By James Hartwell | Football Writer, Sportspherearena
Sardar Azmoun is back in an Iran shirt. Three months after watching his country play the World Cup without him, the 31-year-old was named in the squad for September friendlies against Uzbekistan and Russia — preparation fixtures for next year’s Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
He is Iran’s second-highest scorer of all time, 57 goals in 91 caps, a striker who has carried the national team’s attack through two World Cup cycles. None of that kept him on the plane to North America. State agency IRNA cited injury. Other reports pointed elsewhere — to a photo Azmoun posted with Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, shared shortly after US and Israeli strikes hit Iran in June, and to the backlash it triggered among government supporters.
Azmoun has never confirmed that version. He also hasn’t fought it in public. What he did instead, on Monday, was post about getting the call back.
“From 2014 until today, I’ve lived through so much in this jersey,” he wrote. “I came, I went, I was cut, I came back. I won, I lost, I laughed, I cried. But never, not even when I was away, did I ever see myself as separate from the national team.”
That’s 12 years of history in four sentences — two World Cups, a Bundesliga move to Bayer Leverkusen, a switch to Roma, and now a return to UAE side Shabab Al-Ahli, the same country whose ruler’s photo reportedly got him dropped in the first place.
The Iranian Football Federation marked the recall with a photo of Azmoun smiling alongside federation president Mehdi Taj — as clean a signal as a federation can send that the episode is closed.
Azmoun said he’s not interested in relitigating it anyway.
“I’m not upset with anyone, nor do I have anything to prove,” he said. “I’m just happy to have the chance again. The chance to fight with all my heart for the country I love.”
Iran’s World Cup ended in the group stage — three draws, zero wins, out on goal difference. The Asian Cup is next, and Iran land in Group C with Syria, Kyrgyzstan and China when the tournament opens on January 7. Azmoun, back in the squad and back in the conversation, intends to be part of it.
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