THE BATTLE LOOMS
He is tall. He is powerfully built. He is a more-than-accomplished player. He recently signed a lucrative contract to play for Bayern Munich, Germany’s most successful team of all time.
But the only thing the United States will know about Ali Daei when he runs onto the field at Lyon on Sunday night is that he is from Iran.
All the words that have disappeared like water down a drain over the past few weeks have centered on “the great U.S.-Iran rivalry” and “the profound political overtones” of Sunday’s World Cup match.”
But what do U.S. fans really know about Iran’s team?
Probably not much.
Do they know, for instance, that Daei, 29, is from the town of Ardabil in northern Iran and has long dreamed of playing in the World Cup, just as many U.S. players have dreamed the same thing?
Do they know that this is only Iran’s second appearance in the World Cup, and its first since Daei was a boy of 8 just beginning to learn the skills that would make him one of his country’s most feared strikers?
Do they know that before France 98, Daei had scored an astonishing 38 goals in 52 matches for Iran?
Do they realize that Daei’s partnership up front with Khodadad Azizi, Asia’s player of the year for 1996, combined with midfielder Karim Bagheri, who scored a record 17 goals in qualifying play, could catch the U.S. defense by surprise?
Do they realize that Iran set an improbable record in qualifying play by thrashing the Maldive Islands, 17-0, in Damascus? That’s not a typographical error. It was 17-0, with Bagheri netting five of the goals.
Iran is not Germany, by a long shot, but neither is it an opponent to be dismissed lightly. Whatever the outcome, Coach Steve Sampson’s team will know it has been in a game.
Yugoslavia thought it would be easy and ended up struggling to achieve a 1-0 victory Sunday in Saint-Etienne.
“Our players wanted to play better, but they didn’t because Iran closed us down quickly,” Yugoslav Coach Slobodan Santrac said. “It wasn’t possible for our team to perform as they wanted.”
Defensively, the Iranians were excellent in their opener. Offensively, they created chances but failed to finish them. That is uncharacteristic for a team that has the 6-foot-2 Daei in the lineup, giving it a strong aerial presence in the penalty area.
Two years ago, during the 11th Asian Cup championship in the United Arab Emirates, Daei scored at least once in every round, blitzing South Korea, another World Cup ’98 team, with four goals in 22 minutes, and finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals in six games.
He was equally hot during qualifying play for France 98.
Even though Bagheri scored 17 times during qualifying and Azizi had eight goals, including the one against Australia that clinched Iran its World Cup place, Daei was no slouch. He also scored eight times.
The United States often talks about the experience its players have gained by playing in Germany. Well, apart from Daei, who is moving from Arminia Bielefeld to Bayern Munich in a $2.3-million deal, Bagheri also plays at Arminia Bielefeld and Azizi is with FC Cologne.
And as recently as Tuesday, Iranian midfielder Ali Reza Mansourian was signed to a two-year contract by Hamburg SV.
“The main reason I chose Germany is for the soccer, even if money is not to be forgotten,” said Mansourian, who was also the target of former European champion Borussia Dortmund. “I have always dreamed of playing in Germany.”
No U.S. World Cup players have been approached by Bundesliga teams in the wake of Monday’s 2-0 loss to Germany.
Iran’s coach, Jalal Talebi, has a home in California, where his wife and three sons live. He once coached at Foothill Community College in Los Altos Hills, an old stomping ground of Sampson’s.
Sometimes, he even sounds like Sampson.
“We’ve come here to get more experience, to show everybody that we can play and that we have talented players,” he said.
“We are going to go against the United States only to get our three points,” Daei said.
Funny, that sounds just like U.S. captain Thomas Dooley, who said: “They want three points, we want three points and we fight for the three points.”
Perhaps there isn’t that much difference between the teams after all.
