In an interview with Tasnim news agency’s sports reporter, Homayoun Shahrokhi said about Dragan Skocic’s retention as the head coach of Iran’s national football team, “The discussion of Skocic staying or not was wrong from the beginning.” They don’t change a teacher who has done a good job. Skocic and his technical staff worked hard and should go to the World Cup with the national team, but because we live in a place where there is lawlessness in our sport, the national team suffered with another lawlessness and the players have been divided into two groups. After keeping Skocic, it turned out that the technical committee of the federation is not the decision-maker. In the end, the football of the country and the people suffered because it was not clear what happened.
He clarified about the registration of some figures to participate in the Football Federation: We have a proverb that one cannot be bitten twice by the same hole. I don’t know who the decision makers are, but apparently they like to be bitten in the same hole a few times. A person who has passed the exam should not come again. The loved ones whose names were mentioned are our friends, but the reality is different from friendship. The names that I heard registered for the federation only want to own the chair of the federation and none of them care about football and its development. I don’t like to name anyone, but the person who was in the logistics and liked to be with football, today plans to become the president of the federation. These are for small footballs.
The former manager of the Iranian national football team said about comparing the current conditions of the national team with the adventures of the 2006 World Cup in Germany: In football, five players may have more friendships and five players less. We are not supposed to always think negatively. I’m not saying there weren’t differences, but there are for all teams. For example, I heard that there were differences of opinion in Esteghlal, even though they won the championship, and the same in Persepolis. The listener must be wise. In the 2006 World Cup, Mohammad Dadkan, Branko and Hossein Farki did their job and there was no problem. Maybe some people would be angry, but it didn’t concern us!
In response to Mehdi Tarimi’s recent statements and the request of some experts to leave him out of the national team, Shahrokhi pointed out: When a player is left out, some people support him so much that he comes back again. I was in teams like the national team, Pas Tehran, Khuzestan Football Club, etc., and I did not allow a player to rise above his level. The reputation of the national team is so high that the player cannot determine a role. Unfortunately, due to insufficient management, players are affected. If there is no discipline in the team, anything can happen. A series of talks were meant to weaken the head coach, and now I don’t know what they want to achieve. As long as there is no discipline, the house is ruined.
He continued: “The national team, whether without some of the current stars or with them, will be fourth in its group, but leaving aside the indisciplines, at least one is happy that there are 11 Iranian lions on the field instead of 11 politicians!” Where there is no law, politicians and opportunists win. The people, football and sports of Iran suffer here.