5/17/2006
Afshin Afshar, lastkick.com

The coach: Branko Ivankovic

Branko Ivankovic is the third in a succession of Croatian coaches who have made major contributions in transforming the post Iran-Iraq war Iranian National team from obscurity back to a regional powerhouse.

The first of the three was Tomislav Ivic who was hired to coach Team Melli in France 1998. He took helm on January 28, 1998 for a short period of three months and was surprisingly let go only a month before the finals, and after a practice game loss against AS Roma. Ivic’s rein may have been short lived, but many, including members of 1998 squad credit him for Team Melli’s respectable performance in France.

Next was Miroslav Blazevic, who was put in charge of Japan/Korea 2002 qualifying campaign in April of 2001. Although he failed to achieve his goal, his positive influence on Iranian football can not be denied. Furthermore, it was he who hired Ivankovic as an assistant while in charge of Team Melli.

The soft spoken Ivankovic took over in Iran after Blazevic left. As a player he had an uneventful career, and quit playing in the late 80s to get his coaching credentials and a PhD in Physical Education, which is by the way why he is nicknamed “The Professor” by the Iranian fans.

His first coaching job lasted three years with Varteks, followed by one year terms with two other Croatian clubs, namely Segesta and NK Rijeka. Then he moved to Germany to coach Hannover 96 in 1999-00. He was summoned by Blazevic in 2001 and joined him in Iran.

Ivankovic has had two stints as Iran’s head coach. During his first term which lasted from February through September of 2002, he captured the Asian Games’ title in Busan with a completely overhauled team. He then left Iran for almost a year only to return in September of 2003.

During his second and current term, Ivankovic has led Team Melli to a third place finish in Asian Cup 2004, and a WAFF Championship title. Under Ivankovic Iran achieved their highest ever FIFA rankings when they climbed as high 17th in 2005. But most importantly he succeeded where his former boss failed. He led Iran to a secure a spot in World Cup finals.

Tactics:

Most Iranian coaches favor the 3-5-2 formation. This system served Team Melli well for many years, especially at the height of Ali Daei’s career whose exceptional finishing touches at center forward put many of the incoming crosses by the wingers into the opponents’ nets.

Ivankovic, however, opted to change to a flexible 4-4-2 formation that effectively uses the abundance of speed and talent in Iran’s midfield. During attack, he has the option of pushing midfielders Ali Karimi and/or Mehdi Mahdavikia up through the middle or the right side, effectively switching to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-1-3 with Karimi playing behind the front three of Hashemian, Daei, and mahdavikia.

On defense, he has the option to switch to a defensive 4-1-3-2 by pulling back multitalented midfielder Javad Nekounam to play in front of the back four, or have striker Vahid Hashemian drop to the midfield and convert to a 4-5-1.

On many occasions, to preserve a lead, he has subbed midfielder Fereydoon Zandi for a defensive specialist, switching to a more defensive 4-1-3-2 formation.

His players seem to believe in his approach and at times make it work to perfection. The big question is how the team will cope with a rash of recent injuries. Injured Ali Karimi and Vahid Hashemian should be ready in time for Germany. However, the loss of left footed midfielder Alireza Nikbakht-Vahedi may prove to be very costly.

Probable Starting Line-Up

Ebrahim Mirzapour (GK)

Hossein Kaebi (D)
Yahya Golmohammadi (D)
Rahman Rezaei (D)
Mohammad Nosrati (D)

Mehdi Mahdavikia (M)
Ali Karimi (M)
Javad Nekounam (M)
Fereydoon Zandi (M)

Ali Daei (F)
Vahid Hashemian (F)