The famous Ukrainian striker Volodymyr Pryyomov spoke about football in Iran, where he played in 2016-2017 for Persepolis.
Vladimir Priyomov- I moved there after Metalist. Iran is a very strong football country. There are also quality players playing there. If we take the infrastructure, then there are no such strong bases, but the players are of a very high level. For example, the Iranian national team plays at the World Cup, which indicates that the level of football there is good. I played for Persepolis - and this is a very famous team. They played in the final of the Asian Champions League, because there are good conditions. But they cannot pay on time.
— How long did it take you to get used to Iran?
- For a very long time, I'm not used to it. There are a lot of prohibitions and strict rules. This is a Muslim country and it's hard there. I can’t say that I didn’t like something there, I just couldn’t get used to the country itself.
— People there are really so teetotalers, do they all drink and walk, just hiding?
“In Iran, they drink and go out, but they try to hide at home. If they see a bottle of beer on the street, then there will be very big problems. There are very brutal police. If a person wants to stop drinking, then he can go to Iran (laughs).
— Iran sold drones to Russia to kill Ukrainian civilians. Did you expect this?
- I did not expect this, but they are very good friends with the country with which we are now at war. This is politics.
— Did you expect the Iranians to shoot down the Ukrainian plane?
- No, I didn't expect it. I remember this tragedy, it's very bad.
— In Iran, a girl was killed for her clothes. Have you encountered such situations there?
— No, I haven't come across it, but this is not news to me. There are very harsh laws. This is already a game, we have 2022 in the yard, and you see what is happening in this country. This is some fifth century.
