Iran vs. Argentina: “A Match Between Brothers”

Argentina and Iran haven't come face to face on a football pitch for 37 years, since a friendly in 1977. But on Saturday, they will meet once again, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

For many years, diplomatic relations between the two countries have been marred by the devastating events of July 18, 1994, when a bombing at the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires left 85 dead and hundreds injured. But Saturday is all about football,  a diplomatic endeavor with its own momentum, an international event outside the realms of politics, judicial wranglings and diplomatic sparring. The teams will arrive at Belo Horizonte’s Mineirao stadium ready for a unique sort of fight, built on sporting comaraderie and a shared love of football. 

"The national football team has to convey the message of peace, friendship and peaceful coexistence," said the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Ali Kafashian, in Tehran, as the national team left for the Word Cup in Brazil in early June. 

The Iranian-Argentinian

There are only an estimated dozen Iranians living in Argentina, a country with a population of about 41 million people. One of them is Mesri Bizzari, who has lived there for 27 years. “The Iran-Argentina match is a match between brothers,” Mesri,  a doctor at the Carlos G. Durand Hospital, one of Buenos Aires’ big public hospitals, says. He hopes both teams perform to the best of their ability and that, no matter who wins, he’ll enjoy watching a game of quality football. “The earth is too small to take sides. We are citizens of the world.”  

"All Iranians are football fans,” and, according to him, living in Argentina means it’s impossible not to catch the football bug. Because he’s lived in Argentina for such a long time, he feels passionate about both teams.

On Saturday, Mesri will watch the game with Argentinian friends and his family: his Iranian wife and their children were born and raised here. His daughter, an architect, is 26 years old and his son is currently completing his studies at an industrial school. He says one day he will travel to Iran with his family.

Will his Argentinian friends laugh at Mesri if Iran loses? "Nothing like that will happen,” he says. Unlike the traditional rivalry between Buenos Aires teams River Plate and Boca—it’s thought that half of the country’s football supporters support one or other of these two teams—this kind of ongoing battle doesn’t really figure in an international context.  Argentinians are committed to their national team, heart and soul. But they respect their opponents.

The exception is England: the two countries share an ongoing hostility. Mesri Bizzarri cites the political rifts between the two countries, as well as England’s poor reputation in Latin America in general – for many, England is seen as a colonizer and invader. And then, of course, there’s football, and the memory of 1966, when England beat Argentina amid complaints of Argentina’s captain being sent off unfairly, and 1986, when England lost to Argentina following Diego Maradona’s so-called “hand of God” goal. 

The New Arrival

Mohammad Khirandih arrived just two months ago, and plans to watch the match with an Argentiian friend. Both very much want to see their respective teams win. But above all, Mohammad says, they want to see good football, no matter who wins. 

Mohammad came to Argentina after working at the Iranian Embassy in Mexico for the last 15 years. He’ll watch the match with the Iranian Ambassador, the Consul and his family. “I'm 100 percent sure that we will lose,” he says.

Mohammad Khirandih likes his new country. He likes the clean streets of Figueroa Alcorta and Sivori, and Barrio Parque, where the embassy is located. Though he hasn’t been there long, he’s surmised that they’re among Buenos Aires’ most expensive and well-maintainted neighborhoods. He studied cooking and now works in general maintenance for the embassy. And he loves football. He would have liked to fly Brazil to see the match with Argentina, but the flight was too expensive, around 12,000 pesos ($700). "Better to see it on the screen with a tea,” he says. “Or a mate”, he adds happily, referring to Argentina’s national drink.