Year: 2015

Guam away match venue will remain as is.

After much thought and deliberation by the FFIRI on the proposal by Guam FA to hold both the matches of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers between Iran and Guam in Iran , Team Melli’s Manager Afshin Peyrovani said today that the away match will be held in Guam as originally scheduled.

Peyrovani, in a statement to the official football federation website , said that FIFA regulations prevented both matches bein played in the same venue !

Guam has submitted an official proposal to save cost and the gigantic travel mileage the like of which can never happen anywhere else in FIFA calendar. The tiny US protectorate is currently leading the group with maximum points from two matches won against Turkmenistan and India.

Guam National Football team

Payam Sadeghian “I will return to Team Melli”

The controversial midfielder, who was sacked by Persepolis, says he is determined to return to the top and back to Team Melli.

Payam Sadeghian , who is arguably one of the most talented Iranian young Players of the last few years but unfortunately notoriously indiscipline as well, said that he is looking forward to playing in Europe and then coming back to claim his rightful place in Team Melli.

Branko Ivankovic , Persepolis Croat coach has categorically refused to have Sadeghian in his team and informed the management that under no circumstances he will give this player a place in his team even if Persepolis extended Sadeghian’s contract. Sadeghian was a bench warmer in Persepolis during the time Hamid Derakhshan was the coach and continued the same after Ivankovic took over, mainly due to disciplinary reasons.

Disreputably famous for his transgressing and aggressive behavior, Payam Sadeghian looks liked he ruined a golden opportunity to enhance his career after joining Persepolis. His on and off filed antics, lack of commitment and misconduct overshadowed his talent sometimes so sublime that many critics regretted the failure of those at the helm to properly address, guide and console this talented player. Sadeghian had a lot of potential and was a promising player who represented Iran at several age level teams. Now without a club and with very few in Iran wishing to recruit him due to his troublesome record, he has to pick up the pieces to revive a tattered career outside the country.

sadeghian bench

Sadeghian refused to name the European club that he claims is interested in him. “They have watched me and they contacted me to express their interest. I also have several offers from China, Japan, Qatar and Slovakia but I am not interested to play in those leagues. If it all fails, I am hopeful that I can join Naft Tehran to play for my old boss Alireza Mansourian.” The 23 years old player said in an interview with Iran Varzeshi newspaper.

Naft Tehran has not publically expressed any interest in Sadeghian who has been consistently making the headlines for the wrong reasons. If Sadeghian is to succeed in his career, there is no doubt that he has to attend anger management classes and be counselled by experts; else he will be biting the dust.

Sadeghian has played 5 times for Team Melli in 2012 & 2014.

Concerns raised on Team Melli sponsorship deal.

A sub-committee of the Iranian parliament, investigating the financial dealings and expenditure of government-owned entities and also the subsidies that the government provided to the various sport federations, has unveiled yet another possible corruption case in football federation FFIRI.

The sub-committee of the Majlis , which like the Ministry of Youth and Sports , has been highly critical of the financial irregularities of the football federation and lack of transparency, is targeting the sponsorship deal awarded to a private sector organization for the sponsorship of Team Melli.

The sub-committee has been receiving a lot of complaints from people claiming that the rebates, giveaways and gifts that they were promised by the joining Team Melli support campaign backed by the sponsors have not been forthcoming.

The culprit is a mobile communication company in Iran that has a huge advertising campaign using Team Melli name. The company has alleged to have promised several gifts including CD’s , rebates on phone calls and other services for a mere 5000 toman to Team Melli fans club.

During the last general assembly of the FFIRI, there was very little mention of the sponsorship deal with the company in the financial report. The sub-committee stated that the top brass at the federation could not provide them with the details of the sponsorship contract and how much the federation is getting out of the deal with this particular sponsor.

The sub-committee believes that this company and football federation have created an atmosphere of mistrust and used the popularity of Team Melli to gain money unethically and amounting to an embezzlement.

Jahanbakhsh turns down Brighton’s offer.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh , has turned down an offer by the English Championship league side, Brighton & Hove Albion according to the player’s agent.Amir Hashemi.

In a short statement to the media , Hashemi confirmed that there was a current offer from the 2nd tier English club , but Jahanbakhsh has turned it down because playing at that level of football will not be complimentary to his progress in European football, acoording to the player’s agent. Hashemi said that Brighton were looking for a quick answer from his client and were not willing to wait a long time, hence the answer was swift from Jahanbakhsh.

The young Team Melli player has won the MVP of the league last season helping his team NEC Nijmegen win the second division title and promotion to Eredvisie with a big margin.  Jahanbakhsh , whose Dutch is remarkably improving wishes to remain in Holland for the next season , unless some lucrative offer comes up.

The 21 years old winger has missed the last two Team Melli matches due to a slight injury.

 

Match analysis: What went wrong in Dasgouz?

Being held by minnows such Turkmenistan is not exactly complimentary for a team that has high ambition such as Iran, although it is not a disaster either.

The new look Team Melli that Carlos Queiroz has gathered for the two match series in mid-June 2015 looked quite promising against Uzbekistan. In fact, the team style of play, the pace and the tactics used to beat Uzbekistan was breath of fresh air for the usually dull and defensive style of Queiroz.

But the same team came down to earth in Daşoguz , and it seems like “back to the drawing border” time.

The Portuguese coach was so prophetic when he said a day before the match that we should not look at friendly matches and official matches in the same level. He was so right as if he was expecting his troops to falter in a competitive match where results are quite important unlike friendly matches.

If we have to dissect this forgettable match in Daşoguz, the share of the blame is divided. This weak result by Team Melli is the outcome of several factors. If we start at the top, we have to look at the coach and his team line up first.

The Coach culpabilities

Queiroz started the match with a line up close to the one that exceled in Tashkent 5 days ago. No one can fault him for that and within 4 minutes it looked quite bright as Azmoun looked like he has just opened the floodgate. But poor finishing and some hints of profligacy was evident in the players as they failed to find the net time after time. The performance of one player, in particular, was so disconcerting it was like Iran was playing with 10 men. Shojaei kept losing the ball, losing one to one battles and sending wrong passes one wonders if he was being forced to play against his will. Of course, he was substituted in the second half, but Queiroz is guilty of having this player in the squad in the first place. We would never know if his replacement would have been a better choice, but since Queiroz is gallantly embarking in transforming the team with younger players, why insist on Shojaei?

Since the 1st half saw many scoring chances missed, Queiroz rightly changed tactics and players in the second, however further chances were missed. The team then changed tactics and focused on attacking from the flanks, though only the right flank one was truly functional and the Turkmen coach quickly realized that and altered his defenses accordingly.

The hosts piled up the defenses as they parked the bus while Queiroz and his men had no way to open them up. Finally another tactic was deployed, long range shots. It was a spectacular Ando special but also far too late to change the result. Teymourian rattled the goalkeeper in the 88th minute.

So tactical failure was one reason that Iran failed to beat the much inferior hosts. While it seems that in the absence of some key players, the coach seems to have difficulty to adapt.

One also needs to question Carlos Queiroz mental stability. The coach was involved in a longish pre-match press conference the morning of the match in which he was clearly and visibly upset about many shortcomings and the way the squad was treated. Regardless to whether he had a case or not, Queiroz always had issues with emotions and self-control. He is an angry man by nature. Quick to shoot off his mouth and quick to condemn anything and anyone that he does not fancy. His hyper emotional status, anger and stress in the morning of the match perhaps affected his mental stability. Perhaps such state of mind was contributory in his failure to fully concentrate on the match and arrange the team in a much calmer situation. A man working in anger is certainly much more liable to commit errors than a cool, calm and collected one.

The Players.

It is amazing what 5 days can do in football. The players in Tashkent performed so well even beyond expectations, they were the shadow of themselves in Daşoguz ! We would not know whatever happened in those 5 days to turn a group of exciting, energetic players into lethargic, impassive and unresponsive ones. Only Azmoun really deserves a special mention, not because he scored the goal, but because of his running, perseverance and skill during the whole of the match. Teymourian as a leader was disappointing, Hajsafy in the midfield role was peripheral, Amiri who is one of the most exciting players of the season was calm and mild, Shojaei, a calamity, the back four, quite shaky and alarmingly passive. In goal, Haghighi is far from confident. His positioning while the goal was conceded shows a lack of awareness.

AFC-Iran-Bahrain-Masoud-Shojaei-HR

In general, the players had a bad day despite their efforts. It is remain to be seen if there were circumstances behind this off the field or was it one of those dark things about football that no one can answer for certain. How come excellent players perform so badly the next time they play?

Looking at the bigger picture, the most vivid of Team Melli’s players composition is the lack of creative midfield players and strong leaders. A player that can control the midfield and spread the football in a skillful manner. The last one known of such caliber was one Mojtaba Jabbari but he left the team. Such caliber of players are quite unique. Many teams suffer from them too.

The Ground and the atmosphere.

Turkmenistan is an odd country with its ruling clan. Even thousands of miles away and on TV, one feels the pressure and the tension surrounding the stadium. Nowhere in the world have I experienced the whole stadium being orchestrated and controlled like robots such as the fans in Daşoguz. The fans were dressed more like a floral arrangement rather than any ordinary ones wearing their team’s jerseys or whatever they like to wear. They seemed to be controlled remotely by some government agents and told to sit without too much movement. I also have never known of any stadiums in the world that Team Melli played in which had no Iranian fans in it , except for this one. If there were any Iranian fans, and we were told that Azmoun Family was there, the TV would not show it. Perhaps Azmoun Family being Turkmen were given a special treat and entry visa.

Such environment creates pressure on the opposition players and such tactics used by the Turkmen perhaps was effective enough in creating some sense of fear and tension amongst the opposition.

The pitch itself was one of the worst I have seen for ages. It was certainly not the type that a team can play smooth passes and fast football. This type of pitch is good enough for teams that have the route one tactics but a nightmare for the teams that playing a passing game.

Administration and Management.

Carlos Queiroz was very bitter about the way his team was treated while departing Tehran. Being stuck in the coach(the bus) that took the players to the aircraft for 50 minutes, not being allowed to embark the plane , then returned back to the terminal to a hall that had no seat waiting for over three hours forcing the players to sit on the floor, is not exactly the treatment you provide to players who are representing your country. Distinct lack of respect , as Queiroz rightly said.

No matter how much exaggeration was built into that shameful treatment, such things take its toll on players and any human being for that matter. This all stems from the unprofessional, poor management of the football federation which has time and again failed to acts dutifully and professionally.

But the shameless attitude goes well beyond the federation failing to properly organize a charter flight. When a team wins a match, the least that the federation and those in charge could do is to verbally express their appreciation by saying well done to the squad. Even that is not being extended to the players and the coaching staff. Truly pathetic attitude that only serves to dishearten the players and make them think if it is worth the effort.

Conclusion

Whatever the reasons behind this poor performance, the team will bounce back and perhaps even excel. There are always lessons learned in the se circumstances. However , only smart people learn from their mistakes, the others keep failing.

Disappointing draw for Team Melli.

Team Melli was unable to capitalize on its supremacy in the match against Turkmenistan and ended the match in a 1-1 draw in the first match of Group D of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers. These rounds of matches are also considered as the qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The match started brightly for Team Melli taking full control. The goal came as early as the 4th minute when the Sardar Azmoun dribbled past two defenders before slotting the ball at an acute angle between the Turkmen Goalkeeper and the upright. Team Melli was 1-0 up and threatening to run riot.

The match continued its one way direction with chances one after other being missed by Iran. Amiri, Torabi , and Heydari all had good chances to score but the 2nd goal was not coming. Nikita Gorbunov standing firm in Turkmenistan goal.

Turkmenistan finally reached Iran goal after 16 minutes, however that first attempt exposed the shaky Haghighi who was not too confident against the shot.

Heydari then sent a perfect cross from the right, met majestically by the flying Azmoun who headed powerfully against crossbar with Nikita Gorbunov stranded, the ball was cleared on the rebound.

SHOCK GOAL

And then an amazing lapse of concentration in the back of Team Melli resulted in an unexpected equalizer for the host. The Turkmen midfielder passed Hajsafy with ease, then outrun Ando Teymourian to cross, with both Pejman Montazeri and Hossein Kanani just watching. Ruslan Mingazov came from behind to pip Ghafoori who was the nearest to the ball to slot an easily ball with Haghighi stranded on the other side of the goal, could not save. An undeserved equalizer for Turkmenistan against a pedestrian Iranian defense.

The manner that the goal was conceded must worry Queiroz. Certainly not acceptable for a team that is looking to reach the world cup.

The 1st half ended 1-1 in a half that Iran has controlled and should have been 2 or 3 goals up. However , there were gaps in the performance and some profligacy by players especially Masoud Shojaei. This player seems to be permanently fixed player although his form for the last few years has been abysmal with club and country. Queiroz obsession with this player is an enigma!

Nevertheless, even Queiroz , his ardent supporter must have realized that the pedestrian Shojaei was a liability and rightly replaced by Omid Ebrahimi in the second half.

SECOND HALF

The 2nd half of the match started in the same manner as the first. Iran had much of the ball and several half chances were created. Weak finishing prevented Team Melli regaining the command of this match.

Mehdi Taremi committed a totally unnecessary foul to get himself booked while he was on the pitch on for a few minutes only. Another player that might be a source of concern.

With the match continuing, Turkmenistan players grew more confident and more aggressive in this half as the result of scoring the goal and managing to stop Iran from scoring further.

Haghighi blunder nearly cost Team Melli when he fumbled the ball after a mild shot, Kanani cleared the rebound.

Ruslan Mingazov came close for the hosts with a thunderous shot that beat Haghighi but also was wide of the upright.

In the last quarter of the match, Team Melli continued pressing using the good old crosses, which seemed to be the only option. Several crosses ended up with Azmoun and Taremi who missed the target by small margins.

This tactics of crosses was the result of the bad pitch that did not aid playing on the floor and also due to the parking the bus of Turkmenistan. The only shortcoming was all the crosses came from the right side as Team Melli had little options from the left, something that Queiroz must be worried about.

And then the Turkmen players started time wasting as early as the 70th minute!

The onslaught by Team Melli continued right to the end without a result. Alarmingly the only shot on target from distance came right at the end of the match when Ando released a ferocious shot in 88th minute. Gorbunov only parried the ball then cleared by the defense.

 At the end, it was a disappointing result for Team Melli. This team is definitely work in progress, There are obvious shortcomings one of which is the acute shortage of creative players. The midfield is simply short of idea and skills to feed the forwards.

The wrath of Carlos Queiroz!

 The pre-match press conference held before Team Melli meets Turkmenistan in Daşoguz,  was marred by off the field issues and recent tension in Team Melli camp. Speaking before the Turkmenistan match on Monday ,  Queiroz found the ideal chance to air his bitter disappointment and express his feeling for the way that Team Melli was treated recently. The press conference sharply deviated from football and the match and focused on the way Team Melli is treated.

Queiroz took this opportunity to directly and indirectly reference the deficiencies and culpabilities of the federation and the atmosphere that is surrounding Team Melli, while vehemently attacking phantom enemies of team Melli and unnamed people who are allegedly working against the team.

Arranging friendly games

Quieroz said “At first, I have to point out that the national team is in dire need of friendly games in order to prepare our players for the future. Most of the friendly games that we arrange are the ones that are held for short-term purposes and that is to prepare the team for official competitions such as the World Cup qualifiers.

After that, we have a bunch of other matches that we can refer to as long-term friendly games. These games should be arranged with the objective of being groundwork training exercises focused on the development of the players and for the coaching staff to have the opportunity to find long-term solutions. That is, players find experience, develop skills and learn every time they play in such matches, while we look for areas to improve.”

Short and long-term strategies

He added “This is why we cannot look at games in the World Cup qualifiers and friendly games with the same consideration, because sooner or later mistakes will occur in the wrong place. As I previously said, there are two main options facing us. In the short and medium term the targets are primarily the same which is to earn three points for the team to qualify for the World Cup and the second long-term strategy is to have friendly games that players can earn experience from.”

Financial constraints

Carlos Queiroz pointed to the limitations of time and money, he said “when the national team is faced with time and financial restraints, like we are facing now, we should improvise and incorporate a combination of the two ways to take advantage of each game. At any time no matter what happens, it is imperative that we should always have support and backing. In general there will be no future without the necessary support. Without the necessary funding and support, certainly younger players will not have the opportunity to gain experience in the national team as well. If you are thinking for better football and better on the field performance and standard, the team should be better prepared as well.”

Lack of respect

The Portuguese head coach continued with a reference to the efforts of players and technical staff in the recent friendly “ All of you are aware of the problems and difficulties that we have faced recently , it was transparent to everyone. We cannot hide the facts because if we wanted to hide them, we have just lied to ourselves and the rest of the people. I must be very transparent. Myself an also a lot of people are aware that not only Iran but also many other countries have limited resources, but the thing that makes me more concerned is the lack of respect that the national team has to be bestowed upon. What is more worrying to me, is significant to the national team, it is respect for the sanctity of the position of the national team.

”There is a need to respect that national team technical staff and the players for their passage. You do not need to spend money to respect. It is very important for the team Melli spirit, for the players to feel encouraged and appreciated. At least a phone call to say good job guys, really good work done. For the sake of a win against Uzbekistan tell them congratulations on that win. “

The other issues are unrelated to financial support. I am talking about the kind of respect that should be rewarded and in line with the support of the national team to be dignified.”

He continued” there is no question that these conditions are not acceptable to me and I can’t come to terms with the fact that the players and the technical staff that has received very little if any rewards. On top of it they are faced with disrespect or abuse. If commander would be in a position to not defend his troops and not be able to fight for their rights in their defense, I’m not such a commander.”

Phantom Enemies.

Queiroz went on talking about enemies within and efforts by unnamed personnel to what sound like “Destroy” the team or undermine their efforts!

In line with the Portuguese personality and mental framework, he has yet come to term with accepting his working environment and the society surrounding him. Queiroz continuously refers to his critics as enemies and mixes up the decencies of the system, general lack of professional discipline and some lacking work ethics with personal issues thinking that everyone is working against him.

The local hero Misagh Bahadoran.

“I am Misagh Bahadoran, Half Filipino/Half Persian. I am a midfielder on the Philippines National Football Team (Azkals) wearing #9.”

Misagh BahadoranThat is how the 28 years old footballer describes himself in his twitter page. Bahadoran (age 28), was born in Mabalacat, Philippines. Unlike the majority of kids in the Philippines, Misagh played football which is far from being the number one sport in the country. He played for an Iranian club in the Philippines, Pasargad FC. The team was only formed in 1996. This team is still active and the players are mostly Iranians. No doubt influenced by his father, Misagh soon built a name for himself. He was included in the national team and made in 2007 but his father urged him not to pursue his soccer career until he graduates from the university.

Misagh finally made his debut for the Philippines National Team against Sri Lanka in the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifiers.

However, Misagh hit the headline recently after he scored both the goals in a 2-1 win against Bahrain in the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Not only it was a shock result, it also elevated this Filipino–Iranian footballer to the status of a local hero in the Philippines. Misagh Bahadoran deserves a special mention in teammelli.com

Misagh is a proud graduate of Dentistry degree at Centro Escolar University in Manila, (CEU) on top of being a talented and skillful footballer. He speaks very fluent Farsi and has sent a greeting message to all his Iranian fans after the match against Bahrain. He currently plays for Global FC

Khanzadeh fails in his appeal against suspension.

Team Melli and Persepolis defender Mohammedreza Khanzadeh has failed in his appeal against a long term suspension for disciplinary violations.

The FFIRI appeal committee has ruled against an appeal filed by the player’s agent requesting the over-turning of the stiff penalty against Khanzadeh. The Persepolis defender has been originally handed a 9 months suspension from all football activities for using obscene gesture, foul language and attempts to physically attack a Persepolis fan in front of media and many other witnesses. Khanzadeh had to be physically restrained by many people but continued his verbal assault making a rowdy scene after a defeat which many Persepolis fans found unacceptable accusing some players of lack of effort.

Khanzadeh (23 years) is a notorious player known for his indiscipline. The appeal committee in FFIRI , which is normally passive in cases like such , has come down strongly against Khanzadeh due to his long background of lack of disciplinary and respect for the law such as that famous push in the chest of a Vietnamese player in the Asian games 2014. That physical attack lead to his dismissal from the match and further suspension from the AFC.

The FFIRI appeal committee ordered Khanzadeh to carry on community work and train young footballers as part of his rehabilitation program.

This unprecedented heavy punishment is a strong signal by the federation and particularly by the authorities, against transgressions and misdemeanor by athletes and footballers which has been on the rise lately. There has been a public outcry about such display of unruly behavior by sportsmen which has forced the authorities to act.

Ghoochannejad expresses frustration.

Long delay in Team Melli flight generated lots of frustration in the squad. The charter flight of Team Melli to Tashkent left Mehrabad after nearly 3 hours delay.

 Reza Ghoochannejad was one of the players who were extremely upset by this delay and the uncertainty surrounding the flight.

 “They are really treating us like kids with such behavior. How dare they deal with the national team like this?” The dismayed Ghoochannejad, expressing his anger while talking to Mehrnews reporter while awaiting the delayed chartered flight to Tashkent. The flight to Uzbekistan’s capital city was supposed to depart at 11:00 sharp.

 “I have taught myself not to get stressed or be surprised by the events surrounding Team Melli. We players always try to look at the positive side, but every time we have an event, there is a hidden unpleasant surprise. I really don’t know what is the status of the squad right now and whether or not we really will fly to Uzbekistan.” Team Melli forward added:

 “I don’t understand why these events keep happening to the national team which was present at the World Cup. It is an insult to the characters of the team. These events make us look bad in the world. It has a negative reflection abroad.” Team Melli team striker continued expressing his frustration with the long delay in the chartered flight which was arranged to minimize the flight time to the Central Asian countries.

 “Even in the smallest countries of the world, such chaotic events do not occur, but it always does in Iran where people take a pride in their Team Melli. We always experience problems even in the smallest of things.”

 Ghoochannejad continued “The expectation of the people in Iran of their national team is quite high and that is understandable, I don’t think any national team in the world faces problems on monotonous regularity like we do .”

“We are stranded in the airport for hours, we don’t know what is happening, everyone is speculating. Some say that it is money issue and the charter fees have not been paid yet. Someone else comes up with another reason and so on. Such behavior is reminiscent of how kids are treated and that is a great disrespect towards a great national team.”

The striker stressed “How dare they treat national team like that? The national team is supposed to bring joy, happiness and dignity to the Iranian people, but with these conditions and behaviors, I cannot see how we can do it.”

 The frustration of Ghoochannejad was shared by the rest of the squad and Carlos Queiroz who must be approaching the combustion point with this administration.

 The heart of the matter is that Team Melli and other teams representing Iran will always face frustration and hardship because they are dealing with a highly incompetent and inept administration. Not only the standard of management and professionalism of this federation is quite embarrassing, what complicates the matter even further, is the fact that they are also cash strapped. To put the icing on the cake, the FFIRI is being regularly harassed, confronted and meddled by the Ministry of Sports, which does not help them perform.

 After the flight eventually left Mehrabad, a spokesman for FFIRI said the delay was due to administrative reasons not financial. Of course, players like Ghoochannejad are supposed to feel quite relieved by this fact!! , but then again, the Iranian fans are well accustomed to the news of administrative failures in FFIRI by now.

 Kudos to Team Melli players and Carlos Queiroz for operating under these extremely stressful environments.

Team Melli will face Uzbekistan on Thursday at 17:30 Tehran time in a friendly international match.