Category: News

Ghalenoei announces the initial squad for CAFA Championship 2023

In preparation for the inaugural Central Asian Football Association championship in Kyrgyzstan, Amir Ghalenoei, the head coach of Team Melli, has selected an initial list of 24 players who will form the initial squad with the group scheduled to start a mini camp on Sunday.

The players invited to the camp are :

Payam Niazmand (Sepahan), Mohammad Reza Akhbari (Tractor), Hossein Pourhamidi (Aluminum)

Ehsan Haj Safi (A.K. Athens, Greece), Mohammad Naderi (Altaispor, Turkey), Ehsan Hosseini (Arak Aluminum), Mohammad Daneshgar (Sepahan), Hossein Kananizadegan (Al Ahli Qatar), Arif Agassi (Foolad Khuzestan), Amir Mehdi Janmelki (Nasiji Mazandarane), Mehdi Tikdari (Gol Gohar Sirjan), Ramin Rezaian (Sepahan) Gholamreza Thabit Imani (Peykan), Alireza Alizadeh (Gol Gohar Sirjan), Omid Nourafken (Sepahan),

Mohammad Karimi (Sepahan), Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh (Charloei, Belgium), Mehran Ahmadi (Malavan), Mohammad Javad Mohammadi (Hawadar), Shahab Zahedi (Puscas), Mehdi Memizadeh (Sanat Naft Abadan), Mohammad Ghanbari (Tractor), Mohammad Reza Azadi (Arak Aluminum) and Reza Asadi (Tractor)

These players are to introduce themselves to the national team’s coaching staff on Sunday, June 4th. Also, the selected players from Esteghlal and Persepolis along with Mehdi Taremi, Saeed Ezzatollahi, Sadegh Moharrami, Sardar Azmoun, and Majid Hosseini will be added to the national team after the end of the mini camp due to the late ending of the season for those players.

A specific training program will be considered for the aforementioned players during the rest period at the end of the season. Allahyar Sayadmanesh is absent from this camp due to a marriage ceremony outside Iran and with the permission of the head coach and will be added to the camp in the next stage based on the opinion of the head coach of the national team. Shoja Khalilzadeh and Ahmad Nourollahi are both suffering injuries and will be dealt with by the medical staff of the national team with a decision to be made about them before the trip to Kyrgyzstan.

Team Melli’s CAFA Nations Cup 2023 matches

13 June 2023
20:00
Iran  v  Afghanistan
    Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek
 
16 June 2023
20:00
Kyrgyzstan  v  Iran
    Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek
 

Mehdi Taremi claims top scorer title while Porto loses the league title to Benfica.

Team Melli and FC Porto forward, Mehdi Taremi claimed his first top-scorer title in one of the top Europe leagues to become the third Iranian after Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun winning such accolades in the Eredivisie and Russuan premiere leagues respectively. Taremi ended the season 2022/23 with 22 goals, 3 more than second-place Goncalco Ramos of Benfica.

Meanwhile, FC Porto have failed in their defense of the Primeira Liga title after Benfica’s home win versus Santa Clara secured the championship, this Saturday, despite the Dragons’ 3-0 triumph at home to Vitória.

Sérgio Conceição’s men were in need of a huge favor from bottom-of-the-table Santa Clara in order to leapfrog Benfica at the top of the table, as Vitória came to town.

Porto held up their end of the bargain with a 3-0 victory, complete with goals from Mehdi Taremi, Otávio, and Evanilson, but an equally-proficient night in front of goal for the Eagles meant the Blue & Whites were kept at bay, trailing top-spot by two points on the final day of the season.

Conceição pulled up no surprises with his XI at the Estádio do Dragão, filled to the brim with hopefuls roaring their team on to a potential back-to-back conquest of the Primeira Liga title. Things began to look very favorable for the Northern giants after their regional heavyweights Vitória found themselves reduced to ten men just two minutes in, following Tomás Händel’s red card for a poor challenge on Matheus Uribe.

Just five minutes later, an incredible run on the counter from Pepê enabled the Brazilian to set Taremi up for the opener, with the Iranian requiring little more than a side-foot toward the goal to break the deadlock.

Unfortunately for the Dragons, the Eagles had also taken the lead via Gonçalo Ramos before doubling their advantage through Rafa Silva, just as Otávio’s strike across goal landed a second blow to Vitória in the 32nd minute.

In the 39th minute, Evanilson made it 3-0 with a classy finish on the half-volley, adding comfort to the scoreline before the half-time interval.

For the second half, the protagonists were the same but the intensity wasn’t quite at the levels demonstrated in the first period, with Vitória holding back Porto’s waning forcefulness and appetite.

The Primeira Liga’s top scorer Taremi neared a brace in the 67th minute with a chipped attempt on Bruno Varela, stopped by the ex-Benfica man before Ibrahima Bamba’s risqué clearance off the line, using his shoulder.

Porto left it a 3-0 – a score matched by Benfica at the Estádio da Luz – as the Dragons bowed out to a second-placed finish behind their bitter rivals, lifting the title for the first time in four years.

 

MEHDI TAREMI SCORING RECORD IN PORTUGAL

 

Season Team Comp Minutes played Appearances Lineups Substitute in Substitute out Substitutes on bench Goal Yellow card Yellow 2nd/RC Red card
2022/2023 Porto PRL 2636 33 31 2 22 2 22 7 0 0
2021/2022 Porto PRL 2434 32 27 5 13 5 20 4 1 0
2020/2021 Porto PRL 2226 34 26 8 20 8 16 1 0 1
2019/2020 Rio Ave PRL 2352 30 26 4 11 4 18 2 0 1

Draw for AFC U23 Championship held.

Kuala Lumpur: The draw for the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024 Qualifiers was finalized at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday.
The hopefuls were divided into 11 groups – 10 groups of four teams each, with the last group containing three. Qatar, meanwhile, will play in the Qualifiers for exposure with their matches classified as friendlies.
To be played from September 4 to 12 this year, Group A of the Qualifiers will have hosts Jordan, Syria, Oman, and Brunei Darussalam vying for the sole automatic ticket to the Finals.
Group B will see 2020 champions Korea Republic (H), Myanmar, Kyrgyz Republic, and Qatar contesting with Vietnam (H), Singapore, Yemen, and Guam in the Group C cast.
Japan, the 2016 champions, are the top seeds in Group D with Bahrain (H), Palestine, and Pakistan as their challengers while 2018 champions Uzbekistan (H), Iran, Hong Kong, China and Afghanistan were drawn in Group E.
Group F will see 2013 winners Iraq, Kuwait (H), Timor-Leste and Macau doing battle with United Arab Emirates, India, Maldives, and hosts China PR the Group G teams.

#AFCU23 | Moments

Hosts Thailand lead Group H with Malaysia, Bangladesh, and the Philippines also aiming for a place in the Finals while Group I will see Australia, Tajikistan (H), Laos, and DPR Korea locking horns.
Defending champions Saudi Arabia (H), Cambodia, Lebanon, and Mongolia were drawn in Group J while the three-team Group K will be a tussle between Turkmenistan, Indonesia (H), and Chinese Taipei.
The AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024 Finals are scheduled for April 15 to May 3, 2024.

Hezbavi joins Al Sadd

Doha: Al-Sadd Club of Qatar officially announced the signature of a 5-year contract with the young 20-year-old Iranian defender Amin Hizbavi. It is known as the best team in Qatar and is the only Qatari team that has won the AFC Champions League in Asia.

Al-Sadd announced this news by publishing a clip of Hezbawi in the dressing room of this team while wearing Al-Sadd’s jersey with number 55. Hezbavi was Foolad Khuzestan’s player and played under  Javad Nekonam’s head coach stint

This defender was also the captain of Iran’s youth team (U20) in the AFC Asian Youth Championship, where he scored a goal. Hezbavi is considered the tenth Iranian player in the history of Al-Sadd Club, and this club has had a good relationship with Iranian football.

Amir Ghalenoei, Afshin Peyrovani, Hamid Derakhshan, Ebrahim Ghasempour, Ali Daei, Hossein Faraki, Karim Bagheri, Hossein Kaebi and Morteza Pouraliganji were the players who also played in Al Sadd. The last Iranian player of Al-Sadd was Pouraliganji, who played alongside Xavi Hernandez.
Al Sadd had earlier agreed terms with Paulo Ottavio, a Brazilian left-back who played in Wolfsburg. It is also said that this club has reached a final agreement with the Colombian midfielder “Mateos Uribe” who is in Porto and is a teammate of Mehdi Taremi, and this player will go to Al-Sadd after leaving Porto.

Medi Taremi registers another milestone.

Porto FC and Team Melli forward scored four goals, a (poker), in the match held late Saturday evening against middle-of-the-table team Famalicao in Liga Portugal.

This is the first time an Iranian player has achieved such a milestone in a single match in any European League. Three of the goals came from the spot kick. The match ended 2-4 for Porto who has now reduced the deficit with the league leaders Benfica to one point only. Benfica, the favorites to win the title this season has a game in hand.

Taremi was substituted a minute before the regulation time to receive a standing ovation from the visiting Porto fans as they sang his name.

Taremi has enjoyed unprecedented success with Porto in his third season with the club which he joined in season 2020/21. He has also increased his goal tally to 21 goals to leapfrog Benfica’s striker Goncalo Ramos who is on 18 goals, Taremi first played for Rio Ave which he joined in 2019 for one season. He scored 18 goals and provided 2 assists for the small club a fact that caught the interest of the 3 top clubs in Portugal. He was on the brink of agreeing terms with Benfica before Porto stepped in with a lucrative offer.

In his first season with Porto, Mehdi Taremi scored 16 goals, next season he was on 20 goals. So far this current season he has already surpassed those records with 21 goals and one match left.

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 review

The draw for the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Asia organized by AFC was held hours ago in Doha, Qatar.

The Main football championship in Asia is delayed by over a year due to a combination of AFC short-sightedness and the unreliability of the Chinese authorities. China was supposed to hold its second AFC Asian Cup tournament after the successful one in 2004 but a series of events and circumstances surrounding COVID lockdown in China has meant that the most prestigious tournament of the continent was not going to be held in China. Qatar, as reliable as ever, and beaming from the fresh success of golding the biggest tournament in the World, FIFA World Cup 2022 came to the rescue.

Parviz Ghaleechkhani lifts the Asian Cup for the third time in Tehran 1976.

 

The draw ceremony was held with the coaches of all teams present. Amir Ghalenoei is experiencing his second presence in the AFC Asian Cup since his lone appearance in Malaysia back in 2007. Ghalenoei hops for a much more successful tournament this time to compensate for the bitter failure in Malaysia. Iran has failed to lift the trophy since it won it three times in a row in 1968, 1972, and 1976., Also present was the ever-familiar face of Carlos Queiroz who failed to lift the trophy with Iran in two attempts in 2015 Australia and 2019 UAE. This time the Portuguese coach will try with Qatar who are now the defending champions.

However, Ghalenoei’s mission is far from easy as his biggest challenge remains in dealing with an aging team left by Queiroz. Iran was the oldest team in the last World Cup.

In Group C, Iran is joined by familiar opponents in UAE, Hong Kong, and Palestine. This is on paper at least. one of the easiest groups of the Asian Cup for Iran in recent tournaments. None of the three teams have managed to defeat Iran in an official competition, although the UAE managed a win in Abudhabi in a friendly 26 years ago in September 1997.

TEAM MP W D L GF GA GD
UAE 18 14 3 1 26 4 +22
HONG KONG 6 6 0 0 14 1 13
PALESTINE 6 3 3 0 16 4 +12
  30 23 6 1 56 9 +47

Barring a disaster, there is little doubt that Team Melli will make it through to the knockout stages that Iran has always managed to qualify to expect in Japan back in 1992. The problem starts at later stages with stronger opposition. Iran will remain one of the top contenders for the title with Japan remaining the favorite, followed by Australia and South Korea.

Ali Parvin lifted Asian Cup in 1976 with Hassan Rowshan

Despite the games not starting until December, Ghalenoei might consider that as not adequate time to create a strong team that can challenge East Asians. Such is football nowadays, that preparation times for national teams are quite limited specifically for those national teams that have players playing abroad in Europe. There is no excuse for Team Melli as there are teams in worse conditions than them so that needs to be addressed and not to be used as an excuse. A major big challenge with Ghalenoei, however,  is the administration.

The FFIRI is not exactly a beacon of outstanding management nor is it even a proper organization ruled by processes and planning. It is run by a group of ill-qualified personnel placed there based on their allegiance rather than competency. and if Ghalenoei needs to get things done, there will have to be a lot of personal effort and sacrifices as this football federation is unreliable and incompetent as ever. Last time over, Ghalenoi was more frustrated with the organization than anything else which lead to his early resignation from his post after the quarter-final elimination in Kuala Lumpur in 2007. Perhaps, this time over, his diplomacy, experience, patience, and older wiser age will make him much more capable to handle the difficulties and hardships. Perhaps this coach after so many failed attempts by his predecessors,  can fulfill a mission that has eluded this soccer-mad nation for 47 years.

The draw of AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023

the-afc.com
Doha: The stage is set for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ following the Official Draw at the Katara Opera House in Doha on Thursday.
The continental showpiece, scheduled for January 12 to February 10, 2024 promises to be a thrilling affair with seven former winners among the 24 teams – seeded in accordance with the latest FIFA World Ranking – divided into six groups.
Tournament hosts and defending champions Qatar are the top-seeded team in Group A with their title defense to begin against two-time runners-up China PR, Tajikistan and Lebanon.
Group B will see 2015 champions Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, and India contesting for the knockout stage spots.

Three-time winners Iran, 1996 runners-up United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, and Palestine will vie for the knockout stage spots in Group C while record four-time winners Japan, Indonesia, 2007 champions Iraq and Vietnam were drawn in Group D.
Twice champions Korea Republic, the top-seeded team in Group E, will have Malaysia, Jordan, and Bahrain to contend with while Group F will have three-time winners Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic, and Oman fighting for the knockout stage spots.
The top two sides from each group and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the Round of 16 at Qatar 2023.

DRAW RESULT

Group A: Qatar, China PR, Tajikistan, Lebanon
Group B: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India
Group C: Iran, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong China, Palestine
Group D: Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam
Group E: Korea Republic, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain
Group F: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic, Oman

Afshin Ghotbi in the shortlist for coaching Omid Team.

The Iranian Football Federation is considering former Team Melli and Persepolis head coach Afshin Ghotbi as a candidate for coaching Iran’s Omid team (U21). This comes after a 3-hour meeting between Mehdi Taj, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, and Habib Kashani to discuss the appointment of a new head coach for the team. Other names being considered include Mojtaba Hosseini and Mehdi Tartar.

In the meantime, the name of Afshin Ghotbi, the former head coach of the Iranian national football team, was added to the list of coaches available and willing to take the job. In past meetings, names such as

The coach will take over the assignment ahead of two important competitions, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in September 2023 and the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

Two Iranian candidates and one foreign are being shortlisted according to an announcement by the National Olympic Committee (NOC) to the Football Federation. It is also determined that this appointment must be determined by May 25 so that this team is ready to participate in the Asian Games. In this regard, the Football Federation has decided to identify the head coach of the Omid national team by May 24 and introduce him to the National Olympic Committee. Also, after last night’s meeting, Mehdi Taj, the president of the football federation, and Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the vice president of the federation, left for Qatar to participate in the draw of the  AFC Asian Cup 2023, which will be held on Thursday.

The coaching of the Omid Team has left many of those with heads down with failure after failure in all official competitions. Apart from some odd exceptions, the FFIRI tends to pick some inconspicuous or obscure coaches to save on wages and the result is inevitably, elimination from the competitions. With the Olympic Games, there is an added situation as the Iranian NOC is involved and history shows some bitter disagreement between the two sides (FFIRI and NOC) on various issues

Ghotbi is currently the head coach of Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC, He was appointed in November of last year. Before that Ghotbi coached in the Chinese league with Cangzhou Mighty Lions.

Russia withdraws from CAFA tournament

Earlier this week it was announced that the Russian national football team has accepted CAFA’s invitation to participate in the first Central Asian Football Associations tournament in June of this year as a guest, with the presence of Central Asian teams, including Iran, but the Russians suddenly changed their minds.

The Russian Football Federation announced that this country will not participate in CAFFA. Today, “Valery Karpin”, the head coach of the Russian national football team, in an interview with the TASS news agency, explained the reason behind the withdrawal of this country’s team from CAFA after initially agreeing to attend. Karpin said that “the playing surface, the timing, and the weather conditions were the reasons for this decision.

Karpin said: There are several reasons. The first is the time of holding competitions. On June 11, the final of the National Cup will be held, and the decision to participate in the tournament should have been made in advance. The head coach of Russia added: You also have to consider the conditions of the competition. The tournament is in Tashkent or Bishkek. It is clear that the air temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius. I want to remind you that in Bishkek there is an artificial grass pitch where the risk of injury increases significantly. For example, after the game in Bishkek last fall, five players of the Russian national team could not participate in the next game.

In response to critics saying that the decision to withdraw from CAFA was wrong because Russia does not have many choices to play the preparation game on FIFA Day, he said: “Yes, our choices are not really great, but this does not mean that we sacrifice the health of the players and the opportunity to spend vacations. be completely deprived of them. Moreover, this is not an official tournament, but a friendly tournament. If participating in competitions is part of the preparation for official competitions, it may be worth the risk.”

The head coach of the Russian national team emphasized the future plans of the team: “The officials of our federation will do their best to hold friendly games in the next windows of the International Football Federation (FIFA) calendar, including in June. We hope that the negotiations will bear fruit and we will be able to hold a full preparation camp with a couple of matches. Ideally in Russia and with our fans.” According to Mehr’s reporter, Iran’s national football team hoped to be in this competition with the presence of Russia and experience some serious tests. Now, with the withdrawal of the Russians, it is not clear whether Team Melli will go to Kyrgyzstan or not. In his latest interview, the head coach of Iran’s national team, Amir Ghalenoei, said that participation in CAFA is conditional on holding a meeting with Mehdi Taj, the president of the Football Federation.

Meanwhile, some Russian football experts are already critical of the Russian decision to withdraw, with some sarcastic remarks about Karpin’s reasoning. especially about the temperature of 30 degrees C. It seems that Karpin’s players are built for arctic weather football only and will melt in the temperatures of 30 degrees.”

Valery Ovchinikov, a former Russian player and coach, was also critical of the decision and commented by accusing the Russian team of being afraid of possible defeat against Asian teams. Ovchinikov said: “The weather is a good excuse not to participate inCAFA. We don’t play in the summer. We are used to the cold! He continued sarcastically: The Russian Football Federation probably thinks that our football is played by the Chukchi people (indigenous people of Russia who are close to Siberia). We mustn’t go to the racetrack in the summer or we’ll melt!”

CAFA Championship to be held in Jume 2023 and Team Melli will be there too.

FFIRI website has officially confirmed Team Melli’s participation in the CAFA Championship to be held in June 2023.

The 2023 CAFA Championship will be the 1st edition of the CAFA Championship, the biennial international men’s football championship of Central Asia organized by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). The event will be held in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from 9 June to 21 June. Iran, Kyrgyzstan (Host), Russia (invitee), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (Host) will form the two-group championship.

This championship which was been on and off several times was first supposed to be played in Uzbekistan in 2018, however, it was never played for various reasons. Even this current one was under doubt until the announcement by FFIRI. Iran is in the first pot of the draw along with Russia according to FIFA Ranking. It is expected that another invitee team will join the championship. This will be a good test for Amir Ghalnoei in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.