Every World Cup qualification has its stories and so far we have heard amazing tales from
Iceland (the smallest nation to ever make it), Panama (who overcame the murder of one
of their players to also make their debut) and Egypt (a team that has been on a twenty
year journey that has seen revolution and counter revolution play its role).
But for arguably Asia's best team, World Cup qualification was something of a breeze.
Iran were the third team to qualify for Russia 2018, after the hosts and Brazil.
Team Melli waltzed through their opening group, going unbeaten.
The final group stage was slightly trickier, but they again breezed through unbeaten against
South Korea, China and, memorably, Syria.
A 2-2 draw in Tehran had seen the war torn country qualify for an ultimately unsuccessful
play off against Australia.
But I digress.
Iran had played 18 games, scored 36 goals, conceded just five and had gone the entire
qualification campaign unbeaten.
For Iran's long time manager – the former Manchester United assistant and Real Madrid
and Portugal national team coach Carlos Queiroz [KIER-ROSH], it was his second World Cup with
Iran.
But as ever when it comes to the Iranian football, what was happening under the surface was often
more revealing than what was happening on the pitch.
Iran's first World Cup came in 1978 when the team famously played a Scotland team that
had declared they would almost certainly be winning it.
A 3-1 defeat to Peru soon ended that notion.
But it was the second game that was perhaps the first glimpse many had of Iranian football.
Iran held Scotland to a 1-1 draw.
But, soon Iranian football would effectively stop thanks to the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The deeply unpopular Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was removed from power after an uprising.
A popular Shia cleric Ayatollah Khomeini returned to take power.
The Shah was a US and Western ally, which led to a deterioration of relations and eventually
Iran's international isolation.
Iran was transformed from one of the most liberal countries in the region into an effective
theocracy.
Football ground to a halt.
The Iran Iraq war had begun – with Iraq's Saddam Hussein backed by the US and its allies
– and all able bodied men were needed on the front line.
Nearly one million people died in a vicious conflict that saw missiles fall on both capitals,
the use of chemical weapons and trench warfare reminiscent of World War One.
When it ended the league restarted but it wasn't until France '98 that Team Meli would
return to a World Cup finals.
Ayatollah Khomeni had died.
Meanwhile a reformist cleric Mohammad Khatami had been elected president, promising to steer
reforms and give greater freedoms.
Famously Iran was drawn in the same group as the “Great Shaytan” itself: Team USA.
What happened next is perhaps one of the most memorable single moments in World Cup history:
Iran beat the US 2-1.
One million people celebrated on the streets of Tehran.
In the end, Iran missed out on the knock out stage.
When they returned in 2006, things were very different.
The hardline populist former mayor of Tehran Mahmoud [MACH-MOOD] Ahmadinijad had been elected
president.
He was a huge football fan and would turn up for training to see arguably Iran's greatest
ever generation of players which included a now veteran Ali Daei [DIE-EE], who had enjoyed
a long career in the Bundesliga and still holds the world record for international goals
scored, Mehdi Mahdavikia who spent 12 years in Germany, a young midfielder by the name
of Massoud Shojaei [SHOW-JIE-EE] (more on him later) and the mercurial Ali Karimi, who
had been signed by Bayern Munich as Michael Ballack's replacement.
Ahmadinijad's election and an increasingly bellicose Republican administration in the
US headed by George W Bush (who had famously included Iran in his Axis of Evil speech)
meant that Iran had again become a pariah state.
Several politicians from around the world called for Iran to be thrown out of the World
Cup after Ahmadinijad had made several comments that diminished the suffering of Jews during
the Holocaust.
Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany.
Others wanted Ahmadinijad arrested on arrival if he came to watch Team Meli play.
Anti-Iranian protests followed the team at Germany 2006.
Daei was at the end of his career and Karimi was struggling with injury.
Iran limped out after gaining just a single point, against Angola.
Qualification for 2010 was even more fraught.
Amir Ghalenoei [GAL-A-NOI] was hired and then fired before the legendary Ali Daei was drafted
in.
He too was sacked after losing to bitter rivals Saudi Arabia.
So, the Iranian football federation turned to one place that no one thought they would:
America.
Well, kind of.
Afshin Ghotbi had left for the US after the 1979 revolution, settled in California and
became a soccer coach.
He was even in the backroom staff FOR team USA during that famous match at France '98.
After a stint as assistant coach at LA Galaxy, he was hired in 2017 as coach of Tehran giants
Persepolis.
When he arrived in Iran, the first time he had been back since leaving, he was greeted
by his mother and tens of thousands of adoring fans.
He brought Persepolis the title that season in dramatic fashion and then was hired for
Team Meli, although some radical voices were deeply sceptical about his appointment.
Still, Ghotbi almost salvaged qualification.
It came down to the final match against South Korea in Seoul.
Back in Iran a huge protest movement – the Green Movement – had risen up to challenge
the 2009 election results, which protesters believed had been stolen by Ahmadinijad.
At the game in Seoul Massoud Shojaei had give Iran an early lead.
But several of the players had worn green wrist bands at the start of the game, allegedly
in sympathy with the protesters.
Park Ji Sung scored a late equalizer and Iran were eliminated and the players went home
to face the music.
The Green Movement was crushed and the players were in the firing line.
It was reported that the government banned the players who wore the wristbands from playing
for the national team.
But after FIFA investigated, they Iran federation said that wasn't the case.
Several players have since played again for Iran.
Ghotbi limped on to the Asian Cup a few months later but was sacked after a quarter final
exit.
So, next came Carlos Quieroz, a rumbustious, straight talking character who had just come
out of a bruising relationship with the Portuguese national team.
Since 2011 he has navigated the choppy waters of Iranian football, politics and society
with aplomb; occasionally falling out with the powers that be but always backing his
players.
He took Iran back to the World Cup finals in Brazil 2014 but they had been drawn in
a tough group with Nigeria, Argentina and Bosnia and only managed one goal and one point.
Still, Team Meli roared back with an unbeaten qualification for Russia 2018 that still had
its controversies.
Most notably with Massoud Shojaei, who was playing for Panianios [PAN-YONAS]in the Greek
League.
Panionios had qualified for the Europa League and were drawn against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Since 1979 Iran has had an unofficial policy of refusing to compete against Israeli sportsmen
and women.
But Shojaei and Ehsan Hajsafi [EE-SAN HAJ-SAFI] played against Maccabi which led to a furious
reaction by some radical factions back home.
Several politicians and newspapers demanded they be banned from the national team.
Shojaei, especially had already incurred their wrath, having worn a green wrist band allegedly
supporting pro democracy protesters in 2009 and for bringing up the issue of women being
banned from Iranian football stadiums with the current president Hassasn Rouhani.
-HASSAN RUE-ARNY]
For six months Shojaei wasn't in any of Iran's squads.
But Queiroz brought him back in march this year despite the pressure from some quarters.
Shojaei played in friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia and made it to the provisional
2018 World Cup squad.
For Russia 2018, Iran has again been handed a tough group, with Morocco, Spain and Portugal.
But, Iran has arguably its best team ever, with players going in to the finals in top
form and playing as a more cohesive whole, something that bedevilled the great generation
of Karimi and Daei.
Up front there is a Sardar Azmoun, an outrageously talented centre forward.
He currently plays for Rubin Kazan in Russia and, after a lean spell, has returned to both
scoring and creating goals.
But the form play is Alireza Jahanbakhsh [JUH-HAAN-BASH] top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie this season,
the first Asian player to achieve such a feat in a top European league.
who finished with 21 goals and made 12 assists for AZ Alkmaar.
For all his troubles, Massoud Shojaei won the Greek title with AEK Athens.
Saman Ghoddos had an exceptional season with Swedish team Ostersund who famously went deep
into this year's Europa League.
Former Fulham midfielder Ashkan Dejagah is in the provisional squad but is still recovering
from injury.
If Team Melli can overcome the usually encroachment of politics and influence that seems to bedevil
their World Cup appearances, Iran could well be the dark horse of this World Cup