Branko Ivanković, a Croatian coach and one of the well-known figures in Asian football, discussed his time with the Iranian national team and his achievements in this regard in an interview.
Presence in the UAE National Team
He, who is currently working as an advisor and assistant to Zlatko Dalić in the UAE national team, stated: "We have built a team that has high quality, and I dare say it is the best team in this part of the world. It is clear that we are all focused on achieving the ultimate goal, which is to qualify for the World Cup. I thank Dalić for the invitation and I am honored to be part of the UAE national team. I believe I can offer a lot with my experience and knowledge in this role."
Read more: Alireza Zarei Became Champion with a Record-Breaking Performance in the Nagoya Para-Asian Games
Historic Achievements in Iranian Football
Ivanković has a rich coaching record in Asia, having led the national teams of China, Oman, and Iran. Over 20 years ago, he took the Iranian national team to the World Cup, which was Iran's first appearance in the tournament since 1998 and the third in the team's history. This achievement was a turning point for Iranian football, and after that, Iran managed to qualify for four out of the next five World Cups.
He spoke about Iran's historic qualification for the 2006 World Cup, saying: "That qualification was an unprecedented result. At that time, qualifying for the World Cup was much more difficult because only five teams from the Asian qualifiers could qualify directly and indirectly. Unfortunately, in Germany, we faced many problems due to the absence of several players, but we still made a very good impact. I can say we achieved the best results for Iran in the last 40 years."
Ivanković also referred to the special circumstances of the Iranian national team in the 2022 World Cup, saying: "Certainly, participating in this World Cup was harder for them. First of all, due to visa issues, they had to change their training camp, and also because they had to play under special conditions in the tournament. It was a shame because they had a quality team, but they couldn't advance to the second round."
Read more: Pourmousavi: I Was the Third Option for Oil Industry and We Will Not Lose Hope · The Case of Persepolis' Complaint Against Yasser Asani Awaits the Final Ruling of the Appeals
