Month: October 2013

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.

15/10/201317/10/2013

Team Melli struggles against Thailand with a narrow win.

Tehran

Team Melli defeated Thailand 2-1 in Group B of AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualification rounds in Azadi Stadium. The goals were scored by defender Seyed Jalal Hosseni (67) and Reza Ghoochannejad (69) while Thailand scored on the 80^th minute from a splendid volley by Teerasil Dangda.

Carlos Queiroz started the match with his usual tried and trusted players. From the last match against Korea, there was only 3 changes all due to fitness nature rather than tactical.

In the first 20 minutes , Team Melli played a lazy game with little to indicate that it will be an easy match for the group leaders. The best chance fell to Ashkan Dejagah who was released by a smart through ball by Nekounam. Dejagah escaped from the offside trap and was faced with only the goalkeeper to beat. The Fulham player lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper but his ball just missed the target by inches, a precious chance wasted.

On the 23^rd minute – Shojaei claimed he was fouled in the 18 yards area of Thailand but the referee played on.

A minute later another chance fell to Ghoochannejad .when he had a clear shot and the Goalkeeper to beat with a marker chasing him. The standard Liege forward puts his foot under the ball to shoot skyward.

Thailand team had one good chance that Ahmadi handled with a bit of difficulty.

36^th minute Nekounam headed high from a nice cross by Mahini.

45+1 a nicely weighted Free kick by Dejagah from the right , finds Nekounam who heads directly into Thai goalkeeper hands. .

Overall, it was a poor first half by Team Melli. The team played uninspiring game , lackluster and an eyesore to the fans. The 2 serious chances they created were wasted , while most of the game was played in the midfield. Lack of stamina, urgency , passing mistakes, poor coordination was evident. In a nutshell the team looked like a group of misfits.

The 2^nd half started without any substitution by Queiroz who was perhaps satisfied with the lethargic display of his players. The first quarter of the period continued as it ended to the disgust of the 17000 fans. Despite their limited numbers , the fans were quite vocal in their support of the team until the hour, when protests and negative chants were heard within occasional boos targeting some Team Melli players,

The poor display prompted a late change of players when Ansarifard came in for the ineffective and visibly out of form Dejagah,

A minute after the substitution in the 67^th, Jalal Hosseini who was in the Thai penalty box for a corner , received a loose ball from Mahini. The central defender , like a skilled and seasoned forward , cleverly slotted the ball to the right of the advancing goalkeeper to score Iran’s first goal to a great relief of everyone in the Azadi.

Two minutes after the goal , Shojaei released Ansarifard on the left. The Tractorsazi forward, nicely squared the ball for Reza Ghoochannejad who tapped in the second.

Steven” Mehrdad “ Beitashour made his debut for Team Melli after he was substituted in for Hossein Mahini at the right back position. The 15 minutes he played was not enough to judge on Beitashour , but their were glimpses of hope.

Minute 80 Thailand’s Teerasil Dangda scored a beautiful consolation goal from a volley just outside the box after the Iranian defense blunder in which they failed to clear a simple loose ball.

There were two late chances that should have sealed the game to Iran beyond doubt , but wasted. In the 85^th minute, a clever and a unique 1-2 between Khalatbary and Ghoochannejad , released the former to face the Thai keeper, however the angled shoot by Khalatbary was fingertip saved to a corner. It was a good save .

Then Ansarifard wasted 2 consecutive changes in the added time, once when he squared the ball to Ghoochannejad while he was in a much better position to shoot and score, then the second a minute later when he shoot feebly while clear.

Despite the win and the 3 points, there was no doubt that this match was one of the worst in the recent run of poor performances by Team Melli. The fact that Team Melli is winning , by the tightest possible margins despite not playing an attractive football , is itself a good omen.

This team lacked much of what it takes to perform to respectable standard in the world cup. Not surprising of a team that compromises mainly of bench players lacking competitive match practice.

With such a performance , the worries of the fans would certainly increase as well the pressure on Queiroz who should start thinking about delivering a respectable, honorable football to Iran.

The win takes Iran to the top of the table with 7 points ahead of Kuwait with 5 points which drew earlier against Lebanon in Beirut.

Iran Line up:

Ahmadi, Beigzadeh, Montazerri, Mahini (75’ Beitashour), Hosseini, Khalatbary, Nekounam, Teymourian, Dejagah (66 ansarifard), Shojaei (78 Jahanbakhsh), Ghoochannejad

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Asian Cup 2015 (Qs) MD3: Iran 2-1 Thailand

Published on Wednesday, 16 October 2013 02:53

Tehran: Jalal Hosseini and Reza Ghoochannejhad struck in a devastating three-minute spell midway through the second half as Iran beat Thailand 2-1 on Tuesday to move two points clear at the top of Group B in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers.

Despite dominating the match at the Azadi Stadium, the home side were frustrated by the Thais until centre-back Hosseini broke the deadlock in the 67th minute and Ghoochannejhad tapped in a second shortly afterwards,

Teerasil Dangda pulled a goal back for the visitors with 10 minutes left but despite missing a few chances to put the game to bed, the Iranians still picked up the win to move up to seven points from three games, two in front of second-placed Kuwait, who drew 1-1 at Lebanon earlier in the day.

Despite the win, Iran coach Carlos Queiroz lamented the disjointed performance of his team, who had not played an international match since a 1-0 win over Korea Republic in a World Cup qualifier in June.

“I think after four months without preparations and friendlies, it was natural to see our team put out a dull performance in the first period when there was an obvious lack of organisation. However, our players gradually got better and they improved all the way through the match to the end,” said the Portuguese.

“For sure, it was not a good game for us and also the result did not exactly show the effort we put into the game as we missed a couple of very good chances and Thailand’s goal was an accident.

“But tonight’s match should be regarded as a wake-up call for Iranian football as there is no football team in the world who can survive after staying four complete months in the absolute wilderness.”

After a disappointing first half, the Iranians picked up their game after the interval but they were continually frustrated by the Thai defence and goalkeeper Sinthaweechai Hathairattankool and the Thai defence until they finally made the crucial breakthrough midway through the half.

An Iranian corner was half-cleared and as the Thais attempted to push up, the ball was played back towards the edge of the box where Hosseini neatly sidestepped a challenge before chipping the ball to the right of the sprawling Sinthaweechai.

Buoyed by the goal, the hosts added a second just three minutes later after some fine work on the left flank by substitute Karim Ansarifard who surged past a defender before sending a low cross to the far post where Ghoochannejhad easily tapped home.

The Thais made things interesting in the closing minutes when Narong Jansawek gained possession on the edge of the Iranian box with 10 minutes left and laid it off for Teerasil, who rifled it into the top left corner past a static Rahman Ahmadi.

But the Iranians should have sealed victory in the 85th minute through Mohammad Reza Khalatbari, whose fierce effort from 10 metres was brilliantly turned over the crossbar bySinthaweechai.

While the Iranians are flying high in the group, the Thais remained rooted to the bottom with no points from three games.

“We came to Tehran to get at least one point to give us something to build on for our return match in Bangkok but things didn’t proceed as we expected,” said Thailand coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong.

“Now, we have to use all our chances in the best way possible at home to try to get a point. But Iran are an Asian powerhouse who have already qualified for the World Cup and so the return match will also be difficult for us.”

14/10/2013

Preview of Thailand Team.

The Thai team nicknamed “War Elephants” played a series of its best football during the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

The display by the Thail team returned much of the lost faith by the fans to the extent that the home matches in Rajamangala National Stadium reached capacity crowds. Thailand almost defeated Australia at their home and then defeated Oman 3-0 away. This was in addition to the draw against Saudi Arabia. These results were all indicative of a good team in the making with many young starlets given the opportunity and excelling. Such reflects the strength in depth of the Thai football which always produced plenty of good players, but as a group, they haverarely managed to cap on their skills and win trophies.

The German coach Winfried Schäfer who succeeded Bryan Robson in 2012 , was set to mount a serious challenge against the West Asian teams Iran , Kuwait and Lebanon in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Qualifying group. Thailand was looking for at least being 2nd in the group. However, the first defeat against Kuwait at home in the qualifiers damped the enthusiasm of the team as cracks started to build up. It was a shock result for the Thai fans, who expected a comfortable win against no so powerful Kuwait.

Thailand still had a lot of time to recover from that loss and Lebanon, despite recent good results, would have been a tough test for the next match but again , not insurmountable opposition. This time, the Thai team was overhauled by Winfried Schäfer in the hope of getting an away win.

Veteran Surat Sukha was inducted in the team in the hope of solidifying the defense.

All the efforts of Winfried Schäfer was up in the air and the hope of qualifying to Austarlai in 2015 seem to fall apart after Thailand was ripped apart by Lebanon 5-2 in another shock result. The only saving grace perhaps was the scoring of two goals by Thitiphan Puangjan who came in as a substitute after half an hour.

In June 2013, Schäfer resigned his post as the Head Coach of Thailand. The FA of Thailand appointed Kiatisak Senamuang as the new caretaker coach for national team. His first task was friendly match against China PR on June 15, which he won 5–1.

It is not known which of the two teams will be playing against Team Melli tomorrow , but what is apparent is that Kiatisak will be desperate for at least one point in Tehran. It is unlikely that The Thai will go for an offensive game plan, preferring to let Team Melli do all the attacking , while they try to hit the hosts on the counter with their pacey players and then hoping for the best. Team Melli , despite being quite shy in scoring recently , could very well change in this match while oozing with confidence. Their mind at easce with qualification already assured to the World Cup, and setting comfortably at the top of the Asian Cup qualkifuication group, the team should give its best.

Tuesday will be a battle between a solidified 5 man Thai defense , backed by 4 more midfield players against an offensive Team Melli trying to score as many as they did against Lebanon.

The two different teams that represented Thailand in the competition so ar:

Against Kuwait in Bangkok: 1- 3

[1]Kawin Thamsatchanan ; [2] Panupong Wongsa (c), [3] Theerathon Bunmathan, [4] Chonlatit Jantakam, [11] Anucha Kitpongsri (59’ [13] Chatree Chimtale ), [7] Datsakorn Thonglao, [10] Teerasil Dangda, [12] Adul Lahso (82’ [17] Apipoo Suntornpanave) , [19] Phichitphong Choeichiu, [23] Piyaphon Buntao, [16] Jakkapan Pornsai (72’ [20] Chanathip)

GOAL: Chanathip

YELLOW: [4] Chonlatit Jantakam, [7] Datsakorn Thonglao

Own goal: Bunmathan

Against Lebanon in Beirut 2-5

[23] Siwarak Tedsungnoen ; [3] Theerathon Bunmathan, [21]Prayat, [6] Narubadin, [15]Surat Sukha, [7] Datsakorn Thonglao (c), [10] Teerasil Dangda, [11] Anucha Kitpongsri ((46’ [20] Chanathip), [14] Anthony Petch Ampaipitakwong, [16] Jakkapan Pornsai (31′ [19] Thitiphan Puangjan), [4] Apiwat Ngualamhin (54′ [5] Atit Daosawang

[6] Narubadin, [4] Apiwat Ngualamhin

GOALS: Thitiphan Puangjan (2)

14/10/2013

Daei was sacked on Ahmadinejad’s orders.

1n 2009 , Saudi Arabia beat Iran 2-1 in Azadi during the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying group match. It was the only defeat by Ali Daei since he took over as the head coach of Team Melli. Surprisingly , and shockingly for some, Ali Daei was sacked the next day , although Iran still stood a chance for qualifying and by far not out of the qualifyers.

Despite the poor record of Daei’s team in the qualifiers, it was not the policy and method of Iranian federations to sack coaches on the spot like what their Arabs neigbors do on regular basis and as a matter of policy whenever a team loses an important match. Daei’s sacking immidiately initiated rumors much of them indicating that the orders came from right at the top!

At the Team Melli camp preparing for tomorrows match against Thailand, Kaffashian talked to the press and said that the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not talk to him directly about firing Ali Daei from his post after the defeat against Saudi Arabia. Earlier on Aliabadi who was the head of “Sazman Tarbiyat Badani” , the equivalent of Ministry of sport , has admitted to the media that it was Ahmadinejad who ordered the ousted of Daei as the head coach of Team Melli.

On this regard Kaffashian said today “It could be that President Ahmadinejad had this feeling and believed that Daei should be fired, but he did not talk to me directly about that. It was our own management committee who decided to do that, although I personally backed Daei at the time”

It was a vague statement, Kaffashian , fell short of admitting that interference from outside. The executive committee would have received the order and did what the president desired , without requiring Kaffashian’s approval. As such, the meddling in the affairs of the Football Federation would look have looked inconspicuous by Ahmadijejad who should have been focusing on his job running the government , which he did not do it well either.

The revelation by Aliabadi , has confirmed strong suspicions at the time that the government was behind the sacking of Daei with the order coming directly from Ahmadinejad himself. The ex-President was an avid football fan and particularly Team Melli. Despite his moral backing and support, he failed to deliver on many of his promises towards football in his two terms as the head of the government. The most important of them all, the privatization of Perspolis and Esteghlal clubs.

On the other hand, the flagrant interference by politicians and government in Iran’s football continues unabated. Like the rest of the Middle East countries, as football is so popular , these politician uses it to serve their own purposes. The governments are also hyper sensitive towards large crowd gathering and would prefer full control of the masses. These countries have developed various methods of deception to cover the requirement by FIFA in regards to governments’ interference in the affairs of football. The Middle Eastern countries, in particular the Persian Gulf States, pay a lip service to the FIFA requirement cleverly disguising every step to make their football federation complete NGO independent of politics and governments. The reality is something entirely different.

FIFA which is quick to react to other countries when there is a hint of government interference, seems to be reluctant to act with this part of the world !

14/10/201314/10/2013

Team Melli U-22 defeats Oman in a friendly.

Mansourian ‘s team continues its fine display.
Team Melli U-22 played its second friendly match against Oman U-22 on Sunday a defeated the host 1-0. The match was the second against the host. The first match ended with the same result in favor of Iran.

Match report

First half : Both teams started the game with six changes from the previous match. Oman appeared more aggressive than the last match from the beginning of the encounter. However , ball possession and distribution was more in favor of Iran in the first half , preferring to keep the ball possession as much as possible. Mosallman was the pivotal player for Team Melli U-22 with his ball distribution and leading the offensive moves. His assist lead to Iran’s goal whole he have a powerful shot saved by Oman’s keeper Al Habsi (not to be confused with the senior Al Habsi of Oman’s full team).

Oman did their own share of attacking. Hamoud al-Saadi shot in the tenth minute of the match was cleared off the goal line by the Iranian defenders while hit a powerful low level shot by Hatem Alhmahmahy was deflected to a corner by Seyyed Hossein Hosseini.

The second half, Oman continued applying pressure on the Iranian team in an attempting to change the result, while the guests were content with distributing the ball as they did in the first 45 minutes on the match. Hamoud al-Saadi , Oman’s best player in the first half, shot was the most serious attempt of the 2^nd half but was cleverly blocked by Hosseini in Iran’s goal. In reply a long distance attempt by Nariman Jahan the substitute player for Iran missed Oman’s goal by inches. The most important scoring opportunity came in the 70th minute from a header by Oman Sami Mubarak, which hit the upright away from Hosseini’s stretched hands. The ball bounced off the goalpost to safety .

In the last 10 minutes, Mansourian had a change of tactics with his substitution, he was after an offensive moves and more attacking prowess. Mansourian urged his players to be more aggressive in offense and targeted Oman’s goalkeeper many times. Kaveh Rezaei was released by a defense splitting pass and he was one to one with Oman’s keeper, however the young Saipa forward wasted the chance to make it 2-0 when he shoot against the advancing keeper’s chest. In the 88^th minute a powerful shot from Shahab Karami, rattled Oman’s goalposts.

In the end, Team Melli U-22 repeated the victory against Oman. The team played better and was more consistent. With the inclusion of the absent players, Iran’s U- 22 team , can mount a serious challenge for first AFC U- 22 Asian championship title to be held in January 2014 .

Goal details:

0-1 ( Iran ) : Iran’s Captain Mohsen Mosallman , robbed the ball from Oman’s Nazir Almskry Nazir and mounted a quick counterattack. With a pass from deep from the left flank, Mosallman managed to send the ball to the foot of Hassanzadeh. With the goalkeeper advancing fast to block, Masoud Hassanzadeh send his shoot to the opposite angle , scoring Iran’s goal.

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OMAN U-22 vs. IRAN U-22

1 – 0

Goal : Masoud HassanZadeh ( 21’ )

Referee: Majed Al-Harbi (Oman)

Yellow cards : Haj Amin Mohammadi, M. Pourali Ganji ( Iran )

Attendance: Approximately fifty people

Stadium Sultan Qaboos Complex ( Muscat )

Oman : Kaiser Al-Habsi, Manea Subait , Basel AlRawahi, Nadhir Almaskary , Moheeb Ezzat , Abdulla Nooh , Sammy Mubarak , Hatem Alhamhamy ( 78 – Ahmad AlSayyabi ) , Khalil Alalawi ( 65 – Ahmed Khalfan ) , Hamoud al-Saadi ( 83 – Suleiman Saeed ), Abdullah Saleh ( 51 – Sammy Khamis ).

Coach : George Philip

Iran : Seyed Hossein Hosseini , Vahid Ismail -Beigi ( 81 – Milad Gharibi ) , MohammadAmin Haj Mohammadi , Fardin Abedini , Hadi Mohammadi ( 75 – Ammar Nik Kar ) , Akbar Imani ( 75 – Morteza PouraliGenji ) , Masoud Rigi ( 62 – Shahab Karami ) , Mohsen Mosallman, Amin JahanAlian ( 58 – Saman Nariman Jahan ) , Farshad Ahmadzadeh ( 68 – Morteza Tabrizi ) , and Masoud HassanZadeh ( 62 – Kaveh Rezaei ).

Coach Alireza Mansourian

14/10/201314/10/2013

Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour joins the lads in Team Melli camp.

Shortly after arriving in Tehran and having a rest after a long journey from California, the San Jose Earthquake right back has joined his new teammate in the training camp of Azadi.

Beitashour was quickly surrounded by reporters and photographers as soon as they were allowed to speak to him. The Iranian-American expressed his delight at joining Team Melli and hoped that he makes a difference. He also promised that he will work on his Farsi and improve it in order to communicate well with his teammates.

Since it is certain that the regular right back of Team Melli , Khosrow Heydary is injured and cannot make it in time for the Tuesday clash, it is highly possible that Carlos Queiroz will give Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour his first cap against Thailand. As such it will be the ideal test for both the player and the team. Bietashour had numerous assists in the MSL with San Jose Earthquakes. The fans would be looking forward for his crosses from the flanks.

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San Jose Earthquakes’ Steven Beitashour explains why he opted for Iran after USMNT cameos

October 11, 2013

Geoff Lepper

MLSsoccer.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Having only established himself as a professional two years ago, Steven Beitashour still comes off as one of the San Jose Earthquakes’ young kids.

When it comes to the international stage, however, the 26-year-old right back knows his time is already beginning to run out. That’s why, when the Iranian national team came calling this time, Beitashour picked up and answered.

“I’m hoping to play at a World Cup, and [next year’s edition] is my best chance, because if I miss this one, I’ll be 31 in another four years,” Beitashour told MLSsoccer.com this week. “I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

Beitashour is the Quakes’ ultimate hometown kid – born in San Jose, a graduate of Leland High and a former ballboy for the franchise’s earlier MLS incarnation. He trained with the US national team last August and was in camp this January, but had to pull out after realizing offseason surgery failed to properly repair his sports hernia. Beitashour remained uncapped through 2013 as the Americans fought their way to the top of the CONCACAF Hexagonal.

“When I got called into the US national team, people thought, ‘Oh, that’s it, you’re settled. You’re playing for the US,’” Beitashour said. “But until you play a [binding] game, it’s not really over.”

That left the door open for Iran, which lays claim to Beitashour through his parents, who were both born there. The Iranians had been in contact with Beitashour since his emergence in 2011, when he notched seven assists in 19 league matches. The fact that Beitashour didn’t respond to their interest for so long left the impression that he was holding out to play for the US, but he claimed in the end it wasn’t a hard choice to make.

“If someone says, ‘Do you want to play for our country?’, I don’t think it’s too tough a decision,” Beitashour said. “It’s a good opportunity. Obviously, I still have to do well with it.”

While it’s common for players to face a choice between heritage and home with regards to a national-team commitment, the history between the US and Iran obviously raises the profile of Beitashour’s case – even if he doesn’t want to play a diplomatic role.

“For me, it’s all about soccer,” Beitashour said. “I don’t try to think at all on the political aspect of it. I’m just purely [concentrating] on playing soccer.”

On that front, Beitashour – who flew 17 hours to reach Tehran after the Quakes’ 1-0 victory against Colorado on Wednesday – will presumably get a look Tuesday when Iran faces Thailand in a qualifying match for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

“I know, speaking with Omid [Namazi, an assistant to Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz], they just want to take a look at me with the guys,” Beitashour said. “It’s different when you see someone on film all the time. You want to see how he reacts and plays with the guys on the team.”

Assuming that goes well, Beitashour could be back in Iranian colors next year during the World Cup, for which Team Melli have already qualified.

“It’s still far away, but the possibility of it is exciting,” Beitashour said of a potential Brazil trip. “To get these opportunities is very exciting. I just have to make sure that I continue to work hard at practice and in the gym and doing all the things off the field correctly, so that it gives me the best opportunity.”

13/10/2013

Arash Afshin desperately seeking an escape route.

Arash Afshin is desperately looking for an escape route out of Sepahan club after sitting on the bench in many matches. The 25 years old Team Melli player, has not featured regularly for Sepahan after his transfer from Foolad Khuzestan at the beginning of the season. Afshin’s name was also absent from the list of Team Melli recently announced by Queiroz.

It is rumored that Afshin is seeking the help of another Iranian player and some agents to find him a club in Qatar. So far those efforts have not yielded any results as it seems that Afshin has to fight it out in Sepahan to secure a starting role in the forward line, presently occupied by Mohammad Gholami.

Arash Afshin , a promising young player in his own right, represented Team Melli at different age levels and was selected for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 by Afshin Ghotbi. The Foolad player was showing a lot of promise with his club, and when given a chance in the Asian Cup, he took it well and scored a goal while continuing to impress. However , with the end of the Ghotbi era , and the return of Afshin to league football, his form started to suffer and his problems started to grow.

Like almost all young Iranian players at this stage of their career when they shoot to fame in a short period of time, he developed an attitude. So early in his career, he started to think that he must be the first choice to start in all Foolad matches. On few occasions, he displayed his displeasure for being substituted. Although , the coach and the club tolerated him fo a while , he was eventually disciplined and fined by the club for his misbehavior and lack of discipline. But very true to the usual Iranian style of doing things, he was soon pardoned shortly after he was disciplined! His fine would be waived and everything would return to normal! Except , it did not. His lack of discipline continued and it was even more evident in training where he did not give his best and certainly looked lethargic to his coach, unwilling to run, or do physical exercises.

The supposed transfer to the French league with Lille never materialized. When Sepahan came calling for Arash Afshin, both the club and the mild mannered coach Hossein Faraki, who had just had about enough of the troublemaker, agreed to sell. Afshin was a source of disturbance to Faraki’s finely balanced team, and since Afshin left, the problems decreased and the club concentrated on playing football. They are currently at the top of the league table.

While Sepahan was never short of players in every line, Afshin had to prove himself worthy of taking the place of the likes of Gholami , Dalovic , Sukaj and the promising youngster Ali Choopani. The first three players were quite established and in the top of the picking order. However, Afshin continued his way of being lazy and short of commitment in Sepahan. The difference though was one Croat in the shape of Zlatko Kranjcar , a no-nonsense man who would not hesitate one bit to bench a player of much greater stature and fame than Afshin, if he found the player is not working hard enough. While Afshin was argumentative and even shouted against Faraki, the Croat coach of Sepahan has no time for such antics, insisting that players need to show their worth in training and whenever given playing time in a match to claim for a regular place in the starting line-up. Clearly , Afshin has failed to do so, and as seen last week , his cry baby antics and leaving the match in disgust , did not go down very well with Sepahan , who are surely thinking of offloading him at the right opportunity.

Afshin, is a typical breed of Iranian young players who believe they are way better than what they actually are. The type of player that want to do the minimum but earn the maximum. The record books are full of such young players with good potentials who never made the grade because of their attitude.

If Arash Afshin is not careful and not willing to work hard, he will go into oblivion the way many has done not long time ago in Iran’s football. Unfortunately, players attitude and mentality, has never been properly addressed in Iran’s football. Only the minority of Iranian coaches have the right tools to deal with offenders. Such mentality and poor discipline, is not exclusive to young players either, which makes the job of foreign coaches like Queiroz and Kranjcar , so much difficult.

13/10/201313/10/2013

Iran U-19 defeats Saudi Arabia to qualify for finals.

Team Melli U-19 qualified for the final tournament of AFC U-19 Championship after achieving the full marks in the qualifications round.

On Saturday afternoo0n , the young boys of Iran football defeated Saudi Arabia in Kerman, in a tightly contested match. Iran needed a draw to qualify while Saudi Arabia had to win the match to stand any chance. The match was decided late in the first half when a beautifully taken free kick by Saeed Aghaye ended up in the Saudi net.

In the second half, the Saudi went for an all out attack leaving their side vulnerable to counter attacks, but neither of the teams succeeded in scoring . The host seemed to be satisfied with the result and did not venture too much in attack.

Sardar Azmoun was taken to hospital after he was substituted feeling ill.

The one goal was good enough for the qualification for Iran , while the Saudi Arabians must wait for other group results. The final tournament will be held in Myanmar next year.

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IRAN – SAUDI ARABIA

1-0 (1-0)

12.1o.2013

AFC Asian U-19 Championship – Qualifications rounds – Group D

Shahid Bahonar Stadium , Kerman

Referee : H. C. D. PERERA (SRI LANKA)

Scorer:

Iran: Saeed Aghaye (38′)

IRAN: Payam Niazmand; Meysam Joudaki (c), Mehdi Hossainzadeh, Mohammad Rowshandel, Armin Sohrabian, Hassan Dadashi (47′ Vahid Zoulghadr) , Saeed Aghaye , Siavash Hagh-Nazari (71′ MohammadReza Soleimani) , Milad Sarlak, Ali Fathian , Sardar Azmoun (78′ Babak Abdollahzadeh)

Rank	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS	notes
1	IRAN	3	3	0	0	9	1	8	9
2	SAUDI ARABIA	2	2	0	1	7	2	5	6
3	LEBANON	3	0	1	2	2	8	-6	1
4	TAJIKISTAN	3	0	1	2	0	7	-7	1

12/10/201312/10/2013

“We can defeat Iran” Thai coach claims.

Thailand national football team newly appointed coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong claims that Iran which has a few problems, is not much stronger than Bahrain team that they played on Thursday and beat 1-0!.

The Thai coach was speaking after his first match in control and registering a win against Bahrain in the friendly match in Bangkok. The highly confiden coach said that his team is capable of defeating Iran in Tehran despite the absence of some key players.

Thailand will be without the influential Burriram United midfield player Jakkraphan Kaewprom who is injured and could not make the trip to Tehran. Jakkraphan expressed his bitter disappointment that he could not accompany the team for this important match in Azadi, however he was consoled by the new coach who assured him that there will be other chances for him in the near future. Suree Sukha is another experienced player who could not make the trip.

Coach Surachai said that he is not expecting an easy match against Iran but the improvement he has noticed in his own team makes him quite hopeful of a satisfactory result in Teahran “We need to be better against the Iranians, especially the accuracy of passing and shooting. These two areas require concentration. I have never lost to Iran during my playing days and I have no reason to fear them. I hope my record gives my player confidence.” The coach said.

Continuing his confident theme , he said “We played well against Bahrain and won. I believe Iran is not that much stronger than Bahrain. Iran team has its own problem (…)”

German Winfred Schaefer & Thai Surachai — German Winfried Schaefer & Thai Surachai

The 43 year old coach whose nickname is “Nguan” is a former midfield player who played for the Thai national team 86 times scoring 7 goals. he managed Chainat team before invited to join the national squad as an assistant to the German Winfried Schaefer.

That said, Thailand has failed to win a single match in the group beaten by Kuwait and Lebanon and lying at the bottom of the table. Despite what the Thai coach claims, his job will be extremely difficult against a much stronger Iranian team that has qualified to the World Cup, a point that the Thai coach is probably not aware of. Thailand has never beaten Iran in an official or friendly matches.

Iran and Thailand will be meeting on the 15^th October in Azadi stadium in Day three of AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualification round.

[divider]

IRAN vs. THAILAND Head to Head results

Date	Competetion.	H / A / N	Final score	Venue	Attendance
03.03.2010	Asian Cup Qualifier	H	1 - 0	Azadi Stadium - Tehran	9,000
28.01.2009	Asian Cup Qualifier	A	0 - 0	Rajamangala Stadium , Bangkok	10,000
20.07.2004	Asian Cup / Group D	N	3 - 0	Olympics Sport Centre , Chongqing	30,000
05.10.2001	World Cup Qualifier	H	1 - 0	Azadi - Tehran	60,000
01.09.2001	World Cup Qualifier	A	0 - 0	Rajamangla Stadium , Bangkok	45,000
15.10.2000	Asian Cup / Group A	N	1 - 1	Sport City , Beirut	10,000
09.12.1996	Asian Cup / Group B	N	3 - 1	Al-Maktoum Stadium , Dubai	12,000
30.05.1989	World Cup Qualifier	H	3 - 0	Azadi - Tehran	55,000
23.02.1989	World Cup Qualifier	A	3 - 0	Bangkok	25,000
20.09.1986	Friendly	N	4 - 0	Seoul	?
11.08.1984	Asian Cup Qualifier	N	5 - 0	Siniayan Stadium , Jakarta	15,000
12.05.1972	Asian Cup	A	3 - 2	Bangkok	25,000

[divider]


H/A/N	Matches	W	D	L	Golas	Goad Diff.
Home	3	3	0	0	5 – 0	+5
Away	4	2	2	0	6 – 2	+4
Neutral	5	4	1	0	16 – 2	+14
Total	12	9	3	0	27 – 2	+23

12/10/2013

Queiroz speaks about his player’s selection

Carlos Queiroz, Iran’s national soccer team manager spoke on Friday for the first time since the announcement of the squad list for Thailand game. A list which was heavily criticized by some experts and league clubs. Queiroz , who has been avoiding the media for some time now, hence creating more rumors about some difference with the FFIRI, or impending departure from Iran . For the first time, he spoke about his justifications on some of the more controversial players selections. He also complained about “some people start too much talking, their talk takes less value and would not receive professional attention, I would prefer to do less talking and more working such as spending time to coordinate matters related to the national team.” Marginalizing his critics in the process.

“It is important to carry out our tasks as soon as possible without much fuss and the best possible way is to enforce it is by training. We do not have much time and have the smallest squad, we will use this opportunity to succeed.”

The coach said the game against Thailand is very important, “in fact all the games of the national team is of paramount importance, especially because this one is an official game and part of qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2015. We have lost two valuable training camps; it is not good for the national team. We must make the best use of the current camp to prepare for Thailand and beyond.”

“When I am abroad and visit different countries, I coordinate the accommodation arrangements, like negotiating with the various hotels and other venues for training. Unfortunately there have been some rumors about my travels. Those really do not matter, but some people speak too much. For me what is important is that we reach our goal, and when this coordination visits are carried out, it is to service these goals by relaying on my professional experience which I like to benefit Iran’s football.”

Sometimes people who talk a lot but I prefer not to talk too much.

In his justification in selecting some players , Queiroz said “

“I dare say that I and my colleagues have watched more than 95% of the League matches either closely or have watched the recordings of them. In any case, there are some things that we need to consider when selecting the players list. After the last match against South Korea, we had no opportunity to convene and practice. This camp is a good chance; the goal was to be able to maintain the basic structure of team. It is also an opportunity to have a close look at some younger players like Yaghoub Karimi and Jahanbakhsh. We also intend to monitor the injured players using our own medical team. Khosro Heydari and Mehrdad Pooladi are both in the injury list. We like to have a close inspection on the extent of their injuries ourselves. They must work under the supervision of our medical staff.”

He continued:”Another thing to consider is that we can only invite certain number of players in each post. For example, I cannot invite 10 players in camp who are defenders. We should establish a balance to coordinate the squad and the players list should not radically be changed.”

(note: 95% seems to be extremely an optimistic figure for National Team coaches watching league games. We believe that it is either exaggerated or wrongly quoted. Normally National team coaches, attend a small percentage of league matches in the region of 10% according to some sources)

Queiroz has also been accused of favoritism and biased towards Perspolis and Esteghlal teams detrimental to other teams when it came to player’s selections for Team Melli. Queiroz obviously denied that and refutes the favoritism accusation. “I know that these two teams always expect a large number of their players to be selected. It is because of their huge fan bases. Any match that you attend by these two teams, it seems that their fans fill the stadium or they are in the majority, so it is natural that special attention has to be applied to them (!!), however, professionally speaking, it makes no difference to me which club a player is from” This was Queiroz justification on selecting a benched player from Perspolis, Hossein Mahini.

Iran’s national soccer team head coach then commented on the Irish National Team coaching vacancy. He said, “Of course , when I noticed the news media shortlisting my name in the candidates list for the Ireland job, I was delighted. It shows that these people have confidence in me and trust my work. But that does not mean that I have negotiated with them, or I’d quit my job as coach of Team Melli any time soon.”

The Only problems I have is the media reports

Asked if there are any impending problems or differences between him and the President of FFIRI, Ali Kaffashian ” The Only problems I have is the media reports that I read about those imaginary problems and that makes me laugh as it surprises me. There simply is no problem”

“I am motivated to succeed and both me and Kaffashian share the same goal and motivation. I have the same dream and goal as the Iranian people. We should strive to achieve our shared aspirations.”

His biggest great concern for national team are the friendly matches “ all FIFA days for such matches are occupied by out AFC Asian Cup qualification matches. We playin the qualifiers in those spare times.” Carlos said “holding time of friendly matches coincided with the Asian indices Cup qualifier nation. This is our main problem. After Thailand we have to play against Lebanon and Kuwait. However, we have worked hard to arrange friendly international matches near the end of this year. “

“The qualification to the World Cup is still fresh in our memories. We dearly like the fans join us and fill Azadi in the match against Thailand as it is the first time we can all celebrate together and share our joy in qualifying for the World Cup. We hope people can come to the stadium to support the team again, raise the spirit of the players . “