Despite another upheaval within the Iranian soccer federation just three weeks before the World Cup, the United States is in for an emotional battle June 21 in Lyons.
The unknown Talebi. Six months after more than 100,000 fans thronged the streets of Tehran to celebrate Iran's qualification for the World Cup, tumult of a different sort plagues the soccer heroes of this Islamic nation.
Jalal Talebi replaced Croat Tomislav Ivic as head coach in late May, and no one knows what effect this will have on the team.
Coaching changes are nothing new for the Iranian team.
Mohammad Mayeli Kohan got the boot for refusing to play star Khodadad Azizi early in the qualifying rounds. Brazilian Valdir ''Badu'' Vieira, familiar to American fans as the coach of Costa Rica early in CONCACAF qualifying, came aboard in late 1997, and got Iran through the final weeks of qualifying.
But Vieira, who'd been working without a contract, never did nail down a long-term arrangement.
Defensive flaws. U.S. head coach Steve Sampson believes the U.S. can exploit what he perceives as serious flaws in the Iranian defense.
Ivic, who built his reputation as a defensive tactician, proclaimed he would install defensive discipline into the team that struggled in the late stages of qualifying.
Unfortunately, he never got his message across. Defense remains the weak link in the Iranian team.
Ironically, Talebi says Ivic had it all wrong, trying to promote defensive tactics that don't fit the Iranian mentality.
Tabeli's mission, according to Iran federation officials, is to serve as a motivator for his players, to put ''them in a right frame of mind to face any situation.''
Bundesliga stars. With its three German Bundesliga stars Karim Bagheri, Azizi and Ali Daei, Iran has the potential to trouble the United States.
Bagheri played in 18 matches for Bielefeld this past season, scoring three goals and being credited with two assists.
Daei is a capable player ù especially with his head ù in the penalty area and scored seven goals at Bielefeld, but it remains to be seen if he can adapt to the pressure-cooker atmosphere next season at Bayern Munich or be yet another foreign striker doomed to be a bust.
Azizi netted five goals for Cologne. All three Iranian players had the misfortune of playing for clubs that were eventually relegated.
Emotional encounter. The Iranians can be counted on to throw their best effort of the tournament against the United States.
''They will play that match with all the emotion they can muster,'' said Sampson. ''For the Iranians, their game against the United States is their World Cup.''
The Iranian players know they will return to Tehran as heroes if they can beat the U.S.
Comeback artists. Even if the United States gets ahead of Iran, it will have to be careful.
Iran has demonstrated an ability to recover at critical moments.
It blew a big lead in its Asian group last fall, ending up second behind Saudi Arabia. A sudden-death loss to Japan in a playoff of Asia's two runner-up teams followed.
Iran's last chance for qualifying was in a second playoff, a two-game series against Australia.
Iran tied the first match 1-1 in Tehran, and was trailing 2-0 in Melbourne when Vieira brought on forward Ebrahmi Tahami as a substitute in the 74th minute to open up the Australian defense.
Bagheri and Azizi scored in the next four minutes, and Iran went through.
More recently, Iran beat Inter Milan 4-1, four days after its embarrassing 7-1 loss to Roma that cost Ivic his job.
(by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney)