World Cup 2014 Iran profile: Ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid man Carlos Quieroz leads Asia's best to finals

 
Dejagah: Iranian hopes rest on Fulham star
Tom Collomosse4 June 2014

Cautious by nature, the Portuguese coach looks to mastermind a shock in Brazil

EXPECTATIONS

Asia’s No.1-ranked side are far more cohesive than they were when former Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz took over three years ago, yet it would still be a fantastic achievement were they to reach the second round. “On paper, we are miles behind our opponents but you never know with the World Cup,” Mehdi Mahdavikia, who played in the 1998 and 2006 tournaments, told World Soccer magazine.

COACH

Queiroz is very experienced at club and international level, with his native Portugal, Real Madrid and Manchester United — where he was assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson — all on his CV. His work with Iran has been considered positive although his relationship with the country’s football authorities has not always been harmonious and Queiroz is expected to leave after the tournament.

STARS

Unlike his predecessors, Queiroz has chosen frequently from the Iranian diaspora. Steven Beitashour is the first American-born player to play for Iran while the likely first-choice goalkeeper, Daniel Davari, was born and raised in Germany and rarely speaks Farsi, a widely-spoken Persian language. Queiroz believes Ashkan Dejagah, of Fulham, is the side’s most important player while the captain, Javad Nekounam, remains a talisman.

TACTICS

By nature, Queiroz is a cautious coach and he is expected to be particularly so in Brazil. He is set to start with a 4-2-3-1 formation which, in reality, will become a 4-5-1 for most of the game, as Iran wait for their opponents to make the running and seek to play on the counter-attack. If Iran need a goal, Queiroz could switch to a 4-4-2.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in