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Ramin Rezaeian, finally plays in Europe.

Ramin Rezaeian, a 27-year-old Iranian right-back who had been tested two weeks ago at an internship in the Netherlands, signed a two-year contract with KV Ostend, the Jupiler Pro League

The ex-Persepolis player, who won the Persian Gulf Pro League title, has convinced Yves Vanderhaeghe and the sports team of his value. Rezaeian  has proven that he is also capable of evolving on the flanks .

Rezaeian faced uncertainty and desperation when his Croat coach Branko Ivankovic insisted that he has no place in his team and will not accept him playing for the club under any circumstances. The action by Branko was due to Rezaeian's poor attitude and professionalism. Despite efforts from a host of people including assurance by Ali Parvin that Rezaeian will be playing in Persepolis this season, The Croat stood firm and Parvin promise was not fulfilled

Rezaeian who was a major part of  Team Melli campaign (19 caps, 2 goals), already guaranteed to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia,  is very popular player in Iran. The number of subscribers to his Instagram account is even more than one million. It is this popularity that has gone to his head and nearly spoiled his career. KV Ostend, is the third team that has inquired about him and gave him trials.

 

Team Melli Captain chastised by fundementalists.

 Ehsan HajSafy and Masoud Shojaei , the two Panionios players who faced Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. have been chastised by extremist elements of the Basij for playing against what it called the enemy of the people! The two Iranian players who play professional football for the Greek Team, have been both involved in the match UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round, Game 2 played in Stadio Néas Smírnis on Thursday, August 3. The Israeli team won 1-0 away and advanced to the next stage of the UEFA Europa League while Panionios was eliminated from that European competition.

HajSafy and Shojaei training with the Greek club

In a communique full of religious and zealous rhetoric from a group calling itself  “Sazman Basij Varzeshkaran” virtually translated into “Organization of Mobilized Athletes”  it accused Team Melli Captain Masoud Shojaei and ex-Sepahan left back Ehsan Haj Safy of betraying the Islamic cause by playing against the Israeli team. It is believed that this shadowy group belongs to the large and omnipresent paramilitary organization with multifaceted roles, which acts as the eyes and ears of the Islamic regime. It is present in schools, universities, state and private institutions, factories, and even among tribes. It is an extremist ideological organization which has very little popular support amongst the Iranians; however, it has considerable power because of its close working relations with the clergy and the ruling religious hierarchy.

The Basij , with its many arms , is the main oppressors of the Iranian youth both male but especially females. Their extremist views on religion and forcing hijabs and Islamic dress code on females have made them the people’s enemy number 1. Their anti-western values, is also not going down well in the younger Iranians communities and circles.

The Greek first division club Panionios, respected the Iranians wish not to travel to Israel for the away leg due to the political issues and allowed them both to stay at home. However, in Athens, it was a different story. There was no reason for the Iranians not to play in Greece and refusal to play would have been interpreted as demonstrating political opposition which is against the rules of UEFA and FIFA.

The two players are the only known athletes in post-revolution Iran who have indeed played against Israeli teams or competed against individual Israeli athletes.

It is not clear if the two players will face sanction by the FFIRI or any other government authority. Team Melli , already qualified for the FIFA World Cup, will be playing South Korea late this month. Both Shojaei and Haj Safy are important and fixed players of the squad. Sources close to the Football Federation in Tehran believe that the two players have consulted FFIRI before the match and quietly received the green light to play against Maccabi.  This could not be confirmed officially.

 

Torrid decline of U23 team no thanks to incompetent FFIRI selections.

FFIRI has an incredible knack for rewarding failures. It is something that Mehdi Taj and his predecessor Ali Kaffashian has exceled in and the Iranian football community are getting used to.  Both of these men, who have been leading the Iranian federation since 2008 , have a serious lack of picking winners while selecting staff to work for them be it on the playing fields as coaches or in the corridors of power as administrators. In Iran’s football federation, administrators and coaches do not last long, because they fail to succeed due to the pathetic selection process.

Amir Hossein Peyrovani is a classic example of FFIRI appalling policy of Mehdi Taj and his failure to pick and appoint the right person for the job. After taking Team Melli U20 to the FIFA U20 championship, the mediocre coach, who struggled to find a coaching job even at lower divisions clubs in Iran, failed miserably in dealing with the world’s top age group teams.

Iran’s U20 team was in fact one of the most promising and talented age group team of the last couple of decades. There was abundance of talents, however, tactical naivety, lack of pedigree in coaching and failure to read the game have all combined to knock Iran out of championship in the group stages. Iran U20 ended up as the bottom team of the group. The irony of this championship is that Iran U20 was scored first in all the matches and was 2 goals up against Zambia before losing 2-4.

Not convinced with the fact that FIFA U20 performance and result was a failure, Peyrovani was once again coaching but now at a higher level. Acute lack of appraisal and performance analysis system in the Iranian federation, living in denials and the relegating FFIRI’s technical committee (no thanks to Carlos Queiroz), has allowed Mehdi Taj to act and repeat the same error. In his questionable wisdom the head of the FFIRI chose Peyrovani to take the helm of the U23 team to the AFC qualifiers. Apart from a few sporadic mumbles, this appointment was surprisingly accepted by all stakeholders and the media. No one dared or bothered to question this appointment for such an important age group team, the de facto backbone of Team Melli!

Not surprising at all, that Peyrovani failed again at a much lower level of competition. Not in the FIFA U20 final but at a group qualifiers against the likes of Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan and Oman. Sri Lanka withdrew and so the group consisted of 3 teams only.  Iran’s first match against the host ended in a very difficult narrow 2-1 win but the Omani’s managed to easily defeat Iran 2-0 to shatter the dream of yet another significantly talented Iranian team. A team victimized by the acute deficiency and incompetence of Iranian football management.

It is still an enigma why Iran cannot produce quality football administrators, managers and coaches as good as they produce players. Apart from one Iranian in Kambiz Atabay back in the mid 70’s  , who headed the Asian Football Confederation , Iran has not managed to produce a competent administrator worthy of consideration for top administration jobs in AFC or FIFA. Tiny countries such as Bahrain, Sri Lanka , and Singapore had more officials in the AFC than mighty Iran.

Worst still , is the record of Iranian coaches in Asia. Even the best of Iran’s national coaches have failed to pass the group stages of AFC Champions league or at best the quarter finals of Asian Cup , in the post revolutions era.

The legendary Heshmat Mohajerani is the last of the Iranian great coaches. It seems that the wait is much longer for a quality coach to appear in Iran.

The other sad news is the remarkable decline of Iran U23 teams. From winners of the Asian Games coached by Branko Ivankovic , to struggling to make the finals stages.

Iran U23 Team coaches

 

 Winners and losers

Oman U23 oust Iran in the AFC qualifiers

Bishkek: Oman secured a spot in the AFC U-23 Championship Finals after beating Islamic Republic of Iran 2-0 at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium on Sunday.

In the first half, both sides adopted a cautious approach knowing that a win would put them on top of Group A. Reza Jafari’s shot could have given Iran the lead in the 11th minute but his effort lacked precision.

Although Oman controlled the pace of the game, Iran’s Ali Gholizadeh came close to breaking the deadlock in the 45th minute but it struck the crossbar.

Three minutes after the restart, the Omanis opened the scoring after Jameel Al Yahmadi finished Al-Mandhar Al Alawi’s (pictured below, left) cross, before Muhsen Al Ghassani doubled their advantage 71 minutes into the game and with that, a ticket to China next year.

Hamed Khalifa Al ‘Azani (Oman Head Coach)

“My team showed incredible dedication and the will to win. I thank my players for a fantastic game and result. We are very happy! I think that the main reason for our victory in the group was excellent preparation and we will continue to work hard for the future.”

Amirhossein Peiravani (Islamic Republic of Iran Head Coach)

“We knew that we would have problems in this game. The opponents were very disciplined. They played better than us in many moments.  In general, we came to this tournament with a risky composition. Our young players did not have enough experience. My congratulations to Oman. They deservedly won a ticket to the final. We very much hope that we will get to the final part as one of the best teams that took the second place.”

AFC U-23 Qualifiers : KYRGYZ REPUBLIC 1-2 IRAN

Bishkek: The Islamic Republic of Iran emerged as the early leaders of Group A in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers thanks to a 2-1 win over hosts Kyrgyz Republic on Wednesday.

With Ali Gholizadeh pulling the strings early on, Iran looked the more dangerous, however it was to be Kyrgyz Republic who were to take the lead, Roman Levchenko firing home on 11 minutes much to the delight of the home support.

Iran were not to be outdone though, and they hit back just three minutes later courtesy of Reza Shekari’s neat finish.

The Iranian’s continued to press and were duly rewarded when Gholizadeh put his side ahead in the 42nd minute, before disaster struck for the hosts moments before the break when Askarbek Saliev was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card.

With chances few and far between in the second period, Iran maintained their composure to secure a vital opening win and go top of a three-team which also includes Oman.

Iran head coach Amir Hossein Peiravani “The first match is always the hardest. I would like to thank my team. They all did their very best get the positive result. During the first half, we scored twice and then concentrated on maintaining our advantage after the break. Also, my respect for the national team of the Kyrgyz Republic. The national team of Kyrgyz Republic is a good team with a good coach. I hope that in the future we will hear a lot of good news about Kyrgyz football. "

Kyrgyz Republic head coach Valeri Berezovskii "As expected, the guys slightly burned out and could not handle the pressure. All our plans were scrapped at the end of the first half. The lack of international experience affected the result of the game. Nevertheless, we showed incredible commitment. Now we will forget the result of this match and prepare for the game with Oman. We know that we are in a very difficult situation, but we will fight to the end."

Team Melli U 23 Squad

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Mehran Derakhshan nominated as one of the shinning stars of AFC U-23 Championship

Mehran Derakhshan has been identified one of the top 10 prospect stars in AFC Asian U-23 Championships which will kick off in the Kyrgyz Republic this week.

Despite being just 18 years of age, Mehran Derakhshanmehr already boasts valuable experience at the top level, having played all six games for his club Zobahan in the group stage of the 2017 AFC Champions League.

Derakhshanmehr has been a part of Iran’s youth set-up for almost three years, and was a member of the side that reached the last eight of the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship in Thailand.

The left-sided player is comfortable in both defence and midfield and, having only made his debut for Zobahan in 2016, has already established himself as a first-team regular.

With the senior team having already secured their place at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, Derakhshanmehr will be one of a number of Iran players looking to shine in the coming months and catch coach Carlos Queiroz’s eyes.

FFIRI taking AFC and Saudis to court.

Mehdi Taj, the President of Iran's football association FFIRI has announced that a delegation headed by Ali Kaffashian will proceed to Switzerland to present Iran's case against the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Saudi Arabia.

After the breaking of political relation between the two countries, the Saudi Football authorities refused to allow its teams to travel to Iran citing security fears. The AFC , which is led by a Bahraini Shaikh, and no doubt influenced by dominating Arab lobby in the Asian Ruling body, immediately accepted the Saudi argument and ordered both countries to play their matches against each other on neutral ground. This move, not only put a huge burden on Iranian teams which are already suffering financial hardship but also deprived them from that world-famous passionate support they usually receive in Azadi stadium.

Iran's FFIRI grudgingly accepted the AFC ruling initially , however, it consulted several law firms and international legal consultancies to determine the legitimacy of the ruling by AFC. Neither United Nation nor FIFA or any other world bodies for that matter, has announced that Iran is a war zone or it is an unsafe venue for football or other  sport activities. The Saudi move was purely politically motivated and AFC had failed to execute its due diligence when it issued the ruling against Iran. The AFC ruling was against AFC's own principles about politics in football. 

As recently as last month, the AFC has written to its Member Associations reiterating that all stakeholders involved in Asian football must respect the principle of political neutrality.
The letter sent by the AFC stressed that the principle is a cornerstone of both the AFC and of the international sports movement, and is reflected in Article 3.2 of the AFC Statutes, which states: “the AFC is neutral in all matters of politics and religion”.

In the case that FFIRI has lodged in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ,  the Iranians are demanding that AFC reverse its ruling and allow Iranian teams and clubs to exercise its right to play at home grounds in front of its own crowds,  in addition to a demand  for compensation for all the expenses incurred by travelling Iranian teams and officials. The defendant is AFC and its head, Shk. Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, 

The case put forward by FFIRI will be quite interesting for Qatar. There is very little doubt that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain teams will refuse to play in Qatar putting due to the recent break of relationship. As such this will put immense pressure on the AFC to obey the Saudi lobby and traet Qatari teams the same as it treated the Iranians. Qatar, like Iran , is a safe country and will be hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022.  No doubt that the Saudi lobby will claim some terrorism allegation for its case against Qatar.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; French: Tribunal arbitral du sport, TAS) is an international quasi-judicial body established to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne(Switzerland) and its courts are located in New York City, Sydney and Lausanne. Temporary courts are established in current Olympic host cities.

 Iran U-17 grouped with Guinea, Germany & Costa Rica in FIFA U-17 World Cup

The Official Draw for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be played in six venues across India between 6 and 28 October 2017, took place on Friday in Mumbai.

The draw revealed that hosts India will take on USA in their opening match of the competition in New Delhi. Group A also includes Colombia and Ghana, who will also clash as part of the first day's action.

Perhaps the most intriguing quartet of teams can be found in Group D, where FIFA tournament debutants Niger were drawn with Korea DPR, Brazil, and Spain.  

The draw ceremony was held in the presence of Sunil Gulati, FIFA Council member, Praful Patel, President of the All India Football Federation and Vijay Goel, Indian Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. Assisting in the draw ceremony were FIFA Legends Esteban Cambiasso and Nwankwo Kanu, as well as Indian national team legend Sunil Chhetri and Indian badminton star Pusarla Venkata Sindhu.

One of the highlights of the ceremony was the performance of the tournament's Official Song. Pritam and Babul Supriyo revealed 'Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal' for the first time, much to the delight of the assembled audience.

 

FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 Draw

Group A: India, USA, Colombia, Ghana Group B: Paraguay, Mali, New Zealand, Turkey Group C: Iran, Guinea, Germany, Costa Rica Group D: Korea DPR, Niger, Brazil, Spain Group E: Honduras, Japan, New Caledonia, France Group F: Iraq, Mexico, Chile, England

 
First match(es) will be played on 7 October 2017. Source: FIFA
7 October 2017
Germany  17:00  Costa Rica
 Iran   20:00   Guinea
10 October 2017
Costa Rica  17:00  Guinea
 Iran   20:00   Germany
13 October 2017
Costa Rica  17:00  Iran
 Guinea   17:00   Germany

Team Melli players Transfer Market values

After the sterling performance by Team Melli in qualifying to the finals of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, the value of the players have increased in the transfer market.

Perhaps it is no surprise to know that the prolific striker Sardar  Azmoun, tops the list of players in value. The Rostov forward who is wanted by many European clubs is valued at 11 million euros.

In second place is Alireza Jahanbakhsh whose value is in excess of 5.5 million Euros and followed by Reza Ghoochannejad with a market worth of 3 million Euros. Both the players play in in the Eredivisie , the Dutch League.

  These values are the estimate while the price of each might vary with demand.  Here is the full list of Team Melli players with their current market value as of June 2017.
Name DOB & Age club height L/R Caps goal debut value
                 
Sardar Azmoun Jan 1, 1995 (22) Rostov 1,86 m both 26 19 26-May-14 €11,000,000
Alireza Jahanbakhsh Aug 11, 1993 (23) AZ Alkmaar 1,80 m both 23 3 15-Oct-13 €5,500,000
Reza Ghoochannejhad Sep 20, 1987 (29) Heerenveen 1,80 m left 32 17 11-Sep-12 €3,000,000
Ehsan Haji Safi Feb 25, 1990 (27) Sepahan 1,76 m left 82 6 25-May-08 €2,000,000
Milad Mohammadi Sep 29, 1993 (23) Grozny 1,78 m both 7 - 11-Jun-15 €2,000,000
Karim Ansarifard Apr 3, 1990 (27) Olympiacos 1,86 m both 54 14 10-Oct-09 €1,500,000
Mehdi Taremi Jul 18, 1992 (24) Persepolis 1,87 m right 19 10 11-Jun-15 €1,200,000
Omid Ebrahimi Sep 16, 1987 (29) Esteghlal 1,79 m right 19 - 9-Dec-12 €1,200,000
Ramin Rezaeian Mar 21, 1990 (27)   1,85 m right 15 2 4-Jan-15 €1,200,000
Saeid Ezatolahi Oct 1, 1996 (20) Rostov 1,90 m right 20 2 11-Jun-15 €1,200,000
Alireza Beiranvand Sep 21, 1992 (24) Persepolis 1,92 m right 9 - 4-Jan-15 €1,000,000
Ashkan Dejagah Jul 5, 1986 (31) Wolfsburg 1.81 m right 40 7 29-Feb-12 €1,000,000
Vahid Amiri Apr 2, 1988 (29) Persepolis 1,81 m left 20 1 4-Jan-15 €1,000,000
Sasan Ansari May 4, 1991 (26) Foolad Khuzestan 1,73 m right - - - €900,000
Mehdi Torabi Sep,10 ,1994 (22) Saipa 1,85 m right 11 4 11-Jun-15 €800,000
Mohammad Ansari Sep 23, 1991 (25) Persepolis 1,87 m left 1 - 10-Nov-16 €800,000
Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri May 18, 1989 (28) Zob Ahan 1,93 m right 2 - 24-Mar-16 €800,000
Morteza Pouraliganji Apr 19, 1992 (25) AlSadd 1,85 m right 15 2 4-Jan-15 €750,000
Masoud Shojaei Jun 9, 1984 (33) Panionios 1,85 m right 68 8 17-Nov-04 €700,000
Mohammadreza Akhbari Feb 15, 1993 (24) Saipa 1,91 m right 1 - 8-Jun-16 €700,000
Vouria Ghafoori Sep 20, 1987 (29) Esteghlal 1,78 m right 13 - 18-Nov-14 €700,000
Ezzatollah Pourghaz Mar 21, 1987 (30) Saipa 1,85 m left 5 - 12-Nov-15 €600,000
Seyed Jalal Hosseini Feb 3, 1982 (35) Persepolis 1,82 m right 107 8 7-Feb-07 €600,000
Pejman Montazeri Sep 6, 1983 (33) Esteghlal 1,86 m right 40 1 19-Dec-08 €450,000
Ali Karimi Feb 11, 1994 (23) NK Lokomotiva 1,85 m right 1 - 10-Nov-16 €350,000

Australians in negotiatiins with Iran & Queiroz

The Socceroos could be set to face former rivals Iran for the first time in more than 20 years, with discussions taking place aimed at staging a high-profile friendly in Australia before the 2018 World Cup. 

Fairfax Media can reveal Football Federation Australia are deep in negotiations with their Iranian counterparts to play a senior international between the two nations for the first time since the infamous 1997 World Cup qualifier at the MCG. 
Socceroos' hopes of avenging their 6-0 defeat in 2013 lasted less than a minute after an embarrassing start to their friendly in Melbourne.
A deal is yet to be done but it's understood talks have advanced as the FFA sought to strengthen its diplomatic ties with Iranian football. Should they be successful in bringing Iran to Australia, a friendly will likely be held in the March international window in what both federations hope will be a key part of their preparations for Russia 2018.  FFA chief executive David Gallop confirmed that negotiations were taking place.  "We are talking to a number of excellent football nations from Asia and other confederations. Iran is one of them," Gallop said. "The anniversary of that heartbreaking night at the MCG is a point to highlight. Many people, including me, remember it as one of the most devastating moments in Australian sport. It would be great to play a strong team in preparation for Russia but talks are at an early stage." Team Melli proved one of the biggest drawcards for fans at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia, boasting the second highest average attendance for a visiting team, second only to Japan. Despite moving to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, Iran is one of the only major nations in the region Australia has not played in a senior international. 
 
Several previous attempts have been made to hold a match between the two nations, with logistical issues having proved too difficult to overcome. Should the FFA be successful in luring the three-time Asian champions to Australia,  it would provide the FFA with a close-up look at a prime candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou as Socceroos coach. Fairfax Media understands Iran coach Carlos Queiroz is interested in moving to Australia to take charge of the national team after the 2018 World Cup, following confirmation that Postecoglou will not renew his contract and will pursue coaching opportunities abroad.  FFA would not comment on their efforts to identify a successor to Postecoglou, but sources suggest the former Real Madrid coach and Manchester United assistant would be a strong candidate. j Queiroz is set be a free agent as of July next year with sources suggesting he will likely leave Iran after the 2018 World Cup campaign. Queiroz's seven-year tenure with Team Melli has been successful on the field yet frustrating off it, with allegations of infighting, political disputes, poor planning and funding issues having taken their toll on the 64-year-old. Queiroz has resigned from his post on numerous occasions, only to be convinced to return each time. u Despite his issues with the Iranian federation, the Portuguese coach has been a revelation with Iran, taking the team from 66th to 30th in the world rankings, ahead of the likes of  the Netherlands and Sweden, to become the top-ranked nation in Asia. Under his guidance, Iran became the first nation from the AFC to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and just the second in the world alongside Brazil, having gone eight games without conceding a goal in the final round of qualifiers. Queiroz led South Africa and Portugal to World Cup appearances in 2002 and 2010 respectively and was the long-term assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He spent one season as the head coach of Real Madrid.
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