Tag: Jalal Hosseini

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.

Ghafouri’s omission turns political.

Carlos Queiroz has never been too far from a controversy, conflict and downright confrontation with somebody or some organization.  He picks up verbal fights with anyone who dares to disagree with him and his lists of foe makes an interesting reading from his fellow trainers in Iran and outside to Head of charity organizations, journalists, TV presenters and his own staff.

This time, his adversary is not only a politician, a member of parliament, but also the issue is touching a sensitive political matter.

Following the release of Team Melli players list for the FIFA World Cup and the surprise omission of the names of Vouria Ghafouri (Esteghlal) and Seyyed Jalal Hosseini (Persepolis) from this list, a lot of criticisms of this move have been made by various sources. In the latest of such opposition to the move, the Kurdistan Provincial Sports and Youth General Director has reported the case to the parliament.

Hamid Joolayaei, in an interview with ISNA, said: ” Vouria Ghafouri’s omission has shocked the sports community, and for this reason, follow-up was needed with provincial authorities and parliamentarians.”

Referring to the fact that Ghafouri is still not entirely out of the squad (final list should be out by 4th June) , Ghafouri and several other players are on the waiting list for selection, and I hope he will return to the national team as results of the efforts we shall undertake.”

The director general of sports and youth of Kurdistan province continued to point out that the reason for Ghafouri’s exclusion is still unknown to anyone. He said “ Vouria Ghafouri has played well and was in form for Team Melli during this period and is currently is still in the AFC Champions League. It’s a surprise to be removed from the national team list without technical justification.”

Vouria Ghafouri

Vouria Ghafouri is from Kurdistan a minority community that had a long history of conflict and political struggle for independence. The government of Iran has always tried to ensure impartiality towards the minorities in the country and has attempted to eliminate any sense of injustice, prejudice or neglect in these provinces. The Kurds in particular has historically been one of Iran’s biggest worries. As such, this elimination of the only Kurdish Player, who happens to be an excellent player too, has raised more than a sporting question that could have other consequences. It certainly adds another dimension to what looks like a simple football selection decision.

Jalal Hosseini

Bijan Zulfagharnasab, one of the few Kurdish players to play for Team Melli, commented on the this subject. “Sometimes the coach is faced with a traffic jam in certain posts, a dilemma, and it is expected to give some of those players a break.”

Zulfagharnasab, pointing out that Vouria Ghafouri and Seyyed Jalal Hosseini are the two of the country’s leading players and experinced defenders , so their exclusion are quite surprising to say the least and raises questions”

Zulfagharnasab, did however note that  Vouria Ghafouri (30 years) and Seyyed Jalal Hosseini (36) are at an advanced age, said: “Given that the training and competition pressures are very high on the threshold of the World Cup, perhaps the national team coach, is giving the two players a rest for the game against Turkey so that they will be ready to take part in the World Cup.”

He recalled, “If Ghafouri and Hosseini have no disciplinary issues, they are more likely to be invited back to the national team.”

It is not clear whether the Iranian parliament will debate Carlos Queiroz’s decision on Ghafouri.

Morale boosting win for Team Melli against Montenegro.

Team Melli defeated Montenegro 1-2 in a friendly International match in the capital city Podgorica on Sunday.

Team Melli was camping in Austria, before travelling to Montenegro for the match. Both Iran and Montenegro are preparing for the FIFA World Cup2018 qualifiers next week.

Iran played a goalless draw against Montenegro three years ago before the World Cup. The Montenegro team has performed well in the current World Cup qualifying rounds with good results such as the win against Denmark in Copenhagen.

According to Queiroz at the pre-match press conference, Montenegro game style is similar to Uzbekistan and that is his reasoning behind arranging this match.

Iran and Uzbekistan’s national teams will play Azadi Stadium next week with Team Melli looking for a win to seal their qualification for the second consecutive World Cup.

Team Melli line up against Montenegro included : Alireza Beiranvand, Morteza Pouraliganji, Pejman Montazeri, Saeid Aghaei, Ramin Rezaeian, Saeid Ezatolahi (Ezzaat Pourqaz) Ehsan Hajsafi (Ali Karimi) Ashkan Dejagah (Reza Ghoochannejhad) Mehdi Torabi, Karim Ansarifard (Milad Mohammadi) and Sardar Azmoun (Ehsan Pahlavan)

Iran played the final ten minutes of the match short of one player after the expulsion of Morteza Pouraliganji for a second yellow card.

In the tenth minute Sardar Azmoun scored for Iran again after 8 months dry run. Aghaei sent a long ball to Rezaeian who headed towards Torabi and the quick and artistic move of  Mehdi Torabi was effective in gifting the goal to Sardar Azmoun.

After the goal, Montenegro took the majority of possession and threatened Team Melli several time. Biravand in goal was a saviour and prevented the collapse in the first half. However in the 31st minute the hosts scored the deserved equalizer through their star player  Jovetic the ex- Manchester City player and currently playing for Seville in the La Liga.

Saeid Ezatolahi powerful shot from a free kick, the header against the bar by Azmoun were among the two most serious attempts by Team Melli to take the lead again. Montenegro had several chances too but the half ended in a 1-1 draw.

In the second half, the substitute Ali Karimi’s cross and followed by Ramin Rezaeian header, once again to Sardar Azmoun , set up the second goal for Team Melli. The young striker has increased his goals tally to eighteen with this brace.

The host once again had most of the possession but to no real threat on the solid and tight Iranian defence.

Apart from the dismissal of Pouraliganji , the match went According to script that Queiroz wanted it

The game ended 2-1 as Asian top ranked team in the FIFA rankings, gathered valuable points to add for next months.

Queiroz once again, gave two players their debut. Saeed Aghaei and Ehsan Pahlavan made their first appearance for Team Melli and played quite well against the organized Montenegro team.

Both of them were encouraging.

Queiroz gave a chance for seventeen players in the match and utilized his full quota under the rules. Many fixed players did not get a chance to play including the likes of Jahanbakhsh, Taromi, Shojaei, Amiri and Jalal Hosseini.

The make-shift team of Queiroz has proved that he has managed to create two parallel teams capable to compete at the highest levels in any match. So that injuries and suspensions, without prejudice to the team, does not affect the overall performance.

This was a morale boosting win against a European team away from home.

Mission China; Team Melli needs all the 3 points in Azadi.

Iran’s match against China on Tuesday will be a real test for the newish look Team Melli after their fine display against Qatar in Doha which ended in a 1-0 win scored by Mehdi Taremi. In retrospect, it was not an impossible task in Doha and the win was achieved with certain level of comfort unlike the match in Azadi at the beginning of the competition.

Azmoun & Taremi celebrating

Mehdi Taremi was one of 3 up front strikers in what look a sweet adventure by Carlos Queiroz. Team Melli has reached this status, undefeated, top of the table and not conceding a single goal in the competition yet, as the result of Queiroz philosophy of tight & solid defense. A solid back , be it three or four , has served Queiroz well and his omission of Seyed Jalal Hosseini , the most expected and senior player in the squad , but who is also performing quite awfully for his club, proved how much importance Queiroz puts on reliable, steadfast and consistent defenders. Pouraliganji replaced Hosseini at the heart of the defence and he hardly put a foot wrong. It was a clever move by Queiroz who must have considered Pouraliganji’s familiarity with the Qatar players as an added advantage on top of his excellent form.

Queiroz was rewarded for it.

The midfield was another spot of worry since the regulars were all missing. Ashkan Dejagah & Ando Teymourian have not even made the list, while the squad was lacking strength in depth in the defensive midfield area.

However, Saeid Ezatollahie , a young an upcoming player, Ehsan Hajsafy, already a veteran at 27 years only and Ali Reza Jahanbakhsh created a solid trio in the center of the field and excelled in both their offensive and defensive duties. The midfield, maintaining a pace of the match that suited Team Melli tactics, creating lots of opportunities for the forwards, helping out in defense, and  finally controlling the match with time ticking away, was a major factor in this victory.

In the forward line, Carlos Queiroz is spoiled for choices and every single one of them in addition to the benched Reza Ghoochannejad had excellent season with their respective clubs. The dilemma with Queiroz was which one to pick. Granted, the forwards missed many chances to kill the game as early as the 60th minute, but their performance and contribution to backing the midfield during oppositions attacks, was a delight to watch.

Carlos Queiroz

Now about the goalkeeper. Team Melli have not been successful with keepers after the era of the AhmedReza Abedzadeh. Young Biranvand has certainly some potential, but there are some mentality and behavior issues with this keeper. His petulant acts is a source of concern, in the match against Qatar, it earned him a yellow card, but more serious than these juvenile roleplays , is his tendency to get his choices wrong while jumping for crosses or when he needs to save a shot.  He needs a lot of growing up and some real good coaching on his timing and when to use his fists rather than the palm of the hands.

  Overall , it was an excellent performance by Team Melli.

China seems to experiencing a revival of their own as their narrow but valuable win against their perennial rivals South Korea proved. will be a good test for Team Melli. Last time round in China, the home team frustrated Team Melli and closed the roads to their goalkeeper very well. The style of play has improved under Marcello Lippi and the Chinese seem to play a better game, more confidence and with some superb passing moves. The style is more of ground passing and less dependence on aerials. The Chinese forwards are perhaps not so effective in finishing and there are a few question marks about their defense marking, but the team looks much more solid and capable of beating any opposition.

The predication for this encounter is difficult, suffice to say it will be tight and difficult affair.

Azadi passionate crowd will have a major role to play. The vociferous and enthusiastic support will assist in gaining all the three more points of the match. This might not translate in early celebrations for Team Melli as that fate will be delayed until this summer. Direct qualification will only be known after the game with Uzbekistan on 12th June, if that.

Facing the truth against China.

It is no use escaping the fact that Team Melli victory against Qatar was a combination of a stroke of good luck, which in fact Iran deserves, and failure of the opposition focus. Qatar played a very well organized match and could have easily scored a goal or two during the match. They had pace, solid defense and individual skills to trouble Team Melli. However, they ended up losing the match due to a killer mistake  by the keeper, who gifted the goal to Iran in the 94th minute of the match.

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A brief analysis of the match on why Team Melli failed to perform up to expectation indicates some critical failure by the team management in preparing the team. The team played under incredible psychological pressure from the media, the federation and worse than all, from the Head coaches himself. It is prudent to say that this is a young team with players in their early twenties playing in front of 80,000 passionate fans. So that immense pressure was boiling even before that match started.  Hyping players has become a standard practice in the modern sports. It is a work of science and a domain for the professionals in sport psychology. in Team Melli , this role is carried out by Carlos Queiroz who is far from being anywhere near a professional in this field.

The man sets the worst example for bad case of anger management, lack of self-control and loss of composure during matches.  His TV interview where he was talking as if Iran is prepare for a war against an enemy , is a clear evidence that this man does not have the tools to suitably prepare his players mentally & emotionally.  The players felt that pressure from the start and subsequently did not perform anywhere close to their last three games, when there was little or no pressure.




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Time and again , Iran has failed in mentally preparing a good team for the major tasks. Over-hyped emotion and prayers have been engaged where the situation requires methodical and systematical means of mind control.

Fortunately for Iran, in Shenyang Olympic stadium, that psychological pressure will not there. In fact, in a role reversal, it is the Home team who will endure such pressure. China has to deliver after their narrow 2-3 loss on the opening day to South Korea, A good result against Asia’s top team is demanded by the fans and media in China. Only a win can be satisfactory for a country that has invested hugely in the club football, especially in the last few years.

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China showed much grit and determination against South Korea, Like Qatar they were the unlucky losers but unlike Qatar, their lapse of concentration was not momentarily but lasted much longer resulting in conceding of three goals. It is there where Team Melli can hit the Chinese. The far and few scoring chances must be effectively taken.

Queiroz needs to put his house in order, too. No rhetoric of his or his coaching staff can hide the fact that Iran has performed poorly against Qatar and an enormous task is needed to come out of Shenyang with points.   

The lineup needs changing. Rezaeian was clearly short of form and idea against Qatar. Taremi lost in the forward line and the middle of the field needs a serious change of game plan, tactics and perhaps players. Dejagah and Ezatollahei were good but could not influence the match nor produce enough balls to feed the forwards. Teymourian was excellent in his role as a defensive midfielder while Jahanbakhsh was not so prominent. The addition of Mehdi Torabi will strengthen the midfield.

In defense, apart from one heart stopping blunder by Biranvand when he completely missed the ball on a cross against Qatar, he was generally fine and dependable. That same cannot be said about the central defense. Hosseini, the most experienced of the players is slow and can be easily intimidated. Montazeri suffers from lack of pace like his partner.  There is a dire need of a solid and fast defender, which Iran fortunately has in the form of Morteza Pouraliganji. The Al Sadd defender has the added advantage of playing in the Chinese professional league so his experience will be that more valuable. The team should not defend deep against China because the shortage of pace in Iran’s defense could prove costly for Team Melli.

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Azmoun still remains the top choice for the front line, but Taremi has to go on the bench allowing Queiroz to add to his midfield power by selecting Torabi , Ebrahimi or Shojaei.

A win for Team Melli is certainly possible. They are the better team, no doubt but they need to prove it. It will be a close match.

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More players drop out for the Turkmenistan match.

Team Melli’s Captain Andranik Teymourian is the latest player to drop out of the team as he left the camp to fly to Doha where he is supposed to get his Visa to Guam from the American embassy.

INJURY LIST

Earlier on , Pejman Montazeri , pulled out of the squad due to an injury sustained in training. In total,  5 key players will be missing from the match in Azadi as Queiroz has to reshuffle the whole defense with the absence of Hosseini, Montazeri and Ghafouri.

 

NEWS CONFERENCE

Both the coaches conducted their Pre-match conference today in Tehran, The Turkman coach Amangylych Koçumov emphasized that his team is here to win a match that ios crucial for them. “:Iran is a strong team and top team of Asia, there is no denying that fact. However, we are not here just to show up for the match but get all the 3 points. We have played each other before and both teams are familiar with each other. ”

On the status of his team readiness, Koçumov confirmed that he has no injury worries and he is in Tehran with the full squad. Turkmenistan landed in Tehran yesterday via Istanbul more than doubling the actual distance between Tehran and Ashgabat!

Meanwhile, Carlos Queiroz brought  all the four goalkeeper to his press conference!, one of the first questions was what is the message in this unusual gesture, to which Queiroz responded that this is the future of Team Melli!  Most reporters have connected this show of force as a defiance message from the Portuguese coach against all the experts who demanded that he calls the most prepared and best goalkeeper in Iran, Mehdi Rahmati. Queiroz has not hid his contempt for Rahmati and took a swipe at him only a few days ago after the brilliant display by Esteghlal Keeper in the derby. Today Queiroz said that he cannot say everything and if he does open his mouth , he will be sacked.

Queiroz is never far from controversies , fiery attitude and the will to confront everyone not to his liking.

 

FREE ADMISSION

 The attendances for Team Melli matches have been steadily in decline with no real studies conducted to find where improvements can be made. FFIRI urged Team Melli fans to flock to the Azadi stadium to support their team by allowing free admission to the stadium. However, the timing of the match , is far too early for many as it will be either during some working hours or not allowing many fans enough time to get to the stadium from work/ home to. The free entrance might encourage fans to make an effort. Less than 20,000 fans turned up to watch Team Melli’s only home game in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers against Guam on 3rd September.  The friendly international against Japan, a top team in Asia with many household international players, did even worst with less than 15,000 turning up. 

A solid performance and result by Team Melli , will certainly help to attract more fans.

Team Melli is further depleted !

A depleted Team Melli will be flying to Tashkent on Tuesday 11:00 am missing 7 players. The latest additions,  is one of the most experienced players, Seyed Jalal Hosseini and Foolad young starlet , Soroush Rafei. The pair is facing administration issues preventing them from leaving Iran.

As reported earlier in teammelli.com , Hosseini is facing tax evasion charges due to the non-payment of taxes while he was playing with Persepolis. Hosseini learned of his dilemma when he returned to Iran after the end of the QSL season where he was playing with Al Ahli in Qatar.  Hosseini is adamant that according to his contract , Persepolis was supposed to pay for his income taxes , something they never did.

Soroush Rafei is faced with the military service which in Iran means the person is not allowed to leave the country until the completion of his duty. However, there are exemptions based on admissible evidences. Queiroz personally took Rafei’s issue to task but it appears that his efforts were fruitless.

Although the decision on both are not final with another 30 odd hours remaining to the flight , it is hardly unlikely that the matter will be resolved. Hosseini’s absence will be a real blow to Team Melli already missing Amir Hossein Sadeghi in the central defense and Mehrdad Pooladi. Montazeri will most probably be paired with young Pouraliganji in the central defense while Ghafoori , Heydari or Beikzadeh will be occupying the defensive flanks.

The list of the absentees on the trip to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is as follows:

  1. Ashkan Dejagah (Injury)
  2. Alireza Jahanbakhsh (injury)
  3. Ghassim Haddadifar (Fatigue)
  4. Jalal Hosseini (Taxation)
  5. Karim Ansarifard (Form)
  6. Mehrdad Pooladi (Military Service)
  7. Soroush Rafei (Military Service)

Jalal Hosseini ot the brink of missing Team Melli games!

Team Melli central defender risks missing the flights to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan after it was revealed that he is in trouble with the income tax authority for non-payment of taxes.

Seyed Jalal Hosseini missed Saturday’s session of Team Melli training to pursue his financial predicaments which means that he is banned from leaving Iran until the taxes issues are settled. The taxes are from the days when Jalal Hosseini was playing for Persepolis. Hosseini claims that his contract stipulated that Persepolis will pay the income tax, which they have obviously not carried out. The authorities are holding the player responsible and have asked him to pay his dues plus late payment interest else legal actions will be taken against him.

Carlos Queiroz was in a similar situation a few weeks back as his employer FFIRIR has neglected to pay the tax authorities and hence he was banned from leaving the country. This ban was only lifted after partial payment by FFIRI along with guarantees and assurances from the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Jalal Hosseini is under contract with the Qatari side, Al Ahli. Team Melli will be playing Uzbekistan in Tashkent in 11 days from now before flying to Turkmenistan for the opening game of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers.

Pooladi and Shojaei relegated in QSL.

Al Shahaniya club lost its final match in the Qatar Star League QSL against Al Ahli and were relegated to the second division. Al Shahaniya which has two Team Melli players Mehrdad Pooladi and Masoud Shojaei in their squad , were just promoted last season. The two Iranian players started with the team from the beginning of the season , but their efforts were fruitless and could not help keep the newly promoted team in top flight for more than one season.

Al Shahaniya finished in 13th position with 20 points 7 points ahead of the bottom team Al Shamal which is also relegated along with Al Shahaniya.

Al Ahli which is coached by the ex-Sepahan coach Zlatko Kranjcar and has Jalal Hosseini and Mojtaba Jabbari playing for them finished the season at 5th place. Hosseini and played Pooladi played the full match for their respective teams , while Masoud Shojaei was introduced as a substitute from the second half. Jabbari is currently injured.

Al Wakrah which has Reza Ghoochanejad in their squad , just missed on relegation by beating Al Gharafa 2-1 in the final round of the QSL a result that ensured their survival. Al Wakrah finished with 23 point at 12 place just above the relegated Al Shahaniya. Ghoochanejad made a cameo appearance for Al Wakra when he replaced Ahmad Koheyl Substituted in the final 5 minutes of the game.

QSL title was won by Lekhwiya for the fourth time in their history.

Jalal Hosseini ” the fans should not expect miracles.”

Jalal Hosseini , Team Melli central defender said “since Team Melli preparations was way behind the other opponents , the fans should not expect miracles.”

 Seyed Jalal Hosseini spoke to Mehr news agency about the conditions of Iranian national team six days before the opener match against Bahrain, He said: “Thanks God our physical condition is quite decent. Unfortunately, we did not have an ideal number of preparation friendly games and that is a crucial point. Therefore, we had to compensate with much preparative physical work. From the day we landed in Australia, we have worked quite hard to get in shape ready for the Asian Cup with hard and tough training.”

He added “we had a very good game against Iraq. I hope that despite all the hardships, the lack of preparatory friendly games, we manage in showcasing our abilities and qualities in the Asian Cup. The first game is very important in such tournaments in particular, since our first opponent in the tournament is Bahrain, the team that we usually have some difficulties against. Anyway, I hope we have a good start, then continue from there on”

Hosseini said that there is no point in regretting what happened and divulging about the level of team preparations. “No matter how long we have been in a training camp, it is not a substitute for playing strong friendly games against quality oppositions.  If you ask me whether our team’s preparation is on the same footing at the oppositions, I categorically say NO. However, this is all water under the bridge now. We must deal with this situation . Very little time is left to the start of the tournament.,  so we must not think about the past and feel sorry about ourselves , this is like shooting ourselves in the foot if we keep on about that. We simply have to carry on. In any case, the fact is that we are way behind the other teams in preparation programs. Each of them has done a dozen or so friendly games against strong teams. Ae are very backward. In that sense”

He added, however I strongly disagree with people who have demanded that Team Melli must win the title or at least reach the finals. The fact is that we have not had the proper preparation for such a strong tournament to justify such demand. The situation dictated upon us after our return from the World Cup , was as such that the team was sitting idle for 6 months without any games and meaningful program. Our squad had not had the chance for any match to see how the team performs with new players and what the benchmark is. Now we have many young players in our team. When players can show their real ability to have more opportunity to play together. We should not expect miracles from the team; however, we are of all our efforts we can make the people happy.”

Hosseini paid tribute to the new Team Melli players. The central defender, currently playing for Al AHli , admitted thy are quite a revelation with their hard work and stamina. “We have to accept that this group and others in the same level, are the future of Iran’s football. I am quite happy to see them paying so much attention and working their extreme best to impress in order to become established players.”