Iran's coach hopes side can be World Cup 'dark horses'

AFP, September, 2005

TEHRAN (AFP) — Brazil, Argentina or Holland and not Germany are the teams best placed to scoop the World Cup in Germany next year, Iran's Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic told AFP.

But he also sees the Iranian team, among the first to qualify for a slot in Germany, as a major "spoiling" force who could give the big sides a run for their money.

"I think the favourites will be Brazil, Argentina, and Holland," Ivankovic told AFP in Tehran. "I do not believe in Germany. Although they have a good team, it is not a team to win the cup - they have a young team."

"If you want to win the cup you need stars, and the Germans do not have any stars except Ballack and Kahn," he said referring to Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn and playmaker Michael Ballack.

"We were better than them," Ivankovic insisted of Iran's ...