AFC - Consistency has often eluded Iran at the threshold of world’s greatest football extravaganza.

Except for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they finished second in the group behind Japan, Team Melli suffered do-or-die situations twice in the past 11 years, emerging victorious once and returning crestfallen the second time.

In 1998, they fought back from two-nil down to secure a 2-2 draw away in a play-off against Australia which helped them secure a ticket to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France after a gap of 20 years. Their home leg earlier ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Four years later, they went down to Ireland, again in a play-off.

This time around, they were unable to secure even a play-off place. Iran finished fourth in Group B as Korea Republic and DPR Korea secured automatic places while Saudi Arabia finished third to contest the play-off.

Iran are blessed with some of the best players in Asia. So, why did they fail to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa? Here are seven possible reasons.

1. Frequent coaching changes

After their unsuccessful 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign, Iran have been plagued by the coaching merry-go-round as the powers-that-be experimented with their “favourite” tacticians.

Following Croatian Branko Ivankovic exit after the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany, Amir Ghalenoiee failed to inspire the team in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup as they lost in the quarter-finals.

Mansour Ebrahimzadeh was installed as the caretaker coach but Team Melli failed to score a single goal under him in the friendlies as part of their preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Iranian legend Ali Daei stepped up to resurrect their fortunes. But after some stuttering results, Daei was sacked after a home defeat to Saudi Arabia. He was replaced him with Mohammad Mayelikohan.

The Saipa coach, however, was forced to resign just two weeks into the job after an off-field controversy and was eventually replaced by Afshin Ghotbi, who was left with too much to do in his final three qualifying matches.

2. Karimi factor

Daei’s period had seen a lot of ups-and-downs for the team and his move to exclude several big names, including former AFC Player of the Year Ali Karimi, drew criticism from the fans.

Differences between these two legendary players of the country are well-known and to make matters worse, Karimi announced his retirement when he was called up for their game against DPR Korea.

“The Wizard” did make a U-turn and showed his readiness to return but was not included in the squad for their match against Saudi Arabia, which caused much controversy.

Karimi, 31, finally did return to the field of play under Ghotbi and his fine individual goal against the UAE at home helped the team keep their World Cup hopes alive. But still, the damage had already been done.

3. Ageing players

On paper, Team Melli had the best assembled names the country could have but their performances on the pitch failed to match their off-field reputation.

Excluding a few patches of brilliance or odd goals against lowly-ranked teams, the veterans of Iran, who often warmed the benches of their European clubs, failed to live up to the billing against stronger opposition.

Knowing the demands of the modern-day game, an ageing Karim Bagheri stepped aside but not before leaving his mark with a strike that helped Iran secure a point against UAE.

It seems that either there were no suitable replacements or their experience was needed against the strong sides. In any case, these veterans failed to deliver when needed the most.

Even Iran coach Afshin Ghotbi later admitted that he wanted to infuse young blood in the team but the youngsters had no time to get international exposure before such important games.

4. Lack of quality friendlies

The national team sometimes struggled to find strong opponents to prepare for their World Cup qualifying matches.

They won the West Asian Football Federation Championship at home and beat Azerbaijan before the start of the final round of World Cup qualifiers. Under Daei, they also took part in an international competition hosted by Oman where they played Ecuador and China.

Later they hosted Kenya and Senegal who were well below their world rankings.

5. DPR Korea

In any other World Cup qualifying campaign, teams like Iran would relish having DPR Korea in their group, especially in the final round.

The Koreans were in self-imposed isolation for many years and few expected them to be serious contenders to reach the South Africa finals. The fact that DPR Korea played in last year’s AFC Challenge Cup for lower-ranked national teams – albeit with a second-string team – would have removed them from the radar as far as Iran were concerned.

Though Iran beat the DPR Korea 2-1 at home, it was the Koreans’ performances against other teams in the group that eventually thwarted the Persians.

6. Media and fan pressure

Before the start of the fourth-round qualifiers, then coach Daei made an appeal to the media and fans to cut his team some slack.

However, on the media part, this is non-negotiable. Iran’s football media is among the most vociferous in the world, leaving no minute detail – be it a positional, coaching or scheduling issue – unexamined.

The expectations of fans mirror that of the media and both want nothing less than perfection. Pressure on the players can be overwhelming, and, in this campaign, it was too much to bear.

7. “That’s football”

Hardly a technical or thoughtful reason but coaches, players and administrators use this phrase freely so it appears to be a legitimate ruse.

“That’s football” is an all-encompassing answer for winning, losing, drawing, an unusual goal, a glaring miss, refereeing decisions and anything else that requires an explanation in football.

For Iran, “that’s football” can explain away their home loss to Saudi Arabia, the coaching changes and other events that contributed to their failure to qualify.

Do you agree with these reasons? Go to our poll and have your say.

(Any views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of AFC)

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