Author: admin

Morale boosting win for Team Melli against Montenegro.

Team Melli defeated Montenegro 1-2 in a friendly International match in the capital city Podgorica on Sunday.

Team Melli was camping in Austria, before travelling to Montenegro for the match. Both Iran and Montenegro are preparing for the FIFA World Cup2018 qualifiers next week.

Iran played a goalless draw against Montenegro three years ago before the World Cup. The Montenegro team has performed well in the current World Cup qualifying rounds with good results such as the win against Denmark in Copenhagen.

According to Queiroz at the pre-match press conference, Montenegro game style is similar to Uzbekistan and that is his reasoning behind arranging this match.

Iran and Uzbekistan's national teams will play Azadi Stadium next week with Team Melli looking for a win to seal their qualification for the second consecutive World Cup.

Team Melli line up against Montenegro included : Alireza Beiranvand, Morteza Pouraliganji, Pejman Montazeri, Saeid Aghaei, Ramin Rezaeian, Saeid Ezatolahi (Ezzaat Pourqaz) Ehsan Hajsafi (Ali Karimi) Ashkan Dejagah (Reza Ghoochannejhad) Mehdi Torabi, Karim Ansarifard (Milad Mohammadi) and Sardar Azmoun (Ehsan Pahlavan)

Iran played the final ten minutes of the match short of one player after the expulsion of Morteza Pouraliganji for a second yellow card.

In the tenth minute Sardar Azmoun scored for Iran again after 8 months dry run. Aghaei sent a long ball to Rezaeian who headed towards Torabi and the quick and artistic move of  Mehdi Torabi was effective in gifting the goal to Sardar Azmoun.

After the goal, Montenegro took the majority of possession and threatened Team Melli several time. Biravand in goal was a saviour and prevented the collapse in the first half. However in the 31st minute the hosts scored the deserved equalizer through their star player  Jovetic the ex- Manchester City player and currently playing for Seville in the La Liga.

Saeid Ezatolahi powerful shot from a free kick, the header against the bar by Azmoun were among the two most serious attempts by Team Melli to take the lead again. Montenegro had several chances too but the half ended in a 1-1 draw.

In the second half, the substitute Ali Karimi’s cross and followed by Ramin Rezaeian header, once again to Sardar Azmoun , set up the second goal for Team Melli. The young striker has increased his goals tally to eighteen with this brace.

The host once again had most of the possession but to no real threat on the solid and tight Iranian defence.

Apart from the dismissal of Pouraliganji , the match went According to script that Queiroz wanted it

The game ended 2-1 as Asian top ranked team in the FIFA rankings, gathered valuable points to add for next months.

Queiroz once again, gave two players their debut. Saeed Aghaei and Ehsan Pahlavan made their first appearance for Team Melli and played quite well against the organized Montenegro team.

Both of them were encouraging.

Queiroz gave a chance for seventeen players in the match and utilized his full quota under the rules. Many fixed players did not get a chance to play including the likes of Jahanbakhsh, Taromi, Shojaei, Amiri and Jalal Hosseini.

The make-shift team of Queiroz has proved that he has managed to create two parallel teams capable to compete at the highest levels in any match. So that injuries and suspensions, without prejudice to the team, does not affect the overall performance.

This was a morale boosting win against a European team away from home.

The Squad to face Uzbekistan announced

The Iranian Football Federation announced the list of 26 player which Carlos Queiroz has picked for the match against Uzbekistan. The squad, already in camp in Austria, will face Montenegro in a friendly international match before the vital against the Uzbek team which in itself is looking for a win in the hope of clinching a place in next year's World Cup 2018. Not a single player from Esteghlal was selected for the team, which is not too surprising after the humiliating defeat by the blue team against Al Ain in the AFC champions league match. The squad will be trimmed to 23 players for the match according to FIFA regulations governing the competition. The inclusion of Ehsan Pahlavi is the squad is a fresh sign on Queiroz intent to create competition for places in the team.      
GOALKEEPERS
AKHBARI, Mohammad Reza Tractorsazi
BIRANVAND, Alireza Persepolis
LAK, Hamed Saipa
MAZAHERI, Mohammad Rashid Zob Ahan
DEFENDERS
AGHAEI, Saeed Tractorsazi
ANSARI, Mohammad Persepolis
HOSSEINI, Jalal Persepolis
MAHINI, Hossein Persepolis
MONTAZERI, Pejman  Al Ahli (QAT)
MOHAMMADI, Milad  Grozny (RUS)
POURALIGANJI, Morteza  Al Sadd (QAT)
REZAEIAN, Ramin  no team
MIDFIELD
DEJAGAH, Ashkan Wolfsburg (GER)
EZATOLLAHEI, Saeed  Enzhi  (RUS)
HAJSAFY, Ehsan  Sepahan
KARIMI, Ali  Locomotive (CRO)
POURGHAZ, Ezzatollah  Saipa
SHOJAEI, Masoud  Pananios (GRE)
FORWARDS
 AMIRI, Vahid  Persepolis
ANSARIFARD, Karim  Olympiakos (GRE)
AZMOUN, Sardar  Rostov (RUS)
GHOOCHANEJAD, Reza Heerneveen (HOL)
JAHANBAKHSH, Alireza A Z Alkaamar (HOL)
PAHLAVAN, Ehsan Zb Ahan
TAREMI, Mehdi Persepolis
TORABI, Mehdi  Saipa

The coach and IRIFF failure is so evident.

In the post match press conference in Inchon, Amir Hossein Peyrovani has accepted the responsibility for Iran U-21 team elimination from the FIFA U -20 World Cup. The coach has diverted some of the blame on the federation (IRIFF) for lack of preparation and said that " I always manifested that a team that needs to compete at the highest level, must have the highest preparation which was not the case with us and I said that before the beginning of the tournament"

Peyrovani also moaned about lack of experience of his players (...) . When asked about the mistakes of his goalkeepers which has cost the team dearly, Peyrovani simply said that mistakes are part of the game!

The accountability and responsibility for the elimination of the team is very much on the shoulders of Peyrovani in the first place.  His failure to read the game and organize his team losing two matches after leading was the catalyst for failure. It was not the lack of experience of the players that he claimed as one of the reasons for his teams defeats, it was more like lack of his own experience and coaching at the highest level of football. All the teams in this competition have lack of experience, it is , after all, the 20 Years age group.

A look at Peyrovani's CV indicates that he never even coached a top club in Iran nor did he stay at any job for a long period of time to settle and learn. However, the IRIFF which is not strange to haphazard decision-making and chaotic appointments, have seen in this coach the qualities that could  lead this young and talented team in the FIFA U-21 World Cup ! How wrong were they ...

Not only Peyrovani was never at such class, but those who have appointed him must also leave the federation and give the control of running this job to professionals and competent administrators and experts who can select quality and experienced coaches who are skilled and competent to coach the young national teams..

Amir Hossein Peyrovani Coaching career.

 
2005−2006 Sorkhpoushan
2007−2008 Damash Tehran
2008 Aboumoslem (assistant)
2008 Aboumoslem
2009 Saipa (assistant)
2009−2010 Iran U-23 (assistant)
2011 Gohar Zagros (assistant)
2014– Iran U20

Iran U-20 loses in the last minutes and knocked.

While a win was very much in the hands of the Team Melli U-20 in the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017 final group C match against Portugal, a loosing mentality and a lack of self belief and confidence allowed the Portuguese to win the match and knock Iran out of the championship.

A brilliant header by Iran's Reza Shekari from a corner kick put Iran in the lead as early as the fourth minutes. After the goal , Iran parked the bus and hoped that the Portuguese , who were quite pathetic in the first half , will not score.

Defending well without having any ambitions to score another goal finally resulted in what Iran wanted and that one goal lead at half time.

The second half, Portugal team must had a real grilling from the coach as the same players who were performing inadequately suddenly turned into winners. Not only Portugal had most of the possession, they created all the scoring chances as well. Iran was content with defending and sending long aimless balls just to clear their 18 yards. It was a sorry display of football by Iran which has a talented team that could have easily qualified for the next round but for the mentality of one amateur coach who has added yet another failure to his CV.

Portugal scored the equalizer after a poor clearance by Shehab Adeli , the replacement keeper, and a poor marking by Omid Noorafkan but frankly it was only a matter of time before the winner goal would be scored by the former champions and that goal unfortunately for Iran came in the form of a friendly fire. A harmless shot from the Portuguese player on the right of the keeper was deflected into Shehab Adeli's goal late in the match to make it 2-1 for Portugal.

Ironically , after that goal , Iran U-20 team played it best football and in true offensive style, creating more chances in a 7 minutes remaining of  the match (regular and added  4 minutes time) than the whole of the match. The Fans have the right to ask , why this capable team with so much talent was not directed to play in this style  earlier,  instead of sending hail Mary balls or play acting , grass rolling to waste time. The Iran U-21 could have scored another goal and then controlled the match but that was perhaps not in the coach's gameplan.

Getting the best out of a talented pool of young players , require professional and high quality coaching. Peyrovani , is not in that class. He is a "B" or "C: coach without any pedigree and it was quite evident in South Korea that he just does not have it in him to lead an Iranian team at the world stage.

One of the best teams in Iranian age group departed the Championship at group stage, yet again.

The influence of sport in Rouhani's re-election.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was re-elected as the country's leader with 57 percent of the vote on 20th May 2017. The reformer has been able to rely on the support of several well-known sportsmen. In Iran, politics and sports are never far from each other.

With 23.5 million votes, Hassan Rouhani was re-elected to the presidency of Iran on May 20, 2017. While 42 percent of registered voters chose this reformer, the proportion of top-level sportsmen voted for him May have been higher still. With such a young population, the polls were filled with the age group that idolize sportmen and hence their vote were certainly influenced by what their idols backed. 

Prior to the poll, Hassan Rouhani had the favors of several retired or active footballers, such as Ali Karimi, Ali Daei, Karim Bagheri, three local legends who played in the German Bundesliga.

The other disciplines cherished in Iran have not been left behind, according to the official website of Rouhani campaign and some sports media. The names of 2012 Olympic champions Behdad Salimi (weightlifting) and Omid Norouzi (Greco-Roman wrestling) featured alongside those of volleyball players and chess players.

Conservative Ebrahim Raisi less sustained

The conservative Ebrahim Raisi, Rouhani's main rival, apparently could not count on the same support from the country's sports elites, even though the head of the Iranian Olympic Committee (Kioumars Hashemi) seemed to be on his side, that of course counted for very little.

Sports and religion do not always do well ... Besides, since his first victory in 2013, Hassan Rouhani has tried to dissociate power and sport, at least in appearance. In November 2013, after a wave of success, he declared: “If we look at the excellent successes in sports, we do not do much for it. We have only helped to shadow the policy on sports. "

Politics and sports are "intertwined" in Iran

Houchang Chehabi , a professor of international relations and history at Boston University, believes that wishes are more than a reality. Sports and politics " are undoubtedly interwoven, says the researcher. In the Islamic Republic, all cultural aspects are politicized, including sport. The best example is the career of Faezeh Rafsanjani, the daughter of the late president of Iran [from 1989 to 1997, Editor's note] Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani . It has revived the sport of women. "

If politicians are involved in sport, sportsmen and sportsmen also engage in the political life of their country. ”Their involvement goes back to the pre-revolutionary period ," explains Houchang Chehabi. Even before 1979 revolution, the Olympic champion Gholamreza Takhti,  the cult figure and the hero of the underprivileged was known for his supporter of Mohammad Mossadegh [ Prime Minister of the country in the years 1950 , Editor's note] against the Shah ", recalls the scholar. Another Olympic wrestling champion, Emamali Habibi was placed in Parliament. Since the mid-1990s, athletes have been giving their opinions. The Tehran City Council is full of former sportsmen. "

The place of women in sport, a recurring debate

When debate arises in sport today, it often concerns the place of women on the grounds or in the stands. Females are rarely admitted in mixed enclosures since the Revolution. In February, however, spectators were allowed to attend a beach volleyball tournament as a result of pressure from outside.

Diplomatic considerations also regularly invade land, rings and tatamis. In 1998, as a sign of peace, Iranian footballers had posed with their American opponents just before a World Cup match. Conversely, threats of boycotting confrontations with athletes from Israel or Saudi Arabia sometimes interfere with the image of Iranian sport.

Iranian athletes and teams are the only sportsmen in the world who are officially barred by the country policies and religious pressure to meet Israeli counterparts. Many Iranian have been barred, suspended or thrown out of tournaments for refusing to compete against what the Iranian government label as the Zionist state or the occupier of the holy land, however, such disciplinary and punitive measures have not stopped the Iranians as it continues unabated until today!

At the beginning of the revolution, sportsmen and teams were unashamedly influenced by the regime and the revolutionary fervor spreading through the country. In the eighties Every Iranian team had to display some kind of religious or political banner in support of their leader Khomeini, to the disgust of the rest of the world. However, with the emergence of the Rafsanjani and his political wisdom and pragmatism, these exhibitions of unwelcomed religious and political propaganda all but disappeared.

Note: Part of this report is reproduced from rfi.fr

Touhid Lotfi named AFC Futsal MVP

Bangkok: Islamic Republic of Iran’s Touhid Lotfi has been named the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship’s Most Valuable Player after guiding his side to the title on Friday.
Iran’s talismanic captain rounded off a superb individual campaign with another highly creditable display as Iran beat Iraq 2-0 to secure the inaugural tournament’s crown. The livewire playmaker scored six times in seven matches – including a hat-trick against Thailand in the semi-finals - while also creating numerous assists as Iran netted an impressive 40 goals throughout the competition. And despite being unable to add to his tally in the final, Lotfi was a shining light yet again as he further underlined just why he is regarded as one of the region's riding stars in the world of futsal. "No words can express how I felt when I received this award, all I could do was cry and ask God if it was meant to be," the 19-year-old said after receiving his accolade. "But this award is not just because of my efforts, I have to acknowledge that it's my colleagues who gave me the opportunity to hold this award. "My performances from the Group Stage onwards have been thanks to my coach Ali Arani. All I needed to do was follow the plan," he added. Touhid Lotfi at the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship
  • Played 7 matches
  • Scored 6 goals
  • On target against: Mongolia (1), Lebanon (2) and Thailand (3)
Photo: AFC

Team Melli leaves for Europe

In preparation for that crucial match against Uzbekistan, Team Melli has left for a training camp in Austria.

Carlos Queiroz took part of the squad to the Austrian capital for some serious workout including a friendly international against Montenegro. The squad will then return east to Dubai where they will complete the second phase of the camp before returning back in Tehran to face Uzbekistan.

Four of the domestic league players picked by Queiroz were unable to get the visa on time and where left behind. The four players, Sasan Ansari, Vahid Mohammadzadeh, Hamed Lak and Mohammad Hossein Kanani were late additions to the squad which made it difficult to arrange the visa on time.

The squad contains limited number of legionnaires, however , the Russian based players will join the squad in a few days time.

 

IRAN SEAL AFC U-20 FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Bangkok: An ecstatic Islamic Republic of Iran claimed the inaugural AFC U-20 Futsal Championship title on Friday thanks to a narrow 2-0 win over Iraq at the Bangkok Arena.

The victory was Iran’s seventh straight success at the tournament, an imperious run of form that leaves the country proud owners of both the U-20 and senior AFC Futsal Championship crowns.

With all to play for and a large measure of national pride on the line, it was to be Sahand Rezapour who opened the scoring for Iran in the fourth minute, before Iraq - who were playing more offensively compared to their recent matches - came close to restoring parity through a Moamin Fawzi free-kick which goalkeeper Abolfazi Shabazi did well to save.

However, disaster was to strike for Iraq shortly after, Zaid Ali’s seemingly innocuous tackle somehow finding its way into his own goal to hand the Iranians a two-goal advantage midway through the first half.

Iran defended resolutely and maintained their lead going into the break, with Mohammad Jame and skipper Touhid Lotfi’s excellent partnership in the final third then threatening to put the game beyond Iraq after the restart.

With time running out, Iraq head coach Ali Talib’s side switched to a power play, a bold move that came close to reaping dividends and providing a glimmer of hope when Hasan Kadhim’s last minute shot fizzed narrowly wide.

However, it was not to be as an impressive Iran resolutely held on to seal the title and emphatically underline the country’s futsal prowess.

Iran: REZAPOUR 4’, ALI 10’ (OG)

Iran U-20 lose to Zambia after leading 2-0

  • Zambia into next round after thrilling comeback
  • Reza Shakari double had Iran in front before four unanswered goals
  • Fahion Sakala, Enock Mwepu, Emmanuel Banda and Patson Daka all score

A breath-taking revival by Zambia saw them move into the next round of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017, coming from two down to beat Iran 4-2.

Zambia had shown defensive frailties early on and the theme continued as Mangani Banda’s miscued clearance fell straight to Reza Shekari who, after a neat stepover, slotted Iran in front.

The African champions slowly grew in confidence, culminating in Fashion Sakala rattling the post with a fine header on the stroke of half-time. That progress looked to have gone up in smoke when a rash challenge on Omid Norafkan gifted Shekari another goal, this time from the penalty spot.

However, the tide began to turn six minutes later. A hoofed ball by Solomon Sakala found namesake Fashion who cut inside and volleyed low to half the deficit, then drew level with one of the goals of the tournament so far. A lovely flowing move down the right resulted in Emmanuel Banda’s flick being slotted home by Enock Mwepu.

With momentum flowing fiercely for those in green, Banda put them ahead following a goalmouth scramble before Patson Daka gave the win some gloss as he picked out the bottom corner from 20 yards.

GROUP C
TEAMS MP W D L GF GA +/- Pts
Zambia
ZAMBIA
 2 2 0 0 6 3 3 6
Iran
IRAN
 2 1 0 1 3 4 -1 3
Portugal
PORTUGAL
 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
Costa Rica
COSTA RICA
 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1

Iran U-20 Futsal edge Thailand to reach the final.

Bangkok: Islamic Republic of Iran advanced to the 2017 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship final after a resounding 7-5 victory over Thailand on Wednesday.

In a clash between two futsal giants, Thailand’s Panut Kittipanuwong opened the scoring in the first 30 seconds, but Iran’s skipper Touhid Lotfi responded moments later to level the score.

Iran looked to extend their lead at the 10th minute, but a swift Thai counterattack ensued and Kittipanuwong duly doubled the host nation’s advantage.

Iran, however, found an equaliser once again, when Mohammad Taheri’s free kick found the back of the net after Thailand received their fifth foul in the first-half.  

Both sides began to play more cautiously thereafter, conscious that another foul would mean offering their opponents a penalty kick, and both sides seemed content to reach the break with two goals apiece in Bangkok Arena..

Sarawut Phalaphruek and Worrapluch Jiwjaratrong’s criss-crosses in the Iranians’ penalty area were exceptional but custodian Abolfazi Shahbazi dealt with any threats.

All was almost said and done when Iran’s Mohammad Jame broke the deadlock in the 39th minute giving Ali Arani’s side the lead, but it was to be short-lived as Jiwjaratrong’s short-range strike gave Miguel Rodrigo’s side a chance to fight again, forcing the game into extra-time.

Lotfi then picked up his second goal of the match in the 43rd minute, before Thailand’s power play handed Muhammad Osamanmusa the opportunity to etch his name on the scoresheet in the last second of the first-half of extra-time.

Thailand committed their sixth second-half foul, giving Hamidreza Karimi the opportunity to score through a penalty, before Lotfi claimed his third a minute later.

Kittipanuwong’s goal in the 48th minute narrowed the margin to just one goal but their power play backfired when Hamzeh Kamdkhoda slid the ball into an unguarded goal, sending the Iranians to the final and Rodrigo’s side into the third-place play-off on Thursday.

Thailand: KITTIPANUWONG 1’, KITTIPANUWONG 10’, JIWJARATRONG 40’, OSAMANMUSA 45’, KITTIPANUWONG 48’ Iran: LOTFI 1’, TAHERI 12’, JAME 39’, LOTFI 43’, KARIMI 46’, LOTFI 47’, KADKHODA 50’