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Hosseinzadeh, a complicated file for Charleroi

Source: https://seo-bestlink.com/

For several days or even weeks, the name of Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh has been coming up regularly as a potential recruit in Charleroi. For the management, it is not, at first sight, an absolute priority for this summer transfer window, but they believe a lot in him and would see him as a reinforcement for the future. The attacking midfielder (21) of Esteghlal FC, defending champion, is considered one of the greatest talents in the country and is already international. His market value has seriously increased in recent months and is approaching one million euros.

Charleroi, via the Iranian connections of Mehdi Bayat, is seduced by the player even if he knows that it will take time for him to adapt. According to our information, Hosseinzadeh considers himself ready to join Europe. Perhaps not as an immediate starter, of course, but above all with the aim of continuing his development.

But then, what is stuck in the transaction? First, several clubs are interested in his services. But above all, according to the Iranian press, Hosseinzadeh is mired in a politico-sports quarrel. Indeed, the player had, it is said in Iran, an agreement with Ahmed Madadi, the former president of the Iranian club, to be able to join Europe in the event of an offer set at 250,000 dollars. Except that Esteghlal, an institution very close to the power of Tehran, has changed president. And that the latter, Mostafa Ajorlou, does not intend to release his nugget for such a sum when he could get three or four times more.

Could the player free himself from his release clause? Will Charleroi succeed in settling this thorny issue? A few days ago, Hosseinzadeh gave the beginning of an answer: “I hope something good will happen. To the Esteghlal club and to me.” In short, the file could still last.

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Blatant interference by the Minister of Sports in deciding on Team Melli Head Coach!!!

The minister of Sports Hamid Sajjadi, stressing that the post of the head coach of the national team should be resolved sooner, announced an important meeting with the head of the football federation to determine the position of the national team bench.

Regarding the situation of Team Melli, he noted that "the uncertainty of the national team should end soon. Today, one of our meetings will be with Mirshad Majdi. They (FFIRI) have carried out studies and conducted inquiries. Today we are talking to each other and we are with the national team and we will help. We have received the necessary support from the government to provide any material and moral support to the technical decisions of the federation."

Sajjadi continued "It is not advisable for the Ministry of Sports to interfere in any of the sports fields. Even in athletics, I don't allow them to interfere in technical matters. We respect the technical point of view of the federations."

In response to the question of whether Iranian coaches should be selected for Team Melli, the Minister of Sports said "During the past few days, there have been two schools of thought about the use of Iranian or foreign coaches, all of these are being analyzed, and a final decision taken by two committees of the FFIRI technical committee and the board of directors. The chairman will review these views and finally come today to make the final decision in our meeting".

Sajjadi never explained why the appointment of Team Melli head coach must be decided with the presence of the government who always claims that they are not interfering in the FFIRI. The reality is that beyond any doubt much if not all major decisions in football in Iran are influenced by the government who are even not intelligent enough to disguise the fact.

This meeting announcement by Sajjadi is the biggest proof that the Ministry of Sporty is directly interfering with football, despite their repeated denials.

England boss Southgate could be forced to axe unvaccinated stars from his World Cup squad.

England coach Gareth Southgate could leave out several players from his World Cup squad due to their refusal to take the Covid vaccine.

Sportsmail has learned that a handful of players who would expect to make Southgate’s 26-man party for the tournament in Qatar have yet to be vaccinated, which under current regulations means they will have to isolate for five days following their arrival in the country in November.

England’s first World Cup fixture is on the tournament’s opening day, November 21, just six days after their scheduled arrival in Qatar, so any player forced to self-isolate will realistically have to sit it out as they will have barely trained with their team-mates.

Southgate is therefore contemplating an unpalatable choice between leaving some vaccine out of his squad entirely, as Chelsea and Crystal Palace have done on their pre-season tours, or going into England’s opener with reduced numbers.

The issue of vaccine refusal is also affecting other World Cup sides, such as France, with N’Golo Kante one of several international stars who have yet to be vaccinated, but England’s problem is more acute as they have been given an opening-day game.

FIFA are understood to be lobbying Qatar to relax its Covid vaccine rules ahead of the tournament. There are a number of players expected to be in his group for Qatar who have yet to receive the Covid jab. The issue of player vaccination has been a hot topic in the Premier League this summer.

The Premier League revealed back in late January that 80 percent of top-flight players in England are fully vaccinated, but they have not provided an update since then.

Any 'refusenik' will be forced to isolate for five days on arrival in Qatar - meaning they could be at risk of missing the opening game

Iran will meet England in its first FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at the Khalifa Internationa Stadium on November 21st, 2022.

Team Melli needs a foreign coach at this time says Cheraghpour

A football expert says that Iran's national football team currently needs a foreign coach.

In an interview with ISNA, Jalal Chiragpour, the former Team Melli Head Coach and veteran on Iranian football affairs, commented on the chaos surrounding Team Melli and the status of the bench particularly Skocic by saying " First, we must follow logical reasoning for our conversation so that the reader can understand the situation well. Let us examine the issue from a technical and scientific point of view. In my opinion, the major problem lies with the decisions of the FFIRI Technical Committee which are neither scientific nor technical. This group of people, which now says that the Head Coach of Team Melli is not qualified, where were they in the last two and something years when Skocic took Iran to the World Cup? what criteria have they used to suddenly determine that he (Skocic) is not qualified? Did anyone see what reasoning they used? Did anyone question their logic or motives? Are there transparent and explicit requirements for the Team Melli coach?

He added: "The question remains that on that day when we were third in the group of five teams, we had lost to Bahrain and Iraq and there was a 70% chance of Team Melli being eliminated from Round 2, did this technical committee have the courage to determine right and wrong at that time?  They were nowhere near any type of decision. In any case, Skocic came and took the heavy burden off the ground and managed to lead the team to qualify for the World Cup. Now that the team has qualified comfortably and easily I might add, and is in a position where everyone knows who are the teams of its group, the technical committee raised its head. Those members of the technical committee, do not have the technical authority nor the qualification to say what is right or wrong."

He added: " Now they have decided that Skocic is not qualified!! Doesn't that raise questions about the motives and authenticity of those people? in that scenario and after three games of the World Cup, the results of which are predicted. Who is the technical committee accountable to? They would say that we tried but it didn't work. For these reasons, I say that the technical committee is not competent.  They lack authenticity, in any case, this technical committee does not have the authority to decide whether the Head Coach of the National Team of Iran should stay or leave. It is not in the term of reference and never was".

Criticizing the management of the Football Federation, Chiragpour said: "The Federation should be helping solve national team issues such as preparation friendly games, camps that help improve the quality of the team, but it has failed in this responsibility. Their priority is the elections and who wins a seat. The delay by the Football Federation in determining the assignment of the national team's bench with about 4 months before the Qatar World Cup is an example of their oversight."

He added "It may be said that domestic coaches have the ability to qualify our national team for the World Cup. Well, let's do this for the next World Cup and leave the work from zero to 100 to an  Iranian coach. Beware though, you have all witnessed the performance of the Iranian coach on the national team. "

"When a player was selected for the world team XI by FIFA,  the Iranian head coach of the national team at the time said that he was not convinced by the standard of that player and did not pick him for the national team. After that, that same player played in Europe for another 6 years and became the player of the century for Iran."

Cheraghpour concluded: "the qualities and requirements of coaches differ in different disciplines. Wrestling is different from football. We are the leaders in the world in wrestling, but in football, we are ranked in the 50 countries in the world at best. For this reason, domestic wrestling coaches are considered among the top in the world, but it is not a reason that domestic football coaches have the necessary quality to lead the football team at the top international level. If you want to bring in a local coach, let's do it immediately after the World Cup, when there is plenty of time for the next tournament. We also need to give that coach support moral and otherwise." Chiragpour added: "At that point, you can prepare the team for the Iranian coach and let him work. But right now it is too late for these things. The new coach of the national team has practically only 17 days on the field to work with the team, not 110 or 120 days. On those 17 days, it is supposed to be an hour and a half of training, of which half an hour is warming up. A total of 17 hours are available to the next coach. On the other hand, Iran has a total of 6 players in a position like central defense, and everyone, from Nekonam to Queiroz and even members of the technical committee, will only invite those 6 players to the national team."

Dragan Skočić continues as normal pending executive decision..

The status of the Team Melli coaching is still unclear as there was no executive decision issued on the sacking of the incumbent Dragan Skočić.

On Monday, the technical committee of the Football Federation, which is an advisory body,  met and called for the dismissal of Dragan Skočić as the head coach of the Iran national team. This decision, however, was not officially approved by the Board of the Football Federation. Majedi and the rest of the board members held a meeting with Skocic on Tuesday, and at the conclusion of this meeting, there was no decision made on the dismissal or continuance of Skocic's work, as it was decided that this decision would be taken at the following meeting.

This issue even aggravated the differences between the technical committee and the board of directors. Skočić finally left Iran after presenting his case to the FFIRI Board of Directors, however, on his return to Europe, he had a meeting with a member of Team Melli.

A video of Skocic's presence in Austria has been released, in which team Melli's coach is discussing with Shahab Zahedi, the forward of the Hungarian club, Puskas Academy Zahedi, who was playing in Ukraine before the war, has joined the Hungarian team recently. The team has set up its pre-season camp in Austria.

Besides Zahedi, Skočić also held talks with the head coach of the Puskas team on the side of the football field. Zahedi was invited to Team Melli by Skocic for the first time.

As such. It seems that Skočić will continue to work as normal pending some decision by the FFIRI management.

for the time being until his assignment is officially determined by the federation.

Sardar Azmoun: "Dismissal of Skocic was an act of cowardice"

Team Melli's central forward and its top active scorer did not munch his word in support of Head Coach Dragan Skocic.

"The dismissal of Skocic was an act of cowardice by the so-called technical committee (laughing).  What can I say? This action (the removal of Skocic by the technical committee) was the bottom of cowardice. There was one camp left until the start of the World Cup and these things are happening. Why do we keep on lying?  When Queiroz eventually left the country, there was only one person who went to the airport to bid farewell to him; He was also his driver. If we want to fire him, let's do it right. Don't be ungrateful."

"Skocic was the man who took the national team's hand in Bahrain and led the team to the World Cup. Ok, even if he is a bad person as some claim; at least show some grace and gratitude toward the man. Let's say that his tactics were below zero, how is that possible while he lead us to qualification to the World Cup without any problems? what kind of logic these people are using?. We have to treat people who come from outside the country well. Even if Guardiola takes over now, we can't do anything either, there was only one camp left until the World Cup.

Whether it is Skocic or Queiroz at the helm, it does not make a difference to me, I am here to stay with Team Melli, I am me. We have eight days of camp next. Do you think Guardiola can overturn the team's tactics in these eight days? This was cowardice. I look at it from the point of view of humanity; This was cowardice.

  Don't be like many snake players! Azmoun also criticized many players who were lobbying. Don't be like many snake players! We were born as men and we must die as men. I hope the young players have a clean heart; If your heart is pure, you will reach everywhere. Don't be like many snake players and don't go underwater. Your heart must be pure, otherwise, you will not get anywhere. I spoke with Mehdi (Taremi) last night. We are always in touch. I said that I don't like people who change their words at a whim, whether it's my family or strangers. That's why it's better to avoid them; Why take the risk? 90% of Iranian players are full of bragging Even if my head is put down, I will still speak out. I have to keep my word and be honest. 90% of Iranian player only claims. do not doubt that. Some did nothing yet claim a place in Team Melli as their right !!. We have this player who was not been invited by two national team coaches. How long has he been playing? Now he thinks that he is technically the best player in his post; No, my dear, you must be honest with yourself first and know that you are "locked" out because you are not what you claim. During Queiroz's time, when I had a row before the World Cup in Brazil, I was honest with myself and said that I had no right to go to the World Cup because I played badly. I said this also crying. Don't pretend by showing your body on Instagram, I'm not saying like me, but be honest with yourself and don't pretend to be a game and post on Instagram and show your body. These do not help. If you are a man, show yourself and help the national team for the World Cup. Personally, I will do whatever it takes to fight for my country's national team in the World Cup, no matter who the coach is. Two players, claiming they are talking on behalf of the rest,  did not want Skocic! The final part of the Azmoun talk was about allegations that one or two unnamed Team Melli players have spoken on behalf of the rest to officials regarding Skocic.  "I doubt that those two players talked about such a thing. But it is better to ask them directly so that there is no misunderstanding. I talked to one of those two people who doesn't lie, He said that I didn't talk about changing the coach at all. But there were other players who have spoken on our behalf, which is wrong and distasteful. One of our players said that the players don't want this head coach, but we will speak our mind to him and solve this issue." Meanwhile, the executives of the Football Federation, in particular, the acting head Mirshad Majedi have yet to officially announce the sacking of Skocic. Majedi, who two weeks ago was talking about the extension of the contract of Skocic to beyond the AFC Asian Cup 2023 has remained tight-lipped and in negotiation with the Minister of Sports.  

Is Ghassimpour even qualified to pass important judgment.

A member of FFIRI technical committee, Ebrahim Ghassimpour took the initiative to announce to the media the decision of the FFIRI Technical Advisory Committee that Dragan Skocic is not suitable to coach Team Melli!

The official spokesperson of the federation counteracted Ghassimpour and said such decisions on Team Melli coaching appointment are the sole responsibility of the Head of the federation and the Board Members. It is not a technical committee's responsibility as their role is advisory only. Furthermore, the FFIRI has an official spokesperson whose job is to communicate with the media. It is not the domain of the technical committee to do so.

So, without even being authorized to talk to the press, Ebrahim Ghassimpour decided to be a Maverick by declaring to the public that he and his colleagues did not find the coach that qualified Iran for the World Cup, as suitable to coach the same Team Melli!!

Let us look at this person and his own qualifications and achievements in management and coaching career. After a successful career as a footballer, Ghassimpour retired from playing in 1996 and went straight to coach. His qualification as a football coach is suspect as he has not successfully attended the recognized FIFA or AFC courses. Since he was appointed an assistant coach in his club Pas, nobody cared much about qualification or certification. From then on, he managed 15 teams without achieving any championship titles. That appointment included the coaching of the Omid Team which he failed to qualify for the Olympics and was subsequently sacked from his post in 1999.

After the Omid team, he managed 11 clubs almost all were lowly clubs in the league including a couple of short stints in the UAE league with Hatta ((less than 1 season) and then Emirates clubs of Ras Al Khaima.

Ghassimpour hardly finished one complete season with those clubs which he coached as he was frequently sacked or resigned when the going was getting tough. His last coaching appointment was 9 years ago at the then newly relegated Sanat Naft on 12 June 2013. After his failure to achieve promotion back to the first division, he was sacked by the club in 2014.

From 2014 up to now, for a good 8 years, Ghassimpour failed to get any coaching job even with second-division teams in Iran!

Is this the qualification of a person who decides for the nation if another coach is good enough to Lead Team Melli in the biggest show on earth, the World Cup?

What has Ghassimpour achieved as a coach to give him such a task? What criteria or mechanism do he and his colleague use to decide if Skocic or any other coach for that matter is good enough for Team Melli?

A person who has a track record of failures and does not understand official protocols, or does not respect it, shall not be allowed to pass judgment affecting 90 million Iranians. It is as simple as that.

Ali Daei turns down Team Melli head coach post for the umpteen time.

After the drama of sacking Dragan Skocic and the theatrics of the FFIRI management, Ali Daei once again categorically refused to head coach Team Melli under current management and the shabby situation of the team.

Ali Daei, Javad Nekounam, and Amir Ghalenoui are the front runners to replace the sacked Team Melli coach to lead the team in difficult conditions in the 2022 World Cup, Among the candidates, Ali Daei was identified as the most suitable option.

However, the former head coach of Team Melli, who has been giving negative answers to all domestic and foreign offers for several years, was once again approached by the Football Federation, and once again he turned it down with an emphatic "No". One of the football federation officials confirmed Daei's refusal in a conversation with Mehr reporter. "Daei has not agreed to replace Skocic in the current situation and has asked the officials of the football federation to consider this issue as finished and not to think about his presence on the bench of the national team." Therefore, Ali Daei's presence as the head coach of Iran's national team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is ruled out, and the football federation must look at its other internal options.

Daei seems to have learned his lesson and was wise enough to distance himself from this management and federation. The situation for Team Melli is critical and the chance of making a challenge for the two top spots in the group against the likes of England, Wales, and USA is becoming even more difficult now than before.

Daei knows very well that the lack of resources and leadership in Iran's football plus the political interference from the government will make his task nearly impossible. The strong character of Daei and his fearless no-nonsense attitude will be impossible for the FFIRI and the government too.

Despite the pressure from a number of Team Melli players, the Ministry of Sports, and several members of parliament to reinstate Carlos Queiroz, the Football Federation strongly opposed his return to the bench of Team Melli. So that the head coach of the Iranian national team in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups has little chance to score a hat trick with minimal effort and lead Iran for the third time running in 2022. The results of the Iranian national volleyball team with Behrouz Atai, the Iranian head coach of this team, caused the football federation to consider and maneuver the proposal of an Iranian coach who has the ability to gather the chaotic atmosphere the Team created by two partizan groups of players. The poor preparation and lack of international preparation matches on FIFA day, also frustrated many players as discontent is rife.

It seems that Mirshad Majdi, after consulting with some FFIRI Board Members has opted for a domestic option. Ghalenoui, like Daei, is also wise enough and cannot seriously entertain the idea of coaching Team Melli.

Javad Nekounam is the only other option. He lacks experience at the international level and has only been a coach for a few years. Despite the risks, it is believed that he will very well accept the challenge and hope for the best. The risk, however, is that a bad performance by Team Melli in Qatar or failure to qualify for the next round will ruin his reputiation career in coaching far too early in his career. He will also be the subject of the wrath of the fans.

Dragan Skocic is sacked.

After months of lobbying and pressure exerted from outside including the Minister of sport, despite the official denials, Dragan Skocic who managed to take Iran to the World Cup with immaculate results and recovery,  was officially sacked this evening.

According to the reports, a meeting of the technical committee of the FFIRI was held this Monday evening. This committee finally voted to dismiss Skocic; This follows the continuous and firm stand by the football federation that strongly dismissed the idea of sacking the present coach in the past days and weeks.

At the end of today's meeting, Ebrahim Ghassimpour, a member of the technical committee of the Football Federation, confirmed Skocic's dismissal but provided little justifications in this regard. Ghasimpour said:" Decisions were made today, the details of which will be announced on the website of the Football Federation. We reached a conclusion that the federation will announce!; We have both an Iranian option and a foreign option."

In response to this question, is Skocic's dismissal certain? He replied: "Yes. The technical committee did not confirm Skocic's suitability (..). I can say this." Ghassimpour, in response to the question, why such a decision was not made much earlier? He said " The federation did not refer the case of the suitability of Team Melli coach to us before. We didn't confirm his appointment either, but we made suggestions about the next options, which can be both domestic and foreign"

According to Mehr reporter, Skocic was appointed to the bench of the Iranian national team on February 17, 2018 as a replacement for the Belgian Marc Wilmots, who put Iran on the brink of elimination from the World Cup qualifiers. The Croat Skocic managed a huge turnaround by winning 10 matches in a row and making it an easy job to qualify for the FIF World Cup 2022.

Iran under Skocic managed one official loss only 0-2 to South Korea in the World Cup qualifiers.

Khodadad Azizi: The Ministry of Sports is plotting for the return of Queiroz!

Former Team Melli player, Khodadad Azizi has claimed that individuals from the Ministry or the Minister of Sports have held talks with Carlos Queiroz to take over as the head coach of Iran's national football team. That claim has resulted in a swift response by the Ministry through its Legal Director-General who announced the right to legally sue Azizi in courts.

According to ISNA, Khodadad Azizi, who was supposed to be part of the FFIRI delegation that was to travel to Canada with Team Melli and who is named as Karim Bagheri's replacement in the coaching staff, said in response to the recent marginalization of the national football team. "The reliable news is that gentlemen delegated by the Ministry of Sports and Hamid Sajjadi, the Minister of Sports, have held talks with Queiroz. It is interesting to note how we are stepping backward with the return of Queiroz and who is behind that? Do you want to make us a Portuguese football colony again? Let's all stand hand in hand against this Queiroz again. Do you want this man who would tell us when to take a shower, when to stand up and when to sit down? Have you forgotten?".

Morteza Fallah, Director-General of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, pointed to the statements of  "one of the former Iranian football players" as he put it, and clarified that "these statements were made without any basis or fact. No negotiations were conducted by the Ministry of Sports and Youth with any coach. and the accusations are definitely false and we reserve the right to legally pursue these allegations."

He added: "While the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the respected spokesperson of the government has explicitly stated that they do not and will not intervene in the technical issues and competence of the Football Federation in any way, some people, disregarding the supervisory duties of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, have made accusations against the government and the ministry that it is devoid of truth and a clear example of spreading lies."