Making their third appearance in the World Cup finals this summer, Iran will be desperate to please their passionate supporters back home and the large Germany-based expatriate population by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time.
And though, in truth, little is expected of the Gulf side, they are boasting, hands-down, the best squad in their history and will have large pockets of support in the stands on which to draw strength.
Evergreen captain Ali Daei is the most prolific scorer in international footballing history with 107 goals in 143 appearances for Team Melli — nine of which came in qualifying for Germany 2006, proving he still has the goods.
Alongside him will line up a quartet of German Bundesliga-based attacking talent: Bayern Munich’s 2004 Asian Footballer of the Year Ali Karimi, Hannover’s roving Vahid Hashemian, Hamburg’s Mehdi Mahdavikia and Ferydoon Zandi of Kaiserslautern.
Domestic talents like Hossein Kaebi in defence, Javad Kazemian in midfield and Rassoul Khatibi up front provide less well known but high-quality back up.
Croatian-born coach Branko Ivankovic has built himself a deep and talented squad in the four years since taking over after Iran’s heartbreaking play-off defeat by Ireland ahead of Korea/Japan 2002.
The nation first tried to qualify for a World Cup back in 1974 and only had to wait until Argentina in 1978 four years later to make their debut at the tournament.
The qualification was no mean feat back then either, as only one team from Asia reached the then 16-team competition. Managing to take home one point from a draw against Scotland, the finals in South America proved a positive learning experience for the team.
Their next appearance at a World Cup came 20 years later in France 1998, where they managed to beat the United States in a politically charged match where the off-field overtones threatened to overshadow the football.
The win was the only one from the four Asian teams that qualified for the finals that year, again making their World Cup foray a moderate success. But this time around, the Iranians will be keen to take another leap forward and will surely not be satisfied with merely incremental increases on their prideful previous gains.
Politics, though, are again a consideration for Iran as some have called for the Middle Eastern nation to be barred from competing while Tehran pursues development of a nuclear programme.
Others have speculated that Team Melli’s meagre preparations for the tournament thus far are the result of international pressure and worries among some top-calibre opponents about travelling to the Iranian capital for friendly matches.
Regardless, the side are sure to bring their trademark technique and guile into Group D where they will do their all to get points off seeded Mexico and European heavyweights Portugal before beating debutant Angola to claim that dreamed-of spot in the second round.
With attacking firepower to spare and a good blend of youth and experience, Team Melli could well give the millions of Iranians sure to be following their progress in Germany and around the world something significant to shout about. – Sapa-DPA