Iran’s football continued its setback during the AFC Awards ceremonies held in Kuala Lumpur to honor top footballers , teams and officials of Asian football. Ali Karimi was short-listed for the coveted AFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR , while Iran’s futsal was represented by the Captain of Team Melli futsal, Mohammad Keshavarz in AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

 Iran had two more nominations as AFC MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR and Alireza Fagahni in AFC REFEREE OF THE YEAR , while Iran’s Futsal Team Melli was nominated in the AFC FUTSAL TEAM OF THE YEAR categories .

At the end of the ceremony , Iran’s football was awarded one of the 6 nominations with the IRIFF selection as AFC MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR.

Iran had no nomination in the Women section while it was absent ion the other coveted sections of Young player and the best clubs.

As the year is coming to close, this ceremony award had typified the pitiful status of football in Iran in 2012. Bitter loses at all levels have highlighted the football federations failure to deliver the success that has been far too long coming. The losses have dented the confidence and the trust of the football supporters in Iran which is one of the largest fan base in Asia. For a nation that has an eternal passion for football, Iran’s trophy cabinet has a dearth of silverware, and has failed to win the Asian Cup since 1976, while also failing to qualify for the Olympics or winning the Asian Youth title (U19) cup since the revolution in 1979.

 The full list of winners can be found at the Asian Football Confederation site.

 

The Former head coach of Team Melli , has rejected any ideas of him coaching the national team and said that “ I have already been there twice and I’m not hungry for a third term”. Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan was responding to questions ahead of his club Gahar Doroud league match. Mayeli-Kohan who was the coach of Team Melli in Asian Cup 1996, criticized the federation and said that instead of these gentlemen doing their proper due diligence specially when it came to the contract , they we far too excited  with Queiroz and instead , they all lined up to take  pictures with him.

“I have said repeatedly that the team does not play well, no progress, no results and this is one of the main problems in our nation’s football.”  “However, qualification to the World Cup is quite difficult now and lots depend on others results in the group. Making it to the Finals would not be considered the greatest achievement, while failing to qualify is not a disaster, either. Not everything depends on our qualification to the World Cup. We’re looking forward to see our team play a nice game to start with.” Added Mayeli-Kohan

Gahar Doroud football coach continued his comments on the status of Team Melli and said that “We should have studied the clauses of contract before agreeing  terms with Carlos Queiroz , instead the gentlemen were far excited and lined up in turn to take picture with their prize catch rather than doing their due diligence.”
“So , we ended up paying  lots of money, we have lost our pride and dignity and lost our reputation at  international level.  Can anyone tell me of one proper instance that the recruitment of a highly paid foreign coach assisted in developing of our team or gaining a much needed result? Also, anyone can tell me the value of bringing foreign-based players? We should have been much smarter in signing the contract, unfortunately we fell far short.

Mayeli-Kohan did not specifically point to any clause in the contract between IFF and Carlos Queiroz that seems to be a matter of concern to him or the public.

Gohar coach noted that the Team Melli has no manager for administration, has no Public Relation and media manager, no one to liaise with , officials , TV and the Press. The result of such poor management an absence of a man with such responsibility backfired immediately,  that happened in the home game against Uzbekistan. Did you not see how Team Melli started the second half with one man short ? Because there was no one competent to prepare the players’ substitution form ! That was comical and if it was an Iranian coach in charge with such mistake happening, you reporters would have buried him with barrages of criticism, showed the clip over and over again in that famous TV program ,  but with Queiroz , no one dared to question him , not even that TV program!” Mayeli-Kohan added.

“ I have a question for you. Our national team defender Hadi Aghili was one of the best defenders in the country and the highest defender goal scorer in the history of our football team, where is he? Why was he not invited to the national team? I think the neighbor’s chicken is a goose. Your media people have an obsession with foreign coaches. You think they are geese and for me, the foreign reporter is!” Concluded the outspoken and frequently trouble seeking coach.

Futsal Team Melli Captain , Mohammad Keshavarz has been nominated once again for the AFC Futsal Player of the Year award 2012. Keshavarz joins Ali Karimi who is nominated in the best football player award. Karimi has won the award in 2004.

It will be a historical first for both the players , as no Iranian player has managed to grab the award on two different occasions.

Ali Karimi , has played for Bayten Munic and Schalke 04 after his succes in the Asain Cup 2004 where he was sel cted as the tournament best player and also the top scorer.  Karimi also played for Qatar FC , Steel Azin before setteling in Perspolis.

Mohammad Keshavarz has played for several clubs in the last 10 years. The 30 years old Captain of Iran’s Futsal team has played for Kowser,Shensa Saveh, Shahid Mansouri, Foolad Mahan, Shahid Mansouri before moving in 2011 to Giti Pasand, where his is currently the captain.

AFC ANNUAL AWARDS 2012 NOMINEES (in alphabetical order)         AFC DREAM ASIA AWARD All Nepal Football Association  (Nepal) SALT Academy  (Cambodia) United Arab Emirates Football Association  (UAE) Myanmar Football Federation  (Myanmar ) National Unity & Integrity Dept (JPNIN) -(Malaysia) AFC MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR IR Iran Football Federation Japan Football Association Korea Football Association Qatar Football Association AFC FAIR PLAY ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR  Football Federation Australia IR Iran Football Federation Uzbekistan Football Federation   AFC CLUB OF THE YEAR Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) Kuwait SC (Kuwait) Ulsan Hyundai  (Korea Republic) AFC FUTSAL TEAM OF THE YEAR Iran Japan Thailand AFC NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR WOMEN DPR Korea U-17 Team Japan Olympic Team Japan U-20 Team MEN Japan Olympic Team Korea Olympic Team UAE Olympic Team AFC ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR WOMEN Cui Yongmei (China) Kim Kyoung Min (Korea Republic) Widiya Habibah Binti Shamsuri (Malaysia) MEN Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan) Matthew James Cream (Australia) Rasulov Abdukhamidullo (Uzbekistan) AFC REFEREE OF THE YEAR WOMEN Qin Liang (China) Ri Hyang Ok (DPR Korea) Yamagishi Sachiko (Japan) MEN Faghani Alireza Mohammad ( Iran) Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) Yuichi Nishimura (Japan) AFC COACH OF THE YEAR WOMEN Honda Midori (Japan) Takemoto Asako (Japan) Tezuka Takako (Japan) MEN Hong Myung Bo (Korea Republic) Kim Ho Kon (Korea Republic) Sasaki Norio (Japan) AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR Mohamad Keshavarz (Iran) Rafael Henmi (Japan) Thueanklang Suphawut (Thailand) AFC YOUTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR WOMEN Hasegawa Yui (Japan) Ri Hyang Sim (DPR Korea) Shibata Hanae (Japan) MEN Mohanad Abdulraheem Karrar (Iraq) Moon Chang Jin (Korea Republic) Taro Sugimoto (Japan) AFC ASIAN INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR Mark Schwarzer (Australia) – Fulham, England Shinji Kagawa (Japan) – Manchester United, England Yuto Nagatomo (Japan) – Inter Milan, Italy   AFC FOREIGN PLAYER OF THE YEAR             Bruno Correa (Brazil) – Al Nasr (UAE) Ricardo de Oliveira (Brazil) – Al Jazira (UAE) Rogerio de Assis Silva Coutinho (Brazil)- Kuwait SC (Kuwait)   AFC WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR Aya Miyama (Japan) Homare Sawa (Japan) Yuki Ogimi (Japan) AFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR Lee Keun Ho (Korea Republic) Lucas Neill (Australia) Mohammad Ali Karimi (Iran) Mohsen Bengar (Iran) Zheng Zhi (China)

A member of the executive committee of Iran’s football federation has said that in the meeting that was recently held, he requested from Ali Kaffashian to publically apologize to the Iranian fans for the series of defeats and poor results of Iranian teams in recent competetions.

Shehab-Uldeen Aziz Khadem , has said that that Iranian fans have endured hardship and have been greatly disappointed by one defeat after another in the international arena and it is a high time that someone takes responsibility and  prudently apologize for these defeats.  He added that the public and fans are quite obviously dejected,   disconsolate and losing hope and it is the duty of the federation to change and positively react to this situation. The absence of the fans in the league matches of the last round was an obvious indication of the public feelings and sentiments towards football.

Commenting on the meeting , Khadem said that there was a suggestion of a meeting between Queiroz , Kaffashian and the executive committee. The proposal was put forward to limit some of the authorities and powers given to Queiroz “We believe that Queieroz should serve the interest of Iranian football not vice versa.” “ We need people to come out of their cocoons and air their criticism , as  shying away from criticizing the team and the coach  and instead praising a team whose performance is lackluster and devoid of success on the pretext of national interest, will never serve our progress in football.”

“Admittedly, looking back at the results of Iranian football in the recent years , we have to say that the federation has failed in meeting the high aspiration and expectations of the Iranian fans. I am not talking about individual failures here , but addressing a group in the shape of Iran’s football federation.” Khadem said. The outspoken Khadem also mentioned that the absloute majority of the committee memebers agreed with Torabian’s resignation as the head of Iran’s futsal team , but Kaffashian was dragging his feet on the issue. Torabian has been a close ally and a confidante of Kaffashian during his tenure as the head of IFF.

Khadem demanded immediate reforms within the federation as the failures in football and futsal have been far too frequent. This administration must act and properly interact with the public and media.

TEHRAN TIMES – TEHRAN

Akbar Mohammadi stepped down as coach of Iran U19 football team on Wednesday.

Iran was knocked out of the AFC U-19 Championship last week after being crushed 4-1 by South Korea.

“I apologize to all Iranian people since we failed to qualify for the World Cup. But I keep my head up because I did my best in the team,” Mohammadi said.

Iran futsal coach Ali Sanei and head of Iran’s Futsal Committee Abbas Torabian, have previously resigned from their jobs after the futsal team lost to Colombia in the 2012 Futsal World Cup in Thailand.

(FIFA.com) Thursday 22 November 2012

 In a sense, one scenario Iran had not prepared for in their planning for 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ qualification was a home defeat. Carlos Queiroz’s side, after all, boast a proud home record at the legendary Azadi Stadium which had seen them undefeated in 15 matches across three years, with the last defeat coming in March 2009 when they were edged out 2-1 by Saudi Arabia during South Africa 2010 qualifying. Thus last week’s solitary-goal defeat against Uzbekistan not only brought an abrupt end to that record, but also deprived them of the chance to move top of the section. While the Uzbeks were catapulted to the summit of Group A, Iran slipped to third, trailing behind Korea Republic on goal difference, with only three matches left. Taking solace in history On the surface, Team Melli were punished by their inability to provide a killer punch in front of goal. Although they dominated large periods of the home match against the Uzbeks, it was the visitors who grabbed the match-winner with Ulugbek Bakaev firing home off Server Djeparov’s free-kick.

Queiroz’s outfit had finished the previous round as the biggest scorers with 17 goals scored across six outings. Yet, the Iranians are now, alongside Lebanon, the most goal-shy of the ten remaining Asian teams having scored just twice in their five matches during the ongoing final round. While the fans are still bemoaning last week’s defeat, it is the lingering goalscoring problems that are causing the most concern. Having long dazzled the continent with a knack of constantly finding the back of the net, Iran now see their campaign in jeopardy due to their profligacy in front of goal. On the road to France 1998, the team emerged the group’s top scorers with 13 goals – 5 more than top-finishers Saudi Arabia. They racked up seven goals in the final round for Germany 2006 which sealed their early qualification, and even in their failed campaign for South Africa 2010 Iran were the group’s second best scorers with 8 goals.

As a country which has produced global goal-king Ali Daei, Iran have never been short of striking talents. Aside from Sepahan marksman Mohammad Khalatbari, notable amongst Queiroz’s attacking options is 22-year-old Karim Ansarifard who finished the last Iranian season as top-scorer with 21 goals, while both Fulham new acquisition Ashkan Dejagah and Belgian-based Reza Ghoochannejhad also enhance the attack. Neither are lacking in creativity, with captain Javad Nekonam pulling the strings in midfield, a fact which even Uzbekistan Mirdjalal Kasimov coach acknowledged. “Iran created many good chances but they failed to break our deadlock,” he said. “And that is exactly what happened to us in the first leg.” Iran assistant coach Antonio Simoes, overseeing the game for the suspended Queiroz, though, shed light on where the team must improve. He said: “We played well, but the winning spark never lit for us and the players lacked support from each other in different moments.”

Team Melli seek to rebound While the defeat was a rude awakening for Team Melli, Queiroz received unwavering support from Iranian FA boss Ali Kafashian. “Queiroz is a good coach and he will continue as Iran coach,” the latter was quoted as speaking to local press recently. “He has a good knowledge of Iran’s football.” Aside from the faith offered by his pay-masters, the Portuguese coach has over six months to prepare for their next crucial match in Qatar on 4 June next year. In order to test more new faces, he announced a young squad for next month’s West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship in Kuwait. Meanwhile, he continues to scour Europe for more overseas-based recruitments with Eintracht Braunschweig goalkeeper Daniel Davari recently on his radar. “Our duty is to fully concentrate on the next match,” said the 59-year-old. “We respect the other teams, but we will make our best effort to win.”

In a press conference held today, Ali Daei the current Rah Ahan coach has denied rumors that he has been approached to take over the Team Melli coaching job. The pre-match press conference was being held ahead of Rah Ahan match against Mes Kerman in the Persian Gulf League.

Daei , who was the Team Melli coach in the last World Cup qualification, said that ” Team Melli already has a coach. I was not offered nor approached by the federation to take over the coaching of Team Melli, but even if they do offer me the job , I would respectfully decline.”

Commenting on Ali Karimi’s nomination for the Asian Player of the year , Daei said “This shows the value of Ali Karimi despite his age. I sincerely hope that he wins this award for the second time in his career and also hope that he quickly recovers from his injury so that we can see him perform for Team Melli and his club.”

Asked about the merits of nominating Mohsen Bengar along with Ali Karimi , Daei said that he was not in the committee to justify such nominations and asked the reporter to direct his question at those who have nominated him. However, Daei admitted that he is not aware of the criteria for nomination players in the AFC player of the year awards but commented on the good performance of Bengar in Sepahan in the last season competition and speculated that this could be one of the reasons for Bengar’s nomination.

After the disappointing results of Team Melli and the real concern that the team might fail to qualify to the World Cup finals in Brazil , there has been strong rumors regarding changes in the Team Melli technical cadre and coaching. The names of Amir Ghalenoei and Ali Daei , both former Team Melli coaches, have been mentioned in various circles as possible replacement for the current coaching team.

Ali Kaffashian has denied that there is any intention in changing the current coaching staff and has been backing Carlos Queiroz even during the poor performances and the poor results of the team.

In his first meeting with the press since Iran’s home defeat against Uzbekistan , Ali Kaffashian the incumbent President of the Football Federation , said that ” demands for the sacking of Carlos Queiroz for poor results and performance is illogical at this stage.” He assured the press that the Portuguese coach, is a true professional and will continue honoring his contractual obligation that he started some 20 months ago. Kaffashian , who was the target of the fan’s wrath at Azadi stadium last Wednesday by a section of the fans that demanded his own resignation from the federation , has said that to pick a new coach and start from scratch in order to take us to Brazil is very unreasonable logic.

The President of Iran Football Federation, was attending Zanjan Province football committee elections on Monday Night, also said that “We are trying to consolidate and take into account the views of other experts and the inputs from various coaches including our own technical committee in the hope of displaying some attractive football and gain the right results in the remaining 3 matches (in the WC Qualification matches) “ Asked about his intentions to resign, Kaffashian said that “the continuation or departure of a president in the federation should not be related to winning or losing a football match! The general assembly of the federation is the only legal body that can decide in these matters and I am obliged by their decision”

Questions then were asked about the demands for his resignation due to the continual failure by all Iranian teams during his two terms in the office. Kaffashian said “those who demand my resignation better show their own plans and scenarios for improving football in our country. If they do not have any alternative solutions, then they better not demand my resignation. Such calls are all part of a personal vendetta against me rather than any attempt to improve the status of football”

In his responses to question by the press asking about the reasons behind all the failures and defeats suffered by Iran’s football at all fronts , and why are there always the same old excuses tprovided by the federation after each loss , Kaffashian commented “There are no excuses provided, we only talk facts (…). It is clear to everyone and the public who is doing the hard work and just talking. Some countries have invested a lot in their football and that is why they are so are successful”.  He claims that compared to previous tournaments , Team Melli is actually playing better against the opposition and that is the result of our hard work, unfortunately though , we lost to Uzbekistan which makes the qualification that much harder. We still have 3 rounds to go and if the players have taken the opportunities better, we should have been in a much more comfortable position by now.

Ali Kaffashin , has hardly ever admitted any personal shortcomings in his administration and never provided any apology or regretted to the public the losses incurred on the Iranian teams apart from providing the usual cliché of “We have been doing our best , but hopefully we will win the next match”. Demands for his resignation, or dismissal from his post can only be achieved by a majority vote of the general assembly of the federation members. Many observers doubt that such demand will be forthcoming as all the clubs are government owned and run , and it is unlikely that the paymaster will approve of such move. It is no secret that Ali Kaffashain has the Ministry of Sports backing and it was the government influence that brought him to power.

It is unclear what the hierarchy has seen in the gentleman’s abilities as a football administrator, though.

The nominations by the Asian Football Confederation for the Asian Player of the year award, which has been center of so much criticism and controversy over the years, once again raised a few eyebrows in Iran and raised further questions on the mechanism and merits of nominating players for that prestigious award.

For years, Asian players in the caliber of Park Ji Sung, Keisuke Honda and Javad Nekounam including almost all the Asian players in European clubs , have been denied the nomination and the award simply due to the fact that these players are unable to attend the presentation ceremonies which is carried around the busiest and the most demanding time of the European league seasons. Due to the timing and the travel distance involved,  The clubs are reluctant to release their players for the arduous and long trip to Kuala Lumpur and back.

 For years, the AFC has failed to find a solution or a compromise for this problem and insisted that players who are on the final list of nomination must be physically present else their nominations will be not considered. That requirement voids the spirit and the objective of the award, which is supposed to be given for the best player in Asia, not based on whether he can travel to Kuala Lumpur or not. In reality and and because of this AFC condition, the award has lost its value amongst the fans and the media. The distant past absurd nominations and winners , also was a contributory factor in the dilution of its value. Some of the past winners have been hardly recognized as the best within their own countries, let alone at Asian or international level.

Because the list of the annual nominees have frequently been marred with recurring unexplainable nomination, demands have been a plenty to improve Asia’s long-maligned Asian Player of the year award. With the changes that has occurred at the top, there was  hope that some reforms within the confederation that is currently being lead by China’s Zhang Jilong Incumbent President of AFC, will be initiated including improvement in the Asian Player of the year award.

Unfortunately, this year’s list is not much of an improvement and the arguments will continue.

The falsity of the nomination is highlighted in the case of the two Iranian candidates on this year’s list. Ali Karimi , a past winner and a deserved one for that matter in a year where he excelled and was by far the best player in Asian Cup 2004, is included in 2012 at a time that he has ill-performed on and off the field. Karimi , returning to his beloved club Perspolis after years of playing abroad, is not having a good season at all with his club. A championship pedigree club , Perspolis has always been a contender and challenger for championship titles , however, the club is lingering near the bottom of the Persian Gulf League. The former Captain of the team had disciplinary problems with his club and booted out from training by his Portuguese coach ( and since returned but not played) , he has not featured for his club in the last 4 league matches and now is suffering an injury. Perhaps the 34 years old player was considered the better player in a mediocre team , but has been far from influential and the results are obvious.

On the international level , Karimi has not fared much better either as Team Melli is struggling and there is a real concern by the fans that Iran will once again miss the qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2014. Team Melli , in which Carlos Queiroz has signaled out Ali Karimi as a pivotal player , has scored 2 goals in 5 matches of the FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, while suffering historical first time defeats against tiny Lebanon and Uzbekistan. In what was deemed to be a relatively easy group, Iran has already lost two matches in five and has 4 points out of maximum 9 at home with a return match against the powerful Koreans at the end of the campaign.

 Mohsen Bengar , the tough tackling defender , has hardly been a household name in Iran in the mold of Ali Karimi , however , he was part of the championship Sepahan team last season. Perpsolis lured him to the capital, but he had a bumpy start with the reds and was responsible for many goofs including several penalties called against him at crucial times of the match. Mohsen Bengar , a regular for Perspolis this season, is part of the defense that has conceded 14 goals in 15 matches.    The 33 years old Bengar has 9 caps to his credit , the last one was just under two years ago!

 Neither facts nor figures indicate that the two Iranian players are anywhere near the best in their country and that definitely raises many doubts about the merits, procedures and the selection criteria of the responsible committee within AFC that is seriously disengaged from the reality of football in Asia.

It is a real mystery how the selectors chose these two players and what criteria whether transparent or hidden have they used in their selection. What is clear , though , is the process of selecting the continent’s most valuable player requires a serious and a professional upgrade. Failing that , these awards and particularly , the Player of the year , shall remain a farcical selection based on whims, prejudiced by influential people within the confederation and/or at best, the selectors have no aptitude nor the essential knowledge to conduct their tasks.

Perspolis and Iran’s Ali Karimi, the 2004 player of the year, and his club teammate Mohsen Bengar are also among those nominated for the 2012 Asian player of the year award according to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Asian football’s governing body statement included the names of the Korean Ulsan Hyundai’s Lee Keun-Ho and four others who will vie for the Asian player of the year award.

The other two are defenders Lucas Neill of Australia and Chinese Zheng Zhi.

Ali Karimi who won the award in 2004 after his splendid performance in Asian Cup 2004 held in China, has been suffering a turbulent season with suspensions and injury. Ex-Sepahan defender , Mohsen Benger  (33 years old) who won his last of the total of 9 caps , 20 months agao in January 2011 , has also been going through a rough patch in his new team Perspolis. The Tehrani club , is having its worst season ever in its illustrious history. With over 12 rounds , Perspolis is still in the lower end of the Persian Gulf League table.

Lee Keun-Ho , a winger for South Korea’s national team, helped Ulsan Hyundai win the AFC Champions League for the first time this year.

The women’s player of the year award will go to a Japanese, with all three nominees coming from the national team which won silver in the London Olympics earlier this year.

They are captain Homare Sawa, last year’s winner Aya Miyama and Nadeshiko striker Yuki Ogimi. Sawa won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award last year.

For Asian international player of the year nominations went to Fulham’s goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer of Australia, Manchester United’s Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa and Inter Milan’s defender Yuto Nagatomo, also from Japan.

For the AFC foreign player of the year award, three Brazilians have been short-listed.

They are ex-Sepahan’s striker Bruno Correa who plays for the UAE side , Al Nasr of Dubai; 2012 ACL top scorer Ricardo Oliveira who plays for Al Jazira; and Rogerio de Assis Silva Coutinho, a midfielder for the 2012 AFC Cup champions Kuwait SC.
The awards will be presented on Nov. 29 in Kuala Lumpur.

Last year Uzbekistan’s midfield maestro Server Djeparov won Asian player of the year.