(FIFA.com) Tuesday 2 July 2013

A true star is made for hard times. Looking back at Iran‘s four qualifying successes for the FIFA World Cup™, it seems that each time Team Melli’s hopes are hanging by a thread there is a hero who duly rises to the occasion to rescue their campaign.

In reaching their maiden global showpiece at Argentina 1978, the West Asians were indebted to the legendary Hassan Rowshan, whose goals and assists helped his country through Asia’s mammoth qualification. Then on the road to France 1998, trailing hosts Australia 2-1 with little more than 15 minutes remaining in the decisive AFC/OFA play-off, the livewire Khodadad Azizi scored the equaliser which sealed their berth at the expense of the Socceroos. Vahid Hashemian would be the next savior, firing Iran through to Germany 2006 with his powerful headers and shooting.

All these players had been established stars before their qualifying heroics. When it came to their bid for Brazil 2014, though, it was an unsung forward that took up the rescuer’s mantle. Reza Ghoochannejhad, a relatively unknown Belgian-based striker, revived Iran‘s fortunes with his first qualifying goal in this June’s 1-0 victory in Qatar, before being on target again a week later in their 4-0 home defeat of Lebanon. The 25-year-old Standard Liege man would maintain his form against hosts Korea Republic seven days later, scoring the only goal of the concluder which booked their passage as group winners.

“It is an honour to play for Iran, whenever and wherever,” Ghoochannejhad told FIFA.com in a recent exclusive interview. “I am blessed for having this opportunity, especially now that we can represent our country at the World Cup in Brazil.”

Salute to Queiroz
Born in Iran but growing up in the Netherlands, Gucci, as he is now affectionately known to fans, was a fresh face on the Asian scene when he was called up by coach Carlos Queiroz last October. Impressed by his performance in a Belgian League game against Lierse last season, the former Portugal and Real Madrid boss, then scouring Europe for players eligible to play for Iran, immediately made contact with the player.

“It was a surprise that Mr. Queiroz called me,” Gucci recalled. “The coach told me ‘playing for your country should be an honour if you love Iran, and I think you can help us’. What he said was simple, but after hanging up the phone I immediately called my parents telling them the good news.”

The coach’s appreciation of him was such that he started Reza in his international debut in a crucial home qualifier against Korea Republic, which Iran won 1-0. Even after their disappointing home defeat to Uzbekistan, a result which put Iran‘s campaign in jeopardy, Queiroz maintained his faith in Ghoochannejhad. And he was eventually proved right, with Gucci scoring three goals in as many games across two weeks, including two match-winners, as Iran progressed in unexpected fashion.

“It was a difficult campaign with a lot of ups and downs,” he reflected. “We lost two important games against Lebanon and Uzbekistan. But we defied all odds to make it. We have a good team, we respect and help each other. Certainly, it was impossible for me to score the goals without support of my team-mates.”

Having seen his meteoric rise to prominence, he paid tribute to the man who guided Iran through and showed unwavering belief in him. He said: “As Iranians, we should be thankful to coach Queiroz. He’s the main reason for this success. He was always there (with us), in both good and bad times. He never ran away from his responsibilities.”

Golden boy
With his decisive goals and man-of-the-match performances, Ghoochannejhad, now Iran‘s golden boy, has already been likened to the aforementioned legends. Particularly, his goal against Korea Republic was reminiscent of Azizi’s golden moment in Melbourne 16 years ago.

Indeed, the goal against the Koreans was the embodiment of Gucci’s predatory talents. With Iran largely on the back foot and approaching the final half-hour, Gucci stole the ball from Kim Younggwon, darted to the edge of the penalty area, before unleashing a trademark left-footed shot past the goalkeeper.

“I love scoring goals,” said the cool-headed marksman, who has achieved some 50 goals with a series of clubs in the Netherlands and Belgium. “It is my job to put the ball into the net. I have scored goals everywhere but I am still working hard to improve my skills.”

With his first FIFA World Cup beckoning, Gucci is optimistic that Iran can continue to make history. He said: “I am really confident about our team. There is a perfect balance in this squad, with youth talents and experienced players. We can achieve more as long as we stay united as a group.”

 

Iran Futsal team , romped past Iraq 12-3 in yet another big score match. The match was played in Group D of the 4th Asian Indoor games futsal competition in Incheon , South Korea.  Team Melli has previously defeated United Arab Emirates 13-0 in the same group and now leads the table with maximum point.

Iran’s next opponent will be China in the Quarter Finals stage of the competition.  The match will be played on Wednesday 3rd July in  Dongbu Student Gymnasium.

Asian Indoor Games  2013 –

Futsal MEN – Group D Standing
1. Iran —————————-2-2-0-0-25–3-6
2. UAE —————————–2-1-0-1–3-15-3
3. Iraq —————————-2-0-0-2–5-15-0

On Friday evening, a sporting event outside football made massive impact in Iran and the rest of sporting world. It was the win by Iran’s Volleyball team against the might of the Italians in Modena , Italy. In footballing terms, you can compare this win to Tahiti beating Spain in the World Cup. In sport, shock results are not common but it can happen , but they don’t come bigger than this Iranian victory against the 8 times Champions Italy and the land of the greatest  professional Volleyball league in the world. Iran, is the infant of the World League, it is its first participation at elite level.

Such a success is undoubtedly the result of the proficiency of one of the world renowned coaches who has a pedigree of championships. He is none other than Julio Velasco, the Argentine coach who has won championship at every conceivable level of World Volleyball. Velasco is a legend in Italy where he spent most of his professional career. It was Ironic that he won against the very team that he lead to 5 world titles.

Volleyball is a sport that is ranked third in popularity in Iran, behind football and basketball. It had very limited success during the decades that it has been played, than Julio Velasco made sure that his era would be different. Winning the first ever Asian Championship in its history in 2011, Iran went on to qualify for its first ever Volleyball World league under the Argentina coaching.

Away from tactical details of such achievement, which is beyond the score of this article, Julio Velasco has changed Iranian sportsmen in a way that that the rest , especially football coaches, need to absorb and implement. Velasco is a cool character who hardly raises his voice and never resorts to shouting, commotion or being graphics to express his dissatisfaction with his players. His cool, calm yet very unyielding demeanor is the weapon that he successfully uses to deal with the players. This coach has very little tolerance for mistakes by individual players or by the team as a group; he promptly reacts to rectify the situation but also very firmly without being emotional. On the other side, he also has immense skills in the psychological side of coaching. He is the master of motivation and inspiration to his players particularly when one or two of them are down. He skillfully influences his player and instills in them self-belief to the extent they always give their absolute best. Even if they are at their top performance, the coach never allows them to set on their laurels.   A rule that he will never deviate from, bend, respect and adhere is discipline in the team. Many of the players learned the hard way, how discipline is valued in Velasco’s philosophy.

Iranian players in general, had difficulties in discipline. It is a cultural issue that has resulted in the failure of many foreign coaches in Iran. Culture cannot be changed overnight in a society; hence the delicate balance that is needs to deal with Iranian players. Football coaches need to read some chapters of Velasco’s rules. Carlos Queiroz is one person who admires Velasco and the Portuguese coach was in Azadi Arena to witness the Iran Volleyball team winning the Asian Championship. That won inspired Queiroz as he witnessed the greatest scenes of jubilation for a unique event. The fact the Velasco has managed to reach so far, must have inspired many more other coaches and experts.

The issue here is not simply the tactical prowess of a coach but much beyond that. It is the methods implemented to deal with players, the character of the coach, his inspirational power, how he can make the player deliver, his vigor, his power to force upon his players to give 100% effort, his respect for the culture of his players and emotional strength to deal with adversity. Velasco has proven that he does not need to shout his head off to put the words across to his players.

Football can learn from Julio Velasco. What he proved is that there are lots of talented young men in Iran, they need the appropriate techniques and modern practices to get the best out of them. He is an inspirational person who should be valued by the sporting authorities well beyond Volleyball.

 

Incheon

In the first match of the 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Iran futsal team beat the UAE 13-0 in in Incheon, South Korea. The match which was held in Songdo Global University Campus, Incheon was completely controlled by the Iranian team with little or no threat from the opposition. This coprehensive win in its first match has sounded the alarm for rest of the teams.

Iran goal scorers were:

Mohammad Taheri 3′, 3′, 24′
Hossein Tayyebi 8′, 40′, 40′
Mehdi Javid 10′, 20′, 25′
Seyed Ali Kiaei 16′
Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh 20′
Ghodrat Bahadori 21′, 40′

 

The other group team is Iraq. Iran’s next match against Iraq will be held on 1st of July.

 

In the same tournament , Iran’s women Futsal team beat Thailand 1-0 on Thursday, the goal was scored by Fahima Zarei to register Iran’s second win. The Women Futsal team beat Malaysia  6-1 in its first match on Wednesday.  The final group match for the Women team is against Vietnam on Friday.

Seyed Reza Eftekhari , The head of Iran’s Futsal Committee of IRIFF confirmed that the AFC has rejected Iran’s request to increase its quota in the next AFC Asian Clubs Futsal championship. Iran and the rest of the member states have been allocated one team only in the championship since its onset in 2009. The Iranian federation, considering the status of futsal and its standard it has attained in the World and Asia, has requested a second club participation and a letter has been sent to Kuala Lumpur in this regard. After a long procrastination, the controlling body of Asian Football rejected the request citing the vast difference in standard of Iran’s futsal to the rest of the Asian member states! It seems quite odd to provide such justification, as usually in this sport and football, countries with better standard are awarded more seats in completions. AFC’s own Asian Champions league is a glorious example on that. How is this ignored in Futsal, is really an enigma that AFC alone can answer.

Seyed Reza Eftekhari, in an interview with ISNA, said that Iran is the powerhouse of Asian Futsal with a record of achievements that cannot be matched by any nation in the continent for a long time to come both at club and national team’s levels. Such a standard deserves to be reinforced and prized by allowing another club to participate in the championship. “We have 100 registered clubs operating in Iran in Futsal some of which more than I team in different age group. In countries like Qatar , Kuwait or UAE, they barely have 30 clubs put together, it is simply not fair to look at these different countries and treating them the same.” Eftekhari said.

Eftekhari also referred to another justification of the AFC in which they claimed that agreeing with IRIFF request and awarding them another spot will enhance the standard of the game in Iran! In which he said.” So , why not? What is the matter with that?”

The head of Iran’s Futsal Committee will be in South Korea for the Asian Indoor Games, which Iran will be taking part, added that he will confront the AFC officials responsible for this decision. Eftekhari complained by the way his federation is treated. “The hard work of a nation to reach such standard in futsal is rewarded in such an appalling manner by the AFC. We are the pride of Asia, we won the AFC Confederation of the year and that is what we get for our efforts.”

Iran’s Futsal Team defeated China National Futsal team 6-1 in a friendly match played on Sunday 23rd June. The match was played in China where Team Melli is currently undergoing a training camp in  preparation for the upcoming Asian Indoor Games which will be held in Incheon , South Korea.

Iran futsal team has already won the four nation friendly tournament last week in which it also beat China.

In today’s match , Iran goals were scored by Ghodrat Bahadori (2), Mehdi Javid, Mohammad Taheri , Taha Mortazavi.

The team will be flying to South Korea on Monday to participate in the games and will play its first match against the UAE team on Thursday 27th June. The other group team is Iraq.

The 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will be held over eight days in Incheon, Korea, from June 29 to July 6. Iran has won all the previous three tournaments in 2005, 2007  and 2009.

In an interview with the TV show “Varzesh va Mardom” this Friday morning, The triumphant Portuguese coach of Team Melli answered many questions regarding the current situation with the team, including the same old monotonous questions from the Iranian media about the fate of Aghili and Rahmati in Team Melli. Queiroz was also asked about the Korean trip and tensions created before and after the match.

On the tension between himself and the Korean coach Choi, the head Coach of Team Melli  said “I have never seen such behavior in all of my 34 years of professional football. Talk of revenge and blood by the Korean team, was something really hostile that goes beyond even the strongest of rivalries in sport. It was definitely not fair play. The Korean coach went way beyond the line of decency and civilized manner in his statements, quite clearly with the intent to intimidate. But, I have to thank him because instead of intimidating and provoking us, it had the opposite effect. His trash talk motivated our players.”

Queiroz went on and expressed his astonishment at  the Korean FA. A note of protest was discreetly sent to the head of the Korean Football association against Choi transgression and demanding an apology, but they have not responded. What they did instead was to stick posters of Choi all around us and a very large sized one next to our changing room in the stadium ! Something truly amazing. I always thought the Koreans were people who respect others and are hospitable. We have not experienced much of that in this trip.”

Queiroz confirmed that his contract with the Iranian Football Federation is up to the end of the World Cup.

“Varzesh va Mardom”  TV presenter again asked about the fate of Aghili and Rahmati in Team Melli. Carlos Queiroz has said that this issue is over and done with. “The most important factor in the team for me is maintaining discipline. This is what I strongly believe in right now. In professional football, there is nothing more important than the team. It is my duty to be confident that the players that I select, are committed to the team. With all due respect to the two players, my priority now is on the 25 players that have been in the squad, those who gallantly fought for the team to reach the World Cup. These are the players that gave it all for the team. This is the type of player that I want. Aghili and Rahmati had their chances to redeem themselves, but did not take it. This should be a lesson for the young players. When a player is invited to serve his country, he should answer the call in sincerity and not put forwards demand or pre-conditions. It is vital for me to have players in the team with full commitment and the right frame of mind”

Then on the same line of questioning , the presenter asked about Ali Karimi this time , to which Queiroz answered” Any player who performs well in next season league , will be a candidate for selection to Team Melli squad. It is my duty to select the best players as I see them fit. There aren’t many internationally experienced players in Iran , so as I coach I have to strike a good balance of young and experienced players in the team. My first option is with the players that have played in the campaign to the World Cup. Of course there are no guarantees that they will continue being in the team. They have to prove themselves with their teams in the league.”

Thus the question about Ali Karimi was never answered, per se, however it is clear that Karimi does not figure in Queiroz plans at this time.

Karimi abruptly decided to retire from all football activities after the loss to Sepahan in the final of Hazfi cup. Later on , the Perspolis captain admitted that the decision he has taken was quite emotional and in haste. He decided to reverse his decision but it seems that neither the club nor the country is too interested in having him back.

Aghili abandoned Team Melli camp in protest after he was informed that he will not be in the starting lineup for the match against Lebanon. While Rahmati announced a temporary retirement from Team Melli after criticism of his performance by the coaches and the intention of Queiroz of inviting the German-Iranian goalkeeper Daniel Davari, Rahmati was also critical of Queiroz in the media which did not bode well with the Portuguese coach.