Tag: Mohammad Khakpour

Queiroz “I will allow no one to interfere in my job”

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A visibly stressed Carlos Queiroz has emphatically and repeatedly announced to the media that he will allow no one to interfere in his job. The real target of this statement is Ali Kaffashian, while also sending a strong message to Kashani and Khakpour in Iran’s Omid team camp.

“A clause in my contract specifically stipulates that the selection of players is purely my responsibility and no one else. It is my job and responsibility to pick whoever player I want for Team Melli and anyone who thinks otherwise is disillusioned.” Queiroz said after his meeting with Kaffashian.

The tension has been rising between Queiroz on one hand and the duo Kashani and coach Khakpour of Omid Teamon the other. Both sides seem to lay claim on the two star players Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakht. The two Europe-based players have played for Iran youth level teams and also Team Melli recently. Omid team managers believe that Azmoun and Jahanbakht are key players in the team and can make a difference in Iran’s quest for qualifying to the Olympics Games Football competition after a 40 years absence. Queiroz has repeatedly said that he is not willing to release the players for Omid team while he has two important matches against Chile and Sweden in the next week FIFA days calendar. Those days coincide with Omid team playing the first stage of Olympic Games 2016 qualifiers in Tehran.

 “I had a meeting with Kaffashian today but I did not allow any discussion about the two players. My positions is quite clear and I am not willing to repeat myself” Queiroz said to the gathering press who have been anxious to know the fate of the two players. The press were alerted of the meeting which was expected to formally announce the inclusion of Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakht to Iran’s Omid Team ( Olympics U23)  which is scheduled to play its first competitive match on 23rd March against Nepal as part of the Rio Olympics 2016 Football competition qualifiers.

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  [column size=”1/2″]  Kashani and Khakpour have been accusing the FFIRI top brass of lack of support for Omid Team. Ali Kaffashian , in attempt to ease the worries of Iran possible failure to qualify once again for the Olympics football tournament , promised the Omid Team Managers that their demand for the release the two young stars will be met in time for the qualifiers. Kaffashian further complicated the issue by publicly announcing the release of Azmoun and Jahanbaksh to Omid team.

The objective of today’s meeting at FFIRI offices was for Kaffashian to inform Queiroz of such decision and the release the two players to Omid team, however , the president of FFIRI did not account for the strong stance by Queiroz who reminded the President that it was him rather than Kaffashian who has the upper hand and the final decesion. Queiroz suggested that his boss reads the contract that his his signature on it. “If anyone is in doubt , then he should refer to my employment contract.” According to Queiroz, and as such putting Kaffashian in a precarious and rather embarrassing situation failing to deliver his promise to Omid team!

A defiant Queiroz in response to a question by a reporter on what are his thoughts about Kaffashian’s statement about the 4 months duration left on his contract with FFIRI , said that he will be honored if Ali Kaffashian fires him!

Carlos Queiroz rhetoric is a sign of one stressed man under pressure, real or imaginary. His defiance, maverick style and eccentric statements have been aplenty recently so are his threats to leave the job if the conditions are not up to his liking.

There is no statement more preposterous than Queiroz’s claim that “ NO one in Iran cares about Team Melli and Omid team , as much as I do!!”

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Omid Team prepare for Kuwait match.

Iran’s Omid team continue the training camp ahead of Thursday’s match against Kuwait Olympic Team ( U23) in Kuwait.

 in an interview with Mehr News sport correspondence Mohammad Khakpour , the head coach of Iran’s Omid team (U23)  declared that his team is in a desperate need of full support in order to achieve the aspiration of the football federation and Iranian fans.

“Qualifying for the Olympics needs the cooperation of everyone involved in Iran’s football. Without the full support and with reservations and objections on our requests, I do not think we can achieve such aspiration.” Khakpour said while preparing the team in Kuwait ahead of a friendly match against its Kuwaiti counterpart.

On the status of the camp, Khakpour said “This is our last stage of preparation before the qualifying matches begins. The camp is going fine although we do suffer from the absence of several good players like Moradmand and Cheshmi due to Visa issue reasons (!!).  We have also invited Azmoun and Jahanbakhash but nether of their clubs released them as they are not obliged to under FIFA rules.”

When quizzed by the reporter what is the reason for players’ Visa problem, which should be a routine procedure for any team travelling abroad, Khapour said he was not aware of the procedures and the measures taken by the responsible personnel in the FFIRI to obtain visas. “Both Cheshmi and Mordmand were in the list , but negligence of the staff resulted in their name not being sent to the Kuwait embassy. Abdollahzadeh’s name has always been in the list, and I am thankful that he eventually got the entry Visa at the last minute at the airport.”

Khakpour categorically denied that he had any meeting with Queiroz after Team Melli head coach returned back to Tehran a few days ago.  “The last time I saw Queiroz was about a month and a half ago when Kashani and myself inadvertently bumped into him in the FFIRI offices. At that time he said to us that he cannot release Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh for Omid Team and also mentioned that he himself was not sure of continuing with Team Melli !” Khakpour added. “ We had no meetings with Queiroz since neither was there one arranged since then.”

Asked if his insistence of having these two players and the public commotion that he and Kashani have created would not negatively affect the other team players morale, the head coach of Omid Team defended his stand and said. “At this age level, I do not believe there is a great difference in players’ standards; the only difference is international exposure. I have not made a big deal of the issue of Azmooun and Jahanbakhsh but as the head coach, it was my duty to do whatever I can to secure their services.”

 

Queiroz threatens to leave….again!

Ali Kaffashian said that Team Melli Head Coach , Carlos Queiroz has once again stated that if he continues to experience lack of resources at his disposal , he will resign his job as the head coach. The duo have met after Queiroz returned back to Iran from his extended holidays to discuss the future programs of Team Melli. Kaffashian said that Queiroz was concerned with the outcome of the Chile match and once again reiterated that if the proper resources are not available at his disposal , he will resign his job as Team Melli head coach.

Queiroz’s concern is about the possible cancellation of this high-profile and important friendly international against one of the best teams in the world with stars like Alexis Sanchez. The Portuguese coach is counting  a lot on a solid performance by Team Melli players against both Chile and Sweden. Countless numbers of matches and training camps have been cancelled by the federation due to lack of resource. Queiroz is approaching the point where he has drawn a line, where he believes that continuing to operate under such depravity and in constant struggle for handouts to do his basic work , is harming his own reputation and that of Iranian football.

Despite his strong support for Omid Team in its quest for qualifying to the Olympics and his strong backing of Kashani and Khakpour ,  Kaffashian admitted that Queiroz holds the upper hand in the release of Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh. The head of FFIRI said that he cannot force Team Melli coach to release the two players for Omid Team while the team is playing two important matches.

Kaffashian also supported Queiroz against Abbas Torabian and said that “Torabian’s job is somewhere else and he should not involve himself in issues that are not part of his job.”

Kaffashian also supported Queiroz against the criticism of Omid Team Manager Habib Kashani. “Queiroz is doing his job for the benefit of the team and Iran. It is nothing personal. He simply wants to prepare the team as best as he can like many other good teams in the area.” Kaffashian dismissed Kashani’s criticism against his own administration and Queiroz but refrained from rebuking Kashani for his strong words.

Omid team’s Abdollahzadeh is deported due to management blunder!

A blunder created by Habib Kashani and Mohammad Khakpour , forced Omid Team player Ahmad Abdollahzadeh to be deported from Kuwait after the player arrived in Kuwait without a visa!

Omid Team Coach Khakpour listed Abdollahzadeh in the squad list that was sent to the Kuwaiti authorities for issue in the visa, however , he requested the name of Abdollahzadeh to be dropped due to injury. Subsequently Ahmad Abdollahzadeh was not issued a visa. Somewhere along the line and a few days before the departure of the squad , Khakpour changed his mind and included Abdollahzadeh in the squad.

Without being prudent nor considering the consequences of a person travelling to a foreign country without a visa, Abdollahzadeh boarded the plane along with other members of the squad with the approval of Habib Kashani. Omid Team manager concurred with Khakpour’s decision and vowed to sort out Abdollahzadeh’s nonexistence of a visa on arrival at Kuwait airport!

As expected, Abdollahzadeh was denied entering into Kuwait without a visa and all the hype by Kashani , who thought that by haggling and dealing , he can manage to slip someone in a foreign country without a visa, has miserably failed. The team was left waiting for hours awaiting conclusion of the problem created by Kashani and Khakpour. Eventually , the team was allowed to leave to the hotel while Abdollahzadeh was stuck at Kuwait airport for hours awaiting a flight back to Iran as he was eventually deported.

This is yet another blunder that seems to typify the management of football in Iran. Kashani’s farce promise that he can confidently sort out a player who does not carry a valid visa is archetypical of managers who have unrealistic expectations and at times clueless about the laws and regulations.

ahmad-abdollahzadeh

For years, Omid team in particular has been the object of so many managerial errors but nothing worse than the last edition when a suspended player was used against Iraq in the qualifying rounds of the London Olympics in the Omid team win in Iraq. The result was over-turned into a loss and subsequently Omid team lost the home game as well and was eliminated. .

The names might have changed but the problems of Omid Team incompetent managers remains the same.

Omid Team is setting up a training camp in Kuwait where two games was originally scheduled to be played. However, one game was cancelled as the Omid team will be playing against its Kuwaiti counterpart on Thursday 12th March 2015.

 

New Omid Team list announced

The Football federation announced the name of the new Omid Team that will set up camp in Kish Island as part of the long-term program. The team will be participating on several tournaments with the ultimate goal of qualifying to the Rio Olympic games 2016.

The team is under the management of Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan and coached by Mohammad Khakpour.

The federation is actively trying to include some of the Legionnaire players like Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, however , it is unlikely that the clubs will be releasing them anytime soon.

The Squad list

Naft Tehran

  • Arsalan Motahari, Arash Rezavand & Ali Mohsenzadeh

Saipa Alborz

  • Mehdi Torabi, Bahman Salary & MohammadReza Akhbari

Sepahan Esfahan

  • Ali Karimi, Hossein Fazeli & Mohammad Hossein Moradmand

 

 Esteghlal

  • Behnam Barzay & Majid Hosseini

Foolad Khuzestan

  • Yusuf Vakya & Bahman  Jahan Tigh

Persepolis

  • Milad Kamandani & Ahmad Nourollahi

Rah Ahan

  • Amir Abedzadeh & Milad Mohammadi

Sanat Naft Abadan

  • Mohammad Zubair Niknafs & Ali Abdollahzadeh

Zob Ahan

Ehsan Pahlavan & Saeb Mohebbi

Aluminum Hormozgan

  • Iman Salimi

Fajr Sepasi

  • Farshid Ismaili

Gostarish Foolad

  •  AliReza Naghizadh

Malavan Anzali

  • Hossein Kanani Zadegan

Naft Masjidl Solaiman

  • Goudarz Davoudi

Padideh Mashad

  • MohammadAli  Framarzi

Peykan

  • Vahid Haideriyah

Saba Qom

  • Rozbeh Chashmi

Tractorsazi Tabriz

  • Shahin Saghebi

The saga of Omid Team.

Iranian football , has experienced some very odd proceedings in the last few years the like of it you cannot find anywhere else in the world. Despite being arguably the most popular sport  in the country , the administration of football at Football federation and club levels have remarkably deficient and lacking professionalism and effectiveness. Discrepancies, inconsistencies and contradiction are so common and rife to a level that it is becoming an accepted norm!

Iran’s Football , is the biggest victim.

One of the hottest topics after Carlos Queiroz and Team Melli nowadays is the fate of Omid Team. The U-23 team which is also called the Olympics Team was considered as a top priority by Kaffashian and his administration. The federation declared that the target is qualification for the Rio Olympic games of 2016 and for that purpose , a large budget was allocated and an action plan was engaged.

Naturally, the FFIRI looked for the best coach they can find and afford. On the face of it , Kaffashian with the help of Queiroz found the perfect candidate in Nelo Vingada. The Portuguese had a wealth of experience in football including winning the FIFA Youth World Cup twice as assistant to Queiroz himself. Vingada has also worked in Iran beforehand , hence he had a good background on how things work.

Everything was going perfectly according to plan, including training camps inside and outside of the country that even exceeded the ones given to Team Melli.

And then disaster struck…

The team , in its first official mission , experienced one of worst results ever by an Iranian National team  when it was defeated by Vietnam and drew with Kyrgyzstan to be eliminated from the group levels of Asian Games 2014. The tragedy was intensified by the fact that a large number of highly quality Iranian players and stars of their own right, were members of this team.

Nobody could figure out what really went wrong, while the FFIRI in its usual style issued a quiet apology and without any investigation, any accountability and any identification of those who were at fault ,  carried on as if nothing has happened.  For Kaffashian, life goes on!. Unsurprisingly, FFIRI wanted to brush the issue under the carpet , however forces beyond FFIRI started asking questions and demanded to know how all those hard earned  millions has been wasted and who is accountable for it. Amongst the people who demanded answers were several members of the Parliament.

Kaffashian , finding himelf cornered , had to respond and act and. The end result of the Asian Games Mayhem was the eventual departure of Vingada and the practical disassembling of the whole U 23 team.

Fighting against time, FFIRI was urgently seeking a replacement for Vingada. Looking for a coach who can take Iran to the Olympics for the first time in 40 years. With the expectations so high and urgency creating a stressful atmosphere, a tremor hits the core of Iran’s football ,  when Kaffashian announced the name of the new coach.

Mohammad Khakpour , an uninspiring , inexperienced and unfamiliar coach was picked to lead Iran for this task. Khakpour , a former Team Melli player, but never a household name nor and exceptional player. Spend most of his time in USA after retiring. He obtained   his coaching liscence in the States where he worked as coaching kids. Khakpour’s CV , does not have a single high profile club or national team. The only club he managed briefly was Steel Azin and then an assistant to Mayeli-Kohan , again briefly , in Foolad Khuzestan.

 Vingada-U23-team

Between the selection of Nelo Vingada , whose resume says he started his coaching in 1981 and has 33 years’ worth of experience in coaching achieving several championships in different countries, and a lackluster rookie coach , with a few months experienced in a doomed club , there is a fundamental discrepancy bordering a comic act.  There were several immediate calls for him to be sacked as the job is way beyond his capability, but Khakpour himself was adamant that he iscapable  experienced enough to do the job!

Now, after a few months in the job and following the appointment of Mohammad Mayeli Kohan who walked out of Evin prison to be chosen as the Manager of Omid Team, Khakpour has become brash. After more training camps and playing of several friendly matches , the beleaguered Khakpour has the audacity to tell the media that their expectation for qualification to the Olympics is way too optimistic and unjustified !!.

“After 40 years of not being able to make it to the Olympics, do you think that I can do it in 4 months in the job?” Khakpour told the media recently.

A quote that sums up the quality of the man and reflects quite badly on Iranian coaches in general.  No wonder why the fans have lost much trust in Iranian coaches.

Thus , another bizarre event  of Iranian football is brewing.

“Khakpour is as good as Kranjcar” Kaffashian claims

The head of Iran’s football federation, Ali Kaffashian, much more known for his bizarre and outlandish quotes than his knowledge of football administration, admitted that Habib Kashani knows much better than him in football affairs and Kashani was right when he strongly expressed his concerns about the Omid Team prospects by submitting his resignation. “I have to say that Kashani is quite knowledgeable man in football, much more than I am. We have not accepted his resignation because we needed him although he had valid points about coaching selection” However, controversially Kaffashian said that the appointed Omid Team coach , Mohammad Khakpour , who has virtually no experience at top level football,  is as good as the veteran and championship winner Zlatko Kranjcar , who was Habib Kashani’s handpicked choice!

Kaffashian did not offer any rational explanation for his bizarre claim, nor could we explain the conflict between his two statements!

Omid-Team-Nov2015

On the Omid Team, Kaffashian also admitted that the results and the performance of the Omid Team were poor and inexcusable. “Without having a proper program, we simply brought in a foreign coach, appointed him and told him to win us the Asian Games gold medal. The result was what you have all seen.” Thus for the umpteen times, Kaffashian unwittingly admits his administration poor management, planning and organizational skills.

Asked about the chances of Iran winning the Asian Cup and lifting the trophy for the first time since 1976, the head of FFIRI in his usual sarcastic tone said “ Our team is very good as you have all seen in the World Cup. What I promise you in Australia is that the players will pass the ball instead of sending the ball high in the sky!!”

In a way, Kaffashian officially joins Queiroz as the two people in Iran that have given Team Melli no hope of winning the Asian Cup. Although the promise of not playing “Ali Asghari“ football might appeal to some fans!

Ali Karimi distributing jersies

Kaffashian dismissed any notions of resignation from his post if Team Melli fails in the AFC Asian Cup.

“There is no reason for me to resign because of that. I will continue doing my job and prepare for the next stage. I have a 4 years cycle of presidency and plan to serve it. If the general assembly accepts me and finds me suitable, I will carry on for the next 4 years as well.”

The concept of accepting responsibility and resigning due to shortcomings and failures, has not reached Iranian football shores yet. Failures and defeats are quite acceptable to this federation. 2014 was the one of the worst years of failures at all levels for the proud and glorious Iranian football history, all under the administration of the all-smiling and not too serious Ali Kaffashian.

Nelo Vingada sacked.

Omid Team (Iran’s U23)  head coach Nelo Vingada has lost his job following the poor results in the Asian Games and his Tax evasion problem with the authorities.

Ali Kaffashian announced the news by expressing his appreciation for the work that the Portuguese coach has done “We cannot continue working with Vingada anymore and regrettably his contract is as coach of the Omid Team is cancelled. We are actively looking at several options and I can confirm tha Zlatko Kranjcar is one of the candidates for the job” Head of FFIRI announced.

For the time being , Mahdi Tartar, Mohammad Khakpour and Hadi Tabatabaei will take over the team training which is actively preparing for the Qatar Friendship tournament until such time a permanent coach is appointed.

Team Melli U23 list announced for Qatar Tournament

FFIRI’s announced the list of 23 players selected for the International friendship tournament in Doha, Qatar.

Nearly half of the team members who played for the U23 team in the Asian Games have been dropped for this tournament including famous players such as Kaveh Rezaei , Mehdi Sharifi, Mohsen Mosallman, Morteza Pouraliganji , Shahriyar Shirvand , Yaghoub Karimi and  MohamadReza Khanzadeh. The performance of these players were quite appalling particularly in the humiliating defeat against Vietnam resulting in Iran not even qualifying from a 3 team group in Asian Games. MohamadReza Khanzadeh added insult to injury by being red carded after he pushed a Vietnamese player to the ground and escaped heavy sanction by AFC due to this disgraceful act.

Many new faces have been selected  for the squad from diverse places.  A young promising player like Darvishi who was born in Minab on the Persian Gulf shores made the list as well as unknown or unheard of names such as MohammadHossein PourAghaMalaki. As usual in the last few years , neither Persepolis nor Esteghlal provided any players for the Omid team (U23). The team will assemble in Tehran Azadi complex where they will be undergoing light training without the head coach Vingada. The Portuguese coach of the Olympic Team is out of the country and unable to return fearing being arrested for tax evasion. This is yet another anomaly of Iranian football.

It is not clear who will take charge of the training, although Mohammad Khakpour and Mehdi Tartar have been named as assistant coaches to Nelo Vingada. Habib Kashani , the ex-CEO of Persepolis club is currently the Team Manager.

 

List of Iran U-23 Squad

November 2014

Seq Player Name Club Birth date Post
1 Ali Karimi Sepahan 11-Feb-94 FW
2 Amir Abedzadeh Rah Ahan 26-Apr-93 GK
3 Aram Abbasi Saba Qom 13-Jul-94 MF
4 Arash Rezavand Naft Tehran 05-Oct-93 MF
5 Arsalan Mottahari Naft Tehran 10-Mar-93 MF
6 Ehsan Pahlavan Gostarish Foolad 25-Jun-93 MF
7 Farshid Esmaeili Fajr Sepasi 23-Feb-94 MF
8 Hojat Sedghi Mes Kerman 07-Feb-93 GK
9 Mehdi Mehdipour Rah Ahan 21-Mar-89 MF
10 Mehdi Torabi Saipa Alborz 10-Sep-94 FW
11 Milad Mohammadi Kashmarzi Nirooi Zamini 29-Sep-93 DF
12 MohamadReza Akhbari Saipa Alborz 15-Feb-93  
13 Mohammad Daneshgar Fajr Sepasi 20-Jan-94 MF
14 Mohammad Hossein Mordmand Sepahan 22-Jun-93 DF
15 Mohammad Sattari Rah Ahan 30-Oct-93  
16 MohammadAmin Darvishi Gostarish Foolad 20-May-93 DF
17 MohammadHossein Kanan Zadegan Persepolis 23-Mar-94 DF
18 MohammadHossein PourAghaMalaki      
19 Morteza AghaKhan Mahallati Peykan 05-Apr-93 DF
20 Roozbeh Chashmi Saba Qom 24-Jul-93 MF
21 Shahin Saghebi Tractorsazi Tabriz 45-Aug-93 FW
22 Vahid Haidariya Peykan 02-Jan-93 DF
23 Yusuf Vakya Foolad Khuzestan 30-Sep-91 DF

Victims of Querioz game plans.

The Iranian football community is coming to terms with reality after what seemed to be, a shock by the sudden migration of the European based players to Arab Leagues.

 

From the English Premier league, perhaps one of the top leagues in the world along with the Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga to the subdued low key leagues of Kuwait and Qatar , is a huge step backwards for Iran’s top two players Ashkan Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejad.

 It seems that some critics and fans are quite slow to realize the real impact of the unattractive & mundane football that Team Melli displayed in the World Cup, the result of which is clearly seen in the loss of top clubs interest in Iranian players.

Some critics point to Carlos Queiroz and consider that Dejagah & Ghoochannejad are the real and true victims of Queiroz tactics, Tasnim sport reporter , blames the poor strategy and the defense minded Team Melli for the loss of respect and relegation of Iranian football reputation to the abyss. “When a team spend its whole time to clear the balls and its mission is to defend and nothing but defend, talents such as Dejagah & Ghoochannejad up front are not given their fair share to display their ability” the report concluded.

 Final-Training-vs-Nigeria-12

Hossein Abdi and ex-Persepolis player, did not single out one factor but instead he blamed the poor standard of Iran’s football management , outdated infra-structure , lack of financial agility ,lack of business plan , low standard coaches and less than ambitious players for the poor showing of Team Melli. Abdi said “Since 1998 , Iran’s football standards have experienced a steady decline. We should not be surprised that we currently do not have any player in the top leagues of Europe. Our Team Melli did not show anything special against Nigeria, with Argentina, we were truly obsessed with defending and nothing else mattered, finally against Bosnia , the real standard of Iran was eventually exposed.”

 

Abdi commenting on the players’ move to Qatar and Kuwait , said that these are personal decisions by the players concerned where economics play a large part in it.

“What I know though is that such moves are detrimental to the total standard of Iran football. I don’t have much hope for Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup 2015. The players standards and the team game plan have not shown us anything to raise our confidence and expectations. I am quite sceptic.”

 

Some reporters found a new and a different type of culprit. In the decline of Iranian footballer’s reputation and lack of interest b the Europeans , Reza Fazeli was identified as a major role player. The European based football agent has been instrumental in most of the famous Iranian footballer’s careers moves since the early nineties, including those of Dejagah & Ghoochannejad. Fazeli defended the moves as the best that he and his clients have found “If there is no demand from the top rate clubs, you have no other option but to seek the best alternative when available.”

Mohammad Khakpour , ex-Team Melli defender who is currently coaching in the USA warned that being emotional and demonstrative on judgment, will only hurt Iran’s football.

“We must face reality, else we will not progress. The real standard of Iran’s football is the one that we all saw at the World Cup. They were disappointing performances and lacked the ingredients of a modern football. Domestically, the league is offering nothing better either.”

 khakpour 300

Khakpour a squad member of the legendary World Cup 1998 team added” We are emotional people who swiftly made a mountain out of a mole after the World Cup raving about the solitary point we gained. Then the reality hits us and we start asking why no European clubs are interested in Iranian players? Well, with such poor showing in Brazil, no wonder the Europeans are looking elsewhere for talented players.”

 

Khakpour also blamed the high average age of Team Melli, one of the highest in the competition, as a factor for loss of interest by the Europeans. “These clubs will not invest in older players. No nation can successfully maintain players for long period of time in the national team; we have to keep producing quality players and constantly evolve. We must emphasize on quality not quantity. What we are doing now is employing a first class European coach who is not reflecting his high standard on the players nor team performance. For one reason or another, we re unable to get the best out of him (..)”

 

Khakpour, did not shy away from addressing the inept football federation whom he accused of lacking in high ambitions for Iran’s football. “The Football federation is disengaged from reality. Their aspirations and ambitions are questionable and focus on some useless data as the sign of their success. In reality though, the Football administration in Iran have been declining in standard proportional to the football played in the field”


With Mehrdad Pooladi , surprisingly picked as the best performing Iranian player in the World Cup, hopes of finding a European club fading, it looks like not a single Iranian player will be taking part in top European leagues this coming season.

 Reza Ghoochannejad will be playing for Al Kuwait SC while Ashkan Dejagah will by in Qatrt playing for Al Arabi.