4/28/2006
Kaveh Mahjoob, goal.com

Iran is one of the four Asian teams that have qualified for the 2006 world cup and as her head coach, Croatian Branko Ivankovich (referred to by fans and media in Iran as Branko) is enjoying his biggest career success. In France, Ivankovich was Croatia’s assistant coach when his team took the third spot in the 1998 world cup. Eight years later, professionally for him, stakes are higher and he has faced a great deal of challenges to get to this point.

On April 25th, 2006, Branko announced a “provisional list of 25 players” for the world cup. From this list, plus the five European-based players, Iran’s 23 players for the world cup will be selected. In the morning of April 27th, Tehran’s time, calling him from California, USA, I had a chance to speak to Mr. Ivankovich.

Kaveh – Good morning and thank you for taking the time for this interview.

Branko – Good morning and you are welcome.

Planning for the World Cup and Group D

Kaveh – What is your plan for the Iranian side over the next 45 days?

Branko – We will first do the medical examinations this week.
Then, we will start the camp on Saturday (4/29) with Iranian based players.
Then, on 5/8 we will fly to Switzerland to camp there until 5/18.
Once the world cup list gets announced, we will begin the final preparation.
On 5/25, we will go to Croatia to play their national team on 5/28.
On 5/31, we will play Bosnia in Iran.
On 6/4, we will fly to Germany.

Kaveh – You mentioned playing Croatia and Bosnia. How about Tunisia? They were also reported to be a candidate for Iran to play.

Branko – I don’t know why people think that we are scheduled to play Tunisia or Uruguay or Ghana or Cameroon. These games are mentioned by the media and not by our federation or me. We didn’t talk to any of them seriously. We received many offers for friendly matches but in some cases, the dates were not appropriate.

Kaveh’s Note: Matches against Uruguay and Tunisia were on FIFA’s web site when this interview took place.

Kaveh – Iran didn’t play that many friendly matches over the last few months. How come?

Branko – This is not true. I arranged my plans from two years ago. I wanted us to play two matches prior to the tournament (in the last month before the world cup). We need time to practice.

Kaveh – I am referring to the last 6 months and not the next 45 days.

Branko – Except for Korea and Saudi Arabia, we have played as many or more than others. Look at the European teams. Look at Brazil. Did they play that many friendly matches over the last 6 months? European leagues are still in session. IPL was in session. We couldn’t do it.

Kaveh – Yet Korea managed to do this without their foreign-based players. They played over 10 friendly games.

Branko – You know very well that their K-League started in March. They were able to get their players together for a tour. We can’t. They had time with K-League being off.

Kaveh – Changing the subject, do you feel that adequate planning has been done for the world cup in terms of the camp itself?

Branko – The camp in Friedrichshafen, southern Germany, is perfect. We stayed there before the 2004 Asian Cup and really liked the facility, location and resources. I am very happy about that.

Kaveh – Tell us about the other three teams in Iran’s group. Do you feel that you have or managed to get enough information about them?

Branko – Both Mexico and Portugal are big favorites in this world cup. Like us, Angola has high ambitions. In today’s football, anybody can defeat any other team.

On Mexico – It is not an accident that Mexico was chosen as our group lead. They have qualified 13 times for the world cup. Our first match against Mexico is very important, in fact most important and is the deciding game.

I went to Chicago to watch them live against Paraguay (March 30th, 2006). I saw what I expected to see and concluded that they are an excellent team.

On Portugal – They are the best European team. They are the best because Greece didn’t qualify for the world cup and therefore as the second place finisher in the Euro Cup, they are the best European team in this world cup. They have a great coach in Scolari. They have great players, are dangerous and want to win it all.

On Angola – Like Iran, they also have big ambitions. We have a lot of information about Angola. We have all their game tapes from the African Cup (January 2006). We will also see their games against Portugal and Mexico before facing them.

Kaveh – What will satisfy you in the world cup?

Branko – I would like for us to be an excellent opponent for everyone. We want to advance to the second round. I expect us to advance and we will do our very best to do so.

On the Provisional List of 25 Players

Kaveh – How concerned are you with key injuries in the team. You have Ali Karimi (Bayern Munich) and Vahid Hashemian (Hanover) recovering from injuries and Mohram Navidkia (Sepahan) also is reported to be injured.

Branko – I am not interested to talk about individual players and their status.

I have spoken to Karimi and Hashemian and they are both recovering fine from their injuries and will be ready by the time world cup starts. Navidkia is also in Germany and should be healthy in time for us.

Kaveh – Iran’s Premier League (IPL) just concluded this past week. You added several of stars of this league like Bakhtiarzadeh, Shakoori (defenders) and Enayati (striker) to Iran’s national team. What do you think about the IPL’s quality this year?

Branko – The league has improved a great deal over the last five years. The clubs are more established now and new players have been introduced.

Matches are entertaining to watch and the championship was decided on the last day. Esteghlal really deserved the championship and I am happy because of all this progress. The league also provided many good candidates for the national team.

Kaveh – Tell us about Sohrab Bakhtiarzaeh (Saba Battery). You invited him after a long absence.

Branko – I am not in a habit to talk about individual players. I don’t want for my comments to get misinterpreted in the media.

Kaveh – Well your comment is likely to be positive. What do you think of him?

Branko – Well, he has already played for the national team. He is experienced and played well this season. He was deserved to get invited.

Kaveh – You have tried different players in the left back position and this spot is still a puzzle. What are your thoughts for that spot?

Branko – I have invited Satar Zare (Barg of Shiraz), Mehrzad Maadanci (Perspolis) and Nikbahkt (Esteghlal). The player who does the best over the next 45 days will get it (the starting role).

Kaveh – As I said earlier, many have reacted positively to the list however there are a couple of deserving names missing; for example, Karim Bagheri. Could you explain why he is not invited?

Branko – He is not in the team because I chose other players.

Kaveh – And Moabali is not in the main list. What is your reasoning there?

Branko – I have other players in his spot but he is in my second (Stand in) list. I have selected 25 + 5 names for my team.

Kaveh – Another positive side is the inclusion of goalkeeper, Mehdi Vaezi (Paykan). I am actually very pleased to see his name in the list. Since he plays in the first division, I wonder if you have been to any Paykan matches over the last year to see how he is doing.

Branko – My assistant saw Paykan vs. Sanat Naft (the game took place last week to a 0 – 0 draw in Tehran). Many times, he has been involved with the national team camps. I have tired to bring the best and to bring those who deserve to be in the national team and could help us in the international level.

On Asia Club Championships

Kaveh – I am assuming you saw Foolad’s loss and Saba Battery’s victory in the Asia Club Championships on Wednesday of this week. How did the national team players played in these two games?

Branko – I don’t want to talk about individual players. Saba played very well and had a deserving victory.

Kaveh – But I am asking you to evaluate the performance of these players because I am sure like everyone else, you can’t be happy with what you saw on the Foolad side of your players like Mirzapoor?

Branko – What I say about individual players will be misquoted and my comments will be published in different ways. So, I won’t discuss it.

Kaveh – So, no comments on Foolad’s loss?

Branko – When a team loses, it means no one played well. It is not just one position.

Here and There

Kaveh – You have been in Iran on and off for the past five years. How much progress Iran has made?

Branko – Over the last four years, we have achieved fantastic results; the best possible results for Iran.

We have qualified for the world cup.
We did well in China (Asian Cup of 2004 when Iran came third).
We won the West Asian Cup.
We have only had 3 official defeats and won 80% of our matches.
This generation of Iranian footballers is the best in Iran’s history and the results prove that.

Kaveh – Let’s go back to your days with Croatia as an assistant coach in the 1998 world cup. Compare those feelings with your feelings today as the head coach.

Branko – Back then, we had an excellent team. We did well in 1996 Euro Cup (Croatia reached the Quarterfinals). We were really optimistic before the world cup. We got better in each game we played.

I have to mention that we had the complete support of the fans, media, clubs and the federation. It was a fantastic success for our country.

For this world cup, I will go as Iran’s head coach with big ambitions. I trust my players and believe that we could show good football in Germany.

Kaveh – Do you have any plans for after the world cup? Would you prefer to coach in the national team level or return to club coaching?

Branko – My contract expires in October of this year. I will be coaching in Germany (World Cup) and I am planning for that. I have no time to think beyond that.

Kaveh – Is there any thing else you would want to say to our readers?

Branko – I would like to give my best regards to everyone. I hope they all enjoy the world cup. Iranians should be happy that they are 1 of the 32 countries in this world cup. We will do our best to succeed and make the country proud.

Kaveh – Thank you for your time and I wish the very best for Iranian National Team and you in Germany.

Branko – Thank you.