Category: News

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.

Team Melli to play in a 4-side tournament

According to the official website of the Football Federation, Teaam Melli under  Amir Ghalenoei is going to participate in the 4-side 2023 Jordan international Football tournament in Jordan. This tournament is expected to be played in the Jordanian capital Amman with the presence of the host nation, Iraq, Qatar, and Iran.

This tournament which normally takes place during the autumn  2023 window of the FIFA International Match Calendar, will be held in Amman, Jordan in October this year. FIFA days for the period are 9–17 October 2023

In last year’s edition Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Oman participated in the tournament. Jordan won the tournament by defeating Oman 1–0 in the final

Possible sanctions against athletes.

Iranian athletes could face punishment if they don’t participate in annual Quds Day marches across the country later this month, according to IranWire, in what would be yet another example of state interference in sports.

The Islamic Republic’s authorities are organizing the rallies on the last Friday of the Islamic month of Ramadan, which this year falls on April 14, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

A directive seen by IranWire and signed by Karamali Iraji, the deputy director-general of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, says that athletes are required to attend the rallies, citing the “noble cause of…the Palestinian resistance,” a resolution of the Coordination Council for Islamic Propagation and instructions by the Tehran Governorate.

The directive was agreed upon last week during a meeting between Minister of Sports and Youth Hamid Sajjadi and his deputies.

The source at the Ministry of Sports and Youth who provided the document to IranWire said that copies were sent to all provincial sports boards across the country.

The ministry is considering possible incentives for athletes who will attend the state-sanctioned rallies and punishment for those who won’t, the source said.

Iranian sports has become increasingly politicized. Most sports bodies had been taken over by political or security-military organizations, with former members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps holding key positions in clubs and federations. Many footballers were sanctioned or punished for their support of the protests including Ali Karimi, Aldi Daei, Vouria Ghafouri.

Earlier this year, the European Union imposed sanctions on Sajjadi for pressuring Iranian athletes into silence, including climber Elnaz Rekabi who competed in South Korea without mandatory headscarves amid widespread anti-government protests inside Iran.

Last month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had “expressed serious concerns over the past few months vis-à-vis the situation of the Iranian athletes and the Olympic community as a whole in the current context of the upheavals and demonstrations in the country.”

The IOC has urged the Iranian National Olympic Committee to “take appropriate action with the highest authorities to protect the athletes and members of the Olympic community from a humanitarian perspective.”

The statement warned that the IOC Executive Board “reserves the right to take any appropriate action” relating to the participation of the Iranian NOC and athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, “depending on the developments in this situation.”

Dragan Skočić, appointed as Croatia’s U21 head coach.

The former Team Melli coach Dragan Skočić has been appointed to Croatia Under 21 Football Team.

According to  Croatian Football Federation officially announced on Friday afternoon that Dragan Skocic’s contract with the under-21 football team has been signed.  The  statement said :

“Skocic’s last work was leading the Iranian national team, which successfully led the team to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and by scoring 25 points in 10 games in the third qualifying round of the World Cup, a new record for the national team. Iran registered. Skocic didn’t have the chance to lead Iran to the finals despite the great results. Before coaching Iran’s national football team, Skocic coached Rijeka, Interblock Ljubljana, Al Arabi, Nasr, Malavan, Foolad, Rayka Babol, and Sanat Naft, and his coaching successes include winning the Croatian FA Cup with the Rica team and winning the Slovenian FA Cup and Supercup pointed with Interblock. He reached the final of the Crown Prince Cup with Al-Arabi and led Al-Nasr and Foolad in the AFC Champions League. Skocic was nominated for the 2021 World Coach Award by the IFFHS. Skocic, who has to participate in the European Championship with the Croatian team in less than 70 days, said about accepting the leadership of the Croatian under-21 team: Skočić said: I take on this role with great pride, ambition, and optimism, and to Mr. Kostic, the president of the Croatian Federation. Thank you for your trust.”

He added: Igor (former coach of the Croatian youth team) did a very good job in this team. My wish is to finish the European Cup with the best possible performance and then start gathering and building the new generation. We have really talented and quality players. I look forward to the challenge of using my knowledge and experience to help them realize their potential”

teamelli.com wishes Dragan Skočić the best in leading his country’s youth team.