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On the way Iranian soccer team heads for U.S.
Posted: Wednesday January 05, 2000 09:56 AM
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's national soccer squad left Wednesday for the United States for three friendly internationals, including one against their hosts on Jan. 16 at the Rose Bowl in California. The team will stop first in Frankfurt, Germany, to pick up visas from the U.S. consulate and then fly on to the United States, the daily Abrar said. Iran agreed to the invitation for friendly internationals after the U.S. Soccer Federation accepted Iranian conditions that fingerprint formalities be waived, the paper said. Because of a history of hostility that dates back 20 years, Iranians entering the United States are often fingerprinted by U.S. immigration officials. Ties between the two countries have thawed since the 1997 election of President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who seeks better relations with the United States. Iran, which begins its Asian Cup qualifying campaign March 31 in Syria, will begin its U.S. tour with a match against Mexico Jan. 9 in Oakland, California; head south to Los Angeles for its second match, against Ecuador on Jan. 12; and finish against United States on Jan. 16 at the Rose Bowl. That game will be the first meeting between the teams since Iran beat the United States 2-1 at the 1998 World Cup in France. Iran's technical manager Jalal Talebi, who was head coach at the World Cup, said his players were in good shape, and weren't underestimating their opponents. "We know the Americans have done a lot to improve their striking power after the World Cup but we are prepared to meet them," Talebi was quoted as telling the newspaper Iran. Iran will not be short of support in California, which is home to a sizable Iranian community. Washington severed diplomatic ties with Iran after militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. In January 1998, Khatami appealed for "a crack in the wall of mistrust" between the two countries and proposed nonofficial exchanges. Several U.S. academics and sports teams have since visited Iran.
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