Managing one distraction at the World Cup is hard enough.
As Iran’s 2-2 World Cup-opening draw against New Zealand showed, Team Melli have to handle two: the fallout from the armed conflict between Iran and the United States, and the adjacent division between Iranian-American fans who support or oppose the current Iranian government.
“Everything is like disaster actually, for us,” Iran and Olympiacos striker Mehdi Taremi admitted. “It’s not the right thing. But we don’t follow the excuse. We just looking forward. We (are) having hope for the next two games. We’ll do our best for our people and bring the joy for our supporters.”
The international conflict forced Iran to relocate its tournament base camp to Tijuana, Mexico, and make only short trips to the United States for three scheduled group matches.
After Monday’s Group G clash in Inglewood, Calif., Taremi said the team was informed they had to return to Tijuana that night, rather than after a scheduled recovery session Tuesday morning. Manager Amir Ghalenoei confirmed.
“We spent so much time in the air commuting, they didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, but we’ve been told to return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that. I think perhaps our team is the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup.”
Meanwhile, a heavily pro-Iranian crowd drawn presumably from the large Iranian-American community living in the region displayed their own varying opinions on the state of their homeland’s governance.
Some sang the national anthem while others booed. Some waved the current Iranian flag, others the nation’s pre-revolutionary banner.
“My people in Iran, they are so great,” defender and goal-scorer Ramin Rezaeian said of the anthem reception. “If there is any problem between us, this is our business; this is none of your business. So I just respect you, but this is something between us. And we’re going to settle it, don’t worry.”
Even so, that support roared as one for each Iranian goal with a noise that rivaled United States fans in the USMNT’s 4-1 win over Paraguay at the same venue three days earlier.
Team Melli need to draw on that support again when they return Sunday to face a Belgium side that drew Egypt 1-1 in their first match.
“I want to say thank you to all the supporters who come. The Iranians in Los Angeles they make a great atmosphere for the game,” said goal-scorer Mohammad Mohebi.
Added Taremi: “It was like a home for us. I hope they do the same for us in the next two games, the same thing.”
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
