Osasuna has agreed to release the Iranian Masoud Shojae a few days earlier than required by FIFA regulation to enable the midfield player to  join Team Melli’s camp in Dubai. Iran , which is preparing for the match against Qatar on Tuesday, has the full compliment of its players in Dubai except for Shojaei.

Club Atlético Osasuna will play its final La Liga match of the current season against Real Madrid next Sunday. The result of the match is immaterial for both the teams, as Real Madrid has already secured a qualification for the Champions League and  the second spot in the table behind Barcelona. On the other hand, Osasuna has also secured its place in the La Liga after last week win against Seville making them safe from relegation that has threatened the Pamplona club during the whole of the season.

According to FIFA Regulations regarding the eligibility and release of International Players (article 36) , it is compulsory for the club to release a player who is involved in FIFA qualifying competition and representing his country , a period of 3 days before the match.

Asia deserves more after World Cup qualifiers fall under friendly day, Iran boss says.

• By Ashley Hammond Staff Reporter 
• Published: 08:00 May 31, 2013

Dubai: Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has slammed the Fifa calendar after next Tuesday’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Qatar falls on a friendly day, meaning some players won’t join training until 48 hours before kick-off.

Dubai

In a surprise statement to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) Nelo Vingada who has been brought by Carlos Queiroz to assist him, for what was believed the rest of the World Cup qualifiers, has confirmed  that he has not been asked by his long time friend to sit on the bench for Qatar match on Tuesday!

Carlos Queiroz is serving a two match suspension by FIFA and he is banned from the bench in Doha. It was believed that one of the main reasons for Vingada’s involvement in Team Melli was to replace Queiroz for this particular match where the Team Melli coach will not be present with his players.

In Dubai, Vingada repeated his prior statements about cooperation with Queiroz in any capacity he can or as requested, but did not explain the particular nature of this cooperation except to say that he has a good knowledge of the football in this part of the world. Vingada, currently the coach of Chinese club Dalian,  also mentioned that he has some person business to conduct in Dubai. His involvement with Team Melli will be for the Qatar match only as then he has to fly to Lisbon to attend a seminar from 11th to 14th of June in which  time Iran will be playing with Lebanon in Tehran.

In the absence of transparency and clear official statements from the Football federation and the Team Melli coach, regarding the true nature of the Vingada mission , the speculations will continue.

For a person  who always seeks and demands full and unequivocal support from everyone and in particular the Iranian media, Carlos Queiroz has not been too exemplary in his conduct and openness to the press.  The coach perhaps needs a reminder about his own obligation to the media and the fans, taken into requirement the confidentiality of some issues. This lack of transparency will only aid in suspicious media behavior and in a country such as Iran , where speculations and rumors have lots of takers, Queiroz and his masters are only fueling these unwanted issues and creating unhealthy environment which could be detrimental to Team Melli.

Someone needs to tell the public, the true reason for Vingada’s involvement with Team Melli. The public statement given about Vingada’s knowledge of Iranian and Persian Gulf football does not carry much credibility as both of these are very limited experiences.

• Team Melli players got a partial day off training in Dubai and went on a group shopping spree to Dubai Mall on Wednesday.
• Two players suffered minor injuries. Mojtaba Jabbari had a pulled muscles while Mohammad Nouri faced a similar problem yesterday. Both players were rested due to their slight injuries.
• Iran’s ambassador to UAE , Dr. Fayyaz was as special guest in Team Melli training camp.
• Nilo Vengada was back in Dubai and actively participated in the training sessions.
• The average of of the Team Melli players is 28 years , which is on the high side
• The average cap of the 25 players is 26 ( Nekounam with 132 caps is the highest , Farzad Hatemi with 0 caps is the lowest)

  

• Goals scoring average is quite low as the 25 players managed to score an average of 0.11 in all the matches they collectively played (671 matches in total).
• The highest scoring player is Javad Nekounam with 34 goals.
• South Korean squad is camping near Team Melli hotel. The East Asian team will be playing Lebanon on Tuesday.
• While still on duty with Team Melli . Rahman Ahmadi the no.1 designated goalkeeper has rejoined his previous club Sepahan Esfahan, it was announced today.

[tableEasy class=”table-striped” caption=”Team Melli Squad FIFA World Cup Qualifiers” ]
#,Player,Age,Club,Caps,Goals
1,”AHMADI, Rahman”,33,Sepahan Esfahan,5,0
2,”BEIGZADEH, Hashim”,29,Esteghlal,11,1
3,”EBRAHIMI, Omid”,26,Sepahan Esfahan,4,0
4,”GHOOCHANEJAD, Reza”,26,Standard Liege (BEL),4,2
5,”HADDADIFAR, Ghassim”,30,Zob Ahan,13,0
6,”HAGHIGHI, Alireza”,25,Ruben Kazan (RUS),3,0
7,”HAJSAFY, Ehsan”,23,Sepahan Esfahan,51,2
8,”HATAMI, Farzad”,27,Esteghlal,0,0
9,”HEIDARY , Khosrow”,30,Esteghlal,42,0
10,”HOSSEINI, Jalal”,31,Perspolis,77,5
11,”JABBARI, Mojtaba”,30,Esteghlal,24,2
12,”KHALATBARY, MohamadReza”,30,Sepahan Esfahan,52,4
13,”KHALILZADEH, Shojaa”,24,Mes Kerman,6,0
14,”KHANZADEH, Mohammadreza”,21,Perspolis,4,0
15,”MAHINI, Hossein”,27,Perspolis,17,0
16,”MAKANI, Sousha”,27,Naft Tehran,2,0
17,”MONTAZERI, Pejman”,30,Esteghlal,13,1
18,”MOSALMAN, Mohsen”,22,Zob Ahan,2,1
19,”NEKOUNAM, Javad”,33,Esteghlal,132,34
20,”NOURI, Mohammad”,30,Perspolis,28,4
21,”OULADI, Mehrdad”,28,Malavan Anzali,13,1
22,”REZAEI, Gholamreza”,29,Perspolis,47,11
23,”SADEGHI, AmirHossein”,32,Esteghlal,8,0
24,”SHAOJAEI , Masoud”,29,Osasuna (ESP),42,5
25,”TEYMOURIAN, Andranik”,30,Kharatiyat (QAT),71,9
,,702,,671,82
[/tableEasy]

In the preparation match played in Doha, the Qatari national team drew with Azerbaijan 1-1 as part of the team’s preparation against Iran in the same stadium next Tuesday. Qatar scored first through a penalty in minute 32 scored by Khalfan Ebrahim Khalfan. Azerbaijan equalized 2 minutes from the end when Dadsov scored the Azeri goal.

The match was played behind closed door as the Qatar coach used the most probable line up for the upcoming Iran match.

Lebanon is playing against the group 2nd ranked team South Korea match. The interesting point of this match was Lebanon coach post-match statement. Theo Bucker – the German head coach of Lebanon. he declared that he had a difficult time assembling a brand new team after the bribery and corruption scandal that hit Lebanese football lately. 3 national team players were indicted in this scandal.

Lebanon has added another neutralized player who Bucker thinks quite highly of.

Carlos Queiroz, was the coach of Portugal  in the  FIFA World Youth Championships of 1989 in Riyadh and 1991 in Lisbon. His assistant at the time was none other than Nilo Vingada.

With players such as Luís Figo, Rui Costa
João Oliveira Pinto, and Abel Xavier, Portugal lifted the trophy on both the occasions that Queiroz and Vingada were coaching the team.

Vingada who is currently under contract with the Chinese professional league club Dalian Shide, has accepted an invitation by Carlos Queiroz to accompany Team Melli during the last three matches of the World Cup qualifiers. In a brief statement to the press in Dubai, Vingada announced that he has to return back to China as some issues have cropped up in Dalian that needs his urgent attention. He affirmed his intention to return back in time for the match against Qatar in Doha.

Vingada said that he and Queiroz have known each other for over thirty years now. They  are close family friends as well as having worked together in Portugal. The result of the duo cooperation yielded two FIFA Youth World Cups for their country. Vingada said that his close relationship with Carlos Queiroz and his trust in the man is more important than any written contracts. He is now committed to help his friend and do whatever possible in order to take Iran to the World Cup finals in Brazil next year.

Vingada said that he has enough knowledge of Iranian players as he was a coach for Perspolis for a brief period. He has also good knowledge about Arab teams as he world in the area before. His task to ensure the implementation of Queiroz strategies and plans during the match. Vingada said that he has all the confidence that he will deliver as required from him.

The Iranians will be hoping the `Dynamic Portuguese Duo’ can replicate even a minute portion of the success they have achieved a few years back for Portugal.

[archives]

Team Melli continued its preparation for the 3 match series in the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification rounds, the first of which will be held on the 4th June in Doha against Qatar.

In a short interview with Khosrow Heydary , the Esteghlal right back expressed his satisfaction with the atmosphere of the camp in the “Iranian Club” of Dubai and in particular the facilities and the good condition of the pitch at the club.  Heydari said “the the pitch is ideal for training while the gym has ample training equipments for light physical training and recovery. I think we will be at top physical condition for the match.”

Commenting on the match itself , Heydari  reflecting the Queiroz tactics and mentality , said:  “We will initially aim not to concede a goal and if we succeed in that and build a solid defense , we can build attacks as we are able to score against any team in Asia.”

Asked about his own recent good form the Esteghlal right back said “Qatar team consists of majority foreign and neutralized players.  Only a few of the players are Qatari while the rest have been given citizenship to play and act as Qataris. It is easier to pass and beat the markers of the Persian Gulf teams. Anyway , we need to utilize the skills of our players to the maximum if we want to pull off a victory.”

Amir Hossein Sadeghi expressed similar sentiments to his teammate Heydari. The Esteghlal defender could very well be starting the match against Qatar alongside his club teammate Pejman Montazeri. The center defense of Team Melli has been a source of concern for Queiroz with the long running partnership of Aghili and Hosseini being no more an option. Aghili is out of the team due to disciplinary reasons, while Hosseini has seen a dip in his form both at club and country.

Amir Hossein Sadeghi has compared the upcoming match with Qatar to the famous Melbourne battle in 1997 in which Iran was virtually out of the World Cup with 2 goals in arrears , but a Karim Bagheri goal and the Khodadad Azizi’s magical strike sent the Iranians into elation and ecstasy as Iran qualified. Sadeghi said that the players must have the spirit of Melbourne heroes in Doha.

Sadeghi said that hey have completed 3 full practice session and all is well the players and the staff.

The Iranian club, the venue of Team Melli training camp ,  is run by the Persian community in Dubai. The club is a non-profit organization and operates as a social and culture center for large expatriate Iranians. It is a highly popular and successful club that has many sport activities amongst others. The restaurant  at the club is considered one of the best Iranian in Dubai.

• Reza Ghoochannejad , the Standard Liege player has joined team Melli Camp in Dubai.
• IRIFF has sent an invitation to Khodadad Azizi to be a guest of honor in Doha for the Game against Qatar. Azizi scored the equalizing goal in 1997 against Australia in Melbourne to qualify Iran for the 1998 World Cup in France.
• The honorrary coach of Team Melli , Nelo Vingada has arrived in the hotel where Team Melli resides. Vingada was met and brief

• 

• Carlos Queiroz had a slight illness that required a visit to the team doctor in Dubai.
• Queiroz declined an invitation by the local Iranian club in Dubai for a friendly match fearing injuries to his players ahead of the crucial encounter with Qatar.
• Qatar player of Uruguayan origin Sebastian Soria will be missing the match against Team Melli due to suspension.
• Karim Ansarifrd who was omitted from Team Melli list after his poor performance against Oman , has faced another dilemma as his club Perspolis is ready to offer him a renewal of a contract but with 50% cut in the fee.
• Ando Teymourian announced that despite him not being fully fit , he is fully ready for the match against Qatar.
• Mehdi Seyed Salehi and Shehab Gordan the two players who have not joined the rest of the Team Melli squad because of family commitments according to the players themselves, have been summoned to the IRIFF Disciplinary committee to explain for themselves why they turned down the invitation to play for Team Melli.
• For the first time in decades, Team Melli will be using a private chartered aircraft for the travel to Qatar and Korea. The Aircraft belonging to Aseman Airlines, will be used for transportation of the team in the last 3 matches. IRIFF has struck a sponsorship barter deal with the domestic airlline , however no actual cash will be given to the federation . instead the airline will provide services.

The match on 4th June will be the 19th time that the two contries have met at full international level. In the last 18 , Iran won 10 matches drawing 5 and losing 3. All of the 3 losses for Team Melli came at Doha.

 Of these 3 losses , the most famous one was during the 1998 World Cup qualification matches , where Iran was on the brink of qualification but an unexpected loss to Qatar meant that Team Melli had to take the longer road for eventual qualification through play-off. That was also the match that saw the dismisal of the coach . Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan partly for his refusal to play Ali Daei , Iran’s top striker at the time.

The results of the matches played between these two teams has been a tight affair especially in the last few years. Iran has failed to beat Qatar home or away since always 2008 where the teams met twice, one of which was a WAFF tournament group match where Iran humilated Qatar 6-1 and the other one was a friendly in Doha which Iran won 1-0.

[tableEasy class=”table-striped” caption=”Iran vs. Qatar Head2Head results”]
Date,Comp.,Final score,Stadium,Attendance
12.06.2012,WCQ,0-0,Tehran,80000
29.02.2012,WCQ,2-2,Tehran,55000
06.09.2011,WCQ,1-1,Doha,8125
28.12.2010,Friendly,0-0, Doha,3000
28.12.2009,Intl. Tourney,2-3, Doha,3000
09.11.2008,Friendly,1-0, Doha,5000
11.08.2008,WAFF,6-1,Tehran,5000
10.01.2008,Friendly,0-0,Doha,2000
24.03.2007,Friendly,1-0,Doha,7000
13.10.2004,WCQ,3-2,Doha,3000
18.02.2004,WCQ,3-1,Tehran,0
01.08.2001,Friendly,1-2,Doha,0
27.09.2000,Friendly,2-1,Doha,5000
07.11.1997,WCQ,0-2,Doha,20000
03.10.1997,WCQ,3-0,Tehran,70000
01.06.1996,Friendly,1-0,Doha,10000
17.05.1996,Friendly,2-0,Tabriz,30000
02.12.1988,Asian Cup,2-0,Doha,
[/tableEasy]