Tag: Kaffashian

Kaffashian dismisses Queiroz threats,

 

Kaffashian “We will not accept Queiroz resignation if submitted”

 Recent comments by Carlos Queiroz have brought a sharp reaction from Ali Kaffashian, Mehrnews reported.

The president of FFIRI was responding to Team Melli coach statements after the two met to discuss the release of Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh to Omid team.

In the aftermath of the meeting on Wednesday that has uncovered a major dispute within the FFIRI ,  and highlighted the differences between Team Melli coach and his Superiors, Kaffashian stated “Omid team is our priority at this stage. This is a stated policy of the federation. Queiroz has to abide by it, it is his duty to support the federations’ policies and Omid team is our focus of attention right now.”

Kaffashian has called upon Queiroz to be more tolerant and accept some of the criticisms aimed towards him

Team Melli coach had been quoted that if he is forced to release Azmoun and Jahanbskhsh for Omid team , he may not continue working and leave his job. Responding to a question by a reporter on the subject of Queiroz threat , the President of the Footbal Federation, said “ Queiroz is supposed to be a professional coach . He is well aware of our position in regards to Omid team, he has already been briefed about our priority which at present is Omid Team. This type of threat is not professional. We cannot simply agree on his request to resign based on what he has stated.”

On the subject of recent comments of Queiroz targeting the FFIRI Secretary General , Kaffashian said “ Queiroz needs to be more tolerant and accept criticism. He may have been used to my good nature and style, but the fact remains that different people have different opinions that are not necessarily in unison with mine. That does not mean that I will take issues with them or become hostile towards them. Many members of the executive committee have been critical of me personally for various reasons. I have accepted some of those criticisms. Queiroz needs to be more tolerant and patient as well “

“We have agreed and signed with Queiroz that he will be working with us for the coming 4 years. His talk about resignation is meaningless. Queiroz has to be more accommodating, that’s all.”

Kaffashian also expressed his concern about the dispute and public exchanges between Queiroz and Kashani and invited both parties to work togother. “If we do not meet the demnand of Omid Team, then they will somply accuse us of lack of support. I do not want to fall in such situation. In ordert o qiualify for the Olympics, we all need to support the Omid Team and that includes Carlos Queiroz.”

Asked why the two press conference announced by Queiroz and separately by Asadi where abruptly cancelled and if he had any influence in it, Kaffashian with his usual sarcasm said.” It was nothing special really, we wanted to play a game with thy people in the media, and when you were all ready and excited for the conferences, we cancelled it!”

 Old habits dies hard with the President of the FFIRI. He always managed to find the light side of life even during the most serious of events!.

 

 

Kaffashian “Our priority is Olympics Games 2016 qualification”

Ali Kaffashian has declared that his administration top priority for the coming year is the qualification of Iran’s U-23 team to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics Games 2016.

Kaffashian was speaking after the conclusion of the Iran Olympic Committee IOC meetings where all the sport federation presented their plans and balance sheets to the head of the Olympic Committee.

  “We have an extensive program for the Olympic Football team and have been actively preparing the squad and financially supporting the team to achieve our goal of qualification to Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. The team has a very competent and experiences technical cadre (…) and headed by an experienced manager in Habib Kashani.” Kaffashian claimed.

Asked by reporters to evaluate the FFIRI achievements in the last 12 months, Kaffashian said “ We had a busy year but also a successful year. The FIFA World Cup, AFC Asian Cup, Asian Games, Beach Games were all the tournaments that we took part in. We also had futsal tournament.  In the Omid level ( Iran U-23) the results were disappointing and weak. However at the Team Melli level in the World Cup and Asian cup although we did not achieve anything, and the results were not perfect, but it can be said that our overall grade were moderate success. The women team results in the past year was great. The Age level teams and youth teams qualified from their groups, while the Omid Team is preparing for the Olympics qualifiers. We also hope that National Beach soccer team can qualify for the Beach Soccer World Cup.”

Kaffashian dogged the question on the timing of the upcoming  FFIRI General Assembly, giving the reporters the usual run around without mentioning a specific date.

Asked whether Japan FA has contacted Carlos Queiroz to offer him a job, Kaffashian denied such contacts and insisted that Queiroz is bound by a contract and will remain at his job in Team Melli. When a reporter questioned Kaffashian whether he was in actual  contact with Queiroz to discuss this issue, Kaffashian responded that he did not make any specific contacts with Queiroz except for the odd email exchanges!

Tsunami in football federation!

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the Manager of Team Melli is being removed from his position hours before his flight to Australia via Dubai. Mohammad Nabi who is also the Secretary General is being sacked for undisclosed reasons by Kaffashian who seems to be on a mission to cleanse his administration

Farida Shojaei, a member of the executive committee and the head of women football has already been sacked followed soon after by Dr. Hashemian , the head of the Medial Commission of the Federation. Kaffashian also threatened the Head of the Disciplinary Committee Ismael Hassanzadeh !

When asked about his dismissal, Mohammad Nabi refused to comment and maintained silence. Dr. Hashemian reaction was subdued and retrained “I do not need that job nor does my livelihood depend on it. It was a voluntary position that I was asked to do by the federation and I agreed to assist in order to improve whatever I can in football. But the way that they have proceeded in dispensing with my services was highly uncivilized and seriously in poor taste.”

Farida Shojaei & Ali Kaffashian

Mrs. Shojae was even more critical of Ali Kaffashian’s character calling him a person who has no sense of direction, lacks leadership qualities with a serious decision making flaws & weaknesses. “He hardly deals with matters in logical and rational basis. It is usually his mood, perception or gut feeling that has the final say in his decisions. There is no such thing as systematic analysis or methodical review with this man, it is just random reaction to events.”   Shojaei, denied the rumors that the Ministry of Youth and Sports have been after her removal for some time. “All I know and I am sure of, is that Kaffashian has been after me for some time now. He asked me to resign and I refused. He then sacked me from my position because I have dared to challenge him on several issues after we had our differences.”

Seyed Mohammad Hadi Ayatollahei

The last causality of the tsunami that is hitting the Football Federation FFIRI is the Vice-President and the deputy to Kaffashian himself. Seyed MohammadHadi Ayatollahie , claimed that he has already resigned his post and there is no truth of him being sacked. Ayatollahie , hardly a popular man, has been a controversial figure who has been accused of nepotism, poor management and several failures including his role in the Omid Team. He was one of the administrators that the Ministry of Youth and Sports did not approve of , hence the moves to oust him.

Despite the significance of these moves, which smells like a semi-revolution remotely controlled by the men in the Ministry of youth and sport , Kaffashian seems to be solidifying his position. Despite his wayward style, lack of clear vision and poor managerial & communications skills, he seems to have a good grip power in the federation. He is so confident of his position that a couple of days ago , he dared anyone to outstrip him from his position. Spoken with the arrogance of a full-fledged dictator, Kaffashian said “he does not fear any challenge from the general assembly, nor is there any challenges forthcoming his way.”  Strong words from Kaffashian, but in Iran football there are always surprises, some unimaginable ones, others too comical to believe..

Dr. Ahmad Hashemian

Somehow, things are never clear cut nor black or white in Iran’s football. One day the guy is a CEO of the most popular club in the nation, the next day he is in the notorious Evin prison.  On the other hand a guy who has just been released from the same Evin prison , suddenly becomes the Technical director of the Omid Team ! The dramatic events makes a good reading material for the hungry media , though.

The urgent matter as far as Team Melli is concerned, is to look for a Manager, whose administrative job is vitally importance in a team. That said, Mohammad Nabi hardly painted a good picture of himself as a proper professional manager for Team Melli by his neglect of duty through absenteeism on several occasions.

Pooladi & Rafei cleared to join Team Melli squad.

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Mehrdad Pooladi

Mehrdad Pooladi , Team Melli’s left back currently playing for Al Shahniya club in Qatar and Soroush Rafei the young Foolad Khuzestan player have been granted permission by the armed forces to join Team Melli squad.

After a series of disappointing turns of events and depressing news around Team Melli in its preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2015, this has to be the brightest news of them all. With the absence of Pejman Montazeri who misses the tournament due to injury, Pooladi’s inclusion in Queiroz squad is quite vital. Mehrdad Pooladi was the best player in Team Melli 3 matches in the World Cup according to FIFA technical analysis. His National Service problem prevented him from being selected for duty for Team Melli.

Most of the credit for the inclusion of Pooladi and Rafei must go to the Head coach Carlos Querioz whose personal efforts and demands, including a straightforward and serious discussion with the Minister of Youth & Sport has yielded result. The latter writing to the Armed Forces and requesting the release of the two players for national duty as football players.

The two persons who should have done the most to release Team Melli players, Kaffashian and Mohammad Nabi were quite passive about the issue and maintained a stance where they kept declaring that they are abiding by the law, without making any efforts to challenge or request any alternative options from the authorities to seek the two players release.

Soroush Rafei

Although Soroush Rafei is a rookie and is not expected to play a major role in the Asian Cup in Australia,  his inclusion is vital for the long term planning of Carlos Queiroz future Team Melli build up.

Team Melli is supposed to fly to Australia via Dubai this evening for the last part of the ir training camp which includes a friendly match against Iraq in Sydney.

Ali Karimi is appointed as an assistant to Team Melli head coach.

 The Ex-Tractorsazi player has announced his retirement from football last season and attempts a few days back by Hamid Derkhshan to bring him back to play for Persepolis at the age of 36 has failed.

The appointment of Ali Karimi , who is not a certified or professionally qualified coach nor attended an approved coaching course, has surprised many especially since the FFIRI was counting on having a strong presence of national coaches at the bench of Team Melli beside the foreigners that Queiroz depends on.

It is not clear what role Karimi will play in Team Melli as his presence cannot add any technical value to a team of coaches that Queiroz has at his disposal. The most probable scenario is that Queiroz and Kaffashian, using Karimi’s popularity, has planned this appointment as a formality to silence the growing critics of Queiroz who has been identified as a person who has little respect for domestic Iranian football.

Last time, FFIRI has forced Queiroz to appoint an Iranian domestic coach, resulted in the ex-Esteghlal coach Majid Saleh to be assigned. In what was a clear maneuver by the Portuguese coach to frustrate Salih , and a show defiance to  FFIRI , Queiroz cynically got rid of him by ordering Salih to leave the bench during a friendly match in the Austrian camp and watch the match from the stands! Saleh in protest against such insult refused such intimidating act and preferred to tender his resignation rather than be abused by the coach who simply does not want him.

Appointment of Karimi is yet another of Iranian only football peculiarities the likes of which can only happen in the chaotic football administration. Ali Karimi, a person who always claimed high values and chivalry, must know that his appointment is nothing short of a farce and a facade. Realizing the availability of so many qualified and experienced Iranian coaches as candidates for Team Melli, Karimi stated  the following “I apologize for all the Iranian coaches who thought that they will be selected for Team Melli”. Perhaps , that sums Karimi’s attitude and Iran’s football in general.

Although the contribution of Karimi in the technical affairs of terms is highly unlikely, let us hope that his presence on the bench can at least offer a moral support and helps to brings the AFC Asian Cup back to Iran after 40 years, a feat that Ali Karimi could not achieve in 3 attempts as a player.

The expected shock : Iran U23 elimnated from the Asian Games.

In what is probably the worst day for Iran’s football in decades, the elimination of the football team from the Asian Games men’s football competition was confirmed after Vietnam defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0 this morning. With this result, Vietnam (6 points) and Kyrgyzstan (1 point) have qualified for the next round while Iran is out on goal difference.

The last time Iran was eliminated from the group stages was in the Asian Games Hiroshima, Japan in 1994 when Iran marginally failed to qualify after winning 1 match drawing 2 and losing 1.

The Asian Games regulations requires the teams or the individual to leave the Games accommodation within 24 hours, but an angry reaction from under pressure Kaffashian and the Iranian IOC , resulted in orders for the football team to leave the Olympic Village immediately and catch the first plane home.

The inquest in this shameful exit will no doubt be carried out, but we seriously doubt that anyone or any group will take the blame or accept accountability. The coach Nelo Vingada accepted the blame for the defeat but already declared that he will not resign!

Kaffashian has stated that other teams are getting stronger, which pretty much means that Iran can be defeated by any Asian team so there is no need to get excited about defeats, if one accepts Kaffashians mentality!

In the midst of all this, the real effect is on the fans of team Melli who passionately follow and support their teams but in return, they all getting abysmal results followed by a thorough packages of justifications from the “Merchants  of Speech and Preaching ”.

 

Iran Football performances in the Asian Gems Men Football competition.

1951 New Delhi, India                – Silver Medal

1954 Manila , Philippines            – DNP

1958 Tokyo, Japan                    – Eliminated from group stage (Worst ever results)

1966 Bangkok, Thailand               – Eliminated from group stage 

1970 Bangkok, Thailand               – Eliminated from group stage

1974 Tehran, Iran                    – Gold Medal

1978 Bangkok, Thailand               – DNP

1982 New Delhi, India                – Quarter Finals ( lost to Kuwait 0-1)

1986 Seoul, South Korea              – Quarter Finals ( lost to S. Korea on penalties)

1990 Beijing, China                  – Gold Medal

1994 Hiroshima, Japan                – Eliminated from group stage   (5 points in 5 team group)

1998 Bangkok, Thailand               – Gold Medal

2002 Busan, South Korea              – Gold Medal

2006 Doha, Qatar                     – Bronze Medal

2010 Guangzhou, China                – Fourth place

2014 Incheon, South Korea            -Eliminated from group stage   

Ali Daei is sacked as Persepolis coach. Turmoil continues!

The turmoil at the most popular team in Asia has continued after today’s announcement by the Persepolis chairman, that Ali Daei has been relieved of his duties as Persepolis head coach

Hamid Derakhshan is appointed in a caretaker capacity.

Persepolis has been embroiled in various problems on and off the field for years. The Ministry of Youth and Sport which has direct control on the club has been directing the affairs and changing many personnel after the sacking of Mohammad Rouyanian, who is now believed to be in prison awaiting a trial for corruption.

The Ex Sepahan CEO Rahimi was appointed as the new CEO of Persepolis replacing Rouyanian ,  A complete change of board members was followed and a person by the name of Siyasi was selected as Chairman.  Siyasi, translated from Farsi means political, and as it turned out , that was the only thing he was concerned with. Interestingly enough , very few of the new Persepolis board had much footballing pedigree except for watching matches on TV according to one sarcastic critic.

 The bad results on the field culminated in the sacking of Daei , however , the CEO Rahimi refused the order of the sacking originated from the chairman himself. The conflict between Chairman and CEO resulted in the departure of the latter for refusing to obey the chairman request , which Rahimi said was unlawful as it is the CEO duty to appoint or sack coaches rather than the chairman.

Persepolis financial, managerial , administrative and staff relationships issue has no end. The Ministry have made a right mess of the club by their direct interference,  poor management and control, mostly executed by Amir Khadem . The ex-freestyle wrestling champion. has been given the green light by the Minister to put the house of Persepolis in order and prepare the club for privatization.. However ,  despite the good intentions,  Khadem has failed miserably and the signs are that more turmoil are forecasted ahead.

The turmoil and failures of Persepolis is archetypical and a classic case of where Iran football seriously fails.

Poor management , political interference and incompetent personal at decision-making levels.

Currently, football in Iran is run and managed by a horde of incompetent personnel starting from FFIRI and down to the clubs.

Imagine if FFIRI instead of Kaffashian and his gang , was run by the same Iranian managers responsible for development of Iran’s Volleyball ( Mohammad Reza Davarzani ) or Basketball ( Mahmoud Mashhoun)!

FFIRI denies appointment of Team Melli assistant coaches.

News of internal disagreement in FFIRI has surfaced in the open in regards to the current situation of Team Melli.

After the failure of the Kaffashian to conclude the contract with Queiroz, number of members of the FFIRI “Technical and Football Development Committee” expressed their concern and discontent with the current Team Melli situation and believe that time is at premium for Iran’s honorable and respectable representation in the Asian Cup. Those who were concerned , suggested that Kaffashian/FFIIRI should appoint temporary coaches for Team Melli at the assistant-coach level , to start the ball rolling for Team Melli training program.  This arrangement would address the situation until the head coach is appointed and commences his work.

Essential part of the duty of these coaches ( 2 or 3 Iranian coaches)  will be to set up training camp and commence training with the current Team Melli squad including playing friendly matches. That would minimize the impact of wasting precious time up to the commencing of the AFC Asian Cup 2015.  

However, FFIRI has issued an official statement denying the suggestion of appointment of any Iranian assistant coaches or any intention to do so in the near future.

As such the FFIRI has put an end to any ambitious plans of action by the Technical and Football Development Committee to counteract the effects of the frozen activities of Team Melli.

Amir Abedini “They are selling Iran’s football short.”

The reaction to the news that Kaffashian and Querioz have reached recent agreement for the latter to continue coaching Team Melli with a specific target has started to create alarms and concerns within the football community in Iran.

Several critics have lamented the low aspirations of Team Melli program, some calling it devoid of ambition and desire.

In one of the sharpest reaction and criticism so far , Amir Abedini a former President of FFIRI , a former owner of Persepolis and recently of Damash Gilan club, has accused Kaffashian of selling Iran’s football short.

Abedini defied Kaffashian and the FFIRI and said that “any half decent domestic Iranian coach could take Team Melli to the World Cup given the 4 years that Carlos Queiroz is going to enjoy.  I will undersign such guarantee and be accountable for it.” Abedini mocked the target set by the duo. “ Is that our target now ? Is that our aspirations?  reaching the World Cup finals is the ultimate success? This is a scam and it is intended to deceive the people and football fans. I cannot understand how Kaffashian is acting like this, it is beyond me!”

Abedini , who is famous for his harsh words and being anti-establishment, while describing the objectives of Kaffashian and Queiroz programs as deception, accused Kaffashian of incompetency.

“They are selling Iran football cheaply by their program. Adversaries of Iran’s Football are increasing by the day due to various issues. I am not saying that Kaffashian is one of them, however, he is surely helping them by giving them enough ammunition.”

Abedini then targeted Queiroz who publically declared that qualification to FIFA World Cup 2018 is the top of priority “The man said that his target is to qualify for the world cup. Is he willing to put 75% of his contract value as a collateral for that ?”

“Iran is full of talents, it is not appropriate to state that in 4 years’ time , we might not be able to qualify for the World Cup. That should be our absolute minimum not the optimum target.”

 “If Kaffashian and Queiroz declared a appropriate program in which, qualifying for the Olympic Games for U23 team , reaching the final of the AFC Asian Cup 2015  and not only qualifying for the 2018 World Cup but also going beyond the group stages at least, then that would be an admirable and respectable target for Iran’s football and I will kiss both their hands. Such program is befitting this nation’s pride”

Continuing his aim at the Portuguese coach . Abedini said “This man does not recognize Team Melli Manager Post, and he convinced Kaffashian to cancel it. He does not like the Football League Management Committee and the head of the committee. He tries to impose his authority and demands on the whole Football league system , while he is only a coach of a team. Since he is getting away with everything, maybe we should offer him a contract to run the whole of our football. After that Kaffashian and FFIR will relax and have no obligation and just blame the contractor.”

Finally , Abedini said that the agreement with Queiroz should have been “Coaches of national teams” meaning the rest of the age groups. Although in theory, that is the actual post , Queiroz has managed to dodge the responsibilities from almost all of the other teams focusing on Team Melli only.

Kaffashian “Our agreement with Queiroz is at 95% now”

Team Melli fan should be rejoicing at the news that Kaffashian and Queiroz have reached 95% agreement on contract negotiation. That is a 5% increase from the last figure that Kaffashian has publicly provided about a fortnight ago. Regardless to that , the signing ceremonies will be conducted soon, according to the head of FFIRI.

Carlos Queiroz arrived in Tehran for another shuttle visit to check on his demands and see if the incumbent football federation president has influenced his paymasters and convinced them to yield to the Portuguese demands else doomsday for Team Melli.

The saga of this long negotiation between the two parties has prolonged beyond the reasonable level to a degree which is certainly detrimental to Team Melli’s preparations program for the AFC Asian Cup 2015.  Queiroz has masterly read Kaffashian’s hands and knows very well that he (Kaffashian) has not prepared himself for any alternatives. Queiroz is now exerting maximum pressures on the federation to get all his demands and particularly on the financial aspects.

After today’s meeting between the two parties, Queiroz came out as the happier man saying that “we have reached agreement and all the outstanding issues and misunderstandings have been ironed out between me and Kaffashian”

However, that was not what Kaffashian said as he mentioned that 95% agreement has been reached, which to the common man means some sort of disagreements. Kaffashian, however, added that they will be going ahead and sign the contract soon. Despite some reporters insisting on getting a definite date from Kaffashian, he declined to provide one.

It is not clear if Queiroz will go on holiday after the signing of the contract as he demanded, or start working and earn his money.