TEHRAN (the-afc.com) � Iran�s national football team coach Amir Qal�e-Noii believes the No. 10 jersey, worn with distinction by former skipper Ali Daei over the years, should be retired in honor of the legendary striker�s contributions. Speaking at a press conference, Qal�e-Noii said, �Daei was one of my teammates in national team and I have really not decided who deserves to wear that jersey (No. 10). But if the (Iran) Football Federation regulations allow me, I would like to retire it. His (Daei�s) was a legendary era in Iranian football.�SAIPA player-coach Daei, 38 and the first man to hit a century of international goals, is yet to announce his retirement from the international game but has not been considered by Qal�e-Noii for the national team after a poor performance in last year�s FIFA World Cup. When asked about national team�s preparations for the July 7-29 AFC Asian Cup 2007, Qal�e-Noii said, �We are trying to arrange some friendly matches but nothing is confirmed as of yet.� �We have a special plan for the AFC Asian Cup but this alone will not guarantee success. It is better to take the 2006 World Cup as an example. That is football.�
Qal�e-Noii took pains to assure that he was trying to strike a balance between both the right and left flanks of national team. �Mehdi Mahdavikia, Hossein Ka�bi and Javad Kazemian have made the right flank very strong but now we need to counterbalance it by strengthening the left flank. Fereydun Zandi, Alireza Nikbakht-Vahedi, Sattar Zare� and Mohsen Youssefi are the candidates I am banking on to do this.�
Iran have been drawn in Group C with co-hosts Malaysia, China, and Uzbekistan.
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