This match has grabbed the attention of most Iranias, football fans or not, and that is all because of Afshin Ghotbi, the Perspolis coach.

The 40 something years old Ghotbi is an Iranian-American who returned to his country of birth after 30 long years to coach one of the two most popular teams in Iran. He has had to fight through many controversies during the last few months to put his team in this position. Perhaps that is why he thinks no matter what happens tomorrow, Perspolis are the Champions.

Iran won the Championship seven times in a row since its inception in 1999, but then was dethroned by an inspired Japanese team in 2006. However, the following year, they got their revenge by defeating the Japanese team 4-1 in the final to get back on top.

This year, the two adversaries met in the semi-finals and Iran overcame the challengers by a narrow margin to win 1-0. The outcome of the match was in doubt until the final whistle, but Iran Coach Hossein Shams claimed afterwards that he had no doubts that Iran would prevail!

Now the only thing standing between Iran and a 9th championship are the hosts Thailand.

Yes, you read me right! That is exactly what they suggested!

As a diehard Iranian football fan, I’d be the first to tell you that our football federation has been out to lunch for many successive administrations; and worst yet, the bill has been charged to us the fans!

For me to read this nonsense is yet another proof that people in FIFA are either completely out of touch with reality, or have good reasons to ignore it.

English football fans who may be reading this, I am sure that you have your own issues with your FA, but please accept my sincere apology for this ridicules comparison. We Iranian fans would gladly switch our federation with yours any time of the day, any day of the year!  

Too bad for Sepahan. They have been Iran’s most successful club during the last half dozen years or so; however, they were unlucky to lose form, not to mention their almost entire coaching staff, half way through the season just when the AFC Champions League group stage began. Not all is lost, however. They are still in the hunt for the Iranian League and Cup titles.

As for Saipa, they will most likely bow out in the first round of the knockout stage. This is their first appearance in Asia, and they have very little experience outside of Iran.
 

Ando, as he is known by Team Melli fans, is one of the nicer guys who has put the TM colors on in recent years. Too bad things did not work for him there, but I think he is good enough to land somewhere in one of the European top leagues.

The fast pace of the EPL does not make it a good choice for Iranian players who are used to playing a turtle-pace game. The fact that Ando lasted there for two years is a testament to his commitment and professionalism. But he should sign with a club where he can get on the pitch more often.

As a coach he is quickly making a reputation for himself as a complainer! Almost in every single game that his club side Saipa have lost he has blamed the referees, the pitch, the weather, you name it! But while Saipa has been struggling at home, they have been shinning in AFC Champions League Group B where they are leading the pack by three points.

Daei did not pass the opportunity to “complain” about his team’s 1-1 tie with The Iraq Air Force team, but he was also focused on tomorrow’s game against Kuwait SC. Should Saipa gets all three points tomorrow, they’ll go through with one match to spare, and that perhaps will make coach Daei happy enough to spare the refs for a change.

The Syrians kicked butt in the first leg and thanks to a 2-0 victory bagged all three points and left the Isfahani’s scratching their heads wondering what it was that hit them! But since then, Sepahan have found their form again and have managed to creep up to third place with six points in Group A where they trail leaders Kuruvchi of Uzbekistan by three points.

A victory in Aleppo International Stadium tomorrow and some agreeable result in the other game, Sepahan may find themselves in a three way tie at the top.

Coach Jorvan Vieira sees the urgency of the situation and has called on his players to rise to the occation

This is so bad that even the Asia Editor of goal.com, John Duerden has had his fill and decided to write about it. Click here to read John’s plea with all involved to let this year’s title be decided on the pitch.

Ali Daei’s Assistant Mohammad Ahmadzadeh has tendered his resignation to him. Apparently Daei has refused to accept it! That probably means that he will stay!

You see, there is this peculiar custom amongst us Iranians that only seems to work well within our own and this is how it goes: Whenever one’s position is in danger, one will find a noble reason to quit before being asked to leave! If the person who was going to fire you, asks you to stay, then you will and you are almost guaranteed to have more security and stability at the very same position than you did before!

Don’t ask me why this is the way it is; it just is! I did not invent it!

So, Ahmadzadeh will be asked by Daei to stay, Daei will say some very good things about him in public, and Ahmadzadeh will come back to the job feeling pretty good about the entire thing!

Now back to the original program:

If you go there will be trouble
An’ if you stay it will be double
So come on and let me know
This indecision’s bugging me

I loved the Clash when I was in college!

IFF has threatened to deduct three points from Sepahan, and they lead Perspolis by only two. With three games left, a three point deduction would be a major blow to their championship ambitions.

There have been a number of strange move and/or decisions made against Isfahan, but this one beats them all. One was a couple of months ago when IFF insisted that defender Hadi Aghili attend the national team camp when Sepahan were scheduled to travel to Uzbekistan for an AFC Champions League match, and their other central defender was suspended!

If I was a cynic, I’d be really suspicious of the fact that Perspolis FC is actually funded by the IFF, an arrangement that is somewhat similar to that of the MLS when the league actually owned the clubs before selling them to investors.

But, I am not a cynic, so forget about it!