[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter the huge sigh of relief and the celebration and jubilation of Team qualification to the World Cup in Brazil , it is prudent to think about the plans beyond. Time and again , the officials of Iranian football have announced that the aspirations of Iranian football is not just to turn up in the elite of the World game but powerfully represent the country’s image and reputation to the global viewers.

For such to materialize, Team Melli needs an effective program planning to prepare itself well for the big stage. The IRIFF have already announced that the participation of Team Melli in next year’s World Cup will be taken into consideration in all their planning and league scheduling. In reality, the IRIFF and Iran sport official have hardly been transparent in their actions and always vague about their plans while pushing aside any potential problems that could occur as irrelevant or can be resolved with a few prayers and good well.

Added to the bitter reality , the fact that the IRIFF is not exactly a powerful player in the continental or the world stage in diplomacy. Poor communications and relationship with other countries, failure of the officials to gain influences and posts in the AFC, influences of Arab neighbors who, if not hostile, have not been very amicable with Iranians, Ability of Arab Persian Gulf states to buy their way into the corridors of powers of the AFC and FIFA has all contributed to the marginalization of Iranian football in recent years.

Internal and external influences have resulted in less than ideal progress of Iranian football and inability to reach its deserved prestige in Football. There is no shortage of talents in Iran; it is the manipulation, development, politicization, management and organization that have been significant limitations. As far as preparation for the world cup in concerned, arranging meaningful friendly matches with quality teams is at the top of the priorities of any aspiring national team.

In Europe, a group of professional managers and administrations are assigned to arrange friendly games well in advance with careful planning and knowledge. Friendly matches are arranged two years in advance in some cases catering for the participation of their teams in the World Cup and European championships. In Iran, such planning has not only been scarce , but also impractical for many reasons. That is why, it is quite important to address right now consider next year’s World Cup participation for Team Melli..

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]arlos Queiroz is a well-known name in World Football arena. They just don’t come much bigger than him. Coaching and managing in the World Cup, association with Portugal national team, Real Madrid, Manchester United, South Africa and Japan,  among many other jobs,  is just not a small feat. He has built powerful relationship in those countries and beyond hence it is important for the IRIFF to capitalize on the status of Querioz and assign him the task of arranging friendly matches with the countries willing to play Team Melli.

With the qualification to the World Cup and under a famous coach such as Queroz, there will be no shortage of national teams willing to play Team Melli.  However, this planning has to be done right now

The merry go-round of Team Melli players transfer continues unabated with the latest news of the transfer of the Esteghlal and Team Melli midfielder Mojtaba JABBARI to Sepahan Esfahan.

The addition of the creative midfielder to Sepahan, has ensured that Kranjcar team has a formidable title challenging line up for the upcoming season with Sepahan already getting the services of several Team Melli players including  Rahman AHMADI,    Abolghasim DEHNAVI , Ali HAMOUDI ,and  Shojaa KHALILZADEH . Out of those players , the status of Dehnavi is still unclear after the former Tractorsazi player signed for two teams at the same time resulting in his suspension by the IRIFF following Perspolis official complaint against him.

Jabbari has been having a long dispute with the club that repeatedly does not honor its contract commitments. Esteghlal seems to be cash strapped and has been in trouble with the courts and FIFA for not paying the contract commitments to the local and foreign players. The last time Jabbari went to see the CO of Esteghlal , Fathollahzadeh , the meeting abruptly ended with apparently harsh exchanges of words between the player and the official. Fathollazadeh claims that Jabbari was disrespectful in his claims and would refuse to have him in his club. Jabbari said that he merely wanted his money which was his right and already long due, while the club is dragging its feet and not paying. In another development, Fathollazadh admitted on Thursday that the court has frozen his personal assets because of his bouncing checks given to players without sufficient funds to cover the amounts.

Jabbari was a pivotal player for Esteghlal in their title winning team and will be sorely missed in the next stages of AFC Champions league quarter finals which Esteghlal has qualified to and will be facing  Thai FA Cup winners Buriram United in September.

Futsal Team Melli , continued its championship winning trail by defeating Japan 5-2 this morning , in the final match of the 2013 Asian Indoor games in South Korea to win the title and team Gold Medals.

In the first half , Iran was in control , but could not create serious chances. In a counterattack move in the 13th minute, Japan scored the only goal of the half. After the goal , Team Melli increased its pressured on the Japanese , but there was no goal coming. Japan however , nearly doubled the score late in the half when they were awarded a penalty which Sepehr Mohammady saved in goal and got slightly injured in the process. 3 Iranian players received yellow cards in the 1st half. Tahebi, Hassanzadeh and Vafaei.

In the 2nd half , Iran finally managed to score the equalizer from the penalty spot after Japan exceeded their 5 fouls. Ali Vafaei took that long penalty and equalized. Hossein Tayebi put Iran ahead two minutes later from a corner kick.

In the 31st minute, Mohammed Taheri then scored a third for Iran after dribbling past the Japanese defenders before shooting the ball up the opposing team roof. 3 -1 for Iran. Jesus Candelas was still not too satisfied with the margin and in a brave move , he replaced the the keeper with the veteran Mohammad Keshavarz to increase the pressure on the Japanese and limit their offensive moves. However, this move was rather risky as the Japanese nearly scored in the keeper-less Iranian goal. However, with 4 minutes left to the end, Japan managed to reduce the deficit when they scored the 2nd to make it 3-2 for Iran.

With one Japanese player out of the game and playing short, Iran took maximum advantage as Asghar Hassanzadeh and then Vahid Shafei scored two goals for Iran in the last two minutes of the match.

The match ended 5-2,   Iran’s goal were scored by Alireza Vafaei (2), Hassanzadeh, Taheri and Shafei. This was Iran’s  fifth win in the row previously defeating UAE,Iraq, China and Thailand. It was also Iran’s 4th consecutive title in the Asian Indoor Games.

Prior to this match , Thailand which lost to Iran in a close match in the semi-final, beat Kuwait 9-6 to win the bronze medal.

On Friday , a similar encounter between Iran and Japan in the women version of the Futsal competition ended in favor of Japan Women Futsal team 2-1 in extra time. Iran’s women team achievement by winning the silver medal is its first ever at this level and a good omen for the sport despite some serious limitations.

The 4th Asian Indoor Games ends today in Incheon, South Korea with China leading the medal table by a big margin from host South Korea.

Reza Ghoochannejhad need to find a new club, according to his agent René Eijkelkamp. The Standard liege attacker was hardly used by his club last season and had little playing opportunities in the past six months.
The Belgian club Standard Liege has four strikers and would probably get another one soon in Igor De Camargo., the naturalized Belgian Brazilian. “Reza wants to play regular football to maintain his form and compete for a place in Iran’s team for the World Cup.” His agent added” He was not use regularly by his club , so we need to look at other options. We have inquiries from clubs in Belgium , Netherlands and Germany” ” Reza is a very motivated player and who is in the right frame of mind. He thrives on challenges, however, he needs playing time to show his worth. He cannot do that sitting ion the bench.”

Ghoochannejhad’s contract with Standard Liege extends to 2016.
Reza previously played for STVV and showed his class already in the Jupiler Pro League.

Translated article

voetbal International

02/07/2013 13:00

(Lars Ulrich)

In the Netherlands and Belgium Ghoochannejhad was not much more than modest club player for mid table or lowly teams like Go Ahead Eagles, FC Emmen, SC Cambuur and Sint-Truiden. Only less than two months ago, The Iranian scored his first goal for the club when Standard Liege won 4-3 on May 19 thanks to a goal by Gucci against SC Lokeren.

But in Iran, his name is now in the same level as the greats among the footballing compatriots. Ghoochannejhad is a hero of Team Melli, which a month ago qualified to the World Cup for the fourth time.

Legend Hassan Rowshan helped Iran qualify for the World Cup with his goals in 1978 for the first time on the World Cup stage, such as Khodadad Azizi and Vahid Hashemian did in qualifying for the World Cups of 1998 and 2006 respectively.

Now Gucci, as he is affectionately named, has achieved the same. Ghoochannejhad reached that status in less than a month. Born in Iran but grew up in Friesland, the striker played a decisive role during the final of the World Cup qualifiers for Iran, in time recovering from some disappointing earlier results.

On June 4, Gucci brought back hope for a place on the global stage by scoring against Qatar (1-0), then seven days later he contributed to the big win against Lebanon (4-0). His major contribution was in another week with the winning goal against South Korea. His goal against South Korea was decisive. Ghoochannejhad had three goals in as many games to lead his country’s way to the World Cup in Brazil next year.

The begining of his of success in his way to Iran’s team was in Herman Vanderpoorten Stadium on October 22 warm autumn day in 2011. Ghoochannejhad made quite an impression in Sint-Truiden team playing against Lierse SK, which went was won partly due to the contribution of the Iranian striker. Sint-Truiden won at home 2-0.

It was the prelude to an appealing international career for his native country. Coach Carlos Queiroz was in fact witnessed the starring of Reza and came into action. The Portuguese made contact with the attacker.

“It was a surprise that Queiroz called me,” says Ghoochannejhad on the FIFA website about the change in his football life. “He told me that playing for your country is an honor to be if you love your country. And he told me I think you can help us. ”

Green light
That was indeed the case. After some effort to get all the paperwork completed , the green light was given in 2012. Almost a year after the discovery of Queiroz in Lier debuted Ghoochannejhad for his country. With five goals in seven international matches, he has become the Iranian hero and World Cup hopes.

He may challenge his illustrious predecessors in 2014 to the crown. Rowshan scored well in 1978 but further injuries during the tournament in Argentina saw him barely in action. Yet ever alive the idea that Team Melli was also featured as Rowshan had been. Well fit Azizi scorer of the goal that qualified Iran to World Cup 1998 France , did not help his country further in the finals. Further on twenty years later nor did Vahid Hashemian in Germany in 2006.

Ghoochannejhad thinks Iran can write history, and he is not pointing at himself. “I’m really confident in our team. There is a perfect balance in the selection, with young talents and experienced campaigners. We can achieve more if we keep playing. “As a team

An official of the South Korean Football association has announced that its association has proposed a friendly match with Iran on FIFA day September 6th. The venue has yet to be decided so is to the response of Iranian counterparts.

The Korean official reason for the request was highly unorthodox, citing the non-availability of European teams in that FIFA Day as most of the teams in Europe will be engaged in playing in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers while the other reason that the Korean official offered was the fact that Korea wants a revenge match after two successive defeats in the World Cup qualifiers at the hand of Iran.

Iran and South Korea have a long history of rivalry between them in football. The Koreans have been particularly mindful of the results against Iran and take it quite seriously. The rivalry dating back from the Tokyo Asian games of 1958, in which 27 matches were played with Iran edging the Koreans 11 to 9 in victories.

The humiliating 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Iranians in the Asian Cup 1996 held in UAE, left a perpetual bitter taste for the proud Koreans.

For South Korea, Iran is the team who always kill off the dream of winning the Asian Cup. In the Asian Cup 2011 in Doha, when the final whistle went to signal South Korea’s 4-1 win over India, you could hear a big sigh from Korean football fans. Not because the result was underwhelming, but because it meant they will again face Iran at quarter final stage – for the fifth time in a row.

Since 1996, South Korea and Iran have developed a fierce rivalry like no other in Asian Cup. The very first meeting of two teams concluded with Iran registering a 6-2 smashing, causing South Korean gaffer Park Jong-hwan to resign.

Four years later, South Koreans exacted revenge against Iran by beating them 2-1. Lee Dong-guk scored the golden goal, which was the common rule adopted by competitions at that stage.

But, South Korea’s Iranian nightmare wasn’t over. In 2004, Iran enjoyed a thrilling 4-3 win against South Korea courtesy of an Ali Karimi hat-trick.

In Asian Cup 2007 , South Korea won via a penalty shootout, when Mehdi Mahdavikia and Rasoul Khatibi’s attempts denied by Lee Woon-jae, eliminating Iran from the tournament.

That entire rivalry history aside, the two recent 1-0 losses to Iran in this current World Cup qualifiers have been a bitter pill for the Koreans to swallow. Iran won 1-0 in Azadi in Tehran courtesy of a Nekounam goal. The return match in Ulsan was a chance for the Koreans to “Teach them (the Iranians) a lesson in football” according to claims by some overconfident Korean players. Added to the heat, was the pre- match rhetoric by the beleaguered coach Choi who publically declared his despise for Iran.

Iran, however, still managed to beat the Koreans at home by a brilliant effort from Ghoochannejad. That was yet another humiliation for the Koreans that angered their fans on and off the field. Choi resigned after the game, while some fans threw objects at Iranian players celebrating, an assistant coach of Iran was attacked and ugly scenes followed.

The result of that defeat extended beyond the stadium when millions of Korean fans spammed the Korean FA website bringing the website it down,  in protest against the team , coach and the association.

It looks like the South Koreans are in a dire need of win against Iran, even in a friendly match, hence the proposal of this match!

Iran futsal continued its route towards winning its fourth consecutive title in the Asian Indoor games. In the semi-finals match played today, Iran futsal team beat Thailand in a closely contested game 5-4 to qualify for the Friday final.

Thailand, which has been a thorn in Iran’s back and a serious challenger to Iran’s futsal supremacy in Asia, scored quite early in the match in the 3rd minute. However, the Iranian response was quick and decisive. Hossein Tayebi , the top scorer for Team Melli Futsall team scored two quick goals in the 5th and 6th minutes to stun the Thai team and put them back where they started.  The match continued with Thailand pressing hard to score the equalizer, but it was Iran who scored the third on the stroke of half time. Maysam Khayyam scored with 3 seconds left to the whistle making it 3-1 for Iran.

Iran scored again in the 2nd half when Hossein Taybei completed his hat trick in this match making it 4-1 for Iran. Thailand players who started the second half quite strongly were determined to make a match out of this one and they soon got what they wanted when they scored their second to make it 2-4.  Iran players were still recovering from that goal when a whirlwind Thai attack added another goal within 9 minutes for Thailand to narrow the margin  4-3 leaving the Iranian dazed and fearing a repeat of last year heart-breaker when the same team beat them in the same stage , the semi-final , of the AFC Asian Futsal championship.

Jesus Candelas men however, were not going to allow the resolute Thai to repeat the result of last year. Iran took a grip on the game and played a patient and passing game in hope of drawing the Thai out of their defensive shell. Thailand was content to defend and let the Iranian have the ball as they pleased hoping for counter attack opportunities which they have demonstrated with success in this tournament.  As time was getting critical for both teams, and with 5 minutes to go, Iran got the break they wanted when Ghodrat Bahdori scored Iran’s 5th to relieve the Iranians from pressure and increase the margin to two goals. As Iran was leading 5-3, and the game coming to close, Thailand got a penalty which they scored with 7 seconds of the match left. It was one goal too late for the Thai as Iran took revenge of last year’s defeat and qualified for the final .

Iran jumped a whopping 15 positions up in the latest FIFA Ranking published today.

After the three consecutive wins in the FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil qualification rounds and the qualification to the finals rounds in Brazil next year, it was expects that Team Melli will recover the lost ground in the ranking as well. Iran accumulated  596 points in the July 2013 ranking  to jump to 52 in the table after a disappointing tally of last month which saw it drop to 67.

Iran also regained the 4th ranking in Asia after Japan, Australia and South Korea and just ahead of Uzbekistan.

Iran’s futsal team continued its winning streak in the 4th Asian Indoor Games by beating China. In the match played on Wednesday in the quarter finals of the Futsal competition played at  Songdo Global University Campus Arena , Iran beat China 8-0 to reach the semi finals of the games.

Iran goals were scored by Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh (3 goals), Hossein Tayebi (2 goals) , Ghodrat Bahadori , Maysam Khayyam, Mohammad Sepehri.

In the other quarter finals matches, Thailand beat Lebanon 7-3 to set up a semi final with Iran. Kuwait beat the host nation South Korea 3-1 to eliminate them from the competition while in the last match Japan beat Uzbekistan 54- in a closely contested match to set up a semi final match with Kuwait.

The match between Iran and Thailand will be played on Thursday 29th July at 11:30 Tehran Time (0700 UTC) .

Jesus Candelas Rodrigo , Iran’s coach will be looking forward for revenge against Thailand , after the East Asian nation beat Iran in last years Semi-final in the UAE.

Hossein Tayebi leads Iran’s futsal scoring list with 7 goals out of 33 scored in the last 3 matches. Ali Asghar Hassanzaeh is second with 6 goals while Mohammead Taheri is third with 5.

Iran’s average goal per game 1s 11 goals per game.

Iran’s woman Futsal team beat Indonesia 4-0 in the semi final of the Futsal competition and reached the finals for the first time. Nassema Gholami, Fereshteh Karimi(2) and Nilofar Ardalan scored Iran’s women team goals in Incheon to set up a final against Japan. Final of the Women competition will be held on Friday at 17:00 local time.

On the way to the finals, Iranian girls have beaten Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Indonesia to reach the gold medal match.

By ESPN staff

South Korea and Iran have announced that they are to sign a sports exchange agreement later this week, bringing an end to the bitter feud that broke out during their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Carlos Queiroz had accused Choi of ‘insulting’ the Iranian people

Both countries went through to the 2014 tournament in Brazil after a 1-0 win for Iran in Ulsan last month, with the game played after a flurry of angry exchanges between South Korea coach Choi Kang-Hee – who resigned after the defeat – and Iran counterpart Carlos Queiroz.

It began last month when Queiroz accused Choi of “humiliating” the Iranian people by claiming he and his players had been “badly treated” around their 1-0 defeat in Tehran last year, saying he should issue an apology.

Choi declined to do so and said he wanted to knock Iran out of the competition, leaving Queiroz to watch it at home on television. “It looks like Iran is nervous,” he said. “When feeling burdened or chased after, you talk a lot and engage in unnecessary provocation.

“I will defeat Iran no matter what. Coach Queiroz will be watching the Brazil World Cup on TV.”

But his team’s defeat, in a highly-charged atmosphere, proved too much for Choi. After the game, the Korea Football Association website crashed as furious fans tried to leave their comments about a poor performance, and the coach quit the following day.

The bad blood had continued after the final whistle, with the KFA hitting out at Queiroz for his exuberant celebrations and claiming he had made gestures.

That, however, has not prevented the two countries from signing the sports exchange deal, which replaces a similar arrangement that expired in 2010. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday.

Yoo Jin-Ryong, the South Korean minister of culture, sports and tourism, and Mohammad Abbasi, Iran’s minister of youth affairs and sports, will put their names to the agreement, which covers bilateral exchange of athletes, coaches and sports experts.

“We hope this signing will further expand sports exchanges and cooperation between South Korea and Iran,” Yoo was quoted as saying by the South’s Yonhap news agency.

“We also hope that the two countries will actively engage in exchange programmes in culture and tourism, among other areas.”