Month: March 2014

AFC Asian Cup 2015 Matches Schedule

 

Group A
Australia, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Oman
09 Jan 2015 
Australia       Kuwait
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
10 Jan 2015
Korea Republic     Oman
Canberra Stadium
13 Jan 2015
 Kuwait     Korea Republic
Canberra Stadium
13 Jan 2015
 Oman    Australia
Stadium Australia
17 Jan 2015
Australia     Korea Republic
Brisbane Stadium
17 Jan 2015
 Oman     Kuwait
Newcastle Stadium
[divider]
Group B
Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Korea DPR, China PR
10 Jan 2015
Uzbekistan    Korea DPR
Stadium Australia
10 Jan 2015
  Saudi Arabia     China PR
Brisbane Stadium
14 Jan 2015
 Korea DPR     Saudi Arabia
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
14 Jan 2015
 China PR    Uzbekistan
Brisbane Stadium
18 Jan 2015
 Uzbekistan     Saudi Arabia
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
18 Jan 2015
 China PR    Korea DPR
Canberra Stadium
[divider]
Group C
Iran, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar
11 Jan 2015
 Iran     Bahrain
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
11 Jan 2015
 UAE     Qatar
Canberra Stadium
15 Jan 2015
 Bahrain     UAE
Canberra Stadium
15 Jan 2015
 Qatar    Iran
Stadium Australia
19 Jan 2015
 Iran    

UAE
Brisbane Stadium
19 Jan 2015
Qatar     Bahrain
Stadium Australia
[divider]
Group D
Japan, Jordan, Qualifier, Iraq
12 Jan 2015
 Japan   V 

Qualifier
Newcastle Stadium
12 Jan 2015
 Jordan     

Iraq
Brisbane Stadium
16 Jan 2015
 Qualifier    

Jordan
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
 
16 Jan 2015
 Iraq     

Japan
Brisbane Stadium
20 Jan 2015
 Japan     

Jordan 

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

 
20 Jan 2015
 Iraq     

Qualifier 

Canberra Stadium

AFC Asian Cup 2015 Groups

Team Melli was drawn in group C alongside 3 ot it Persian Gulf neighbors, Bahrain , Qatar and UAE.  Iran has never lost an AFC Asian Cup match against the 3 teams before.

In the draw held at the Sydney Opera House, it was mixed fortunes for the host team Australia (Socceroos), who were drawn to meet the Kuwaitis, Oman and the highly credentialed South Korea in Group A.

Following their clash against Kuwait at AAMI Park, the Socceroos meet Oman at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on January 13.

The Socceroos then face the toughest test of their Group A campaign when they host the South Koreans at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on January 17.

The Defending Asian Cup champions Japan are in Group D with Jordan, Iraq and the winner of this year’s AFC Challenge Cup, being held in May in the Maldives.

Joining the Maldives in the tournament are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Palestine, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and Turkmenistan.

AFC Asian Cup 2015 groups

Group A: Kuwait, Oman, South Korea and Australia.

Group B: North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

Group C: Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Iran.

Group D: 2014 AFC Challenge Cup winner, Iraq, Jordan and Japan.

[divider]

 

 

 

Coaches reaction

Group C – Iraq, UAE, Qatar & Bahrain

Iran Coach Carlos Queiroz: Football is all about pressure, and pressure to win the next game.I’m sure that after the World Cup the team can have a lift with the preparation and the experience, they will be more strong when they start the Asian competition.
UAE Coach Mahdi Ali: I did not wish to have three [Gulf Cup] nations in the same group to give more chances for them to qualify. A small competition reflecting the big one in Asia.

We have already announced we want to be in the best four teams in Asia and I hope we achieve our goal. We wish to qualify to the semi final.

I think that the UAE have spent a lot of planning for this generation, I think we have a good generation who have played many tournaments.
Qatar Coach Djamel Belmadi: We don’t have any limits; we are here to win the tournament simple as that.I hope we will be strong enough and good enough and believe in ourselves to go as far as possible.
Bahrain Coach Anthony Hudson: We’re going to quietly do what we’re doing. We’re building our team. We’re going to be optimistic and [try] to cause an upset and do something special.We’re not going to scream and shout too loud but we’re going to work hard and prepare. We’ve certainly come here to go very far.

I think it’s a good group and I think we’ve missed two or three of the big teams were familiar with. We’re happy.

Upvotes:

Sajjadi “We will have a grand farewell ceremony for Team Melli before flying to Brazil”

Nasrollah Sajjadi, under-secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sport and head of Team Melli Support Committee spoke of a grand ceremony for Team Melli.

“After the European camp and just before departure to Brazil for the training camp and the World Cup tournament , we have arranged a grand ceremony for the players to show the support of the Iranian people for the team. We have also invited the President Hassan Rouhani to be the guest of honor. Of course, his attendance is dependent on his timetable.” Sajjadi said. “We ask all the fans of Team Melli to show their real support by attending the league matches . In this way , the players will feel the support of the nation.”

Sajjadi also said that “We do not anticipate any problem in supporting Team Melli programs financially as the ministry has allocated  enough funds while the football federation has found a good sponsor”, stressing that all the training camps that were planned earlier on , will go ahead.

On the issue of Team MElli assistant coaches, Sajjadi said that Queiroz has interviewed two candidates for the job , and rejected one of them. He is still not decided on the name of the coach who will be accompanying the team to Brazil. Sajjadi said “Carlos Queiroz did not anticipate that Namazi will abandon the team in such manner (..)”

It seems that the officials are focusing on Omid Namazi’s departure on every opportunity as act of indiscretion, while the sudden departure of Queiroz close friend and compatriot is barely cited.

 

Stage set for Asian Cup draw in Sydney

afc.com
PUBLISHED: 24 MARCH 2014

Sydney: The Sydney Opera House will host one of Asian football’s night of nights – the final draw for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015, this Wednesday, March 26.

The cream of Asian football talent will descend on Australia next January for Asia’s biggest single-sport event and the biggest football tournament ever staged in Australia.

The draw will determine what route their national teams will need to take to reach the final at Sydney’s Stadium on January 31, 2015.

In terms of mouth-watering match ups in the knock-out stages, the aficionado will be looking to those nations qualified for this year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil: Australia, Iran, Japan and Korea Republic. Jordan and Uzbekistan were the next two closest to qualifying and should pose problems for their opponents.

The draw for the 16 team-tournament will feature the head coaches of the 15 confirmed sides, with the winner of the AFC Challenge Cup 2014, which takes place in the Maldives in May, making up the final participant.

The 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four teams, with each group playing a one-round league.

There will be four country pots with hosts Australia occupying the A1 position of Pot 1 and the rest of the countries getting their respective positions based on FIFA Ranking announced on 13 March 2014.

The first four top-rank countries will be slotted in Pot 1 and the rest will be slotted in Pot 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

The seedings are as follows:

Pot 1 (teams ranked 1-4): Australia, Iran, Japan, Uzbekistan

Pot 2 (teams ranked 5-8): Korea Republic, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia

Pot 3 (teams ranked 9-12): Oman, China, Qatar, Iraq

Pot 4 (teams ranked 13-16): Bahrain, Kuwait, DPR Korea and Challenge Cup 2014 winners.

The Islamic History of Salvador, the City where Bosnia and Iran will Meet up in the World Cup

mourariaMouraria Neighborhood: name taken from Romans distracted as Muslims

One of the most charming and bohemian neighborhoods of Salvador, Brazil’s third largest city and capital of the state of Bahia, is called Mouraria (the Moorish quarter), a small area full of old houses where there is an army headquarter, some university buildings and many bars. The name inherited from traditional Lisbon neighborhood brings actually a mistake. As explains local historian Cid Teixeira actually the little neighborhood of Salvador, that is just a few meters from the Arena Fonte Nova,  was initially occupied by Romans, who at that time were seen as Muslims.
But they, the Muslims, were here,  brought from Africa as slaves, and in the first half of the nineteenth century almost turned the city , that had been the Brazil’s capital, an independent Islamic republic.

In 1835, Salvador had just over 65,000 inhabitants and 40% of them were slaves (slavery was completely abolished in Brazil in 1888). Adding the mulattoes and free blacks, Afrodescendants reached 78% of the residents. And among the blacks who had achieved freedom through manumission letter provided by their masters, were the “malês”, as they were called Africans who could read and write and who dominated the Arab.

The renowned historian João José Reis, author of “Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia (Taylor & Francis, 1995), explains in his book that most of the slaves sent to city of Salvador in previous years came from the ports of Luanda, Benguela and Cabinda, which currently comprise the territory of Angola. But at the time of the rebellion, 30% of the slaves who lived in Salvador came from the Gulf of Guinea, through the ports of Porto Novo, Lagos and Badagri, the last two of the current Nigeria, (which is coincidentally in the same group of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran).

forte são marcelo

Forte de São Marcelo, where Malês leaders were detained

Arriving at Bahia, these new slaves were called different names, depending on the language thy spoke. The largest of these groups was formed by Nagôs, that although they were supporters of Orisha worship professed the Muslim faith.

Besides the struggle against slavery, common to all blacks and some whites, nagôs maintained resistance to the imposition of the Catholic faith and to the extent that they could buy their freedom began to meet and discuss strategies for liberation. The nagôs planned a revolt that would explode on January 25, 1835. Under the leadership of Muslims Manuel Calafate, Aprígio, Pai Inácio, bought weapons and wrote their plans in Arabic to avoid detection. But they were betrayed by a black woman who reported their plans to the authorities.

Even with bared plans, the Malês went on the attack against the dominant forces in January, 6. A group of between 600 and 1,500 men (the amount varies in historical documents) faced police and National Guard, who were much more numerous. No one knows exactly what the movement’s leaders had in mind, if only iberation of all black people or the proclamation of independence in relation to Brazil, but some historians see evidence that under the Malês, Bahia could have become an Islamic republic.

Dozens of Malês were killed in combat, four leaders were executed and others were detained at Fort Sea (Forte de São Marcelo, one of the attractions of Salvador). And the Revolt of Malian went down in history as the greatest rebellion led by Muslims in the Americas.

Samba star mulls Iran World Cup adventure.

 AFP
23 March 2014

Former Vasco da Gama and Paraenense striker Eder Luciano, better known as Edinho, moved to Iran in 2008 to play for Mes Kerman. His goalscoring form for the club, founded in 1998, has been such that the Iranians conferred citizenship on him earlier this year.

“I already have my documents so I’d say there is about a 90 per cent chance” of making it into the national team, Edinho, 31, forecast.  “I have been in Iran getting on for eight years,” he told Brazilian sports newspaper Lancenet.

He added it would be special to play a World Cup with anyone — but appearing in Brazil with the Iranians would be particularly so.

 “The chance to play for a national team, the best players in a country, would be really something — be it playing for Iran, Spain, Germany … or Brazil,” he added.

“I shall prepare myself and if the opportunity arises, I’ll be ready,” vowed Edinho, who was playing in the Portuguese second division when the Iranians came calling.

He explained one of the most difficult aspects of adjusting to life in Iran was the food.  “I’ve not been able to adapt to the food here. I bring some over from Brazil whenever I can and so does my wife,” he told Lance.

A friend with experience of the country recommended him and Mes Kerman’s coaches liked what they saw. “When I first got here I wanted to turn round and go back home but I stuck at it and my perseverance was rewarded,” he concluded.

Edinho is in his second spell at the club after a period with UAE side Al Sharjah.

The Iranians, who will be making their fourth World Cup finals appearance, will take on Nigeria, Argentina and Bosnia in Group F.

Nigerian Onazi: Eagles Can Go All The Way In Brazil

 

SS Lazio of Italy midfielder Ogenyi Onazi is confident the Super Eagles can go all the way in Brazil at the FIFA World Cup if the players have self belief.Onazi says the Super Eagles must also be totally focussed on the job at hand instead of concentrating on particular teams, warning that all the qualified teams have the chance to win the trophy.

”No matter how small, we have to accept the fact that all the countries who have qualified to play at the World Cup do have some a chance. Football is an interesting and dicey game. We have to go out with the belief that we can do it,” Onazi said in an interview with mtnfootball.

Onazi is however not worried about playing Argentina who have beaten the Super Eagles three times in three clashes and prefers not to think about how the team prepares for the tournament instead of the competition proper.

”We are going to take it one game at a time. For now, we have some preparatory matches to look forward to before the World Cup. When we get to Brazil, we will worry about Iran, Bosnia and Argentina in that order.”

On if he sees the Super Eagles ending their winless streak against Argentina,Onazi says Eagles must not pay too much attention to the game.

”Like I said, we won’t play Argentina until we are done with both Iran and Bosnia. We have to avoid concentrating on one team alone and forget others that we will even face before Argentina. No doubt, Argentina are a big team and they are favourites, but that’s where it ends.”

[divider]

Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama believes that their first two games against Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina at the 2014 FIFA World Cup would determine how far they would go.

Enyeama who will be making his third appearance at the FIFA World Cup for Nigeria,said that they will not underrate the two teams at the tournament.

Nigeria is in group F and would play their first game against Iran in Curitiba,before subsequent games against Bosnia-Herzegovina,then Argentina.

“Whether Iran, Bosnia and Argentina these are no easy games. All these nations we are facing,are also serious about getting results. But we will see how it goes with the Super Eagles, we will do all our best to progress from the group,” said Enyeama who has this season been the undisputed number one keeper for his clubside,Lille FC.

Enyeama equally noted that he would even want to play against France in the second round of the World Cup.

“I hope of course that we can pass the group stage. And who knows, meet France in the second round,” said Enyeama who was speaking before his side’s trip to AS Monaco

 

Three World Cup Stadiums Yet Unfinished

Mar 22, 2014

FIFA is starting a new round of inspections at World Cup stadiums in Brazil. With kick-off less than three months away, host cities are in a race against time to be ready for the tournament.
Operational inspections in six stadiums began Thursday and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke is expected in Rio de Janeiro next week for a series of meetings to discuss preparations.

Technical teams from football’s governing body and the local organising committee visited the Itaquerão Stadium in São Paulo on Thursday and will move on to Porto Alegre, Manaus, Natal, Cuiabá and Curitiba in the coming days.

“This inspection tour will be fundamental to consolidate operational plans and for each area to confirm the operations they have planned over the last few years,” said Tiago Pães, the operations manager for stadiums at the local organizing committee.

FIFA already knows that at least two stadiums won’t be ready until about a month before the tournament starts. The Itaquerão Stadium in São Paulo will be completed in mid-May, along with the Arena da Baixada in the southern city of Curitiba.

Cuiabá also doesn’t have its stadium ready, with concern over whether there will be enough time to install the temporary structures needed for technical teams, sponsors and media.

“This is the last occasion for the organizers to take stock of the operational preparations before the respective FIFA World Cup installations begin to be implemented in all 12 host cities,” FIFA said Thursday in a statement

Year’s end thoughts on Iran’s football.

Two days before the end of the year and Nowruz the ancient Persian new year’s day celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and religious backgrounds for thousands of years and the national holiday of Iran, we look at some of the ups and downs of Iranian football.

Qualification to the World Cup 2014.

Ando in a great scene
Ando in a great scene

Without a doubt, qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil was the biggest achievement of Iran’s football. It was not just the fact that Iran has qualified for the biggest event in the World Football calendar, as Team Melli has managed this feat and qualified 3 times before that, it was the manner of qualification that was just short of spectacular.

Very few gave Queiroz men a chance especially after some lackluster displays and results by Team Melli including a historic loss to Lebanon, a team that until that fateful day, never managed to score against Iran. Iran really needed to win its remaining 3 matches, including the most difficult one against its nemesis South Korea in Ulsan, to assure the qualification.

With perseverance, purpose, style and some wonderful defending work at the back, Team Melli did exactly that and won 3 out of 3 heading its group and qualifying directly to Brazil and leaving the South Koreans biting their nails awaiting the Uzbekistan match result to know if they have made it along with Iran.

 

Iran’s Beach soccer

champions beach soccer 2013

A historical achievement by Iran’s beach soccer team occurred in November 2013 , when Iran defeated Russia to win the championship of the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

The Iranians beat the two-time defending Intercontinental Cup champion 4-3 in the final match of the tourney in Dubai. Players like Mohammad Ahmadzadeh , Peiman Hosseini , Mostafa Kiani , Moslem Mesigar, Hassan Abdollahei and Hassan Hajipour suddenly became household names in the Iran.

The Iranians love champions and championship pedigree. By winning the Intercontinental Cup , FIFA sponsored championship , Iran’s Beach soccer team ensured their names are engraved permanently in the hall of fame of Iranian football.

 

Persepolis and Esteghlal

No escaping the bipolar status of Iran’s football. The majority of fans, support one of these two teams wherever they are. Some even prefer the red or blue teams over their local teams. The destiny and fate of Team Melli depends largely on these two teams up to a certain extent. The success of these clubs normally is reflected on Team Melli.

Both these two teams are owned, managed and controled by the government since they took it over ( nationalized i) after the revolution. For 20 years, the government has been talking about the imminent privatization of these two clubs ,  especially during the two presidency terms of Mahmoud Ahmadineajd and his sports right hand man AliAbadi both of whom convinced the masses that the privatization is a done deal.

Not only such promises by the President never materialized, the two teams have faced immense financial problems, irregularities, poor management, anomalies and corruption. The extent of such has resulted in the migration of players out of Esteghlal , while Persepolis is virtually bankrupt unable to sustain its operation and hanging on a thread. No one knows exactly how these two clubs are actually functioning with debts in millions of US Dollars, unpaid bills and no revenue to even partially cover their debts or service the interest rates.

Active attempts by some old players to take control of the Persepolis , calling themselves the rightful owners of the club, has been met by skepticism and protests by many red fans. The New Year 1393 s expected to be a vital for these two clubs.

 

NAVAD program

Adel ferdowsipour

Arguably the most controversial media programs if Iran broadcast weekly on Iranian national TV. Adel Ferdowsipour, the anchorman of this very popular program NAVAD (90) is more famous than a lot of footballers in Iran. He is also more popular than quite a few of them. His popularity, however, does not extend to the administrators, coaches, politicians, club owners and some of the hierarchy,.

Many of his critics see him as instigator of quandaries, agitator, controversy seeker, and a whistle blower that Iran’s football can do without. Many called for his removal while even the MP’s of the Majlis demanded his ousted. However IRIB management, to their credit , wisely and shrewdly stuck to their guns and maintained the popular man and his program, untouched, unchanged and unaffected. Such is his program popularity that most of players and coaches interviewed on post-match, plead to NAVAD program to give them a fair judgment on controversial calls or issues because they believe it is a fair and free tribune.

The true vote of confidence for this program came in the last edition, which was the final program of 1392 , when a telephone SMS poll gave it a whopping 96% vote of confidence from the fans. Simply amazing support that even dictators such as Hosny Mubarak and Saddam Hussain could not fabricate during their reign.

Ferdowsipour , despite some shortfalls of his own and some unorthodox style of presentation , remains one of the most powerful and influential people in Iran’s football , although he has no official designation at all.

 

A football federation that is always begging for money.

Football_Federation_Islamic_Republic_of_IranWhile the news of qualifying for the World Cup made a whole nation happy and full of joy, the reality hit hard when the football federation started complaining about lack of funds. Years of frail management, failure to market a good and profitable product, lack of outside interest in investing in football, sub-standard management skills amongst many other things, resulted in a football federation begging for money to support Team Melli activities.

As the result, this football federation under Ali Kaffashian was unable to arrange meaningful friendly matches against quality teams, cancelled planned training camps for Team Melli and has difficulty honoring contracts and payments of wages, and lost two assistant coaches through resignations under peculiar conditions.

With the government that is reluctant to bankroll the football activities, for very good reasons, the lack of funds to support Team Melli preparation for the FIFA World Cup , remains the biggest source of concern for every fan of Team Melli.

Kaffashian on Team Melli

Ali Kaffashian was interviewed by ISNA regarding the latest developments and various issues concerning football and at the top of it , the concerns about Team Melli preparation, appointment of Vingada as head coach of the Olympics team , his intention to resign and other issues

Team Melli coach Queiroz with FFIRI President Ali Kaffashian
Team Melli coach Queiroz with FFIRI President Ali Kaffashian

ISNA: We keep hearing different stories within the federation itself about the South African training camp. What is the final verdict and how true that it is cancelled?

KAFFASHIAN : The arguments in favor of cancellation of the Training camp in South Africa are not solely based on the financial issues. I believe that the Ministry of youth and sport will support us in this respect. The main reason is the absence of several key players from the camp and that has convinced Queiroz to think that any camp is useless without these key players. It is true that we are facing financial difficulties, but if the coach Queiroz wants to arrange a training camp in South Africa, then we will oblige by any means possible.

ISNA. Have you told Queiroz that he may leave after his contract expires after the World Cup?

KAFFASHIAN: No, that is not true. Our intention has always been to extend the contract with Carlos Queiroz. However, it is obvious that if we cannot reach a settlement on the wages and other financial perks , then he will not stay in Iran and will look for other jobs abroad. Personally, I am trying to secure regular financial resources in order to afford keeping Queiroz. What is the use of extending the contract and when it comes to payments, we face the same old problems?

ISNA: How much budget have you allocated for Team Melli preparation programs?

Ali Kaffashaian & Nelo Vingada

KAFFASHIAN: We need approximately 20 Billion Toman ( official exchange rate = US$ 7.984 million) to conduct our program. Of course some of this amount is to repay some outstanding bills.

ISNA. Have you suggested any Iranian coaches such as Majeed Saleh to Queiroz?

KAFFASHIAN: Queiroz has indicated that he intends to recruit an Iranian coach into work next to him, however, this has not materialized yet and he has not informed us of any name. We have not suggested anyone in particular and we do not interfere in technical matters at all.

ISNA: What is the progress on TV broadcast rights?

KAFFASHIAN: We are pursuing the matter while we continue negotiation with IRIB on that matter. If we do not come to a settlement, we will not allow the TV cameras into the stadium and will follow international standards in such situations. We have researched the matter further and discussed with Majlis (The Parliament) the possibility of giving TV right to a sport channel which will pay for the rights of broadcasting football matches. This is an option we are seriously considering.

ISNA: What is the situation with Vingada?

KAFFASHIAN: We have looked at all options available and decided that Nelo Ningada is the most suitable coach for the job of coaching the Olympics / U23 team. We have signed an agreement worth US$ 360,000 that will be remunerated in 4 payments. We have also agreed terms with his assistant coaches. If the team qualifies for the next Olympics, then a special bonus will be awarded to the coaches.

ISNA: You have threatened to resign if the financial problems are not ironed out , how serious are you?

KAFFASHIAN: Oh, that was a joke I had with some of your colleagues (…)!