Iran clinch soccer gold
with win over Japan
Alastair Himmer
Defending champions Iran won the Asian Games men's football title for the fourth time with a 2-1 victory over Japan on Sunday after second-half goals from Javad Kazemeyan and Mohsen Bayatiniya.
Kazemeyan pounced on a mix-up between Hikaru Mita and substitute Takeshi Aoki to rifle home a right-foot shot from the edge of the box three minutes into the second half at Pusan Main Asiad Stadium. It was his first goal of the tournament.
Two minutes from full-time, Bayatiniya capitalised on another blunder from Aoki to beat goalkeeper Takaya Kurokawa with a right-foot shot from 25 metres to give Iran a richly deserved second.
Moments later, striker Satoshi Nakayama converted a Tatsuya Tanaka cross from close range to set up a tense finish but Iran survived to add to the Asian Games titles they won in 1974, 1990 and 1998.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge was on hand to present the gold medals to the Iran players.
The Iranians had squeezed into the title match after beating hosts South Korea 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out following a goalless draw in the semi-finals.
But they were more adventurous against the other World Cup co-hosts with Moharram Navidkia and Javad Nekounam superb in midfield.
Although Iran had been forced to work hard in the first half by a Japan side contesting their first Asian Games final, they totally dominated the second period.
FIERCE DRIVE
Two minutes after Kazemeyan had opened the scoring, Navidkia struck the post with a fierce drive from 25 metres as Iran came out with real purpose after the interval.
Japan nearly fell further behind when a dipping left-wing cross from midfielder Ali Badavi almost caught out Kurokawa.
The Japanese, who brought their under-21 team to the under-23 tournament, missed a good chance to equalise in the 84th minute when Tanaka broke clear but the midfielder sliced his effort well wide from eight metres out.
Outplayed for long periods against South Korea, Iran began brightly here and almost went ahead in the 18th minute when a 25-metre drive from Nekounam forced an acrobatic save from Kurokawa.
Japan had their own chances, though, and midfielder Yoshito Okubo shot over the bar after a defensive slip from Yahya Golmohammadi in the 24th minute.
Iran had suffered a blow earlier in the tournament when top striker Ali Daei returned home following the sudden death of his father.
NATIONAL PRIDE
But, with national pride at stake after the senior team failed to qualify for the World Cup, Iran quickly re-grouped, beating Kuwait 1-0 in the quarter-finals before their dramatic victory over South Korea.
"The whole of Iran was disappointed not to be at the World Cup but this result will go some way to making up for it," said Iran coach Branco Ivancovic. "My players were outstanding tonight and absolutely deserved victory."
The Croatian added: "No disrespect to Japan but South Korea were a much better team. The semi-final was a real battle but that win gave us tremendous confidence for the final."
Japan, meanwhile, achieved more than they had hoped for as they reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1970 before beating Thailand 3-0 in Ulsan.
"This was a learning experience for Japan. The players did better than I expected but they were taught a lesson in what it takes to play at this level," said Japan coach Masakuni Yamamoto. Earlier, South Korea beat Thailand 3-0 in Ulsan to win the bronze medal.
Park Dong-hyuk, Lee Chun-soo and Choi Tae-uk were on target as South Korea went one better than they did at the World Cup, when they lost 3-2 to Turkey in the third-place playoff.
