Javier Clemente Doesn’t Know if He’s Coming or Going

By: Daryl | February 28th, 2008

Clemente saga We waved goodbye to the world’s oldest transfer rumour recently, and I think we’re all better off for it. But now we have another saga to deal with: Javier Clemente’s on-again, off-again employment as Iran’s head coach.

The Spaniard has long been linked with the vacant position, and has even signed a contract with the Iranian Football Federation only to learn that his plan to live in Spain and travel to Tehran for games was not going to fly. And so Clemente was fired from the job before he even began. But after failing to find a suitable replacement, Iran announced this week that Clemente “accepted Iran’s condition of living in Iran all the time.” All sorted then.

Except it isn’t.

Because apparently Clemente had done no such thing. Here’s how he explained it:

I continue to think the same way that I did at the start and I don’t know if I am going to sign or not. They want to quantify everything: specifying the number of months’ holiday, and this isn’t necessary from my point of view. I have told them I will live in Tehran the number of days necessary to train the national team and to pick up everything I need to know about Iranian football.

Seems the sticking point is the phrase “I will live in Tehran the number of days necessary,” which Iran feel means every day and Clemente does not. Clemente also added “It’s turning into a saga,” which I think we all have to agree with.

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Category: World Football

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Cerberus

This may be a dumb comment to make, but maybe the coach for a national team shouldn't be someone with obvious contempt for the locale that his team call their home.

I mean treating their country like some foul liquid that he will only submerge himself in long enough to do the job can't possibly engender respect among the players who fight for its honor.

I'd say at this point, Iran could hire Gazza and have a better, more useful choice. Actually that may be the solution to both their problems. Iran would have a coach that needs them and wouldn't make insane and insulting demands and Gazza would have no way to get drunk between training sessions.