ISP Editorial: The New Guard

With the aftermath of the World Cup done and dusted in a sweep under the carpet fashion with the cowardly instalment of the Croat coach Branko Ivankovic as the scapegoat of the matter and the forced international retirement of Ali Daei from the playing squad, albeit it was the best time that the now Saipa player/manager stepped down from the international scene, matters surrounding the national team continued as they had before and it is almost certain that we will soon reach another crossing where the same off-the-field tensions and issues hamper performances on the pitch. But that is for another day.

During the World Cup, no Iranian player signalled his arrival onto the international scene as newly-capped Aboo Moslem midfielder, Andranik Teymourian. His energetic performances during all three matches caught the eye of both fans and commentators alike. More rewarding for Teymourian was that he caught the eye of diamond-in-the-rough finder, Sam Allardyce, Bolton Wanderer's manager who resigned on Sunday. The ex-Bolton manager immediately put the Iranian near the top of his summer list, and after protracted negotiations finally got his man on a two-year contract, thus making Teymourian the second Iranian player to be signed by a Premiership team after legendary midfielder Karim Bagheri. Many consider the latter to be one of the greatest central midfielders to have played for Iran, however, he failed to make even an inkling of an impression on the game in England. The same criticism could be made against many other Iranians who have either tried their luck abroad or gotten stuck in the twilight zone that is the UAE League forever in the process of trying to secure a further move towards the European continent.

What is the secret of Teymourian's success? First of all, Teymourian has made the move at a young age. At 23, he has followed in the steps of other foreign players who made the trek at such an age, players such as Hidetoshi Nakata, or the endless list of South Americans and Africans who move during their teenage years, allowing more than enough time to settle into a new culture, and playing style and giving the world class coaches who work with them enough time to groom them into the players that they will eventually become. Teymourian is also a hard-working player and there is probably no other player in the national team that does as much running or hard work as he does for the team. His physical stamina and high fitness levels alone make him stand out according to the Bolton staff. Finally, he has buckled down, learnt the language, worked hard in training and had no illusions about how long it would take for him to break into the team. Nonetheless, he had belief. Finally, in an early-January FA Cup game at Doncaster, Teymourian took his chance by scoring two goals that led Bolton to a 4-1 romping at the lower-division side. He has since gone on to make more starts than he could have had hoped for in the Premiership, also having another two-goal scoring performance, this time at Wigan. Already, we are witnessing a newly-added scoring touch to the youngster's game, something that was clearly not-present last summer. Teymourian is well on his way to settling in what many describe as the hardest, and most physically demanding professional league in the world, where some of the most gifted football players have failed to settle in.

Teymourian's midfield partner during the World Cup, Javad Nekounam has almost made success of his move to Europe after the World Cup. Nekounam, 25 at the time, became the first Iranian player to make the move to La Liga, the Spanish Primera, by signing with Osasuna, the small side from the Pamplona region who at the time had the chance of making it into the group stages of the Champions League. While that did not develop, having lost at the qualifying stage, both Nekounam and Osasuna have had a successful season to this point. It took Nekounam the best part of two months before he firmly established himself as a regular starter, but he has not looked back since. Winning rave reviews from both the media and fans, not to mention his head coach Ziganda, as well as his team-mates, Nekounam has become a central pivot in the Osasuna team this season, leading the side to a comfortable mid-table position as well as the semi finals of the UEFA Cup. Again, his success can arguably be traced back to the player's nature. He is one of the more hard-working and physically imposing players in the national team, one who isnt afraid to get stuck in, and he has developed his game even moreso in Europe this season to become an even more complete looking midfielder. He has played in the majority of games that Osasuna has played in all three competitions that they had entered into.

Whilst it is exciting to revel in the form and progress of both Teymourian and Nekounam, two rare success stories for Iranian football in the aftermath of the World Cup, it might be also pertinent to have a quick glance at the other side of the picture.

Many Iranian players have previously failed miserably in Europe and they include Karim Bagheri and his legendary team-mate at the time, Khodadad Azizi arguably one of the most gifted and most loved players of his generation, not only in Iran but on the continental level. Both were past the age of development when they moved to Europe and exhibited the stubbornness, unwillingness and un-ambition associated with the previous generation when it came to moving to a new environment and starting from scratch, a prospect that frightens people from all parts of the world everyday in any line of work. Only a few emerge with their heads held high and they all share one thing in common and that is the motivation, and determination to succeed. As soon as the force of the pressure overrides the motivation to succeed, the person will quickly give in and throw in the towel. This character flaw has also plagued Ali Karimi, who had been potentially the best player that had ever emerged in Iran and even in Asia, who could have gone on to achieve greater things in the game. Two years on from his move to Bayern Munich, Karimi is a shadow of his former self, virtually warming the bench for the whole of this season, and even when he has had the odd chance in the team, he has looked like a man counting down the minutes before heading out on a flight straight back to the Middle East. Karimi made the plunge to Europe at 27, off the back of a poor season in the Emirates, where he had virtually taken the matches as walks in the park, unlike the season before that where he had led Al Ahli to the title and personally led the scoring charts in the league. The man who signed Karimi, Felix Magath, gave him numerous chances to stake his claim, and only asked little in return. However, unfortunately, little was too much and after a season and a half of working with the Iranian, Magath was given the boot and the merciless Ottmar Hitzfeld took over. In his first match in charge, Karimi played the whole 90 minutes, but failed to produce anything of significance, and he has only started one game since. He has looked leggy, out of form, and demotivated when he has played for the national team in the mean-time as well. His role in the team's failure during the World Cup, at least off the pitch, must not be forgotten either. All in all, Ali Karimi, now almost 29, looks like a veteran footballer in the winter of his career and it will be interesting to see if he can rediscover any of the form that made him Asia's best player at one time.

The moral of the story, especially for youngsters with potential in Iran, namely Iman Mobali, Hossein Kaabi, Massoud Shojaei et al is that you should grab the chance of moving to Europe at the earliest possible time. The younger you are the more capable you are of settling into a new culture and a professional environment which you had previously never been exposed to and look at the examples of Teymourian and Nekounam who made virtually instant impressions in two of leading leagues in the world. The Iranians who have had success playing in Europe over the years all had something in common. Players such as Rezaei, Mahdavikia, Hashemian and the two mentioned here are largely known for their fighting spirit, never-say-die attitude and buckle down and work hard philosophy, all qualities that football in Europe, at every level, from the manager on top, to the paying fan in the stadium, holds in high regard with arms wide open. Let's just hope that youngsters in Iran begin looking at players like Teymourian and Nekounam as their heroes to emulate.