Year: 2014

18/06/201419/06/2014

The Guardian:Iranian president tweets World Cup chillout pic

Rare glimpse of an off-duty Hassan Rouhani cheering on his team against Nigeria, in a tracksuit with a cup of tea

Saeed Kamali Dehghan
The Guardian, Tuesday 17 June 2014 14.10 BST

Iran's president Hassan Rouhani watching Iran v Nigeria at home in Tehran. Photograph: Twitter

It's 11.30pm Tehran time and Hassan Rouhani is relaxing at home, watching the World Cup match between Iran and Nigeria. His usual dark clerical robe (aba) is discarded, his white turban (ammameh) put aside, he sits in a tight-fitting Iranian team shirt (unbuttoned), bare arms on show, and tracksuit pants on his sofa watching a widescreen TV. Hassan Rouhani

There's no bottle of beer, but a cup of Persian tea and a plate of fruit in front of him. It's clearly carefully posed – too good to be an spontaneous picture – but still, quite remarkable for a 65-year-old Iranian cleric. "Proud of our boys who secured our first point – hopefully the first of many more to come," the president tweeted, referring to the goalless draw in Curitiba, along with the photo – retweeted at least 3,000 times. Rouhani has 213,000 Twitter followers. The 'average Joe' pictures are all part of Iran's soccer diplomacy. In Vienna, where senior Iranian and western diplomats were engaged in intense nuclear negotiations, talks were put on hold on Monday night too allow Iran's foreign minister to watch the match. Iranian nuclear negotiators watch world cup

Iranian nuclear negotiators watch world cup

Iranian nuclear negotiators glued to a big screen. Photograph: Twitter

A picture posted on Twitter by Iranian journalist Akram Sharifi, showed Mohammad Javad Zarif sat next to senior Iranian nuclear negotiators glued to a big screen showing the match, joined by a pool of Iranian journalists.Rouhani's predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was an avid football fan but Rouhani's picture is probably the first of its kind showing a president, who is also a cleric, off-duty at home. It is also remarkable because clerics in Iran have in the past criticised football as a western sport and are generally critical of men wearing short-sleeve clothing. Very few photographs of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been published without a clerical robe. There is almost no picture of his wife available online.There is an unwritten law prohibiting Iranian cartoonists from depicting clerics. Reza Haghighatnejad, an Iranian analyst with the website Iranwire, said Rouhani's photo was "one of the few successful credits in the one-year balance sheet" of Rouhani's media team. Some have criticised Rouhani for not having his wife by his side as he watched the World Cup match Despite this, Rouhani's wife, Sahebe Arabi, has engaged in a number of public appearances since her husband assumed power. In his first year as president, Rouhani, has become an outspoken critic of dogmatism among his fellow clerics. "Some people still live in the stone age," Rouhani complained last week. Rouhani has locked horns with the Iran's hardliners after saying "we can't take people to heaven by force and with a whip." Female football fans cannot attend football matches at Iranian stadiums. In their first match in Brazil, Iranian players wore kits highlighting the cause to preserve Iranian cheetahs.

18/06/201418/06/2014

Iran vs. Argentina - Queiroz claims he needs a miracle, while Messi prepares.

Messi and Argentina prepare for Iran [divider] Iran coach Carlos Queiroz looks ahead after the goalless draw against Nigeria and precisely the challenge against Argentina: "It will require a miracle since Albiceleste is one of the best teams in the world and also they have one day of rest more than we do. " - continues Queiroz also praising the individual " if it were human it would be Messi the best player in the world, but he is not human and therefore does not enter the race. Apart from Messi there are players like Di Maria, Higuain and Mascherano who are fantastic. We can't worry about one player, there are quite a few of them " [divider]

Iran vs. Argentina Prediction

By Sounak Mukhopadhyay | June 18, 2014 9:26 AM EST

Overview The twenty seventh match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 is going to be held between Argentina and Iran. The Group F match should be interesting as Argentina will try to secure its place in the "group of 16" by winning this match. Iran, with one point, will settle anything more useful than a loss.

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a goal against Bosnia during their 2014 World Cup Group F soccer match at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro June 15, 2014.

Teams Argentina: Argentina started cautiously as expected. Its victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina was not extravagant but secure. Alejandro Sabella knew the critical importance of winning the first match of the tournament. The most significant point of the match was that Lionel Messi, the Argentine football icon who is often criticized for his lack of brilliance in world cups, scored after 8 years in a world cup. Messi's goal was the most striking moment of the match. He can only get better as the tournament progresses. However, he apparently lacked support. Sergio Agüero failed to take advantage of a few chances Messi manufactured. Gonzalo Higuaín looked far from his best. Argentina has to play better as a team to perform better.

Iran: Iran had the first draw of the tournament against Nigeria. The match was also the first one when no goal was scored. Coach Carlos Queiroz said after the match that his team had played pragmatic football. Realizing that it might not be able to score and win against the African team, it decided to stay back and defend. While Iran became successful in securing a point with such a strategy, it may continue the same tactics against Argentina as well. If it manages to secure a draw against the group favorite, it will have a great chance of going to the next round. However, Iran must understand that Argentina's capabilities are far greater than Nigeria's. Head to Head These two teams played only once against each other before. The match ended in a draw. Both scored 1 goal each. The match was played in Santiago Bernabu , to celebrate Real Madrid's 75th anniversary. in March 1977 Argentina with a full stregnth team could not beat Iran. A year later , both teams took part in the World Cup 1978 Argenetian, with Iran appearing for the first time in its hiostory , the host Argentina winning the OWrld Cup alsi for the forts time. Key Players Argentina: Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero Iran: Iran: Reza Ghoochannejhad , Ashkan Dejagah and Javad Nekounam Date, Time & Venue Brazil's time zone is UTC/GMT -3. The match starts at 1 pm (local time) on June 21 . The match will be held at Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte (BRA) Prediction Iran's defensive tactics might not work against Argentina which will be desperate to find its best rhythm. Messi will score again, maybe more than once. Argentina will win 3-0.

18/06/2014

Carlos Queiroz "fans must judge players on reality of Iranian amateur league !!"

• Coach hits back over boos after dour draw with Nigeria
• Portuguese praises his ‘amateur league’ squad’s achievements

The Guardian, Tuesday 17 June 2014 16.43 BST

Carlos Queiroz said his Iran players deserve 'respect and civility' for reaching the finals — *Carlos Queiroz said his Iran players deserve 'respect and civility' for reaching the World Cup finals.*

When the final whistle went in the first 0-0 draw of the World Cup, Iran’s players gathered in the middle of the pitch in Curitiba and applauded their fans while boos rang out around the stadium. But the Iran coach, Carlos Queiroz, insisted he was satisfied with the team’s performance and gave a powerful defence of their achievements in reaching the finals, as he sought to remind World Cup supporters of the reality of Iranian football.

“We are not celebrating a great day, we are not celebrating the draw, we are just celebrating our work,” Queiroz said. “We are celebrating the effort that the team did on the pitch for 90 minutes. I know that the people in Iran are very happy this evening.”

Iran have won only one of the 10 games they have played in the World Cup and they have not qualified for the finals of the tournament since 2006 but they reached this stage by defeating South Korea, making them the best team in Asia. Of their starting XI, six play in the Iranian league, one in Kuwait, one in Qatar and two in the Premier League – at Fulham and Charlton Athletic. And their preparation has not been easy either, with the Iranian federation struggling to arrange friendlies and resources being limited. Players even discovered their kit was shrinking in the wash.

“Fans need to know what we did over three years to be here,” Queiroz said. “You have to judge the performance of our players based on the reality. You have to judge our players not as players from Liverpool, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, or Corinthians but as players that play in an amateur league. You need to understand that when you watch them on the pitch.

“I have the right to come here and tell you that, so that you know, otherwise you will not realise. I want you to judge what these players have done as a great achievement. In Asia, we qualified number one, with South Korea behind us. We’re ranked ahead of Iran and South Korea and this is a huge achievement. My players deserve civility and respect for what they have done.”

In the front row of the press room, Nigerian journalists were gathered and Queiroz told them: “If you want to play a friendly, you go to London and you play a friendly. For us, it does not work like that. We have problems [just] to arrange matches and that is why I am very happy with what we have done. I think football people understand what we have done. Most of our players play in an amateur league. Our players deserve respect, OK?”

There was respect for Iran from Nigeria. Both Mikel John Obi and the coach, Stephen Keshi, said they had been frustrated by Iran – describing them as a team that sat deep and never sought to attack – but admitted that doing so was legitimate, even if Keshi did notice a bit of “unexpected physicality”. “Fair play to them; they knew what they were doing,” Mikel said.

Like Queiroz, Keshi too was keen to bring a little realism to the evening. “Criticism is part of the game. We don’t always have patience, we don’t always understand football. In my country people want to win all the time and they don’t understand that it doesn’t always work that way,” he said.

And asked if he had the solution for Nigeria’s second game, Keshi replied: “I’m not God, I’m just the coach.”

18/06/2014

Iran captain Javad Nekounam calls for improvement

Iran captain Javad Nekounam was satisfied with his team's draw against Nigeria in Group F but has called for improvement.

Published: 17.06.2014

Carlos Queiroz's men opened their FIFA World Cup campaign with a goalless draw in Curitiba on Monday - the first stalemate in 14 games thus far in Brazil. The result further highlighted Iran's defensive capabilities, having kept their fourth clean sheet in five competitive games. But while Nekounam was pleased to have claimed a point, the 33-year-old midfielder said his team-mates must improve in the attacking third after scoring just four goals in five matches in the lead up to the World Cup. "We could have snatched a win in the last 20 minutes, but we lacked the finishing touch," Nekounam told FIFA.com post-game at the Estadio Joaquim Americo Guimaraes. "I think that's the area we need to improve in. When you consider that a lot of our players were making their World Cup debuts, it's been a very good day for us." Nekounam added: "We knew it wasn't going to be easy at all and we also knew that we'd lose if we didn't keep our focus. "We are happier with the result than they are, but we can't just settle for what we've got. "We only have one point and we still have two very difficult games ahead of us." Iran are back in action against South American powerhouses Argentina on Saturday before facing Bosnia-Herzegovina four days later

17/06/201417/06/2014

Iran vs. Nigeria : post match events

[toggle title="President the football fan" state="open" ]The President of Iran Hassan Rouhani elected to watch the match at the comfort of home. President Rouhani planned to attend at least one of the matches in Brazil , however , developments in Middle East and the situation in Iraq has probably made those plans unachievable.

[/toggle] [toggle title="Players quotes" state="open" ]

Nekounam "If we can win any of the two matches , we would be achieving a great thing. . I thought we played a good game, closed our area well , played according to the coach plans and could have won this one if we were more focused." "It is not going to be any easier against Argentina , but we must carry on this strong defensive strategy" Teymourian " We carried out whatever the coach dictated upon us. We manage to control the match rhythm , contain the Nigerians who have many European based players and is a good team. In fact , I think we could have won the game." "We have a heavy duty carrying the aspiration of 75 million Iranians , "We should not be under any illusion that Argentina will be a much more difficult opposition. We simply need to try harder and harder." Davari " I am quite happy that we have achieved the result that we were looking for and got our first point in the World Cup. I am also very happy for Alireza Haghighi , he is a young keeper and has done pretty well in the match." "Argentina is one of the best teams in the world, We will have a difficult task ahead, but will not go there to admire them. We have to compete against them" [/toggle] [toggle title="Cash Reward" state="open" ]Every member of Team Melli was awarded US$ 3,000 as a token of appreciation from the football federation after Iran's goalless draw with Nigeria .[/toggle] [toggle title="Iran defence frustrates Chelsea player." state="open" ]John Obi Mikel has expressed disappointment at Iran's game plan and claimed they wanted to frustrate Nigeria after the sides played out a goalless draw in their 2014 World Cup Group F game. The Chelsea midfielder expressed his unhappiness at the outcome and claimed Iran played for the draw while Nigeria wanted to win. He told a news conference: "We are all disappointed. The first game of every tournament is very important. When you watch the way Iran played, they had 11 men behind the ball the entire game and it was hard for us to create chances. "They sat back and it became difficult. It was a game we wanted to win, but they wanted to play a bit different." Hard luck Obi Mikel, but Iran did not park the bus like your team Chelsea did against Atletico Madrid. No apologies from Team Melli for not allowing you to score [/toggle] [toggle title="Stephen Keshi reaction" state="open" ][quote]We wanted to score in the first 20 minutes, but they defended in numbers and we couldn’t get through. When you get that type of situation, you can get wound up because you just want to score, and to do that you need to stay calm. You have to give Iran their due. They decided to play that way and their game-plan worked for them.[/quote][/toggle] [toggle title="Carlos Queiroz reaction" state="open" ]Nigeria’s big names tried to make the difference after the break and to take control of the game. That’s when we stepped our game up a level by doubling up a lot on their players. The fans didn’t see any goals but sometimes intensity, togetherness, focus and team spirit can make for an interesting spectacle.[/toggle]

17/06/2014

Why Iran are a really quite remarkable football nation

metro.co.uk

Most people have never been to Iran, but still believe they have a pretty clear idea of what the country is like.

But what is largely concealed and unknown from the public eye is a country steeped in football tradition and history.

The Princes of Persia are actually one of Asia’s most remarkable and great footballing sides: three time Asian champions, four time West Asian Football Federation champions, home of one of the continent’s most fiercest rivalries – the Surkhabi Derby between Persepolis and Esteghlal, and birthplace to unforgettable legends such as the world’s all time leading goalscorer in international matches Ali Daei.

But can this current generation best their illustrious predecessors by becoming the first side to achieve group stage progression?

Under Carlos Queiroz, a very well-recognised name in football, Iran have become a defensively solid, disciplined and well organised side that is tough to break down conceding only two goals in eight matches in the final qualifying phase leading up to this tournament .

Playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, Team Melli relies on the solidity and tightness of its back-line dependent on ever-present central defensive duo, Amir Hossein Sadeghi and Jalal Hosseini, who are very likely to start.

Both are strong, old-fashioned center backs: powerful in the air, and tough on the ground, who aren’t afraid throw themselves into a challenge or tackle if needed. They’ll be asked to man-mark and stick like glue to their opposing frontmen at all times.

On the other hand, the full-backs and goalkeeper positions remain in question, but will probably be occupied by the young, energetic Mehrdad Pooladi on the left while the right back position will possibly be fought between Khosro Heydari and Steven Beitsahour, and for the goalkeeping spot: a likely toss-up between Rahman Ahmadi and Germany-based Daniel Davari.

The two midfielders ahead of the defense, who will sit tight, will likely be experienced skipper Javad Nekounam and Andranik Teymourian, who had a short stint with Bolton in the Premier League.

Queiroz will think defence first and I can see Iran being difficult to break down, but where will the goals come from?

Iran will look to Fulham’s Ashkan Dejagah as a source of creativity, pace – particularly on the counter – and a goal scoring outlet with his keen eye for goal and very fine left foot. While his likely partner to the right will likely be Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who, like Dejagah, both offer pace which would assist in the team’s counter-attacking endeavors.

In front of him, Charlton’s Reza Goochannejhad will be the likely frontman. Goochannejhad, also known as ‘Gucci’, is another quick, pacey player who boasts fine scoring record of 10 goals in 14 international matches.

Another possible source is the extremely inconsistent and enigmatic, but undeniably talented and creative Masoud Shojaei, who, when in the mood, can be quality and an extra boost for the side attack-wise and likely to play right behind Gucci in the center of the midfield trio.

Despite the odds firmly stacked against them, Iran have proven to be a tough team to break down and with a quality manager like Queiroz on their side, Team Melli shouldn’t be underestimated and should prove to be an awkward opponent even for the likes of Argentina

17/06/2014

Iran vs. Nigeria - Match reports

Iran and Nigeria labored to the first stalemate of a scintillating World Cup on Monday with a dismal 0-0 draw that left both sides still chasing their first victory at a finals since 1998. While Iran could take some small satisfaction in keeping a clean sheet for the first time since their debut in 1978, the bore at the Baixada arena stood out like a suit salesman on Copacabana beach. With Lionel Messi’s Argentina, installed as clear Group F favorites, and exciting debutants Bosnia still to come, the other two look destined for an early exit unless they can raise their game considerably. Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi warned on Sunday that the African sides were as good as any in Brazil and could win the tournament, but on Monday’s evidence they will not be celebrating. Keshi said his side dominated but suffered from “nervousness and anxiety” in front of goal. “We want to score and want to score and it’s not coming. We just have to calm everybody down and take it from there.” Both teams were whistled and booed off the field by the largely Brazilian crowd of 39,000 after a first half that looked shockingly meager compared to the goal feasts served up elsewhere. Iran packed their defense as expected and Nigeria, with Emmanuel Emenike rarely posing a threat as the main target man for the African champions, squandered their chances with long balls to nowhere and passes straight to opponents. The Super Eagles had the ball in the back of the net after seven minutes in a goalmouth scramble but Ecuadorean referee Carlos Vera, perhaps harshly, ruled it out for a push on goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi. Ogenyi Onazi then drilled a shot wide two minutes later. Iran came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 33rd minute when goalkeeper captain Vincent Enyeama produced a fine save to beat out Reza Ghoochannejhad’s header from their first corner of the game. Nigeria defender Godfrey Oboabona made an early exit from the fray, replaced by former captain Joseph Yobo on the half hour after earlier receiving treatment on the touchline following a heavy tackle. Next up for Iran is Argentina in Belo Horizonte on Saturday and coach Carlos Queiroz said: “The most important thing is that everything is open for us.”

17/06/201417/06/2014

Team Melli draws blank against Nigeria

Team Melli drew with Nigeria 0-0 in the first match for both teams in Group F. Argentina is currently leading the table with 3 points after winning their opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Carlos Queiroz fielded a strong defensive line up with 6 recognized defenders sticking to his now well recognized strategy of a strong defensive team. The only surprise of the line up was the inclusion of Alireza Haghighi , who is probably the least experienced of the 3 goalkeepers ahead of no 1 choice Rahman Ahmadi. However , Haghighi did not have to make many saves or even work hard except for ne tricky free kick in the first half.

Although Nigeria dominated the first 30 minutes of the first half, the solid and well organized Iranian defense made that domination by the African champions useless. After the half hour a corner kick awarded for Iran, the quick reaction of Nigerian keeper Victor Enyeama who saved the powerful header by Reza Ghoochanejad from close range prevented Iran from going a goal up.

In the second half the Nigerian control was reduced with Team Melli getting more of the ball but the players were guilty with some bad passes and spoiling some reasonable chances. Nekounam and Teymourian were majestic in their roles and their solid performance nullified the threat form the Nigerian midfield, especially Teymourian who neutralized Nigerian's most famous player John Obi Mikel.

The defenders skilfully managed anything the Nigerians threw at them with total domination of aerial balls.

Despite being the lone striker , Ghoochannejad managed to play a solid and decent game and was a constant menace for the Nigerian defense. However Ghoochannejad did not connect well with the lone offensive midfielder , Ashkan Dejagah as they seemed to be operating on different channels and missing each others passes.

Dejagah who was expected to be the key player was a disappointment against Nigeria. Half of his passes went astray and he lacked his trademark running and beating the defenders. He was not helped , perhaps , by the number of midfield players opting to stay behind during offensive moves, leaving the team short of players up front while attacking the Nigerian goal. Dejagah was subsequently substituted in the 78th minute by Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

It was a fair result for Team Melli and Queiroz skillful managed to neutralize the Nigerians threat , with remarkable ease. His selection of player for the defensive duties were immaculate. Iran managed the first point in the competition, and that is good enough of a start. It is going to be uphill from now but with the sold defensive system that Queiroz has created, without being anti-football , Team Melli is still capable to spring a surprise in the two matches ahead.

16/06/2014

Alireza Haghighi gets the nod in the goal

Alireza Haghighi , the only player who has not been in action in top flight league will be in goal for Team Melli against Nigeria. Haghighi , a Rubin Kazan player is currently on loan to a second division Portuguese second division club, is selected ahead of the much more experienced Rahman Ahmadi and the German/Iranian Daniel Davari.