Tag: Rahman Ahmadi

24/05/2015

Solutions for the goalkeeping calamity in Iran.

It is no shame to admit that the recently concluded league season, was one of the worst for the goalkeepers in Iranian teams. Some, like Dariush Esfandiari, even call it a tragedy.

Every single team in the Persian Gulf League suffered goalkeeping headaches, some worse than others. Persepolis lowly rank in the table which is one of its worst in the history is attributed to several factors but it was on the field that the team performed poorly especially at the defense and goalkeepers’ end. Sousha Makani has proven that he is inconsistent, unreliable and a keeper who cannot be trusted when called upon to deliver. On top of those erratic performances Makani is also quite poor in discipline, a player who has created numbers of incidents at the club. He was sacked from the team only to return back after a few kisses. His last match in the league, the Tehran Derby , resulted in 3 match suspension for his role in skirmishes at the end of the game.

Whether it is fair or otherwise, many experts in Iran attribute Tractorsazi’s failure to win the league and poor performance in the AFC Asian Champions league to their goalkeeper Hamed Lak. Frankly, the keeper was dreadful in many crucial games and definitely cost his team some precious points. Putting all the blame on him is open to debate.

Alireza Biranvand, young, so promising and so confident when he came through the ranks, was as another huge disappointment for his side, Naft Tehran. Rahman Ahmadi was the no.1 Keeper for Team Melli after the dismissal of Seyed Mehdi Rahmati , but he soon flopped and lost his place in Team Melli while his repeated mistakes with his club Sepahan relegated him to reserve and the bench. Mohsen Frouzan had a torrid time in Esteghlal goal. Many hailed his arrival with the blues but he has shown little to raise the fans’ trust and confidence.

Dariush Esfandiari , the goalkeeping coach of Gostarish concurs to the fact that it was a “disastrous “ season for Iranian goalkeepers. His own team suffered quite badly like the rest. Esfandiari has some interesting thoughts on the reasons behind such failures by Iranian keepers.

“Much of the problem with goalkeepers stems from their demeanor, their personality and what is their mindset. Goalkeeper need to act professionally and be trained by dedicated experts because they are the last wall of defense. If Keepers concede easy goals, the chances of the team winning would be minimized. No team can challenge for honors without a competent keeper.” Dariush Esfandiari commented.

“There is obvious weakness at foundations level. Professional trainers need to be available for these keepers. Goalkeeper coaches must not be marginalized and not considered as peripherals in the team. I urge the federation to establish a program for the clubs to increase the level of competency and standards of Goalkeepers coaches in Iran. It is as important to do that at foundations levels, all the way to the seniors. I dare to say that it is even more important at foundations. This program has to be run with the aid of qualified professionals”

“We must utilize this opportunity to correct the situation else Iran will be facing a real disaster in this important post in the near future. This season was the alarm bell, it was loud and clear. The federation and clubs have to act to establish a competence program for goalkeepers. We can send Iranian coaches for specialized Goalkeepers coaching workshops. Turkey is a good place to start as they have some advance set ups there.”

26/02/2015

The Goalkeeping dilemma.

Any Iranian fan watching the recent AFC Champions league matches would have been alarmed by the lackluster standard of Iranian goalkeepers. Added to the fact that the recent showing of Team Melli matches where goalkeepers performed poorly, such performances does not instill much confidence in the custodians who form the last frontier of any ambitious team challenging for championships and trophies.

The beautiful free flowing passing game of Naft Tehran deserved much better than the 2-1 defeat in Uzbekistan, as the Persian Gulf League leader fell victim to two horrible and amateurish errors by their goalkeeper Alireza Biranvand which cost them two goals and a defeat, after leading 1-0.

Nearly identical scenario was repeated a day later again in Uzbekistan as Tractorsazi was leading 1-0 before two blunders by their goalkeeper allowed the Uzbeks to win the match 2-1. The culprit goalkeeper was Hamed Lak. His edgy performance was a contributing factor in this defeat.

Persepolis , whose goalkeeper Sasha Makani is very well known for his calamitous performances was spared its blushes when they defeated Lekhwiya of Qatar 3-0 against all the odds. The Qatari league leader with some expensive star players were simply having a day off as Makani was hardly tested.

The common dominator of all these goalkeepers is that Carlos Queiroz has picked the above mentioned goalkeeper for Team Melli at different stages and competitions. Which , for all practical terms and purposes , means they are the best keepers in Iran. Biranvand is still in the list and was part of the last squad in the AFC Cup 2015 in Australia while Makani and Lak have only been recently replaced by Haghighi and Frouzan.

Haghighi , the surprise pick of the obstinate Portuguese coach , was the main goalkeeper for both the World Cup and Asian Cup. Not surprisingly, his performances have left a lot to be desired. The fans need to be thankful for the outright defensive game plan of Queiroz that has protected Haghighi in goal from being bombarded in both tournaments. However, when the team changed plans and needed to win by playing more offensively , Haghighi and his defense were truly exposed and conceded 6 goals in the last two matches of the two major competitions. 3 goals against Bosnia in the World Cup and three against Iraq in the quarter finals of Asian Cup. To make matters worse, Alireza Haghighi failed to save any penalty kick in the penalty shootout as Iran was knocked out from the Asian Cup.

All this was happening when two of the most experienced goalkeeper in Iran, Mehdi Rahmati and Rahman Ahmadi , were enjoying a holiday back home as Queiroz did not seem to believe in their abilities nor their skills.

Queiroz issue with Rahmati and some other players is a problem that is quite clearly undermining Team Melli. His personal antipathies against certain staff and players like Khalatbary , Mojtaba Jabbari, Hadi Aghili , Majid Saleh , Ali Karimi amongst many others are leaving the team handicapped and nothing is more evident than in between the three posts where the absence of the experienced Rahmati was felt.

Queiroz is only a part of the entire problem as Iran’s football system seems to have a distinct lack of ability to produce quality goalkeepers. It is also evident that the goalkeeping coaches are not of a high caliber at clubs and junior teams’ levels.

Iran’s goalkeeping problem is not new either. For more than a decade, Iran has been suffering from lack of quality goalkeepers. Ebrahim Mirzapour and his generation of keepers did not enhance the reputations of Iranian keepers, before Rahmati came into the scene. However, even Rahmati, arguably still the best keeper in Iran (not according to Queiroz, of course) , had difficulties like poor handling of aerial balls which marred his good records.

While goalkeeping is the least popular of posts amongst young players and good keepers are always in demand, the lack of production of quality keepers which requires a careful study and planning from the root level , could very well be a serious problem in the near future for Team Melli.

16/06/201416/06/2014

Iran vs. Nigeria : Pre match News clips

[toggle title=”Match preview Daily Telegraph” state=”open” ]

Monday, June 16, 2014

Iran v Nigeria
Arena da Baixada, Curitiba
Kick-off: 20.00 BST.
TV: BBC.

Iran (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Davari; Beitashour, Hosseini, Sadeghi, Pooladi; Nekounam, Teymourian; Haddadifa, Shojaei, Dejagah; Ghoochannejhad.

Nigeria (Possible, 4-4-2): Enyeama; Ambrose, Oboabona, Omerou, Oshaniwa; Mikel, Onazi, Azeez, Moses; Odemwingie, Emenike.

Referee: Carlos Vera (Ecuador).

Betting: Iran 13-5, Nigeria 6-5, Draw 2-1.

Team News Germany-based Iranian Daniel Davari can expect to get the nod in goal over veteran Rahman Ahmadi. He faces a busy afternoon against the likes of Premier League stars John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses and Peter Odemwingie. At the other end, Nigeria can call on the formidable Vincent Enyeama, who denied Lionel Messi with impressive saves in the 2010 finals in South Africa. Iran coach Carlos Queiroz favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, with captain Javad Nekounam the midfield fulcrum to allow Charlton’s Reza ‘Gucci’ Ghoochannejhad and Fulham winger Ashkan Dejagah to counter-attack.

Match Notes Iran are the top-ranked side in Asia with an impressive defensive record and a manager with plenty of tactical acumen in former Manchester United assistant and Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz. Neither side has enjoyed much World Cup success. After beating Bulgaria 1-0 in their second group game in 1998, the Nigerians have had two draws and six defeats. And Iran’s 2-1 victory over the United States in Lyon 16 years ago was their sole win at a World Cup.

Stat of the game: Iran have scored just six goals in nine World Cup ties, conceding 18.

John Ley’s prediction: Iran 0 Nigeria 2.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”AFP report” state=”open” ] Curitiba (Brazil) (AFP) – Iran coach Carlos Queiroz backed his World Cup team to overcome financial strife as well as crippling sanctions and prove the country is not an international bogey man.

Iran begin their campaign on Monday against Nigeria in a Group F which also includes mighty Argentina and debutants Bosnia-Hercegovina.

But they have already faced challenges on the road to Brazil, notably Queiroz’s battle to get the country’s cash-strapped authorities to finance training camps in South Africa and Austria.

“Iran has faced difficulties off the pitch but we want to make our point on the pitch,” said the 61-year-old Portuguese coach who has been at the helm since 2011 and cut his teeth as Alex Ferguson’s right-hand man at Manchester United.

“The economic and political situation is a complete disadvantage for the team but the players are very determined. They succeeded in qualifying for the finals and they will want to walk away from Brazil with respect and pride.

“We also want people to have an understanding of Iran and we want to bring joy to the Iran fans.”

Triple Asian champions Iran are taking part in their fourth World Cup finals after 1978, 1998 and 2006 but have never got out of the group stage.

Queiroz expects a tough opener against African champions Nigeria.

“Their national team is made up of many stars, big players and they have a big advantage in terms of experience,” he said.

“It’s a very difficult match for us but we can draw on the spirit in the squad. They are favourites but nobody is strong enough to win every match and nobody is weak enough to lose them all.”

“This is my squad. Iran play for passion, it’s amazing to have this loyalty and affection.” [/toggle]

[toggle title=”Goalkeeping Mystery” state=”open” ] During the press conference, a foreign reporter asked Queiroz who is going to be the No 1 goalkeeper for Iran ? Queiroz avoided giving a straight answer and cleverly dodging the question. All the three goalkeepers have been used in the friendly test games however, with the latest changes in the line up , Queiroz left the fans and critics in a state of bewilderment on the identity of the main goalkeeper.

A current poll in TeamMelli.com , more than half the voters believe that Rahman Ahmadi , who is the most experienced and the eldest keeper will be in the goal against Nigeria. [/toggle]

[toggle title=”Perfect weather in Curtiba” state=”open” ]the weather conditions during the match is ideal and set for the beginning of the game at a temperature of 23 º C mostly with sunny periods and scattered clouds, There is rain forecast towards the end of the night when the game should have be over. The recommendation is for meteorologists that fans do not forget to bring a jacket because the temperature is expected to drop later in the day.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”Match referee” state=”open” ]The world football governing body, FIFA, has announced that Carlos Vera, a referee from Ecuador, will officiate the Super Eagles opening World Cup campaign against Iran on Monday. Vera will have the opportunity of handling a match involving the reigning African champions just nine days before his 38th birthday. According to FIFA records, Vera has been overseeing international matches since 2007 and has officiated at several CONMEBOL competitions, including the Copa America 2011 and the Copa Libertadores since 2008, as well as at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2012. [/toggle]

24/04/2014

Team Melli draws the second practise match.

Team Melli played its second practice match in Johannesburg against Orlando Pirates of the South African Professional league on Wednesday. The match ended 3-3.

Unlike the first practice match , this one was played in a proper football pitch of Orlando pirates club. Team Melli scored through Khalatbary (9), Beigzadeh (52) and Nourozi (78)

The match was played in two 40 minutes period and was a part of the ongoing preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2014.

Team Melli starting line up was : Ahmadi ; Montazeri , Hosseini , Sadeghi , Beigzadeh , Heidary , Teymourian , Haddadifar, Rahmani , Khalatbary , Ansarifard.

In the second half , the young goalkeeper Biranvand was given his chance as he replaced Rahman Ahmadi in goal. ALl the players, except for Ando , Rahmani and Montazeri were rotated during the game.

Team Melli could not repeat the convincing victory of Tuesday , however , Queiroz has emphasized that results do not matter at this stage and in these practice matches. A good test for Team Melli will be on the 2nd of May when the full team will be playing an international friendly against Mozambique.

Team Melli training camp in South Africa has been cut short by 5 days.

21/04/2014

Rahman Ahmadi on his way to South Africa.

Team Melli’s number one goalkeeper , Rahman Ahmadi is reported to be on his way to South Africa to join the Training Camp.

Ahmadi is the only Sepahan player to be released from his club duties although the Esfahani team has to play its final and crucial match this week against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia which determines the team that qualifies for the next round of the AFC Champions League. Recently Ahmadi has lost his starting place to his rival in the team , Shehab Gordan. The other 5 Sepahan players named in the Team Melli list , will remain with their club, pending further developments.

The announcement that Rahman Ahmadi is joining the team is a good news for TEam Melli as the squad was missing an important player in the Sepahan goalkeeper. Despite his low counts of his international caps, being under-shadowed by Mehdi Rahmati, Ahmadi remains the most experienced and arguably the best choice for Team Melli against the other young and inexperienced candidates that Queiroz has picked for the team.

After the weekend match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Braunschweig, were Davari let in two soft goals against the Bundesliga champions, one filtering between his legs, Queiroz was probably alarmed by lack of experience between the posts and despite his initial exclusion of all Sepahan players , he elected to recall the most vital of the 6 players.

3 goalkeepers in Hamed Lak , Alireza Biranvand and Sousha Makani are already included in the South Africa training camp while Davari and the rest of the European based players are not invited due to club commitments and ongoing league competitions.

17/04/201417/04/2014

Queiroz excludes Sepahan players from Team Melli !

Sepahan players Out !

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[column size=”1/2″] In an exclusive news carried by ISNA , Carlos Queiroz has decided to exclude all of the 6 Sepahan players from Team Melli camp in South Africa. It is not clear if the 6 players will be recalled for the next training camp in Austria, but if Queiroz stands by his decision and does not recall the players again for the World Cup , it will be crises in the making especially in the goalkeeping department where Rahman Ahmadi (34 years) is currently the most experienced of the goal keepers in Iran by far and arguably the best.

Joining the squad will be two goalkeepers, Alireza Biranvand , the 22 years old Naft Tehran keeper who represented Team Melli at youth level but never at senior level and Hamed Lak , 24 years old of Tractorsazi keeper who has just 1 cap against Yemen in WAFF tournament two years ago.

Rahman AHMADI , Omid EBRAHIMI, Ehsan HAJSAFY, Yaghoub KARIMI, and Shojaa KHALILZADEH are the 6 players who were named in the original Team Melli squad. These players were retained by their club because of Sepahan’s commitment in the AFC Champions League. Esteghlal also held their 4 players from joining Team Melli squad , based on the same justification as Sepahan but Queiroz has spared theses players from his wrath and gave them a few days of rest before calling them to join the rest of the squad in Johannesburg.

Tractorsazi and Foolad Khuzestan positively responded to TEam Melli plans and sent their players to the airport but Queiroz asked them to return back to their clubs to play in the AFC Champions league matchday 5!

[/column]
[column size=”1/2″] It is believed that Queiroz had a meeting with his staff and came up with this decision. Sepahan has still to play one more match next week which is a decider. A win is crucial for them to qualify for the next round of the AFC Champions League while any other result will spell the end of their participation in this competition. Sepahan has not qualified for the next season edition of the AFC Champions league due to their failure to grab one of the 4 possible places for Iran.

In the absence of any official sources regarding this decision , it is very much hoped that Queiroz decision is temporary and sanity will prevail when the dust settles down. The dispute between Queiroz and the club coaches has been brewing for month because of the ill timing of Team Melli training camp arranged while 4 clubs are still involved with AFC Champions League. The clubs all insisted that they will stick to FIFA regulation and will not play in the Champions League without their best players. This decision did not please Queiroz nor some FFIRI administrators who have threatened all sort of punishments for the clubs, without referring to the rules and regulations governing such players releases.

The most vocal opponent of Queiroz plans was none other than Zlatco Kranjcar, Sepahan’s Croat coach , who accused Queiroz shortsightedness in arranging his schedule. Kranjcar has repeatedly said from the onset of this issue arising that there is no way that he will release his players for Team Melli while the club is involved in an official competition and Sepahan will strictly apply FIFA rulings.. [/column]
[/row]

16/10/2013

Iran vs. Thailand. Fans Reactions.

The coach and players were hoping for a capacity crowd to turn up at Azadi to support Team Melli for two reasons. One it is the first match that Team Melli plays after the qualification to the World Cup, and two , it was hoped that in addition to the usual support , this match would be like a tribute to the Team Melli players from the fans. Disappointedly, only 12000 fans turned out at the start of the match. The stadium security had to shift the scattered fans in the upper stands down to lower stands. This is a standard practice unique to Azadi stadium!

The total number of fans eventually rose to 17,330 or %17 of the total capacity of Azadi.

Around the hours from the match, some disgruntled fans started protesting and expressing their disapproval of what they are watching from Team Melli. Two sets of fans even started arguments that led to security forces intervention before escalating to a clash.

Some fans started cheering their clubs and calling the name of their club players.

With time passing and the team still performing poorly, a sudden crescendo calling for “Ali Daei” started echoing in the stadium from the fans. No doubt mostly Perspolis fans.

Some fans then started chanting against individual players for their poor performance. The main object of their derision was Masoud Shojaei. The Las Palmas player who was not having a good match (but then again he has not performed well for Team Melli for years ) was one easy target for the boo boys.

The scoring of the goals came at the perfect time to calm the discontents in the terraces. Those two quick goals silenced the boo boys and the supporting chants started again for Team Melli players.

Thailand scored in the 80^th minute from a tremendous drive and unstoppable shot that Team Melli goalkeeper Rahman Ahmadi had no chance against. However, that goal conceded quickly changed the mood of the fans again as some of them started calling for “Daniel Davari” and shouting his name. The recently joined German-Iranian goalkeeper was on the bench at the time. Talking to a reporter after the match , Davari thanked the fans for calling his name, perhaps not aware that in Iran , this is a form of protest against another player or a coach.

After the match, Ando Teymourian was upset by the fans who booed Shojaei while defiantly and sarcastically called for all those fans to call Queiroz and ask him to remove Shojaei from the Team Melli squad, if they dared!! The uncharacteristic remark by Teymourian indicates the level of distraught Team Melli players feel when verbally attacked by the fans.

Jalal Hosseini was another player who commented about the fans and said that Masoud Shojaei, who was substituted on the 78^th minute, was quite upset by the fans hostile comments.