11/3/2007
By Kaveh Mahjoob

Winning Ugly!

The contenders won once again while they were not at the top of their games. Perspolis defeated Mes in front of another large crowd of 70,000, while Sepahan won on the road with a penalty kick.

Perspolis and Speahan win games that most other teams find ways to draw or lose. This style of winning when the going is tough has allowed them to build a healthy lead after 12 weeks into the season.

Beyond the top two teams, four other teams compete to establish themselves as the next alternative. Saba Battery finally won for the first time in six weeks. By defeating last year’s champ Saipa, Saba achieved two things. First, they pulled themselves up to the third place. Second, they sent Coach Ali Daei’s team further down the ranking. With this loss, Saipa is now ranked 12th and a club that will represent Iran in the next year’s Asian Championship League is struggling mightily and Daei is fighting for his coaching life.

The newcomer to the upper half of the table is Barg. Barg is a young team coached by an Iranian football veteran. Coach Yavari’s team managed another road victory and now with 20 points is ranked four. Esteghlal of Ahvaz and Malavan are fifth and sixth respectively.

COACHEING SITUATIONS

Pegah (18th last place) –The new head coach, Nader Dastneshan, started his tenure with a home draw in front of a packed stadium against regional rival Malavan.

Shirin Farz (16th place) – Head coach Yessich was fired. In a move that could only happen in Iran’s football, the head coach refused to sit on the bench and head his club because “the team was not ready to play.” After Sepahan defeated Shirin Faraz, the club fired the coach.

Esteghlal (11th position) – Once again Esteghlal played poorly and exchanged a 2 – 0 lead with a 3 – 2 defeat. Most members of the Esteghlal steering committee wanted to fire coach Hejazi but the club president resisted for a little longer.

Here are the results of the12th week:

(Home teams are noted first)

Perspolis 1 – Mes 0

Esteghlal 2 – Paykan 3

Shirin Faraz 0 – Sepahan 1

Pegah 0 – Malavan 0

Moghvamet Sepassi 1 – Pas 1

Sanat Naft 1 – Bargh 3

Saba Battery 2 – Saipa 1

Abumoslem 1 – Esteghlal Ahvaz 1

Rahahn 2 – Zobahan 1

TABLE RANKINGS

1 – Perspolis 28 points

2 – Sepahan 22 (three games in hand)

3 – Saba Battery 21

4 – Barg – 20

5 – Esteghlal Ahvaz 17

6 – Malavan 16

…

11- Esteghlal 14

…

12 – Saipa 13

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

0 and 0 – As Perspolis has not lost this season and Pegah has yet to win.

1 – As Sepahan being the first Iranian club ever qualifying for the FIFA World Club Championships.

5 – Number of fired head coaches in 12 weeks.

17 – Worst defense belongs to popular BLUES of Esteghlal. They have allowed 17 goals in 12 matches and are tied for worst defense with three other teams.

22 – Perspolis streak of not having lost for 22 consecutive league matches going to last season.

Kaveh_Mahjoob@hotmail.com