick to the contract. Contracts in football are not child's play and I am very well aware of the importance of my contract. When I promise to stay, I will stay and fulfill my contract. It is possible that a team has many problems, but to become successful one has to overcome these difficulties. Currently, it is important to be in a good position and we will definitely get to that position. Persepolis will find its own way and reach its goals."
 

• I Know What I Am Doing

He stated: "All of the programs that we have introduced to Persepolis are well planned. We approach and follow matches with precise planning. We intend to sign new players from the top league."
 

• A Camel's Ear and Persepolis

He said: "Persepolis's debts and its financial difficulties are not many. Persepolis can easily solve its problems with a good plan, but it is important that the directors of the club find this plan."

Regarding the difference between debts of Turkish clubs and Persepolis, he said: "Their debts are like the size of an entire camel compared to the camel's ear that is Persepolis's debts. These debts would be very small for a Turkish club. They have debts of more than $1 million dollars. However, they pay off those debts because of their revenue and they do not have the slightest problem."

He stated that he has never been involved in a club with a situation like Persepolis's.
 

• I Am Not Thinking About the Iranian National Team

According to Denizli, during the World Cup, there were some middle men who held discussions about him becoming the manager of the Iranian national team, but he confirms that he is now not thinking about the Iranian national team: "I do not know what kind of backing the middle men who came to speak to me in Turkey had, but that is in the past. I will no longer think about managing the Iranian national team. My coming to Tehran is not related to the Iranian national team at all. I have not come to Persepolis with a guarantee to coach the national team. I have only come to coach Persepolis. I do not want to think about any other issues apart from those related to Persepolis."
 

• Ghaleh Noie Is My Friend

Denizli continued: "The Iranian national team has to date achieved good results with one of the best coaches. There are no problems in the national team that require changes. Ghaleh Noie is a successful and hard working coach. He has had good results with the Iranian team. I am friends with Ghaleh Noie and I do not think that there need to be any changes in the technical staff of the national team."
 

• Jalali: You Are Welcome at Persepolis

Denizli was asked about the recent rumors of changes for the technical staff of Persepolis and the possible arrival of Majid Jalali. With an inflamed face, he responded: "Jalali `khosh galdin.' I don't have a problem with Jalali coming. He should come today."

For the rest of the interview Mustafa Denizli mainly assessed the problems in Iranian football. He confirmed that Iranian football can become more professional and can thereby become an established football nation.

• I Know the Language of Football

Denizli, with the help of foreign coaches, laid the groundwork for a revolution in Turkish football in the 90's with Galatasary. He spoke about working with foreign coaches: "It is difficult. Not being able to speak to your team directly is a truly a difficult task, but it's not very important; I have become used to it. When you can speak directly to the players, you can tell them what you want more easily and see what they want and need, but in today's football, there is a shared language and a coach has to speak to his players in that language."
 

• Talent Spotting is in My Blood

Denizli believes that he has always been able to introduce new and important young faces to football: "In Turkey also, I would always introduce 6 or 7 young or youth players to the team. This is a big risk, but I needed to do this to talent spot and to make the team come alive. In Persepolis, I have also introduced some youth team players and in the upcoming months I will likely continue doing this. I also introduced a lot of young players at Pas. This is the way I work and I believe in it. I have never been scared of playing young players. Trusting and having confidence in young and enthusiastic players increases the efficiency of a team by two."
 

• The Iranian League is Still New

In continuing to discuss Iranian football, Denizli said: "For the Iranian league to reach a professional and ideal level, it has to be run in a more organized way. To reach an organized football structure, all countries have traveled down a long road. Things change every year in Iran. What's important is that clubs can stand on their own two feet. This is the only way for a professional base to be built. Iran's professional league is new, and the clubs need financial support. The government has the decisive role in this process and to maintain the standing of football, they have to help the clubs."
 

• The Oddities of Iranian Football

Denizli believes that in the world of professional football, everything has to be equal in order for all the sectors related to football to fulfill all their responsibilities. Denizli emphasized that television is one of the sectors that can have an important role in the growth of football. He said: "In Iran, an interesting thing happens. Television broadcasts 90 minutes of a debt ridden club, yet is not willing to pay anything for that broadcast. This is not at all professional. The government wants to keep prices low for the supporters, but they are not willing to give clubs financial support. This is another oddity of Iranian football. If they Iranian football to grow, they have to change their outlook."

In addition to this issue, Denizli emphasizes that the people in charge of Iranian football need to use European football as a model to achieve success.
 

• The City Should Provide the Pitch; The Government Should Build It

In reference to the dealings between football clubs and the government, Denizli states: "If the government wants to help, it has to give the clubs facilities. I know that the head of the Physical Education Ministry understands football well and he is doing his best to help the clubs, but it is not enough. The government has to be a true supporter of football clubs in order for them to find their way. The city, like all other countries, clubs make sports complexes by providing pitches. That will be the beginning of having adequate facilities. If it starts in Tehran, in a few years it can extend to all big cities in Iran.
 

• The Irony of Iranian Football

Denizli said: "The fact that Iranian football does not use its facilities in the best way may be the biggest mistake of Iranian football. In Europe, when they spend money on a pitch, they use it for 15 years, but Iranian football is not like that. In Iran they invest in a new stadium, but after it's finished, they cannot use it because they haven't spent the money professionally. This is another problem in your football. To improve and build professional facilities, everyone has to be on the same page. Iranian football is incomplete. Accordingly, when clubs cannot fulfill their obligations towards their players, the players will definitely not play as well. And this is the beginning of the lack of excitement in football."
 

• I See All Media in the Same Way

According to Denizli, he comes from a media family. He emphasizes that journalism is a part of football and coaching. He said: "A reporter and coach have always been next to each other. The responsibility of a journalist is to write accurate things about my team and I. Unfortunately, in the past few months, some Iranian media have not adhered to that responsibility. This is just one complaint. My relationship with Turkish media hasn't been that good, but I believe that one has to adjust to the reality of the media so that you can have a good relationship with them. I have always considered myself a partner of the media and in terms of reporting, I have dealt with them all in the same way. I don't give my friends in the media scoops or exclusives."
 

• Denizli and Learning

Denizli believes that a coach, in addition to his responsibilities in football, should study a broad range of topics. He says: "For intellectual growth you need to study and learn. It is important for a coach not to let go of learning when coaching. A coach should always search for new methods in coaching and that can only be achieved through study. It is that study which keeps coaches vital and grounded."
 

• A Good Commentator; A Good Coach

In addition to coaching, Denizli worked as a commentator for CNN Turkey. He believes that each has its own attractions. He said: "Commentating is separate from coaching. Coaching is an art but being a commentator is repeating things that are known. Coaching is the practice of those things that are known. For me, both are satisfying."
 

• Turkish Football Entered Europe Before Turkey Did

In response to the question of how much of Turkey's entrance into the European Union is owed to football, Denizli said at the end of the interview: "Turkish football entered football sooner. Today, they know Turkish football in Europe. We were third in the World Cup and have proven ourselves in Europe. This is a big honor. I think the important part of this issue is that Turkey has become known in Europe through football, even though I don't think Turkey will join the European Union. And entering the European Union is not that important. We don't need Europe. It has always been Europe that has needed us."