Afshin Ghotbi, Iran’s newly appointed coach, is an American and was actually my youth soccer coach when I was growing up in Los Angeles.

A UCLA grad, Ghotbi for years ran the American Global Soccer School (AGSS) where I played my club ball in high school. He was the best (and most demanding) coach I ever played for, and his methods worked. Quite a few of our guys got D1 rides, and a few – like my boy Marques Davidson – now play professionally. Here’s a BBC TV profile of Ghotbi. Let me say he was just as smooth and charismatic when I was under his tutelage.

ESPN reported a few weeks ago that the United States and Iran might play a friendly match in the fall. That would be sweet, and would surely become a politically-charged event in both countries. It would also give the Yanks a chance to avenge the embarrassing 1-2 loss to Iran in the 1998 World Cup in France. International politics and admiration for Ghotbi aside, I would savor an opportunity for the United States to beat up on the Iranian team a bit. Hopefully the two sides can work out the logistics.

Soccer (all tags)

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