Both teams, Persepolis and Esteghlal, are already out of the title race, which is a first in history. Further, both clubs have been through so much drama and bad games this season, that made it almost impossible to actually follow either team. Add to this the most boring and pathetic derby in history in the last game, the strange oddity of almost every derby in the past 5 years ending in a draw and you really have just a game that just happens to be in the most populous city of Iran in the biggest stadium between the two most supported teams, but without any consequences for the season or anything else of relevance. So why should anyone care? Not even the fact that Ali Daei is coach of Persepolis now and he has never won a derby as a player makes it really interesting.
The biggest game in Asia has turned into an absolutely irrelevant game, a non-event, a farce, a tragedy, a passionless game.There's nothing to really expect of the derby, so we might actually get surprised and actually see a game but given the recent performances, it's highly doubtful. The days of Ali Ansarian, Hamid Estili, Reza Jabbari, Sirous Dinmohammadi, Ali Samereh, Alireza Mansourian, Mehdi Hasheminasab, and even Payan Rafat are gone, nevermind the glory days of Parvin, Hejazi, Jabbari, Roshan, Pious, Zarincheh, Panjali, Namjoo Motlagh, Fonoonizadeh and others from the 70ies and 80ies. Nothing is at stake anymore in the derby and the days where blue and red as colors mattered seem long gone. Pretty much a sad reflection of our current state of football. |