Tag: South Africa

Cartlos Queiroz appeals to the authorities to release his players.

Carlos Queiroz , Team Melli  coach with “humility” urged the football federation and the authorities to find a solution for the missing key players in the squad.

On arrival in Johannesburg , Queiroz gave a brief statement to the press , pleading with his superiors to actively seek the release of players such as Mehrdad Pooladi , Soroush Rafei , Hossein Mahini , Mohammad Nouri and others who are either totally banned from playing football or have restriction on their playing  rendering them not being able to be in the squad. The restrictions are normally in the form of players not being allowed to leave the country under military service regulations.

Queiroz said “ In order to achieve our objectives , I need players. I’m respectfully  appealing to  the authorities to realize the importance of the presence of some key players that we require and work to solve their problems.”.

He said officials of the Football Association and coaches of Team Melli  meantime, spent a lot of energy and worked hard. “Despite months without being pay,  we’ve worked hard to achieve the team goals. With respect to the authorities, we humbly believe that there are ways we want to help the team, it would be no cost!”

Responding to the question whether any friendly games in the South African camp has been arranged, Queiroz said “as long as we have players missing , I do not have anything to say about this topic.”

Team Melli is setting up a 10 days camp in Johannesburg in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. No friendly matches have been confirmed yet in this camp.

Zimbabwe friendly match turned down.

As part of the preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 , the FFIRI seemed to have arranged a rare friendly match with Zimbabwe in Tehran. However , for reasons that are only known to the federation , this friendly like many others in the last few years has been cancelled. It is presumed , it must have something to do with money or lack of it by the federation.

On hearing that Iran is setting a training camp next door in South Africa, and to compensate for the cancelled match in Azadi , the Zimbabwe Football Federation wrote to its Iranian counterpart offering an alternative by  suggesting a friendly match in Johannesburg on 22nd December, as reported by ISNA. The Zimbabweans stated in the letter that it will forgo the standard match fees but needs the Iranians to pay for the logistics of the squad only (Air fare and Hotel accommodations) , FFIRI calculated the amount to be approximately US$ 40,000 which it considers to be excessive and above its capability , hence it declined the offer from the African country.

FFIRI is actively looking at South African sides for friendly matches at the camp provided it costs nothing or a small fee at best.

Team Melli program: South African camp is on, Palestine match finalized.

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General Secretary of the Football Association, said they have not been able to find a national or club side to play friendly preparatory games against  in South Africa while Palestine game in Azadi is confirmed.

Mohammad MohammadNabi was commenting on the latest plans for Team Melli including the training camp in South Africa which he said is now finalized and will commence on 14th December.

He added that after the national team’s training camp and on return from South Africa, the players will rest for 2 days and  according to the current program , Team Melli will play the Palestinian national team  in Azadi on the 28th December. After that following a two days rest , the team  will fly to Australia for the final phase of preparation and training just before the AFC Asian Cup commences..

 

Friendly game against Kenya is off

Team Melli is preparing for the second training camp in its program for the AFC Asian Cup 2015. The camp is scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As part of the program, a friendly international match was supposed to be played with an African team. The FFIRI negotiated with several teams and eventually picked Kenya as an opposition for the friendly which was supposed to be played in South Africa. The East African team demanded US$ 50,000 to cover the cost of logistics and accommodation, which FFIRI turned down as too expensive! The match is therefore canceled while FFIRI is actively looking for a cheaper team to play against!

Team Melli is scheduled to play against South Korea on the 18th November in Azadi Stadium. It seems that this is the only confirmed match that Team Melli will play until the start of the AFC Asian Cup 2015

Team Melli’s next camp site Johannesburg, witnesses a heinous crime.

Team Melli next training camp will be held in Johannesburg South Africa Again. The crime infested city has just witnessed the murder of a national hero , South African national football team Captain Senzo Meyiwa.

South Africans were stunned by the murder of Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain  Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot by intruders during a robbery at his girlfriend’s home. President Jacob Zuma led tributes to the 27-year-old goalkeeper, who was hit in the chest at the home of girlfriend Kelly Khumalo – a singer and celebrity – in a township near Johannesburg. Police offered a reward of 250,000 South African rand (£14,125) for information about the three suspects.

Senzo Meyiwa

South Africa is becoming the favorite destination for Carlos Queiroz training camps.

The future of the friendly match between South Africa and Iran is now in doubt after this incident. Team Melli is hoping to utilize the last FIFA day of 2014 for a friendly match against strong opposition.

So far , South Korea is the only real test for Team Melli preparing for the AFC Asian Cup 2015. Lack of preparation mainly due to the delay in signing a contract between Queiroz and FFIRI might turn out to be costly for Iran.

Carlos Queiroz is quite hopeful that the preparation is enough to face the three Arab teams in his group. The opposition, all of who have played numerous friendly games against strong opposition, will meet each other in the Gulf Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia in November.

Bahrain, Qatar and UAE will be fielding their strongest side in the prestigious Gulf Cup which will also be an ideal preparation for them for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup. Iran , meanwhile will be struggling as always to find a decent team to play against.

In the last Camp in South Africa , which Queiroz has described as an ideal location weather and condition wise to Australia (the same claim he mentioned with the weather in Brazil before the World Cup), Team Melli failed to arrange any international friendlies. It played against league clubs only. Only. South Africa national team is on the card , but with the latest developments, it might not be possible to play such a match.

 

Queiroz offered US$2,5 million by FFIRI!

Carlos Queiroz © Gallo Images

Queiroz challenge for Bafana

supersport.com
25 July 2014, 08:56

Salary demands could be a stumbling block to former Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz rejoining South Africa for a second spell as national coach.

The Portuguese reportedly wants about four times the $50 000-a-month (37 000 euros) earned by Gordon Igesund, who was dumped after an unsuccessful two-year reign.

Otherwise, the 61-year-old may pen a new deal with Iran, who he guided at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Iran proved stubborn opponents under Queiroz, holding Nigeria and keeping eventual runners-up Argentina scoreless until Lionel Messi struck in stoppage time.

Tehran reports say the two-time assistant to former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has been offered a $2.5-million-a-year deal to carry on.

South Africa are scheduled to name a new coach Saturday after a meeting of national football association bosses in Soweto.

President Danny Jordaan reportedly favours Queiroz, but has vowed not to become entangled in a bidding war.

“If Queiroz is unavailable, there are other candidates,” he told reporters. “We will not become involved in a bidding war.”

The Portuguese coached South Africa for two years from 2000 only to be fired after qualifying Bafana Bafana (The Boys) for the 2002 World Cup.

A quarterfinals exit from the Africa Cup of Nations a few months prior to the global showpiece gave Queiroz opponents the ammunition to have him sacked.

Nigeria 2014 World Cup coach Stephen Keshi and South Africa youth coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba are considered the other main candidates.

Keshi last month became the first African coach to reach the second round of the World Cup, but Nigeria did not offer the former ‘Super Eagles’ skipper a new contract.

He reportedly earned $30 000 a month so the United States-based 52-year-old would present no salary problems for South Africa.

Nor would 63-year-old former Bafana handler Mashaba, who is in Mali this weekend as part of a west Africa tour with the South Africa youth squad.

Like Queiroz, Mashaba was fired after qualifying for a major tournament, the 2004 Cup of Nations.

South African football supporters and media endlessly debate the merits of hiring a local or foreign coach whenever a vacancy occurs.

And there have been plenty with South Africa hiring 17 coaches – 10 local and seven foreign – since readmission to international football in 1992 after decades of apartheid-induced isolation.

Local Clive Barker was the longest serving and most successful, taking over in 1994 and guiding Bafana Bafana to the 1996 Cup of Nations title in Soweto.

He also qualified the team for the 1998 World Cup, but never got to France having been axed in the aftermath of a disastrous Confederations Cup campaign.

Ivory Coast are another high-profile African football nation seeking a new coach since former France midfielder Sabri Lamouchi quit following a first-round World Cup exit.

The Ivorians have shortlisted French coaches Frederic Antonetti, Luis Fernandez, Francis Gillot and Herve Renard and Portuguese Manuel Jose.

Renard took outsiders Zambia to the 2012 Cup of Nations title and Jose won a record eight CAF titles with Egyptian club Al Ahly.

Nigeria are the other major coach-less country amid reports that Keshi may be offered a new deal.

Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz fumes as infighting leaves his squad woefully underprepared

Former Real Madrid manager, whose side face Argentina, Bosnia and Nigeria in Group F, admits: “We will not make it to the next round.”

World Cup 2014: Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz fumes as infighting leaves his squad woefully underprepared

Caught in the middle: Carlos Queiroz looks on as Iranian players are put through their paces, belatedly Photo: AFP
James Montague

By James Montague, World Cup Nation, Iran

The Telegraph

12:00PM BST 14 May 2014

There were no fans, no penalty areas painted on to the grass and no referee but on Apr 22 the Iran national team’s 5-0 success over South African club Moroka Swallows in Johannesburg was still a victory. And they have come at a premium this year.

Carlos Queiroz’s Iran team are currently on a warm-weather training camp in South Africa to prepare Team Melli for arguably the toughest pool of the tournament: Group F which includes Lionel Messi’s Argentina, African champions Nigeria and dark horses Bosnia. But little has gone right so far.

Only 11 home-based players arrived in South Africa after a club-versus-country row erupted between Iran’s top clubs and the federation. The camp coincided with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, the region’s premier club competition. Esteghlal and Sepahan Isfahan both refused to release their players called up to squad, forcing Queiroz to release the players from Foolad and Tractor Sazi who were also in the Champions League but had let their players go.

The first test for the patched-up team was Moroka Swallows who are currently 12th in the South African Premier League. “Our main goal was not to get a good result in this friendly match,” Queiroz said after the game. “We wanted to identify the weak and strong links of our team. We will continue fitness training to get players in good shape.”

The lack of support from Iran’s top clubs has added to a sense that Iran won’t be going in to the finals with anywhere near the quality of preparation to equip Team Melli to play against three of the stronger teams at the tournament. Friendlies have been hard to come by. Iran lost to Guinea back in early March and their next match was planned against Mozambique – the modern-day country of Queiroz’s birth – which had been brought forward five days to May 2 after the Iranian Federation decided to leave South Africa early.

Iranian fans – certainly those who have replied to my previous posts – point to the federation’s lack of money (and ineptitude) for the paucity of top-level opponents, rather than the country’s pariah status. Yet there is a danger that Iran will be heading to Brazil the least prepared of all the finalists.

“With such arrangement and program failures, don’t expect much from Team Melli in Brazil. We will not make it to the next round because of the failure of the South Africa Camp,” Queiroz said in a TV interview, according to Teammelli.com (an outstanding resource for Iranian football news in English) after a 3-3 draw with the Orlando Pirates.

Queiroz was not happy with the chaos surrounding the team and the lack of support from Iran’s top domestic teams. He continued: “It was a decision made by the Minister of Youth and Sport and the head of the football federation to go ahead with the camp. I am only a coach here. So all those who disregarded the instructions and refused to release the players have actually disrespected the minister.

“Even up to our departure time, we did not know if those players will be joining us or not. This training camp was vital for the team’s prospect. We came here to prepare the players to play against African teams. I did not come here for leisure.”

Such are the travails of international football far away from mega sponsorship deals and star-filled Nike adverts that even getting the right kit and paying the excess baggage has been an issue for Iran.Teammelli.com also reported that Queiroz went on to complain about Iran’s official kit provider UHLSport for issuing only one set of tracksuits for players for three weeks. “We paid $30,000 for our excess baggage, we could have bought more kits for our players’ training instead,” Queiroz said.

The full team won’t be assembled until after Europe’s seasons have ended. Queiroz’s reign has been characterised by the number of foreign-born or foreign-raised players being drafted in, the likes of Ashkan Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejhad in particular being notable success stories. But Iran’s disastrous training camp has highlighted not just the problems Iran has getting a game but also the worsening relationship between Queiroz and the Iranian federation.

Without explanation, the Mozambique friendly was abruptly cancelled too. The head of the Iranian federation later explained that Queiroz had himself taken the decision. The cancellation means that Iran will have played one friendly this year before the end of the season. “I am sorry if I sound negative and despondent,” Queiroz said. “But if I do not say these things, then we will not get any support.” Nigeria and Bosnia, the two teams likely to battle it out for second place in the group, must be rubbing their hands with glee.

“This Camp is a complete failure” Queiroz

Carlos Queiroz said the South Africa Training Camp was a total failure because of lack of players.

The statement comes only a day after Ali Kaffashian announced to the press that the Training camp is going well and achieving its objective !

The head coach of Team Melli , in a TV interview , continued his line of denunciation against those who have not supported Team Melli directly accusing Sepahan Esfahan and Esteghlal clubs of  ignoring the Minster of Youth & Sport wishes, destructing Team Melli program and creating complications for the squad.

Queiroz added “with such arrangement and program failures, don’t expect much from Team Melli in Brazil. We will not make it to the next round because of the failure of the South Africa Camp!”

Queiroz went on about how he arranged the preparation program for Team Melli  including this camp from 12 months ago, “ it was not only me who planned it , but I had a inputs from others in the program.”

Asked if the decision to set up the camp was his decision or other personnel influenced it, Queiroz said “it was a decision made by the Minster of Youth & Sport and the head of the football federation to go ahead with the camp. I am only a coach here (..), so all those who disregarded the instructions and refused to release the players ( meaning the two clubs Sepahan and Esteghlal) have actually disrespected the minister ! Even up to our departure time, we did not know if those players will be joining us or not.”

For the record, both Sepahan and Esteghlal have confirmed several times publicly and to the federation in writing, that they will not be releasing their players to Team Melli as long as they are involved in official competitions.

“This training camp was vital for the team’s prospect. We came here to prepare the players to play against African Teams. I did not come here for leisure I have never promised anything, the only promise I give is that I will work hard.”

Despite having 23 players at his disposal in Johannesburg, Queiroz said “We are missing key players and that affects our preparation.” The only non-European player missing is Javad Nekounam while Queiroz elected to ignore Sepahan players except for the goalkeeper Rahman Ahmadi .

Queiroz then went on complaining about UHLSport the official kits provider for providing only one set of track suites for players for three weeks. “We paid US$ 30,000 for our excess baggage, we could have bought more kits for our player’s training instead.”

Asked if there will be additional domestic players added to Team Melli current list, Queiroz firmly rejected that, hence closing the door in the face of Rahmati and Aghili the two outcasts, for good. However, he indicated that some new faces from Europe might be added!

Queiroz concluded that he is a “Positive person”

“I am sorry if I sound negative and despondent, but if I do not say these things, then we will not get any support for Team Melli.”

News: Team Melli in South Africa

The current Team Melli camp has been joined by additional two previously unannounced coaches from Brazil. Mohammad Nabi , the manager of Team Melli said these two coaches are recruited form Corinthians club of Brazil and will be replacing the departed Tony Simoez who reigned his post a couple of months back. The two unnamed coaches are added to the coaching staff team compromising of the recently recruited Majid Saleh , Oceano , Aghajanian, and Gasper.

On the other hand , the mystery of the team that was supposed to be facing Team Melli in a friendly match was finally unveiled hours before the kickoff. South Africa’s Moroka Swallows club will be the first opponent of Team Melli on Tuesday morning.

Team Melli officials refused to name the opponent teams until the last moments preferring secrecy to keep Team Melli rivals in Group F of the FIFA World cup in suspense and reducing the possibility of them observing Team Melli in action (…)

Today’s match will be the first test of the conditioning of the Iranian players. Much of the work carried out in South Africa was focused on the physical side to prepare Team Melli against the teams with better physical conditions and endurance. Mohammad Nabi re-emphasized the previous statements by Queiroz that this camp was set up for the domestic league players of Team Melli addressing their shortcomings in running , physical aspects and building body strength. Players in European leagues, do not need such training according to Queiroz.

The names of the other two or possibly three opponents of Team Melli in friendly matches remains a mystery.

Other major development of the cam p came from Queiroz who has decided to cut short the camp duration by 5 days. Team Melli coach was not very pleased by the start where he had to travel to Johannesburg with only 11 players out of 28 he selected for the camp.

The reason for cutting short the camp duration was offered by Mohammad Nabi . He said” Iranian players are very emotional lot and the long time away from their families is disturbing them ! In order to take some deserved rest and be with their families, we have decided to cut short the camp by a few days”

Mohammad Nabi also emphasized that the players who did not join Team Melli on the flight to Johannesburg are mot to be blamed and held accountable for their absence. They were under instruction from their clubs and hence are not culpable. He stressed that there is a big difference between an act such as Hadi Aghili when he left the camp or Mojtaba Jabbari who decided he will retire, both unilateral and personal decisions and the players of Team Melli held back by their clubs.

KArim Ansarifard

Ansarifard & Lak join Team Melli squad in South Africa

Karim Ansarifard and Hamed Lak , the two Tractorsazi players have flown directly to Johannesburg to join their teammates at the South Africa training camp.

Their departure was initiated right after Tractorsazi were eliminated from the AFC Champions league after the defeat against Al Ittihad. This is good news for Team Melli especially since the squad departed with only 11 outfield players without a goal keeper. It is expected that Esteghlal players , who were also eliminated from the same competition , will also join the squad in South Africa. Karim Ansarifard has recently won the top goal scorer award in the league.

The fate of the remaining two teams players , Foolad Khuzestan & Sepahan , is still unclear in regard to joining the camp. Foolad has already qualified for the Knock Out stages of the AFC Champions League , while Sepahan  are still alive and stand a good chance of qualifying with one last match remaining.  Foolad Khuzestan has 3 players in the squad while Sepahan has 6.

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