Tag: Guam

Stephen Constantine: Iran are the giants of Asia

With just more than a month left for the Indian National Team to play Iran, the ‘Giants of Asia’, in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualifier in Bengaluru, AIFF Media caught up with National Coach Stephen Constantine on a number of issues pertaining to Indian football.

 

INTERVIEW

How much is the road ahead tough?
The road for us is as tough as I had expected it to be. Many may have thought that this was going to be a quick transition given that we beat Nepal and qualified. Many may have also severely underestimated Guam, and possibly overestimated the level that we are at the moment, which I personally feel cannot change within a short time.

Have there been changes to the squad?
I have made many changes to the philosophy of the team to the type of training that we do including introducing many bright new prospects into the squad.
But at the same time, they also need time to adjust to the pace and the level of international football. There is a huge difference between the standard of the domestic leagues to international football.

How is our team shaping up prior to the Iran match?
It’s Iran, the 41st ranked team in the world, the Giants of Asia. I feel that says it all.
The International Friendly against Nepal is the sole competitive match that our boys would have played before taking on the Asian superpowers. You need to remember that prior to the match against Nepal, most of the National Team players have not played a competitive game since June 2015 (against Guam) while the others have not played since May 31, 2015, i.e., the completion of the Hero I-League. So for some players, its more than two months while for the rest, it’s almost or even more than three months. The National Team is at a huge disadvantage.

We are playing Nepal on August 31st in an International Friendly? Is there any specific reason to play Nepal?
There were options playing against higher ranked teams but seeing that we are playing a home game, we wanted to play at home while those teams wanted to play at their home. So it didn’t materialize. Under such circumstance, it’s good we played some close to our ranking.
I know the sentiment of people wanting us to play more but none wants to play more than me.

(Interview & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

Team Melli unable to use players under Military Service.

The Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran has written to the concerned departments declaring that all those players who have found to be guilty of fraud by the courts for holding fake military release certificates , will not be allowed to join Team Melli or Omid teams. The ban is valid until the completion of their service.

Team Melli will be playing against Guam at home then India away. Carlos Queiroz will be unable to select those players although in real terms , none are fixed players in the team. The players are Arash Afshin , Bakhtiyar Rahmani , Shoja’a Khalilzadeh , Hossein Mahini and Soroush Rafei. In addition , Mehrdad Pooladi who is currently out of the country , is also put on the black list and cannot play for Team Melli.

The communique from the armed forces did not specifically mention those other  players who have not cheated and are currently serving their mandatory military service as required by the law. Such players are normally banned from leaving the country while serving but dispensation has been issued before on request from the FFIRI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

 Team Melli will start a short training camp next Thursday in Azadi Sports Complex in preparation for the match on 3rd September against Guam in Azadi and on the 8th in Mumbai against India.

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Gucci to miss Guam match.

Reza Ghoochannejad, Team Melli and Charlton Athletics forward has been put on the injured list by his club after suffering a knee injury during the club match against Nottingham forest in the Championship of English League.

Ghoochannejad who has returned to his English club after  two season of being on loan in the Persian Gulf leagues, has already scored a goal for his club against Dagenham & Redbridge but was injured after he was subbed in at 64th minute against Nottingham Forest.

Charlton website has declared that Ghoochannejad “Gucci” will be out for at least one month, which will put  him out of the Guam match and possibly the next one against India in Mumbai.

 

A look at Guam preparations and prospects.

In less than a month, Guam has once again ascended to its highest-ever FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – No. 146 in the world – with the latest release published by FIFA.com.

HARMON – The new ranking comes ahead of the Matao’s next set of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Joint Qualification Round 2 fixtures – Sept. 3 against I.R. Iran in Iran and Sept. 8 against Oman in Guam.

“This is a very exciting time for Guam football – just last month I was praising Guam’s national program for reaching the 150s in the world for the first time in history,” said Richard Lai, Guam Football Association President. “Now, we’re in the 140s and ranked above countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia, all with a long history of football achievements in Asia. I am looking forward to see what more we can do. We couldn’t have accomplished what we have in recent years without the full support of FIFA, AFC, EAFF, the local community and business sponsors.”

With the rise in world rank, Guam is also ranked No. 22 in Asia, surpassing 25 other more established football countries in the continent.

“I’m very pleased with the progress the team continues to make in recent years, though I truly feel that Guam has not yet reached its peak,” said Gary White, head coach of the Guam men’s national team. “There really is no limit as to what Guam can achieve in international football as evidenced by the national team’s recent first-ever victories over Turkmenistan and India in June to lead Group D in the joint qualification and many other ‘first-ever’ results in recent years. In fact, before the June matches, hardly anyone took me seriously when I stated that I believed Guam would lead Group D – a group that includes Asia’s No. 1 country, I.R. Iran – at the conclusion of the opening matches of its 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign. 

“With every historical milestone we achieve, we’ll continue to set our standards even higher. This is not only for the team, but for Guam’s entire national football program. There are now certain high expectations to meet each time Guam competes,” White added.

Following the FIFA World Cup Qualifier matches in September, next on the Matao’s schedule is its second fixture against Turkmenistan, scheduled for Oct. 13 in the Central Asian country, followed by a match against India on Nov. 12 in Bangalore. The team returns to Guam for a Nov. 17 match against I.R. Iran at the GFA National Training Center, before waiting until Mar. 24 next year to face Oman in Oman.

Tickets for the upcoming Guam vs Oman match scheduled for Sept. 8 may be purchased beginning this week at GFA. Ticket prices range from $20 to $40 based on seating sections.

guam

Garry white writes:

Since learning of Guam’s opponents, I, along with my coaching staff, have done a considerable amount of research coming to the final stretch before the scheduled matches. Before facing I.R. Iran on Sept. 3, the team will be in a short training camp in Japan, and after the match, will return to Guam for a home match against Oman — a 30-hour flight each way!

With Guam in a considerable lead in group standings, these highly anticipated matches will be closely watched not only by fans from the competing countries, but fans and media around the world, all who have kept the discussion about Guam’s progress and success alive to this day. Fans in Guam will have the rare opportunity to witness the Guam-Oman fixture live, with so much riding on the result of the match.

If you haven’t done so already, buy your tickets at GFA to watch the match against Oman, set to kick off at 4 p.m. on Sept. 8, following the Labor Day holiday. Not only will you be treated to an intense, high-caliber match, but your support may be the necessary fuel for the team’s success, as felt during the Matao’s first two FIFA World Cup Qualifier wins.

The match will be in the same week as the opening Saturday of the Triple J Auto Group Robbie Webber Youth League, and will hopefully inspire the next generation of the Matao and Masakåda, Guam’s senior national teams.

Gary White, or the “Gaffer,” is Guam Football Association’s technical director and head coach of the men’s national soccer team.

 

Queiroz under fire again.

A member of the parliamentary Sports Sub-Committee faction has severely criticized Carlos Queiroz , the head coach of Team Melli , for failing to meet his obligations towards his duty. The Majlis representative censured the contract with Queiroz and said “ When the contract was signed in the manner of Treaty Turkmenchay* with some articles that are not enforceable, one should expect these indiscretions”

According to Mehr news agency, Seyyed Shrarif Hosseini was particularly concerned with the long and frequent vacations that the Portuguese head coach embarks on the rumors that Queiroz’s is negotiating to sign with the national team of Mexico and said “the development of football in Iran necessitates quality and class coaches, but the Football Federation and the Ministry of Sport should have full control on the coach and not allow him to act autonomously and as he pleases. It is safe to say that Queiroz is controlling the federation and dictating his terms, rather than the other way round.”

Representative of Ahvaz in Iranian Parliament added that this situation has arisen because of external factors. Those other factors than the Federation and the Ministry were involved in the contract, and Queiroz manipulated the federation by including many clauses which has led in many cases for the coach to allow him to not to carry out his commitments and duties but escape punitive actions.

Carlos Queiroz withe the Argentine Volleyball coach Velasco in Tehran Airport.

He said state television devoted several programs to the survey and posting polls in regard to Queiroz , and since there was a large percentage of voters favoring Queiroz, the federation (FFIRI) felt it was under pressure to sign with the Portuguese coach under difficult conditions. In a way, Queiroz held the federation at ransom because they (FFIRI) dreaded to go against the will of the people.

Hosseini said in an interview with news agency “As someone who specializes in football , I strongly believe that everyone should do their job in an organization, it is a collective work. Respect for authority and peer reverence should be maintained so that the Football Federation does not fall under pressure during decision-making in coordination with the Ministry of Sports. Iran football will not be destroyed if Queiroz leaves, and if he remains, I doubt that he will make us world champions, but now we must wait and see what he decides.”

Carlos Queiroz was last on duty on 11th of June in the match with Turkmenistan. After returning to Tehran, he left for an extended leave to his native Portugal, where he still remains. Queiroz next official assignment is to attend the AFC sponsored conference 1st AFC Conference for National Team Coaches in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 18th-20th.

 While there is only one month left to the match against Guam in the preliminaries of the FIFA World Cup 2018, Team Melli has not gathered yet since the Turkmenistan match.

* Treaty Turkmenchay*   :عهدنامه ترکمنچای : a treaty signed between the Persian and the Russian Empires which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). It enforced hard conditions on Persia including the seizure of Russians of many territories of Persia.

Guam away match venue will remain as is.

After much thought and deliberation by the FFIRI on the proposal by Guam FA to hold both the matches of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers between Iran and Guam in Iran , Team Melli’s Manager Afshin Peyrovani said today that the away match will be held in Guam as originally scheduled.

Peyrovani, in a statement to the official football federation website , said that FIFA regulations prevented both matches bein played in the same venue !

Guam has submitted an official proposal to save cost and the gigantic travel mileage the like of which can never happen anywhere else in FIFA calendar. The tiny US protectorate is currently leading the group with maximum points from two matches won against Turkmenistan and India.

Guam National Football team

Team Melli’s training camp in Turkey is off.

Team Melli’s proposed camp in Turkey is off , according to Team Manager Afshin Peyrovani.

The camp was scheduled for 2nd June to 9th in Istanbul or Ankara, however due to various logistical and financial difficulties, the camp is now canceled, Peyrovani said to the reporters.

The Manager of Team Melli went in length to explain all the reasons behind the cancelation but at the end, it was apparent that money or lack of it was the main reason for cancelation of the training camp in preparation to the Turkmenistan game.

Peyrovani added that Team Melli will be flying to Uzbekistan on a chartered flight and then proceed to the city of Daşoguz , Turkmenistan for the opener match of Iran’s FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification rounds. Peyrovani explained in details on who is paying for the cost of each leg of the flights!

On the subject of the venue, it is apparent that the AFC competitions commission has turned down FFIRI’s protest against the venue and the match is cleared to be played at Turkmenistan’s 3rd largest city. There was no reason to reject Daşoguz just because it is 600 km away from the capital.

As it is becoming fairly obvious that cost and expenditure is a major concern for FFIRI and Team Melli, expenses and cost are mentioned on every opportunity.  FFIRI seems to have difficulty in meeting the requirements of the squad including logistics.  Peyrovani talked about the proposal by Guam to play both legs of the matches in the Group D of the World Cup qualifiers in Iran. The suggestion from the Pacific nation is conditional on Iran paying for the expenses of the Guam squad including air fares. Peyrovani said the suggestion sounds good and it will be seriously considered. “If that is approved, one of the matches with Guam will be played in another Iranian City away from Tehran to allow the fans to watch their national team.”

No doubt that the accountant in FFIRI HQ is busy counting bearing the cost of Guam in Tehran versus flying to  Hagåtña in Guam some  9445 km (5869 miles) away. Both teams will be travelling a good 17 to 18 hours to reach destination considering a good connection in at least two airports for connecting flights.

Typical Flight Times:

Tehran to Manila 13:15 hours (transit through one of the Persian Gulf airports)

Manila  to Guam 3:55 hours