Author: Editor

Azmoun shines again for Zenit St. Petersburg.

Zenit won three important points in the re-start of the Russian league after winning away against Ural 1-0. Sardar Azmoun, Zenit recent recruit, headed the winning goal at the end of the first half and continues to impress along with the other new acquisitions. This is Azmoun’s third goal for his team in as many matches, but the first in the league.

Before the re-start of the league, Sergei Semak talked about the fact that the winter transfer window was a first step towards getting the team he considers necessary to play his type of football. This summer, Semak had to accept that the club management acted passively on the transfer market and instead of letting Semak recruit the players he wanted, he instead had to settle for a whole bunch of loaned players who returned to their clubs. Sometimes it looked good, but the closer the winter came, the clearer it became that Zenit is lacking quality in the starting line and when the transfer window opened in January Semak received at least three of the new transfer targets he needed. And one can safely say that they started paying off immediately, Jaroslav Rakitsky has raised the level of defense, Wilmar Barrios is the midfield type Zenit has missed since Igor Denisov left the club and at the front Sardar Azmoun with three goals on as many matches has already shown his class.

Azmoun became match winner away at Ural after heading into Magomed Ozdojev’s post at the end of the first half and there should have been more goals for Zenit when both Sebastian Driuissi, Artem Dzjuba and Anton Zabolotnij missed clear chances. The match against Ural was clearly the best in 2019 and after the long winter break it is positive to see how Zenit has become better with every match they have played. The away match against Fenerbahce left a lot to be desired, but the turnaround at home in Saint Petersburg the following week was impressive and in spite of this it looked another snap better today against the Ural.

It is a positive pattern and it will be necessary that it will continue in the spring when Zenit has away games against Spartak, Lokomotiv and Krasnodar left to play as well as a double meeting against Villarreal which hopefully will not be the last in this year’s Europa League. With several players back from injuries, the squad looks well balanced and there should be no problem combining games in the league and in Europe in the spring.

Omid Team list of 30 players announced

Zlatko Kranjcar , the Omid team Head Coach has invited 30 players to attend the last training camp before the start of the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification. The invited players are as follows:

Abolfazl Razzaghpour, Mohammad Khodabandehlou and Amir Roustai (Peykan),
Omid Noorafkan, Reza Azari, Alhayar Sayadmanesh, Mehdi Ghaedi and Mehdi Nourollahi (Esteghlal Tehran)
Omid Darreh, Mohammad Soltani Mehr, Abolfazl Jalali and Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh (Saipa Alborz)
Hamid Reza Taherkhani (Sapidrood Rasht)
Mohammad Amin Asadi (Persepolis)
Shahab Adeli, Ali Keykhosrowi and Mohammad Moslemipour (Sepahan)
Meraaj Esmaeili (Zob Ahan)
Mohammad Mehdi Mehdikhani, Mohammad Aghajanpour and Sina Zamehran (Padideh)
Alireza Arta (Mess Kerman)
Vahid Namdari (Esteghlal Khoozestan)
Hossein Saki and Reza Jebeira (Sanat Naft Abadan)
Aref Aghasi (Foolad Khouzestan)
Mohammad Reza Azadi (Tractorsazi)
Ali Shojaei and Nima Mirzazad (Nasazi Ghaemshahr)
Mohammad Khorram Al-Husseini (Machine Sazi Tabriz)

The Omid team’s training camp is scheduled to start on March 11th at the Iranian National Soccer Center, and the squad under Kranjcar will continue their training until the start of the  U-23 Championship qualification in Tehran.

Iran’s Omid team will play its first match in the third qualifying rounds of the Asian U-23 Championship in Group C against Turkmenistan on the 22nd March 2019. The second game is against Yemen on March 24th, and the third match will be against Iraq on the 26th of March. All matches will be played in Shahid Dastgerdi Stadium, Tehran.

Sardar Azmoun shows Wolves what they are missing with Europa League heroics

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ reported move to bring Iranian Messi Sardar Azmoun to the Premier League fell through in the January transfer window.

Whatever became of Sardar Azmoun?

According to Sky Sports, Wolves had agreed a deal to sign the Rubin Kazan striker on the final day of the January transfer window, only for the move to fall through at the eleventh hour.

Wolves wanted the option to sign Azmoun permanently in the summer for £11.5 million. Rubin, however, wanted the deal to include an ‘obligation’ for a permanent transfer – regardless of how he gets on in English football.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side backed out as a result. And, just days later, Azmoun moved to Zenit St Petersburg instead for a fee of £10.5 million, according to L’Equipe.

If he was disappointed about missing out on a move to Molineux, he didn’t show it on Thursday. Zenit were a goal down to Fenerbahce in their Europa League round of 32 clash and needed to turn the tie around in front of their own supporters.

Step up the ‘Iranian Messi’.

Sardar Azmoun (L) of FC Zenit Saint Petersburg celebrates his goal with Branislav Ivanovic during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg match between FC Zenit Saint Petersburg and...

Azmoun turned on the style on his home debut, inspiring Zenit to a 3-1 win which puts them into the next round with a towering header reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo, let alone Messi. His second, which clinched the game, was clinically dispatched into the bottom corner with 15 minutes to go.

Unsurprisingly, he was nominated for the Europa League Player of the Week award. And his £10.5 million price-tag is already looking like a bargain.

Sardar Azmoun , the hero of Zenit St. Petersburg.

Sardar Azmoun was the hero of the night as his team Zenit St. Petersburg defeated Turkish side Fenerbahçe 3-1  to qualify for the next round of the UEFA Europa League.

Azmoun started the match , his first start with his new club and It only took him 4 minutes to make an impression when he assisted the first goal after he nicely chested the ball to Ozdeov in the six yard box for the Russian to score the first. That made the aggregate score (1-1)

Azmoun then headed a nice cross by Sebastian Druissi  to make it 2-0 for the Russian Champions. Fenerbahçe then silenced the home crowd when Mehemet Topal scored from long range volley with a stunning shot. It was 2-1 and 2-2 on aggregate , advantage Fenerbahçe.

 Sardar Azmoun, however scored the winner when he passed to marker on goal and slotted past the hapless Turkish keeper in the 76th minute.

It was a magnificent night for the Team Melli forward who was substituted out late in the match.

In Another UEFA Europa League match, Dinamo Zagreb defeated Viktoria Plzen 3-0 in the Stadion Maksimir (Zagreb) to qualkify for the next round.

Sadegh Moharrami played 90 minutes for his team Dinamo Zagreb.

Hajsafi talks about the childish mistake against Japan.

Twenty days after the shocking loss of Team Melli to Japan, Ehsan Haj Safi is the first player to publicly talk about the match.

Talking specifically about that strange first goal that Iran conceded, the Tractorsazi player said “It was an irresponsible act that I deeply regret when I think about it. It was a child mistake which lead to conceding the first goal. We were growing in confidence by that time and were sure to score against them if it was not for that regrettable goal that broke our heart. That unfortunate scene is still lingering on all the players’ mind. It is still like a nightmare scene to all of us “HajSafi, who was himself one of the guilty players in the scene pleading with the referee, said.

“It was not the fault of any players for seeking an advantage at that moment (…). When we saw the Japanese player play acting to get a foul on the edge of the box and falling to the ground, we went towards the referee, demanding to punish the player and show him a yellow card for un-sportsmanship conduct, without realizing that the referee has waved play on and the other Japanese player collecting the loose ball, took his time and crossed creating a great opportunity for the forward to score the first goal. In any case, it was a collective mistake of all the 5 players for being negligent. We are to be blamed, the 5 players on that part of the field. This was a costly mistake and a valuable experience for all of us, at international and club level which we hope is never repeated again.”

Iran lost 3-0 to Japan in the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, UAE.

Qatar won the title for the first time in its history by defeating Japan 3-1 in tn a memorable match in Abu Dhabi..

After the loss to Japan, the FFIRI terminated the contract of coach Carlos Queiroz.

Alexander Nouri mentioned as possible candidate for Team Melli coaching.

After the departure of Carlos Queiroz from Team Melli following the unsuccessful attempt to win the AFC Asian Cup 2019, there were many names suggested or rumored to take over from the departed Portuguese coach. While the FFIRI is active in seeking a, the social media and the critics have put on several names as possible successor.

Branko Ivankovic, Ali daei , Lambertus “Bert” van Marwijk and Nekounam were amongst the favorites.

Alexander Nouri has emerged on the list as a new entry. His name has been floating around in recent days although the German-Iranian coach has not had any talks with the Iranian Football Federation. In the last few days, some Iranian media outlets have been promoting the former Werder Bremen football coach Alexander Nouri as the most suitable option for Team Melli.

A young coach , 39 years, who tasted success at Werder Bremen and then failure, was appointed as the coach of Bundesliga 2, Ingolstadt, on the sixth week of the season but he failed to improve on the team result and was fired.
Despite his short and unsuccessful time at FC Ingolstadt, Alexander Nouri still believes in his future as coach of a Bundesliga team.
“I know that I can train any time in Bundesliga or second division club, because I have already shown I can do it,” the former coach of SV Werder Bremen said in a post of the “Tagesspiegel”.

64-DAY COACH IN INGOLSTADT

The subject of the report is the short life of the coaching business and Nouri can tell a lot about it. He held only 64 days last year on bench of second division Ingolstadt, before he was released on 26 November – after eight games without a win and at bottom of the table. “I had just begun feeling the team but by then it was already over,” recalls Nouri, who was allowed to continue for more than a year at Werder Bremen.
If Alexander Nouri is still ambitious enough to seek a job in the German Bundesliga, that means the end of rumors about his cooperation with the Iranian Football Federation and the Team Melli Vacant position.

if the Football Federation had short-listed Nouri for negotiation, after this interviews, it seems the chances of attracting him to Iran in minimal. The jury is out stability and the competence of young Nouri , however.

Most probably, FFIRI is stuck with only one name, the jobless Javad Nekounam will is most probably the only candidate for the interim and temporary coaching post.

Interim coach is considered for Team Melli

Team Melli will most probably schedule 2 friendly games in April 2019. The opponents or location of the national team training camp has not been determined yet but strong preference is given to the China’s International 4 side round ribbon invitational tournament.

The football federation is hard pressed for time in choosing a new head coach, so it’s more than likely that an interim coach will sit on the bench until negotiations and appointment of a permanent new coach is finalized and concluded.

Javad Nekounam is one of the candidates as Iran’s interim coach, because he is available and due to his familiarity with the Team Melli players. Nekounam is however a risky choice if the permanent coach negotiation is extended and prolonged. He has showed a lack of discipline in his short career in coaching. When appointed as assistant to Carlos Queiroz, in his first match against Qatar, he nearly started a riot by his childish and provocative celebration in front of the Qatar bench when Iran scored late in the game. A conduct that earned him a suspension by FIFA and consequent to that, his time with Queiroz did not last long.

There are two other names that are being talked about as well as Nekounam. Ali Daei and Branko Ivankovic. Both of these coaches have club jobs to attend to and both are bound by contracts to their clubs. Unlike Javad Nekounam who is out of work and is believed to be the cheapest option, Daei and Ivankovic are a different challenge all together for the federation

Saipa and Persepolis coaches, will not be cheap in terms of contract. Both have aspirations for full time jobs rather than being a fill gap for someone else. In their own rights, they have the credentials and the competency while both have carried out the job of Team Melli head coach previously unlike Nekounam who has a short coaching career which is barely satisfactory.

And there is always the release by the clubs if they agree and what compensations will they be awarded.

Ali Daei, a patriot that he always is, might agree reluctantly to lead Team Melli on temporary 1 or 2 match basis until the FFIRI final decision on a permanent appointment. Some insiders, however, doubt that Daei will agree while Kaffashian-Taj axis is at the helm of FFIRI. Daei is still very bitter about the way he was treated after the loss to Saudi Arabia in 2009 and blames Kaffashian, the President of FFIRI at the time and his buddy Mehdi Taj for his unfair dismissal. Since both are retirees who draw benefits from government pension, as the law stands, they are not allowed to take a job and a pension at the same time. Kaffashian is said to have left FFIRI but Taj is still procrastinating. The chances of Daei agreeing on the fill gap post are much higher when those two bosses leave their posts in FFIRI.

Ivankovic is a more difficult case. He is not obliged by any means to help the federation. His resume speaks for itself and if the FFIRI is looking for a competent replacement for Queiroz, they are obliged to consider the Croat who has coached Team Melli on two separate occasions taking Iran to the 2006 World cup. A temporary assignment will not interest Ivankovic who is busy with Persepolis and intends to perform one step better in the AFC Champions League this time.

After Queiroz’s departure, most critics have agreed that the next coach should be as good or better than the Portuguese coach to take Iran forward to the next biggest challenge and the is the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Appointment of Daei or Ivankovic as Team Melli coach has its merits and advantages. However, the legacy that Queiroz has left needs strong character to improve upon his work. Daei is a typical Iranian coach who usually blames failures on other factors, at least publically. Iran needs a realistic modern thinking coach who can adapt to circumstances, which sometimes are poor.  A coach who is tactically agile and always has options up his sleeve. Blaming the earth and sky will not achieve much for Iran’s football. Facilities, administration and management have always been poor to sub-standard. Coaches and players need to live with it. The legend Daei needs an attitude adjustment to make it at international level. He has yet to show that change in that respect.

Ivankovic has his own shortfalls. He can be too nice of a man against footballers who can be very difficult to handle. Queiroz had no times for those players and simply got rid of them in Team Melli despite the public outcry and federation intervention. It is doubtful if Branko can repeat the same

Queiroz Iran vs Japan during their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Semi-finals match

A Milestone for Younis Delphi

The young footballer from Khuzestan set a new record in Iranian Football. Younis Delphi, born in Shush, was a member of the Esteghlal Khuzestan Club and has featured in the 2016/17 season by playing five matches for the Full team.

During two and a half years, Delphi was considered by many as one of the greatest talents in the League, whose brilliant performance has also led to his invitation to Omid Team (Iran U23) despite his young age. The fledgling and upcoming striker scored 7 goals in the previous season in 24 Premier League matches and added the FIFA U17 World Cup, held in India to his resume.

That tournament attracted many European scouts looking for young talented players to recruit. A few months back there were discussion about Delphi transferring to the Dutch club, Eindhoven, but the opposition by his club Esteghlal Khuzestan put an end to that transfer as the club would not release him at the start of the new season.

Younis Delphi, however, eventually became a legionnaire in the winter transfer window when he signed a contract to join Sporting Charleroi of Belgium. This club which is owned by an Iranian has attracted several Iranian players in the last couple of seasons such as Kaveh Rezaei, Ali Gholizadeh and Omid Noorafkan

Last Sunday evening Sporting Charleroi hosted Fourth placed KV Oostende at Stade du Pays de Charleroi. Younis Delphi, was included in the squad for the first time since his transfer. In the absence of the other Iranian player, Ali Gholizadeh who is suffering from a leg injury, Delphi made his debut. With the presence of Younis Delphi in the Charleroi team, he becomes the youngest legionnaire in Iranian football history with 18 years and 129 days. It is a good age to start gaining experience of European football. The match between Charleroi and Oostende ended 1 -1. Delphi played for 64 minutes and was substituted midway through the second half.

Notes from the Asian Cup 2019 – First round.

IRANIAN MEDIA PRESENCE

The Asian Cup which is held in UAE, has brought a lot of interest from sport community across Asia and from other parts of the world. The media is buzzing and reporters from far places have gathered to cover this major event. The Japanese, by far, are the biggest group.

Iranian media is present as always, but I cannot help notice the smaller numbers, relatively speaking, compared to the previous tournaments. The economic situation in Iran and the exchange rate of the Riyal to dollar has a massive effect on this shortage. It is three times more expensive for the Iranians to travel abroad and that is if they are lucky to get the hard currency.  Iranian football federation FFIRI, which has always subsided and supported a number of journalists to cover major Asian completions and especially the Asian Cups, has found itself in dire straits this year. Simply put, there are not enough funds to support larger number of media personnel.

TEAM MELLI FANS IN ABU DHABI

The first match against Yemen was disappointing in the number of Iranian fans. Although, the majority of the 5300 fans in Al Jazeera Club Stadium were Team Melli fans, it was less than expected in a country that has a large number of Iranian expatriates.  But, even with those small number, the Team Melli fans like always, were colorful, vociferous and  cheering the team all the way to the end.

With that famous chants of “Iran Chikaresh Mikoone…Soorakh Soorakhas Mikone” reverberating through the stands, it gave the stadium a fantastic atmosphere which many foreign journalist who have never attended Iran matches before, a sense of appreciation and admiration. “You should experience 100,000 fans do that in Azadi…Now, that is will surely energize your adrenaline.“  I told some of them.

The fans played its expected role in supporting the players and for that Team Melli players showed them respect and went toward both sections to thank the fans.

QUEIROZ CHARACTER

Carlos Queiroz seems to be calm and collected person during interviews and press conferences. It does not reflect his character on the field and during training with the players. Whatever pros and cons he has , at the end of the day and for what it is worth, he is the perfect coach for Team Melli and I hope his legacy stays in Iran for a long time.

Iranians by nature are not a much disciplined nation in the style of Japanese and Europeans.  That reflects on players naturally. In football, lack of discipline is a recipe for disaster.   Years after years of watching Iranian football, I have detected this lack of discipline in and out of the field by even the most famous and popular players. In fact, the most popular they were and more indiscipline. There is one shining exception in Ali Daei.  Carlos Queiroz has changed all that. He showed and continues showing his players and staff f the meaning of discipline and respect. For that alone, this man deserves accolades and one hopes his legacy in Team Melli stays for a long time to come.

PROVOCATIONS ALERT!

But Queiroz has this other side of his character , the combative !

After the match with Yemen, I was not alone in thinking that there were some wild tackles flying from Iranian players on the opposition. Really uncalled for in a game against weak opposition like Yemen where risks of yellow or even worst red card is present. Many Foreign and Iranian journalist thought that this was not necessarily, while some put it to player’s nerves in the first match.

In the post press conference, however, Queiroz was in total denial mentioning an incident that Azmoun pushed a Yemeni player to the ground. Queiroz defended his star player by saying that the Yemeni player pushed first!!! Mr. Queiroz….this is NOT a school yard where a boy pushes a boy to the ground and beats him up because that boy shoved first. A simple act like that push by Azmoun and he could have ended up in the shower because of violent conduct, subsequently suffering through a day off in the next match.

Arab teams are notoriously famous for provocation and Queiroz after so many years in this area should know much better than excuse his players for retaliation!  Has he already forgotten what happened to Mehrdad Pooladi in Australia against Iraq???

The Saudis continue pirating TV rights of Asian Cup.

In a very defiant manner, a Saudi pirate station supported by their government continue pirating football matches rights belonging to the Qatari owned company , BeIn sports based in Doha.

after the violation of the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European competitions, including the Champions League, it is the turn of AFC Asian Cup. For a small fee , a decoder that opens up hundreds of pay channels can be bought in the Persian Gulf states.

Despite the outcry from all the concerned organizations and the governments of some countries, it seems that the pirates of beoutQ have no fear of prosecution or legislation. It is also quite apparent that the Saudi government , conveniently turns a blind eyes toward such blatant copy right violation and has facilitated the broadcast to compensate their fans.

Football is by far the most popular sport in Saudi Arabia. Since the animosity with Qatar began which started with breaking all relationships with the Gas and oil rich peninsula, the Saudi’s were deprived from watching major football competitions that are carried by Bein sports.

AFC statement on beoutQ
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) today condemns the pirate entity named ‘beoutQ’ that continues to illegally broadcast the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

The AFC has already instructed counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia and is working alongside other sports rights owners that have also been affected to protect its interest.

The AFC will continue to support its commercial and broadcast partners by protecting their contractual rights.