Month: July 2019

Krim Ansarifard in the Qatar Star League

The former Nottingham Forest player and Team Melli centre forward, Karim Ansarifard signed a 2-year contract with Al Sailiya Sports Club in Doha.

Al-Sailiya SC is managed by the Tunisian Sami Trabelsi and Ansarifard is the only non-Arab player in the squad which is mainly formed of north African and Sudanese players.

Last season, the club ended the season in a very respectable 3rd position behind champions Al Sadd and runners up Al Duhail. This was one of the best rankings of Al Sailiya in Qatar Star league. Ansarifard, whose contract with English Championship club Nottingham forest has run out, had a few good seasons in Greece before moving to England and the disappointment of Nottingham Forest. In 2017/18 season, the 29 years old Ansarifard played in the Greek League for Olympiakos Piraeus where he scored 17 goals in 26 matches. However, in England, Ansarifard only managed 3 goals in 12 matches without securing a starting place in the line up of coach O’Neil.

Nottingham Forest had to endure a lot before managing to secure the signature of Ansarifard last season after eventually getting his work permit sorted out, but after all that effort the striker was to warm the bench for most of the season!

England has never been a successful playing ground for Iranian internationals and despite the small number of them playing in England, none of the Iranians managed to claim success. Jahanbaksh, the Top Scorer of the Eredivisie, was bought by Brighton for a record fee, but he could not score a single goal in the Premier League or other competitions with his team in a full season. It is to be noted however that Jahanbakhsh only played 19 games for Brighton missing many due to injury and then the AFC Asian Cup 2019 while he was away with Team Melli.

A whole new Team Melli squad.

Marc Wilmots has called upon 23 Persian Gulf League players for a five-day training camp commencing on Wednesday.

According to the federation website, this camp will coincide with Omid Team Camp headed by Farhad Majidi, will be held behind closed doors at Azadi Stadium.

The new squad list does not resemble anything like a Team Melli team and, although there are a few familiar names that have periodically been picked as bench players, the majority are unknown players that have been singled out as potential good prospects for Team Melli. The interesting point is the age group that Wilmots and other selectors have picked and that is around the 22-24 years old.

The odd one out is the ex-Sepahan player Mehrdad Mohammadi who is now playing for the Portuguese club, Aves player. The 25 years old, is the twin brother of Milad Mohammadi, the left back of Team Melli.

 

The objective of this squad is for Wilmots to mostly recognize domestic players. The next team major commitment is in September where the official matches are played and the squad of Team Melli might need enhancements.

However, given the names that made the list, some of whom were playing in the lower league last season, the question arises as to who Welmots has counseled in his team or elsewhere and what cognition does he have of any of these players?  A question that poses a lot of attention especially as the transfer season has started and being in the Team Melli squad will definitely increase the players’ value.

 

As an example, in the new list of Team Melli, Mohammad Mohebbi and Peyman Ranjbari were playing in League One last season, or in the case of Saeed Wasei who plays for Peykan, his statistics of three goals scored and one assist last season, while in the same Team Peykan, Isa Al Katheer has scored eight goals and had two assists but has not been invited to Team Melli. Perhaps the five-year age difference between the two players was a point considered in the selection, but Wasei’s statistics are not eye-catching, to say the least at his age (24 years), It can’t be considered a phenomenon. In any case, Wilmot’s move to give players who may have a chance of being part of the Squad is a positive move, but it was better if such selection was done on a more positive footing and clear of any bias and favoritism.

Question marks will linger about many names and even more about those who are absent.

The names of the players and teams that are present are as follows:

Goalkeepers:

Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri (29): Tractor

Mehdi Amini (23): Peykan

Ahmed Gohari (23): Saipa

Defenders:

Mohammad Ansari (27): Persepolis

Mohammad Hussein Moradmand (age 26): Padideh

Siavash Yazdani (27): Esteghlal

Iman Saleemi (23): Tractorsazi

Daniel Esmaeilifar (26): Zob Ahan

Mehdi Shiri (28): Persepolis

Mohammad Naderi (22 ): Persepolis

Saeed Aghaei (24 ): Sepahan

Midfielders:

Ali Karimi (25): No club

Ahmad Abdullah Zadeh (26): Foolad Khuzestan

Amir Hossein Karimi (23): Peykan

Reza Asadi (23): No club

Mehrdad Mohammadi (25): Aves

Mohammad Mohebbi (21): Sepahan.

Muhammad Karimi (23): Sepahan

Saeed Wasei (24): Peykan

Arash Rezavand (25): Esteghlal

Majid Alayari (24): Saipa

Forwards

Shahriar Moghanloo (24): Peykan

Peyman Ranjbari (26): Golghar

Ali Shojaei: A player to watch

Ali Shojaei (born January 27, 1997) is considered one of the brightest talents in Iran’s football. 

Unlike many players who become famous and popular for their goals in Iranian football, this player is a defender-cum-winger who is on the brink of stardom. Shojaei is a player who can occupy the left-wing midfield and left-back defense. Currently, he plays for Nasiji Mazandaran Club in the Persian Gulf Premier League. However, Esteghlal Tehran, one of the two major clubs of Iran, is chasing his signature on a 3 years contract to play for the famous blues of Tehran in the new season.

Shojaei is born in Tehran and he started his football with Saipa making his debut in a Hazfi Cup match.

It wasn’t long before this impressive young player was spotted by the Youth national team selectors. He was in the squad for the U17 (2009-2013), U20 (2014-2017), U21 (2014-2017) and Omid Team (2018-2019)

With an excellent season with Nasaji, the player’s performance was bound to attract the big clubs. While Nasaji is quite reluctant to release him, they are helpless in keeping him for another season as they cannot match the offers of Esteghlal nor can they block his future success.

Ali Shojaei was one of the squad members of Iran’s FIFA Youth World Cup in 2017. He was the vice-captain of the team. Many observers admired the quality of Shojaei at that tournament.

What sets SHojaei apart from many left backs is his influence as an attacking winger. Time and again, his powerful runs on the left flank both at the club and national teams have produced goals for his teams.

Shojaei is quite an Influential and effective player in attack despite being a defender.

With his excellent physical fitness and stamina, Shojaei has set a good example for his teammates.   There are many other good qualities but his crosses and accurate long passes are exceptional.

The accuracy of crosses has helped the forwards and midfield player of his teams to score valuable goals. His crosses, particularly, are a delight to watch.

There are only a few excellent left-wing players in Iran’s football history, Ali Shojaei can certainly register his name as one of the greatest if he continues his progress, hard work, dedication, and the right attitude. Many young Iranians, in fact far too many, fail to achieve excellence and meet expectations because of the wrong attitude and disciplinary issues.

As a defender, it is difficult to become a household name in Iran, but the excellence of Shojaei might just prove many wrongs.

Ali Shojaei at 22, is already a mature and competent player. He is the one to watch. Do not be surprised if Marc Wilmots invites him to Team Melli soon where players like Milad Mohammadi is already established in that post.

Zenit’s reported Rogic interest could give Celtic a golden chance to sign Sardar Azmoun

Danny Owen

https://www.hitc.com/

Russian Premier League winner Sardar Azmoun has been linked with Scottish Premiership champions Celtic since 2017.

Celtic might just have been handed the best chance they will ever get to finally bring Sardar Azmoun to Glasgow.

The Mirror (22 April, page 48) reported last year that The Hoops were eyeing an ambitious swoop for a player who’s ‘Iranian Messi’ moniker has followed him around for as long as memory will allow. That came approximately 12 months after Celtic first expressed their interest in Azmoun, who’s £10 million price-tag would have made him the Premiership champions’ all-time record signing.

But if this long-awaited switch is ever going to happen, it’s now.

According to The Herald, Zenit St Petersburg are planning a £9 million bid for Celtic’s enigmatic midfielder Tom Rogic. The Russian champions will have to do a lot better than that, however, with Celtic demanding closer to £15 million for the former Central Coast Mariners starlet.

Offering Azmoun as part of the deal, however, might be enough to twist Celtic’s arm.

Tom Rogic of Australia after the International Friendly match between the Australian Socceroos and Korea Republic at Suncorp Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Brisbane, Australia.

The 24-year-old enjoyed the best season of his career after swapping Rubin Kazan for Zenit, netting 17 times in all competitions including three in four Europa League matches.

A clinical finisher with a fearsome leap, Azmoun looks every inch the natural-born goalscorer Celtic have needed since Moussa Dembele left for Lyon. If Zenit is willing to offer Azmoun for Rogic, the Hoops might just have to bite their hands off.

30 players are invited for Omid Team camp

The names of the Omid Team players were announced by the FFIRI. According to the official website of the Football Association, 30 players are invited for the U-23 team training camp commencing July 10th and lasting 5 days. The squad selected by Farhad Majidi and his technical assistants will also play a friendly against Team Melli at the end of the camp on 15th July.

Iran’s Olympic team is attempting to qualify for the Olympics football competition for the first time since 1980.

The names of 30 invited players are as follows:

Me’araj Esmaeli (Zob Ahan),

Mehdi Ghaedi, Mehdi Noorollahi, Reza Azari (Esteghlal Tehran)

Nima Mirzazad (Nasaji Mazandaran)

Ismael Babaei (Fajr Sepasi Shiraz)

Reza Shekari (Rubin Kazan, Russia)

Hossein Pourhamidi (Golghar Sirjan)

Mohammad Khorram Al-Husseini (Machine-Sazi Tabriz )

Aref Gholami , Vahid Namdari (Foulad Khouzestan)

Amir Roustai, Abolfazl Razzaghpour , Mohammad Khodabandehloo (Peykan Tehran)

Amir Mahdi Janmalaki, Taha Shariati, Abolfazl Jalali, Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Omid Dareh, Reza Jafari (Saipa)

Ramin Davoudi (Esteghlal Khouzestan)

Mehdi Memizadeh (Niroo Zamini)

Alireza  Arta (Mes Kerman)

Reza Jabirah (Sanat Naft Abadan)

Mohammad Mehdi Mahdikhani, Mohammad Aghajanpour, Sina Zamehran (Padidah)

MohammadReza Azadi, Mohammad Moslimpour (Tractorsazi)

Mohammad Amin Asadi (Persepolis )

Destination Turkey.

The two mighty neighbors Turkey and Iran have a heavy mutual influence on each other, due to geographical proximity, economic benefits, linguistic and ethnic relations. They were also regional rivals at some stage of history and fought each other for influence and power. In modern times, the relation has been peaceful and friendly.  Football formed part of this peaceful relationship and also created a regional rivalry.

The Turkish association with European football and its membership in UEFA, has immensely benefitted its development. The Turkish national team, despite making it to the World Cup twice only in their history (1954 & 2002), was always considered to be better and stronger than Iran’s Team Melli from the early 50s. Those days, the two countries played a lot of football against each other including a regional tournament called RCD which was a three side annual tournament that also included Pakistan in the 60s.

However, like many things after the 1979 revolution, with Iran’s major change of political ideology, the two countries experienced less than a cozy relationship, football naturally suffered from this cold relation and the two countries cut off their football connection. Neither side showed any interest in playing friendlies against the other, no doubt politics playing a major role in the break of footballing relationship.

Meanwhile, Turkish football, at club level at least, was thriving. The trio, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas were as good as many first-rate  European clubs. With financial clout and huge fan bases, Turkey became the focus of attention and the destination of many foreign players.  For years, the Turkish clubs employed the services of European, African and Latin American footballers, those included some household names in football. However, the majority of the big name European signings were players at the twilight of their careers who were there for a last-ditch attempt to enrich their bank accounts before hanging their boots rather than seeking glory.  The success of the policy of the Turkish clubs in attracting high profile aging footballers was mixed perhaps moderately successful at best.

What the Turkish club ignored was the abundance of talents on the eastern and southern borders. Iran and to a certain extent, Iraq had a wealth of young talents that were there for the taking. Since the late nineties, European clubs, particularly the German realized that as a number of the best Iranian players were employed by clubs like Bayern Munich , Hamburg, Hertha Berlin, and Arminia Bielefeld While talented Iraqi players headed south to the Persian Gulf states. At no time, the Turks endeavored to attract Iranians and Iraqis to play for their teams, although it would have been a good investment and certainly cheaper for them too.

By the beginning of the second decade of the millennium, The Turkish clubs, at last, looked at Iran. There had to be something special in that country’s football that can generate quality players for Team Melli.  With shoestring budgets, Iranian clubs managed to continuously deliver talented players thus enriching Team Melli and many 0f those young players eventually heading outside Iran to play professional football. In the process, Iran has made 4 appearances in the FIFA World Cup after a break of 20 years since the initial one in 1978, but also steadily climbed in the FIFA World Ranking to approach the elites. Meanwhile, Turkey managed one appearance in 2002.

That made the Turkish clubs think hard and employ scouts to talent hunt in Iran and seek bargains and future investments from the Persians.

For the Iranians, Turkey is the perfect destination for a professional player. The culture, the climate and the proximity of the two countries make it an ideal place to play football, to develop and to make a decent living.  Although the flood gates had hardly opened on the Iranians, the Turkish clubs are beginning to be shrewd as they are constantly on the lookout for talented players even as young as 18 years old. In the case of Allahyar Sayyadmanish, who was hardly a fixed player in his club Esteghlal, such investment could turn out to be a clever an astute move by Fenerbahçe. The giant Turkish club is now seeking the services of the 19 years old Iraqi forward Muhanad Ali Kadhim from Al Shorta Club.

It is a win-win situation for both sides. Iranian Players can develop well in Turkey with training facilities and passionate fans enhancing the league to become one of the best in Europe. It is certainly the right environment for aspiring young Iranian and Iraqi players.

 

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, is an 11th Iranian footballer in Turkey.

Naser Sadeghi (Galatasaray / Konyaspor)
Mohammad Khakpour (Vanspor)
Reza Shahroudi (Altay)
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Erzurumspor)
Mohammad Moemeni (Erzurumspor)
Hamed Kavianpour (Kayserispor)
Sajjad Şhahbazzade (Alanyaspor) ♣
Payam Sadeghian (Osmanlıspor) ♣
Vahid Amiri (Trabzonspor) ♣
Majid Hosseini (Trabzonspor) ♣

♣ currently active.

Team Melli and Omid Team will set up joint Training camp.

Iran’s Team Melli and Omid Team will be setting training camps at the same time and end up playing a friendly match after the conclusion of the camp at the national teams’ Training camp in Tehran.

From 10th to the 15th of July, there will be a busy period for the national football federation teams in the training camps. The objective of this Team Melli camp includes further familiarization by Marc Wilmots with the team members.  Wilmots will be unable to call upon the foreign-based players of Team Melli and has to contend with the domestic league players.

However, in order for the Belgian coach to gain more knowledge of his players and to make changes as he deems necessary, this will be a good opportunity for him to discover further talents and proceed on his changes by allowing younger players the chance to perform.

Wilmots hopes to have a more solid idea for the team formation for the month of September and to organize a game on the official FIFA day. In the last two friendlies,  Wilmots used a mix of AFC Asian Cup and World Cup players in both the Syria and South Korean games. He is working on the team’s weaknesses, including defending, and said he was looking to fix the team gradually. Nevertheless, Wilmots said he is pleased with his team performance in the last two matches, his first at the helm of Iran, and in his recent interview, he said that he is glad that former national team coach, Carlos Queiroz.he had left a good legacy for him.

On the other ground, there will be also another national team training. Iran’s Omid Team Olympics hopefuls will set up camp at the same time sharing the facilities with the senior team.  Farhad Majidi , who has already set up a training camp in June, is looking to further improve the team for the much tougher assignment in Thailand in the qualifiers of the Olympics.

He will be focused on technical and psychological issues of the squad, which will mainly consist of previous players from the Omid team’s past camps. Majidi will continue to invite new players for the camp, especially since there will be tough competition for places and players need to show their ability to be part of the Omid Team, Majidi said.

The young head coach of the Omid team who is hoping to qualify for the Olympic Games is looking forward to the match with the senior team. Wilmots and Majidi teams will play a competitive friendly at the end of the five-day camps, which is likely to be played on No. 2 ground that has a natural grass surface.

It is also likely that Pejman Montazeri, who has just announced his retirement from international football, will be honored and appreciated by his teammates in the same camp. Montazeri played for Team Melli for about 10 years and has represented Iran in the World Cup and Asian Cup.

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh signs for Turkish club Fenerbahçe.

Team Melli youngest debutant and scorer, and former Esteghlal striker has joined  Turkish club Fenerbahçe.

 

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh signed a 3-year contract with the 19 times Turkish Super League champion.  The 18-year-old Iranian national who played last season in Esteghlal, signed his contract in Istanbul. The contract is worth 850,000 euros, with options for a further 3-year extension and a bonus of 270,000 euros.

Fenerbahçe is one of the most successful and best supported football teams in Turkey. Currently, the club is managed by the Turkish coach Kazim Ersun Yanal. In the last season of the Turkish  Süper Lig, Fenerbahçe ended the season in a disappointing 6th place missing on European competition this coming season.

 

Expressing his joy and excitement for being transferred to Fenerbahce Sayyadmanesh said, “I’m very happy to come to such a large community and a club with great supporters. I will do my utmost best in everything to achieve success and glory for the club. Nobody should doubt that I will do anything to win with this club until the last drop of my blood. ” 

Sayyadmanesh explained the process and details of the transfer and said:  

“From the moment I heard the interest of Fenerbahce, I knew I was going to join a great big club, but I started to study the club even more. After I turned 18, I had no doubt where I wanted to go and my confirmation was quick and I signed to officially join this great club. ” 

Sayyadmanesh will be joining a number of famous players like Victor Moses, the Nigerian National Team player who was previously with Chelsea, the Moroccan international Nabil Dhirar, The Chilean international Mauricio Aníbal Isla and the Brazilain Jailson.

The 2019–20 Süper Lig, officially called the Spor Toto Süper Lig Cemil Usta season, will start on16 August 2019.