Iranian giants Perspolis has confirmed the appointment of former Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Al Ahly boss Manuel José de Jesus Silva, as the new coach of the club after the two sides have agreed a one-year deal.

The 66-year-old Portuguese, who last worked with Egyptian club Al Ahly, before he left for home in the aftermath of the tragic events earlier this year after his players and fans were brutally attacked by fans in Al Masry Stadium in Port Said.

Manuel Jose departure from Al Ahly was following much success with Al Ahly including six league titles and a third place finish at the 2006 Fifa Club World Cup.

The Portuguese has previously worked in West Asia with Saudi Arabian outfit Al Ittihad, however he last little more than six months with the club. Manuel Jose replaces Turkish boss Mustafa Denizli who quit Persepolis last month due to personal reasons. Bruno Metsu and Gabriel Calderon had also been linked with the position.

The nine-time Iranian champions endured a difficult 2011-12 campaign, finishing down in 12th spot and bowing out of the AFC Champions League at the Round of 16. This was the lowest ever ranking of the Tehran giants in its illustrious history.

The appointment of Manuel José takes extra significant as Perspolis has acquired the service of many Team Melli players including Jalal Hosseini & Mohsen Bengar (ex-Sepahan), Hossein Mahini . Shehab Gordan & Mohammad Ghazi (ex-Zob Ahan).

Rumors are already rife that the two Portuguese coaches do not see eye to eye and have some previous history of differences. It is remain to be seen if such alleged difference will affect the players and Team Melli preparation for the next match against Lebanon in September.

Manuel José is on a US$ 1.2 Million contract.

Abdulla Yusuf Helal scored for Bahrain after 45+1 minutes with the Iranians’ Morteza Pouraliganji equalising three minutes into the second half in the final match or the Asian Cup Group C qualifiers in Melaka , Malaysia.

Iran, who have accumulated 13 points and played five matches, opened their campaign by beating Kuwait 1-0, then Qatar 2-1, the Maldives 7-0 and Tajikistan 2-0, while the Kuwaitis first lost to Iran 0-1, then defeated Bahrain 1-0, Tajikistan 1-0 and Qatar 2-0.

The two best teams from the seven groups, the best third-placed team and the hosts will be pitted in the inaugural edition of the championship which will serve as the Asian qualifiers for the Olympic Football Tournaments. The finals will be played on 11-26 January 2014.

Final Table

 or the last few days there have been many conflicting reports about the next season’s cup competition. The Hazfi Cup, translated into the Knock out Cup , has been  the center of some controversy which all ignited by some sources within the Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) declaring that this coming season will have no Hazfi Cup competition.

The justification for the elimination of this long lasting and popular competition which includes many teams from all the IRIFF league divisions, is the fact that Team Melli is involved in the World Cup qualification and hence the cancellation of this competition will assist in the preparation of the National Team!

Hadi Ayatollahei, the Vice-President of the federation has been quoted by Mehr news agency that the Cup competition is cancelled, A few hours later a conflicting statement was given by the second Vice-President t of IRIFF, Gholamreza Behravan, who said that the federation is still awaiting a verdict by the Asian Football Confederation on the outcome, so there is no decision on the status of the Hazfi Cup yet!.

There were also some reports that the cancellation of the Hazfi cup was based on a request from the Team Melli coach, Carlos Queiroz. This prompted the Portuguese coach to issue an angry denial in which he categorically dismissed any involvement by himself or his coaching team on decision to whether the cup competition will go ahead or not.

To confuse matters further, Omid Jamali, The International Public Relations Manager of IRIFF, has denied any knowledge of any correspondence between his federations and the AFC in regards to this issue as quoted by Mehr news.

TeamMelli.com contacted AFC to check the status of this merry-go-round affair. AFC’s Shahin Rahmani confirming that a correspondence has been received by AFC requesting a ruling by AFC on the validity of canceling the Cup Competition. The request will be addressed by the two AFC committees before a decision is given.  The matter will be will be referred to the “Professional Football Ad-Hock Committee” and “Competitions Committee” on July 17 & 18 for their reference and decisions.

There is very little doubt that the cancellation of Hazfi Cup has been discussed in the IRIFF be it in a limited capacity or in a general meeting. What remains a mystery is how those who support such cancellation of a very old and established competition in Iran’s history and league calendar, will support and enhance Team Melli’s chances of qualification to Brazil in 2014. In the last three times that Iran qualified to the Finals of the FIFA World Cup and during the seventies golden era when Team Melli won the Asian Cup unprecedented 3 times on the trot , there was no such cancellation of the cup competition. In fact Iran holds the World record for total of matches played in a World Cup qualifications in 1997 , when Team Melli qualified to the World Cup 1998 in France , playing 27 matches , the cup competition was played as normal.

It remains to be seen what is the final verdict on this completion and what true justification the federation has to cancel it.

 Sources: AFC. Mehrnews, IRIFF

Team Melli’s Captain and current La Liga club Osasuna midfield player Javad Nekounam is expected to sign for Teheran’s club , Esteghlal.

Negotiations between the player and Esteghlal has been going on for sometimes now while insider sources indicate that the 32 Years ex Pas and Shariah player will be signing a contract with Esteghlal within 48 hours. There is no world or confirmation from the Spanish club as Nekounam has one more season to run to the end of his contract.

Esteghlal was also in hot pursuit to recruit out of contract Mohammad Reza Khalatbari from Al Wasl. If Nekounam deal is finalized , it is not expected that Esteghlal will pursue their intertest in the ex-Zab Ahan Team Melli player.

Meanwhile , Mojtaba Jabbari , the Team Melli and Esteghlal midfield has refused to join his teammates for the start of training in preparation for the new season. Jabbari and the newly recruited coach , Amir Ghalenoei , had differences when Ghalenoei was last at the helm of the club before his departure to Sepahan and then Treactosrsazi. Ghalenoei has publicly declared that he currently has no issues with Mojtaba Jabbari and the player is welcome in his team. However , the player has refused to join the squad and it looks like there is going to be some problems brewing up between him and the club.

Mojtaba Jabbari despite his quality and value with the club , is always involved in disputes with his coaches and managers. He was suspended and fines several times in Esteghlal for his attitude.

With about 10 days before the transfer deadline set by the league competitions committee of Iran’s Football Federation, a third of Team Melli player have transferred and changed clubs. A few of those players who have not signed extension of contracts with their present clubs are also candidates for transfer if better contracts are offered from rival clubs.

Amongst the players that are still undecided , Team Melli’s Captain and current Osasuna player , Javad Nekounam is the most prominent .  Despite the negotiation that is currently ongoing between the player and Esteghlal Club , there has been no words of agreement although the chances are strong that Nekounam would be leaving the La Liga club .

Mohammad Reza Khaltbari , who played for Diego Maradona’s club Al Wasl of Dubai , is another Team Melli player without a club after the UAE league club did not renew his contract. Another Team Melli player leaving his club for the same reason is the defender Hadi Aghili who , like Khalatbari is still undecided and out of contract.

Although such changes of clubs has become a normal occurrence in Iran for the last decade or so , such large percentage of turnovers  to Team Melli players is unique.  These transfers take more prominence when one considers Team Melli’s current commitments and participation in the FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifications matches.

With players changing clubs and naturally requiring time to adapt to their new coaches , teammates and tactical plans, this puts added burden on them and could very well affect their forms during Team Melli training camps and matches in the WC Qualification matches.

The stability of players both physically and mentally is crucial for this stage of the qualification rounds. Team Melli has not exactly performed to the expectations of the fans and the media. Two poor performances so far in the qualification, the last of was against a capacity crowd at Azadi Stadium against Qatar ,  increased the pressure on Queiroz and his players to deliver what was promised to the fans.

The next match against Lebanon away in Beirut is significant as it will shape the group outlook where South Korea seems to have already taken an unassailable lead after two matches. Team Melli requires a strong performance against what looks like the weakest Team in the group , but the competition is such that even Lebanon can create headaches for Queiroz especially with the lackluster of Team Melli’s performances of late.

The large number of players changing club could have an effect on Team Melli , of course we are hoping it will be positive.

Two goals from Payam Sadeghian’s 3rd minute penalty and the second from Yaghoub Karimi from Sadeghian’s fine assist , was enough to defeat Tajikistan and maintain Iran’s perfect record.

This win keeps Iran at the top of the table and assured qualification to the next round. in the final match against Bahrain , Iran’s U22 team required to avoid defeat for the qualification.