George Steinbrenner often compared himself to powerful,iron-fisted leaders.Assuredly, the late New York Yankees owner never had the Iranianpresident in mind.An American diplomat did, calling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the ”TheGeorge Steinbrenner of Iran” in a leaked U.S. cable detailing thepresident’s meddling with his country’s national soccer team.Steinbrenner’s name showed up among the thousands of StateDepartment documents released by Wikileaks. His son was startledwhen told by The Associated Press.”I think that’s a ridiculous comparison,” Yankees co-chairmanHank Steinbrenner said this week. ”Obviously, it was veryinappropriate.”The confidential cable described how Ahmadinejad tried to usethe popularity of Team Melli to improve his standing with theIranian people ahead of the 2009 elections. The diplomat predictedthe team’s struggles could affect the president’s results at theballot box.According to the document, Ahmadinejad, a former player, usedhis position to influence the firing of two coaches in a matter ofweeks, an act George Steinbrenner was well versed in.Known as The Boss, Steinbrenner changed managers 21 times duringhis 37 1/2 years as owner.The cable, out of the Dubai-based Iran Regional Presence Office,said Team Melli was suspended in 2006 from internationaltournaments because of Ahmadinejad’s ”repeated violations” ofsoccer’s governing body’s rules against political interference.The State Department declined to address the cable’scontents.”We don’t comment on supposedly… Read full this story
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