Utrecht (AsiaNews) The only Christian player in Iran's national soccer team has been named "Christian star of the World Cup" in a poll undertaken by a Dutch ecumenical Christian group because he was not ashamed in showing his Christian faith.
Andranik Teymourian, a 23-year-old Iranian midfielder, received 31.3 per cent of votes in the online contest organised by Gristelijk (www.gristelijk.nl), a group of Protestant and Roman Catholic teachers and lecturers, out of a shortlist of 11 leading Christian soccer players who chose "to be open about their Christianity".
The poll's organiser Menno Rasch said that a total of 1060 votes were cast during the month-long soccer tournament which ended on 9 July with an Italian victory.
Teymourian, who recently signed for the English club, Bolton Wanderers, "snatched first place" from Dutch players Dirk Kuyt, who received 24.8 per cent, and Kew Jaliens, who took third place with 7.8 per cent. Runners-up included three BraziliansKaká, Zé Roberto and Lucio Ferreira da Silva.
According to Pietre Kohne, spokesman for the Bishops' Conference of the Netherlands, "there is a lot of resistance to the idea that a soccer player might be Christian. I think it is a good initiative to show that players who become superstars in the World Cup are also spiritual and believe in God."
In a statement released in Germany after Iran failed to make the second round with a defeat by Angola, Teymourian said that being part of a religious minority in his country was not a problem and that he got along "very well" with his team mates.