Filippo Monteforte / Contributor/Getty Images Forty years ago when I traveled with the Iranian National Football team to Argentina for the 1978 World Cup, Iran was the football powerhouse of Asia. A young, charismatic team full of energy that had gone undefeated in the qualifying rounds, sending all its rivals in Asia and Oceania to defeat and claiming the only spot in the World Cup to represent the two continents. Iran had the capacity to field three prime and junior teams at Asia championship level and to compete with European clubs at that time. We were three-time Asia Cup of Nations champions, fifth-ranked at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and sole representative of Asia and Oceania in the 1978 World Cup. Despite all our accomplishments, every single one of us in that Iranian National Football team believed Iran’s potential for football greatness to be more than what we had actually achieved. We had dreams of how to build a national sports program to benefit Iran’s yout...