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Déjà vu. Omid Team eliminated!

Omid Team has been eliminated from the group stages of the AFC Asian U23 Championship and with it the eternal dream of qualification to the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

In the final do and die match against winless China, Omid Team struggled badly and wasted chance after chance to score goals until the 85th minute when a dubious penalty call by the referee allowed Noorafkan to score from the spot-kick. It was one goal too little and too late despite Uzbekistan losing their match against South Korea 2-1.

Uzbekistan qualified as the second of the group with 4 points, same as Iran but with a better goal difference of one goal.

In a match of wasted chances, especially the one that profligate Mehdi Ghaedi wasted while the goal and the net was at his mercy, wide open with the Chinese keeper stranded and nowhere near covering his goal. Ghaedi got the loose ball and with all the time and options available to him, he decides to head the ball into the empty net but he missed by a big margin!

How cruel and how heartbreaking!

This was the final nail in the coffin as the likes of Sayyadmanish, Shojaei, Mehdikhani kept shooting blanks and wasting chance after chance against a Chinese team that had nothing to play for but pride.

At the end of the day, this Omid Team did not deserve to qualify with these players and coaches.  The passive, back-foot approach, the helter-skelter style employed by Hamid Estili once again looked out of date against opponents who embody many of the principles associated with modern football. Estili, never an accomplished coach in the first place had a disadvantage with a bunch of individual players, who did not truly understand the concept teamwork and tactical (not that there was much of that in evidence) discipline, hence that combination turned into what the experts expected, failure of Team Omid.

It was Déjà vu.

That eerie feeling that the fans and media personnel have lived through the situation on numerous spells. The same lame excuses, the same justifications, the same “We were unlucky” and the same “We will do better next time, inshallah!”

44 years since the last Olympics, and by the next cycle, it will be 48 years wait. At this rate, we will be passing the half-century of years since Iran has made the Olympics Games football competition, a feat that nations who are supposedly below Iran in World Football Ranking have achieved many times.

Ultimately, in this current messy organizational structure and management deficiencies in Iran’s football at all levels, fans have to get used to failures after failures. You reap what you sow, nothing more nothing less. Deep-rooted changes have to be implemented and cleansing is done by competent professionals rather than devout loyalists. Success is achieved only by skillful, learned, experienced professional who base their work on systems and processes of modern football management.

Prayers and hope for Omid Team!

With the 2-1 loss against South Korea, Iran's Omid team chances of qualifying for the next round of the AFC U23 Championship 2020 looks difficult, if not improbable. Iran's U23 team still has a chance on paper.

Omid Team started with a draw against Uzbekistan, while South Korea defeated China 1-0. In the second matchday, Uzbekistan's 2-0 win over China, not only eliminated the Chinese from the competition but also made them strong favorites to qualify needing only a draw in the final group match against the already qualified Koreans on Wednesday.

On the final group matchday, Omid team will play China and the only results that count is a comprehensive win. While South Korea will most probably field an under-strength team for their final group match, Uzbekistan will most probably achieve qualification with a draw against the Koreans.

The only scenario where Omid team will stand a chance is if  Uzbekistan loses against Korea and Omid team beats China by at least 2 goals or more.

Reza Shekari against South Korea

While football is a sport that is no stranger to surprises and sometimes the most unexpected results can occur, Omid team is counting on one such chance comes Wednesday. Winners like South Korea who are synonymous with success due to their hard work, progress, and planning, do not need to worry about such possibilities. Unlike the Iranian team which is now counting on hope and prayers, the Koreans even win matches while not at their best.

The big difference between football in Iran and Korea or Japan is one of strict discipline, planning, free from politics and lobbying, selection of most suitable coaches on merit and providing the infrastructure. The Football federations of these countries study the requirements for their teams, plan ahead, support and most importantly select the right players and coaches using the strait-laced methodology in the process. No issues or complexes of the Estghlal-Persepolis axis out there.

Omid Team has changed three coaches in a year, while the current one Hamid Estili is not really a functioning regular coach and hence clearly out of touch with modern coaching and match practice. In another word, he was an emergency coach. His last assignment was the Administrative Manager of this very same Omid Team before he was appointed under mysterious circumstances as the head coach replacing Farhad Majidi.

So, due to the perennial lack of insight, non-existent long-term planning, lack of vision, and extremely poor quality management, the passionate Iranian fans have to resort to prayers to experience the success of this team  hoping for a comprehensive win in order to make it to the next round and stand a chance of qualifying for Tokyo Olympics 2020

Iran's Volleyball and Basketball teams have already qualified for Tokyo Olympics and made the nation proud in days that there are very few things to make an Iranian happy, will Omid complete the hat-trick?

We will continue hoping and praying.

FFIRI contemplating an Iranian coach for Team Melli.

The FFIRI has been negotiating secretly with several Iranian coaches in search of a new coach to take over the incredibly challenging task of coaching Team Melli.

Although the football federation as customary keeps denying such reports, it is not a secret that Ali Daei, Yayha Golmohammadi, and Amir Ghalenoei have been approached and talks have been carried out. Ali Daei is always a candidate for the job, but Daei’s standing and achievements have not been at its best lately. He was last fired from Saipa Alborz after failing to meet the expectations of the club board. Daei has turned down many job offers lately since then.

Ghalenoei coaching in Asian Cup 2007

Yahaya Golmohammadi, unlike the other two, has never coached Team Melli and is the least experienced the lot, however, he seemed to have an excellent chance to take the post. And then Persepolis comes calling and grabs  Yahya right under the nose of the FFIRI. Golmohammadi has been offered a return to his old club replacing the Argentine Calderon. Perspolis seems to have a contractual dispute with their coach with Calderon refusing to return back to the club.

Sepahan’s Head Coach Amir Ghalenoei seems to be in the lead to sit on the bench of Team Melli. His records with clubs are second to none. He is by far the most successful Iranian coach In the history of the league with 5 championship titles. He also coached Team Melli during the AFC Asian Cup 2007.

But Ghalenoei is driving a hard bargain. He has a bitter experience working for the federation. He is aware of how his paymasters can turn on him and deny him support.  This time, the former coach of Esteghlal, Tractorsazi, Zob Ahan, and Sepahan wants to ensure that such experience is not repeated.  Ghalenoei is giving the FFIRI all the strict conditions upon which he will only accept the offer including a handsome numeration package similar to the foreign coaches and complete say on the selection of the technical assistance and training crew.

FFIRI administrators and managers have hinted many times that the next Team Melli coach will be a foreigner, although local coaches are not being ruled out either. However, with the recent developments, the reputation of this federation and their habitual tendency to breach contracts with their employees, it will be very difficult to imagine a foreign coach agreeing to work for this federation unless he is very desperate. After the experiences and well-publicized hardships of Marc Wilmots, Branko Ivankovic, Gabriel Calderon and Andrea Stramaccioni amongst others, it is unlikely that we will see a foreign coach leading Team Melli any time soon.

FFIRI and the Iranian clubs' justification for not paying their foreign coaches and/or players is the American sanctions on financial dealings and money transfer. The questions remain, however, if this is indeed the reason, then why offer jobs to foreigners knowing that they cannot be paid properly and regularly?

With Ghalenoei negotiations with FFIRI still in progress; Sepahan will have a tough time replacing Ghalenoei if he leaves. The Esfahani club has a good chance of grabbing the title this season and the departure of their coach will definitely impact the team chances of winning the Persian Gulf Pro League.

Omid team hopes are fading after loss to Korea Rep.

Songkhla: Korea Republic became the first team to qualify for the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 knockout stage after they claimed a 2-1 win over Iran at Tinsulanon Stadium on Sunday.

First-half goals from Lee Dong-jun and Cho Gue-sung gave Kim Hak-bum’s side a two-goal half-time buffer, but Reza Shekari’s effort nine minutes after the interval meant the Koreans had to negotiate a difficult period in order to extend their winning start to the competition.

Their perfect tally of six points from two matches means they are sure to advance to the knockout stage no matter what happens in Wednesday’s match against Uzbekistan, while Iran’s hopes of ending a 44-year Olympic qualification drought now weighs heavily on their final group stage fixture against China PR.

Nguyen Quang Hai
By their own admission, Korea Republic had won without being at their best in their opening match against China PR, but they carried the momentum of Lee Dong-jun’s 93rd-minute winner from that match into this one, and it was the same player who supplied the game’s opening goal.

Both Reza Dehghani and Mehdi Ghayedi had early efforts at the Korean goal, but Lee continued his love affair with Tinsulanon Stadium in the 22nd minute, pouncing to slam the ball home from close range after Iranian goalkeeper Habib Farabbasi spilled Maeng Seong-ung’s initial effort.

Alongside midfield partner Won Du-jae, Maeng was the heart of several promising moves, and it was his pass which found Cho Gue-sung for Korea Republic’s second, with Cho turning and firing majestically into the Iranian net from 25 yards to double the lead in the 35th minute.

Now full of confidence, Korea Republic could have added more first-half goals if not for near misses from Lee and Jeong Seung-won, but Iran managed to reach the interval without further damage and came back into the contest when Shakari netted a close-range header to reduce the arrears to one in the 54th minute.

That gave Hamid Estili’s side a lifeline, but the Korea Republic wouldn’t be denied, with a last gasp save from Song Bum-Keun – who denied Ali Shojaei deep in stoppage time - maintaining a perfect record and securing a pass to the business end of the tournament.

Far too many gaps in Estili's game plan.

There were no surprises in the performance of Omid Team under Hamid Estili against Uzbekistan yesterday.  Even with such a statement, many fans were hoping that the famous players with household names in Omid Team will make a big impact and cover at least part of the team's weaknesses and gaps. Players like Omid Noorafkan, Allahyar Sayyadmanish, Mohammad Mohebi are already full internationals who have played and scored for Team Melli while the likes of Mahdi Ghaedi and Reza Shekari are considered valuable players with considerable ability to improve. The former has already registered 8 goals in the Persian Gulf Pro League. However, except for Omid Noorafkan who is being utilized in defense hence depriving the team of his wonderful vision and Pirlo-like passing, the rest of them were disappointing. Ghaedi huffed and puffed like always but his delivery and final touch remains suspect when his team really requires every effort. The feeblest performance of the so-called stars was Shekari and Sayyadmanish up in the forward line. Not coordination, no proper communication, little or no significant passing, no awareness of each other position and individualist showmanship that was a big waste for Omid Team. A smart seasoned coach would have immediately figured out that this combination upfront is not working and would have acted accordingly, but Estili for reasons beyond comprehension failed to notice that. The Midfield lacked a strong leader such as Noorafkan, who was in the central defensive position. Mohebi was quite disappointing against the Uzbeks despite having a very good season with his team. He missed an open goal and a chance for his team to take the lead. Omid team never looked like a coherent team with a strategy. Against Korea, we expect the same old tactics, or lack of it, and emphasis on individual performance rather than teamwork. Not that a victory is not possible, but with a year of disappointing performances by Omid Team, it is highly unlikely that Hamid Estili will find a magic wand to fix the things against the powerful and organized Koreans. Realistically and no matter how high our hopes and expectations are, the chances of a tactically deficient Omid Team qualifying to the next round are on the balance. A win or even a draw against the Koreans will still keep the hopes alive. A defeat will almost mean the end of the road and those abundant and unceasing promises that this team is good enough to make it to Tokyo after 44 years of absence.

Omid Team Draws Uzbekistan 1-1

Omid Team managed to escape with a draw 1-1 in the opening match of Group C of the AFC U23 Championship 2020. The Iranian players wore black armbands in the memory of General Ghassim Soleimani who was assassinated by the Americans in Iraq a few days back.

The first half ended 1-0 to Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan's goal came from a soft penalty in the 40th minute. Earlier, Ali Shojaei missed a glorious chance to put Iran ahead. Only a few meters away and the goal gaping wide, Shojaei miskicked the ball horribly wrong out of bound!.

In the second half, Iran scored the equalizer in the 58th minute through an individual effort by Reza Dehghani who forced his way into the box getting a lucky rebound ball off the Uzbek defender to slot home.

After the equalizing goal for Omid Team, it was the turn of Mohammed Mohebi to squander a golden chance over the bar!

While winning one point is quite precious in a group that is so tight and the competition so fierce, Omid's team performance was hardly assuring especially in the middle of the field and upfront.

Despite having Allhayar Sayyadimanish and Reza Shekari, the duo hardly passed to each other as both focus on the selfish individuals; attempts, both shooting from any angle while passing to a teammate was a better option. In fact, passing was a problem for the Omid Team, not only suffering from lack of them and but also the accuracy of those passes. Omid team pass accuracy was 67% while Uzbekistan's was a highly respectable 87%.!!

Teamwork was found wanting and all the experiences of Mohebi, Shekari, and Sayyadmanish were not enough to have a positive impact upfront.

The team lacked strategy and played seemed to depend on individual skills to penetrate the opponent's defense. Everyone seemed to want to dribble the ball from anywhere.

In the 2nd half, Hamid Estili replaced Ali Shojaei with Mehdi Ghaedi whose impact was immediate. However, the Esteghlal player is notorious for his over dribbling in addition to play-acting which limits his value for the team.

Uzbekistan was a much more organized team playing modern football. They had several chances to add to their goal but could not finish. Despite having 64% of the ball possession, the Uzbek team could not seriously threaten Omid's goal.

In the second match of the Group, South Korea defeated China 1-0 to lead the group

 

Group C

Standings
P W D L F A GD PTS
1
Korea Republic
 Korea Republic 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3
2
Islamic Republic of Iran
 Iran 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
3
Uzbekistan
 Uzbekistan 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
4
China PR
 China PR 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Uzbekistan, a tough test for Omid in today's match.

Iran Omid national team will be playing Uzbekistan in their first match in the Asian-Olympics Tokyo qualifying group stage group C.

The team which has been preparing for over two years and has made several coaching changes is a group that is possibly the toughest one of the 4 groups. China and Korea Rep make the other two teams of the group. Hamid Estili announced the team line up for the first match.

Habib Abbasiifar, Mojtaba Najarian, Mehdi Mehdikhani, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, Reza Shekari, Reza Dehghani, Mohammad Mohebbi, Ali Shojaei, Matin Karimzadeh, Omid Noorafkan, and Aref Aghasi

Omid will be in an excellent position if they can win all the 3 points against the tough Uzbek team. The defending champion Uzbekistan is one of the favorites to qualify for the Olympics.

The match will start 13:45 Iran time at Tinsulanon stadium in the south of Thailand.

Omid Team arrives in Thailand

Iran's Omid Team arrived in Thailand to start preparing for the upcoming AFC U23 Championship 2020. The squad flew to Bangkok then transferred to a domestic flight to fly south to Songkhla near the border with Malaysia.

Hamid Estili has made sure that the players have enough time to acclimatize before the competition starts on the 9th Jan against Uzbekistan.

Iran is unquestionably in the most difficult group facing the powerful Koreans, the defending Champion Uzbekistan, and the aspiring Chinese team. In simple term, there is no easy matches for Omid team in Thailand. A win in the first match will be the perfect result but by no means an assurance to qualify for the next round.

This championship is also the qualifying rounds for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The top 3 teams from this tournament will make it to Tokyo.

Iranian legionnaires mixed fortune.

2019 has been a difficult year for Team Melli.

There was high hope for the Team to lift the Asian Cup for the first time since 1976. Iran was the favorite for the AFC Asian Cup and reached the semi-final without much difficulty too. Then a moment of madness and breakdown of discipline allowed the Japanese to open the scoring and the rest was a steep uphill struggle for the Team Melli. The match ended in one of the worst defeats of the decade after Japan scored 3 goals. That was also the end of an era as Carlos Queiroz Finally packed his bags for good.

Then came a relatively unknown quality in the form of a Belgian coach who did not last the distance on his last job with the Ivory Coast. Marc Wilmots started brilliantly with a big win in a friendly against Syria and a draw away to South Korea. The real test, however, was the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. It started well against the two weakest teams of the group, but when they faced the first real test, Team Melli failed tactically and lost to Bahrain. There was hope that the second match away to Iraq will yield a better result but like the match against Japan the semi-final of the Asian Cup, the poor tactical discipline of the players and lack of concentration in the last seconds meant another defeat and now the qualification is at perils.

Wilmots left the Job, which he frankly hardly got involved in, and Team Melli is now coachless.

Despite the disappointing Team Melli results, some of the players have been having a good year abroad.

The most delightful of the successes must be that of Al-Shahaniyah Iranian defender, Ramin Rezaeian. Despite his post of a defender, he is one of Qatar's top five goalscorers by the end of the year.

Rezaian who is on his second season with Al-Shahaniyah is becoming a hot commodity in Qatar Star League (QSL). Rezaian, despite being a defender, has also been among the best players in Qatar. His name in Top Scorers list is among the elite of the league such as  Baghdad Bonajah (19 goals), Akram Afif (17 goals) who are the two top scorers. Rezaeian, Mohammed Montari and Thiago Parisa of Al-Khour are next all on 9 goals.

Interestingly enough, Team Melli center forward, Karim Ansaifard has scored 5 goals only in the same, he plays for  Al -Sailiya.

The Other refreshing performance must go to Kaveh Rezaei who is making real waves in the Belgian league. His disappointment at Brugge last season is all but forgotten as the 27 years old Sporting Charleroi forward has scored an average of a goal in every two matches bagging 8 goals so far this season. His compatriot and teammate Ali Golizadeh also scored 3 goals.

Sardar Azmoun is also having his best season ever and is being sought after by many clubs hoping to lure him out of the Russian League.  Sardar has scored 7 goals in the league so far which is on winter break. He scored 9 all season last term. Zenit is leading the table in Russia.

Another of the legionnaires who exploded on the scene abroad is Mehdi Taremi.  The Team Melli Center forward and Azmoun partner upfront joined the Portuguese club Rio Ave and not only he managed to make a sensational start in the cup competition by scoring 4 goals, his tally so far is 5  goals in 10 games ( a goal every two matches) in the league. Taremi suffered several nagging injuries meantime while in Portugal, but the winter break should keep him fit and ready for another adventure.

Also in Portugal, another Team Melli player has been doing quite well with Desportivo Aves. Mehrdad Mohammadi has been brilliant and scored 5 goals in a team that is struggling near the end of the table.

Alireza Jahanbaksh who is the most expensive Iranian player in history had been having a torrid time since joining Brighton from AZ Alkmaar, but in one week the star player scored two wonderful gaols for his club to take the headlines.

Two very disappointing stories of Team Melli players are those of Saeid Ezatollahi and Samman Ghoddos. The former had a long injury that threatened his career. After a full recovery, he struggled to regain even a fraction of his previous level. He is now warming the bench in AS Eupen, a team in the Belgian league at the bottom of the standing. The 23-year-old Ezatollahi has made one appearance for Eupen this season, while his Team Melli teammate in the same club, Omid Ebrahimi has featured 12 times in the league for AS Eupen.

 

Saman Goddos is a sad story as he is suspended by FIFA for breach of contract. On 29 August 2019, FIFA suspended the  French Ligue 1 side Amiens SC Saman Ghoddos from all football activities for four months plus a €4 million fine for his failure to report to Huesca in the La Liga in accordance with a signed contract.

Stunning bicycle kick from Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

For the second successive game, Alireza Jahanbakhsh was left in almost stunned disbelief, this time after scoring the goal of the decade.

For Frank Lampard and Chelsea, it was an all too familiar feeling of frustration as their attempts to build momentum were checked once more.

Their failure to grab a second goal proved costly, though, and left the door open for Jahanbakhsh's jaw-dropping late heroics, a sensational overhead kick to cancel out Cesar Azpilicueta's landmark opener.

Their failure to put Brighton away when they had the chance to do so was punished in stunning style by Team Melli winger Jahanbakhsh.

The Iranian winger arrived in the summer of 2018 under Chris Hughton as a £17m club record signing having just won the golden boot in Holland with AZ Alkmaar.

To say he had failed to live up to his price tag would be an understatement. His first 26 appearances produced a grand total of zero goals and sparked talk he would be loaned out this month to kickstart his career. His agent claimed that many clubs were seeking Alireza’s service, but the player insisted on remaining with Brighton and proving his worth to the coach who has not been too keen to play him in Brighton colors.

But Jahanbakhsh broke his duck against Bournemouth on Saturday, a moment that reduced him to tears, then topped that against Chelsea.

The highly talented Iranian was a substitute for the Chelsea match. He replaced Aaron Mooy in the 68th minute. On the 84th minute, he scored the stunning goal. He was also instrumental in a near goal right at the end when he passed to Maupy but for a spectacular save by Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizbalaga.