Tag: Lionel Messi

22/06/201422/06/2014

Iran vs. Argentina Reports & Analysis..and a bit of Maradona.

BBC.com Review

Lionel Messi curled a stunning 91st-minute winner to send Argentina through to the World Cup knockout stage and rob the excellent Iran of a deserved point.

Iran spent much of the first half under pressure but more than once threatened to inflict what would have been a huge upset.

Lionel Messi scores stunning goal in stoppage time

Argentina’s celebrations at the final whistle were wild and prolonged, while the sight of coach Alejandro Sabella embracing Messi at the tunnel gave an indication of what this meant to the two-time champions.

The build-up was dominated by talk of a rift between Messi and Sabella, the captain having expressed his displeasure at the 5-3-2 formation used in the first half againstBosnia-Hercegovina when Messi also scored the decisive goal.

Sabella duly reverted to the Barcelona forward’s preferred 4-3-3 and was rewarded by his star man at the last.

[box title=”KEY FACTS” style=”bubbles” box_color=”#eaee3d” title_color=”#00000″ radius=”5″] Key facts Argentina have won 11 and lost just one of their past 14 World Cup group games, scoring 27 goals and conceding just five in total in this run. Iran attempted just 130 passes against Argentina, the fewest made by a team in a World Cup match since 1966. Lionel Messi has now scored 40 goals for Argentina.[/box]

Iran looked devastated at the end but must take immense confidence from a performance that combined defensive resilience with attacking adventure – and from the knowledge they could still qualify.

Carlos Queiroz’s men actually created the first meaningful chance when Jala Hosseini headed wide from Ashkan Dejagah’s free-kick, although Argentina then assumed control.

Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago provided a solid base for Angel Di Maria and full-backs Pablo Zabaleta and Marcos Rojo to support Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero.

Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi displayed superb reflexes to foil Higuain and save one-handed from Aguero. Rojo then headed narrowly wide, Messi was off target with a free-kick and Ezequiel Garay nodded inches over the bar. The Iran fans celebrated every reprieve like a goal.

“Lionel Messi is the difference in so many games and he’s done it again. You know what he’s going to do, take a step and curl it, but there’s nothing the magnificent Iranians can do. It is just world class.”

Neil LennonFormer Celtic manager on BBC Radio 5 live

Argentina were meeting a wall of resistance every time they attacked but Iran’s impressive defending ought to have been no surprise – they kept more clean sheets in qualifying than any team at the tournament. And when not thwarting the South Americans’ forwards, Queiroz’s team again came close to a goal of their own with another Hosseini header.

Iran’s preparations for the competition had been hampered by political sanctions that affected their funding and ability to organise friendlies, but they looked fully prepared and again came close to taking a shock lead through Reza Ghoochannejhad.

Masoud Shojaei surged forward and fed Pejman Montazeri to cross for the Charlton Athletic striker, who would have scored had his header been aimed anywhere other than straight at Argentine keeper Sergio Romero.

But the chance served to further bolster Iran’s self-belief and after Dejagah had a strong penalty claim rejected by referee Milorad Mazic, the Fulham man was thwarted by Romero’s fingertips as he met another Montazeri cross with a powerful header.

Messi worked hard to swing the momentum back in Argentina’s favour, slotting wide after a quick break and sending a free-kick into the side-netting, while Sabella introduced Rodrigo Palacio and Ezequiel Lavezzi in place of Aguero and Higuain as his side pushed hard for a winner.

Still chances came for Iran, however, Ghoochannejhad nearly stealing the win, only for Romero to make a diving stop – and that miss proved costly when captain Messi stepped up with a wonderful finish into the far corner to send Argentina through with a game to spare and keep them on course for a first World Cup since 1986.

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ESPNFC.com REVIEW

Team Melli looked excellent in defeat

Before the start of this World Cup not many Iran fans imagined that going into the third and final round of the group stage Iran would still have chance to fight for a spot in the Round of 16.

Yet, despite Saturday’s heartbreaking 1-0 defeat against Argentina, Team Melli still has a fair chance to go beyond the group stage in a World Cup tournament that has turned out to be anything but predictable.

Team Melli put up a valiant fight against a star studded Argentina in Belo Horizonte; however, a magical extra-time moment from the world’s best player rubbed them off what would have been the best result in the country’s footballing history.

Once the initial disappointment of this difficult defeat has passed, most Team Melli fans will come to recognize and appreciate their team’s inspired performance for what it was.

To put it in perspective consider these facts: the Argentina team that took the field against Team Melli included four of the best attacking players in the game today.

Of the four, Lionel Messi has the top total annual earnings of 64.7 million dollars, plus Sergio Aguero with 23.3 million dollars are respectively the second and fifth top earners in this World Cup according to Forbes magazine. That is more than triple the total annual budget of Iranian football federation.

Furthermore, Argentina’s squad included seven or more players who have won major trophies with top European clubs.

And finally, Iran came to this World Cup as one of the lowest ranked teams in the tournament while Argentina are one of the early favorites to go all the way.

Many football purists criticised coach Carlos Queiroz’s defensive approach against African champions Nigeria in the first match of Group F. However, today we saw a different side to his team. They did put numbers behind the ball for most of the first half, but in the second half they took advantage of a frustrated Argentina and created a few dangerous opportunities of their own.

Sergio Romero, the Argentina goalkeeper, was forced to make four saves during the match (as compared to eight by his Iranian counterpart), and one of them had to be a top class acrobatic fingertip save. Queiroz may not have the luxury of many big names on his roster, but he has somehow managed to drill a ton of self-belief in his players and extract every ounce of performance he possibly can out of them.

The boys, for their part, have played their hearts out in more than 180 minutes of football at the highest stage. Against Argentina every single Team Melli starter, including the three who were substituted out late in the game, ran over 9 kilometers. Lone striker Reza Ghoochannejhad ran over 11 kilometers as did 33 year old midfielder and captain Javad Nekounam. Midfielder Andranik Teymourian who ran over 10 km had a match high 48 sprints followed by Ghoochannejhad who had 44.

It was a laboured effort, but Lionel Messi and Argentina overcame Iran to advance to the second round. — *Lionel Messi sidesteps two Iranian defenders. He would go on to score the game-winning goal for Argentina in their Group F clash.*

Unfortunately, from Team Melli’s perspective, the Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nigeria match ended with the worst possible result. The narrow 1-0 Nigerian victory means that Iran will not only have to win their final match against Bosnia, but also hope for a solid Argentine victory if they are to go through to the next round.

It is safe to assume that neither Argentina nor Nigeria will settle for a draw which would send both of them through at the expense of Iran, but who could blame them if they did exactly that?

It will be very interesting to see if Carlos Queiroz can manage to motivate his men for their last group match after such a deflating defeat. But regardless of what happens against Bosnia on June 25, it is a sure bet that the team will get a warm reception from the fans back home upon their return.

While the majority of Iranian football fans are purists who enjoy and appreciate free flowing and attacking football, they also recognize and value hard work and team effort even if it does not produce the beautiful football that they all love. Team Melli game to this tournament as overwhelming underdogs, but they have already outlasted two former world champions and given their fans another chance to dream of possibilities.

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Maradona’s a curse! El Diego leaves early… Lionel Messi scores Argentina winner v Iran!

Saturday, June 21st, 2014

maradona argentina efe2 Maradonas a curse! El Diego leaves early... Lionel Messi scores Argentina winner v Iran!

After his disastrous reign as coach of Argentina at the last World Cup, the evidence suggesting Diego Maradona is now a jinx on the country he famously led to World Cup glory in 1986 is overwhelming!

Diego Maradona has made headlines across the globe after he was unable to get into Rio’s Maracana for Argentina’s opening match win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

On Saturday in Belo Horizonte, Diego Maradona did make it into the stadium but to everyone in Argentina’s amusement… left early before Lionel Messi cracked home the beautiful winner against Iran.

As a result, the hashtag #Maradonamufa (‘Maradona’s a curse’) was trending on Twitter in Argentina after the 1-0 win over Iran.

And, La Nacion reports that Julio Grondona, president of the AFA, was celebrating in the Argentina dressing room, saying: “The jinx is gone, and we won.”

Maradona left his post as coach after the last World Cup with harsh words for Grondona, so it is no surprise the latter should celebrate in this manner.

A picture of Diego Maradona leaving early, before Lionel Messi scored against Iran, is above…

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WAR OF WORDS FOLLOWING JINX SLUR

Maradona gives “moron” Grondona the middle finger

DPA 06/22/2014

Diego Maradona came out all guns blazing in response to comments by the head of the Argentinian FA, Julio Grondona, suggesting that the legend had been bringing Argentina bad luck during the World Cup.

“The jinx left and we won”, Grondona was quoted as saying after the 1-0 victory over Iran at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, where Lionel Messi’s last-gasp wonder strike came once Maradona had left the stadium.

The Argentina legend wasted little time biting back at the AFA president. “So, someone said that the goal was scored because I left”, he noted, before referring to Grondona in person, calling him a “moron” and literally sticking his middle finger up to show just what he thought of the comments.

Maradona, who coached the ‘Albiceleste’ for their disappointing campaign at South Africa 2010, is currently working out of Rio de Janeiro as a World Cup pundit for Venezuela TV channel ‘Telesur’, for whom he presents a special show entitled ‘De Zurda’ in reference to his famous left foot.

Personal jibes
Maradona went even further in his riposte, labelling the AFA chief a stooge: “My message to Grondona is that I paid for the clothes on my back through hard work; he bought everything he has on thanks to his cronies at FIFA”.

20/06/2014

Lionel Messi criticism welcome, says Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella

Reuters | Jun 20, 2014 at 10:56pm IST

Four-times world player of the year Lionel Messi may not be deciding Argentina’s team tactics but his criticism is crucial and welcome, coach Alejandro Sabella said on Friday.

Messi was critical of Argentina’s first-half defensive formation in their World Cup opener against Bosnia despite a 2-1 win but those post-match comments were welcomed, Sabella said.

“I was not hurt by Leo’s comment and he has said that before,” the Argentine told reporters ahead of Saturday’s Group F game against Iran. “He likes to play 4-3-3 with (Angel) Di Maria up front”

World Cup 2014: Messi criticism welcome, says Argentina coach Sabella

Messi may not be deciding Argentina’s team tactics but his criticism is crucial and welcome, coach Alejandro Sabella said on Friday. (Getty Images)

“They (reporters) asked him how he likes to play and he answered what he thinks in a respectful way. We respect each other, we have a very strong team spirit. It is good to have an open dialogue with my players.

“Sometimes players learn from us (coaches) and sometimes we learn from them.”

Sabella surprisingly opted to play an extra defender in Hugo Campagnaro and sacrificed forward Gonzalo Higuain against World Cup debutants Bosnia and the result was a flat first half display that belied Argentine’s status among the tournament favourites.

He changed tactics at halftime, with his players feeding Messi more and the Argentine scoring in the 65th to put them two goals ahead.

Sabella confirmed that would also be the way he would start against Iran, who drew 0-0 in their opener against Nigeria.

“We can all make mistakes you know. Tomorrow we will start with a 4-3-3 formation and we will take it from there. We may have to change the formation or not.

“I am the one who told Messi to go (to the news conference after the Bosnia game) and I fully trust all my players from a human and professional standpoint,” the coach said.

“We have a two-way street in our dialogue because if you don’t let them say what they want to say then you won’t get the best out of them.”

20/06/2014

Team Melli has what it takes against Argentina.

The fans will be assured of two things comes tomorrow’s clash against Argentina. One , The Brazilians who will form the majority of the attendance at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte will be supporting Iran , two Queiroz will stick to his game-plan and will remain faithful to the same starting 11 played against Nigeria.

Both are two good signs for Team Melli in a match that is, if not the most important in its history , it is one of the highest profile matches ever played by Iran. Every player that will be playing for Argentina, will be familiar or a household name for the Iranian players and fans. That in itself has positive and negative effects. If Iran players get rid of the inferiority complex that Carlos Queiroz has contributed to build in the mentality of his players by repeatedly refereeing to them as “amateurs on and off the field”, Team Melli has what it takes and are up to the task. Playing against greats like Messi and co does not exactly require super human power, again as Queiroz is implying, after all even the greats like this magician Lionel Messi is a human. Curiously, great player have more than their fair share of off days as pressure to excel, be at the top and be a winner, is sometime excessive and takes its toll. The pressure on the great players can be stressful and result in such player to perform below expectation. Of course, it requires powerful and motivated opposition players to turn the day of greats like Messi to a miserable one or at least make his life difficult. In Team Melli, there are enough signs to indicate that the defense line can indeed frustrate Messi and his teammates.

Like Reza “Gucci” Ghoochannejad stated, “we are under no pressure “. Indeed everyone expects Argentina to win, after all they are one of the title contenders. So, the pressure is on Argentina rather than Iran. On the other hand being cool and being complacent does not work very well against the likes of Aguero and Higuain , not to mention Messi who will punish you in a blink of an eye. Team Melli players need to concentrate during the entire match, never leaving their guard down. Iran has done a pretty good job against Nigeria, and despite that repeated statement that Argentina is not Nigeria, (so obvious, isn’t it ?) The crux here is about a game-plan and defensive discipline that should work regardless to the opposition.

That goalless draw in the first match against Nigeria was not pretty but no one can take it from Team Melli that it played an organized well-structured defensive system that yielded the required result. The result and the one point was also quite satisfactory for the majority of the fans. No doubt a similar performance and result will be a welcome against a tougher opposition. Lest not ignore that this opposition has some shortfalls of their own such as high average age , stamina and a questionable defense that has already been scored upon once in this group. It is ironic that at the start of the match tomorrow when the stats are announced, Iran has a better defense than Argentina. Let us hope that is another of those good omens.

The reality could be something completely different than what we think and write about. It could all turn out to be the opposite of the predictions, but one thing is for sure. You do not need to have 11 players who played in the European Champions League to compete against Argentina. You need guts, motivation, skill and discipline which Team Melli has managed to a high degree in the last match.

The Question now is can the boys maintain the same discipline against Argentina?

Go Team Melli.

20/06/2014

Lionel Messi Wants More Offensive Argentina Against Iran

Argentina defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opening FIFA World Cup 2014 match but were far from dominant in their performance.

Reported by: Agence France-Presse

Last updated on Friday, 20 June, 2014 10:42 IST

Taking aim: Lionel Messi in action against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

© AFP

Belo Horizonte: Argentina captain Lionel Messi believes coach Alejandro Sabella has to back his side’s attacking capabilities and include him among a front three when they face Iran on Saturday in Belo Horizonte.

Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain is expected to return to Sabella’s starting line-up as the two-time winners look to seal their place in the second round of the World Cup with a victory over Iran.

Higuain came on as a substitute to set up Messi to score just his second ever World Cup goal as Argentina got their campaign off to a winning start against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Rio on Sunday.

And Messi said he feels more comfortable playing with both Higuain and Sergio Aguero in attack.

“We are Argentina and I think we need to concentrate on ourselves without fixating on who we are playing,” said the four-time World Player of the Year.

“We feel more comfortable with two up front and me behind because it makes it easier to counter-attack and, because we have more people in attack, we have more possibilities.”

Messi eased some of the pressure on his shoulders to finally deliver his best form at a major tournament for his country with his stunning effort in the 2-1 win over Bosnia.

However, his underwhelming first-half performance was still criticised by some and he admitted he needs to play closer to the opposition’s goal.

“In the first-half I found it difficult to get a hold of the ball and when I did I was very far from goal.

“The truth is when I did have the ball I lost it a number of times and at other times I was playing it backwards. I was annoyed at not being able to play the game I had planned.”

Along with Higuain, Fernando Gago could return in midfield at the expense of Maxi Rodriguez as he too made a positive impression as a second-half substitute against Bosnia.

Javier Mascherano is also expected to win his 100th cap in midfield and insisted he is as hungry for success as he was on his international debut.

“I am not one of those players that makes the difference on the pitch, but more a player that sacrifices myself for the team. What is my secret? I live for this.”

Iran made an encouraging start to their campaign too as they held African champions Nigeria to a 0-0 draw in Curitiba on Monday.

Coach Carlos Queiroz fiercely defended his side’s tactics in that match given their lack of facilities and poor preparation in comparison to their more illustrious opponents in Group F.

And striker Reza Ghoochannejhad believes his side can enjoy the experience of taking on one of the best side’s in the world with nothing expected of them.

“We have to enjoy it and follow the coach’s instructions to the letter. We’ve got absolutely nothing to lose in this match,” said the Carlton Athletic striker.

“Argentina are among the favourites this year, while the same can’t be said for us. All the pressure will be on their shoulders and we will have to show our resilience, like against Nigeria.”

19/06/2014

Ghoochannejhad: We’ve got nothing to lose

19 Jun 2014

FIFA.com

It is safe to say that the crowd at this past Monday’s Iran-Nigeria game at the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba were not exactly bowled over by the spectacle. After all, the match yielded the sole goalless draw of the first round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ group-stage action.

There is no doubt Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi was busier than his Nigerian opposite number, Vincent Enyeama, but the rest of Team Melli looked supremely drilled tactically. Up top, Reza Ghoochannejhad worked tirelessly and, despite failing to hit the net, scored 7.53 in the Castrol Index, outperforming several bigger – though not longer! – names including a certain Lionel Messi.

The 26-year-old voiced his delight at the point gained in an interview with FIFA: “It was a tough match. We knew they were a physically strong team, but that didn’t stop us putting in a good performance. We pressed them constantly and our tactics nullified their game.”

Coach Carlos Queiroz was unstinting in his praise for the marksman, whom he personally convinced to represent Iran rather than the Netherlands, where the hotshot played at youth level. “He put in an excellent shift.

“We were focused on keeping it tight defensively against an extremely physical Nigeria side and, despite the fact that he frequently found himself isolated up front, he still managed to press the opposition. I was impressed by his performance and I hope my players give him more support against Argentina,” the Portuguese coach added.

The Charlton forward is adamant that the AFC side are out to build on their solid start to reach the Round of 16 for the first time in four appearances at the finals: “The point will give us confidence and mentally speaking the team have never been stronger. We dropped [two] points but we did what we set out to, which is gratifying. We’re physically and mentally ready to take on Argentina and I’m hoping to score against them.”

Free from pressure
Ghoochannejhad’s bullishness should not be mistaken for cockiness: he simply believes that all the pressure is on the two-time world champions and their talisman, Lionel Messi. The Iranians, meanwhile, will be unencumbered by expectations, and any sort of positive result will be a bonus ahead of their final group fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We have to enjoy it and follow the coach’s instructions to the letter. We’ve got absolutely nothing to lose in this match,” stressed the man who enabled Iran to qualify top of their group with his winner against Korea Republic. “Argentina are among the favourites this year, while the same can’t be said for us. All the pressure will be on their shoulders and we will have to show our resilience, like against Nigeria,” he went on.

Even if Team Melli are defeated by La Albiceleste, they will still have a chance of making it through the group going into their meeting with the Bosnians, whom they have beaten in four of five friendly encounters. Despite this auspicious statistic, Ghoochannejhad is refusing to count Iran’s chickens before they have hatched: “This is the World Cup and that’s no way to approach things; [right now] the most important match is the Argentina game. We have to try to get a good result before we can talk about qualification.”

As he has made abundantly clear, the man nicknamed ‘Gucci’ isn’t looking past Messi and Co and is aiming to mark the game in style: by putting the ball past Sergio Romero to open his World Cup account.

16/06/2014

Not so impressive Argentina rescued by Messi

Argentina’s 2-1 defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ debut is hardly likely to generate great delight among Albiceleste fans. That said, there are times when all that matters is getting the job done, and this was one such occasion.

Those fans are likely to make a similar observation about the game as the players themselves did after it was all over, namely that Alejandro Sabella’s side were more fluent after the restart, when the coach switched from the 3-5-2 formation he began the game with to the 4-3-3 that had worked so well for him in the qualifiers. The introduction of Fernando Gago and Gonzalo Higuain for Hugo Campagnaro and Maxi Rodriguez also helped his side approach their usual rhythm.

One man who saw things that way was midfielder Javier Mascherano, who was making his 99th appearance for his country. “Even though we took an early lead, we struggled to get into the game in the first half,” he told FIFA. “We played better in the second, though.”

“We looked more like ourselves with our usual formation. Why the changes? Well, the coach thought that was the best way to start before then deciding that he had to change. That what it’s all about.”

Right-back Pablo Zabaleta, who was finally making his World Cup debut at the age of 29, also pointed to the improvement in Argentina’s performance after the break, while making an interesting tactical observation:

“When we changed to 4-3-3 our first pass into the forwards was better, we were organised and we got more people forward,” he said, also in conversation with FIFA. “When we do that, we’re a handful for anyone.”

A glass half full
Neither player had been expecting an easy night, a feeling that had nothing to do with formations or tactics, as Mascherano explained: “We knew it wasn’t going to be our greatest game. The important thing was to win because opening games at the World Cup are never easy, even more so when you have a few players who’ve never experienced one before. All that anxiety has gone now, though.”

For his part, Zabaleta took a pragmatic view of the evening’s events: “Obviously we tried to win by playing good football, but what matters today is the result. What counted was getting the three points and we did that. We still know, though, that we have plenty of room for improvement, which is a good thing.”

One of the many positive points that the two-time world champions can take from their defeat of the Bosnians is that Lionel Messi got back to goalscoring ways, having gone a whole 623 minutes without hitting the back of the net in a FIFA World Cup match, his last world finals goal coming against Serbia and Montenegro at Germany 2006.

“We are all very pleased to see him get his goal because he’d gone a while without scoring in the World Cup,” said Zabaleta of Messi’s second-half strike. “We hope he can get a lot more too.”

Before taking their leave the Albiceleste duo had special words of praise for the thousands of Argentina fans who made themselves noticed at the legendary Maracana with their singing.

“I wasn’t surprised by the support,” said Zabaleta. “You expect that from Argentina fans. We felt like the home side today and we’re proud of that.”

Mascherano was no less effusive: “I’ve never experienced anything like that outside my country. I hope they keep supporting us because they’re going to help us a lot.”

12/05/2014

Mr. Kaffashian , do the honorable and correct the sitiuation.

Team Melli players , deserve more than one shirt.

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Mr. Kaffashian’s statement to the press that Team Melli players have no right to swap shirts after a match ends, a customary and a tradition that has been practiced in international football as old as the game itself, has created numerous debates and feeling of humiliation and anger amongst the fans. Major world sport media took an interest and news of the miser Kaffashian run viral on the web and TV stations to the embarrassment of every Iranian fan. Many fans expressed their anger and dismay at Kaffashian over the social.

Anybody who knows Ali Kaffashian closely enough will tell you that he is genuinely a nice man void of any trickery or dishonesty in his dealings, which is unfortunately becoming a requisite for reaching to authority echelon in Iran’s sport. He is one man that cannot brag about his bloated bank account and enrichment out of football. But the ever smiling, grinning happy face Kaffashian has a major disadvantage in his dealings; He comes across more often than not as being clueless to a degree of embarrassment.

He has a knack of dealing with problems, when asked by the journalist at least, by simply dismissing them or deny their existence. If really pushed hard for an answer, his customary “Inshallah” or the equivalent of wishful thinking , seems to be his method in sorting out the problems by hoping they go away!

Asked in Tehran about the cancellation of the Friendly game that was supposed to be played in Johannesburg between Team Melli and National Team of Mozambique , he said “I don’t know the reason , it is Queiroz’s decision and I don’t have a clue why he cancelled the match.” Remember , this is the President of the Football Federation talking. When Queiroz returned to Tehran, he was asked the same question. The Portuguese coach was taken by surprise, or at least acted so, “There was no game scheduled to begin with for it to be cancelled. How can you cancel a match if it was not even arranged ?!! We did not agree on anything with Mozambique!”

For the record, that match was mentioned in all the daily sport papers in Iran , listed on FIFA Website and even on-line betting companies had the match on. Team Melli fans who were lead to believe that there is a friendly match were disappointed, but most importantly , the President of Iran’s football Federation , who should be the reference and the authority , with his signature on the contract , claim he was not aware about the cancellation !

That is what is meant by the statement that Kaffashian is sometimes clueless.

His statement about the shirt swaps, which practically means that his federation is unable or perhaps not willing to buy extra jerseys for the players in the world greatest show on Earth , is another example of him being clueless.

We genuinely believe that Kaffashian is perhaps not aware of the shirt swapping protocol or he believes that it is a childish behavior that must stop, who knows what he is thinking. The pressure of Iran reaching the World Cup is taking its toll on the nice man and is beyond his capability to manage all the events and responsibilities. We also doubt that it is a monetary or economical issue. For God sake , Iran is set to receive US$8 million , even if it loses all the 3 matches , while it will be handed $1.5 million in advance which is supposed to be for their preparation costs. How much do the extra shirts cost , that Kaffashian has an exception to?

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There is little doubt that the incumbent president of FFIRI , was shocked and embarrassed by the accusation directed to his federation from the minister sport in which football was singled out as the sport which spent the most amount of money with nothing to show for it in forms in championship or glory unlike other sports such as Wrestling , Weightlifting even volleyball and Basketball.

Astounded Kaffashian, after initially winging and moaning about the unfairness of the accusations, set to work to address these issues. He had to, because he is seeking office again for a third term and his failure to control expenses at a federation that has generated very little if any revenue , will not augur well in his re-election campaign. He embarked on a belt tightening crusade. He has indicated several times that his administration might not be able to afford to renew Queiroz’s contract after it expires after the World Cup, because of increased wages demand.

However, his economizing policy has reached a senseless stage where players are given one set of training kit for a 3 weeks of training camp. To cap it all, the embarrassment of telling the likes of Messi , Aguero , Higuain , Zabaleta , di María , Džeko , Spahić , Begović , Yobo , Obi Mikel , Emenike and the rest NOT to bother expecting shirts swap from Team Melli players after the match , because our players need to wash it for the next game!

Truly embarrassing situation for a proud nation like Iran. It is not that money is not available in the country, as Iran , even under harsh economic sanction by the west , has managed to survive and balance its book. Its natural resources are aplenty and not limited to oil only. Iran is one of the few nations in the world that has no significant national debts, unlike many of its oil-producing neighbors that are in trillions of dollars in debts. The reasons behind such predicament in football, is the poor management that has marred the football establishment for decades.

People with little management skills and experiences who have little appreciation or understanding of resource management , marketing , revenue generation , business processes , public relations, global lobbying , etc. , seems to be running football affairs. Such people objectives and priorities are diverse, outdated and highly governmental orientated. To add to the chaotic management situation, famous ex-players or coaches, have been demanding major roles in running football clubs and federation, while the absolute majority of the ex-footballers are not qualified business managers or have any organizational skills. A recipe for disaster is brewing..

Not only the Iranian football fans across the world, but even other fans expect Kaffashian to revise the situation. It is a shameful act and a behavior that scratches the honor of a proud nation.

If Kaffashian, does not come up and say something like “I did not mean it like that, there is a misunderstanding “ , then this website will start passing the hat and start collecting donations for extra Jerseys for players….

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26/04/2014

Tevez “I will be in Disneyland during the World Cup”

FORMER Manchester United and West Ham striker Carlos Tevez has said he’s given up on going to the World Cup in Brazil with Argentina.

The forward, currently playing at Juventus, has fallen out of favor with the Argentine management and Tevez is planning alternative ways to spend his summer. That would be one less headache for Carlos Queiroz when he faces the might of Argentina in the FIFA World Cup in June.

The former Manchester City player has been in decent form for Juventus this season, scoring 18 times, but at international level there is an embarrassment of riches ahead of him.

Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Ezequiel Lavezzi all stand in his way.

Tevez said: “I don’t think I will watch my national team play at the World Cup. I’ve already bought tickets to go with my wife and my three children to Disney World. They deserve that trip and I have very clear in my mind where my place is.”

“I will nevertheless be Argentina’s number one fan. My candidates for the title are Argentina, Brazil and Germany in that order. I nevertheless don’t think I will be able to watch the games because that would make me very nervous and be nostalgic.”

06/03/2014

Iran’s World Cup opponents falter in friendlies.

Argentina’s attacking stars failed to find a way through a resilient Romanian defense in a surprising goalless draw in the Romanian capital Bucharest.

Despite the much vaunted trio of Lionel Messi , Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain starting , Argentina side drew blank against the underdogs, with Barcelona’s Messi conspicuous by his lack of influence on the game. With less than 100 days to go to the World Cup , boss Alejandro Sabella maybe slightly concerned that a team that may well be the first choice XI in Brazil struggled to break down a side that failed to qualify for this summer’s extravaganza.

Meanwhile , the other team in Iran’s group in the World Cup , Bosnia- Herzegovina fared even worse than Argentina beaten 2-0 by Egypt another team that has failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Two second-half goals from Gedo and Mohamed Salah gave coach Shawky Gharib a winning start after they beat the European qualifier Bosnia 2-0 in a friendly game in Austria on Wednesday night.

Gedo opened the scoring seven minutes after restart with a clinical finish before Chelsea’s Salah ensured the win with a close-range effort as Egypt start a new phase under Gharib, who replaced Bob Bradley following the team’s failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup finals in Brazil. Despite having quality players, Bosnia attempts on Egypt’s goals were shy and far apart.

The other team in the group , Nigeria played Mexico in another goalless draw Wednesday night in Atlanta, USA.

Neither manager was much concerned with getting a result in this match. The match was a dour and boring affair which resulted in the fans in the Georgia Dome to voice their displeasure at the final whistle.

So, the loss of Team Melli to Guinea does not look too bad after all , as none of the FIFA World Cup group opponents have managed to get a win in what is normally matches for experiments and various tactics deployment,

08/12/2013

Iran Football federation regrets targetting of Messi’s facebook page.

Tehran

Mohammad Reza Molla Mohammad , the Cultural administrator of Iran’s football federation (FFIRI) has regretted the action of some delinquent juveniles who posted derogatory remarks on Lionel Messi’s facebook page.

In the aftermath of the FIFA World Cup draw 2014 carried on Friday, Iran was drawn in the same group as Argentina, which prompted some of the less educated so-called Iran fans to post some childish nonsense which has nothing to do with football.

Molla Mohammad said that the Football federation puts a lot of emphasis on sportsmanship plus civilized and courteous behavior reflecting the culture of the proud nation. “

In a statement published in FFIRI website in Farsi , Molla Mohammad said “As a country , we have certain cultural , social and religious values that we stick by and form the pillar of our society. We have lots of respect to all our opponents in the World Cup , and while we appreciate and understand rivalry and competition , we condemn such insulting behaviour by some fans against one of the greatest football players in the world. “

“Lionel Messi is a phenomenon and we are proud that we will play against him and his team in the World Cup. What has been said by some fans has nothing to do with Iran and Iranians. Messi has our respect and our admiration.”