Year: 2015

01/08/2015

The beginning of league season, joy and gloom.

The 15^th Season of Iran Pro football, the Persian Gulf League started with all its usual actions, fanfare, claims and counter claims by coaches, who never seem to tire from their blame culture. It was a bright start for Esteghlal , Sepahan , and Malavan all registering their first wins. The big game of the week between Tractorsazi and Naft Tehran which was so controversial at the final game of last season when Tractorsazi players and fans went into a wild celebration after the final whistle thinking they won the league, was much more quieter and mundane this time. The goalless draw was a drab affair but at least no one fooled Tractorsazi players this time.

Persepolis, with a young team and a highly confident Branko Ivankocvic who is claiming his team is challenging for the championship title and nothing less, could do no better than draw at home against Padideh. The highlight of that game was a wonder equalizing strike by Hadi Nouroozi. Rah Ahan , were minutes away from winning away to Foolad Khuzestan after they lead 2-0 but two quick goals near the end ensured the teams share the spoils. Rah Ahan remained in the top league after the ruling from the appeal committee of FFIRI against their relegation for fielding unregistered player.

Malavan Anzali, a team that is unfairly taking advantage of some peculiar ruling in Iran that allows it to snatch young players during their military service, defeated last season’s Cup winners Zob Ahan 1-0, the goal scored by Arash Afshin , one of the players who does not belong to Malavan but the Bandar Anzali team can get his service for free because it is categorized as a Military team!

As customary for coaches here, Zob Ahan’s Yahya Golmohammadi blamed elements behind the scene for his team’s defeat!

As far as Team Melli players were concerned, there was some good form displayed by various players. Sajjad Shahbazzadeh , Esteghlal’s forward who was selected for Team Melli but never made any squad, scored two goals for his team away to Siah Jamegan. Mehdi Sharifi , continued where he left off last season when he scored the winner against Esteghlal Khuzestan from an inch perfect cross by another Team Melli player, Ehsan Haj Safi.

Sajjad Shabazadeh- Potential Team Melli candidate

Amongst all the actions, the 2015/16 season was not a happy ground for a number of current and former Team Melli players. Amongst the top players sadly missing in action were, Karim Ansarifard, and Ahmad Ale Nemeh. Both part of the FIFA World Cup squad in Brazil, the two players could not find a team. Ansarifard who had a torrid season with Osasuna and was sadly released at the end, insists that he wants to play in Europe and looking for a team in the better league of western Europe.

Other recent and former Team Melli players who were not wanted by any team at the start of the season are:

Javad Kazemian, Mehrdad Ouladi , Siavush Akbarpour , Seyed Mohammed Seyed Salehi , Farshid Talebi , Ahmad Jamshidian , Milad Zeneidpour, and Mohsen Bayati.

The listed players are all out of contract and looking for teams.

29/07/2015

Persian Gulf League in action again.

The 15th season of Iran’s premiere league (Persian Gulf Professional League) will start in earnest from tomorrow Thursday 30^th July 2015.

16 teams will be battling it out for the ultimate prize of lifting the Championship title and challenging the holder Sepahan Esfahan, the team with the most honors in the history of the league. The Esfahani team has been consistently challenging for the title since the start of the new league system, and has managed to win a record breaking 5 titles with 1 runner up and one third place positions. As such Foolad Mobarekeh Sepahan is the most decorated team of the league.

The Defending Champions

No doubt that Sepahan will continue on the same trail this season with nearly same squad that won the title in the previous season under the leadership of Coach Hossein Faraki. The ex-Team Melli striker is building a deservedly good reputation for himself in Iran’s football by winning his second title in a row with two different clubs. The soft spoken coach has kept faith in the title winning squad and refrained from indulging in any business in the transfer market. No doubt that a fit again Navidkia will assist Sepahan further in this edition. The frail and injury prone Captain of the team was absent for many matches last season.

Branko Ivankovic ^ Ali Daei 2006 — Branko Ivankovic Persepolis Coach

Persepolis

Persepolis, the most popular team in Iran along with Esteghlal, have been having torrid few seasons with changes in personnel occurring on regular basis. This club has so disappointed it millions of fans that the usual crowd of red army that used to paint Azadi in red has virtually disappeared. The Club numerous problems off the field, was further complicated the issue by some on the field transgressions of some players acting unruly and suffering from ill- disciplined. Poor appointments in coaching and administrative staff has furthered deteriorated the team to the extent that it was fighting for survival near the end of the last league season. Branko Ivankovic was recruited to replace the struggling Hamid Derakhshan. The Croat has maintained the league status of Persepolis and avoided the relegation, however, this season, there is little indication that the team will be decidedly better than last season.

The Blues of Esteghlal

Esteghlal, forever a title contender, had a disappointing last season under Amir Ghalenoei who was eventually replaced by Parviz Mazloomi. The club has a tendency to stick to its own and picks coaches from the plethora of ex and retired players rather than seek professional and experienced coaches elsewhere. Mazloomi last stint as Esteghlal coach ended bitterly when bad results and losses against much weaker teams started a semi revolt in the stands by the blues fan who demanded his removal. The squad for this season has not seen major changes however the loss of two Team Melli players in Sadeghi and Beigzadeh to Saba and lack of real fire power in the offensive line could limit the chance of Esteghlal in challenging for the title.

Like Persepolis, Esteghlal is another organization in real administrative, financial and ,management difficulties.

[box title=”

Leauge Stats

” style=”soft” box_color=”#c8c8ba” title_color=”#0d0c0c” radius=”5″]You can follow the Persian Gulf Pro League results and tables in www. teammelli.com all the time. Simply check the “Supplements” menu and select Persian Gulf League , or go to http://www.teammelli.com/the-persian-gulf-league[/box]

The League Committee

Despite gradual improvements in the organization of the league each new season, football in Iran is still behind the overall standard of rival Asian countries and the neighboring Persian Gulf states. Most of the facilities and the stadiums lack the international standards. Mercifully, AFC pressure has forced the Iranian authorities into action. The Asian ruling body plays a major role in forcing the Iranians to improve standards and facilities like the recent ruling by the AFC and insistence to install seats in the stadiums rather than the fans endure the hardship od sitting on scorching cement slabs.

One of the weaknesses of last season was the periodical stoppage of the season for Team Melli training camps which resulted in unanimous outcry by the coaches and teams. Those league stoppages were demanded by Carlos Queiroz as conditional for Team Melli survival in the World Cup. With no World Cup in 2016 , it is hoped that the season will continue without much interruption that hurts team’ momentum.

Attendances

Last season suffered from lack of interest by the fans. Factors that has affected the poor attendances varied amongst the major ones were; shortages of quality games, dearth of exciting players or games to attract the crowds, failure of the two most popular teams to shine which dampened the enthusiasm of their huge number of followers, match organizers lack of respect and appreciation of fans comfort and finally the broadcast of major European leagues matches on TV. Sepahan traditional never matched the fans base of the big two and their remote stadium has played a major role in the paltry attendance figures. The only team that made a difference and kept the league stands alive was Tractorsazi with its phenomenal and passionate crowds. No team has away travelling support either as the team from Tabriz. This season, despite the disappointing finish of last, should see the Azerbaijani fans flocking back once again to the Yadegar Imam stadium. The rest of the stadiums in Iran are a matter of hit and miss.

Broadcast rights.

Amongst the peculiarities of football in Iran is the TV and non-payment of broadcast fees.

In Iran, there is one government owned and run organization that has unjustifiably and unfairly taken full advantage of football enjoying a free ride for decades without paying anything in return. IRIB, the TV and Radio monopoly, has flatly refused to entertain any demands for payment to the league clubs or the FFIRI for broadcasting league or Team Melli matches a system that is globally implemented. IRIB, argues that it is providing a free service for fans and clubs alike and not charging the viewers, so it does not find any justification for paying while it is not charging subscription fees. In the in the contrary, IRIB thinks that it has to be paid because it is doing a favor for the clubs!.

IRIB conveniently, opportunistically and deviously ignored the millions of dollars that it has received from TV advertisers when broadcasting football matches.

This stand of arrogance and egotism by IRIB resulted in tension in the league and spilled out in the parliament and the media with various heated debates. IRIB is an organization which is strongly supported and protected by the by the highest of the hierarchy in the regime. It has dodged all attempts by all sides including the Iranian parliament to pay for broadcasting rights that is believed to have earned it coffers millions of dollars in return. Even an attempt to a TV black out and ban of cameras in stadiums, which only lasted for one round, did not dislodge the IRIB from its position. The IRIB simply brushed such a move as a minor inconvenience!

Good news of this season, however, is that IRIB finally agreed to pay for the broadcast of matches. The figures are closely kept secret and many insiders believe that it is nowhere near the true value of the league. In any case, it is a step forward and this might be a beginning of a new era for many clubs with huge financial difficulties (read the majority of the clubs) to get some return from TV broadcast rights.

Team Melli Players

10 out of the 32 players that donned Iran’s Team Melli jersey have changed club so far. There are expected to be a few more changes as several players have not agreed terms with their present clubs while many other countries have not started the season yet..

The full list of Team Melli player is as follows:

#	Players Name	Previous Team	Current Team
1	AMIRI, Vahid	Naft Tehran	Naft Tehran
2	ANSARIFARD, Karim	Osasuna	Rah Ahan
3	AZMOUN, Sardar	FC Rostov	FC Rostov
4	BEIGZADEH, Hashim	Esteghlal	Saba Qom
5	BIRANVAND, Alireza	Naft Tehran	Naft Tehran
6	DEJAGAH, Ashkan	Al Arabi	Al Arabi
7	EBRAHIMI, Omid	Esteghlal	Esteghlal
8	EZZATOLLAHI, Saeid	Athletico Madrid	FC Rostov
9	FOROUZAN, Mohsen	Esteghlal	Esteghlal
10	GHAFOORI, Vourya	Sepahan Esfahan	Sepahan Esfahan
11	GHOOCHANNEJAD, Reza	Al Wakra	Al Wakra
12	HAGHIGHI, Alireza	FC Penafiel	FC Penafiel
13	HAJSAFY, Ehsan	Sepahan Esfahan	Sepahan Esfahan
14	HASSANZADEH, Masoud	Zob Ahan	Zob Ahan
15	HEYDARI, Khosrow	Esteghlal	Esteghlal
16	HOSSEINI, Jalal	Al Ahli	Naft Tehran
17	JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza	NEC	NEC
18	KANANI, Mohammad Hossein	Malavan	Malavan
19	KHANZADEH, Mohammadreza	Persepolis	Foolad Kuzestan
20	MOHAMMADI, Milad	Rah Ahan	Rah Ahan
21	MONTAZERI, Pejman	Umm Salal	Al Ahli
22	NEKOUNAM, Javad	Osasuna	Saipa
23	POOLADI, Mehrdad	Al Shahaniya	Al Shahaniya
24	POURALIGANJI, Morteza	Tianjin Teda	Tianjin Teda
25	RAFIEI, Sourosh	Foolad Khuzestan	Foolad Khuzestan
26	REZAEIAN, Ramin	Rah Ahan	Persepolis
27	SADEGHI, AmirHossein	Esteghlal	Saba Qom
28	SHARIFI, Mehdi	Sepahan Esfahan	Sepahan Esfahan
29	SHOJAEI, Masoud	Al Shahaniya	Al Shahaniya
30	TAREMI, Mehdi	Persepolis	Persepolis
31	TEYMOURIAN, Andranik	Tractorsazi Tabriz	Umm Salal
32	TORABI, Mehdi	Saipa	Saipa

29/07/2015

Iran to play Japan on October 13th.

The friendly international against Japan has been finalized and will be played on FIFA Day on 13th October 2015 in Azadi Stadium.

The match will come 5 days after Team Melli has played Oman its main Group D rival in FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers in Muscat. This friendly has been discussed between the two federation but only finalized yesterday to nicely slot between the two teams commitments in the World Cup qualifiers.

Both the Asian giants have stumbled in the first round of FIFA World Cup qualification rounds 2018 with Japan surprisingly being held by Singapore at home, and Iran facing the same against Turkmenistan away. As such , this edition of the competition might be a shade more difficult than both Iran and Japan has expected and matches like this friendly will be beneficial for the two main contenders for a place in World Cup 2018 finals in Russia.

The friendly in Tehran will be the first between the two teams in 10 years . The last time the two have met was in the World Cup 2006 qualifiers where Iran lost 2-1 in Yokohama. None of the players in that match will be featuring in the October friendly.

The Iran and Japan rivalry goes back to the fifties of last century. The two teams met for the first time in the Asian Games 1951 semi-finals in New Delhi, where the match ended goal-less. In the replay the next day Iran drew first blood and won in a closely fought match 3-2 with 2 goals from Mehdi Masoud-Ansari and one from Masoud Broumand. Japan goals came from Masanori Tokita and Toro Kagawa.

16 matches have been played between the teams with Iran edging Japan by 6 wins against 5. 5 matches were drawn.

21/07/2015

Ezatollahi joins FC Rostov.

Saeid Ezatollahi Afagh Signed a 4 year contract with the Russian Premier league team Rostov. Ezatollahi who has been with Spanish league club Atletico Madrid since August 2014 will join his Team Melli teammate Sardar Azmoun in Rostov.

The Bandar Anzali born player played for the Lower division team of Atletico Madrid, but the team was relegated last season to the third tier of the Spanish league.

The 18 years old player has only recently made his debut for Team Melli in the 1-0 win against Uzbekistan in a friendly in Tashkent.

18/07/2015

Nuclear deal and Iran’s football.

It is not far from accurate to claim that the lifting of sanction against Iran in the aftermath of the nuclear deal especially when it comes to the banking sector, will have an immediate impact on Iran’s football like every other sector of society.

Banking Restrictions

One major problem that hindered the progress of football was the restrictions of money transfer which made it difficult to engage foreign coaches and teams. The football federation has still not been paid its share of participation in the World Cup 2014 by FIFA estimated to be around US$8 million, because of the restriction on banking transaction with Iran. Similar difficulties have faced the clubs and the federation when arranging for friendlies, payments to foreign coaches and establishment of training camps outside the country. With the lifting of these sanctions, a huge burden will be lifted and business would be conducted unrestricted.

Bright economic outlook

By all accounts, the economic and financial outlook of Iran is truly bright. A country with hardly any foreign debts and huge uncapped resources, is gradually recovering billions of dollars in unlawfully held frozen assets plus interests. On top of that, the economic growth as result of lifting of the sanction could hit record highs. Both the Bourse in Tehran and the Iranian currency has seen rates going up north within hours of the deal announcement.

However, it is hardly improbable that the football will be on the receiving end of much of that wealth. No flood gate opening of foreign coaches and players expected soon in Iran, although marginal increase of foreign imports is expected.

Clubs difficulties

With the financial difficulties faced by almost all of the league clubs, it will take some time for them to recover and perhaps benefit from government handouts, a government that has many priorities ahead of football. President Rouhani has much work to do trying to mend much of the fiascoes of the previous government. Football clubs are becoming a heavy burden for the economy not to mention a source of corruption and embezzlement. Despite what looks like a genuine interest in privatizing major clubs in Iran, the government has failed to deliver through bad management of the deal.

The government, through the ministry of Sports is also guilty of some poor appointments of managers and CEO’s for these clubs, much nepotism and little regards to the person’s competency or professionalism.

Management failures

The major problem of Iran’s football is not just the lack of financial resources however. It is the acute failure of its management at all levels from the Ministry , federations all the way to clubs and local football consuls. While Iran has a person such as Javad Zarif negotiating and managing to strike a deal with the world power, Iran’s football managers cannot arrange a simple task without failures, embarrassments and disappointments. Be it arranging a training camp or appointing coaches or negotiating for friendly matches, time after time we have seen these people running the show, fail to deliver and cause embarrassments to Iran’s reputation one after another.

Failures galore!

The list of such humiliation can handsomely produce volumes of pages worthy of reading. It is not bad to run quickly through some major blunders and pitfalls of the last few years . FIFA sanction against Iran for political meddling, AFC suspension of Iran youth level teams for several years for falsifying document to lower players ages, Iran’s disqualification from the London Olympics football qualifying rounds for fielding an ineligible player, numerous cancelation of friendly games and training camps, failure of the government (Ministry of youth and Sports) to privatize Persepolis and Esteghlal after 4 attempts, appointing of an ineligible coach for Iran U23 team who does not hold proper qualification according to AFC and FIFA requirements.

When a country has a man in the caliber of Mohammd Javad Zarif, as a foreign minister supported by a team of professional who are all graduates of the most famous and highly regarded educational institutes of the world, when the country advances in so many fields including sport itself as evident from the meteoric rise of Iran’s Volleyball team to the top of the World League , when he country despite the huge brain migration to the west , still manages to run a respectable financial , political and military establishments, one wonders why these skills are not seen or reflected in Iran’s football management!

Football’s bad apples.

It seems that football in Iran attracts incompetent and dodgy characters. The sport pages of Iranian media is full of claims , trash talk , rhetoric , false promises and pure lies by these football administrators especially those associated with Persepolis and Esteghlal. When it comes to achievement, accomplishment and delivery, these people fail miserably at that. No matter how much money is flooded into football in Iran and most of it is public funds , if it is not managed properly , it will definitely be wasted.

From the Minister of Sports, to the FFIRI presidency, the clubs and all the way down, Iran has experienced far too many managerial failures that cannot be simply improved by pumping more money.

The Future & the options.

Somewhere along the line, there has to be a drive to introduce skillful management starting at the highest level into this football. Visionary Managers who understand the sport but more important than their understanding of the game plans, they should be adept corporate managers who can run clubs and federation like corporate entities. Iran does not need old retired players who have not achieved anything in life beyond their playing football to run its football. For some odd reasons so of these veterans keep demanding their rights to manage and own clubs!

Lack of skilled managers with modern mentality, flexibility, adaptability and global experience will hurt Iran’s football in the long run. And right there, is precisely where things are going wrong in Iran. Short term mentalities, has been the Achilles heel of this football. Lack of interest by managers of anything beyond the years that they are in office or in control. This disinterest in future is one reason that for decades now, Esteghlal and Persepolis have failed to produce quality young players.

Conclusion

In general, when the dust settles down, it is hoped that football reaps the benefit of Iran’s new chapter in its relation with the west. It is no shame to invest in foreign expertise even in football. The world has seen plenty of examples of countries utilizing foreign expertise and the best that their money can buy to develop its infrastructure.

17/07/2015

Tahiti edge Iran in the quarter finals.

Tahiti defeated Iran 5-4 in a closely-fought, back-and-forth quarter-final in Espinho to set up a meeting with Italy in the semi-finals at Portugal 2015.

Tahiti qualified for the last-eight as unbeaten leaders in Group D, including a win over current champions Russia, while Iran finished second to Brazil in Group C. The two sides had never played each other in an official competition.

There was very little separating both sides, as Tahiti’s passing game was countered by Iran’s incessant defensive efforts. Two similar periods saw Tahiti manage to score first, only for Iran to respond with crucial goals of their own.

The third period saw both teams play with more freedom and create space, although the sequence of goals remained the same. Tahiti scored twice but in each occasion Iran equalised one minute later. Finally, Heimanu Taiarui put the Oceanians ahead 5-4 with under five minutes left, which was enough to see Tahiti through.

Having finished fourth when they hosted the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™ two years ago, Tahiti cemented their status as one of the top teams in the world as they reached another semi-final.

Quarter-finals

Tahiti – Iran

5:4 (1:0, 1:2, 3:2)

Date	Venue / Stadium	Time	Attendance
16 July 2015	Espinho /Espinho Stadium	18:30	2700

Match Officials

Referee

EIRIZ Ruben (ESP)

Goals scored

Naea BENNETT (TAH) 10’01” , Mohammad AHMADZADEH (IRN) 12’37” , Naea BENNETT (TAH) 13’18” , Mehran MORSHEDI (IRN) 13’57” , Patrick TEPA (TAH) 26’12” , Moslem MESIGAR (IRN) 26’51” Penalty goal, Raimana LI FUNG KUEE (TAH) 29’16” , Mohammad MOKHTARI (IRN) 30’04” , Heimanu TAIARUI (TAH) 31’41”

Line-ups	Line-ups
Tahiti	Iran
1 JO (GK)	1 P. HOSSEINI (GK)
4 TAIARUI	2 A. AKBARI
7 LI FUNG KUEE	7 M. MORSHEDI
8 TAVANAE	8 F. BOULOKBASHI
9 BENNETT (C)	11 M. AHMADZADEH (C)

Substitutes	Substitutes
12 BEO (GK)	12 H. BEHZADPOUR (GK)
2 ANGEL	3 M. MORADI
3 TAINUI	4 M. KIANI
5 MO	5 A. NADERI
6 TEPA	6 F. DARA
10 LABASTE	9 M. MOKHTARI
11 ZAVERONI	10 M. MESIGAR

Coach	Coach
ROTA Tehina (TAH)	OCTAVIO Marco (BRA)

14/07/2015

Rubin Kazan coach criticizes Azmoun behavior.

The head coach of the Russian Club Rubin Kazan , Rinat Bilyaletdinov, has criticized the attitude and behavior of his Iranian player Sardar Azmoun. The Team Melli forward who was on loan to FC Rostov, has been creating excuses not to return to Kazan according to the Russian coach.

“I don’t know who advises this player, whether it is his family , friends , coaches or his manager, but whatever they are telling him is not right and not professional. ” Bilyaletdinov was quoted in an interview published by soccer.ru. “He is a Rubin Kazan player who was loaned to FC Rostov. It was his wish to play for that team in order to re-unite with his previous boss in Kazan. We had no objection and allowed him to go. Now that the loan period is over, he should be back to his team but he is refusing to do so! First he said he is injured, so we gave him a few days to recover, but now he is no-show.”

Rinat Bilyaletdinov added “Since the Asian Cup , this player’s attitude has changed to he worse. He is not acting professionally and he is costing my team wastage of time and resources. If he does not want to play for Rubin Kazan , he should be man enough to tell us directly so we can sort the issue out. No need to play such games in this level of professional football.”

s to

14/07/2015

Team Melli Beach Soccer to meet Tahiti in the quarter finals.

Iran’s Beach Soccer team reached the quarter finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015™ after finishing runner up in Group C following Brazil defeat of Spain 2-1

The last match in the group stages saw the 4 times title holder Brazil narrowly beat last championships runner up Spain to create one of the first major upset of this edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Iran will be playing against Tahiti who themselves upset all the odds by beating the defending champions Russia 7-6 in Group D. Brazil will be meeting Russia for a place in the semifinals.

Thursday 16 July

16 Jul 2015

Quarter-finals

Espinho Stadium

Espinho

Brazil vs. Russia

Portugal vs. Switzerland

Italy vs. Japan

Tahiti vs. Iran

14/07/2015

Iran Beach soccer eyes a 1/4 finals berth after defeating Mexico.

Iran held off a spirited Mexican fightback to win their Group C clash 3-2 and close on a place in the knockout stages, eliminating Mexico in the process. Iran stormed into a three-goal lead, with Mohammad Ahmadzadeh and Faroogh Dara’s second period efforts building on Amir Akbari’s first period opener. The Mexicans responded with two second period goals of their own, through Gerardo Gomez and Abdiel Villa, but it was not enough to prevent their side being knocked out.

Akbari, featuring at his third global finals, scored inside the opening two minutes once again, as he had against Brazil in his side’s most recent match. Ahmadzadeh then grabbed his third goal in three games in Espinho with a spectacular overhead kick, before Dara’s fist Beach Soccer World Cup goal since 2007 helped Marco Octavio’s side into a seemingly unassailable lead.

The Mexicans hit back minutes later though through Gomez and Villa, both grabbing their first ever Beach Soccer World Cup goals. Despite applying pressure in the closing stages, the Mexicans could not find the crucial leveller – thanks in part to some spectacular goalkeeping from Peyman Hosseini – and head home without a victory to their name. Iran await the outcome of Brazil’s showdown with Spain later today to see if they have secured their place in the quarter-finals.

If Brazil beats Spain later on , Iran will qualify to meet Tahiti , the surprise group D winner . The pacific nation team defeated Russia 6-7 in a game played after Mexico-Iran match.

First stage
Mexico – Iran
2:3 (0:1)
Date: 14 July 2015

Venue / Stadium : Espinho /Espinho Stadium

Time : 13:00

Attendance

Match Officials
Referee : ARZUOLAITIS Laurynas (LTU)
Goals scored
Amir AKBARI (IRN) 1’55” , Mohammad AHMADZADEH (IRN) 14’38” , Faroogh DARA (IRN) 14’59” , Gerardo GOMEZ (MEX) 18’18” , Abdiel VILLA (MEX) 21’29”

	Iran		Mexico
1	P. HOSSEINI	12	M. ESTRADA (GK)
2	A. RODRIGUEZ	2	A. AKBARI
4	F. CATI (C)	7	M. MORSHEDI
7	R. MALDONADO	8	F. BOULOKBASHI
10	A. VILLA	11	M. AHMADZADEH

	Substitutes
1	M. CORONA (GK)	12	H. BEHZADPOUR (GK)
3	C. HERNANDEZ	3	M. MORADI
5	A. GONZALEZ	4	M. KIANI
6	G. PICHARDO	5	A. NADERI
8	J. ALEMAN	8	F. DARA
9	S. RAMIREZ	9	M. MOKHTARI
11	G. GOMEZ	10	M. MESIGAR

	COACHES
	RAYA Ramon (MEX)		OCTAVIO Marco (BRA)

Cautions
Gerardo GOMEZ (MEX) 26’13” , Amir AKBARI (IRN) 33’08”
Expulsions
Adrian GONZALEZ (MEX) 3’08”

GROUP C

Teams	MP	W	L	GF	GA	Pts
Brazil	2	2	0	9	4	6
Iran	3	2	1	12	11	6
Spain	2	1	1	8	7	3
Mexico	3	0	3	4	11	0

12/07/201512/07/2015

Team Melli beach soccer team lose against Brazil.

Team Melli lost bravely to Brazil in another close and thrilling encounter in Portugal

Brazil’s win, their second of the tournament at Portugal 2015, did not come easily to the four-time champions after Iran had a 3-1 lead in the first period.

Both sides had won their opening matches in Espinho—Brazil defeated Mexico 5-1 and Iran overcame Spain 6-5. The two teams were also drawn in the same group at Tahiti 2013. Brazil won that time around 4-1, but in Espinho, Iran made life much tougher on their South American opposition.

**Group C**
Teams	MP	W	L	GF	GA	Pts
Brazil	2	2	0	9	4	6
Iran	2	1	1	9	9	3
Spain	2	1	1	8	7	3
Mexico	2	0	2	2	8	0

An exciting first period saw a brace by Amir Akbari put Iran ahead twice, Mohammad Ahmadzadeh , Iran’s star scoring a stunning third goal for Team Melli to take a 3-1 lead. However, goals from Bruno Xavier and Bokinha helped Brazil fight back to bring the match level by the end of the period.

The Brazilians reach closer to the quarter-finals, although they are not formally through. All four teams in Group C still have a chance of advancing to the last-eight.

The final match for Team Melli on Tuesday should seal its qualification to the next round although a win by Spain against Brazil , might complicate the issue.

Match

First stage

Iran – Brazil

3:4 (3:3)

Date	Venue / Stadium	Time	Attendance
12 July 2015	Espinho /Espinho Stadium	17:30	3500

Match Officials

Referee

MATTICOLI Gionni (ITA)

Goals scored

Amir AKBARI (IRN) 1’25” , FERNANDO DDI (BRA) 1’46” , Amir AKBARI (IRN) 3’09” , Mohammad AHMADZADEH (IRN) 4’04” , BRUNO XAVIER (BRA) 11’26” Penalty goal, BOKINHA (BRA) 11’39” , MAURICINHO (BRA) 25’03”

Line-ups	Line-ups
Iran	Brazil
1 P. HOSSEINI (GK)	1 MÃO (GK)
2 A. AKBARI	2 FERNANDO DDI
7 M. MORSHEDI	8 BRUNO XAVIER
8 F. BOULOKBASHI	9 RODRIGO
11 M. AHMADZADEH (C)	11 DATINHA

Substitutes	Substitutes
12 H. BEHZADPOUR (GK)	12 CESINHA (GK)
3 M. MORADI	3 GABRIEL
5 A. NADERI	4 CATARINO
6 F. DARA	5 MAURICINHO
9 M. MOKHTARI	6 RAFINHA
10 M. MESIGAR	7 R. BOKINHA
4 M. KIANI	10 JORGINHO (C)

Coach	Coach
OCTAVIO Marco (BRA)	JUNIOR NEGAO (BRA)

Cautions

Peyman HOSSEINI (IRN) 14’27” , BRUNO XAVIER (BRA) 22’10” , BOKINHA (BRA) 23’19”

a.e.t.:	After extra time	(C):	Captain	PSO:	Penalty Shoot-out
GK:	Goalkeeper	N:	Not eligible to play	I:	Injured
2Y:	Misses next match if booked	Pos:	Positions	A:	Absent