Iran is a footballing power in Asia. And above all, its growing importance demonstrates this. In Qatar he will play the sixth World Cup in his history in this sport, whose first game was played in 1941 against Afghanistan and a goalless draw. However, there are documents showing that Iranians have been playing football since 1920. In fact, the Federation was founded in 1920. However, for the first three World Cup it was not affiliated with FIFA.

However, its golden age on a continental level was experienced in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, he was three times Asian champion on that tour (1968, 1972, 1976). It was no coincidence, then, when He accepted a World Cup for the first time, that of Argentina in 1978.

Iraj Danaeifard was the author of the first goal of the Melli team (as it is nicknamed in the West; in Persian it means “National Team”) in the above quotation mark. He reached to add his first and only point in that Cup: they drew Scotland 1-1, in Córdoba.

A long time has passed and many circumstances have forced the country’s most popular sport to cut international expectations. The Islamic Revolution (1979) and the war with Iraq (1980-88) were decisive factors. Football could not be played amidst horrors and rubble. In 1989, with the Qods League, football was re-established in that territory of so much history.

What followed was a growing importance. He was excluded from the Qualifiers in 1990 and 1994. But his return to the World Cup was glorious: in France 1998 he beat the United States 2-1, it was his first victory against a rival even off the field of play. Other signs of growth: he has naturally exported players to Europe, has always been among the candidates for continental competitions and has become a regular at the World Cup. In the previous one, in Russia, they had been excluded in the first round for goal difference (they had agreed on none other than Spain and Portugal). Now, in Qatar, it is not enough to be close, says those who know the roads of the team.

The coach: Dragan Skočić, the Croatian who knows challenges

It happened a few days ago, on July 18th. The Iranian Football Association canceled his decision to sack coach Dragan SkočićThe spokesman of the Persian Federation, Ehsan Osuli, reports: “Skočić has a contract that will last until the end of the World Cup in Qatar”.

The Federation’s decision was born from multiple media criticisms that demanded the return of the Portuguese Carlos Queirozwho had directed the Melli team in the last two World Cup campaigns. And he had earned the respect of analysts and people. For results and charisma.

Dragan – who played in the first half of the 1990s in Spain as a midfielder for Las Palmas and Compostela – joined Iranian football nearly a decade ago in 2013. He led four teams, with mixed results. The best came with Khoone b and Khoone, which led to the Hazfi Cup final, the biggest achievement in the club’s history. In terms of titles, he had been to the Balkans: won the Croatian Cup – his nation – with Rijeka; and in Slovenia with Interblock Ljubljana (a small team from the capital with a 500-seat stadium) it won two of the three titles in its history (Local Cup and Super Cup, in 2008).

He joined the Iranian team just over two years ago, in February 2020, to replace Belgian Marc Wilmots. So, they said, he had almost no chance of getting into the biggest event in Qatar. However, with his simple kick that favors order but does not disdain possession of the ballhe achieved a 15-game winning streak in 18 games and turned what seemed impossible into a pleasant reality.

Now, after the ups and downs that have had him as a protagonist unaware of the contradictory decisions of the Federation, the Croatian – who knows positive results with limited resources – goes for his big challenge: Iran for the first time out of the first round.

The figure: Ehsan Hajsafi, a leader who drives in awe

Ehsan Hajsafi is an emblem of the Iranian national team, he wears the number three, the captain’s ribbon and he carries the experience of two World Championships on his shoulders and legs. It is flawless for everyone: the coach, teammates, the public. He is 32 years old.

He is a defender, but is also relevant in his team’s offensive play thanks to his surprise appearances and his passing ability. An example that portrays it: in three seasons he was the greatest assistant in the Iran Pro League. In his club record he has three leagues and four National Cups (the now traditional Hazfi Cup).

He also had European experience: he played in German football and in Greece. Indeed, played in the immense Olympiacos and from 2021 he is AEK Athens, another frequent participant in European competitions.

He was born in Kashan, a few months after football was played again in Iran. His city is the first of a series of large oases along the road from Qum to Kerman, along the border of the central deserts of Iran.

Those who have walked there say that its charm is mainly due to the contrast between the arid immensities of the desert and the green of the oasis. Almost an involuntary metaphor of the historic journey of the Iranian team.

The team: passion first of all

In Iran, football is a tradition, even outside the conflicts that the screens around the world show from their corners. And it is something more: a passion that beats.

Show, for example, the movie Out sideby Jafar Panahi. There, in the context of a 2006 World Cup qualifying match in Germany against Bahrain, Iran seems to be in unanimous celebration around the team that represents it. But with restrictions: two young people want to enter where it is not allowed, the stadium. They dress up as boys.

Along the way, they have the support of several fans who seem disinterested in respecting the dividing lines imposed by gender issues. The film, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2006, is inspired by a true story: that of the director’s daughter.

The team that will perform in Qatar is fueled by that passion. Of that desire to show oneself to the world. What’s more, they have an unbeatable chance ahead of them: as in 1998, they will face the United States. That time it was a memorable 2-1 that lives on in Iranian memories. Forever. The Iranian footballers knew that everything was at stake on 21 June, at the Gerland stadium in Lyon. Opposite was – besides football – a rival in the field of international geopolitics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

That day, for a moment, Iran felt like a world champion. Beyond the suspense caused by Brian McBride’s rebound goal with three minutes to go, it was a party that moved from Western Europe to the streets of Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan or Karaj. Now, on November 29 in Doha, all Iranians dream every night that that glorious feeling will come back to them.