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Ashkan Dejagah recalled to Team Melli.

After being surprisingly dropped by Team Melli selectors, Captain and midfield player Ashkan Dejagah has been recalled to the squad.

This is despite the fact that the training of the team which is in preparation for the Hong Kong match in the qualifying rounds of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 started two days ago. According to the FFIRI website, Ashkan Dejagah has been invited to join the rest of his teammates as of today (Tuesday). The federation's website did not indicate which player Dejagah is replacing as the permitted 23 man squad quota has already been announced by the coaching team. There is no news of any injuries in the current squad.

Dejagah was not on the national team's starting list for the camp.

It is unclear if Marc Wilmots and his foreign assistants were involved in this selection partly because the Belgian head coach has not been around and yet to be paid by the federation since commencing his duty. Most probably the selection is a reflection of Vahid Hashemian's views. The Iranian assistant coach probably wanted to make an immediate impact by selecting two new players and ignoring some experienced ones.  Saeed Ezzatollahi has been dropped from the squad, which probably is quite justified because of his lack of match practise, although Jahanbakhsh who has Temporary Email not played for Brighton in the  Premier League is included. Ashkan Dejagah has been one of this season's best League players in Iran's domestic football. His exclusion has certainly raised a few eyebrows.

Saman Ghoddos is serving a FIFA ban so he is ineligible for inclusion.

Team Melli starts camp among concerns about Hong Kong riots.

Team Melli started its preparation for the match versus Hong Kong in the qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar.  The team held its first training session at 6 pm on Sunday with 13 players.

Marc Wilmots spoke with his players for about 5 minutes before commencing field training. The Team Melli head coach also held a few minutes of tactical discussion with his technical staff.

The 13 players who attended the camp are all domestic league players, the Legionnaires are due to join as of tomorrow.

Those presents were : Masoud Shojaei, Ehsan HajSafi, Vahid Amiri, Siavash Yazdani, Hossein Hosseini, Vouria Ghafouri, Ali Karimi, Alireza Biranvand, Mehdi Torabi, Ahmad Nourollahi, Rashid Mazaheri, Mohammad Hosein Kanani Zadegan and Mohammad Naderi

The squad started the warm training under the guidance of assistant coach Vahid Hashemian while Wilmots and his assistants observed from the sidelines. There was no goalkeepers coach present at this session.

 Meanwhile, there is a concern in the Iranian federation as to the suitability and safety of the players in Hong Kong which is currently undergoing political disturbances and also disruptions of operations in the International airport. The latest development Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is that demonstrators have blocked the roads into and out of the airport built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok. It has only one bridge to the mainland.

SayyadManesh loaned to Hatayspor .

Istanbul's  Fenerbahce club who surprised many observers by their activity n the transfer market, including the young Iranian Allahyar SayyadManesh, has offered the player to League 1 (second-tier Turkish Leauge) Hatayspor.

According to Ajansspor; Hatayspor and Fenerbahce, have agreed on the loan terms of Allahyar. Hatayspor club from Antakya will have first right of a permeant transfer after the end of the contract. 

Team Melli list for Hong Kong match is announced.

Marc Wilmots announced the squad list of Team Melli for the match against Hong Kong which will be Iran's opening match for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

In the new Mark Wilmotz roster, Esteghlal , Persepolis and Tractorsazi have the lion share of the players. Sepahan Esfahan and Padidah Shahr Khodro who are currently leading the Persian Gulf Football League table, have no representation in Team Melli.

Estghala has 4 players (Hossein Hosseini, Siavash Yazdani, Ali Karimi and Vouria Ghafouri ), Persepolis has 6 (Alireza Biranvand, Vahid Amiri, Hossein Kanani Zadegan, Mehdi Torabi, Mohammad Naderi and Ahmad Nourollahi ) while Tractorsazi of Tabriz has 3 players (Rashid Mazaheri, Ehsan Haj Safi and Masoud Shojaei)

There are prominent absentees in the list and the most surprising is the Captain Ashkan Dejagah. Tractor midfielder, who has been ever-present in Team Melli in the last 9 years, is nowhere to be seen in the list despite his brilliant performance in the first two weeks of the Premier League. Dejagah was instrumental in his team defeat of the defending champions Persepolis a few days ago.

On the other hand, the Team Melli selectors have invited Persepolis defender Kanani -Zadegan , who has not played a single minute in the league this season!

Siavash Yazdani and Mohammad Naderi are the two rookies

Another major absentee is former Esteghlal defender Rouzbeh Cheshmi. The reason given for his exclusion is due to uncertainty about his future club after his contract expired with Esteghlal.

There is also no place in the squad for Saeed Ezzatollahi, who recently moved from Russian club to Belgian team Eupen. His status and lack of match fitness were deemed unacceptable for the upcoming match against  Hong Kong.

The Iranian national football team will face Hong Kong at 9:37 pm on Tuesday, September 19, in the qualifying round of the World Cup and the Asian Nations Cup.

THE SQUAD

# Player Club Country
GOALKEEPERS
1 BIRANVAND, Alireza Persepolis
2 MAZAHERI, Mohammad Rashid Tractorsazi
3 HOSSEINI, Hossein Esteghlal
DEFENDERS
4 GHAFOORI, Vourya Esteghlal
5 HOSSEINI, Majeed Trabzonspor
6 KANANI-ZADEGAN, Hossein Persepolis
7 MOHAMMADI, Milad Ghent Image result for belgium flag
8 NADERI, Mohammad Persepolis
9 POURALIGANJI, Morteza Al Arabi
10 REZAEIAN, Ramin Al Shahaniya
11 YAZDANI, Siavush Esteghlal
MIDFIELD
12 AMIRI, Vahid Persepolis
13 EBRAHIMI, Omid Al Ahli
14 HAJSAFY, Ehsan Tractorsazi
15 KARIMI, Ali Esteghlal
16 NOORALLAHIE, Ahmad Persepolis
17 SHOJAEI, Masoud Tractorsazi
18 TORABI, Mehdi Persepolis
FORWARDS
19 ANSARIFARD, Karim Al Saliyah
20 AZMOUN, Sardar Zenit St. Petersburg
21 JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza Brighton & Hove Albion
22 SAYYAD-MANESH Allahyar Fenerbahçe
23 TAREMI, Mehdi Rio Ave

Saman Ghoddos , a repeat story for Iranian players.

Saman Quddos has been suspended for four months after being sued by Spain's Huesca club in addition to paying € 5m in damages. The FIFA ruling was due to a preliminary agreement by the Swedish club Ostershunds and Saman Ghoddos for transfer to the Spanish club, but instead of heading to Spain Ghoddos turned up in France to sign for the French side Amiens. This FIFA rule is reminiscent of the one handed to Mehdi Taremi on September 2017. A Persepolis player at the time , all parties agreed on terms of the contract to transfer to Turkey's Çaykur Rizespor Club. At that time, Taremi was suspended for four months after unilaterally breaking his contract and returning back to Iran. Taremi's suspension meant his absence from Team Melli Persepolis was also banned from two transfer windows. It came at a time when Iran has already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2018  and its presence at the Russian World Cup was assured. Taremi declined to appeal to CAS for fear of prolonging the proceedings and missing the World Cup all togother. Carlos Queiroz, the then head coach of Team Melli, commented  "It certainly hurts both Taremi himself and Persepolis club as well as the fans. Even the national team suffers because the player cannot be mentally ready. What we need to do is keep the player mentally and physically fit for the next few months so that he doesn't have problems with the international games. But what happened in 2017 was a strange and shameful act that is damaging to Iranian football's reputation and one has to accept responsibility for it." the Portuguese concluded. About two years later, Saman Goddos is committing the same act of indiscretion. Ghoddos , of course, has the right to appeal and he might succeed in reducing the ban, although it is quite doubtful. The point that needs emphasis, however, is the lack of professionalism and poor awareness of Iranian players.  It does not take a distinguished person to realize that contracts have to be honored and breaking it is unlawful.  It is not only about the law but also the ethics and integrity of a person involved in a contract. The lack of success of the many Iranian players in Europe can be summarized in one main phrase, lack of professionalism. That of course entails, ethics, commitments, teamwork, team integration and dedication. Iranian players seemed to be poorly prepared for Europe and the lack of true professional management and advisors has reduced their value and potential to succeed outside Iran. Saman Ghoddos should have known much better as he grew up in the European environment, but! Marc Wilmots has not yet commented on the Ghoddos suspension.  

Ezzatollahi welcomed in KAS Eupen

Team Melli's 22-year-old midfielder who has joined the Belgian side KAS Eupen on a one-year loan spell from Russian Premier League side Rostov, has been welcomed and praised by his coach. "Saeid Ezzatollahi proved his talent and abilities in the Russian league. He also represented Iran national football team in the 2018 World Cup and played in group matches against Spain and Portugal. Although he is only 22, he has played 28 times for the Iran national team,” Henkel told lavenir.net. “I am confident that Ezzatollahi will be a real reinforcement for our team and will help us in the current season. We welcome Saeid to KAS Eupen and wish him every success in our club,” he added. Ezatolahi is the fifth Iranian player in Belgian First Division League. Ali Gholizadeh, Kaveh Rezaei, Milad Mohammadi and Younes Delfi are also playing in Belgian teams.

Hong Kong prepares for a tough World Cup campaign

Hong Kong Finnish coach Mixu Paatelainen has said that the team needs to strike a balance between short-term gains and long-term goals as they head into their opening qualifiers for the next Fifa World Cup next month. “First we need to have the angle of approach – how we want to go about with the national team. “Is it the development first or is it the result first? At the moment it is results first,” he said. “For these first two qualifiers, I have chosen a team that has more experience as we are looking for results from a very difficult group.”

The Finn said that the door is still open for young players but this is why he has opted for experience in what will be his first competitive fixtures in charge of Hong Kong – the first two matches of the 2022 World Cup qualification Asian zone second round.

The Finn only arrived in the post in April following the sudden departure of Englishman Gary White early this year but he will be under immediate scrutiny as Hong Kong faces possibly the worst draw in the qualifying tournament.

Mixu Paatelainen has named his 23-strong 2022 World Cup qualifying squad that will do battle against Cambodia and Iran next month, putting his faith on his tried and tested veterans while leaving out a batch of youngsters waiting in the wings.

The Hong Kong coach didn’t surprise with his selections, adding Sandro, of Premier League champions Wofoo Tai Po, to the squad after the Brazilian forward missed Hong Kong’s warm-up game against Taiwan, which saw his charges beaten 2-0 at Mong Kok Stadium in June.

Kwoon Chung Southern’s James Ha has also been added to the squad after skipping the Taiwan game as he was away on holiday, while former Tai Po midfielder Wong Wai, who is currently a free agent, is the only surprise call-up to the squad.

Hong Kong will take on Cambodia in Phnom Penh on September 5 before the team have the Herculean task of playing Asian giants Iran at home five days later on September 10. Cambodia will provide an interesting challenge at the National Olympic Stadium in Cambodia’s capital, and Paatelainen was looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m quite delighted to name my squad for the World Cup qualifiers but it has been difficult to choose the players because we have quite a few players who can play [eligible] for Hong Kong,” said the 52-year-old Finnish coach.

“Also, we don’t have any competitive fixtures and matches going on and I have to base my judgment on the players’ previous season form and how they performed in practice matches as well. “It’s not an ideal situation but because we don’t have any competitive fixtures, that’s how we go about it. I feel we have a strong squad, certainly a more experienced squad than in June against [Taiwan]."

Mixu Paatelainen wants Spartan fighting spirit from Hong Kong footballers for 2022 World Cup qualifiers “In that game, we wanted to see as many players as possible in our training sessions and give the youth players a possibility to show their talent and see whether they are ready to break into the squad. Some are in my opinion and some aren’t. This squad has experience and has cover for every position.”

Asked how Hong Kong would fare against Cambodia and especially Iran, who have reached the World Cup finals before, the Finn said: “Obviously, we want to do as well as we can and get positive results from there. We know it’s not going to be easy. Cambodians play good football. They pass the ball well and they have able players. Their [playing] surface obviously plays a role over there. It’s not what our players are used to. Our players are used to playing on more or less on grass. It is an artificial surface [in Cambodia] and from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty hard. We will take that into our minds and will make our preparations to make sure that every player is as comfortable as possible for that. The bottom line is that we want to take a positive result from there,” he said.

Mixu Paatelainen impressed by Hong Kong’s work ethic as he takes over coaching hot seat Paatelainen and his charges will be provided with an acid test when they take on Iran, the highest Fifa ranked Asian team at the moment (Fifa world ranking 23) and the Finn is under no illusions of the task at hand.

“It’s going to be a big test for us. But you know, we have a plan on how we going to play and how we want to make life very difficult for Iran and cause them problems as well. I’m very looking forward to that test.” Of the youngsters, the Hong Kong coach has dropped most of the youngsters who disappointed against Taiwan, leaving out Eastern’s Yue Tze-nam and Shinichi Chan of Kitchee and only retaining Tai Po’s Sun Ming-him.

HONG KONG WORLD CUP SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Yapp Hung-fai (Eastern), Wang Zhenpeng (Kitchee), Yuen Ho-chun (Lee Man)

Defenders: Chak Ting-fung, Fung Hing-wa (Eastern), Festus Baise (Guizhou Hengfeng), Andrew James Russell (Hebei China Fortune), Daniel Cancela Rodriguez, Helio Jose De Souza Gonclaves, Tong Kin-man (Kitchee), Tsui Wang-kit (Meizhou Hakka), Leung Nok-hang (R&F).

Midfielders: Lee Ka-yiu, Xu Deshuai (Eastern), Tan Chun-lok (Guangzhou R&F), Huang Yang, Ju Yingzhi (Kitchee), Philip Chan Siu-kwan (Kwoon Chung Southern), Wong Wai.

Forwards: Alexander Oluwatayo Akande (Dalian Yifang), Alessandro Ferreira Leonardo (Sandro), Sun Ming-him (Wofoo Tai Po), James Stephen Gee Ha, (Kwoon Chung Southern)

Östersund and Saman Ghoddos are sanctions by FIFA

Team Melli and Amiens player Saman Ghoddos is suspended from all football activities for four months while his former club Östersund is prohibited from transfer market for transfer windows as a result of Ghoddos' messy move from the Swedish club last summer.

Ghoddos was transferred to Amiens in French Ligue 1 at the end of last summer, but before that, it was rumoured that Ghoddos was on his way to Spanish club Huesca.

According to Huesca, the clubs have agreed terms and Ghoddos should have flown down to sign, but Östersund then withdrew.

According to the Football Channel , there will be consequences for both Östersund and Ghoddos.

"The player has been sentenced to pay compensation to SD Huesca and sporting penalties have been imposed on the player and Östersunds FK with reference to Article 17, sections 3 and 4," FIFA has informed the concerned parties in an email.

Ghoddos is thus suspended for four months and Östersund is prohibited from two transfer windows.

In addition, Ghoddos will pay over 40 million to the Spanish club, which should be paid within 30 days according to Huesca's website.

ÖFK  appeal

Östersund Football Club's press officer, Niclas Lidström, tells SVT that they are surprised by the decision and that they will appeal the FIFA ruling.

"We have today decided to start a process to appeal. At this moment, we do not wish to comment on the case, we are sure that we will get it right in the appeal process," he said in a press statement.

Ghoddos also turned down a move to English Championship club Brentford at the last minute at the beginning of the current season. If the Östersund appeal fails, Ghoddos will be unable to play for Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Asian qualifiers until the new year.

FIFA began to investigate the case on June 12, 2019 against Östersunds FK and Ghoddos as the result of a complaint filed by Huesca. the Spanish club alleged a break of contract and other violations in relation to the transfer of Saman Ghoddo's from Östersund. When Ghoddos was due to leave Östersund in August 2018, there were rumours that he was going to Huesca and it finally went as far as the Spanish agent Quique Pena wrote that Ghoddos was ready for the club. Nevertheless, Ghoddos eventually went to French Amiens and then Huesca believed that there was a violation. "I can confirm that Fifa is conducting an investigation against Östersunds FK, concerning the player Saman Ghoddos and that it is the Spanish club SD Huesca that filed a case," said Hans Hultman, Fifa's press secretary for DN. On the part of Östersund, the club maintained silence and did not comment on the report.

"ÖFK as an organization has no comments on the information you have asked about," wrote club head Niclas Lidström in a text message to DN.

Saeed Ezzatollahi to Join Belgium's Eupen

Team Melli player Saeed Ezzatollahi is joining Belgium's K.A.S Eupen on a one-year loan deal, it was announced today

Ezzatollahi one of the most promising Iranian youngsters who was recruited by Atletico Madrid talent hunters during his youth has had a quite disappointing career. Marred by injury and instability in performance, Ezatollahi has never achieved his potential. The unsettled midfielder changed many clubs and hardly spending enough time to establish himself before moving to the another. The Gilani midfielder seemed to be prone to injury spending much time on the injury list at his clubs.

Saeed Ezatollahi has joined the lowly Belgian team which recently had Morteza Pouraliganji on its books, in a one-year loan contract from the Rostov-based Russian club. The 22-year-old has started his career in Malavan Bandar Anzali, Spain's Atletico Madrid, Russia's Anzhi Makhachkala, Amkar and  English Championship side Reading.

Ezzatollahi has played in 30 matches for Team Melli scoring a solitary goal. He was in Iran's squad for FIFA World Cup 2018.

PSV expresses interest in Jahanbakhsh

EINDHOVEN - After the arrival of Kostas Mitroglou, PSV wants a player for the attack, to solidify its formation in Europe ahead of a long season and, above all, to take on the title battle with Ajax. PSV plays chess on several boards at the same time, the main candidates being the Japanese Ritsu Doan and Iranian Alireza Jahanbakhsh, the man who was the top scorer of the Eredivisie at AZ more than a year ago. The managers of Eindhoven are just waiting for the last week before the transfer deadline to make their move.

The Argentinian Nicolas Ivan Gonzalez of VfB Stuttgart was the number two on the list behind Doan of FC Groningen. PSV had done their preliminary work with his agent, but when he reported back to his club, the answer was clear: Silence. PSV knows from previous experiences with Feyenoord striker Steven Berghuis this transfer summer what that could mean. A transfer fee that the club does not want to pay or a negotiation that will last far too long for comfort, which is a risk the club cannot take now.

Japanese Doan has long been number one, but PSV will not pay the hefty transfer fee demanded by FC Groningen. The club demands an amount towards the fourteen million euros plus a substantial resale percentage. PSV had a maximum of eight million euros in mind plus some extras. That gap is too big, Doan's business manager is trying to get the northerners to agree on a more reasonable fee.

Jahanbakhsh is the (cheaper) alternative. PSV wants to take the Iranian international on loan for a year from his club Brighton & Hove Albion and hopes to hear soon whether he will be released.

So far the managers of Eindhoven were told that Jahanbakhsh the right-winger transferred from AZ last year for 25 million euros is not available for the loan. Current manager Graham Potter plays in a 5-3-2 system, Jahanbakhsh a wing-back. However, for the third time in a row against Southampton Jahanbakhsh was not in the squad, which could offer an opening in the last week of the transfer window for his transfer. That he hardly played for a year is not a big problem for PSV. Jahanbakhsh was a top player in the Eredivisie, knows what is being asked from him and is above all a different type of attacker than the club has in-house.

Marc von Bommel

For example, PSV has Mohamed Ihattaren and Gaston Pereiro, when he returns in two months from a fracture of the collarbone, have the passers and creative players who could play the role intended for Doan from the right. PSV looks at players who are complementary to each other and offer extra possibilities in the way of playing within the current selection. Jahanbakhsh does not only bring scoring ability, but he could also serve the (incoming) goal-getter Mitroglou (in phases) with his moves.

If coach Mark van Bommel wants to use Doan at 'ten', Bergwijn can move to the place where he grew into as an international player (on the flank). Only Doan has played most of his matches in Groningen from the right and he immediately gets a big responsibility at a top club, with a hefty price tag around his neck. Again, one that PSV does not want to comply with. If the situation remains the same and if Jahanbakhsh is kept to his contract with Brighton, PSV will act towards the next candidate in the last days before the deadline.