Tag: Masoud Shojaei

27/05/2015

Mehrdad Pooladi is not coming back!

Much has been said about Team Melli’s left back who was Iran’s best player in the FIFA World Cup 2014. Mehrdad Pooladi was accused by the authorities along with a large number of other footballers of submitting fake documents in order to get exemption from Military Service. The inspection which was carried out in 2014 also named several other Team Melli players like Hossein Mahini and Bakhtiar Rahmani in the list of unlawful certification. Consequently, these players must carry out the mandatory 2 years military service while they are only allowed to play football is limited number of military affiliated clubs like Malavan and Tractorsazi.

Unlike the other players, Pooladi was pursuing his career in Qatar. He was under professional contract for Al Shahaniya team in the QSL. After concerted efforts by the football federation and with support of the Ministry of Youth & Sports , Pooladi was given a special dispensation and allowed to play for Team Melli for the duration of the AFC Asian Cup, on the condition that he completes the compulsory Military Service as soon as football season ends.

Pooladi played in the Asian Cup and like the World Cup; he was one of the excellent players of the team until that dreaded moment against Iraq. Pooladi managed to get himself red carded in the quarter final match against Iraq to leave his team a man short. The aftermath of the dismissal varied with most fans blaming Australian referee for what seemed to be a harsh and hasty decision. The referee was put under pressure to produce a second yellow card by a number of Iraqi players surrounding him for what seemed to be an innocuous touch between Pooladi and Iraqi goalkeeper. Jalal Hassan Hachim, in goal for Iraq , truly dramatized the incident making a real scene and faking injury and pain. Benjamin Williams, under the influence of the Iraqi players, pulled the 2^nd yellow for Pooladi and subsequently the red leaving Team Melli to play the full second half and the two extra times and penalties with a man short.

Others blamed Pooladi for being sloppy and crude perhaps even cocky. Both of the two cards that he received could have been avoided by a disciplined professional player. In any case, it was the end the tournament for Pooladi and Team Melli as the penalty kicks were not too kind for Queiroz’s men.

After the Asian Cup Pooladi did not act on his case with the military service commission and did not seek any references for his future. When Queiroz was preparing the team for the European tour, Pooladi was one of his main players on the list, but he was informed that the left back cannot feature for Team Melli unless he sorts out his military service.

Pooladi was procrastinating and seemed to have lost interest in the whole case. He was negatively affected by the bad mouthing he received from some fans while the media was not exactly too kind to him either. One major sport daily headline read “The deserter is back” when Pooladi was called for duty for the AFC Asian Cup. Not exactly complimentary words for a player who was preparing to represent his country and play for its honor and pride.

Somewhere along the line, Pooladi has made his decision. Calls from the football federation officials asking him about his status with the Military Service and his availability for Team Melli seemed to be answered vaguely or put on hold.

Pooladi must have made his mind up not to return to Iran. The season ended disappointingly for the ex-Persepolis player. Along with Masoud Shojaei , the Iranian couple could not manage to help Al Shahaniya avoid relegation. His future with his relegated club remains uncertain and so are his days with Team Melli.

It is a shame for Team Melli to lose such a quality player. Carlos Queiroz had a lot of faith in the left back and was his strongest supporter. On the field, Pooladi is robust, consistent and skillful defender. Off the field, he had his fair share of troubles with authority, displaying the same petulant attitude of many talented Iranian footballers.

26/03/201527/03/2015

Team Melli downs Chile 2-0

Team Melli Captain Javad Nekounam scored in the first half while the excellent Vahid Amiri added another goal in the second half for Team Melli to register an important morale boosting win against the team that was ranked 4 in the FIFA World Cup 2015 and the host of Copa America 2015.

The friendly match was played in NV Arena in the small town of St. Poulten , Austra in front of a small but voicferious crowd.

The match was split equally in terms of control as Iran was the better team in the first apart from the last 10 minytes of the first half , while Chile was the team which had more ball posession in the second after the introdcution of Alxis Sanchez.

Iran first goal came from on the 21st minute with a perfect corner by Ando Teymourian who found his Captain in a telepathic style , Nekounam perfectly positioned with ample space just had to slot the ball past Oscar Bravo , the Barcelona keeper.

Team Melli was the better team in the first half playing a compact game mixed with pace and energy during offensive moves. Defensive orgnization was perfect with very few balls seriously bothering Haghighi.

Ashkan Dejagah was by far the best player on the pitch giving the Chilean defenders extra headache while providing several glorious balls to his teammates. Shojaei was guilty of wasting 3 certain scoring chances. Dejagah was finding his teammates in space and dribbling past the Chileans with ease even while double-teaming him.

Alireza Haghighi had to make one save in anger during the first half but it was an important one. in the last minute of the half Haghighi denied the Chilean forward Fernandez from scoring when he parried his powerful header from close range for an excellent save.

The First half ended IRAN 1-0 CHILE

In the second , Chile was out to wipe out Iran’s lead and score a few goals ahead of their encounter with Brazil on Sunday. The Introduction of Alexis Sanchez , the Arsenal star player , made a significant difference in the pace and organization of the Chileans.

Despite the initial substantial ball possession , it was Iran that scored from a text book counter attack move when Masoud Shojaei passed the ball to his right , where Ghoochannejad raced past the half back and then sent a diagonal perfectly weighted ball to the on rushing Vahid Amiri for the Naft player to score his first goal for Team Melli and Iran’s second of the game.

After the goal , a period of sustain pressure where Chile players gave it every thing to recover , but failed to score as the highly disciplined back four were more than a match for the powerful and skilful Latin Americans. Sanchez in particular was initiating most of the attacks by Chile and skillfully feeding his teammates but to no avail.

Iran , despite the lack of ball possession in the 2nd half , were still dangerous in the counter attack. Masoud Shojae was unfortunately the weak link and he could only drag his foot around till Queiroz realized he needed to be subbed for a fresh player.

Vahid Amiri and Ashkan Dejagah continued their excellent forms through the 2nd half which saw the introduction of Karim Ansarifard in place of Ghoochannejad.

The Osasuna forward had a nightmare of a match failing to complete any pass while nearly costing his team a goal while back defending a corner.

Chile had their own chances but their finishing was not up to scratch while the Iranian defense was at its best.

Line Up

IRAN: 1 A. Haghighi ; 4 J. Hosseini , 15 P. Montazeri , 19 H. Beikzadeh , 11 V. Ghafouri , 6 J. Nekounam , 7 M. Shojaei (O. Ebrahimi 70′) , 21 A. Dejagah , 14 A. Teymourian , 13 V. Amiri (R. Rezaeian 90′) , 16 R. Ghoochannejhad (K. Ansarifard 74′)

CHILE: 1 C. Bravo ; 18 G. Jara , 5 E. Roco (G. Medel 63′) , 13 J. Cornejo , 27 E. Pulgar (C. Aránguiz 46′) , 11 M. González (C.A. Gutiérrez 46′) , 14 M. Fernández , 19 F. Orellana (A. Sanchez 46′) , 24 J. Fuenzalida ( M. Isla 62′) , 15 R. Millar (D. Pizarro 63′) , 9 E. Vargas

15/01/201515/01/2015

Iran 1 -0 Qatar : Match reports

Goal.com

A solitary goal eight minutes into the second half was enough to send Iran and United Arab Emirates through to the second phase with one game left to play in the group stage

Sardar Azmoun demonstrated why he is reportedly attracting the interest of top Premier League clubs with a sublime individual goal as Iran beat Qatar 1-0 in Sydney to reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals and knock the Gulf champions out.

Rubin Kazan striker Azmoun has been linked with Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool and it was easy to see why on the evidence of his stunning second-half strike at the ANZ Stadium on Thursday

Azmoun produced a fine turn and finish to ensure Carlos Queiroz’s side will progress from Group C with the United Arab Emirates, both nations having won their first two games.

Iran beat Bahrain 2-0 in their opening game of the tournament last weekend and did just enough to see off Qatar, who produced a much-improved showing following their 4-1 hammering at the hands of the UAE but crash out with a game remaining.

Iran and UAE, 2-1 winners over Bahrain on Thursday, lock horns in Brisbane on Monday to determine who will finish top of the group.

Both sides looked short of ideas going forward in a frantic start, but it was Iran – backed by an impressive contingent of vociferous supporters – who looked more dangerous as the first half progressed.

Midfielder Karim Boudiaf came to Qatar’s rescue with a crucial intervention when Masoud Shojaei looked poised to get on the end of Ashkan Dejagah’s cross from the right 23 minutes in.

Iran were happy to let Qatar see plenty of the ball, before trying to pick them off on the break, although an initial lack of quality in the final third made it hard to see where the opening goal would come from.

Morteza Pouraliganji had a header cleared off the line by Ahmed El Sayed and Dejagah let fly with a right-footed strike that flashed wide of the far post as Iran ended the half on the front foot.

Queiroz’s side then moved in front seven minutes into the second period, and it was a moment of quality that was worth the wait as Azmoun sent the Iran fans into raptures with a sublime goal.

The 20-year-old took a pass from the lively Dejagah with his back to goal, spun Almahdi Ali with a sharp turn and kept his composure to apply a right-footed finish.

Azmoun’s night was cut short 10 minutes later when he was carried off with an injury, which did not appear to be serious, soon after Qatar had lost Ismaeel Mohammad to injury.

Mohammed Muntari had half a chance to draw Qatar level, but Ali Reza Haghighi comfortably saved the striker’s header.

Qatar pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but were unable to fashion one and crash out in disappointing fashion as Iran march on.

[divider]

Iran beats Qatar to make Asian Cup quarter

Adrian Warren, AAP January 15, 2015, 10:12 pm

A sublime piece of skill from Sardar Azmoun booked Iran’s passage into the Asian Cup football quarter finals and condemned Gulf Cup champions Qatar to an early exit.

Sardar’s slick turn and clinical shot in the 52nd minute at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Thursday earned Iran a 1-0 win, their second victory from as many games.

It leaves them second in their group on goal difference behind the United Arab Emirates, who earlier in the day defeated Bahrain 2-1 in Canberra, and will now meet Iran in Brisbane next Monday.

Qatar, who were coming off a 4-1 opening game loss to the UAE, had a decent share of possession, but struggled to create good chances.

Russian-based Sardar’s goal delighted the vast majority of the 22,672 fans in attendance in Sydney, with Iran’s passionate and colourful fans ramping up the noise level of support to the max each time their team got close to Qatar’s penalty area.

Iran one of the pre-tournament favourites, were more consistently dangerous than Qatar and were good value for the win, which they achieved with a second straight clean sheet.

Qatar, who entered the tournament on a long unbeaten run, lacked penetration and didn’t get a single shot on target in the first half.

Just before halftime, Morteza Pouraliganji’s flying header from an Iran corner was headed off the line by Ahmed Elsayed, while Sardar had a firm fourth minute header saved by Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burhan.

It was a similar story in the second half, even after an apparently injured Sardar came off just after the hour.

His substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad had four shots at goal, three of them saved, as Iran sought the cushion of a second goal.

The Qatar goalkeeper also had to push away a shot from Ehsan Haji Safi.

Qatar Substitute Meshaal Abdullah hit a post with a header in stoppage time, but he was judged offside.

Iran midfielder Andranik Teymourian was named man of the match.

[divider]

12/01/2015

Queiroz fuming despite Asian Cup win over Bahrain

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz let rip at Bahrain for their “dangerous” tackling after his side won a tempestuous Asian Cup clash 2-0 on Sunday.

The Portuguese accused Australian referee Ben Williams of failing to control the Group C match in Melbourne.

“I was not happy because after nine, 10, 12 fouls, stopping the game systematically. The referee must take action,” Queiroz said.

“There were some aerial duels where especially their No 12 [Faouzi Aaish] elbowed my players and, as you know, the elbow is very dangerous.”

Ehsan Hajsafi’s volley in first-half stoppage time lit the touchpaper for Iran,who are seeking to end a 39-year wait for a fourth Asian Cup title, before Masoud Shojaei added a second in the 71st minute to end Bahrain’s resistance. But Queiroz, who had two spells as Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Old Trafford, was furious at what he said was a lack of consistency from referee Williams.

“For a referee so quick to show a yellow card when one of my players didn’t hear the whistle, I was completely surprised that when he sees Bahrain’s negative game, after 10 fouls in a row, he didn’t give them a single yellow,” the former Portugal and Real Madrid coach said.

Asia’s top-ranked side, Iran almost opened the scoring after 20 minutes when the dangerous Ashkan Dejagah forced a smart stop from Sayed Abbas in the Bahrain goal. But Bahrain had already served notice that they were not about to simply roll over as their bulldozing Nigerian-born striker Jaycee Okwunwanne blazed wide during the frenetic early skirmishes.

Sayed Shubbar then squandered a golden opportunity by heading over as Bahrain threatened to capitalise on a sluggish start from Iran.

It was then Hajsafi who, with almost the last kick of the first half, expertly trapped a looping clearance with his left foot and instantaneously smashed it past Abbas with the outside of his right boot from just outside the box.

“It was a brilliant, fantastic goal,” Queiroz said. “A goal to grace any stadium in the world. Bahrain made it difficult for us, but we deserved to win and should have scored more goals.”

Tempers flared in the second half when Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi barged into Aaish, Bahrain’s playmaker, who appeared to block off the keeper as he attempted a quick throw.

Moments later, Shojaei popped up to steer a right-footed shot just inside the post from another corner to trigger wild celebrations from a crowd of 17,000.

“You saw what happened with the goalkeeper,” Queiroz said. “He tried for a quick transition and the No 12 stopped him.

“The laws of the game are clear – an elbow is a yellow card, no doubt about that.”

Queiroz and Markar Aghajanian last minutes instructions.

11/01/201511/01/2015

Perfect start for Team Melli in AFC Asian Cup

Team Melli defeated Bahrain 2-0 lead in the first match for the two teams in group C of the Asian cup. The goals scored in the dying seconds of the first half by Eshasan Hajsafi , while Masoud Shojaei made it 2-0 in the 71st minute in the second half..

Carlos Queiroz started with the nucleus of the world Cup team with two exceptions. Morteza Pouralganji and Vouriya Ghafoori were replacing Khosro Heydari and Amir Hossein Sadeghi in the defense line

hajsafy-scores-vs-Bahrain — Hajsafy’s strike seconds after his shoot floats over towards the goal.

The Iranian fans in the Melbourne created a wonderful atmosphere turning the Rectangle stadium into what the Australian TV commentator called a “Mini Azadi”. The vociferous fans loud chant was only challenged by a very whistle happy Australian referee whose continuous whistling threatened to spoil what was an intriguing encounter. Both teams started lively sharing possessions without creating any serious scoring chances.

Ashkan Dejagah was by far the most active of Iran’s players on the right flank. He managed to give the Bahrain defense some real work out, however the ex- Fulham player delivery and finishing were quite poor in comparison to his skills and work rate . He missed a glorious chance to give Iran the lead when Hajsafy put him through with a brilliant pass in the box ,

Ashkan only managed to find Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar’s legs instead while he had better options including squaring to unmarked Ghoochannejad,

The game went on with Iran having a strong grip on the match but the end product was lacking despite being the more controlling side.

And then came a brilliant piece of work by Ehsan Haj Safi from a corner kick in the finals seconds of the half. Teymourian’s floating corner kick, was too close to Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar who ball punched it away only to find Hajsafy. The Sepahan midfielder controlled the ball with a perfect touch before he chips a wonderful ball with side footing over a crowd of players in front of the goal into the net. A truly wonderful strike by one of the two best Iran players of the half.

The first half ended 1-0

Shojaei sidefoots his shoot towards the far end of Bahrain keeper

The second half continued with the rhythm of the first with both teams playing openly. The first real threat came from Bahrain on the stroke of the hour when Alireza Haghighi mad his first save of the match from a powerful strike by Bahrain’s Jessi John , whose ferocious shot was deflected by Iran’s keeper. However , 10 minutes later Haghighi left the crowd ins suspense and anxiety for a few seconds when he collected a ball and then ran into Bahrain’s Fouzi Aaish who dropped on the ground. The referee whistled for a foul, thankfully it was against Bahrain player who protested and was clearly upset at the decision. The replay clearly showed that it was in fact Haghighi who charged into Aayesh. Hs indiscretion and foolish act could have been quite costly except for the mercy of the Aussie referee.

Not long after that incident , Iranian fans were relieved to see Team Melli scoring again. in the 71st minute Masoud Shojaei , whose contribution to the team up to that moment was absolutely minimal , scored from another corner kick. The floating ball was sent to the left corner of the stretched arms of Bahrain keeper to end up in the net. 2-0 for Iran

With the 2 goal margin , Team Melli opted to control the match leaving the Bahraini team to venture forward. Queiroz introduced his new players , with Azmoun , Jahanbakhsh and finally Soroush Rafei coming into the game. Although their contribution were minimal , it gave the team a new look and certainly raised the confidence of the young players.

Despite Bahrain’s gallant attempts , except for one case where Haghighi had to deflect a shot into a corner, Iran defense remained solid and intact. The rookie Pouraliganji was superb in partnering the veteran Hosseini in the middle of the defense, Ghafoori on the right flank was also a revelation while Pooladi was the same solid defender of the World Cup games.

The lack of creativity on the midfield was quite evident. Nekounam and Teymourin doing their routine defensive duties and hardly venturing towards opposition territories. Masoud Shojaei , as poor as always and looked like a lost figure in the midfield simply walking the match off , while leaving the bulk of the offensive load on Hajsafy and Dejagah to feed Team Melli’s lone forward Reza Ghoochannejad who was trapped between 5 Bahrain defenders.

Despite all the preparations problems and many side issues that the team and coach Queiroz had to endure with , this was perfect start for Team Melli . There was the obvious shortcomings but at the end of the day , Iran had the higher quality and experience to finish the match on winning all the 3 points and deservedly so.

15/12/2014

Masoud Shojaei scores a rare hat trick.

Doha

Masoud Shojaei , playing for Al Shahaniya in Qatar Star League QSL scored a rare career hat trick to help his team defeat the 10 man Al Sadd and current league leader 3 – 1.

Team Melli winger Shojaei who was unable to find a Spanish club after his last club Las Palmas did not renew his contract following a poor season, eventually ended up in Qatar with the newly promoted team from the second division. Up to Sunday’s match against Al Sadd, Shojaei has managed to score one goal only in 12 matches. He has now 4 goals in total.

Masoud Shojaei has been one of the weaker performers in Team Melli matches. However; despite his lackluster displays , Shojaei has always been favored by Queiroz who has a much higher regards and respect for players who play outside Iran, especially Europe. Shojaei has been booed regularly at Azadi when playing for Team Melli due to his marginal form. His lack of goals in Al Shahaniya has prompted the lowly team to look for an alternative striker from North Africa and Brazil to join the team in the January window. It is not known if this hat trick has changed the AL Shahaniya managements’ mind.

Masoud Shojaei seemed to have a found new lease of life just about the right time for himself and Team Melli with about a month to go for the AFC Asian Cup 2015. Shojaei’s compatriot Mehrdad Pooladi , currently not able to play for Iran , is also playing for the QSL team. Al Shahaniya is still near the bottom of the league and in danger of a quick return to the second division of Qatar league after one season only in top flight. Al Shahaniya has 12 points from 14 matches in the 13th position of the 14 team league.

21/11/2014

Gholmreza Rezaei : the case of overlooked excellence .

The little man from Shiraz ( 1.69 m) who is built like a powerful wrestler, whose speed and acceleration is reminiscent of puma and his goal scoring skill is worthy of some repeated viewing on the TV, is guiding his team to the top of the league.

Gholamreza Rezaei, who had a mixed success in his 3 years stint with Persepolis including a torrid period of lingering injuries and long layoffs affecting his form and morale, eventually, left for Foolad Khuzestan in 2013 the club he originally moved away from to join Persepolis.

With full fitness regained , the fast Rezaei found his form down southg and started scoring for Foolad, but his true & real value was in the way his coach, Hossein Faraki , used him in destroying the opposition defenses with sharp runs into the area and providing quality balls for his teammate to score.

Faraki was instrumental in reviving the fortunes of the fast winger and with the fine combination of youth and the experienced; Foolad Khuzestan won the Persian League Title for the second time in its history.

Not many critics have predicted that Foolad would lift the trophy at the start of the campaign, but with the presence of a coach who has an impeccable ability to get the best out of his players, and players such as Rezaei with his amazing runs, the championship was set for the Khuzestani team

Rezaei surprisingly left Khuzestan and Foolad after one season only. Many of his supporters feared that his form will suffer under a new environment, surroundings, coach and teammates. Those fears were unfounded, because Gholam Reza Rezaei continued where he left off last season but this time in Naft Tehran.

Naft structure is not far different than what Foolad was last season. A fine balance between youth and experience, excellent younger players, quality management , and a shrewd and adventurous coach , Alireza Mansourian , who believes in beautiful game, Naft has entertained the crowds with their style of play.

Gholamreza+Rezaei+South+Korea+v+Iran+vC7ETIbn6BRl — Gholamreza Rezaei vs. South Korea

On Friday , Rezaei was the star of the show when Naft Tehran , arguably the best tactical team in the League , defeated the league leader Tractorsazi 2-1 to close the gap at the top to one point only. Gholamreza Rezaei, scored both of his team’s goals. The first one was a beauty, a team goal and a worthy candidate for the goal of the season after some real fine team work by Naft ending by a sublime assist from Iman Mobali. Rezaei scored the winner for Naft , after Tractorsazi equalized in the first half , and it was another fine goal.

For 18 months now, Rezaei has been ignored by Team Melli despite his hard work. His championship medal and trophy, his goal scoring ability and his assists has not impressed Team Melli selectors and coaches, instead they opt for a player such as the lethargic and uninspiring Masoud Shojaei !

It is a dilemma and an enigma put together. There is no doubt that Queiroz wants to select the best players for Team Melli. Also , there must be someone out there who watches Naft Tehran matches else the likes of young Pouraliganji , Ale Nemeh and Biranvand would not have been picked for Team Melli.

However, when the quality of Rezaei is ignored, one has to wonder why. Since it does not take a person to be a Professor in Physics to notice a quality player, there should be some logical reason behind his exclusion. Normally issues such as behavior, discipline and characters are motives behind such exclusions. That said , Rezaei , remains one of the gentlemen of Iran’s football, a player who gives his absolute best to the team and a strictly disciplined player whose excellence is being ignored by Queiroz and his men.

20/11/201420/11/2014

Team Melli outlook after the Korean Experience.

Despite the team’s victory against South Korea, there is still a long way to go for the team to reach the optimal conditions for success. The everlasting concerns about team preparation, game plan and form of the players and eventually how it will reflect on Team Melli in the Asian Cup still bothering the fans and critics.

In a rare opportunity to watch match Team Melli in action, the fans displayed their apathy towards the team by the very disappointing attendance figure. It was also disappointing for the opposition coach Uli Stielke who was excited to see 100,000 vociferous fans filling a stadium creating a fantastic atmosphere that he heard so much about. It was not to be for many reasons.

Neither the coach nor the players managed to obliterate the concerns of the majority of the fans who are apprehensive about Team Melli chances in the AFC Asian Cup. That the preparations are flawed, inadequate and even worst , no progress if any has been seen in the team since before the World Cup, was quite evident in the match against the Koreans. The only positive was the winning result by the smallest of margins, which might be a good psychological advantage over their archrivals, comes the day Iran meets the Koreans. This time however, they will not meet in the Quarter finals stages like the last 4 editions of the Asian Cup.

The prime concern lies in the fact that Queiroz has no intention of fundamentally changing anything in this team in any form. Sure, he will have some cosmetic changes here and there to silence some of the critics, but essentially, the core of the team , the principle style of play , the defensive mentality , and the parking of the bus does not seem to change anytime soon. Queiroz has already made it clear that his team “Does not need a revolution” hinting that the changes in the Asian Cup will be to the absolute minimum.

The other point of concern is that there is a huge gap between the expectations and definitions of success by the fans and critics on one side and the coach and Federation on the other side. Queiroz keeps talking about the excellent performance of the Team Melli in Brazil , while the majority of the fans in Iran were expecting their Team Melli to qualify to the next round. The polls at teammelli.com are one such reflection of the fans beliefs. There is quite a difference between qualifying to the next round and being the bottom of the group.

If you are a fan of beautiful football, then watching Team Melli in action is not exactly your cup of tea. The lack of organization, poor ball distribution, poor finishing and many more shortcomings was evident in the performance against South Korea. Offensive play is perhaps an afterthought in Team Melli. Against Korea, there was a grand total of one shoot only on the Koreans goalkeeper that was saved, while on the other side Alireza Haghighi had to deal with several shoots from different angles.

Another serious criticism of the way Carlos Queiroz arranges his team, is his insistence on selecting Masoud Shojaei. A player who promised so much in his early years, but time and again has failed to deliver. These days, Shojaei is lucky to find an employer in the shape of a second division Qatari team that has just won promotion, and guaranteed for immediate relegation based on their results so far in QSL. Shojaei , is simply not a player of international quality. On technical and character terms, he lacks what it takes to be a productive player in the midfield or the flanks. Whatever Queiroz tries, he simply cannot convince the average fans that Shojaei is worthy of selection even on the bench. Queiroz has put his faith is some players despite the criticism such as lack of match practice, a good example would be Alireza Haghighi. His trust in the Rubin Kazan bench warmer paid off. This was a case where his trust in the player was rewarded by a good performance in the 3 matches in Brazil. He simply cannot say the same of Shojaei, period.

While very few people see the technical merit of Shojaei’s selection, it is hoped that it is not one of those dogmatic, stubbornness and defiances of Queiroz which he is quite capable of.

Despite the win against South Korea, always a sweet feeling and matter of pride even in a meaningless match , the reality is that it was far from convincing , aspiring and hopeful display of football.

This year Iran played 10 games and scored 9 goals only. This is the worst figure for 24 years since 1990 to be precise when that team Goal per game was 0.78 per match compared to 0.9 for 2014.

Under Queiroz there is a marked and yet steady decline in figures that reflects the offensive capability of the team. Queiroz took over in 2011 after the Asian Cup in Doha, in 2012 and 2013 the team scored 19 goals each years with average of 1.36 and 2.38 respectively.

Last 5 years records

Year	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	GPM
2010	12	8	2	2	19	10	9	1.58
2011	15	12	2	1	36	5	31	2.40
2012	14	5	6	3	19	10	9	1.36
2013	8	6	1	1	19	6	13	2.38
2014	10	3	4	3	9	9	0	0.90

MP: Match played – W Won – D Drawn – L Loss – GF Goals For(Scored) – GA Goals Against (conceded) – GD Goal Difference – GPM Goals Scored Per Game

Note: Carlos Queiroz first game in charge was against Madagascar on July 2011

17/09/201417/09/2014

Mehrdad Pooladi is declared a free agent.

Team Melli left back and ex-Persepolis player, Mehrdad Pooladi has been declared as a free agent.

Pooladi was involved in a long dispute after the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2014 with Persepolis. While the players has repeatedly said that he is a “Free Agent” as his contract with the club has expired by the end of last season, Persepolis insisted that Pooladi is contract bound and must report back to duty and training else they will take disciplinary measures against him. In the meantime, Pooladi was seeking a new club.

Although there has been some interest from Europe, Mehrdad Pooladi , who was the best performing Iranian player in the World Cup , failed to conclude any deal in Europe. The next destination was closer to home. Al Shahaniya club of the Qatar Star League promptly showed interest and began verbal negotiation on the knowledge that Pooladi is available. The two sides were close to agreeing terms except that Al Shahaniya demanded a release in form of ITC from Persepolis as a condition for recruiting the Iranian defender.

Persepolis refused to release the player or cooperate with the Qatari club. With time running out to the closing of the transfer windows, Al Shahniya withdrew their offer to Pooladi due to lack of progress and documentations issues and instead the newly promoted team to the QSL , signed Pooladi’s compatriot and Team Melli teammate , Masoud Shojaei.

Pooladi took his case to the Board of Arbitration of the FFIRI. Today the board issued a statement declaring him as Free Agent. The Board also declared that Pooladi’s financial settlement with Persepolis club is still unresolved and not settled. According to the contract, Pooladi is still to receive a substantial payment from the club outstanding from last season.

On a side note, The newly appointed Persepolis coach , Hamid Derakhshan was asked yesterday by a reporter about the whereabouts of Mehrdad Pooladi and the reason for his absence from the team’s training session. Instead of speaking facts and truth, Derakhshan attributed Pooladi’s absence to the problems he has with the Military Service Release Form (…) !

11/09/2014

Masoud Shojaei joins QSL club Al-Shahaniya SC

Masoud Shojaei signed with Al Shahaniya club the newest member of Qatar Star League for one season. The ceremony was held in the club’s HQ in Doha on Thursday.

After claiming that he has offers from several Spanish and Greek clubs, Shaojae , turned up in Doha to sign for the newly promoted club. AL Shahaniya formerly know as Al Nasr, has spent the majority of its existence in the second division in Qatar. Las Palmas , in the segunda Division of the Spanish league was the last team that Masoud played for after his contract with Osasuna expired.