Iranian B Team players hold up the trophy after beating Iraq in the West Asian Tournament final game in Jordan in July 2007.

TEHRAN, Feb. 12--Iran’s Football Federation is set up a B team as a support for the National Team.
Announcing this, Mehdi Taj, IFF’s spokesman said that the decision was made in the last meeting of the entity’s Board of Directors, Mehr News Agency wrote.
“Forming the secondary team will help us to support the main team in the future. It is our objective to identify talented players and the team will be formed in line with this,“ Taj said.
Pointing out that Iran will have to have two powerful national teams at the same time, he added, “The B team will participate in Asian and international tournaments to raise our players’ experience.“
According to him, the team will be headed by Iranian coaches.
Iran’s previous B team took first place in the West Asian Tournament prior to the Asian Cup in Jordan last year. The team beat Iraq 2-1 in the final.

MADRID, Spain,
Feb. 12--Former Spain and Serbia coach Javier Clemente has accepted an offer to take charge of the Iranian national side during the qualification phase for the 2010 World Cup.
“Yes, I’ve accepted the offer,“ Clemente told Reuters on Monday. “My aim is to help Iran learn and improve as a team.“
The three-time Asian Cup winners have been without a coach since the departure of Amir Qalenoei after they were knocked out of the competition by South Korea in the quarterfinals last July.
The Iran Football Federation announced last month they had appointed Clemente but the Spaniard said his decision would depend on a visit to Iran.
“Last week’s visit to Iran went well,“ said Clemente, who explained that he would not live in Iran but would travel to the country only to prepare the team for their matches.
“It has been decided that I will go back and forth between Spain and Iran in order to coach the team,“ he said. “I won’t be living there.“
The 57-year-old added that informal talks with Osasuna’s Iranian international midfielder Javad Nekounam had helped him make up his mind and decide to take the job.
“The conversations I had with Nekounam were very useful. They were of great help,“ he said.
Clemente faces the enormous task of transforming the team into a respectable force and living up to growing expectations from Iranian fans who see him as a savior.
Iran got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a disappointing start when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Syria last Wednesday. Iran and Syria contest the all-Middle East Group Five along with the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Iran will be the third national side that Clemente has coached in his career.
He took charge of Spain after their failure to qualify for the 1992 European Championship in Sweden, guiding them to both the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 96.
He was appointed Serbia coach in July 2006, but was sacked in December last year after the team ended their Euro 2008 qualification campaign in third place behind Poland and Portugal and failed to make the tournament.

OAKLAND, USA, Feb. 12--Stephen Jackson scored a season-high 41 points, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer and getting 10 of the Golden State Warriors’ 12 straight points in the final minutes of a stunning 120-117 victory Monday night over the Washington Wizards, AP said.
Jackson’s 3-pointer with 55.6 seconds to play gave Golden State its first lead since the opening minute of their 11th victory in 15 games. Monta Ellis added 22 points and Al Harrington had 21 for the Warriors, who fell behind by 23 points in the first half but gradually chipped away at the lead, eventually holding Washington scoreless for 2:50 while rallying to win.
Jackson, playing on a sprained left ankle, made six free throws and that big 3-pointer in the final minute, finishing one point shy of his career high after scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Roger Mason scored a career-high 32 points and Antawn Jamison added 25 for the Wizards, who lost their eighth straight and fell apart late in an otherwise outstanding game for a club missing three key players with injuries.
Washington is on its longest skid in more than six years, giving up a 15-4 run by the Warriors in the final 3 minutes.
Baron Davis had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as Golden State swept the season series from Washington for the first time in five years.
The Warriors have rallied from a double-digit deficit 12 times this season.
Only Jackson’s heroics prevented the Warriors’ second embarrassing home loss to an injury-plagued Eastern Conference club in five days. Chicago outran Golden State for a 114-108 victory last week while playing without three of its top four scorers.

Mahmoud Mashhoon (3rd l) holds the 'Oscar del Basket' trophy along with other winnersÊin Quattro Castella, Italy, on Monday.

QUATTRO CASTELLA, Italy, Feb. 12--International Basketball Federation has awarded ’Oscar del Basket’ to Mahmoud Mashhoon, the head of Iran’s Basketball Federation.
Basketball’s sole international prize is awarded to high profile basketball characters, Iran’s Basketball Federation’s site wrote.
The prize was also awarded to the heads of the federations of Spain (World Cup Winner), Russia (European Championship Winner) and Angola (African Championship Winner) as well.
Mashhoon is the first Asian to receive the prestigious award.
Mashhoon and the Iranian board attended the dinner ceremony which was held by Quattro Castella’s mayor on Monday prior to the Oscar ceremony. He was awarded in recognition of the success in the sport.
Iran won the Asian Championship after 60 years in 2007 and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games for the first time.