Skocic: People in Iran devalue my performance for personal gain / I want respect, not a red carpet!
According to Fars news agency, the Croatian newspaper vecernji conducted an interview with the head coach of our country’s national team, which you can read below:
* There were many rumors that you are leaving the Iranian national team. However, you have remained as the head coach and very soon, the warm-up games will be held.
In general, I’m not one to get carried away and expect a red carpet after a job well done, but I at least expect respect. Because it is clear that I deserve to participate in this World Cup. There are people who, for their own personal gain, try to devalue everything I have done so far. The common feature of all of them is that they are resistant to the facts and events that happened. In all the preliminary stages of the World Cup, they tried to create a conflict and multiply this difference, thus causing problems for the national team. All of them should not overlook the fact that this was the fastest World Cup qualification for an Asian team in history with the most wins and the most points.
Where will your training camp be for the preparation of the Iranian national team and friendly matches?
If there is no problem, our training camp will be held in Vienna, Austria, and we will have a friendly match with Uruguay and Senegal.
You achieved a historic and extraordinary success with the Iranian national team. Advance to the World Cup before the tournament is over. How did you achieve this success? No coach before you could reach it, even though coaches like Carlos Queiroz, the former head coach of Real Madrid, or Marc Wilmots, the former head coach of the Belgian national team, were sitting on Iran’s bench.
I succeeded because I am focused on my work first. I distanced myself from all the distractions. This is very difficult in Iran, but I had already learned to either ignore the opinions or consider them as a motivation in front of me. I didn’t pay attention to the criticism, I think that my work was very important. I did not enter into any margin. I started from the fact that I can never please everyone. I’ve always been the one who thinks that it’s very important to work alongside quality performance.
After the poor results of Mark Wilmots in the first four qualifying games of the World Cup, Iran chose you as its head coach and you also managed to record 15 wins, one draw and two losses in 18 games and lead the national team to the first place in the qualifying group of the World Cup. deliver Given that at the time almost no one believed that Iran would advance to the next stage, how much pressure did you feel because of that impossible mission?
My work was really hard at the beginning, the team was under a lot of pressure, because of the previous bad results we were not allowed to lose any points in the next qualifiers. Many have already considered us excluded from starting work. I think that I got to know the players, the conditions and spirits of the players helped, and my players showed that they can show high stability and character in a stressful situation. In the turmoil and storm, we all aimed for peace together.
Given that politics always enters sports, what do you expect from the game against America? Given that there is a lot of political tension and bigotry between the two countries on the political scene, how will you prepare the players for that game?
We cannot ignore the political importance of this match. I am sure that my players will be highly motivated for that game because the result of this game will be very important for everyone in Iran. There will certainly be a lot of emotion in this match and the key is how to control those emotions and how the players focus on the game itself.
Iran has never advanced from the group stage of the World Cup. In the Qatar World Cup, which starts at the end of November, Iran will be in Group B with England, America and Wales. Is there an expectation in Iran that you and the national team will advance to the next stage for the first time? Will there be pressure on you beforehand?
Of course, there are such expectations because, as you said, Iran still does not have the experience of advancing from the group stage. My expectation is that we will move in this direction and climb, but it is clear that we must be both realistic and humble in this regard. This is the only way we can reach the highest possible level. After participating in the World Cup, which was our main goal, we want to change this goal and make it bigger. I push myself because I want to do something that no one else has been able to do, even though I know how hard it will be.
In the last 10 years, you coached four clubs in Iran, apparently the results were so good that you were offered the position of head coach of the Iranian national team.
Without compliments, I think I did well in all teams. There were people in the Iranian Federation who recognized this and believed in me. I think I have repaid their trust. Everyone expected a big name. This made the situation more difficult for me. When I was chosen as the head coach of the national team, some people ignored and underestimated me, and then started criticizing me because I thought my progress was evident. I have been in Iran for a long time, many people have had the opportunity to meet me, I hope many appreciate me.
How is your relationship with the media?
I have to say that lately I have been quite cautious about the media, which is not good at all. Just because I thought my team needed some rest. Anyway, I don’t like endless pitiful pandering to people and the media. I hardly force myself to say what others want to hear. I don’t spend a lot of time seducing the surrounding environment and reflecting my image, and of course I am aware of the influence of the media. Maybe this is one of my flaws.
Is there anything that the Iranian national team is better than in the previous two World Cups that were close to the second round?
It is unpleasant to compare the Iranian national team at that time and this time. In major tournaments, most players play at their own level, and I have seen in these years that Iranian players can go above this level. I am convinced that this is a common characteristic of all generations. Some teams look comfortable when they have the ball and others when they don’t. I think Iran should focus more on games in this World Cup because it is in their genetics. This does not mean that we will be naive or that we do not respect pragmatism.
What else will be important in the preparation of the national team for the World Cup? Do you also invite Sadegh Moharrami from Dinamo Zagreb?
We respect all opponents as much as possible, but we believe that our national team has enough quality to face all teams in the World Cup. It is very important for us that before the World Cup, as much as possible, the players play at their clubs and are in good shape and everyone is ready for the World Cup. That too in the World Cup, the preparation of which is very short. We have many players outside of Iran, their experience and knowledge is important for us in different fields. Moharrami is one of the main members of the team. He played almost all the qualifiers and I expect a lot from him.
What do you think about the stars of the teams?
Some players think about what the team needs, and in most cases these so-called star players follow their instincts and talent. They have the capacity of improvisation and are ahead of what happens on the ground. A team needs both control and chaos. You need both, the asterisks and the ones not defined by that prefix. But sometimes you have situations where you know only one player is your best player, but it’s also clear that the team plays the best without him. What all coaches have in common is that they like players who give everything to make the team better, like Modric Ma, and less like players who abuse the team. However, as I said, genius and creative players are always with me.
When we were talking, your fans who wanted to take pictures with you, interrupted us.
Iranians love football, the Iranian national team is very important to Iranian people, so it is natural that they take a picture with the coach of the Iranian national team here.
You have been in Iran for a long time, how do you like life in this country?
I definitely want to break and change prejudices and negative opinions about Iran. Western superficial media reflect these things and want to make the world afraid of Iran and Iranians. I would like the people of the world to see Iran as much as possible and get to know the people of this country because I can promise them a great experience. Iranians love guests and will attract your attention in the first contact. You can certainly expect to be welcomed in Iran. This is a country where you are often asked if you need help without asking. Iranian people are the best reason to travel to this country.
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