Ghotbi the man to lead Iran but no dice in Australia

The Uzbekis are in ominous form going into Wednesday’s hit-and-run mission in Sydney, dispatching the Socceroos’ bunny four goals to zip, three from the head of Pakhtakor striker Farhod Tadjiyev.

The win, their first of this campaign, puts them level on four points with Qatar and Bahrain but ahead on goal difference in third position in Group A. Another win over the Aussies could change completely the complexion of what seemed to be an obstacle-free, cut-and-dry qualification path for Australia.

Our arch nemesis Japan, with a win over Bahrain at home, has leapfrogged the Socceroos to momentarily lead the standings.

In Group B, too, the traffic has suddenly started to bank up. Only four points separates leaders North Korea and fourth-placed Iran, with only United Arab Emirates out of the race on a solitary point.

The 2-1 loss to the Saudis on their own turf was a catastrophic result for Iran and has delivered a high-profile casualty in the head of its coach, Ali Daei.

Brutal, perhaps, but what choice did the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) have in the circumstances when the man they handpicked for the job would not accept any responsibility for the result?

"It was not Ali Daei who was defeated today; it was Iran's national football team,” he said on Saturday, referring to himself in the third person (always a sign someone might not be right for the job).

So what does this have to do with us?

Well, Afshin Ghotbi, who was in Australia recently and expressed his interest in an exclusive interview with The World Game in taking an A-League coaching position, has already been anointed as the frontrunner for this incredibly high-pressure, high-responsibility position – one that carries the hopes and dreams of tens of millions of Iranians, both in the Islamic Republic and the Persian diaspora.

A big job by any measure. And one that can only be done by a very brave man with commensurate ability who commands instant respect from his players.

Yet, with all his pedigree, contacts and international experience, only two A-League clubs – one current, one aspiring – bothered to talk formally or informally with Ghotbi when he was in Australia about taking on a role in this country.

A man who is one of the closest friends and trusted professional colleagues of our own national coach, Pim Verbeek. A man who last week was talking to another national federation in Asia about leading its national team.

For me, it just brings home again the myopia and narrow thinking of some of the people who run Australian football clubs and represents a golden opportunity that went begging

As on many occasions in the past, the opportunity that came our way is now someone else’s.

Let’s not let it happen again.

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