The former Persepolis player said: “In big games, the first mistake becomes the last mistake and Ulsan was able to use his experience.”
In an interview with ISNA, Seyed Mehdi Seyed Salehi said about the defeat of Persepolis against Olsan Hyundai and the team’s runner-up: At the beginning of the game, Olsan took over the game and did a combination of work and pressed. If Ulsan Press was a strong point, his weak point was a press from the opposing team. Just like the scene where Ulsan’s left defense against Wessel Kobe made a mistake, he also made a mistake in this game and Mehdi Abdi was able to open the gate for this team.
Lack of concentration after the goal caused Persepolis to take a penalty
He continued: “Persepolis did not have a specific plan until the 40th minute and only defended, and the players of this team had their eyes on the counter-attacks, but after scoring the goal, their motivation and self-confidence increased.” Lack of concentration after the goal caused Persepolis to take a penalty. Every team must be vigilant for at least 10 minutes after scoring a goal so that they do not make mistakes, but the experience of midfielder Olsan led to a penalty being awarded to them. If Persepolis went to the locker room 1-0, the situation would have been very different, but the game was tied anyway.
Persepolis was attacking in a hurry
The former Persepolis player said that their motivation doubled after the goal scored by Persepolis, adding: “The hidden fear of Persepolis decreased and Ulsan also retreated.” Persepolis was attacking in a hurry and otherwise they would have had the ball and Ulsan would have retreated. They could have created better situations with more focus and used the depth of defense and disruption of the team’s defense, but the second penalty showed Persepolis’ lack of focus on the right.
In big games, the first mistake is the last mistake
He added: Seyed Jalal Hosseini played very perfectly, but a series of incidents happened and they also used their high experience and won the game. Ulsan had more possession in the first half, but in the second half they retreated and tried to push Persepolis forward and use counter-attacks. Persepolis did not have a 100% position in the opponent’s goal in this game, and except for the situation in which Ulsan hit the goalpost of Persepolis, they did not have that position. In big games, the first mistake becomes the last mistake and Ulsan was able to use his experience.
This loss cannot be blamed on a player
Sayyed Salehi, stating that football is a game of mistakes and if you make a mistake, it will be hard work, said: Mehdi Shiri knew for sure that he should not raise his hand when he jumps, but he made a mistake in a moment and VAR is for all teams. All footballers try to do their best when they play and try to work with all their might. Mehdi Shiri also took the trouble and this was a mistake anyway and if they did not score in this way, they might have received the goal in another way. This loss cannot be blamed on a player, but in any case, Persepolis would have experienced much better conditions if they had a more complete team and were absent, but this happened and our hand was cut from the cup and we could not win the championship.
If our players reach this stage, it is because of their zeal and masculinity
In response to the question why Iranian teams are not champions in football, he said: “We are behind the East Asian teams and the Persian Gulf teams in terms of hardware and software.” If our players reach this stage, it is because of their zeal and masculinity. We will not succeed unless we build our infrastructure and do the right thing. If we win the championship, it will be only temporary and we have to build our infrastructure from the basic and club categories. See how much financial problems our teams have in Iran.
Everything has to be put together to make a team a champion
In the end, Seyed Salehi said: “Another issue is our position in Asia.” We do not have people who have influence and help our teams. Only the performance of the player and the team should not be considered and everyone should be together to make a team a champion. We will not appear strong in Asia as long as we do not want to and as long as the federation, the league organization and the clubs do not want to be behind each other and strengthen ourselves.
End of message