In an interview with Tasnim news agency’s sports reporter, Reza Watankhah said about the performance of Persepolis in the first half of the Premier League 1401: I am happy that the half season ended with Persepolis winning the championship, but I know that the work of this team is difficult in the second half of the season. The reason is that we Iranians, especially athletes, usually don’t think about the end of the work and we leave all our sadness and grief on the present and want to have the present. Of course, this is not a bad thing either, but we have to be careful because in order to finish the work, we will face more difficulties compared to the first half of the season.
He further emphasized: Considering the games played in the first half of the season, the teams got to know Persepolis more and they know our strengths and weaknesses, so we have to work much more so that they cannot use these things against us. The competitors in the return round are much tougher, but I hope we will win this year.
Watankhah said about the main rivals of Yahya Golmohammadi’s students: Don’t see Golgehar who is now in the second or third place, in my opinion, these are temporary. Usually, in the league, you can count on the position of established teams. Teams like Sepahan, Esteghlal and a lot of tractors; I consider these to be the main opponents of Persepolis.
The former player of Persepolis emphasized that this team must definitely add a forward to its lineup for the second half of the season and reminded: Persepolis does not have a poisonous forward and what must be done is to solve this weakness. I don’t know how this Khuzestan forward (Al-Katheer) is doing and where he went, but first of all, for the championship, we must be able to score goals and collect points. It is true that we should not score goals, but it is not possible to be a champion if we do not score goals. Don’t score and don’t score, eventually the game will end with a draw. If we lose even one game and win one game, we get better points in this way, with two draws we lose four points, but with one win and one loss we have at least three points. The technical staff must know better than me that they have to get a scorer. Of course, I heard that they are looking for a Brazilian player.
He continued: That foreign player (Lukadia) who left the team and left and boasted about non-sports issues. Persepolis was able to finish the half season with a difference, it was good and we are happy. We hope they finish the season with the same result. The members of the technical staff know the weaknesses and strengths of the team better than anyone, because they are with the team, but in my opinion, the most important problem of Persepolis and of course all teams is financial issues. If they can supply the players well, they will play more calmly and without worry.
This football veteran said about choosing the head coach of the national football team: I don’t know what to say. God forbid his way. What does he want from our football?! Of course, he is a smart person. I am talking about his fans who really support him. I heard that they wanted to bring Bronco too, of course he went to the national team of Oman and did well there too. I don’t think it will come, but whether it will be or not, the problem is that our football work in the World Cup is difficult.
He stated: We have never advanced from the preliminary stage, and with the facilities and situation we have, I think it is unlikely that this will happen in the following years. For this reason, my opinion is on the Iranian coach. We didn’t climb with a foreign coach, we didn’t climb with Talibi and Mohajiran, so why should we pay a foreigner? It is better to employ an Iranian coach, which has more merits for us.