OUTSIDE PRESSURES MOUNTING NO GAME OF POLITICS IRAN TRYING TO FOCUS SOLELY ON SOCCER.

Byline: SCOTT FRENCH Staff Writer

NUREMBERG, Germany - Iran heads into its third World Cup with one wish: that the next two or three weeks won't be about politics.

The odds aren't very good. European lawmakers and Jewish groups have repeatedly called for Iran to be expelled from the tournament in response to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declarations that the Holocaust never happened and that Israel ``should be wiped off the map.''

Ahmadinejad has everyone guessing whether he'll make an appearance in Germany -- he said he would, then that he wouldn't, then that he might -- but Iranian Vice President Mohammed Aliabadi is expected to attend the team's opener tonight against Mexico at Nuremberg's Frankenstadion. Protests are expected.

``It is not the place nor the time to speak about politics,'' Branko Ivankovic, Iran's Croatian coach, said on the eve of the game. ``It's not my duty. I'm just thinking of my team, the game. ... It's not for me.''

European Parliament members petitioned FIFAPresident Sepp Blatter in December and again last month to rescind Iran's qualification, citing Ahmadinejad's statements, Iran's nuclear standoff with, especially, the U.S. and noting that Yugoslavia was booted from the 1992 European Championship because of atrocities during the first of its civil wars.

``We're not going to enter into any political declarations,'' Blatter said late last year. ``There have been so many rants from heads of states, even in Europe. We in football, if we entered into such discussions, then it would be against our statutes. We are not in politics.''

Neither is Ivankovic, who would prefer all attention be given to his squad, a mix of veteran stars and highly considered young players.

This is, he said, the best team he ever has coached. Iran's fans, both home and abroad, consider it the finest their country has fielded.

``We possess an extremely strong team, which, with just a couple of exceptions, is also extremely young,'' star playmaker Ali Karimi said. ``We definitely have the best team in our history.''

Karimi is the string-puller, teaming at midfield with dynamic Mehdi Mahdavikia, who scored the biggest goal in Iran's history to secure a 2-1 triumph over the U.S. in 1998, its only victory in sixWorld Cup games. Up front is 36-year-old legend AliDaei, who in 147international games has scored a world-record 109goals -- 25 more than 1950s superstar Ferenc Puskas, the No. 2 goalscorer, and 32more than Pele, who is No. 3.

The youngsters include defender Hossein Kaebi, just 20, and defensive midfielder Javad Nekounam, 25. Iran is counting on breakout performances from both in a bid to proceed to the second round.

Team Melli, as the national team is known, faces Portugal on Saturday in Frankfurt and Angola on June 21 in Leipzig.

``We feel we can beat anyone,'' said Ivankovic, who helped guide Croatia to the semifinals at the 1998 World Cup. ``I know Mexico and Portugal are the favorites from (Group D), but we are going to give it a good try. We know we can make it through to the next round.''

If Iran does reach the round of 16, Ahmadinejad said he'll come to Germany. He's fanatical about soccer, has practiced with the national team and plans to watch all the first-stage matches on television.

German Jewish leaders have said they'll do whatever they can to prevent him from traveling to Germany. Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, noted that Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust a ``myth.'' Denial of the Holocaust is a crime in Germany, punishable by as many as five years in prison.

German leaders said they won't bar Ahmadinejad from traveling to Germany, but Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble promised to inform the Iranian leader, if he did show up, that his remarks were ``unacceptable.''

Iran's players have had little to say about the controversy.

``They're young people,'' Ivankovic said. ``They don't think about politics.''

``We almost don't talk about it,'' said German-born midfielder Ferydoon Zandi, who holds dual German- Iranian citizenship. ``We sometimes make jokes about it, but this is business on the fringes, and we don't care about it.''

Former Iranian players aren't so nonchalant.

Hassan Nayeb-Agah, who played at the 1978 World Cup, and two former teammates -- part of the dissident National Council of Resistance of Iran -- said they would protest at the tournament if Ahmadinejad made an appearance.

``Don't let the mullahs misuse the World Cup,'' Nayeb-Agah urged at an April news conference in Berlin. ``The World Cup is a place for peaceful and civilized people, not a warmongering regime. Don't let Mahmoud Ahmadinejad misuse the World Cup the same way Hitler did the 1936 Olympic Games.''

Neo-Nazis have voiced their support for Ahmadinejad and planned to march in support of the Iranian team during the game in Leipzig.

Ivankovic, asked about such support Saturday, wouldn't comment on it.

``I'm here because of (today's) game,'' he said. ``Ask me about my team, the game, Mexico.''

It was, he reiterated, neither the time nor place for politics.

scott.french(at)dailynews.com

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Iranian national team exercises days before its World Cup opener against Mexico.

Michael Latz/Getty Images

(2 -- color) Branko Ivankovic Iran's coach (above)

(3 -- color) Hasan Nayeb-Agah a former player and member of the dissident National Council in Resistance of Iran