Year: 2013

Thailand’s daunting task against powerful Iranians.

Bangkok

If statistics are anything to go by, struggling Thailand have little chance of pulling off a much-needed victory over group leaders Iran in the Asian Cup qualifier at home to keep their faint hopes of qualification alive.

The Thai team are languishing at the bottom of Group B without a single point from three matches. Anything less than a win in tomorrow’s fixture at Rajamangala National Stadium means would all but end their hopes of clinching one of two automatic qualifying spots from a group that also includes Kuwait and Lebanon.

The outcome of the last 11 encounters between the two sides makes unpleasant reading for the Thais, who have yet to win a match against their Middle East opponents, managing to claim only three draws. In the most recent meeting in October, the Thai team were beaten 2-1 in Tehran, with Teerasil Dangda becoming the first Thai player to score on Iranian turf.

National coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong has no illusions as to the size of the task against an Iran side coached by former Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz. Thailand will then visit second placed Kuwait in the penultimate group match on Tuesday.

“We need to be cautious and play with maximum concentration. Even though we’re at home, the Iranians are a world class team. Nevertheless, if we’re clinical up front, there’s still a chance we can win the match,” said Surachai, who took over the post following the departure of veteran German trainer Winfried Schaefer.

Iran is going for a win in Bangkok on Friday. Although the 3 points will not assure them of qualification ,  in practical terms, it means they only need 2 point from the last remaining two matches to qualify to Australia 2015.

Rajamangala stadium is not expected to be full for the match against Iran. The Thai fans have grown despondent with their team’s lack of success at Asian level and even on regional.  The Thai fans have hardly shown much enthusiasm for their national team and the local domestic league , reserving their energy and passion for visiting European teams on tours, instead. Teams like Arsenal and Manchester United , who have  large fan-base in Thailand, can easily attract full capacity crowds in Rajamangala , despite the meaningless matches they play. English teams normally play against the Thai representative or selections in what mostly turns out to be one-sided affairs with very little competition.   Despite the lack of competition and true spirit of football in these exhibition matches, the Thai fans prefer attending them over their national team matches.

There is also a threat of a general strike in Bangkok on Friday that might dampen the enthusiasm of many fans. What all these means for Iran , is that the Thai fans will not be playing a major supporting role and shall not be a factor they have to count on. Small pockets of vociferous fans are always there , but it will be hardly an Azadi atmosphere.

The match will kick off at 15:30 Tehran times.

Team Melli continues preparation for the Thailand match

Bangkok.

Team Melli trained in Bangkok on Tuesday & Wednesday (November 12 & 13 ) ahead of their AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifier against Thailand on Friday (November 15).
Coach Carlos Queiroz led the training session and he was pleased with the preparations ahead of the upcoming 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and next year’s FIFA World Cup.
Iran are top of Group B in the Asian Cup qualifiers with seven points from three games and a win against Lebanon in Beirut next Tuesday (November 19) would put them on the verge of booking a place in the 2015 finals in Australia.
Thailand are rooted to bottom of Group B without a point to their name after three matches.

 

Iran are also preparing for next year’s World Cup in Brazil having finished top of their group which included South Korea and Uzbekistan.
“Well, we are working very hard in this moment and this game here, it’s an Asian Cup competition, but we use also this camp and this game as a World Cup preparation for us,” Queiroz said.
It will be the second time Thailand and Iran have met in a month after Queiroz’s team won 2-1 at home in an Asian Cup qualifier on October 15.

Team Melli training session for today lasted  1 hour and 40 minutes  in Bangkok. All the players were available for training and the coaching teams split the squad into several groups for special training as required by the head coach Carlos Queiroz.

Kamalian , the Ambassador of Iran , paid a courtesy visit to the team camp and met the players and the officials while assuring the team of the best support from the embassy.

 

 

 

TM practise in Bangkok [4] 13Nov13 TM practise in Bangkok [3] 13Nov13 TM practise in Bangkok [2] 13Nov13 TM practise in Bangkok [1] 13Nov13

Iran Football Federation officially complains to AFC about Thailand hospitality.

FFIRI has announced,  through its website , that an officials complaints has been sent by the federation to the AFC , The Asian football ruling body , complaining about the bad reception that Team Melli has received in  Thailand while the team is a guest in Bangkok for the return match against Thailand on Friday.  A month ago Iran hosted Thailand in Tehran , and according to the letter of complaint, the Iranian federation provided all the necessary facilities for the Thai squad and ensured that the guests are provide the best accommodation available. Such thing was not reciprocated by the Thai federation which has placed both Thailand and Iran teams in one hotel which is against regulations.

Other points of complaints were also mentioned, such as absence of any Thai football representative in Bangkok airport  to facilitate the entry into the country, which is a customary practice during official football teams visits.

The complaints letter also mentioned that similar bad hosting practices by the Thai was experienced during Esteghlal match against Buriram in the quarter finals of the AFC Champions league and warned the people concerned of the negligence of the Thai federation might become regular occurrences rather than the odd occasions.  FFIRI asked the AFC to remind the Thai FA about their responsibilities and adherence to standard practices while hosting foreign teams.

Letters of complaints of such nature, has hardly made a dent. It is very unlikely that this letter will result in any punitive action by the AFC against the Thai FA.

Iran U-22 squad list announced.

Alireza Mansourian , Iran’s U-22 team head coach announced the list of 24 players who are selected for the training camp.

The team will start training on Saturday 9th November in preparation for the inaugural AFC U 22 Asian Championship which will be held in Oman.

 

1 Akbar Imani Zob Ahan
2 Alireza Biranvand Naft Tehran
3 Amin Haj Mohammadi Naft Tehran
4 Fardin Abedini Esteghlal Tehran
5 Farshad Ahmadzadeh Tractorsazi Tabriz
6 Farzin Garosiyan  Mes Tabriz
7 Hadi Mohammadi Damash Gilan
8 Iman Sadeghi Malavan Bandar Anzali
9 Kaveh Rezaei Saipa Alborz
10 Masoud HasanZadeh Damash Gilan
11 Mehdi Shiri  Malavan Bandar Anzali
12 Milad Gharibi Perspolis
13 MohamadReza Khanzadeh  Perspolis
14 Mohammad Ansari Fajr Sepasi
15 Mohsen Mosallman Zob Ahan
16 Morteza Pouraliganji  Naft Tehran
17 Morteza Tabrizi Zob Ahan
18 Omid Alishah  Perspolis
19 Payam Sadeghian Perspolis
20 Saeed Ismail-Beigi  Mes Kerman
21 Saman Nariman-Jahan Mes Kerman
22 Seyed Hossein Hosseini Esteghlal Tehran
23 Shahab Karami Foolad Khuzestan
24 Shahriyar Shirvand Tractorsazi Tabriz

Mehdi Mahdavikia appointed as Youth teams Manager

Ex-Team Melli Captain and recently retired Perspolis player , Mehdi Mahdavikia has been appointed as the Manager for Youth level Teams. Mahdavikia who has accompanied the U-17 team in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in UAE , has worked extensively with  Ali Doustimehr and was instrumental in arranging the camp in Germany before r the tournament .Mahdavikia

Mahdavikia’s appointment was announced by Mehdi Nabi , the Secretary General of the FFIRI.

Mahdavikia will start his work immiditely and his first assignment is to arrange a training camp for Iran’s U-22 team which will be participating in the inaugural AFC  Asian U 22 championship which will be held in Muscat Oman.i

Blatter supports Iran Asian Cup bid while urges the country to admit women to stadiums

Tehran (AFP) – FIFA chief Sepp Blatter appealed to the Iranian authorities on Thursday to end the ban on women attending men’s football matches in force since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Blatter, who was wrapping up a two-day visit to Tehran, said that Iran’s top female official, Vice President , was among those he had raised the issue with but stressed he was not seeking to interfere in Iranian politics.

“I had the opportunity this morning to speak with the lady vice president to ask that in the government they should try to change one of the cultural laws here that woman cannot attend football matches,” Blatter said.

“I repeated this to the (conservative) speaker of parliament (Ali Larijani) and he said he will take it up,” he added.

“I did not intervene to change the law but, as the president of FIFA and defender of football in Islamic countries, I had to present this plea to the political authorities.”

Iran argues that its ban on women attending football matches in the same stadiums as men is necessary to protect them from lewd language that might emanate from the terraces..”

Karim Ansarifard dribbles for Iran in an Asian Cup …

The ban was even extended to live public screenings of games in last year’s European football championships.

“Men, while watching football, get excited and sometimes utter vulgar curses or tell dirty jokes,” deputy police chief Bahman Kargar said in justification at the time.

The ban was the subject of the award-winning 2006 film “Offside” by Jafar Panahi in which a group of young Iranian girls dress up a boys to sneak into Tehran’s Azadi stadium to watch that year’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Bahrain.

The film, which took the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix at the Berlin Film Festival, was partially shot during the actual game it depicts.

On the separate issue of women players being allowed to wear the Islamic headscarf, Blatter said that the final decision on a trial under way since July last year would be taken at a FIFA board meeting in Zurich on February 28.

“We are in a period of try how it works out,” he said, noting that “a lot of Islamic countries, like North Africa,” did not require women players to wear the headscarf.

The trial was launched last year at the request of the Asian Football Confederation. Iran was among its supporters.

Sepp Blatter lends support to Iran Asian Cup bid

Fifa president backs country to host the 2019 tournament

Tehran: Fifa president Sepp Blatter has given his support to Iran’s bid to host the 2019 Asian Cup during a visit to the country on Wednesday.

The official Iranian news agency Irna reported that Blatter and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, with Rouhani thanking both men “for their support of Iran’s candidature for the 2019 Asian Cup”.

“Football can reinforce relations between nations,” Rouhani added.

Iran won consecutive Asian Cups in 1968, 1972 and 1976, hosting the 1968 and 1976 tournaments.

A total of eight countries submitted bids to host the 2019 finals, with Bahrain, China, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the UAE joining Iran.

The next tournament in 2015 will be held in Australia, with Iran currently on course to qualify.

Coached by Portuguese former Real Madrid boss Carlos Queiroz, Iran have also qualified for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Blatter is on a 36-hour “courtesy visit” to Iran and was also scheduled to attend a football and science seminar on Thursday organised by the Iranian Football Federation.

“It is a courtesy visit to the Iranian football federation after I postponed my visit last year,” Blatter told Fifa official media.

“It is a good time to go. There was a change, I’m honoured to meet President Rouhani to speak with him about the future of the country and the future of football.”

Namazi hints that match against USA might not materialize!

Omid Namazi , one of assistance coaches of Carlos Queiroz , hinted that  the proposed participation of Team Melli in the American invitational 4 side tournament , which Iran is invited to , might not be approved by Queiroz due to logistics!

Namazi was speaking during the International Congress on Science and Football currently being held in Tehran and attended by world football dignitaries including Sepp Baltter , the head of FIFA. When quizzed further on the issue of Team Melli friendly preparation games, Namazi said “We have to wait for the World Cup draw which is held on Dec. 6th , before deciding any participation and arranging of friendly matches” thus reflecting Queiroz belief of identifying Iran’s group teams, and based on the style of those teams, appropriate friendly matches would be arranged.

On the opportunity of playing USA and another yet to be named team in a 4 side tournament , Namazi already dropped a hint that Iran might not take up that invitation due to the distance and logistics.

With Queiroz refusing to take part in the WAFF competition which will be held at the end of the year in Qatar thus depriving the team from much needed practice for many fringe players, and mocking playing against Thailand and Kuwait matches in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers as a joke as far as World Cup preparations is concerned , and now the possibility of refusing a lucrative friendlies in the USA against quality teams is looming , it is not clear what is in Queiroz mind when it comes to his vision of friendly matches and preparation for the World Cup. Unless the Portuguese coach  comes up with a master strike and arranges friendlies with quality European teams between now and the actual World Cup tournament , Team Melli will be running out of options and might seriously end up playing in the World Greatest football tournament without proper and meaningful friendly matches.

The irony of the matter is that Queiroz has always complained about the lack of friendly games and quality opponents. In his two years reign as the head coach of Team Melli , Iran has played games with mediocre teams such as Madagascar and Palestine. In those two years , Iran played only once against a team that is higher ranked than itself in the FIFA ranking and that is Tunisia in 2012. The only friendly in 2013 was against Oman which it lost.

Judging by track record, it is hardly unlikely that Queiroz , Kaffashian and co  are able to line up meaningful oppositions anytime soon.  Queiroz has already spoken abut Iran’s isolation (…) and the sanction as pretext for not finding quality teams. As it happened , Iran played two top world class teams in Brazil and Russia , right before he took over. The sanctions was very much enforce then as well.

 

List of Iran opponents and their average FIFA ranking in friendly matches under Queiroz.

2011

2012

2013

Sepp Blatter arrives in Tehran

 

FIFA president Sepp Blatter arrived in Tehran this Wednesday morning to attend the second International Congress on Science and Football. He was received by  Ali Kaffashian, head of Iran Football Federation, and some dignitaries, including Ali Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Current Team Melli Captain Javad Nekounam.

Blatter is scheduled to meet the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the country’s sports and youth ministry.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa will also arrive in Tehran  later today to attend the conference.

Earlier , Sepp blatter commented about his visit to Iran by saying “The people of Iran are very happy to reach the World Cup,” said Blatter. “It will give a lot of emotions to this country. I will be honoured to meet President Rouhani and speak with him about the future of football in Iran.”

Blatter whose executive jet landed at Imam Khomeini airport early in the morning at 4:45 , will have a busy schedule while in Tehran. In a brief statement in the airport, President of the football governing body said “I am glad that I have finally made this trip which is well over due. We have initially talked about it 2 years and finally I am here. ” Blatter engaged in conversation with Daei asking him about the status of readiness of Team Melli for the World Cup.

Mahdavikia greets Blatter
Mahdavikia greets Blatter

Nigeria U17 coach hits back at Iran age-cheating claim

By Oluwashina Okeleji BBC Sport, Lagos

Nigeria Under-17 coach Manu Garba has dismissed Iran’s accusation of age-cheating in the 4-1 defeat by the Golden Eaglets at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Three-time champions Nigeria were too hot for Iran at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain racking up three goals in the first half en route to a 4-1 win against the Asian side in the Round of 16. Afterwards Iranian coach Ali Doustimehr questioned the ages of some of the players representing the west African country.

But Garba told BBC Sport: “I personally feel it is just something that is borne out of frustration at losing to a tactically and technically better side. “All the players we have here passed the MRI test and we even conducted another round one month before we came to the UAE. “We would probably take it up with the Iranian coach at Fifa level for casting aspersion on the eligibility of our players.”

Back in August, Nigeria dropped key players for the tournament after wrist scans showed them to be over the age limit. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was used to scan the wrist plate of players to accurately ascertain their true age, with only players between grade 1 and 5 of the scan eligible to participate. Meanwhile, Nigeria and Ivory Coast are the only African teams to have progressed to the quarter-finals in the UAE.

While the Young Elephants narrowly edged past continental rivals Morocco 2-1, Nigeria highlighted their title credentials with that crushing victory over Iran, bringing their goals-for tally to 18 after four games.

Ivory Coast will face Argentina in the last eight on Saturday, while Nigeria are sweating on the fitness of leading scorer Kelechi Iheanacho for their tie against Uruguay on the same day. Iheanacho has scored five goals in the competition and coach Manu Garba has assured the striker will be available for the Uruguay test. “It is a minor injury and Iheanacho should be back for the next game,” the coach said.

Nigeria have now reached at least the quarter-finals at nine of the ten U-17 World Cups they have participated in. The only time the Golden Eaglets failed to do so was at Finland 2003, when they were packing for home after the group stage.

Team Melli withdraws from WAFF tournament.

Fadi Zeraiqat , the secretary general of West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) announced that Iran has withdrawn from this years tournament because of objection by Carlos Queiroz.

Iran is a founding member of WAFF and has been ever present in this regional championship from the onset , winning 4 titles out of 7 played so far (2000, 2004, 2007 & 2008)  in addition to one runner up and one third place. This year’s edition is scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar from 25th December 2013 to 7th January 2014.

In the previous edition of the tournament  in 2012 hosted by Kuwait, Iran,  and for the first time, failed to qualify from the group stages. The team was coached by Queiroz.

While many teams , including Iran , use fringe players for this tournament to gain experience or for coaches to have a look at players that do not get opportunity in competitive A team matches, Iran’s absence from this edition is puzzling. Only a few days ago , the same Queiroz who has decided that Iran should not take part in this tournament , has bitterly complained about lack of friendly matches for Team Melli as part of their preparation for the World Cup. Queiroz has claimed that due to the absence of some of his players who are  in European teams , this tournament is meaningless without them !