Records are made to be broken,
The heroes pass the torch to the next generation,
The Green/White/Red flag is meant to rise and wave with pride and glory,
…And our hearts are meant to feel the joy and happiness despite the hardships.
What is it about football, this simple game when 22 men run after a single ball that brings so much joy and happiness to our lives?
Is it because we love the rhythmic movements of the players, with or without the ball, like a perfect and in-tune symphony that create harmony on the field and in our minds that capture our hearts and minds?
Is it the fact we all see ourselves
in spirit with those 11 players and share their happiness,
their pain and their anguish that make this game so special?
Is it because football is the one game, the only game, that in our country, with
our nation of nations, that brings us together as one,
as a whole?
Is it because we find our sense of nationalism
and patriotism with each victory and feel the anguish with
defeats of the national team
that football is so important in our lives?
What is it about football that: “Brought tears into my eyes” as R. T. wrote me after Iran – Japan game from South Carolina,
“Made me cry 
following it on TV” as J. K.wrote who is another Iranian in exile,
in Japan, after the match,
“Made my heart warm and my Norooz Sheereen” as Karen J. wrote from England?
The heroes in “Azadi “brought happiness to all of us.
For eight years, since March of 1998, Japan had not lost to an Asian team in a tournament match. That record was broken by the “Warriors in White”, with shades of green and red in Tehran on the 25th day of March of 2005.
Records are meant to be broken and we broke a good one today.
The irony
of seeing the most achieved Iranian football player in or history, Capitan
Daei, leaving the field due to injury and the two goals scored by Hashemian,
the new
goal scorer of goal scorers could not be lost in Azadi, on TV, on Radio
and over the internet.
On this day, Daei officially passed the torch to Hashemian and Hashemian proved that he deserves to take it. Hashemian
is not the “king of the field” yet as Daei has been for over a decade but Vahid’s 2 goals, following his 2 goals performance against Qatar showed that he deserves to be the torch carrier.
My hat’s off to Daei for years of great service!
My’s hat’s off to Hashemian for a great day and many many beautiful days to come!
On this day, when Karimi was mostly
controlled by the great Japanese defense, Karimi found
ways to set our offense on fire on a few occasions and
in one such occasion, his brilliance set the second and
winning goal for Iran, just moments before he was substituted.
On this day, "the old man", Golmohammadi, proved that he is still reliable and solid,
"the experienced", Rezai was the true Capitan of defense,
“the kid” Kaabi showed guts and speed,
“the new man on the block” Zandi showed why he belongs,
“the sole of midfield”, Nekunam, was in control and not controlled,
“the recovered”, Navidkia, was the playmaker,
“the heart”, Mahdavi Kia, was simply all over the field,
“the gatekeeper”, Mirzapoor, showed his reflexes against 2 great shots,
even Nosrati, tried hard.
On this day, Hashemian became “the Terminator” and Japan bowed to an Iranian football team that we love and enjoyed watching her game.
On this day, Branko Ivankovich, bought
himself a 2 year lease with the Iranian football and put
a nice deposit toward attending the World Cup!
Last week I wrote my heart wants a 2-1
for Iran but my gut says 1-1.
Shahrokh S. wrote me this
morning: ”Good to see your heart win!”
On this 25th day of March, with a 2 – 1 victory of our national team against
Japan, 70 million hearts smiled and won.
Congratulations to all Iranians wherever you are!
From a land far far away,
Kaveh Mahjoob
Iran
vs. Japan - A Sweet Victory for a Nation!