Please tell us a bit about yourself Mr. Nasseri.
I was born on December 31, 1961 in Iran. Football has always been a central part of my life from a young age. I played in the youth teams of Shahin Tehran (Shahbaz), and Ekbatan Hamedan at various levels. I then experienced play at Division Two level with Shisheye Hamedan and then at the highest level I played with Mehr Shemiran. Finally, I moved to Butan, but, unfortunately due to injuries sustained to my back, I had to retire at an early age and move to coaching.
So how did your coaching career start?
Well, at the age of 30 I got my coaching certificate at Division 2 and 3 Level from the Iranian Football Federation. With that license, I joined the coaching teams of the Iran U-20 team, between 1990-1992, and I went on to join Ali Parvin at Persepolis and took over the management of all of Persepolis’ youth teams from Omid, to A and B teams. I stayed there for two years. Then for three years I became the coach of the Montakhab-e Javanan-e Tehran from 1992-1995. After that stint, I decided to move to Germany to pursue my coaching qualifications. Firstly, I got my German B License, then the UEFA A License, which is equivalent to the AFC A License given by FIFA that a number of people in Asia have. Finally, in late-2003 I obtained the highest qualification possible in the coaching world in the form of the UEFA Pro-License, from the University of Koln in Germany, during which I worked with Freiburg in Germany for my practical assessment under head coach Volker Finke.
Have you ever coached at the highest level in Iran?
Well if you mean as head coach, then I have not. Even though I had a couple of reasonably good offers to become head coach of clubs in Iran in the last year, they were not tempting enough, especially because I had set my heart on coaching in Europe or possibly the Middle East. However, in 1999, I was assistant coach of the Iranian Olympic team, when Egon Coordes was head coach.
In our research, we found your name associated with some other sports, is that the same Ali Reza Nasseri?
Yes it is. I was the bodybuilding coach for the U-20 Greco Roman wrestlers, when we finished 3rd in the world in Tashkent in 2001. I left the team to return to the football world.
How was the UEFA Pro-License course? Any famous class-mates there with you?
Well there were quite a few recent international players who were studying for their license with me. Ulf Kirsten, Thomas Dooley, the ex-US international, Thomas Doll, Mehdi Mahdavikia’s coach at Hamburg and Ioan Lupescu, the great former Romanian international were all there.
What is your coaching mentality?
I believe that the result is important, but at the same time I like attacking football. As a coach you have to satisfy everyone. But, I don’t think you should ever compromise the result. You have to be a professional.
What is the problem in Iranian football?
There is currently no investment in the youth. Many coaches who are coaching in Iran are not qualified to do so. Overall, there is not a good foundation for the football in Iran.
How do you see Iran’s level in Asia right now?
We were always among the best, and still are. Other teams will always respect or fear us. We have high ability in terms of players. But, we need to breed this raw talent to get the best results and product. This is the job of the coaches, and if we are brutally honest, they have not been as successful as they could be in doing this.
What about on a world level?
Professionalism is what is lacking. Professional management, professional coaching and professional players do not exist yet in Iran. Yes, we have made the Iran Pro League, but it is still developing and it will take a few years. It is still only a name. It needs a lot of hard work. For example, when you are 2-0 up, and then you fight with your opponent and get a red card and compromise your team’s position, then you are still an amateur.
How do you see the role of journalism in football?
They can help speed up professionalism in Iran. I really believe this. But, they must report and follow football for football reasons and not some ulterior motives. They can help give a good shape to our football.
What are your thoughts on Branko Ivankovic?
He is a colleague and I don’t want to comment because it may be taken out of context. All I will say is that we are lucky to have the best players in Iranian football history right now in Iran and that I hope he gets the necessary results to fulfill their potential.
Would you have ambitions to coach the national team ever?
Of course, that would be the pinnacle of any coaching career for an Iranian. I would love to, at the right time, if the opportunity arose.
Who do you see as the key players in Iran?
We have many good players. But, Ali Daei has always been a dangerous player, and great at getting us results. Mehdi Mahdavikia is a guy I admire. For me, Nekounam is a very big player who has become so influential for the national team. All the players who have got over 50 matches for the national team have done well for us. We are lucky to have them. I would still rate Daei as our best striker.
How about in terms of young players?
More importance needs to be given to players like Borhani, Mob’ali and especially Navidkia. They need to be nurtured. They have great futures ahead of them, if they work hard. I suggest that they move to Europe, if they get the chance. Don’t be afraid of the challenge. Look at Mahdavikia as an example of how he became successful despite moving at a young age. In Europe, a 19-20 year old has the experience of a 25-26 year old of Asia. Look at Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. They might be teenagers, but just look at the experiences that they already have!
What do you think of Ali Karimi?
He is the Asian Player of the Year, and that’s all that you need to say. If Karimi plays in a better league, he can improve so much. He will not get better than he is if he stays in Dubai. That is for sure. How many times is he going to dribble the same Arab guy 100 times?
Finally, what are your thoughts on the World Cup?
We must qualify with this team. It would be a disaster if we did not. This is the best set of players that we have ever had in our country. They are some of the best in Asia. Daei still scores at this level. Maybe he isn’t world class, but he gets the job done. Also, on average almost every player in our team has over 30 matches experience for us, despite their young ages. That is something great. Look at other Asian teams. They are not blessed with young players like ours who have accumulated as much as 30, 40 or 50 appearances, if not more, already. That experience is invaluable at this level and should be enough to help us qualify relatively easily.
What are your plans in the future? Are you looking for a coaching or management job, in Iran or in Europe?
I haven’t looked for anything in Iran. I don’t have many ambitions in Iran. I believe that “football is in Europeâ€Â. I want to taste it. The Middle East may be a good start, as they have brilliant facilities for the teams. I don’t have any experience as a head coach at the highest level, but you have to start somewhere and I am young. I have had offers in Iran, but we could not reach an agreement in the past. So at the moment, I am doing some research for my own coaching knowledge, doing some studying on sports medicine, which I am very interested in, especially in the bodybuilding side of football. At the same time, I am waiting, and hopefully an offer will come knocking at my door soon.
Thank you very much Mr. Nasseri, and we hope that you would like to work with ISP in the future as your insight on football may be invaluable for our readers.
That would be my pleasure. I think you guys are doing a great professional job with the resources that you have and I wish you the best for the future. As I told you earlier myself, I will be at your service. |
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