{"id":20041,"date":"2015-01-07T09:13:24","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T17:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/?p=20041"},"modified":"2015-01-07T09:13:47","modified_gmt":"2015-01-07T17:13:47","slug":"keeping-queiroz-was-vital-for-iran-dejagah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2015\/01\/07\/keeping-queiroz-was-vital-for-iran-dejagah\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Queiroz was vital for Iran – Dejagah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eurosport – Retaining master coach Carlos Queiroz was not only a boon for Iran’s national soccer team but a coup for the game in the Middle Eastern nation, according to midfielder Ashkan Dejagah.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Portugal and Real Madrid manager Queiroz will guide his under-prepared but highly fancied side into the Asian Cup finals in Australia, seeking to harness the team spirit that won admiration at the World Cup last year.<\/p>\n

Getting Queiroz to commit was tortuous, with the coach declaring his relationship with Iranian soccer authorities a “one-sided marriage” when he \"\"announced he would step down after the tournament in Brazil.<\/p>\n

In September, he put pen to paper to the applause of most Iranian soccer fans and declared his team had hopes of winning “a medal” at the Asian Cup.<\/p>\n

“It was really, really important he re-signed,” Dejagah, one of the team’s highest-profile players, told Reuters in an interview before training in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

“Not just for us but really important for the country as well, for the young players because he is a really good coach and I think he can help the team a lot.<\/p>\n

“We had the whole world (watching) at the World Cup and we have a good spirit together. Carlos knows what to do.<\/p>\n

“He’s worked for a lot of big teams, he’s worked with stars. So I’m really proud to be a player for him.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s the same with the other players, I think we can learn a lot from him and will continue to.”<\/p>\n

LACK OF FRIENDLIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 61-year-old Queiroz has worked with Iran since 2011, turning an outfit short of world class talent into a highly disciplined, defensive unit that held Argentina at the World Cup until an outstanding stoppage time winner by Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n

The delay in his signing cramped Iran’s preparations, which have also suffered from a lack of friendly matches in the lead-up to the tournament where they will play Group C opponents Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.<\/p>\n

In a regime pressured by political and economic sanctions, Iranian authorities have struggled to find willing opponents for a team who have played just two matches, a 1-0 win over South Korea and Sunday’s 1-0 warmup victory over Persian Gulf neighbors Iraq.<\/p>\n

Other Asian Cup finalists have played six friendlies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Queiroz lamented in an interview with Australia’s SBS broadcaster on Tuesday that his team, the highest-ranked in the tournament at 51 in the world, was the worst prepared of all the finalists.<\/p>\n

Dejagah, 28, who switched from English Championship side Fulham to play in Qatar last year, said it was no exaggeration.<\/p>\n

“We’ve played just one friendly game to now,” he said. “This is very important to the teams to have friendly games and have good camps. I don’t know. I was also surprised. Why just one friendly game, but it’s like that.<\/p>\n

“If you see the other teams like Qatar, Emirates, they’ve had a lot of friendly games, I think 16 or something. But the team is ready, we work hard.””<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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