It should be a entertaining match but it’s a shame that one of the two better teams of the tournament get knocked out so early while teams like Uzbekistan or Jordan will get to last longer, it just shows what a shitty confederation the AFC has become. Expectations were not too high for Team e Meli but thus far they’ve managed to surpass out initial expectations. We don’t have players like Ali Karimi , Ali Daie, Mehdi Mahdavkia but we do have bunch of motivated guys who are lead by a guy who’s proved that he can beat South Korea in his short time as Team e Meli coach. As much as I liked for us to meet Australia so we could teach them a lesson like we did for 98 World Cup I think this match will be the most exciting match of the tournament.
LOL I have 4 Koreans and 4 Persians coming over for the game. Why do I have a feeling the Koreans will be cheering back home?
1)1996 asian cup qf sk 2:6 iran iran eliminated on semis, won 3rd place match. 2) 2000 asian cup qf sk 2:1 iran sk elimitated on semis, won 3rd place match. 3) 2004 asian cup qf sk 3:4 iran iran eliminated on semis, won 3rd place match. 4) 2007 asian cup qf sk 0:0 iran (sk won by penalty kicks) sk eliminated on semis, won 3rd place match. 5) 2011 asian cup qf: ??? If SK wins the game, will face Japan on semis, so will be different this time
1. everybody already knows this 2. many other posters posted the exact same thing, me being the first 3. sk cant win the game 4. we dont know will be the opponent because AFC is. 5. the winner will lose to the semifinalist and go on to win 3rd place
Oh true. It's going to fall in line with Lunch. Uhm... I'm think of serving 'double K delight' (Kabobs and Kim-chi). In all seriousness, I have no clue what to serve. It's going to be a good time for the Koreans though, watching the game on a good tv, eating good food, and potentially going home with a victory.
Whats wrong with Uzbekistan or Jordan? Why has the AFC become shitty because of a draw we knew about months in advance, it's not like a random draw that the whole world could see was fixed. You tell me that one of the better teams will get knocked out so early and then tell me that Iran have actually surpassed expectations, so is that code for saying Korea will go home early and Iran will continue to surpass expectations.
We have to win this game in regulation time (90 min) and it's very doable and we have Mr. Ghotbi suited for the job. It will only take 90 minutes of full concentration and effort. Please practice PK just in case it goes that far. We have exited too many tournaments because we failed to convert our PKs. GO IRAN
This AC is like reverse 07 AC for Korea. In that competition we played a very different game where our goalkeeper pulled us through third place on pso. In this one, we play very attractive football, but if it goes to pso, god help us... I feel jittery about what trick ghotbi will pull out from his bag of tricks, but my faith lies with my players. It is only appropriate that Korea and Iran should meet again to determine who is the king of Asia. Let us revel and enjoy Zafa's kimchi kabobs.
I'd like to see Iran winning this fixture, for selfish reasons of course! I'm more worried about facing South Korea than I am of Iran, although no team in the quarterfinals deserves to be underestimated.
What's "DT"? Mr. Ghotbi was assigned as the head coach for the last three games of the last WC qualifications. He managed to tie both Koreas on the road (should have beat S. Korea if it wasn't for a late goal by Park), and beat UAE at home. I hope that answers your question.
Thanks, I like Ghotbi. He is very good. And he knows SK national team a lot. Not good for korea.. Anyway actual Iranian team looks less competitive than before for me.
Iran chikaresh mikone? Bring it on Korea! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph3nMRbR5zk"]YouTube - Immortal Iran - World Cup Song[/ame]
Well, If we would beat SK then it would mean you should be more affraid of Iran lol. isn't that logical
this is scary, i rather have faced the aussies... Korea and Iran are in my opinion the two greatest asian teams with a great rivalry going on. If not Iran i want Korea to win the tournament! but its our turn to beat the koreans so well see.
Iran's first date with South Korea at the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup was a memorable one for Iranian fans, and one that Korean fans would like to forget. That game ended 6:2 in Iran's favor and made stars out of several Iranian players, including Ali Daei, Karim Bagheri and Khodadad Azizi -- all of whom scored in that game, with Daei scoring 4 goals! In our next date in the 2000 Asian Cup, Iran were considered clear favorites. That Iranian team had outperformed its Asian rivals in the 1998 World Cup and boasted the largest contingent of European legionnaires of any side in Asia. It was also the reigning Asian Games champions at a time when the Asian Games had still not officially become a youth tournament. Yet, despite an awesome shot from Karim Bagheri that would give Iran a well deserved lead in a match that Iran had controlled, a 90th+ minute slippage by Iranian skipper Ali Daei on a corner kick gave South Korea an unlikely equalizer. That match went into extra time tied 1:1 in regulation, and despite a couple of great chances for up and coming Iranian star Ali Karimi to score, it was the Koreans who scored against Iran on a counter attack. The golden goal by Lee Dong Gook gave S.Korea a 2:1 win in extra time and sent Iran packing. The next time we met South Korea in the quarterfinals, the Koreans were riding high from their magnificent run in the 2002 World Cup. Although Iran had defeated S.Korea on penalties in the semifinal match of the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, and even though that S.Korean team (despite the tournament having become an age restricted tournament in the meanwhile) boasted 5-6 of South Korea's World Cup players, many Iranians had doubts that they could beat the World Cup 2002 semifinalists when our two teams met. After all, Iran had undoubtedly been outplayed in the semifinal match in Busan and, regardless, this was the Asian Cup not the Asian Games. But Iran had a great team as well, with Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia along with Hossein Kaabi each in their prime. A hat trick by Ali Karimi, who won the MVP honors in that Asian Cup, saw Iran beat S.Korea 4:3 in the most memorable and exciting match of that tournament. Next time around, Iran met South Korea in the 2007 Asian Cup, again in the quarterfinals. South Korea's team in that Asian Cup was not exactly their best side; it was an experimental squad and missed quite a few of their regular starters. Iran's team, on the other hand, was still recovering from the aftermath of Iran's failure to meet expectations in its 2006 World Cup campaign. It was a rather lackluster side that had topped its group, but had not looked convincing doing so. Ironically, Iran's best performance in that tournament was against S.Korea, as Iran held the initiative in that match throughout the 90 minutes of regulation and extra time. But it was not Iran's turn to win and when that game went to penalties after a scoreless draw, the Korean team easily came on top. This time around, South Korea will be favorites. They do have a better team, with better known players, and they have done better than Iran even in this tournament. Iran are not hopeless; we clinched top position in our group before anyone else with a game in hand. We defeated this South Korea team not long ago in a friendly in Seoul. And our coach is well acquainted with South Korea's team and its players. But we will go into the match as underdogs, knowing nonetheless that it is "our turn" to win. And we win this game!
I like how the Iranians know their Asian Cup history against Korea while the Koreans don't. The reason why? Korea simply didn't care about the Asian Cup until this year's edition. There was almost no media coverage and the average citizen didn't know or hear about it. Among the Koreans who knew about the tournament, many of them waved it off as a pointless tournament because there was no benefit to it. Koreans cared more about the Asian Games where if they won, the 23 members would get military exemption. That was not the case for the Asian Cup. Historically, Korea has sent a weaker squad to test the younger players for the future World Cups and the progression of Korean Football. It was a boring tournament to the average Korean. So why does Korea suddenly care now? I believe Park Ji Sung was the instigator with his International retirement announcement. With this news, the Korean media went crazy and the thought of Korea's national hero retiring have drawn them nuts. Also, the fact that Korea was sending their BEST players in the history of the Korean Football Administration was astounding. No injuries, and world class young potentials like Ji Dong Won (19) or Son Heung Min (18) were included in the squad. People wanted to see how they would do and if they would live up to the hype. The typical Korean fan believes that Korea is the best footballing nation in Asia. You can't blame how they think. Even many Westerners feel this way and the rest of Asia are scared of Korea. I suppose another reason why we want to win it is to prove that this is true and indeed, what a test this will be. Our progression to being the Asian Cup champions involve playing Iran, and then potentially playing Japan, then Australia. It's a tough road but we're confident we can do it. The Korea you see now is much better than the Korea you saw in the World Cup. We play with fluid passing and our coach is implementing a Dutch/Barcelona/Spain-esque style where we monopolize the possession and pass smart through balls. Our coach is an interesting and a smart man. He plans on winning the Asian Cup but while doing so, he's building this squad for Brazil 2014.