What Happened to Iranian Football in 2014?

The 2014 World Cup, the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the end of the previous season and the beginning of the new season of the AFC Champions League, leading the continent's teams in the FIFA ranking, and the issue of military service for footballers were among the most important events in Iranian football in 2014. The most significant event in Iranian football in 2014 was participation in the World Cup. The Iranian national team, which did not participate in the previous World Cup, qualified directly this time as the group leader in the preliminary stage. Heavy defeats and even playing a role in introducing the top scorer of the World Cup were points raised by some critics regarding the national team. However, such events did not occur in practice. Iran faced Nigeria in its first match, a competition with several records. This was the first match of the 20th World Cup that had no winner. The first point for Asian teams in this competition was obtained. The Iranian national team broke the spell and for the first time, completed its first match in the World Cup without a defeat. This match was also Iran's first game in World Cup history without conceding a goal. Carlos Queiroz's students then lost to Argentina by one goal. Many football experts considered this match the best display in the history of Iranian football. Lionel Messi scored Argentina's goal in the 91st minute. At the end of the match, he attributed the victory over the hardworking Iranian team to the bravery of their goalkeeper. Hassan Rouhani praised the national team's performance. The President of Iran wrote on his Twitter: 'Our cheetahs played excellently. This result was not worthy of you, but you made an extraordinary effort. Keep your heads up.' Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, also wrote on his Facebook page: 'The kids made a splash in Brazil. Kudos to them for making us proud.' Widespread criticism of the referee's performance for overlooking a penalty kick in favor of Iran and several other controversial issues during the match were among the sidelines of this match. In the third match, the Iranian national team lost 3-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina, failing to qualify for the round of 16. Bosnia's goals were scored by Edin Džeko, Miralem Pjanić, and Avdija Vršajević. Iran's goal was scored by Reza Ghoochannejhad, ensuring that the team did not leave the 20th World Cup without scoring. At the ceremony for the best of Asian football hosted by the Philippines, Ali Kaffashian returned empty-handed to Tehran, just like the previous year. Iranian football did not gain any titles or cups distributed, despite holding the top rank in the FIFA ranking for Asia and still being in that position. Iran's share was only one title in the futsal section, awarded to Asghar Hassanzadeh, who was named the best futsal player of Asia in 2014. In football, the last Iranian player to be named Asian Player of the Year was Ali Karimi, who received this title in 2004. Iran topped Group C in the Asian Cup with three consecutive victories. Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE were the three teams defeated by Javad Nekounam's teammates. The brilliance of young players like Morteza Pouraliganji and Sardar Azmoun, as well as the successful experiment of Voria Ghafouri on the right and Vahid Amiri on the left, were positive changes in the national team's lineup compared to the World Cup. In the quarter-finals, Iran faced the second team from Group D. Iran and Iraq had faced each other in a friendly match before the Asian Cup, where Carlos Queiroz's students overcame their traditional rival with a goal from Sardar Azmoun. However, this time the atmosphere of the match and its result were different from the previous encounter. The match with Iraq in the quarter-finals ended after 120 minutes with a 3-3 draw, leading to penalties. The penalties favored Iraq. In the match, Mehrdad Pooladi was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 43rd minute. Saeed Mozaffari Zadeh, a referee expert, criticized Benjamin Williams' officiating, stating he was the most influential figure in this match. Australian experts in the special program for the Asian Cup in the host country also considered Williams the reason for Iran's elimination. The Asian Football Confederation confirmed the referee's performance but at the same time changed him, as he was supposed to officiate in the AFC Champions League in Ahvaz. The most exciting moment of this match for Iranian fans was in the 119th minute when Ghoochannejhad equalized with a header, sending the match to penalties. The first penalty was taken by Ehsan Hajsafi, which went over the goal. The eighth penalty was taken by Vahid Amiri, who, despite deceiving the goalkeeper, saw his low shot hit the vertical post of Iraq and did not score. A commemorative plaque was presented to the Iranian coach by the tournament organizers. Queiroz returned the plaque with disappointment, saying: 'It would be better to give this gift to the referee. If I want to speak, I must end my 34 years of coaching. Everyone saw how we lost to Argentina due to poor officiating. If necessary, I will kneel on the grass and ask the Asian Confederation what kind of officiating this was. Does Williams sleep well tonight?' The Iranian Football Federation also announced that the match result would change, and due to the suspension of Ali Abdulzahra, it would be 0-3 in favor of Iran, as his doping test was reported positive in the Cologne laboratory. However, two days of media speculation yielded no results, and Abdulzahra even played against South Korea. Iraqi representatives at the AFC disciplinary committee meeting stated that they had not received any ruling or notification from FIFA or any other body regarding Abdulzahra's suspension. Iranian football was eliminated in the quarter-finals, but in a poll conducted by the program 90, which had over two million participants, Carlos Queiroz garnered 88% of the votes, gaining the majority of Iranian football fans' support to continue his work with the national team. Despite being eliminated from the Asian Cup, the Iranian national team maintained its top ranking among Asian teams and rose ten places to 41st in the world ranking. Prominent teams such as Sweden, Nigeria, Turkey, and Cameroon ranked lower than Iran. The importance of the FIFA ranking has increased significantly, directly impacting the draw for the preliminary round of the World Cup. In the 2014 AFC Champions League, none of Iran's representatives succeeded in advancing to the quarter-finals. Esteghlal, Tractor Sazi, and Sepahan were eliminated in the group stage, and only Foolad Khuzestan advanced, but this team could not overcome Al-Sadd of Qatar in two legs. The 2015 season began with Persepolis performing successfully, unlike in the Premier League, with two victories over Lekhwiya of Qatar and Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan, marking a brilliant start and becoming Iran's most successful representative in the first two weeks of the games. The frequent changes of CEOs in the two clubs Persepolis and Esteghlal, the change of the vice president and secretary of the Football Federation, the change of the head coach of the national youth team, and the frequent changes in the technical and managerial staff in most clubs in 2014 were clear signs of instability and lack of opportunity for long-term planning in the structure of Iranian football. The continued significant decline in spectators at stadiums, the failure of the Iranian Olympic team in the Incheon Asian Games, marked by a heavy defeat against Vietnam and a draw against Kyrgyzstan, as well as the failure to host the 2019 Asian Cup and Sepp Blatter's warning about allowing women into Iranian stadiums, also made the list of important events in the past year. In the past year, Ali Karimi's sudden withdrawal from coaching the national team on the eve of the Asian Cup, Javad Nekounam reaching Ali Daei's record of 149 international matches, and Mohammad Mayeli Kohan's imprisonment following Ali Daei's complaint were also notable news. The repeated delays in transferring Persepolis and Esteghlal to the public, as well as Amir Ghalenoei's complaints against Nekounam, Hossein Kabbi, and Adel Ferdowsipour, and the controversial return of suspended referee Mohsen Ghahremani to officiating in Khorasan Province League were also significant. The accusation of document forgery for military exemption for 50 footballers was widely reported in various media, and the repercussions of this issue continue. The General Staff of the Armed Forces announced the falsity of the documents leading to the issuance of military exemption cards for some players of the Iranian national football team. Other players were also active in professional clubs. Except for Bakhtiar Rahmani, the captain of Foolad Khuzestan, and Saeed Halafi, players present in the Premier League, and Ali Hamoudi, whose names were mentioned earlier and their violations were confirmed, Mehrdad Pooladi, Iran's best player in the World Cup, Hossein Mahini, another traveler to Brazil, and Soroush Rafiei, a member of the Iranian national team in the Asian Cup were also among the accused. They were even banned from playing in military teams until the end of the season. The imprisonment of Hamid Reza Siasi, the CEO of Persepolis, was also controversial. He remains in prison without any official announcement of his charges, and from there his responsibility at Persepolis ended. Mr. Siasi was arrested and sent to Evin Prison shortly after returning from Spain and meeting with one of the opponents of the Islamic Republic in Madrid.