According to Tasnim news agency and quoting the media of Khuzestan Steel Club, Javad Nekounam, the head coach of Khuzestan Steel team, in an interview with Varzesh Radio, said about his return to Khuzestan Steel: “I am proud to be in the service of the Great Steel Club.” During my time here, we tried to do well and the team is growing. Due to what happened at the beginning of the season, the conditions for cooperation were not provided, but the issue of my presence in Foolad was raised again, and considering that I knew enough about this team and almost 95% of the team is the same as last year and my own players. I decided to go back.
He continued: “No team in the Premier League and League One, except Foolad, has played with the same lineup last year, and we have been even more empty-handed in some places than before.” All teams pay to succeed. 5-6 players left our team, of which 4 were the main players, and now they are the main players in their teams, and in general, our team is weak in this respect. The other teams had ideal conditions and this year they spent enough to get quality and expensive players.
The head coach of the Khuzestan Steel football team pointed out: After reappearing in the steel, we worked on the children psychologically. We play once every five days and we tried to keep the team ready and keep the team in shape so that the team can continue its good process. It’s hard work, but we have to deal with recent issues like injuries.
Nekounam said about his strong defense and comparing his coaching style with that of Carlos Queiroz: “Mr. Queiroz is one of the great coaches in the world, but my coaching style is such that I tried to learn from any coach in Spain or Mr. Kirosh. He sees things in football that he needs a lot of experience to understand. My coaching style, as a young coach, is to try and have a hard-working team. You know that it is difficult to face costly and valuable teams such as Esteghlal, Persepolis, Golgohar, Sepahan, Rafsanjan Copper, but our goal is to run and fight until the last moment. To compensate if we are weak, if we are strong we try to become stronger.
“We could not have ideal conditions because of the closed window,” he said, referring to the problems caused to the team by the window being closed. There were teams that had a good team but got a few more players who would change the outcome of the game, but we tried to make up for it with effort and a winning mind. We continued with every result we got so that we could succeed. We can get players in the first half, but it is very difficult to get players in the middle of the road. Good players definitely have contracts, but we try to identify strengths and weaknesses in order to get players in the positions we need.
The head coach of the Khuzestan Steel football team, referring to the injuries of some players, added: “Sometimes injuries or suspensions have hit us, but we tried to continue on the path with more strength.” In these two years, the players worked hard; Those who are with us now and those who left. We all struggled together to be successful.
Nekounam also said about the refereeing of the match with Nesaji and the statement of Nesaji Club: “I also said in the post-match press conference that Mr. Heidari is one of the best in Iranian football and I have a personal interest in him and the football community should be proud of him and Respect the likes of him. There were 4 scenes after the game that I protested and now I admit I made a mistake on two scenes, one was a penalty and one was a dismissal. With respect to all the expert friends, but in my opinion, a penalty for our team was definitely not taken, as someone who has played for years and at least watched football, I would say that the textile goal was one hundred percent wrong, but still from Mr. Heidari I apologize. I honestly say I made a mistake and I’m happy to apologize.
He continued: Mr. Haddadian Malek, Soltani Ghaem Magham and Saket Elhami are the textile coaches of our friends, but I know that some people are doing mischief there. We had an argument with the referee and we had nothing to do with the textile team wanting to make a statement. I love the textile team and its fans and I had good memories there. When we lost the game for two consecutive years in Mazandaran due to refereeing mistakes, did the textile club make a statement that the referee made a mistake?
The head coach of Mazandaran textile football team regarding the statement of Sirjan Golgohar club after last night’s game stated: Golgohar club had a protest on a stage and made a statement. There is no reason for us to want to protest and make a statement, and if this happens to any team, it is not right. Football and clubs need to be more professional in this situation. Every club talks about refereeing, there is no reason for another club to want to answer. The conditions of the league are a bit better than last year, and I hope the conditions will be better with the arrival of VAR. There is another thing I have to say about the scenes, some experts tell us one thing but say something else on TV, that it is not right to change their words.
Nekounam reminded about Gol Gohar team: Golgohar team gets quality players every year, they pay good money and in the three years they are in the league, their team is doing well. Given our difficult conditions, I hope that all clubs will reach such conditions and that our football can be successful.
Regarding the situation of steel this season, he said: “I am happy to have worked with Mr. Azari and Mr. Garshasbi in these two years, and this is one of my honors.” I would like to thank Mr. Mohammadi and Mr. Ebrahimi, the managers of the steel plant, for their good choices. Good planning and management will lead to success. The window was closed and it hit us a bit, but we made up for it with a collective effort. We will try to be successful this year as well. In the previous two seasons, I participated in bodybuilding and pre-season training, but this year it was not like that, and the physical condition of the players is not my ideal now, and I do not blame anyone for this. We try to have the best performance and try harder, it makes me happy to have such players. Yesterday, we played a great game and we were able to beat the good team of Golgohar Sirjan, and it is an honor for me to serve such a united and hard-working team. God willing, we will be able to make the oppressed people of Khuzestan and the dear fans of steel happy again.