Qalenoei has points to prove against Queiroz
Amirhadi Arsalanpour
Staff writer
There will be more at stake for Iran and head coach Amir Qalenoei than success in the final showpiece of a friendly tournament, when they square off against Qatar in Amman, Jordan, today.
With the AFC Asian Cup less than three months away, a win against the host and defending champion will be a statement towards other title favorites – namely Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and South Korea – ahead of the continent’s flagship international event.
Qalenoei, meanwhile, will have his personal reasons to go all out for a victory against a familiar face on Qatar bench, Carlos Queiroz, from whom the Iranian took over after a group stage exit in last year’s World Cup.
When Qalenoei replaced the high-profile Portuguese – a former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson and the ex-coach of Real Madrid as well as Colombia and Egypt – his appointment was deemed as a step backward for the Iranian football, and today he will be eager to prove his credentials for the job.
Qalenoei has always been outspoken in lamenting the lack of time he was given during his previous spell on the national team bench – a 12-month period ended by a last-eight shootout defeat against South Korea in the 2007 Asian Cup – which was in stark contrast with what Queiroz experienced during his nine-year tenure in Iran.
Back in June, after a 5-1 thrashing of Kyrgyzstan in the CAFA Nations Cup, Qalenoei said he had been trying to change his team’s “decade-long tactical approach and mindset.”
“Throughout my career, I’ve always been known as an attack-minded coach and a free-flowing football is what I want to instill in the national team,” said the former manager of Esteghlal and Sepahan, who is the most decorated coach in the history of the Iranian top flight with five trophies.
The Iranian’s comments were somewhat of a veiled swipe at his Portuguese predecessor, who, despite some decent World Cup performances against football powerhouses Argentina, Spain, and Portugal, was often criticized for adopting a defensive, boring gameplan, even against relatively easier opponents in the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup.
Today’s contest at the Amman International Stadium will provide the Iranian with the perfect opportunity to show he is up to the task of steering the three-time champion to a first trophy in 48 years in January’s showdown in Qatar, while giving the Iranian fans a more entertaining brand of football.