Iranians have football in their souls, Queiroz says

TEHRAN,Feb.19(MNA)--Iranian national football team coach Carlos Queiroz said that the Iranian people have football in their souls. Queiroz, who has travelled to Brazil to attend a FIFA workshop, lauded Iranians in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo published on Tuesday. “The world has a bad image of Iranians. We will try to bring ‘pride and dignity’ to Iran during the FIFA 2014 World Cup,” the Portuguese said. “You need to live in Iran to know that Iran is a place like other places in the world. People cry, laugh, take their kids to school, get caught in traffic jams… the people are all equal there,” the former Real Madrid coach added. “Their football has been affected by economic sanctions. In Iran, you don't need to convince anybody to love football, like in neighboring countries and the United States. Iranians have football in their souls,” Queiroz stated. Iran has been drawn in Group F of the 2014 World Cup, along with Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Nigeria. The World Cup will be held from June 12 to July 13 in Brazil, and Iran will play its first match against Nigeria in Curitiba on June 16.