ISP Exclusive Interview with Vahid Hashemian

This interview was conducted by Reza Ghazinouri.

Reza Ghazinouri: Dear Vahid, first of all please accept our best wishes from Iran Sports Press for the Iranian New Year. We like to wish you and your family all the best in the coming year.
Vahid Hashemian: Thank you I also wish you and your team a great year, too.

Reza Ghazinouri: Can you give us a brief round up of Team Melli’s last three World Cup Qualifying games?
Vahid Hashemian: I will not talk about Bahrain game because that was in the past and we all know what happened, and I will concentrate on our recent games against Japan and North Korea. We as a team had one wish for all the Iranians, not just those in Azadi stadium but also those around the world, and that was to provide them with joy and happiness with two wins. This was our New Year present to everyone, especially the victory against Japan as the game was played only 5 days into the New Year. We played a good game that day. Japan is the strongest team in Asia and we fought hard to succeed. It was a must win situation for us and this victory put us ahead of the other teams in the group. We need to make sure we win all our home games no matter what, and that will put us in the World Cup. After the Japan game, we had to leave the stadium and the country very fast to travel to North Korea via China. In North Korea we faced a difficult situation by the Koreans. The playing ground was terrible but we did not use that as an excuse and managed to come away with a win. After the game as everyone knows, the situation got very tense, and it was a great feeling when we finally managed to board the plane for our return flight. Now, we are the group leader with 7 points and we hope to be one of the teams who will qualify to World Cup from this group.

Reza Ghazinouri: Can you please tell us about your own feelings after you scored two goals against Japan.
Vahid Hashemian: I was very happy to help my team win that crucial game. It was just magnificent to see how all my countrymen all around the world so united and happy at the beginning of the New Year.

Reza Ghazinouri: Now, you are back with your club Bayern Munich. Please, let us know what are your expectations from the rest of the season, considering you don’t get any chances of playing in the team.
Vahid Hashemian: I have a contract until 2007 which I want to fulfil. Nevertheless, as we all know, I have not had the opportunity to become a regular player in the Bayern team. There are several clubs that are interested to hire me for the next season. However, I will only decide about my future at the end of the season and I will only then decide if I am going to stay with Bayern or leave for another club.

Reza Ghazinouri: Can you tell us which teams have shown an interest in you?
Vahid Hashemian: No, as I said I will take those offers into consideration when I feel that it is time to leave. Currently, I am not interested and want to honour my contract with Bayern which runs for another two seasons.

Reza Ghazinouri: Your team is going to have a tough game in the Champions League on Wednesday when you face Chelsea. How do you see your chances of winning that game, and qualifying to the semi final stage?
Vahid Hashemian: For German teams it is much easier to play against English teams compared to Italian or Spanish. Chelsea is currently the best team in England and they have a very strong team this year. But I think we have a good chance to go through to the next stage. We are prepared to take this challenge and succeed.

Reza Ghazinouri: As it looks for now, Pizarro can not play that game because of an injury. Do you see an upcoming chance?
Vahid Hashemian: No, Felix Magath is currently counting on other players.

Reza Ghazinouri: I know you had a very stressful week with a lot of travelling, and I don’t want to take more of your time. I just thank you on behalf of all Iranian fans around the globe for your great match winning performance against Japan. You made us very happy and made sure we all started the New Iranian Year in the best possible way. Thank you.
Vahid Hashemian: I appreciate your comment. Thank you