Year: 2015

No bid to buy for Persepolis and Esteghlal. Privatization plans in tatters.

The Iranian government attempt to privatize the two most popular clubs in Iran , Persepolis and Esteghlal is hitting a brick wall.

The plan of privatization which goes back to at least a decade in earnest, was seriousely activated this year , but three attempts of auction has failed to attract any bids. No private investors or enterprises came forward with an acceptable deal to the government for buying the two clubs. Persepolis and Esteghlal,  for long years poorly managed and struggling in precarious financial situations, are far from the ideal venture for investors.

HEDAYATI’S CONTROL PLANS 

The most prominent interest came from Hedayati , the wealthy Iranian businessmen and owner of Steel Azin , but his organization’s bid did not pass the preliminary audit process and hence rejected. Hedayati , owner of several companies, seems to be in heavy debts. Hedayati’s attempt to circumvent his debt ridden organization created another entity under his 19 years old son’s name to bid for Persepolis. This  bid was not approved either.

The authorities were not too convinced that an organization which is headed by a teenager is the fitting establishment to run the most popular club in Iran and questioned the source of wealth of the teenager.

The fourth attempt to sell Persepolis and Esteghlal to private sector, will be carried out next Tuesday 19th May 2015.  There are no official bids to open so far much similar to the last one as the committee did not have any envelopes to open.

However, strong rumors are circulating around that the government is planning to hand over the two clubs to two major Iranian automobiles manufacturers.

IRAN KHODROW AND SAIP IN THE PICTURE!

Iran Khodrow and Saipa , both own football teams already , Peykan and Saipa. Both play in the top division, with mixed success. Peykan is struggling and is candidate for relegation comes next Friday. Sapia is faring much better but not considered one of the top Iranian teams.

This rumor seem to be strong enough to prompt the leader of a political faction in Iranian Majlis (Parliament)  to lodge a strong attack against the government plans of hand over.

“This plan does not make any sense and it is a big mistake if it goes through” Behrouz Na’amati  said .

” It is not their(the automobiles manufacturers)  business to run football clubs, beside both are already under debt themselves and operating on a very tonight and control budget.” The representative of Asad Abad who is also a member of executive committee, added that Majlis rejects the plans to sell the two clubs to the automobile manufacturers and has alternate plans of action for the government. Na’amati claimed that the automobiles manufacturers have not shown any interest whatsoever to buy the two clubs and hence they should not be forced into it by the government.

Both Peykan and Iran Khodrow are government owned.

 

MAJLIS NOT AMUSED BY THE GOVRNMENT

Meanwhile , the head of the sports committee of the Majlis, criticized the failed attempts by the government privatization calling it “Meaningless”

Mighdad Najaf Abad said “ If a plan of sales has been put forward for bids and it fails to attract any bidders , then there is something wrong with the whole proposal. Where in the world would such plan go on for the fourth time? How many times more will they try?”

Najaf Abad confirmed that the Majlis has an alternative plan regarding Persepolis and Esteghlal privatization which will hand to the government for action. “The government has failed to put a feasible plan so it is m=our turn now.”

 

Jahanbasksh wins player of the year award and praise from Hiddink.

ROTTERDAM – Team Melli player Alireza Jahanbakhsh of NEC  was named best player of the first division 2015 by the Cooperative First Division (CED). The announcement occurred at the presentation of the Golden Bulls awards.

The attacker from Iran received on Tuesday at Castle at Sparta, the associated Golden Bull trophy. Also NEC striker Sjoerd Ars received a Golden Bull, as he was this season’s top scorer in the first division with 28 goals.

NEC coach Ruud Brood was nominated for the award for best coach, but closely lost to Jean-Paul de Jong of FC Eindhoven. Best talent was Joey Sleegers, also of FC Eindhoven. In that category were among others De Graafschap’s Dean Koolhof was nominated.

Hiddink expresses appreciation

National coach Guus Hiddink was also present at the ceremony. “If I’m honest; I have not seen all the season matches, but to be chosen by those who know everything about this, it is legitimate and authentic choice. “said the head coach of Holland, who nevertheless expressed his appreciation for Ars and Jahanbakhsh. “They are quite entertaining and skillful players to watch. One scores goals with ease, the other is very artistic and nice to see .”

Candelas future with Futsal team is uncertain.

Despite the upcoming heavy schedule of Iran’s futsal team, the head coach Jesus Candelas is nowhere to be seen.

 Abbas Torabian, the head of the Futsal committee responded to the questio0ns about the Spanish coach whereabouts by reporters. “I have made contact with him. He is outside of Iran and asked him why is he not back. Candelas complained about the non-payment of his wages which is contract violation. We have promised him that he will be paid sooner or later (!!!) and asked him to return to his job.”

Torabian said that the future of Candelas will be discussed in a meeting tomorrow while adding that he was not assigned the task of replacing the beleaguered Spanish coach or finding a replacement by the head of the federation.

Torabian claimed that he has given Candelas 3 days to respond else his contract will be null and void!

 At least the FFIRI is quite consistent in dealing with their foreign employees be it football or futsal teams. Non or late payments of wages is among the major feats of this federation. However, the threat to continue working without being paid or else face dismissal seems to be a new trend in this farcical administration.

 

Uzbekistan vs.Iran on June 11th

The friendly international against Uzbekistan has been finally confirmed.

The FFIRI confirmed this morning that the match will be held in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on June 11th as originally proposed . The Iranian side proposed the match to be switched to Turkey citing logistics on the day of the match but Uzbekistan football federation did not agree.

There is another friendly match being actively discussed with Japan FA.

Team Melli will camp in Turkey in preparation for he first match in the FIFA World Cup 2018 against Turkmenistan .

Memory Lane: “The Black Pearl of Iran”

 

Fans across the world marveled at and cherished the moment the little Argentinian superstar Leo Messi, swerved and left his marker for dead,  then lobbed the best goalkeeper in the world to score Barcelona’s 2nd goal against Bayern Munchen.

It wasn’t long ago when we Team Melli fans, were heart broken when after a stiff resistance against mighty Argentine for 93 minutes, this mystic man scored a wonder goal to deny our Team Melli a famous precious point. However, despite such heart break, we have saluted this gem of a player, a unique individual who seems to have descended upon us from a different planet.

 For the purist and those who enjoy the beautiful and entertaining side of football, we are a fortunate generation because we have the likes of Messi providing sublime skills. Every nation wishes to have players half as good as Lionel Messi , every fan would pray that someday a player in his style , finesse and  brilliance will don the  national teamjersey of his country.

The individual genius of Messi has prompted us to dig in our archives to find if this Team Melli of ours had ever produced any players who were even closely comparable to Lionel Messi. If we ever had a player with the magic and style, the artistry and creativity. Surprise surprise, Team Melli had its own fair share of exceptionally talented players none of whom reached Messi’s level of course, but have displayed remarkable, often exceptional and excellent skills during the years bygone.

 

We did not have to go far to single out the “Black Pearl of Iran” as one who deserves more than a passing mention.

 BARZAGARI 486

Abdolreza Barzagari.

 

The boy from Abadan, who played his football in the back streets of this major oil industrial city, was soon spotted by scouts and invited to play with the major city team, Sanat Naft.  He was only 17 years old when he made his full debut for the club in the Takht Jamshid League, Iran’s thriving Professional league. Selected for the Iran Youth team in 1977 and won the Asian titles, and then less than a year later , made his debut for Team Melli at the age of 19.

 

Circumstances where not too favorable for this player. Political turmoil while Barzagari was reaching his peak, the suspension of the league and football in Iran, inability to get a release to play abroad were all detrimental to this exceptionally talented young Iranian player. Eventually after the revolution and when the football activities resumed, Barzagari got his break and was immediately grabbed by Al Nasr club of Dubai where he became an instant hit. His dribbles, magical goals, assist, demeanor , passion for the game, were all in the right track for this Khuzestani player towards prominence.

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Barzagari also played for Qatar FC for 10 seasons and two season with the Egyptian side Al Masri club of Port Said and wherever he went , he left a legacy , lasting impressions and lots of good memories.

It was amazing that only a few days ago, an Arab TV reporter commenting on an AFC match involving Persepolis, mentioned the name of the great footballers that Iran has produced and this reported earmarked Abdolreza Barzagari for a special mention. The reporter expressed his own delight and those of thousands of Arab football fans at the class and the exceptional talents of Barzagari in the eighties.

Abdolreza Barzagari was hardly treated right by his own country’s football authorities. The fact he was playing as a legionnaire , prevented him playing for Team Melli. There was an unwritten law that Team Melli players were picked form footballers playing in Iran.

We could be accused of being biased towards an Iranian player by over rating Barzagari, especially that millions of Team Melli fans of the current generation might not have seen the wizardry of Barzagari and some even not heard of him.

 So, to put things in perspective, we have picked this article about the Black Pearl of Persia by a impartial reporter to describe what he has seen of Barzagari and leave the rest for you to judge.

 The Article was published in the Singapore newspaper “New Nation” during the round ribbon Olympic games 1980 Qualification matches.  Iran and Barzagari won the group and qualified for Moscow Olympics, but due to politics and boycott of the games by the Islamic Republic, the football World was deprived of enjoying the talents and magic of this Abadani player. We never got the chance to find how Barzagari would have done in front of Millions of World Wide TV viewers and critics. One golden opportunity has been surely missed.

 

 

New Nation,

14 March 1980, Page 33

Author: Suresh Nair

 undeniably the pearl

 

The Kallang battleground in the last 19 days provided a timely springboard for yet another Asian soccer star to emerge — the“Black Pearl of Iran.’

 

Abdolreza Barzegari, the little-known black Iranian attacking midfielder, not only won the hearts of local fans with his entertaining wizardry, respect from most opponents for his forages and acclaim

from his colleagues for being a match-winner, but he has also proved to coach Hassan Habibi that he has arrived.

 

ENTERTAINMENT PIECE

The time has now come tor Abdolreza to justifiably lay strong claims, with his authoritative skill and intelligence, to a regular berth in the National side, thus shedding his previous image as a ‘Super-substitute”.

The 22-year-old “Pearl” from Abadan, Khozestan Province, 600km from Tehran, has now also lived up to home fans’ billing as another midfield sensation like the ageing skipper Ali Parvin.

The quality in Abdolreza which wins him the New Nation’s Man of the

Tournament accolade Is ability to entertain fans, an important aspect In modern soccer.  of course, there were others whose performances came close to

Abdolreza’s. We considered the brilliance, economy and pace of Ali Parvin, the swiftness and elusiveness of China’s Gu Guangming, the magnificent goalkeeping of India’s Bhaskar Ganguly, the command of Iran right-back Habib Khabiri and even the passing of Singapore’s R. Suriamurthi.

But In short, Abdolreza, an unheralded youngster, was the crowd puller. His unpredictable skills, confidence and maturity tore the tightest defence, and his swiftness of thought In sardine-packed situations made him a one-man entertainment piece.

 

He was also the target of vicious tackling because he was skillful enough to ridicule experience defenders Luckily he managed to escape serious injury that were occupational hazards.

In fact this Is the mark of a superb footballer because he never retaliated. Instead, he “punished” his tormentors by ridiculing them further — either by pushing the ball between their legs or teasing them with his dazzling dribbles.

 

THE REMARKABLE GOAL

Remember the March 7th match against India?

Abdolreza’s 80th-minute opening goal — which we voted as the Best Goal of the Tournament! — epitomized his character. “The Pearl” started his Jinking, weaving run from midfield, leaving four Indians In his wake. As he leaped and feinted through a succession of sliding tackles Into the penalty area, In came the hardest tackle of them all.

Tough-tackling fullback Compton Dutta mercilessly went for Abdolreza’s left ankle.  But instead of crashing to the ground under the ferocity of the blow, Abdolreza superbly recovered his balance, made his way closer to the left bye-line and unleashed a perfectly-timed left-foot volley to the top left root of the net.

Another two goals against Sri Lanka, one against China and an opportunistic goal in the final against Singapore shot him to second spot in the top-scorers list — behind World Cupper Faraki HossaIn (six goals).

THE HORIZON OF STARDOM

Considering that Abdolreza was drafted into the Iran squad only a fortnight before coming here, it’s a feat. off the pitch, he is the wallflower of the team. A shy, Introverted person, he keeps to himself — away from his colleagues.  This has sometimes been interpreted as a case of unfriendliness, an unsociable sportsman. But it Is actually sheer respect and fear put together.

“I feel lost because I’m a nobody and a total stranger in a team lull of superstars,” Abdolreza said “I guess I need time adapt.”

Who can blame him.

But one thing’s for sure. If the pre-Olympics was meant to be was meant to be a test tor his international match temperament, you can be sure he will be a first-choice player for many years to come.

The horizons of Asian soccer stardom awaits him, and we hope to see this entertainer at Kallang again in the not too distant future

Another Iranian young star bites the dust.

In the last few years of Iranian football,  a few promising talents emerged from the land that has abundant talented young kids. Amongst this group, a unique skilled player who seemed to possess a multiple of skills made the headlines and the media was quick to declare the emergence of the next Ali Karimi and even the Iranian Maradona.

Payam Sadeghian

A star is born

His name is Payam Sadeghian, and to be plainly truthful, the kid had talent, plenty of it, in fact.

From the youth teams in Zob Ahan until he ended up in Persepolis, Sadeghian consistently showed his skills, his courage, passion and zest. He can dribble all right but also has a venomous shoot. His dead ball skills are second to none. There isn’t much that Sadeghian cannot excel in while on the pitch.  For such talent, Sadeghian was selected for every national team age group that existed, from the U14 in 2005 all the way to the senior Team Melli in 2012.

But the kid had one major shortfall. With the praises bestowed upon him, left , right and center, he developed an unwelcome ego and lack of discipline bordering delinquency. Time and again, on and off the field, Sadeghian was involved in unruly, disruptive and troublemaking scenes. He had several disputes with coaches and managers.

mohsen-mosalman-and-payam-sadeghian-7681

NAVAD V show interview

In an interview with TV Show Navad, Ferdowsipour asked him about this side of his “ugly” football and why does he seem to be in the news for the wrong reasons? Payam Sadeghian’s  answer was evident of a  young man is living in denial and has no real clue how his misbehavior is slowly destroying what looks like a promising career , regardless to his inherit and undeniable talents . Sadeghian accused some people of exaggeration and said that he is not the evil person that some of his enemies portray him! Obviously, Payam Sadeghian believed that he is doing fine and there is no sense in addressing his character or behavior.

However, the biggest failure in Sadeghian case is the fact that his club managers and coaches have failed to truly address his trouble case and deal with it by providing the proper solution. His poor disciplinary record was even defended by some of his peers. Even Ali Daei, who always portrays himself as a strict disciplinarian and law abiding person, miserably failed in tackling Sadeghian while he was the head coach of Persepolis. Daei is famous for being very quick in finding faults in others!

Daei was sacked , then Derakhshan came and gone and now one Branko Ivankovic , a household name in Iranian football, has taken the helm at the most popular club in Asia. Ivankovic, a disciplinarian but one of the most approachable and likable characters, has had enough of Payam Sadeghian only few weeks of working with him. The Croat head coach of Persepolis announced that he will not allow Sadeghian in his team. Asked if Sadeghian will be in Persepolis team next year, he simply said “NO.”

 Bleak future

Payam Sadeghian is a regretful case of a young footballer failure. Of course, there is a long road to recovery if he wishes, but the signs are there to assume that he has not repented. It is a personal failure and the responsibility is upon his own shoulder.  He went astray and off-course somewhere along the line regardless to the reasons. It is also another failure for Iranian football management which consistently fails to handle indiscipline players. This Persepolis team alone has half a dozen players or more in the same category, but Sadeghian is the most regrettable because the kid has talents that might never materialize and blossom the way it deserves to.

One think is taken for granted. Carlos Queiroz has no time for such delinquency. The chances of Sadeghian ever making one of Queiroz squads is quite remote knowing the Portuguese coach strict requirement by his player for disciplinary compliance.

Ali Kaffashian elected as AFC vice-president.

Ali Kaffashian Naeini, the President of FFIRI has been elected as AFC Vice President at the 26th AFC Congress 2015 held in Bahrain today.

The current head of AFC President Salman bin Ebrahim AlKhalifa of Bahrain has also been re-elected for a another 4 years term in the office. Mr. Kaffashian, who stood as a candidate for the Central Asian region of the AFC , would also entitles him to be a member of the AFC Executive committee .

Kaffashian talks to TeamMelli.com

In an interview with TeamMelli.com, Mr. Kaffashian expressed his delight at being elected as the executive member of the AFC ExCo and hoped that this would lead to a stronger representation of Iran in the AFC. When asked about the newly formed Central Asian Region and its benefit to Iran football as opposed to WAFF, Mr. Kaffashian  admitted that the facilities in this region is lower than West Asia and there is a long way for it to reach the levels that can be considered close to the top of Asian Football. However , Mr. Kaffashian admitted that such regional representation is the ideal platform for the AFC executive offices.

Kaffashian-_AFC-congress

Fate of Uzbekistan Friendly match

On the friendly match against Uzbekistan,  which has been on and off , the President of FFIRI, said “the match is not cancelled however we are looking at better arrangements to suit both teams. We hope that it is finalized before we start our FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers.”

FIFA elections

On the subject of FIFA election , Mr. Kaffashian was asked why AFC did not allow the other candidates of FIFA Presidency candidate to take the floor and only Sepp Blatter was given the opportunity  to speak at the AFC Congress 2015 , Mr. Kaffashian said “the decision to support Joseph  Sepp Blatter has been taken sometime ago amongst the AFC member states, for this reason it would not have been appropriate to allow the others to be given the floor in this congress.” The Portuguese Luis Figo and Prince Ali Bin Hussain , two of the candidates were present in the AFC congress in Bahrain.

AFC-congress-20150430_45

Asked whether Blatter re-election will reap any particular benefits for Iran football , Mr. Kaffashian did not have anything in particular to mention. “Did he help FFIRI to recover the blocked  money of Iran share of the World Cup 2014?” I asked, “No, i think that would be beyond him. It is these banking restrictions that does not allow the free flow of funds Into Iran”

Mr. Kaffashian added that the money will shortly be transferred to the Iranian Embassy in Switzerland and from there , it will be transferred to Iran.

The jam-packed congress hall packed with delegates from the 43 members states and a large contingent of journalist from the region.

 

 

 

Iran invites Kenya for a friendly match.

goal.com

Goal can reveal that Iranian FA have officially invited Kenya for a friendly match in June and that FKF are considering sending Under-23 team

Harambee Stars have been invited to play Iran in an international friendly match in June, Goal can reveal.

Iranian Football Association have officially sent a formal request to Football Kenya Federation requesting for the match. According to information from Iran, they want the match to be played any date from June 8-11 in Tehran.

Iran have agreed to pay for accommodation and flight costs of Harambee Stars during the match. However, it is doubtful whether the senior Harambee Stars can honor the friendly match considering that they will be involved in qualifiers for 2017 Africa Cup of Nations which kick-off almost at the same time.

A source in FKF told Goal that they are negotiating to see whether they can send U-23 side or postpone the match to another date. “This is a good gesture from our Iranian counterparts but we have to look at many issues before we commit ourselves to the match. Alternatively, we can send the U-23 team.”

Khanzadeh suspended for 9 months!

FFIRI Disciplinary Committee (DC) has slapped Persepolis and Team Melli defender with a nine month suspension from all official football activities as a result of his altercation with a Persepolis fan in Doha after the clubs game against Lekhawiya in the AFC Champions League. Khanzadeh used extremely foul language, heavily swearing at the fan(s) who were protesting Persepolis weak performance and defeat. All efforts to calm the player by his embarrassed teammates were fruitless.

Earlier and before the issue of this ruling, Persepolis have decided to suspend the player temporarily pending the full report from the incident in Doha. Branko Ivankovic is reported to be appalled by Khanzadeh’s behavior.

Khanzadeh was one of the Team Melli squad players in the FIFA 2014 World Cup but did not play in any matches. He was also a member of the Olympic team in the Asian Games 2014 and his ugly attack on the Vietnamese player in the last minutes of the match lead to his dismissal and further suspension by the AFC.

Khanzadeh has a track record of insubordination with a pretty wicked disciplinary behavior.

Meanwhile , Sousha Makani, another notoriously undisciplined player  was given a 3 matches suspended sentence by the Disciplinary Committee and 5 million Toman fine for his part in the incident. Mahomoud Khordbin will also have to answer to the committee for his failure to assume his role and responsibilities as the Team Manager. Khordbin was absent from the scene and did not act on hearing about the incident. On a bright note, Karim Bagheri , the assistant coach was commended for his role in ending the profanities mayhem.

This ruling by the FFIRI Disciplinary Committee (DC) is one of the strongest of its kind in such cases, however , it is a safe bet to assume that at some stage everything will be changed and all is forgotten due to someone’s intervention and advise.

Team Melli and Omid team training camps synced together.

Habib Kashani , the manager of Omid Team (Iran’s U-23) announced that they have arranged the training schedules of Omid team to coincide with Team Melli program for maximum benefits of both teams.

Kashani emphasized the fact that with such a program planning , it will be much easier for the clubs to release their players with the least interruption to the league.

“We have planned a minimum of 4 training camps and one tournament participation in our quest for qualifying to the Olympics through the AFC Asian U23 championship. “ Kashani said.

The Manger of Omid team also announced that the U23 team will be participating in the WAFF tournament on 30th September.  We could not verify that piece of information as Iran is not even a member of WAFF anymore!  In any case , the next WAFF football tournament is supposed to be held in Bahrain in 2016 so , Kashani’s information could not be authenticated.

Omid team will have to finish in the one of the top three places in the AFC Asian U23 championship to be held in Qatar in January 2016 to make it to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Omid team , coached by Mohammad Khakpour , finished 2nd in the qualifiers held in Tehran but qualified for the finals as one of the best 5 second placed teams.