Tag: Ivory Coast

Marc Wilmots is out.

Marc Wilmots has finally parted company with FFIRI and resigned as Team Melli’s head coach, just seven months after replacing Carlos Queiroz at the helm of the three-time Asian champions.

Former Belgium and Ivory Coast coach was appointed in May to lead Iran in their quest for a sixth World Cup appearance after Queiroz had secured back-to-back qualifications for the first time in the country’s history.

The head of the football federation, Medi Taj informed the Iranian media on Wednesday that Wilmots had left and that a settlement had been agreed between the coach and the federation. It is not clear who will be immediately in charge of Team Melli, however, Vahid Hashemian is the most probable candidate to take charge on a temporary basis.

But while Wilmots confirmed he had terminated his contract with the Iranian federation, he denied a resolution had been reached refuting Mehdi Taj’s announcement.

“Contrary to the information apparently published in the Iranian press, no amicable agreement was reached between the Iranian Football Federation and me and my staff,” Wilmots said on Twitter.

“We are negotiating to find an amicable solution following the non-respect of the contractual obligations by the Iranian Football Federation and following my justified termination of the contract.

Speculation had been rife in Iran ahead of the country’s World Cup qualifier against Iraq in November that Wilmots would not lead the team into the game, only for the Belgian to appear on the bench for the clash in Amman. Iran lost to a stoppage-time goal from Alaa Abbas, with the result leaving them in third place in their qualifying group, five points behind leaders Iraq but having played one game fewer.

Branko Ivankovic, who led Iran to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany and recently led Persepolis club to three consecutive league titles, has been heavily linked with a return to the post.

Iran’s next FIFA World Cup qualifying match, which is a must-win game is against Hong Kong at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on March 26.

Taj and Wilmots to meet for termination of the contract.

After a lot of speculations and what looked like a covert operation, the FFIRI seems to have reached the decision to terminate the contract of the current head coach of Team Melli, Marc Wilmots.

The president of the Iranian Football Association FFIRI Mehdi Taj who attended the AFC awards ceremony, has left Hong Kong to arrange a meeting with Marc Wilmots or his lawyers in Istanbul with the objective of terminating the Belgian coach contract on mutual consent. It is believed that the groundworks for such termination has been completed and the meeting will be a formality to end what was a bitter and dark period of Team Melli history under the ineffectual Wilmots.

This would be Wilomts third successive sacking from his post after he was dismissed by his country’s federation in June 2016, and then came his short tenure with Ivory Coast, where he left his job  in November 2017 “by mutual agreement” where he had only been in the role six months, but paid the price for his failure to guide the Elephants to a fourth successive World Cup 2018.

With Iran , Team Melli is in serious risk of elimination from the World Cup with two successive defeats in the group qualifications rounds. It seems that the World Cup is Marc Wilmots’, Achilles Heel.

Branko Ivankovic is the leading candidate as successor , however there is still a major financial settlement that needs to be sorted out by Persepolis club before the Croat will agree to return back to Iran.  The president of that club has admitted that their former coach (Branko Ivankovic) is negotiating with the Iranian Football Association to become the national team coach after Ivankovic emphatically turned down Persepolis club offer to return to his old job.

Ivankovic is still very bitter with Persepolis club specifically his last few months with the club, not just because the club failed to respect the contract and held his wages for several months, but because of all the troubles and the turmoil that was created in the team led by a few players to undermine his authority and hinder his job.

Although Branko, as he is popularly known in Iran amongst the fans, has not signed up yet, it is believed that if FFIRI can guarantee regular payment of his wages, Ivankovic will sign to lead Team Melli for his third time.

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Marc Wilmots to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday

TEHRAN – An unnamed source in the Iranian football federation FFIRI has mentioned that ex-Belgium coach Marc Wilmots will arrive in Tehran on Wednesday to finalize his deal.

FFIRI will reportedly pay the 50-year-old coach and his two Belgian assistants $1,500,000 per year.

The Iranian federation also wants former Team Melli captain Javad Nekounam to be a member of the coaching staff.

Parliament Member Mohammad Reza Tabesh has also said Wilmots will most likely pen a contract with the Iranian federation. His source of information is unverified.

The Belgian led his homeland to the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, but was sacked after that tournament in France.

Wilmots, who is also on the Scotland’s list of candidates, is set to replace Carlos Querioz in Team Melli.

He has been without a team after leaving the Ivory Coast coaching position in November 2017.

Wilmots will start his work as Iran coach in two friendly matches against Syria and South Korea, scheduled for June 6 and 11.

Saman Ghoddos Ineligible to play for Team Melli

Tehran

The excitement of the Swedish-born Iranian appearing for Team Melli has turned to a major disappointment after FIFA declared that Saman Goddos is ineligible to play for Iran.

An unnamed administrator in FFIRI has informed Khabar Varzeshi newspaper that FIFA has rejected Iran’s application due to lack of proper documentation and proofs. As such, the chance of Ghoddos making his debut tomorrow against Syria has disappeared.

As a result of his Iranian parentage, Ghoddos was eligible to be called up by both Iran and Sweden. In December 2016, Ghoddos was called up by Sweden manager Janne Andersson for friendlies against Ivory Coast and Slovakia. He scored his first international goal for Sweden in a 6–0 win over Slovakia on 12 January 2017.

In June 2017, Ghoddos revealed that he had been approached by the Iranian football federation. In an interview in July 2017, Ghoddos stated that he may accept an invitation to play for Carlos Queiroz’s Iran if he is asked. He applied for Iranian citizenship on 21st August, stating that it is an honor to play for Sweden and his decision to represent either country is “fifty-fifty”.

Ghoddos was not called into Sweden’s World Cup qualification squad on 23 August, with Janne Andersson opting to choose expatriate footballers and stating that Ghoddos is not far from a call-up if he were to remain with the Swedish national team.

 in an interview on 25 August 2017, Ghoddos confirmed that he received his Iranian passport from the embassy. The following day, 26 August 2017, he announced on his Instagram page that he would be joining Team Melli for their 2018 World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Syria.

The Östersunds FK midfilder was called up for the first time to Team Melli squad on 27th August 2017 by Carlos Queiroz for Iran’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Korea and Syria.