Will Nekounam and Shojaei win Camacho’s trust?

Jose Antonio Camacho is the new coach of La Liga side Osasuna, and he is promising to shakeup the team’s lineup in the hope of turning its fortunes around.

As many of you may know Osasuna is Pamplona club and what makes this relatively small Basque club important to the Iranian football fans is the fact that two of the more popular players on the Iranian national team play their football there.

Javad Nekounam and Masoud Shojaei are both midfielders and it is safe to say that they are two of the better players in Team Melli.

Over the years Iranian football has exported many a players to Europe, but not many have managed to find and keep a regular spot on the starters list. Nekounam has been one of the few exceptions. Shojaei is a new comer to Europe, but he has been getting regular playing time. That, however, was under recently dismissed Osasuna coach Jose Angel Zingada.

It will be interesting to see if Nekounam ans Shojaei can win Camacho’s trust and maintain a place on his starting eleven from now through the South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign. Their success with Osasuna could greatly affect Team Melli’s fortunes in its hunt for a spot in South Africa.