That's wrong. First of all, there is no head-counting in Azadi, it's always estimates, so an exact figure like that must be made up. That could be the number of the tickets sold, but the actual attendance was over 110K according to the Iranian media reports I've read.
Haven't looked into this specific case yet, but I remember when we had 110-120K against Japan in 05, there were a ton of problems. Maybe the stadium officials didn't want to get into trouble and they just lied about the figures today (lowballed it). I really think there were at least 105-110K ppl there
you guys need to realize that only the bottom part of azadi has seats, the top part can squeeze in an extra ten thousand or so, people sit on top of each other. LOL
According to the FIFA rules that were set after the Iran-Japan match in 2005, Azadi can't sell more than 100,000 tickets for safety reasons, so that explains the 99885 figure (*wink*) that's reported by soccerway. In reality, the stadium gatekeepers let in as many as 115K people, thousands without official tickets, as "fan leaders","staff", "soldiers" etc.
I didn't like the choice from the start. I think HMB should have gotten his shot for the WCQ and WC campaigns to get the squad completely gelled together. For what it's worth, Choi Kang Hee never used the strengths of any of our players. For one, I think Kim Shin Wook is not an adequate midfield player at all. He should not have been in Koo's spot. Just like I don't think Kim Bo Kyung should be called up either. Son Heung Min should have started either on the right or left side. This aerial assault thing has never been a strength of Korea's and we're going back to the argument of using the wrong tactics for the players that we have. In almost every fixture, the KNT tactics have simply been terrible. The substitutions came in when the timing was the most off. We literally have an temporary interim manager. What the f*** KFA. Also, let's not pull any blame from the players. We stunk today. The defense was rattled and the chances weren't created on offense. This is the most disappointed I've been since we lost to Lebanon.
Hey guys, I just wanted to apologize for Rahmati grassrolling like an Arab. Ironically Iranians are always making fun of Arabs/ arab goal keepers on this issue. Pleas dont let his stupid act cloud your judgement. Iran played a decent game, we defended well and created a couple of chances. Nekounam also hit the Korean bar. Anyway, I found it weird as to why Korea kept sending in long balls!? Iranians fear Koreans playing a ground/passing game, and you did the exact opposite! BTW, what does the cartoon say about Nekounam?
I dont agree with what you guys are saying about the "bad pitch" we gaved you though. I think what you fail to understand is, that the quality of our pitches in Iran are ALL shit. You just have to pick between a shit pitch and a shittier pitch. And believe me the pitch you had was good compared to the other pitches we had to offer. Other than that team melli was training on. You cant compare Korean pitches to shitty Iranian ones. FULL STOP. Our pitches ALL suck.
watched the match last night after work... As much as we want to bash the coach, im a firm believer that players win/lose games. While I thought the lineup was questionable, we had enough talent out there to win this. What it comes down to is desire and want. The Iranians CLEARLY wanted this more than we did. Their level of intensity was far greater than ours, even with a man down. Nekounams strike wasnt a fluke. The rebound was a fluke, but thats soccer, the ball bounces in funny ways. His strike was low, accurate, and composed. At the end of the day, the players need to take most of the blame, not the coach. When we play with a burning desire ( vs Japan or GB in Olympics) we are really really tough to beat. I guess the coach can "inspire" the team to play motivated but I'm a believer that its ultimately up to the player to turn it on and we had enough talent out there to win yesterday regardless of the lineup questioning. WHY THE FU$%$^& does KBK start? Honestly, i havent see a quality performance from him, like ever. wtf? he has zero creativity nor does he provide a defensive presence. I dont get it?? Esp when we have an in form SHM or just a more naturally gifted and talented play maker in LCY. Granted Im not an expert on KBK but can someone explain to me why it seems like he as an automatic starting position? In other news, my KSY Swansea shirt is so effin tight on me god damn..... buy a size L people
eh.. good experience. We still have to win these but when you have Iranians resorting to the lowest of tactics to pull off a 1-0 win so they can hold onto desperate hopes of qualifying I'm just glad there were no grenades on the pitch and none of our players got hurt. The broadcast problems with the audio, changing booths was downright comical. It's sad to see what's become of what once a great civilization...
In bold, coach's decision. Yeah, Madame Tussauds can't get in there and suit up but he controls the tactics, subs, lineups, etc...otherwise what do you need him for? Clearly Iran had something to play for - practically a do or die match for them and credit to them for the 3 points. I just don't believe in doing the same thing over and over and over...it's predictable and defensible. Play it in on the ground once in awhile and have someone dribble into space, c'mon.
Here is something that might cheer you up. After the match yesterday, somebody took a photo of the Korean fans cleaning up their own section of the Azadi stadium. Today, many of the major newspapers in Iran had printed this photo with commentaries praising the Koreans' fan culture and titles like "what the Iranian fans could learn from the Korean fans".
Yeah I was pretty impressed too, I've been to Azadi and a lot of the fans are pretty low class and make a complete mess of the place. I think this is because mostly people from lower Tehran (Joonoobshar) attend matches.
Hey guys, just wanted to say that you guys played a good game overall. You lacked some intensity but we clearly lucked out with this win. Right now our football is simply not on your level and we need a lot of luck in order to pull out such wins. Our goalkeeper grassrolled a lot which became really embarassing in the end I have to admit that. For us it was a clear do-or-die game so I guess after going down one player and scoring a goal they just pulled every "tactic" to seal the victory. Even a draw would have been pretty bad for Team Melli--it doesn't excuse such unsportsmanlike behavior but it puts it a little in perspective I believe. That said I can tell you that I really respect the South Korean and Japanese national teams. You guys are the only ones that represent Asia in a decent way in international soccer and me and all Iranians that I know usually root hard for you guys during world cups. I also like the fact that no matter what situation you never pull grassrolling tactics etc. BTW there is not a single fellow Iranian soccer fan that I personally know that didn't acknowledge the fact that at this time you guys are just simply better period. Don't listen to guys instigating stuff on forums---every fan watching these games knows who has the upper hand at the moment. We are just 6 very good players short of really being on your/japans level (although I do consider Japan even a little stronger than SK right now). Good luck the rest of the way....
Is the Azadi always that packed? I feel like the players benefited a lot from the home crowd and Shojaei's tears which is always nice to see. Good game even though we lost. Nekounam has a hell of a shot.
KBK starts because he is a left footed player. he does deserve to be on the team but between cerezo, KNT, olympic, and now cardiff he is not in form and kind of burned out.
Just one thing that I missed with the Korean squad yesterday was that quick passing, dynamic play....yesterday I saw a bunch of long balls and a Korean squad that seemed a little "clumsy" considering what you guys are usually capable of playing (like last WC qualifiers for example)....I didn't watch your first 3 games but I highly doubt you guys scoring 9 goals through playing this way....maybe you were missing some of your star players..
Doubt it...after all your team has enough international experience to not get intimidated by a large/intense croud...
Sort of off topic, the Korean commentator's pronunciation of Iranian names is fantastic. He must know some Iranians.