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Braunschweig's Davari chasing Iran dream

(FIFA.com)

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Braunschweig's Davari chasing Iran dream
Of all the curious tales that football spawns across the globe, there can only be few players experiencing a more bittersweet moment in their careers than Daniel Davari at present. While the Eintracht Braunschweig goalkeeper is helping his club fight for Bundesliga survival, the 26-year-old also has one eye on participating at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. After making his debut for the Iranian national team just a few months ago, Davari is now a regular member of the squad. “Going to the World Cup would definitely be the highlight of my career,” he told FIFA.com in an exclusive interview. “So far getting promoted to the Bundesliga was the best thing, but an invitation to go to the World Cup would be incredible, it’s what everyone dreams about. I’d be happy and proud and my family would be delighted.” World Cup dream Davari may only have two international appearances to his name thus far, but his competition for the No1 jersey, Rahman Ahmadi and Hamed Lak - with just eight and one caps respectively - hardly boast more experience. The race to be first-choice in Brazil is, therefore, still wide open. “The coach doesn’t have to decide just yet,” Davari continued. “I’m sure he’ll wait and see what happens during our preparations. It’s up to me to do my best in training and in our warm-up matches and to play as well as I can. I’d be really happy to be in the squad, whether it be as first, second or third choice. I always try to give everything when I get called up.”
I had goosebumps when the national anthem was played. It was by far the best experience I’ve had in football.
Daniel Davari on his international debut
  Iran went undefeated in the two matches Davari played, and the custodian fondly recalls his international debut, a 3-0 victory over Thailand on 15 November 2013: “It was an indescribable experience. I’d imagined what it might be like, but when it actually happened it surpassed my wildest dreams.
"I was really nervous, which was unusual because I’m normally very calm before games. I had goosebumps when the national anthem was played. It was by far the best experience I’ve had in football. I’m really happy to play for Iran.” At the beginning of next month Davari will join up with the national team once more, with friendlies scheduled against Kuwait on 3 March and Guinea two days later. It is then that Davari, who took inspiration from both his grandfather and former Germany international Jens Lehmann to become a goalkeeper, could discover his chances of being No1 in Brazil. Challenges ahead After being drawn against Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nigeria in Group F, Iran’s path to the knockout rounds is anything but straightforward. “Argentina are the clear favourites in our group,” Davari said. “Bosnia also have a great team with a lot of good players, many of whom play in the Bundesliga or elsewhere abroad. And then there’s Nigeria. On the whole, African teams are very strong, especially physically. It’s a massive challenge and I’m glad we have three really tough games.” Davari, who was born and raised in Germany by his Iranian father and Polish mother, has not looked back since making his breakthrough at Braunschweig in 2009. However, the club are in a precarious position at the foot of the Bundesliga standings, with just 12 points to show from their 20 league outings this season. “We’re still very optimistic,” Davari continued. “You shouldn’t give up as long as it’s still mathematically possible, and we won’t. We believe we’ve got a good chance, especially as we’ve improved a lot coming into the second half of the season. We need to keep going into our next games ready to give everything.” This weekend Braunschweig face a relegation six-pointer at home to 17th-placed Hamburg. “You have to make your own luck,” said Davari. “People tend to say that you’re out of luck when things are going badly, but last year we discovered that that’s not necessarily the case.“ The Lions’ pursuit of a fourth victory this term will not be easy, especially as their visitors have history on their side: Hamburg were one of the Bundesliga’s founding members and are the only club never to have been relegated. With so much at stake for both club and country in the coming months, Davari will no doubt experience a wide range of emotions between now and Brazil 2014.  Yet if all goes to plan, the towering custodian will be able to look back on this period of uncertainty with a smile, safe in the knowledge that Bundesliga survival, and a starting place at the World Cup, are assured.  

"Querioz will stay until World Cup 2018" claims Kaffashian

The head of Football Federation FFIRI , Ali Kaffashian reveled today that Carlos Queiroz has agreed to extend his contract for another 4 years (Until World Cup 2018 in Russia) pending the resolution of some financial issues.

In a statement to ISNA news agency , Kaffashian said that despite earlier news about Queiroz not staying beyond his contract , the Portuguese coach has verbally agreed the extension. Asked by the reporter what made Querioz change his mind despite some  lucrative offers from Europe and South Africa, Kaffashian said  "Yes, Carlos Queiroz has many concrete offers from Europe and some of them were financially better than ours, but he prefers to work with Iran as he spent enough time here and he is quite familiar with the surrounding (...)"  

Pressed by the reporter on when will Queiroz give a definite answer , Kaffashian said "I personally think that within 20 days , he will give us a definite answer. What is important for us is that Queiroz is interested to continue coaching Team Melli. For us this is quite a good news and I think he will agree to continue with us."  Kaffashian did not mention if his administration has given Queiroz any deadline for an answer nor did he elaborate if the federation is considering any other candidates if the Portuguese coach decides not to continue.

Queiroz was not available for comment and has been non-committal about his future with Team Melli, although the South Africans have taken it for granted that he will coach them after the World Cup.

Asked about the steps taken by the FFIRI to coordinate with the clubs on Team Melli program and why the supposed liaison and coordination meetings between Team Melli coaches on one side and club coaches on the other , did not materialize?  Kaffashian gave the customary wishful thinking that everyone should work towards the interest of Team Melli while he refrained from giving any reasons for lack of communication between his staff including Queiroz and the clubs! However , he pointed out that Queiroz has already met with Ghalenoei , Esteghlal's coach.

"What about if the clubs do not agree with the set program of Team Melli because they we not consulted. Are you going to use political pressure by asking the government to pressurize the clubs?"  asked the reporter. The Head of FFIRI responded "I hope the situation does not develop to that extend that we have to exert political pressure on the clubs. I think we can iron out all the issues without any difficulties." In response , the reporter said that the media have already been reporting that the meeting between Queiroz and Ghalenoei was fruitless and there was two different views with no accord in sight", Kaffashian refuted that claim and said "In fact , it was a good meeting and both sides agreed on the road plan for Team Melli. The fact that they were introduced to each other and talked was in itself quite significant for us!"

Kaffashian said that Qatar FA has not responded yet on the request for the release of Montazeri and Jabbari for Team Melli camp. Both players will be playing in the Amir Cup during the time Team Melli's is setting camp. There is no obligation for the clubs to release their players according to FIFA's rules. Kaffashian said that he is willing to travel to Qatar to negotiate their release or send some one to deputize for him. Kaffashian did not say what tools he will use to convince the Qatari teams to release their Iranian players while actively engaged in an important competition.

Kaffashian said that he has no idea about the progress of attracting Aria Jasuru Hasegawa, the 25 years old Japanese Iranian player, to Team Melli. He was quite hopeful that the South Africa Training camp will be on again so Team Melli can play the host country "Nothing is definite yet " Kaffashian said in his usual proverbial manner" We are still negotiating with other teams to play friendly matches. We will announce the plans when we get the approval of our opponents".

And we live in hope.

 

Persepolis Club on the edge of disbandment

A panic has ensued in the corridors of power in Persepolis club  as possibilities of Persepolis Club seizing activities has surfaced as result of financial difficulties and default on payments. Persepolis , like Esteghlal, the two most popular clubs in Iran by far , are owned and run by the government. Both have been facing financial difficulties for many years. Although the government has been tolerant with the clubs demands , in the recent years and especially under the general difficult economical situation of Iran , the government has been reluctant to bankroll their activities, accusing the clubs of failing to generate revenues and operate within a reasonable budget. Although the government has promised for decades to privatize the two clubs, it has failed time and again to stand by its promise. The most obvious and clear calls to privatize the clubs came during the reign of  the ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who  during his two terms has strongly promised to act upon the privatization , but he left the office without delivering on that promise. In a series of developments , an official from the government's Finance Ministry has recently declared that "the country cannot keep pouring money into the two Tehrani clubs who have failed for years to generate a sizable revenue to sustain their operation." According to  government official , both clubs situation are getting worse every year with Persepolis facing several court cases due to failing to honor their financial commitments and contractual obligations. Following the public outcry and demand for investigation  fueled by the refusal of Persepolis players to train , the government has sent auditors to Persepolis club. Question of mismanagement , misappropriation of funds and corruption has been previously raised by some members of parliament who pressed the government to act much positively this time. The other motive for the audit was to check on the level of debts. The recently departed  club CEO , Mohammad Rouyanian , has publicly announced that he left the club with an equivalent of  US$ 2 million in debts , but the auditors have discovered that the actual debts of Persepolis, arguably the most highly supported club in Iran , is far higher that what the ex-CEO has claimed and is more like US$ 25 million and getting worse.    This figure, which has not been officially confirmed by the auditors nevertheless, conveniently leaked , is sending shock waves in the entire Persepolis organization and slowly reaching its large fan bases in Iran and abroad.  While Persepolis player have gone on strike by refusing to train as the result of non-payment of their wages, Ali Parvin , the recently appointed Chairman of Persepolis, did not inject much confidence when he announced in public and private , that he is not promising anything to anyone and has no solution for the financial difficulties of the club!.  With such a statement and the discovery of the larger than expected debts of Persepolis , the situation has reached a critical stage. The bleak situation has lead to rumors of club defaulting on payments to staff and suppliers and hence announcing bankruptcy. The situation will prevent the club from completing its last 4 matches in the league, especially the matches away from Tehran. The only possibility for Persepolis to recover from such a dire situation is a government bail out. With only a few months left to the World Cup , there is some hope that the government might find the will to help the struggling club,  as a face saving exercise. However , this same government has failed to properly support Team Melli program and inject funds in FFIRI despite all the public support and statements by the ministers and government officials , so what are the chances that Persepolis will be bailed out? For the good of football in Iran and Team Melli , we hope that a quick solution is reached , else Persepolis and most probably Esteghlal , might seize to exist in this form. The clubs could be disbanded and re-formed into a new entity and very possibly with a new names.      

Team Melli futsal in full preparation

Tehran Iran's Football Federation FFIRI has announced the schedule of matches in preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Futsal championship in Vietnam. Layla Yar Mohammadi , the spokesperson for the Futsal committee of the federation , announced that Futsal Team Melli will be taking part in Kuwait's Intercontinental Cup , which will be held in 14th July - 23 July  along with Argentina, Egypt , Guatemala, Costa Rica and host country Kuwait.  " Team Melli  activities will be continued by arranging several friendly matches " she said in a statement on the FFIRI website. " The comprehensive training program will start from 27th March. We have been in discussion with the Croatian football federation and verbally agreed to play two friendly matches. The dates will be finalized soon" Yar Mohammadi also mentioned the possibility of playing  in 4 side tournament in Tashkent , Uzbekistan.  "The Uzbek federation has sent the invitation , but the final decision to take part in the tournament will be taken after we get all the details including other participating teams and the dates." The spokesperson for the Futsal committee also mentioned that UAE federation has sent an invitation for the Futsal U23 team to take part in a tournament "The final approval will be given by the coaching staff since many of the U23 team are also full team members." The Asian Futsal Championship 2014 will be held in Vietnam from 30th April to  10th May. 16 teams will be taking part in the  13th edition of the championship. Vietnam , Japan, Thailand and Iran are seeded and will be heading the 4 groups. Iran has won a record 10 titles while the current defending  champions Japan,  has won 2.

South Africa friendly match is still on the cards.

The South African newspaper "The Daily Sun" Reported that Team Melli and South Africa will be meeting in Azadi in May.

BAFANA Bafana’s confirmed friendly international against Iran is seen as a veiled confirmation that Carlos Queiroz has began his work for Safa underground.
 
Queiroz is the current Iran head coach and highly-placed SAFA insiders have revealed that Queiroz was instrumental in the friendly match becoming a reality.
The rumour in the Safa corridors is that he will be announced as the new Bafana coach after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in July.
The match against Iran will take place in May.
Bafana will play against Brazil in March. They will then have two friendlies against Iran in Tehran and Australia in Sydney in May.

Queiroz: We want to make Iran proud

News

(FIFA.com) Friday 7 February 2014
Queiroz: We want to make Iran proud
© AFP
Carlos Queiroz’s place in the pantheon of Portuguese football is already assured, having guided an exceptional crop of young talents – which would go on to be dubbed the Lusitanians’ geração de ouro (golden generation) – to victory at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1989 and 1991. And come this year’s FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil, he will become the first Portuguese to coach at two editions of the global showpiece. At the Portugal helm at South Africa 2010, when A Equipa das Quinas’ hopes were ended in the Round of 16 by neighbours Spain, Queiroz’s challenge on Brazilian soil will be to take Iran to the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in their history. In conversation with FIFA.com, he looked back over photos of some of the most memorable moments of his coaching career, providing insights and recollections. Victory at the U-20 World Cup in 1989 and 1991 FIFA.com: Before these tournaments began, did you realise just how gifted this generation of young Portuguese footballers was? Carlos Queiroz: I had an idea that the situation was promising for us. By 1990 we already had an established pedigree in European youth football and we had proof that Portuguese players were blessed with great footballing ability. But that [golden] generation had everything in technical, tactical and physical terms, allied to mental strength and intelligence, all of which forged a team spirit and a national-squad mentality that endures even today. The work put in by the Portuguese FA during that period created a whole culture of what it meant to be a part of the Portuguese national squad. That identity has survived to this day at the heart of the senior team and at all other age levels too. Working alongside Alex Ferguson at Manchester United That was another chapter in my life. I’ve spent half my time working with clubs and the other half with national teams, but that was the most significant period of my career, for a number of reasons. First of all because, with all due respect to the rest, United are the best club in the world, with the best atmosphere and fantastic fans. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to work in English football and at Manchester United. I’ll forever be proud to have had the chance to play my part, bring my knowledge and commitment to the table and be at Alex Ferguson’s side. It’s a fantastic club and there are no words to describe Sir Alex. I learned so much and I know that, over six years of dedication to the club, I made some great friends – one of whom is Alex Ferguson. Which is the most important lesson you learned from him? I learned a lot of significant things. One of them was about the influence that leadership has at a certain level. The first lesson is the faith that the leader puts in the people he has chosen, whatever the situation. We all worked beneath an aura of complete trust. The second important lesson learned from the success of United is that nobody can be bigger than the club and everybody has an important role in working for the collective good of the club and its fans. The combination of these two formulas has had a huge hand in United’s success. Portugal’s South Africa 2010 campaign  Where the senior side went, drama followed. Unfortunately for us, we ended up meeting Spain, the eventual world champions. They were at the peak of their powers and extremely high in confidence, while in that match we lacked a touch of individual inspiration and a dash of luck. We were at a bit of a low point as several injuries had limited our options, while we’d had a very tough clash with Brazil [in the teams’ final game of Group G]. We gave it everything we had against Spain and then came the [only] goal. It could have gone our way, but it went to Spain. Even though I feel that Spain’s triumph was fair and deserved, football is football and, with a bit more luck, it could have been us. Were you satisfied with how A Equipa das Quinas performed? This is what football draws its drama and excitement from. We felt convinced that we’d done our best and Portugal exited the tournament with its head held high, despite us not going as far as we’d hoped. When you come up against the likes of Spain, Brazil or Germany, somebody has to go home. It [the Round of 16 game against La Roja] could have been the Final. Vicente del Bosque told me later that it was then that his team genuinely started to believe they could be world champions. It could have gone the other way… It wasn’t a happy time for Portugal or me personally, but it hasn’t overshadowed how proud I feel at having coached the Portuguese national team.
Asian Zone qualifying is very tough because there’s so much travelling, the temperature and humidity vary massively and decision-making is made very difficult.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz
Spain were just a tiny bit better than us and our individuals didn’t quite shine as brightly as theirs. That’s how you separate two very evenly-matched teams: you look to players like Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi to tip the balance. On that day, however, it was Xavi and [David] Villa who proved more decisive than our players, even though we gave it absolutely everything we had. Clinching qualification for Brazil 2014 with Iran This moment was the one where Reza [Ghoochannejhad] scored [in a 1-0 away win] against Korea Republic, which took Iran to the top of the group and clinched qualification for the World Cup. It was a very difficult campaign: Asian Zone qualifying is very tough because there’s so much travelling, the temperature and humidity vary massively and decision-making is made very difficult. This goal by Reza was one of those moments: that was when we felt that qualification wasn’t going to slip away from us. The qualification campaign was a journey through hell for Iran, but now begins the journey through heaven. We’re going to go out there to enjoy it and do our utmost to make the Iranian fans both proud and happy. You’ve always said that, in addition to reaching the World Cup, you wanted to play a part in unearthing new talents in the Iranian game. Have you achieved that too? We couldn’t see ourselves playing at a World Cup without quality and international experience. Over the course of two years’ work it’s been possible to find Iranian players who were spread out all over Europe and bring them into the fold. When I first arrived we only had one foreign-based player but now we’ve got six or seven. Is that enough? I don’t think so but it’s better than when we started. Reza is an example of the standard of performer that we didn’t have back at the beginning. So, what are your goals for Iran from this point on? For two-and-a-half years we were burdened with the expectation and the responsibility that goes with trying to qualify for the World Cup, carrying the hopes of 78 million Iranians. When the players are shouldering the hopes and dreams of an entire nation, that’s an enormous weight to bear. The [national-team] shirt starts to weigh heavy. But that moment captures the dream becoming reality, a visual image showing we've actually made it. A new phase begins now: we need to understand that we’re not going to Brazil to be whipping-boys or for a holiday. With pride, dignity and respect, we want to take on the best national teams in the world, be as competitive as we possibly can and achieve one main objective. Iran have never reached the second phase of a World Cup, so it’s our mission to do everything in our power to make it happen. We’re not among the favourites and I know that before the Final Draw there were 31 teams all wanting to get Iran in their group. But it’s our goal now to see if we can make someone wish they’d hadn’t.

Zlatko Kranjčar "I will think about Team Melli job"

The Croatian coach of Sepahan Esfahan , Zlatko Kranjčar, said that he will think about Team Melli job offer after the World Cup if it was offered to him.

After winning against the city rivals Zob Ahan in a closely fought match 1-0 on Friday , the Croatian coach said that his whole effort at the moment is to win the remaining 4 matches of the current season and challenge for the league title. In the post match press conference , Kranjčar was asked about the Team Melli Job, in which the Croat coach said :

"I think the source of this rumor is no one other than Carlos Queiroz himself. He has been talking to some reporters , and now it is doing the round and hearing it from the press. I think it is not a very wise move by Team Melli coach to say something like that. When he spreads the news that he is leaving and someone else will be taking over, while the players have serious work to do in the World Cup, it will affect Team Melli. Such a fact will diminish the player's enthusiasm and will reduce their interest in what the coach is saying knowing that he will not be around after the tournament is over. " The Croat said.

"My whole focus now is on Sepahan both in the league and the Asian Champions League. Team Melli has a coach and in my opinion , he is the best person for the job right now. If he leaves after the World Cup when his contract expires, and if the job is offered to me, then I will certainly think about that offer. I have no other comments on that."

Kranjčar , however, praised  Queiroz saying "Although Queiroz has created a havoc for the league with his program where some teams will be waiting for weeks without playing while others will be playing once every 4 days, I still believe Queiroz is best suited for the job and the federation should keep him. He has achieved quite a bit for Iran including qualification for the World Cup."

Asked whether he can iron out his problems with Queiroz the way he did with Ghalenoei in a meeting a few days back, Kranjčar responded "First of all , Queiroz did not invite me to that meeting , he also did not come to Esfahan to discuss the issues in question. Most importantly though , I don't think it would achieve much. I still stand firmly on my point. Arranging a Team Melli camp during the Asian Champions league is plainly wrong and there is no two way about it. And to make it worse , they are asking for our best players to join the camp and do not play in the ACL!"

Alireza Haghighi joins Sporting Covilhã on loan.

Alireza Haghighi , Team Melli and Perspolis goalkeeper has joined Portuguese second division team Sporting Covilhã on loan. Haghighi (25 years) has failed to get much playing time at his club Perspolis under Ali Daei where the Brazilian Nelson has virtually made the goalkeeping post his exclusive right with some splendid displays. The lack of playing time frustrated Haghighi and his protest lead to his suspension and temporary expulsion from the club. In a astatement to ISNA, Haghighi hoped that playing in Europe, even a seocnd divison team in Portugal , will increase his chances to make the Team Melli squad going to the World Cup in June. Carlos Queiroz has been quite accommodating to Iraninas playing outsde the Domestic league giving quite a few of them opportunities. Haghighi return to Iran re-joining his team Perspolis after an unsuccessful spell in Russia with Ruben Kazan where he was a second and third choice goalkeeper. However, many observers thought that returning to Perspolis where a solid goalkeeper was performing quite well for the club, seemed to be not a wise move by Haghghi.

Queiroz could sue UHLSport!

Carlos Queiroz's fire fighting extended to the supplier of Team Melli kit , the German sporting goods manufacturer UHLSport. In an interview with ISNA , Houshang Moghaddas, the international affairs officer of the football federation said that a problem has arisen between  the Portuguese coach of Team Melli and the Iranian representative of UHLSport on various issues including payments and number of matches that Team Melli has used the supplied kits. Carlos Queiroz conspicuous absence from the presentation of the new Team Melli kit in a ceremony a couple of days back, raised a few eyebrows but after today's statement from Moghaddas ,  it is apparent now that Queiroz is not too fond of UHLSport and have differences with the company. uhlsport-iran-home-replica-t-shirt-2013 in an extremely strange event , the FFIRI offical revealed some disturbing story. Moghaddas said that Team Melli coach was not satisfied with the quantity of kits being supplied by UHLSport and gave an example of the match in Bangkok where an unnamed Team Melli player gave away his shirt to a fan after the end of the match against Thailand.  That acts , which is quite normal in international football across the world , did not please the team officials as they planned to wash/recycle  that shirt and use it again!. "The fact that the player gave away his shirt , resulted in that player to remain on the bench for next match against Lebanon , because we did not have a spare shirt for him." Moghaddas claimed. Naturally , Queiroz was disgusted by the whole affair. Moghaddas said that Queiroz has not received any cash payment from UHLSport and the same company refused to pay his hotel expenses in Dubai as promised, so he (Queiroz) has all the rights to file a case against the company! In a separate report , the German Manager of UHLSport said "We are the official kit supplier for Iran's national team and the contract involves all players and coaches using our brand. If Carlos Queiroz does not want to wear our branded which he is bound to , then he is not allowed to wear another brand. He must wear unbranded kit." Mr. martin denied that there is any intention by his company to take Queiroz to court for breach of contract . He also refuted claims that his company supplies inferior quality kits and said "all the top sporting goods manufacturers in the world including Addias and Nike use the same process as we do. We supply the raw martial from Europe and send it to China for final tailoring. All the suppliers do the same."    

Security breach at Team Melli's camp site in Brazil

Corinthians fans attacked Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero after invading the team's training centre in Sao Paulo in protest at the Brazilian team's recent struggles, club president Mario Gobbi has said.

Gobbi said the protest turned violent and fans grabbed the striker by the neck. He said other club employees were also attacked during Saturday's confrontation after about 100 fans broke in. Nobody was seriously injured.

The training centre, in Sao Paulo, will be used by the Iran national team during the World Cup in the summer. Corinthians' stadium, the Itaquerao, will host the tournament's opener between Brazil and Croatia.

Gobbi told Radio Jovem Pan that Guerrero, who scored the winner against Chelsea in the Club World Cup final in 2012, was attacked.

"They tried to strangle the player who scored the most important goal in team history. We didn't deserve this," he said.

He said the club had already contacted police and would help authorities arrest those responsible for the attack, with security camera footage being handed over to investigators.

"This is a case for the police to handle," he added. "Our employees don't feel safe any more."

The fans cut through a wire mesh fence to try to reach Corinthians players. Local media reported that they also targeted striker Emerson Sheik and former AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato, the club's most expensive signing last year, along with coach Mano Menezes.

As the World Cup kick off is approaching , much concern and alarm has been raised by the various events surrounding the tournaments from strikes, riots against the World Cup and now this security breach in a training camp. The authorities in Brazil has promised tight security for all the visitors and teams.