Tag: MAnchester United

Manchester United checking on Taremi

According to Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias, the Red Devils are believed to be keen on signing the 30-year-old this summer having been tracking his progress for an extended period of time, with the United boss said to appreciate the striker’s ‘qualities’.

The report adds that the 66-cap Iranian international could be available for as little as €20m (£17m) if he is to leave the Primeira Liga outfit over the coming weeks, with the experienced marksman having just a year left to run on his existing deal.

This comes amid the news that the Old Trafford outfit have also agreed a £60m fee with Chelsea for the signing of England playmaker, Mason Mount, with the club now turning their attention towards the acquisition of a new number nine – as well as a new goalkeeper.

Mehdi Taremi

The former Rio Ave machine may well be something of an unknown quantity to some European sides, although he has certainly proven his goalscoring credentials during his time in Portugal in recent years, scoring 80 goals in just 147 games for his current side.

That includes a standout haul of 31 goals and 14 assists in just 51 games in all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign, with that a better record than even United’s top scorer, Marcus Rashford achieved last season, with the Englishman bagging 30 goals and nine assists across all fronts.

The 6 foot 1 hotshot has also previously made his presence felt against English opposition after scoring a “ridiculous” overhead kick against Chelsea in the Champions League back in 2021 – as hailed by ex-Red Devils star, Rio Ferdinand – having also netted twice for his country against the Three Lions at the World Cup in Qatar.

While there may be concerns over the striker’s age – as he is set to turn 31 in just a few weeks’ time – that could make Taremi an ideal alternative to another potential short-term fix in the form of Harry Kane, with the Tottenham Hotspur talisman set to turn 30 at the end of the month.

The latter man has been heavily linked with a move to the Theatre of Dreams in recent times, although thus far there appears to be no sign that Ten Hag and co will be able to pull off a deal, amid Spurs’ apparent reluctance to sell.

With Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy also likely to demand £100m for the Englishman – despite having just 12 months left on his existing deal in north London – United could bring in a figure like Taremi for a fraction of that price tag instead.

It was in fact the Porto ace who enjoyed a more profitable 2022/23 season also, with Kane ‘only’ managing to register 37 goal involvements across all fronts, in contrast to the Iranian’s stellar tally of 45 goals and assists.

That would suggest that while the signing of Taremi would be an undoubted wildcard move for the Red Devils, it could well allow Ten Hag to find an ideal, bargain Kane alternative.

Louis van Gaal launches furious rant over “bulls***” FIFA World Cup in Qatar

Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal has slammed FIFA’s decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with the tournament just eight months away. Van Gaal is among a growing number of critics of FIFA and its policies of monetizing and commercialization plus its involvement in politics with discrimination and double standards.

There is plenty of ill-feeling surrounding the tournament already, with the human rights abuses in the country as well leading many to question how the tournament ended up being hosted there. The reports of thousands of migrant dying as they attempt to construct the stadiums for the tournament in horrendous working conditions has also led to widespread anger.

And former Manchester United boss Van Gaal has been open in his feelings towards the upcoming tournament. Speaking on Monday, the 70-year-old said: “I have already mentioned it in previous press conferences. I think it’s ridiculous that the World Cup is there.

“We are playing in a country that FIFA says they want to develop football there. That’s bulls***, but it doesn’t matter. It’s about money, about commercial interests. That matters in FIFA.

“Why do you think I’m not on any committee at FIFA or UEFA with my expertise? Because I have always opposed these kinds of organizations. I can say that in Qatar later, but that won’t help the world get rid of this problem.”

Frank O’Farrell, former Team Melli coach, dies aged 94

The former Team Melli coach Frank O’Farrell has died at the age of 94. The Irishman also managed Leicester and Manchester United.

O’Farrell guided Leicester to the 1969 FA Cup final during his three-year spell in charge but the Irishman was best known as the man who succeeded Sir Matt Busby as United manager in 1971, although his Old Trafford reign would last only 18 months.

O’Farrell was a wing-half who played for his native Cork, West Ham, and Preston, winning nine Republic of Ireland caps between 1952 and 1959.

He began his managerial career at Weymouth in 1961 and spent three years at Torquay before landing the Leicester job in 1968. Leicester were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the following year’s Cup final and relegated from the First Division three weeks later.

O’Farrell was quickly appointed as Busby’s successor. After a promising start which saw United top the table for the first time in three years, O’Farrell fell out with George Best and the team ended the season eighth. O’Farrell was sacked in December 1972 with United third from bottom.


After a short spell at Cardiff, O’Farrell was appointed as the Head coach of Team Melli in April 1974. He began his tenure with seven consecutive wins, leading them to the gold medal at the 1974 Asian Games and qualification for the Montreal Olympics.

O’Farrell was credited for undertaking the development of national coaches like his protege Heshmat Mohajerani, Bahman Salehnia, and Hasan Habibi. Mohajerani took over from O’farell and became the best Iranian coach in the history of Iran and was crowned with his qualification to the World Cup 1978.

In January 2006, O’Farrell was invited to Iran to attend a ceremony in honor of Persepolis’ former players, along with Alan Rogers

In testimony to O’Farrell, the Iranian superstar of the 70’s Hassan Rowshan commented Frank O’Farrell, was a real gentleman; A coach. In my opinion, I believe that Rykov built the infrastructure and foundation of Iranian football, and O’Farrell completed it. Interestingly, unlike Carlos Queiroz, O’Farrell believe in domestic trainers and had several Iranian assistants, such as Mohajerani, Habibi, and Salehnia, with him, and taught them the work. After O’Farrell left Iran, Mohajerani took the helm of the national team and achieved good results in the Asian Cup, the Olympics, and the World Cup, especially in Argentina.

O’Farrell later attended the 1978 World Cup in Argentina as a reporter and met with the Iranian national team players.

Reacting to the fact that some consider O’Farrell the architect and a kind of gateway to the world football arena, Rowshan said: “With the change of generation that took place, O’Farrell invited younger players to Team Melli who later formed the main body of the team. First of all, if you want to build a 100-story apartment building, you have to have a solid foundation. Rykov did that and tore down our old football foundation and built a new one. O’Farrell helped modernize our football. Rykov was a coach from Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia. Most of Europe’s great coaches at the time were from Eastern Europe. As I said, Rykov took the first step and then O’Farrell prepared the team in the style of Western European teams. Unlike Queiroz, who was looking to play against weaker teams, Rykov focused on the likes of Brazil, Hungary, and Manchester United. In my opinion, Rykov and O’Farrell, in addition to Mohajerani, were our best national coaches.

Asghar Sharafi bemoans the lack of discipline and competent managers in Iran’s football.

Asghar Sharafi, the former Team Melli player and assistant coach to Heshmat Mohajerani when Iran qualified for the 1978 World Cup for the first time, is a unique outspoken character. His military background has taught him strict discipline and throughout his career, he abided by these principles. Sharafi’s values on discipline have endeared him to many but it seems that the days of such mentality of the pre-revolution era have lost their color, according to the former coach.

In an interview with Kayhan, Asghar Sharafi said  “The big clubs of the world are part of their society. Any society that abides by the law will flourish. In one European country, the prime minister was questioned for attending a party. These are the products of respect for the law, where the laws and regulations are institutional. It starts at the grassroots. In our society regretfully we think otherwise as lawlessness and revolt are admired. As such calamities befall us.”

Sharafi is referring to several breaks of discipline in various clubs and Team Melli some of which made big headlines.

“We must look at who is running our major clubs and then measure our expectation in dealing with wrongdoings and indiscipline accordingly. “Sharafi added: “Unfortunately, diminutive people manage our football here and these people do not have the guts nor the resolve to deal with immorality, insubordination, and disorderly acts. In the big and prestigious clubs of the world, the people in charge, react to such matters of transgression because of the respect the clubs has for its fan and society, even more than the sole interest of the club itself.”

“In the distant past, in Iranian football, there were people at the head of clubs who dealt with indiscipline and did not allow those irregularities to spread. In the days when I was the head coach of Shiraz, we had a player who was indisciplined. I dealt with him as severely as possible. Once, a young player on our team punched the referee in the chest during the match. I was interviewed that day and I said that this player did not hit the referee, but in fact, he hit his own coach because, with such an act, he questioned his coach’s credibility. In the big clubs of the world, ethical issues are important, but in Iran, the only thing that matters is to win points.”

“One of the biggest problems of football in Iran is managers’ fear of dealing with indiscipline; That could be the manager of the club or the director of the football federation. He says to himself that if I deal with an undisciplined player and suspend him, my team may not succeed. So, they pass a light sentence, and on many occasions on appeal, that suspension is dropped! This is a big problem. In a club like Manchester United, a young player who has committed an offense is dealt with severely, and that is not a personal treatment but to protect the interests of the whole organization, these interests include the credibility of the club and the fans. Unfortunately, the biggest problem in our football is the lack of competent and specialized managers at the top. If Iranian football had been run by people who were competent, sympathetic, and moral but most importantly, familiar with the fundamentals of the sport, we would never have witnessed recent unruly events.”

TEAM MELLI COACHING REVIEW

Team Melli is enjoying the view from the top in Group A of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying rounds. A statistical analysis rather than a scientific one gives Team Melli a 68% chance of qualifying to Qatar as the table stands now. With just one match short of halfway, that is a high percentage and a source of confidence for the fans in the team looking ahead for a historical milestone, the third consecutive qualification to the World Cup finals.

However, there is as always, a lot of room for development as all is not well. The focus of this article is on the coaching and the vital role the whole staff played in these results.

To start with and to make things clear, anyone who discredits the coach and places the success of the team purely on the individual players or other factors is either ignorant or has a grudge against the coach, and by God, there are a lot of them in Iran.

When the name of the new Team Melli coach was announced, many people asked, “Dragan who?”. The fans and critics should not be blamed because the reality was that Skocic was not a household name, and his CV contained the name of uninspiring Persian Gulf league clubs only. Not exactly on the same level of coaching Manchester United, Portugal National Team, South Africa, and even UAE which Carlos Queiroz had. Even the doomed Marc Wilmots had a much better CV.

So, the pessimism of the fans could be justified, and the doubters started growing in numbers as some mainstream Iranian media looked like it was on a mission to subconsciously destroy the Croatian Dragan Skočić. Reminiscing about the glorious days of Carlos Queiroz while finding faults in Skočić tactics or players selection, to the extent of making up stories. The fact that the Portuguese coach did not achieve any championships or titles and failed to win the AFC Asian Cup twice, seemed not to matter!

Others, in the minority, had a different idea and believed anything is better than Marc Wilmots, which in reality, made sense as Belgian has to go on record as one of the worst coaches who sat on the bench of Team Melli.

But Dragan Skočić proved his doubter wrong. He prevailed and did not give up against his domestic opponents winning one match after another, breaking records in the process, and having a high chance of qualifying to the World Cup while we have not reached even the halfway stage.

Football is not exactly rocket science. It is popular because it is such a simple game to play and understand (although offside rules and when a handball is a handball is still confusing millions of people across the World).

As such errors by players and coaches are easily recognized especially in these days of technological advances. So, although the coach and his assistances, know them inside out of the team, the capabilities of his player, physical condition, and most importantly the emotional and the psychological status of his players which always remains out of view for the fans, the team mistakes in many areas can be singled out by expertise and critics.

Provided there is no ill intent, the criticism of a coach can benefit him.  Dragan Skočić, who undoubtedly and unequivocally has done a marvelous job since his appointment, can really gain pointers and benefits from the view outside the box.

Here we will only mention three areas of concern with the way Skocic manages the team

Game Plan: Predictable, lacks diversity, and seems like an open book to the opposing coach. Team Melli is heavily suffering in the midfield that has no imagination and low effectiveness. With a lack of pace, which is no fault of the coach, he does need to offer a solution which is not doing right now. Players like Azmoun and Taremi need services to be effective and they are not getting it. When a player in the caliber of Saman Ghoddos is available but warming the bench, one must question the coach’s reading of the game.

In modern football, it is the midfield where battles are won and lost. The tactics of the world’s leading teams are fundamentally midfield dependent, Skocic chose otherwise. It is his call of course and his selection of game plan, but it is clear that ignoring the midfield might become a  risky matter especially against the pressing teams.

Perhaps Taremi, Azmoun, and Jahanbakhsh in one line forward is not the right strategy for Team Melli. He needs to experiment with one forward and pack the midfield with players using the flanks with pace and ball crossing skills. Never mind the ego of these superstars, the interest of the Team is above the interest of the individuals.

 Many past coaches on Team Meli had some obsession of playing a certain limited number of players, hardly changing the squad or the starting lineup. it seems Skocic is joining that league. It is not an effective mindset and detrimental to the team and the capable players sitting on the bench waiting for a possibly 30-second cameo show.

Substitutions: This is where many coaches excel or fail. While Skocic has made a few effective substitutions, he is guilty of not utilizing his expensive and experience players. And what is this with minute 90+5 substitutions that he is been using? Such substitution is an utter waste of time, bordering idiocy. In fact, many coaches do that for no logical reason and the rest have the herd mentality and simply imitate. A player needs at least 15 minutes to be effective, anything less than that is just a game of luck nothing more.

Preparations & Readiness: It is quite embarrassing for Team Melli to go into an official match with absolute minimum preparation. There is where the character of the Team Melli coach needs to stand out and prevail. If the lack of international friendly matches is due to Skocic, then he needs to rectify his way and start planning and programming for FIFA days like a professional. If the fault is because of Azizi Khadem and his bureaucrats in FFIRI, then Skocic needs to impose himself and strongly demand proper perpetration for the National Team with international friendly matches as a priority. Skocic cannot afford to do trial game plans and tactical changes in competition match as it may turn out costly. Every respectable team in the world arranges friendlies, Iran is becoming the odd exception and frankly a disgrace. it is worrying by all accounts.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally breaks Ali Daei’s record.

Cristiano Ronaldo was able to change the outcome of the game on the night of his outstanding solo performance.

Equal with Ali Daei as the Worlds Top international striker, Ronaldo needed just one goal to hold the record on his own. The chance to achieve that came quite early in the match against the Republic of Ireland in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 European qualifiers.

Portugal was awarded a penalty and after a long-drawn discussion and VAR which seriously took a long time, Ronaldo took the penalty but Ireland’s young keeper Gavin Bazunu saved.

But despite a lackluster performance by the 36 years old, the ending was a thriller. In the 89th Minute, Ronaldo scored the equalizer for Portugal and in the dying seconds of the match, he scored the winner in injury time,  both goals coming from headers.

In midst of his excitement, the Manchester United forward took off his jersey in celebration and was given a yellow card.

Later, Cristiano Ronaldo has extended a heartfelt apology to his Portugal teammates despite guiding them to a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over the Republic of Ireland. Ronaldo missed a penalty in the opening exchanges of the game but made up for it with his late brace that sealed the win for Portugal.

 After achieving this record, he thanked Ali Daei on his personal page on Instagram, with the following message:

Sporting CP desperate for Mehdi Taremi.

The center forward of Team Melli, Mehdi Taremi is on the front pages of the sporting press of Portugal.

The Rio Ave forward who is having quite a successful first season on the Portuguese top league is wanted by Sporting Clube de Portugal or as commonly called, Sporting Lisbon.

The famous club has just sold one of its best players Bruno Fernades to Manchester United. With the Brazilian forward Luiz Phellype’s suffering serious injury, which keeps him out of the competition at least until the end of the current season, added to the transfer of Fernandes, the clock is ticking for the accelerated arrival of Mehdi Taremi’s at Jose Alvalade Stadium of Sporting CP.

The Iranian striker of Rio Ave has already been the subject of interest of many top clubs however the more serious discussion has been between Sporting and Rio Ave. The leaders of the two clubs have been talking for some time, and the injury of the Brazilian, as well as the biggest financial relief provided by the transfer of Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United, may accelerate the transfer of Taremi.

Middle East Tensions Hurting Asian Soccer Ambitions

Steve Price

The Asian Football Confederation has reportedly banned Iran from hosting international matches based on safety fears over the current tensions in the region. Iranian club sides have responded by planning to withdraw from the AFC Asian Champions League. The clubs have said Iran is “safe”, while Iranian media and fans have claimed that politics, rather than security, is behind the AFC’s decision.

Iran are one of the top nations in the Asian Champions League and has some of the best-supported clubs in Asia. Iranian clubs had a poor campaign last year, but the year before that, Persepolis reached the final of the competition. They, along with Esteghlal, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro, will withdraw from the competition should the AFC’s fixture ban not be reversed.

Iranian sides played their matches against Saudi Arabian sides on neutral territory last season, so the move by the AFC isn’t completely unprecedented. But playing any games on neutral territory is damaging to the competition’s reputation. When over 40,000 people turn up in Tehran to watch Estaghlal or Persepolis, it’s a much better advert for the Asian Champions League than when a thousand fans turn up in Doha to watch Estaglal’s ‘home’ match against Al-Hilal.

The Deby in Azadi Stadium

The absence of Iranian clubs in the competition would be similar to Italian clubs deciding to boycott the UEFA Champions League. Few other Asian countries can match Iran’s top clubs in terms of fans. The Asian Champions League is struggling to grow, with low attendance and regular scandals or other embarrassments, so having one of its most important members boycott the competition is the last thing the AFC needs.

But as well as damaging Asia’s main club competition, the current tensions could also damage the United Arab Emirates’ and Qatar’s attempts to bolster their sporting credentials.

The UAE and Qatar have benefited in the past from their relative stability compared to other countries in the region, often hosting ties that can’t be played at the home country’s stadium for security reasons. If Iran is banned from hosting international matches, then it is possible that Iran’s ‘home’ games would be played in the UAE or Qatar.

 

But it seems the current tensions in the Middle East have finally caught up with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, as other soccer teams are staying away.

The USA men’s soccer team canceled its camp in Doha earlier this month due to the “developing situation in the region”, holding it in Florida instead. And last week Manchester United scrapped plans for a training trip to the Middle East in February, while Arsenal have said they are assessing security measures before deciding whether to head to Dubai for warm weather training.

A stadium in Qatar with empty seats

Qatar and the UAE have been popular destinations for these winter training camps in the past few seasons, with many of Europe’s top clubs heading there for the warm weather and high-quality facilities. Qatar’s FA says that “time and again, these teams return to AZF [Aspire Zone Foundation] to benefit from Qatar’s perfect outdoor training weather at this time of year.” This year, Bayern Munich, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven all used the Aspire facilities, apart from Ajax’s US international Sergino Dest who said he “didn’t feel comfortable” due to the tensions.

While showcase events like the Qatar 2022 World Cup or the Club World Cup might grab the headlines, these camps have been like a dripping tap, helping to slowly establish the two countries as reliable regional soccer hubs. With the teams come media, agents, sponsors and so forth, over time making the countries a good place for related businesses to set up offices, helping the local tourism sector, and boosting these countries’ soft power.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup and other showcase events are unlikely to be affected unless things really escalate in the region, but should the security situation in the region remain tense, top European clubs might decide to switch their future winter plans to Florida or to Spain and Portugal where many other clubs from around the world hold their winter training camps, putting a major dent in Qatar and the UAE’s aspirations to boost their global standing through sports.

Queiroz and the European style in Asia.

It is not a solid rule that a coach with a strong curriculum vitae and great experience can succeed, make a difference, lead a tactical revolution anywhere in the world, and with any footballing entity he trains.

Alberto Zaccheroni has been strongly established in Asia, where he lifted the AFC Asian Cup title with Japan, and had a reasonable time with UAE, not to mention that he was one of the biggest names in football world coaching beforehand. Yet , he failed to repeat the same success in UAE.

It is also not possible to think that moderately famous coaches with modest CVs and achievement have no keys to success. There simply no specific rule on that.

Zlatko Dalic for example, was not a great coach before coming over to train in the Persian Gulf,  training at club levels and not really to any great success, yet with Croatia , this man achieved a remarkable success.

The simple reality is that , many factors in football has to combine to produce success and lift trophies. Before coaching in Asia Marcello Lippi, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Alberto Zaccheroni and Carlos Queiroz, were household names, but that is no guarantee for winning titles.

The other reality is that the experience of most of the big names coaches is not so good in Asia, especially the European mindsets that have not been able to prove themselves, or have not succeeded in imposing their style on Asian footballers.

The nature of football in Asia and Europe is different in many aspects and that is the major reason for the lack of success of European coaching celebrities. It may be associated with physical weakness, mindsets, discipline, mental abilities and failure to absorb the European tactics, as hinted by veteran Italian Lippi when he talked about the players of China.

The current AFC Asian Cup  2019 wrote the final scenario in the march of Marcello Lippi, Goran Erikson and Carlos Queiroz, while continuing to swing Paolo Pinto with South Korea in spite of the state of anger sweeping the Korean fans  after their exit from the tournament and the loss of the dream they have been looking for 85 Years.

It is interesting to study Queiroz’s case

Carlos Queiroz has been with Team Melli for 8 years. More than any coach in the history of Iran National Team. The man coached Real Madrid, Portugal, UAE and South Africa with two stint as assistant coach to Sir Alex Ferguson in Manchester United. There is no denying his record of excellence. However, if one follows Queiroz’s career, a major lacking is noted in his CV. Queiroz is no title winner and has rarely succeeded in lifting trophies. Regrettably, he has no championship pedigree.

Queiroz succeeded in leading Iran to the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, and that was never achieved before him, it is a huge achievement but the big prize has always been the AFC Asian Cup.

It was a sad end for Queiroz tenure with Team Melli when they he was comprehensively beaten by Japan in the semi-final. Team Melli which has not conceded a single goal from the start of the competition, collapsed and lost by 3 goals. Queiroz , true to his character, blamed the momentary lapse of concentration of his players leading to the first goal for that defeat. The truth is much more complex. It was his failure to change the style of play and his poor reading of the Japanese tactics, that lead to this defeat. But the Portuguese man is adept in deflecting blame on something or somebody.

Ironically, he never talked about winning the title. Perhaps Queiroz never believed in his team’s ability and skill to lay a claim for the title. He did not even consider Iran Team good enough for the semifinal at the beginning naming Korea Japan Australia and China as the real contenders. Surely he knew his players much better than we do and hence he never intimidated the Championship.

His personal trait was quite suspect.

Carlos Queiroz was a man with so many persons created in one. By far the most contentious of Team Melli coaches. Frequently controversial, Creator of many soaps, divisive personality, and a person who will never shy from belittling or  insulting his opponents (the Donald Trump side of him). The man always depicted himself as the one that has the monopoly of knowledge and intelligence when it comes to football and Team Melli in particular (the Jose Mourinho side).

He could also be compassionate, caring and kind when he wanted to be.

The Portuguese, known for his controversial expressions and words, quoted the famous lyrics of Frank Sinatra’s song “The moment has come.”  Before he set course to what looks like a Colombian adventure.

Some will miss him, some are glad to see the back of him. In any case, credit must be given to the man for making a difference in Team Melli. It is doubtful that his legacy will survive, if a local coach is appointed to replace him.  A coach in the class of Queiroz or better might achieve the big success with this generation of Iranian footballers and win something. Queiroz has changed or at least tried to improve many aspects of the organization of Team Melli, his players mentality, discipline, physical training regime among many other positives of his career.

Speculation about Van Gaal in Iran.

The Former Bayern and Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal is engaged in negotiations for a coaching job in Iran according to consistent media reports. The 67-year-old Dutchman will soon visit Iran, according to various sources.

There could be a possible involvement with Tractor Sazi Tabriz club, currently the richest in the Persian Gulf league (Iranian premiere league). According to other reports, van Gaal could also succeed Carlos Queiroz as coach of the Iranian national football team. The Portuguese contract expires next February. after the end of the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

Tractor Sazi Tabriz, who are known as Paris Saint-Germain of Iranian football, is financially able to sign a coach like van Gaal, For this season, the club has already brought in the Welshman John Toshack as head coach and national players such as Ashkan Dejagah, Masoud Shojaei and Ehsan Haj Safi. However, with 10 points from seven games, the team was not meeting the expectation of the owners  and was placed in a disappointing sixth place – which is why there the was speculations about a possible departure of the Welshman. Toshack resigned one week ago and left Tractorsazi.

Louis Van Gaal has trained a host of famous clubs in Europe including  Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich,  Netherlands National Team and  Manchester United. Van Gaal is one of the most decorated managers in football world, having won 20 major honours in his managerial career.

His last post with Manchester United proved the most difficult as his tactical plans and  tough training methods did not sit well with the players leading to some poor results. A demanding coach who requires full commitment from players and a coach who has always believed in hard and physically demanding training regime, it is difficult to see him succeed in Iran where the players lack professional discipline and the attitude of their European counterparts. Iranian players prefer a much more relaxed atmosphere in training. and do not respond too well to strict tactical instructions.