June 10, 2006
SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (AP) — They stroll in and out of the heavily guarded hotel where the Iranian team is based lugging suitcases full of video equipment and documents, without a glance from the guards who normally block anyone without proper FIFA accreditation.

At the daily training sessions, they stand on the sidelines, quietly watching and occasionally pointing at the Iranian players.

Zlatko Petricevic and Srdjan Gemaljevic say they are merely helping their old friend, Iran coach Branko Ivankovic, as he prepares for the team's opening World Cup game against formidable Mexico on Sunday.

"There is not a lot to say, we're just scouts analyzing Mexico's system of play," said Petricevic, a 44-year-old Croat who has managed a number of league clubs in both Colombia and Mexico and is fluent in Spanish.

He coached in Mexico this season and expects to be back there for the upcoming season, expertise that Iran hopes will help in the opening game.

Gemaljevic is a 46-year-old Serb who has coached several clubs in Iran's first league. On the basis of Petricevic's analyses, he formulates ways individual Iranian players can counter Mexico's game.

"Mexico has a great team. But every team in the world has certain weaknesses, and that's what we're trying to exploit," he said. "It's also a question whether Iranian players can execute the tasks that have been set."

The match against Mexico is seen as crucial for Iran's chances of reaching the second round, something the team failed to do in its two previous World Cup appearances in 1998 and 1978. The other two teams in Group D are Portugal and Angola.

The two refuse to comment further on their work, except to say that they usually stay up until 3 a.m. devising proposals which they submit in the morning to Ivankovic, a Croat who has coached the Iranian team for the past four years.

"In the end, he's the one who decides what to implement and what to reject," Gemaljevic said. "He's the boss."