{"id":16264,"date":"2013-10-28T13:36:26","date_gmt":"2013-10-28T20:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/?p=16264"},"modified":"2013-10-28T13:36:26","modified_gmt":"2013-10-28T20:36:26","slug":"irans-hosseini-on-the-defensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2013\/10\/28\/irans-hosseini-on-the-defensive\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Hosseini on the defensive"},"content":{"rendered":"

FIFA.com – DUBAI, Iran\u2019s road to the Round of 16 here at the U-17 finals in UAE was paved with defence. Scoring only three times in their three section games, the Persians have a clear tactical scheme.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do everything we can to make sure we don\u2019t let the opponents in,\u201d captain and centre-back Majid Hosseini told FIFA.com about his side\u2019s stingy stance.<\/p>\n

But Hosseini knows better than anyone what awaits him in the first knockout round in Al Ain City: free-scoring Nigeria, a team as obsessed with attacking as the Iranians are with defending. \u201cMy attack is blistering,\u201d was what the Golden Eaglets\u2019 coach Manu Garba had to say before even kicking off here in the Emirates. And their 4.6 goals per game average shows he wasn\u2019t just boasting. \u201cWe can destroy any team on our day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran undoubtedly have one of the best defenders of the tournament in Hosseini. Tall and quick of mind, the Saipa FC man is the general of a team that keeps it tight at the back and only rarely, at specific and carefully chosen moments, raids forward.<\/p>\n

He is vocal on the pitch, pivoting nimbly to adjust to situations as they arise, and he inspires his mates with his actions and his bravery in the danger-zone. He plays like a leader and he talks like one too.<\/p>\n

But his forehead wrinkles when Nigeria\u2019s 14 goals so far are mentioned. Hosseini\u2019s face turns from that of spotty teenager to a worried and wizened old man when he considers the west Africans, three-time U-17 world champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be the hardest game so far for us; we can have no illusion about it,\u201d he said of the Nigerians, who are rivaled only by Brazil for their attacking ability and, in Kalechi Iheanacho and Success Isaac, have two of the best strikers in the world for their age.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigeria are a very strong team,\u201d the Iran captain added, looking intently at his translator who turned his Persian into English. \u201cWe know about their attack.<\/p>\n

We know that they only need one second to hurt you, to score a goal from nothing. We know all of this,\u201d he said, before pausing and putting a hand on the translator\u2019s shoulder, looking into his eyes and making a point clearly and slowly: \u201cBut we have our strengths too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Switching the conversation from Nigeria\u2019s varied attack, their dizzying brand of Total Football that\u2019s been a delight for fans and a nightmare for opposition defenders, the Iran captain speaks of his team as a unit.<\/p>\n

And while Mostafa Hashemi and Yousef Seyyedi have scored two of the best goals at these these finals, individuals are spurned for the collective in the Iranian cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody in the team acts as a defender and when we do go forward we go forward as one,\u201d said the 17-year-old. \u201cThis is one of the secrets of our success.<\/p>\n

Our defenders, all of us, are close friends and we support each,\u201d he added about the esprit de corps in the side. \u201cWhen we get into trouble, there\u2019s always someone to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freedom meets form in desert duel<\/strong>
\nAnd while Nigeria\u2019s coach gives his players what he calls \u201ca special freedom,\u201d Iran\u2019s stern-looking boss Al Doustimehr gives his team orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe listen to our coach because by listening to him we have arrived here at the World Cup, and now into the knockout rounds,\u201d said Hosseini, his mates waiting for him in a pack near the team bus. \u201cOur coach will look at the Nigeria tapes and he will tell us what to do. And if we\u2019re smart, we\u2019ll listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few who have seen Group F toppers Nigeria in action will hold out much hope for Iran, who\u2019ve never gone past the last 16 at a U-17 World Cup. But captain Hosseini isn\u2019t bothered by being underdog and his confidence in his own ability \u2013 and his team-mates \u2013 is strong.<\/p>\n

His thoughts even go beyond the Nigerians. \u201cOur goal is the last four,\u201d he said. \u201cWe outlined this before the tournament started and we can still do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

First they will have to find a way to neutralise one of the best attacking teams the U-17 World Cup has ever seen. The captain\u2019s mind turns to his home country for the kind of backing-up he preaches in his team, but on a larger scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve felt positive energy coming from home,\u201d he said, his eyes turning glassy with emotion. \u201cWe want to make the Iranian people happy and we\u2019ll give everything we have against Nigeria to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether that will be enough for the brave Iranians will be only be known at the Khalifia bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday night, when two contrasting styles and temperaments collide in the desert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FIFA.com – DUBAI, Iran\u2019s road to the Round of 16 here at the U-17 finals…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25049,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c47-featured-news","category-c13-team-melli-news"],"views":3248,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25049"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}