Year: 2014

Iran wins FIBA Basketball Asia Cup 2014

Iran national  basketball team , won the 5th FIBA Asia Cup after defeating Chinese Taipei 89-79 in Wuhan , China.

Iran is also the defending champion of the Asian Cup and will be playing in the FIBA World Cup 2014 which will take place in Spain from 30 August to 14 September 2014 in Group A consisting of Brazil , Egypt , France , Iran , Serbia and host  Spain

On the other front in volleyball, a powerful display by the Iran's volleyball team in Florence , Italy The Iranian national team shocked Brazil and won the final group match of the 2014 FIVB World League 3-1 to clinch a place in the semi-final of the World league for the first time in the history of Iran. This historic achievement was reached in only the second participation of Iran volleyball in World League.

Iran will meet USA today for a place in the final match , while host Italy will face Brazil.

These news comes to you courtesy of teammelli.com to cheer our followers after the dispiriting performances of our football team the FIFA World Cup 2014 and the on going depressing status of football.

Iran drops 6 places in July 2014 FIFA Ranking

Despite participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup , Iran continued dropping in the world ranking to no. 49 while it also lost the Asian top ranking that it maintained for the last 4 months. A series of poor results including two losses in the World Cup , meant 6 places drop for Iran which also drained the total points which stands at 563 in the current ranking issued today. Japan leads Asia with 604 points and ranked 4 places above Iran at 45. Australia , which will host the AFC Asian Cup 2015 had the worst drop amongst the Asian team losing 15 places after 3 losses in the World Cup. The Asian teams did not do well at all in the World Cup as none of the 4 teams made it to the next round and all of them were the bottom of their groups. With the uncertainty of the coaching situation in Team Melli and a fast approaching AFC Asian Cup in which most of Asian teams have already arranged friendly matches, Iran is nowhere near any scheduled friendlies , except for the proposed South Korea match which has yet to be confirmed by the FFIRI.    

 FIFA Ranking July 2014

World Rank Zone Rank Team Pts +/- Pos
45 1 Japan 604 1 Up
49 2 Iran 563 -6 Down
52 3 Uzbekistan 523 7 Up
56 4 Korea Republic 501 1 Up
57 5 Jordan 500 6 Up
65 6 United Arab Emirates 466 7 Up
69 7 Oman 443 10 Up
76 8 Australia 397 -14 Down
78 9 Saudi Arabia 384 12 Up
85 10 Palestine 362 9 Up

Al Arabi close to signing Ashkan Dejagah

he latest one is for Iranian-German winger Ashkan Dejagah who had a great performance in World Cup especially against Argentina.
 
Fulham have received a £5 million bid for Ashkan Dejagah from Qatari side Al-Arabi. Dejagah, voted as Fulham’s player of the year by fans, should play in the Championship following the London club’s relegation.
 
Former Wolfsburg playmaker also linked with a return to Bundesliga but has expressed a desire to play again in the Premier League.
 
“I don’t know what will happen next season,” he told the Daily Star, then added “I still have a contract at Fulham and I have liked it there, but it is a hard situation.”
 
“Of course I want to play in the Premier League, but I will focus here and then we will see what happens”, he mentioned.
Al Arabi has recently appointed Dan Petrescu as their head coach Former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu was presented to media and fans as Al Arabi’s new head coach on 5th June .
Al Arabi Team had finished fifth in the last season of Qatar Stars League . Coach Dan Petrescu claims Barcelona playmaker Xavi has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Qatari club.
Petrescu appointed Al Arabi coach

Jalal Hosseini Joins Al Ahli of Qatar

Team Melli central defender , Seyed Jalal Hosseini has joined Al Ahli of Qatar on a one year deal and expected to be in Doha for his medical soon.

After the breakdown of negotiation with his current club , Persepolis , Hosseini , who was out of contract , decided to seek his fortune abroad and join another Iranian player , Mojtaba Jabbari in al Ahli.It seems that the current Persepolis CEO was not willing to honor the promises given to Hosseini by the ex CEO Mohammad Rouyanian in terms of financial settlements and  arrears in wages payments. The current CEO , Rahimi also refused to accept Hosseini's latest wage demands which he deemed to be unreasonable.

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Al Ahli of Qatar had Fereydoon Zandi on its roster , before the German Born Iranian suffered a horrendous career threatening injury.  Al Ahli  just announced recently that their ex-Iranian midfielder has retired from football after will be leaving the club. There are talks that Zandi might rejoin the club as a coach.

Last season , was one of the best in a decade of this once top Qatari club. After suffering relegation and languishing in the lower leagues for years, Al Ahli gained promotion the season before last under the shrewd coaching of Milan Macala. Al Ahli reached the semi-finals of the cup last season and finished the league  in a comfortable 6th position in the 14 teams professional league.

Several other Qatari clubs are seeking to recruit Iranian players. Most of the Team Melli players who are available for transfer have been contacted by Qatari clubs agents. So, far , Hosseini is the only deal that has been announced 

 

Pashazadeh criticizes FFIRI policy.

Former Team Melli and Esteghlal Tehran defender says that there is not much value or benefit in agreeing contract extension with a class coach like Carlos Queiroz for the national team if we insist on neglecting the basics and grassroots football. Pashazadh also says that if we have to collect & deliver Quieroz wages with hardship and adversity, this deal is like buying a high-class expensive car but we do not have enough money for petrol.

Mehdi Pashazadh told Mehr News, “the FFIRI has agreed to extend contract with Carlos Queiroz  and that contract extension cannot be bad. He is a well-known coach, but the problem is whether we have money and can afford his wages or go on begging here and there passing the hat to collect from donors ? “

He then described the situation like a guy buying an expensive high-end car , but struggles to provide a meal for his family because he spent all his earnings on paying for the car.  “If we cannot develop our grassroots football, cannot provide proper facilities for the kids and youth to progress and improve in a proper environment, what is the use  to  have a class coach for one team only?” declared Pashazadeh questioning the policy of the federation..

The Former football player who was in the 1998 World Cup squad, currently an assistant coach, continues “ Queiroz adapted himself very well and seems to know the market and internal Iranian politics. Like many of local coaches and players who realize how lucrative the domestic football market is, he naturally raised his wages demands. In the previous World Cup in Germany in 2006 , Team Melli achieved the same result , expect then we scored 2 goals. In Brazil , we did some good work in terms of the defense in the first 2 matches which was highly organized, but result wise , we have done nothing significant at all. There was no progress from 2006.”

Pashazadh in response to the question "Do you agree with this interpretation that the contract extension with Queiroz is not good for Iran’s football?" Queiroz contract extension is not bad but only if you have money for his wages and other development programs It is useless if the bulk of the federation budget goes towards paying Queiroz , which amounts to something like 10 years’ worth of grassroots football development cost in Iran.”

Mehdi Pashazadeh is reflecting the views of several critics of the FFIRI who are, on the surface at least , struggling to finance the contract extension of the highly paid coach. The Ministry of Youth and Sports, on the other hand, refutes Kaffashian’s claims of scarcity of resources and believe that the FFIRI can finance the deal without outside help

Iran Olympics football team news.

Iran's Olympic team , coached by Nelo Vengada , drew 1-1 with Zob Ahan today. The match , played in the grounds of National Teams Training center in Azadi sport complex, is a part of the long preparation for the upcoming Asian Games 2014 and in the long-term for the Rio Olympics Games in 2016. First half ended goal less, but Iran's U-23 player Arsalan Mottahari scored on the 55th to put his team ahead 1-0/ Zob Ahan managed to score the equalizer through Hadi Mohammadi 10 minutes later to make it 1-1. The match was winding down when a rough tackle by Zob Ahan player Amin Nassiri resulted in a straight red card for the rough Zob Ahan player. The Olympics team or the U-23 will have a busy training schedule in the forthcoming weeks. on Saturday 19th July , the team will be flying to Amman Jordan to play 2 friendly matches against the Jordanian u-23 team.  The next assignment will be in Armenian where there is a scheduled two matches against that country;s u-21 team. The last phase of the training will be in China with a one match schedule in the Far east country. Alireza Jahanbakhsh will not be accompanying the team in the tours as he is required to join his Dutch club NEC who are starting the pre-season training. While the other prominent player , Sardar Azmoun is awaiting the response from his club Rubin Kazan on his request to join Team Melli U-23 tour.      

More Iranians in the Premiere League.

It has taken sometime, but eventually some foreign clubs showed interest in two Iranian players who were part of Team Melli squad in Brazil. Although the 2014 FIFA World Cup was less than brilliant for Iran as a team, the bigger disappointment was at the individual level , where most of the star players did not perform nor deliver. There was so much expected from the likes of Ashksn Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejad and to a lesser extent , Andranik Teymourian and Javad Nekounam. None of those performed anywhere near what the fans were hoping for. While experts and fans alike, expected one young Alireza Jahanbakhsh to set Brazil alight , he was also unable to deliver what he is capable of despite Queiroz giving him some limited playtime. Surprisingly the pick of the bunch were Mehrdad Pooladi at the defense line , who was the 2nd best performer in the world cup after the first round and Ehsan Hajsafy , whom many thought that Queiroz made an error of judgment taking him off in the Argentine game. Both Pooladi and Hajsafy operate on the left side. Now , a few English clubs have shown interest in the duo and it is pretty certain that Pooladi will end up in the English Barclays Premier League. As much as this piece of news will be welcome by many fans, the fear is that the English league is not quite the happy hunting ground for Iranian players. Very few Iranian players played in that league; in fact we can mention them all. Bagheri , Kaebi ,  Teymourian , and much later Dejagah and Ghoochannejad. The first two had a torrid time in England while they were at their prime as professional players, Ando fared relatively better and managed to score a few goals as well, while the last two are still struggling in the current league. It is a big question if the Iranian players like Hajsafy and Pooladi can adapt and make the grade in England in a league known for its competitive toughness, physical & mental strength, endurance and power. EPL is not overly famous for producing players with finesse and high individual skills as the tough and long English seasons, without a break , is quite demanding with injuries very common to players. The English club has a large pool of players for this particular reason especially the top clubs that also compete in European leagues. The onus is on the players to adapt, especially at the training grounds, where the English coaches make most of their decisions on their players. It will be a huge cultural transformation in sporting and social sense for Iranian players, and success hardly taken for granted.

 Southampton, Swansea and Hull in for Iran World Cup stars Pooladi and Hajsafi

IRAN World Cup stars Mehrdad Pooladi and Ehsan Hajsafi are being lined up for moves to the Premier League.

By Harry Pratt/
iran, world cup, premier league, southampton, swansea, hull, T
TARGET: Pooladi is hoping for a big money move to the Premier League with Swansea or Southampton [GETTY ]
Both are available onfrees this summer and are interesting English clubs.Southampton and Swansea are carefully watching developments surrounding left-back Pooladi, 27, while Hull are doing likewise with left winger Hajsafi, 24. Pooladi, capped 23 times, was the pick of the Iranian side that performed so well during World Cup group clashes against Nigeria and Argentina. He plays for Iranian club Persepolis but has been given permission to look for a new club in Europe.
iran, world cup, premier league, southampton, swansea, hull,
HULL-SAFI: Hull are monitoring the situation with Sepahan FC playmaker [GETTY ]

“In the coming weeks both hope to secure transfers”

 
And Pooladi, who topped his nation’s official individual FIFA rankings in Brazil, would jump at the chance of coming to England. A source close to the Iranian camp told the Daily Star Sunday: “Mehrdad loves the Premier League and would choose there ahead of anywhere else. “There is interest in him from clubs in England – and also in his team-mate Hajsafi. "In the coming weeks both hope to secure transfers.” Hajsafi’s international debut came back in 2008 when 17. He has since made 64 appearances. As well as Hull’s interest, big-spenders Fulham and Cardiff are also tracking the Sepahan FC playmaker.

Negotiations with Queiroz are still alive but approaching the decisive round.

While Carlos Queiroz has maintained complete media silence on the progress of negotiation or lack  of it , with FFIRI , Kaffashian has revealed some interesting details of the various conditions that has been included in the new proposed contract with Queiroz. One of the disputed items of the proposed contract is the role of the Technical committee of the federation. According to the bylaws of the federation , this committee consists of football technical expertise whose role is to supervise and administer technical issues of all national teams at various levels. They are also supposed to have an influence in the selection of the coaches. The "Technical and Football Development Committee's" in entrusted task is to conduct audits and submit reports and analysis on  the performance of the teams and coaches. Kaffashian wants to ensure that Queiroz abides by the federation regulation and respects the bylaws by working closely with this committee. Carlos Queiorz wants nothing to do with it and perhaps consider this committee as a stumbling block directly interfering in his job. Queiroz wants the absolute control with no one breathing on his shoulders questioning him. Another item of dispute is the Iranian assistant coaches. FFIRI wants 2 Iranian coaches working alongside Queiroz for every foreign coach he elects to have. Querioz and Iranian coaches , do not mix well. Three Iranians have already left him due to various reasons.  According to ISNA , quoting Ali Kaffashian , the Portuguese coach has expressed his dissatisfaction about publishing of the new 7 items of the contracts, despite assurances that the negotiations will be confidential. On the other hand , the government will entertain the idea of financial backing on the condition of a transparent contract with no secret clauses or under the table payments.   Kaffashian earlier on Friday , claimed that 9 foreign coaches have applied for the vacant Team Melli job. He declined to name them. The final round of negotiations between the two parties will be starting in Tehran the next few days.  Failure to reach an agreement , will force Kaffashian to appoint  a local coach for Team Melli. Many local observers believe that FFIRI have been procrastinating in this important  matter and might be caught off guard.  That said , there could have been some secret negotiations to look for an alternative foreign coach to replace Queiroz if the two sides fail to come to terms.             

Saeed Ezzatollahei is on Ateltico Madrid's interest list

    The director of football in Atletico Madrid club Carlos Aguilera Martín has written officially offering trials to Saeed Ezzatollahei , the promising Malavan Anzali young player.  Martin who was a defender for his club Atletico and the Spanish national team before retirement , has offered the Iranian player a chance to join the Madrid club on 31 August with the aim of offering him an employment contract if the trials are successful. The 17 years old Malavan player has requested 10 days grace period to think about the proposal , his father said to Mehr news agency.  Ezzatollahei has represented Team Melli age group teams at several levels and is considered by many experts , as one of the brightest talents in Iran's youth football system. This is not the first and only offer for Ezzatollahei either as his father claims that there are also 2 separate offers from Swiss clubs pending a response.