Category: World Cup 2018

FFIRI to file a complaint against Greek FA with FIFA.

As the media in Iran were actively researching this new European and less known team including for information such as their foreign based players, it was announced soon after (about seven hours later) by the Kosovo Football Association that it was calling off the match with Team Melli , due to the demand to play behind closed doors without spectators.

The match was scheduled to take place at İstanbul Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu (same venue as the match against Turkey), but with the cancellation of this match, Team Melli is now only practicing in Turkey. After that, the  final list will be declared, then the squad will head to Russia to complete its last match against Lithuania.

After canceling the game, the Iranian Football Federation FFIRI condemned its Greek counterpart, saying it has suspended all relations with the Greek Football Association in a more formal and demonstrative fashion!  The statement by the federation, said “Despite the claims, the Iranian national team was always ready to play in Greece, as the documents exchanged between the two federations had an account of this issue. The FFIRI will file a complaint and report the issue to FIFA and will take all legal action for compensation for the losses incurred. Until such time as FIFA takes action on this case, the Iranian Football Association has announced that it will suspend all its relations with the Greek Football Association. “

Apparently the topic of the discussion was the venue of the game with Greece. The Greeks suggested to play in Greece, Xanthi. Then Athens was discussed as an alternative to Xanthi, but eventually the game was canceled because of the Greek Football Association sponsor! The federation statement goes on to point out the attempts to replace Greece with the new opponent and the subsequently canceled match with Kosovo:

“At the right time, all the necessary actions to find an alternative team to play the friendly match were taken on June 2nd. After seeking several options, the Football Federation of Iran began talks with the Kosovo Football Federation and a preliminary agreement for a friendly match was made. Following the initial agreement, the Iranian Football Federation accepted all the demands of the Kosovo Federation (including transport, residency, etc.), a new and final request was submitted by the Kosovo Football Federation that rendered playing the match Impossible. “

New and last-minute wishes? What the Kosovars have pointed out is very much a normal football practise of 100 of years and that is the presence of spectators. The Iranians have not accepted that and subsequently the game was called off. Now, who is desperate for a practise match, Kosovo who has nothing to play for , or Iran with a World Cup ahead in a fortnight?  Simple question , who is the loser here, regardless to the fact that Kosovo ranks 152 in the FIFA Ranking, which is even worst that Sierra Leone at 103?

That episode clearly shows the shortsightedness of the Iranian football officials and the stubbornness of one Carlos Queiroz, a coach who is not world renowned for his flexibility or diplomacy.

With this account and since it is unlikely that in these one-two days a new opponent will provide a challenge and much-needed practise for Team Melli, the Iranian side’s preparations for the World Cup was made up of a match against the Olympic team of Uzbekistan, under strength Turkish side and a match against reserves of Lithuania, ranked 91!!

Thus , Team Melli is about he worst  prepared team of the FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia.

 

Chaos supreme in Iran`s preparation matches.

The saga of Team Melli friendly games disruptions and cancellations continues unabated.

When it comes to arranging friendlies ahead of major tournaments like the World Cup or Asian Cup, one way or another it always seems that the schedule is marred by chaos and disorganization. The preparations for this FIFA World Cup 2018 is no exception.

Majority of the problems are self-inflicted, as it stems from the fact that the administration with feeble international public relations , lack of management and organizational skills added to the head coach shenanigans and antics , leads to chaos for Team Melli.

While most federations have a two-year calendar, published and known to the media and the clubs, Iran’s FFIRI plays it by the ear. Guessing games requirement , picking opponents ,  embarking on secretive negotiations thereafter striking last-minute deals, added to lack of transparency by officials, paints a grim picture of the important issue. of arranging friendly games for Team Melli.

The Federation officials always justify their failures and numerous match cancellations on factors such as sanctions and difficulties in finance transactions,  however , although this may be true in few cases, the culprit remains the poor  events management and chaotic programming of FFIRI.

Only a few days ago , yet another important test for Team Melli against Greece was canceled ! This was announced by Greece head coach only. No one exactly knows the real reason as FFIRI are not forthcoming. Luckily FFIRI found an alternative option in Kosovo. Perhaps not a stern test as good as Greece , nevertheless it was an essential match for Team Melli.

Another shocker followed soon as Kosovo also cancelled or turn it down depending on your perspective. The Reason was clear this time and quite frustrating too. Kosovo did not fancy playing an International football match behind closed-door depriving their fans as Queiroz demanded!

Queiroz has such habits which FIFA should really put a stop to it. Playing behind closed doors should not be accepted at international level. After all the National Team of any country has millions of followers and is not a private property of an individual, that is why it is called a National Team.

The last test match is now on the 8th of June against Lithuania. The fans would think at least this one will pass smoothly without any glitches, right?

Not that simple. The first surprise is that this match will NOT  be played in a STADIUM!

After Kosovo , the Lithuanian were not amused either when they discovered that the Lithuanian team will play Team Melli in the training field of the Spartak stadium in Tushino on June 8.

 RIA Novosti head coach Edgaras Jankauskas said :

“At first we thought that the match with Iran would take place at the Spartak stadium, but it turned out that we will play in the training field! We will not be able to bring our strongest team to Moscow, because the date is unofficial, and the championship in Lithuania is now going on.”

Before hoping and praying for Team Melli’ s success on the field in what looks like a really tough group, some prayers must go to the FFIRI  to get themselves competent and professional administrators who can do a better support job than what they are offering now.

Kosovo turns down Queiroz request for a friendly.

Team Melli’s request for a friendly match  against Kosovo has been turned down.

The Iran-Kosovo friendly match was supposed to be played on June 13th in Istanbul, Turkey. The
meeting was refused according to the Kosovo football website, which is attributed to the country’s Federation.

The Kosovo Football Federation issued a formal statement announcing the cancellation of the visit, as the Iranian side has requested the match to be held behind closed-door!  The Kosovo Federation did not entertain such request.

Carlos Queiroz has this habit of playing matches behind closed-door where even journalist are not allowed to enter the stadium. This antic, presumably for hiding a special tactics that he has up his sleeve, has never worked and is considered obsolete in the Modern Football world!

Team Melli is currently in Istanbul Turkey on a training camp preparing for the FIFA World Cup 2018, Group B matches against Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

Ali Gholizadeh joins the belgian club Sporting de Charleroi

The Iran international winger has joined the Belgium football team Sporting de Charleroi from Saipa Alborz

Ali Gholizadeh, 22, who scored six goals and registered six assists this season in the Persian Gulf Professional League, signed a two-year contract with the Zebras.

Gholizadeh, who is in the team Melli squad for the World Cup in Russia, was followed by several European clubs but chose Sporting de Charleroi, where he will be playing alongside his compatriot Kaveh Rezaei.

SC Charleroi is also considering another Team Melli player , Omid Noorafkan of Esteghlal Tehran. The young Noorafkan is in negotiations with the club.

Queiroz dilemma two weeks before the World Cup.

Carlos Queiroz, had a clear message after the game against Algeria. Team Melli head coach pointed out that the domestic league Iranian players are not ready for the World Cup, and so they need a special preparation program in the next 40 days to reach the desired form  “domestic players need to prepare for better duels. They need to be stronger and faster. They need to practice thinking and playing fast so they need to work with me closely. ”

Queiroz, after the game with Tunisia and Algeria, made his message clear to the Iranian football officials and emphasized that the preparation of domestic league players for the World Cup needs a special program and more time.

However, his statement about the Iranian league players did not go down well with many, particularly coaches like of Esteghlal’s Winfred Schaefer and Persepolis’ Branko Ivankovic.

Last night’s Team Melli match against Turkey was a proof that Queiroz had a point.

In the lineup, apart from Alireza Biranvand, the only other player of the domestic league was Roozbeh Cheshmi, Esteghlal defender, who was the culprit in both goals. Although a number of legionnaires were far from the ideal form, they could not be considered as major concerns, however.

Despite all the criticisms that Roozbeh Chesmi received after the loss to Turkey, Queiroz refused to single out a player for blame for that defeat. At the press conference, he said that ” if we make a mistake all the blame should not be pointed to one player. If we do that it shows we are short sighted”

Alireza Biranvand also had a poor performance. He did not show any sign of confidence in both the goals. His poor timing in the second goal was a proof. He also did not ease the worries of Querioz as the Portuguese, surely has nightmares on whom to pick as the number one keeper. Using Biranvand , is taking an enormous risk, not just because he is weak, but it is quite apparent that the Persepolis keeper is losing his confidence after so many blunders at club and national level.

 

Team Melli loses to Turkey.

Team Melli, which is actively preparing for the 21st FIFA World Cup, played the Turkish national team on Monday at Fatih Tarem Stadium, Istanbul. Turkey won the close match 2-1, goals scored by Cenk Tosun 6′ and 50′, with Iran scoring a late consolation from a spot kick by Ashkan Dejagah.

The starting lineup for Team Melli was: Alireza Beiranvand, Ehsan Haj Safi, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Milad Mohammadi, Masoud Shojaei, Morteza PouraliGanji, Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Taremi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Sardar Azmoun and Ramin Rezaeian. In the second half, Omid Ebrahimi, Vahid Amiri, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi, Reza Ghoochannejad and Ashkan Dejagah were substituted in.

At the onset, the Turkish team had a good opportunity to open the scoring, but Alireza Beiranvand deprived the hosts as early as the second minute. However, the resistance was broken very soon after, as in the 6th minute, the Everton striker Cenk Tosun broke through the defenses and left Roozbeh Chesmi in his shadow with a clever and relatively easy dummy to shoot past the hapless Beiranvand.

Turkey, which was in the control of the game for the first 20 minutes, still had a number of opportunities but could not increase the tally. In the 23rd minute, Ehsan Haji Safi was placed in a one-on-one situation with Turkish keeper from an immaculate diagonal pass by Alireza Jahanbakhsh, but the midfielder was far too casual and his low weak shot was easily saved by the Turkish goalkeeper Serkan Kırıntılı.

Three minutes later, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who was one of the better Team Melli players, was in the center of the Turkish penalty area, and after a nice move past the Turkish defense, he latched on a fierce shoot which the goalkeeper again saved depriving Iran from a much deserved equalizer.

Despite the efforts made by the Iranian players in the first half, Queiroz players went into the dressing room a goal behind.

The second half started for Iran in different circumstances, as the team tried to score an early goal, but in the 50th minute, the weakness in the defense line enabled Tosun to easily score his second goal. The culprit was Beiranvand again for his poor timing and unforced error. The host was 2-0 up early in the second half.

After this goal, the substitutions by Queiroz started and the players who seem to be among the starters of the team started entering the pitch to increase the pressure on Turkey and show more aggressiveness, but there was still an inconsistency among the players. The team lacked any effective plan to score with most of the final balls ending up wasted or intercepted by the Turks.

 In the final part of the match, there was little sign of a concerted attack strategy to score.  This showed, more than anything else, the team’s weaknesses in many areas which surely requires addressing before the start of the World Cup to overcome these weaknesses.

The main problem of the team remains the central defense and the goalkeeper. Beiranvand’s weakness have been  evident for a long time now. With two of the most experienced defenders out of the squad ( Jalal Hosseini and Vouria Ghafoori ) , short of a miracle , the Portuguese coach is hard pushed to find a suitable solution.  This lack of experience and skill , raises real concerns against the likes of Ronaldo.

In the 91st minute of the match, Reza Goochannejad close range shot was blatantly handled by Turkish defender Omer Byram on the goal line. The Uzbek referee had no hesitation to call the penalty, in addition to the expulsion of the defender who was barely on the pitch for a couple of minutes. Ashkan Dejagah scored this penalty shot.

Team Melli will have two other preparations for the match versus Morocco in the Group B of the World Cup, but the meeting with Greece is still unclear, Lithuania is certain.

Realistic chances of Team Melli in Russia.

With less than twenty days left to  the world Cup, what are the realistic chances of Team Melli against he might of Spain & Portugal? The other team in the group, Morocco, is not to be taken lightly either.

The World sport media is full of reviews about the Russia world cup and there are always those predictions of course. When it comes to Group B, the majority would pick the two European giants as the favorite to qualify ahead of Iran & Morocco. It is a fair assessment based on track records and achievements of the past.

However, time and again, football has shown us that winning is all about being the better team on the day and even being that good is no guarantee of winning the match. That is one beauty of football that makes it by far the most attractive sport in the world. So, can Team Melli surprise a few and qualify from this tough group, the answer is YES, very much so.

It is not a wishful thinking, but based on decades of observation of the team and the current style under the control of one Carlos Queiroz. If there is anything that is certain with the Portuguese master, it is his passion for tight defenses and his ideology that strong defenses can win you matches which has been his predominant tactics all through his reign with Team Melli.

Queiroz has an amazing record with Team Melli. In fact, the last time he lost an official match was 4 years ago against Bosnia in the World Cup. Since then, he only lost two friendly games against Tunisia and Sweden.

With the majority of Team Melli players making a living in European leagues,  that fear and complex about World Class European players does not affect their performance anymore. The cold feet syndrome hit the team in their first ever world cup in 1978.

This group of players can play against the best of them. The defenders will be dealing with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, and Diego Costa like any other forwards they have dealt with before, albeit with special instruction by the Maestro Queiroz. The chances of the two stars putting a few goals still exists but it is far from a forgone conclusion.

Team Melli strength really lies in the attack. Up front is where the two golden boys of Iran can make a difference, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun. These two can beat defenses and can score against the top ranks, but they need the supply from the midfield. Much of that support will be on the shoulders of Ashkan Dejagah , if he full recovers  , and Saman Ghoddos another amazing talent for Iran.  The success or failure very much depends on how the midfield performs in both the defensive and offensive duties.

Team Melli biggest challenge is in the goal. Number one choice Alireza Biranvand has been in abysmal form lately. Conceding goals aplenty with his club, he showed that he really lacks what it takes at top class.  The other two on the list are hardly more experienced than Biranvand with Amir Abedzadeh , the son of legendary , Ahmad Abedzadeh , just making his debut against Uzbekistan. It is certainly a worry for Queiroz and will be interesting to see his pick. Knowing that Queiroz never shies from making dramatic calls, it very likely that he might drop his number and pick the unlikeliest of choices.

Mazaheri, Zob Ahan keeper , has been in truly fine form in the Persian Gulf Pro League and with his team in the AFC Champions League, however, Queiroz might favor Abedzadeh as he is playing in Portuguese league and that might give him an edge.

Iran unveils World Cup-themed rugs to be gifted in Russia

Seven FIFA World Cup-themed Persian carpets and rugs have been unveiled in Tehran ahead of the 2018 tournament in Russia. The silk carpets are to be gifted to football bodies, while the rugs are for the teams Iran will face.

Four large carpets feature the World Cup trophy, Russia 2018 mascot Zabivaka, the goal-scoring wolf, as well as images of iconic sights in Russia and Iran. All four carpets have unique details relating to the nation or body that will receive the lavish gift. The one going to FIFA, for example, bears the logo of the organization.

“One of them will be donated to the Razavi shrine custodian, another carpet will be donated to the Iranian Football Federation, the third to FIFA, and the last to the Russian Football Federation,” carpet provider Hamed Heydari told RT’s Ruptly.

The weavers have produced three smaller rugs as well, which bear the logos of national teams that will play Iran in the Group B of the tournament – Morocco, Portugal and Spain. The carpets are expected to be given as a gift by the Iranian team captain to his counterparts.

The carpet-making process is complex and time-consuming. It took over six months to make the World Cup 2018 set. “We started weaving these rugs six months and 15 days ago. Two shifts of eight people, that is 16 people put together worked on them. The fabric is 80 percent silk.” Heydari said.

The tradition of weaving special carpets marking World Cup tournaments emerged back in 1998, when Iran managed to qualify for the football showpiece for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then, the weaver team has produced carpets marking every world championship.

“The goal of weaving these carpets is to introduce the genuine Iranian culture into international arenas. The rugs will go down in history. One of them will be kept at the Russian Football Federation. May the entire world see these carpets and realize that Iranians are people of the arts,” carpet weaver Hossein Kazemi Hamed said, adding that he himself used to play football, and his “love for sports made me bring carpets and sports into some sort of a relationship.”

Team Melli match vs. Greece called off.

Greece’s friendly international match against Iran scheduled for June 2nd has been canceled, German coach Michael Skibbe said on Friday.

No reason was given to justify the cancellation of this match planned in Istanbul, Turkey.

Iran still have to play against Lithuania on 8 June for their last warm-up match before flying off to Russia and start the World Cup against Morocco (15 June), then against Spain (20 June) and the Portuguese European champion then (25 June).

Greece, second in group H won by Belgium, did not qualify for the World Cup. In the play-offs, she lost to Croatia in a double-header (4-1, 0-0).

Team Melli Head Coach

Queiroz defends his selection

Portuguese head coach Queiroz left Persepolis captain Seyyed Jalal Hosseini and Esteghlal winger Vouria Ghaffouri out of his squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup, insisting before squad travel to Istanbul, that the decisions were purely based on tactical issues.

“We have to call only 23 players in our final list and we could not do anything else because of the rules and logistical issues,” Queiroz said in response to criticism and then talked about the important players who have no place in his squad.

Referring to Jalal Hosseini, Queiroz said: “I respect Jalal with all my heart, but this respect should be for the next generation of Iranian football as well. We need a younger Team Melli for the upcoming events and we have to move forward. I emphasize that Seyyed Jalal will remain on our waiting list and will join Team Melli if we need him.”

When asked about Vouria Ghaffouri, the coach answered: “I needed a solid right fullback in the national team, but at his club Esteghlal he was used as a right midfielder or winger, with the decision of head coach Winfried Schaefer. I have no idea why Mr. Schaefer was surprised by seeing Vouria is not in the squad. I don’t know why he’d say that. Mr. Schaefer does not believe in Vouria as a right back and has changed the player’s position.”

Queiroz’s reasoning has not convinced many experts with some accusing him of creating tension as result of his not-so-cordial relations  with the coaches of both clubs.

Team Melli travelled to Istanbul on Monday to hold a training camp in the European country. The Persians will face Turkey football team on May 29 in a friendly match as part of preparation for the 2018 World Cup.

Iran have been drawn in Group B of the 2018 World Cup along with Morocco, Spain and Portugal.