Rahman Rezaei Joins Iran National Football Team in Beirut - 2003-11-19

Rahman Rezaei, an Iranian player from the Italian club 'Messina', arrived in Beirut from Athens on Tuesday to participate in the Iran national football team's match against Lebanon on Wednesday night. In an interview with IRNA news agency after his arrival in Beirut, Rezaei described his readiness and morale for the upcoming game as good and satisfactory, stating that everything is set for a powerful and sportsmanlike match between Iran and Lebanon. Regarding his knowledge of the Lebanese national team, he mentioned that he has limited information about the opponent and is aware that changes have been made in their leadership following two heavy defeats. According to Rezaei, Lebanon will certainly make every effort to compensate for their previous results, and the young captain of the team will face a tough situation and responsibility in his first game in this role. The Iranian player from 'Messina' also commented on the current state of the Iran national football team, saying that the team has managed to significantly address its shortcomings over the past month, which is a testament to the efforts of the coaching staff. He reflected on the incident during last Wednesday's match between Iran and North Korea, noting that it was very strange for Italians to see fans of a national team engage in violent behavior while their team was leading 1-0, causing the game to be halted. Rezaei stated that such behavior seems natural when a team is in a bad situation or losing, but it is unprecedented in the opposite scenario. He also added that the extremism shown by the North Korean national team in leaving the field is noteworthy, as it is unacceptable for the sports community that the Korean team would abandon the game due to a simple incident, indicating the team's weakness.