{"id":19289,"date":"2014-09-20T04:11:34","date_gmt":"2014-09-20T11:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/?p=19289"},"modified":"2014-09-20T07:11:14","modified_gmt":"2014-09-20T14:11:14","slug":"persianfootball-com-exclusive-interview-with-daniel-davari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2014\/09\/20\/persianfootball-com-exclusive-interview-with-daniel-davari\/","title":{"rendered":"Persianfootball.com exclusive: Interview with Daniel Davari"},"content":{"rendered":"

Persianfootball.com – ZURICH, Ardalan Azari met Daniel Davari in Zurich for an exclusive interview for Persianfootball.com during which he talked about Team Melli, his Club GC Zurich as well as some personal matters.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PFDC: First of all congratulations on your comeback after your injury. How are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> Now I am fine again. I wasn\u2019t in pain but it was dangerous due to the fraction I had sustained under my eye. I had to recover from that first because another hit on that spot would have been dangerous. But now I am fine and I am able to play again.<\/p>\n

PFDC: And how do you like Zurich? You have been here now for a few weeks and could settle down in Zurich.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> Its nice. The people are very friendly, the city and the environment are very beautiful and I have finally moved into a nice apartment. So everything is fine and I am feeling comfortable.<\/p>\n

PFDC: How are you dealing with the Swiss-German dialect?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I still have some issues understanding it. Especially when some of my teammates speak with a strong accent. But I am getting there and understand it to some extent.<\/p>\n

PFDC: You have already mentioned your teammates. How do you see your situation at your club, especially about your spot in the goal and as a part of your team?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I see my situation at GC as pretty good. I came here to be successful and to develop further.
\nAnd regarding the team I am in the team council and I can say some things on and off the pitch. I think it does me well to take over responsibility. And of course I want to go ahead on the pitch. I want to take over responsibility on and off the pitch and develop further.<\/p>\n

PFDC: An impression that I have had of you during your time at Braunschweig as well as the national team was that your relationship with the other keepers was always good or at least very professional. I have never heard of tensions or similar negativities with your colleagues. Is it the same way in Zurich now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> Yes, of course. I think it\u2019s normal that there is competition among the goalkeepers. It always depends on the characters of the people and how they take that situation. I am a pretty calm and sociable type of person and I have no problems with competition.
\nEspecially here at GC we have a very good relationship among our coaching staff and the other two keepers. And we have a very respectful and friendly relationship among each other and therefore the training is as well fun as also challenging due to a good competition.<\/p>\n

PFDC: You got promoted to the Bundesliga with Braunschweig, later played against relegation. You played with the Iranian national team in Asia as one of the best teams in that area and later went to the World Cup in Brazil as an underdog. Now you are playing for a Swiss topside which is currently struggling. Do you feel that these events have rather damaged the continuity in your development or that the vast range of different experiences in such a short time has rather helped you to gain experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> Well one has to add to that that I played for Braunschweig for five years out of which I was pretty much set except for two years. I think one can label that as continuity. I played two consecutive years in the 2. Bundesliga and last season appeared in 30 Bundesliga games.
\nAnd regarding the national team, I think it\u2019s hard to build up consistency there because there are only few matches every now and then. I didn\u2019t play in the World Cup but I came here to GC to play and to pick up more match practice.
\nI think I haven\u2019t had many club changes in my career so far compared to some other players.<\/p>\n

PFDC: Apart from your specific task at GC Z\u00fcrich, what goals as a club player do you have in general? What are the goals that you want to achieve? Do you for example aim to play in the Champions League one day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I think everyone has his own goals but I think one has to be realistic at the same time. I don\u2019t wake up and tell myself that I want to appear the Champions League final in one or two years. I don\u2019t think that it\u2019s a reasonable thing to set goals for oneself that are too far away or for which also luck is needed.
\nMy goal is to have an immediate impact. I have now experienced myself that one\u2019s situation can change very quickly. I was lucky that I am not out for a longer time. What I want to say is that I have to focus on the upcoming training and the upcoming match and to get the most out of that.
\nI do want to play in the top leagues in the long run and gain international experience. But as of now competitions like the Champions League or the World Cup are a bit too far away to be thought of. I rather focus on the next challenge. I am not a dreamer or an unrealistic person.<\/p>\n

PFDC: Regarding the national team: the Asian Cup I scheduled for January 2015. Would you accept an invitation for that tournament?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> If I manage to stay healthy and feel good, I would definitely accept an invitation. But there is still some time until then and I have to perform in a way that allows the coach to invite me.
\nBut as I said its still some time until then and I am not concerned about that right now.<\/p>\n

PFDC: But you see that independent from your situation at GC? Even if you missed a few weeks during the season or because of your competition for the goalkeeper spot?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> Well in January we\u2019ll be in the preparation phase anyway, so we won\u2019t have any games. But I haven\u2019t worried about that to be honest. I first have to perform. Otherwise I am not entitled to be invited. So that is still too far away. I am happy that I am healthy and can play again.<\/p>\n

PFDC: You make a down-to-earth and yet ambitious impression. That leads me to another question regarding the national team: a lot of fans were disappointed after the World Cup because they had hopes of other players joining European teams. To the contrary, Ashkan Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejhad went to the middle east. Do you see this as a negative trend for the national team*?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I think that I can\u2019t really say anything about that. I don\u2019t want to comment on that because I can\u2019t judge the situation. I think a lot of people would have liked to see Iranian players going to top leagues and top teams but I think one shouldn\u2019t overestimate it. Of course the middle east doesn\u2019t have the clubs that Europe has but one should always also try to understand the player and leave it up to him. I think it\u2019s also of no use for the national team and the player if he plays in Europe but only sits on the bench. The most important thing is playing time. And regarding Ashkan and Reza: I am not the right person to talk about that. They have played great and done a lot for us also at the World Cup. I think it\u2019s not necessary to talk too much about that. At the end of the day we have a good team. The World Cup showed that we are a close and committed group of people that can also have very good tactical showcases with our coach.
\nSo if a player plays in Europe or somewhere else: I think it\u2019s up to the player on where he sees the best opportunity for himself to develop further.<\/p>\n

PFDC: You have mentioned your team mates in the national team. I have been following Team Melli for years now and I can\u2019t remember seeing anything like you did (among the goalkeepers) by going to Alireza Haghighi after the Argentina match in the World Cup and hugging him. The fans liked that a lot and one had the impression that that really was a genuine moment and you guys like each other. Would you say that you really have a friendly relationship with the other goalkeepers in Team Melli?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I think that was a development that went this way. One doesn\u2019t join the national team and meets completely new people and is immediately their best friend. And of course the competition was tough and we didn\u2019t back down from that. But at the end of the day it\u2019s not the players burden on what decision the coach makes. It\u2019s not something that you can be mad about. The coach decides and we have to accept that. Of course, one is disappointed. But I think through this situation a friendship has evolved between us three.
\nAnd I think Ali (Alireza Haghighi)<\/em> played great and one has to acknowledge that ungrudgingly. He had great performances.
\nWe also started to talk a lot and to created mutual trust for each other. We both didn\u2019t have the attitude towards each other of not wanting to talk and only seeing one another as competition.
\nAnd after the game I congratulated him on his performance and told him that he could be proud of himself and that I also was proud of him.
\nI think he deserves respect because he didn\u2019t play that much prior to the World Cup and then had such a great performance during the tournament.
\nOf course one is full of emotions after such a match and doesn\u2019t have a lot of thoughts. I just acted instinctively and congratulated him.<\/p>\n

PFDC: One question that always pops up in regards of you and that we have also received from some fans for this interview was regarding the communication with the defenders in Team Melli. Did or does the language barrier hinder your communication with the players during a match?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I have been asked this question a lot and I think it\u2019s pretty easy to answer. I have never seen people tell tales on the pitch in which ever language it may be. One only gives short instructions. In addition to that we don\u2019t have a stupid team that doesn\u2019t understand that on the pitch. And also in English or Persian it\u2019s pretty easy to say \u201cleft\u201d, \u201cright\u201d, \u201cahead\u201d or \u201cback\u201d. That never was a problem. Also everyone understands English. We spoke short phrases in English or Persian and it was never a problem on the pitch.
\nIt is a fact that I wasn\u2019t able to tell great stories in Persian and that\u2019s something I need to work on. But it was never a problem on the pitch.<\/p>\n

PFDC: So I hope we have finally clarified this for the fans. Are you still taking Persian classes though?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> Lately I have reduced that because I had a lot to do with moving my flat and\u00a0 changing my club. But I will continue learning Persian and one day be certainly able to speak the language.<\/p>\n

PFDC: To wrap up the interview we have some more personal questions. Do you already have plans or wishes on what you would like to do after your active \u2013 and hopefully long lasting and successful \u2013 footballing career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I feel old now that you ask such a question (laughs)<\/em>. I can\u2019t say much about that. Of course one hopes to stay with the sport \u2013 be it as a coach, goalkeeper coach, manager or whatever. Right now I feel that I want to continue with this sport also after my active career. But I am 26 years old now and hopefully I will have another 10 years until I have to make that decision even though life can change quickly. So therefore it\u2019s tough to say now what I want to do in the future.<\/p>\n

PFDC: And can you imagine play or to have a different function related to football in Iran one day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davari:<\/strong> I would say \u201cnever say never\u201d. I would never close out an option beforehand. If the situation should occur that I could take on an interesting task I would definetly listen to it and wouldn\u2019t turn it down immediately. I have my family in Iran so it\u2019s not farfetched for me to work in Iran.<\/p>\n

*please note that the interview took place before Karim Ansarifard moved to Osasuna Pamplona and Saeed Ezzatollahi to Atletico Madrid<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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