[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he rhetoric of the South Korean National Team football Choi, apart from it being distasteful and short   of decency towards the opponent, can be a blessing in disguise for the Team Melli. It has triggered a tremendous defiant feeling among the team and hyped them to a level that the encounter on Tuesday will mean more to them than a football match.

Iranians have frequently saved their best for the times they are put under pressure. In football, there have been numerous examples of such. When the team was doing poorly and their fate was dependent on one match, they have bounced back, and even excelled and made it.  It seems that Choi has supplemented the determination of the Persians with added incentive for the players and the coaching staff who would be seeking some kind of payback so that the grim faced coach eats his words.

Results wise, Team Melli has not fared badly in Korea. The records speak for themselves as Iran has won twice, and lost as many in the 8 matches they have met in Korean soil. Even more significant is the fact that Team Melli has never lost a competitive official match like the AFC Asian cup or the FIFA World Cup qualifiers,  in Korean soil (South and North) in a period stretching for 42 years since they first played each other in 1971. The two matches lost were friendly games in 1971 and then 2005. Team Melli last won in Korea in 2010 again in a friendly game. The element of fear or stress of facing the Koreans does not exist with the Iranian players. With a win already in this very competition of FIFA World Cup qualifier, another such victory is not difficult to achieve. That should be a good omen for Team Melli players.

The weather, which is could be a factor with visiting teams, should not be of too much of a concern for Iranian players. The forecast for the City of Ulsan in the east coast of the Korean Peninsula is cloudy with chances of rain & showers. The expected temperature would be around 29 degrees Celsius, That would not be a great issue and in fact it will be 3 degrees cooler than Tehran itself. The more concerning matter would be the humidity and rain. The Koreans are much better adapted to playing to such wet climate and playing surface than the Iranians. What was also significant in the last match in Korea between the host nation and Uzbekistan was the players’ kit. The Uzbeks clearly were not prepared for such weather and their jerseys were not designed for rainy playing conditions. It was soaking wet during the match when the rain poured heavily, making the Uzbek players clearly uncomfortable trying to adjust their wet jerseys that was uncomfortably sticking to their flesh. On the other hand, in the same weather conditions, the Koreans seem to have no issue with their jerseys and played comfortably while running with ease.

[dropcap]Q[/dropcap]ueiroz has previously complained about the quality and the suitability of the Team Melli kits and precisely before the Qatar match.  He believed that the weather condition required special type of fabric and hence what was made by the kit manufacturer was deemed unsuitable for the hot and humid condition of Qatar. So, taking that in consideration, it is assumed that Team Melli will be well prepared for that part of the competition.

Technically speaking, there is not much advantage between the two teams. The Koreans are going through a soft patch and if there was anything that perhaps raised a few eyebrows with their performance at home against the Uzbeks, it was their physical condition. Surprisingly, the usually fit and well adapted Koreans ran out of breath. It is not clear if fatigue was the reason behind some of the players’ exhaustion or was it simply the mental stress on them especially since they performed poorly against Lebanon and were on the brink of yet another famous humiliation.

Despite the good goal difference of Korea, their finishing in the last two games was really below par. Creating scoring opportunities is not a problem with the Koreans, however , the finishing is a great concern.

But as the saying goes, football sometimes produces the weirdest of results. This one indicates a possible draw all things considered, a result that will qualify both of the team directly , but Uzbekistan might have something to say about it when they meets Qatar at the same kick of time in Tashkent.

 

After many years, team Melli has the edge on the H2H records against the South Koreans. Team Melli has 10 wins against the Koreans 9 while 7 ended up in a draw. As far as Iran playing at South Korea, Team Melli has a pretty decent record playing 8 matches away winning 2 and losing 2 while the 4 other matches ended up in draws.

Here are the full records.

[divider]

H / A / N	Matches	W	D	L	Goals	+ / –
Home	5	3	2	0	8 – 3	+5
Away	8	2	4	2	6 – 7	-1
Neutral	13	5	1	7	15 – 22	-7
Total	26	10	7	9	29 – 32	-3

 

[divider]

Asian Cup squad 1992

No.
1	ABEDAZDEH, Ahmadreza 25-May-66 26 Years Perspolis
21	NAKISA, Nima 01-May-75 17 years Perspolis Goalkeeper
3	MOHARRAMI, Mojtaba 16-Apr-65 27 years Perspolis Defender
19	KHAKPOUR, Mohammad 20-Feb-69 23 years Geylang United (SIN) Defender
9	MARFAVI, Samad 18-May-65 27 years Esteghlal Foreward
12	GHOLAMPOUR, Behzad 05-Aug-66 26 years PAS Tehran Goalkeeper
10	FONOONIZADEH, Mehdi 19-May-62 30 years Bank Tejarat Midfield
5	MOHAMMADKHANI, Nader 23-Aug-63 29 years Keshavarz Defender
7	HASSANZADEH, Reza 30-Dec-64 27 years Esteghlal Defender
2	ZARRINCHEH, Javad 23-Jul-66 26 years Keshavarz Defender
16	ASHOURI, Mohsen 02-Jan-65 27 years Perspolis Midfield
17	DADASHZADEH, Behzad 22-Jun-71 21 years Perspolis Midfield
6	GHAYEGHRAN, Sirous 22-Sep-63 29 years Keshavarz Midfield
13	KERMANI-MOGHADAM, Morteza 11-Jul-65 27 years Al Ittihad (QAT) Midfield
11	SHAH MOHAMMADI, Jamshid 02-Jul-68 24 years Keshavarz Foreward
4	ABTAHI, Mehdi 02-Mar-63 30 years Vahdat Foreward
8	MODIR ROUSTA, Ali Asghar 25-Jul-68 24 years PAS Tehran Foreward
15	PEYOUS, Farshad 12-Jan-62 30 years Al Ahli (QAT) Forward
14	REZAEI-MANESH, Reza 22-Jun-69 23 years PAS Tehran Foreward
20	SHIR-MOHAMADI, Hassan 22-May-67 25 years Perspolis Foreward

 

Tension brewing between Iran’s coach Carlos Queiroz and the South Korean Choi Kang-Hee.

Following an interview given to the local press, Queiroz took an excption and reponded sharply before the match between Korea Rep. and Iran in Ulsan where Iran needs a point to assure qualification , regardless of the result in Tashkent. In an interview with the Korean media , their coach Choi Kang-Hee has stated that he dislikes Iran even more than Uzbekistan, but much prefers for Uzbekistan to qualify with them from this group. His reasoning was that the Korean team was treated badly while in Tehran where they lost the match 1-0 in Azadi.

That tactless comment from the Korean brought angry  reaction from Carlos Queiroz a day later. The Portuguese coach said  “such talk by coach Choi is a disgrace to football.  He has offended the Iranian football and its coaches and for that he has to apologize or resign. “  Queiroz went on in  adefiant mood and said “In Korea , I shall be buy an Uzbekistan team Jersey and before the match I will give it to the Korean coach.”

The sharp reaction by Queiroz ignited a war of words as the Korean press demanded answers from their grim-faced always angry coach. Choi in his turn responded to Queiroz by questioning his education and football knowledge ! He said “I am surprised by Queiroz , he worked in Real Madrid and Manchester united, but all he learned was strange and weird things!”

Choi added” Football is not about politics. I just want to tell Queiroz to set at home next year in Portugal and enjoy watching the World Cup on TV”

Choi concluded that “ You can tell Queiroz to bring 11 Uzbekistan jersey, I am wearing my own. I am disappointed that Queiroz is talking on behalf of the Iranian people, anyway I had enough of this talk and I do not want to prolong this war of words”

We would like to thank you for the great support and encouargment to this site.

Due to the increasing interest in the site and Team Melli,  the national football team of Iran we have taken upon us to improve the looks and feel of the site in addition to the quality contents that we are proud of. We have begun upgrading the site as of today. There will be a lot of work in progress as you will appreciate, nevertheless we do hope that you will have an uninterrupted acces 24/7 as most of the changes will be done without the site going down.

If you have any comments , proposals or complaints please contact us. All the emails will be read.

Enjoy, TeamMelli.com

The Adminstration TEam.

Tehran- TMDC report:

In the post-match press conference of the Iran – Lebanon match, Theo Buecker, the German coach of Lebanon admitted that his team did all it can but was not good enough against Iran. “With all those missing players, and practically a brand new team, not much was expected from this match against a powerful opposition” The German coach declared.

When asked by an Iranian reporter why did his team resort to un-sportsmanship behavior  during the match like time wasting , the temperamental German coach said that this was an insult to the team and he stormed out of the press conference in protest.

Theo Buecker was evidently upset about calling someone else calling his team tactics , as dirty , while the coach himself , admitted that some players have sold a series of matches includiong two Qatar games in these FIFA World Cup qualifiers and a match against Bangladesh!

Storming out of press conferences has become quite trendy in Iran. Carlos Queiroz has done it a couple of times and hence the word has obviously reached the German coach as well. Despite some imprudent and meaningless questions that the Iranian media asks the coaches during such conferences, the act of leaving a press conference which is a mandatory requirement by FIFA needs to be addressed and preventive measures taken to ensure the proper conduct an behavior of all sides, else they are becoming a farce. Offenders ( the coaches in this case) should be Fined or suspended as appropriate.

Interestingly enough , in the mixed zone of Azadi after the match today , a reporter who obviously was devoid of any meaningful dialogue or questions , asked Javad Nekounam , Team Melli’s Captain and the scorer of two goals , about his views on the upcoming Iranian Presidential election!!! Nekounam calmly responded to him “I am a professional footballer who just played an important match , what has the election to do with what we are doing?”

Team Melli Captain Javad Nekounam scored a brace as Iran defeated Lebanon 4-0 in the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifications round in packed Azadi stadium. Mohammed Reza Khalatbary opened the scoring in the 38th minute and on the stroke of half time, Nekounam scored with a header to make it 2-0.

Right at the beginning of the second half Reza Ghoochannejad scored the third , while Nekounam sealed the win with a thunderous shot to make it 4-0 in the 85th minute..

Iran started the match quite strongly and manage to dominate the game from the onset. The result was an onslaught of attacking moves , which due to haste ,  inaccurate delivery , and poor finishing , it failed to produce  any goals. Lebanon who had nothing to lose had a clear strategy in this game. With 9 regular players missing from the line up due to different reasons, the players embarked on a damage limitation exercise.   Lebanon tactic was to “Park the bus”, frustrate the opposition, play act and hope for a break. The Lebanese managed to frustrate the Iranians all right but it was only a matter of time before their defense would break down.

Lebanon’s  practice of time wasting ,  which is quite common with the Arab teams across the region, not only frustrated the Iranian players but it also infuriated the 70,000 fans in Azadi , who jeered and shouted against Lebanon players. The Lebanese started play acting and faking injury as early as the  15^th  minutes  in the hope of breaking up the constant pressure created by Team Melli. Chance after chance went begging and wasted mostly ending up around Reza Ghoocannejad.

Despite the players targeting Ghoochannejad on the crosses and final passes, there was lack of quality in the deliveries were not accurate enough for the Standard Liege player to create scoring opportunities.

Lebanon’s keeper Abbas Hassan , was showing his class when he saved three consecutive balls late in the first half , with his fine timing and reflexes. However , he was left wanting against Khalatbary , who zig zagged his way between two central defenders and delivered a nice ball far from the reach of Abbas Hassan to Open Team Melli’s account on minute 38.

Just before half time, a sweet and delicate chip from Heydari on the right side, and a towering jump from Nekounam ended up in the Iranian Captain scoring the second just before the final whistle.

Iran was up 2-0 at the half time and in a commanding position

The second half started like a whirling with Team Melli going on an all out attack. This resulted in a quick goal by Reza Ghoochannejad , who cleverly got clear from his mark in the box with a shimmy before blasting the ball right in the ceiling against the advancing Abbas Hassan, There was no chance for Lebanon hero to save such a goal.

The final goal was another beauty from Javad Nekounam. The Team Melli Captain increased his tally of international goals to 36 in 134 international matches, with a powerful shot right outside the box to scored his second and team’s fourth in the 85^th minute.

With this win, Iran is now ranked second in the group and only need one point is required from the final group match against Korea Rep. in Ulsan next Tuesday to qualify directly to the FIFA World Cup finals.

#	Player Name
	ARAB, Mostafa 13-Aug-41 31 years Oghab Defender
20	ASHTIANI, Ebrahim 04-Jan-42 30 Years Perspolis Defender
5	BEHZADI, Homayoun 20.Jun.42 30 Years Perspolis Foreward
4	GHURAB, Javad 30.Jul.50 22 Years Taj Defender
6	HALVAEI, Majeed 007-Feb-48 24 Years Pas Defender
1	HAGHVERDIAN, Karo 11-Jan-46 26 Years Esteghlal Midfield
14	HEJAZI, Nasser 14-Dec-49 23 Years Esteghlal Goalkeeper
19	IRANPAK, Safar 03.Dec.47 25 Years Perspolis Foreward
7	JABBARI, Ali 20-Jun-47 25 Years Taj Midfield
10	KALANI, Hossein 23-Jun-40 32 Years Perspolis Foreward
2	KARGARJAM, Akbar 6.Dec.1944 28 Years Taj Defender
9	KASHANI, Jaffar 04.Mar.45 27 Years Perspolis Defender
18	MAVADAT, Bahram 30.Jan.50 22 Years Perspolis Goalkeeper
8	MAZLOOMI, Gholamhossein 13-Jan-50 22 Years Taj Foreward
23	MONAJATI, Mehdi 29-Jun-47 25 Years Pas Midfield
17	GHLEECHKHANI, Parviz 04.Nov.46 26 years Pas Midfield
21	SHARAFI, Asghar 22-Dec-42 30 years Pas Foreward
13
22
15

The afc.com report

Tehran: Iran put on a dominant display as Carlos Queiroz’s side recorded a 4-0 win over Lebanon at the Azadi Stadium on Tuesday that keeps their bid to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil next year on track.

Three goals in seven minutes either side of the half-time break effectively sealed the three points for the Iranians as they seek to qualify for a fourth FIFA World Cup having previously appeared in Argentina in 1978, in France in 1998 and in Germany in 2006.

Victory moves Iran to within a point of Group A leaders Korea Republic and into second place, two points ahead of Uzbekistan with just one round of matches to play. The Iranians travel to Ulsan to face the Koreans next Tuesday.

With the Lebanese already eliminated, the onus was on Iran to take advantage of a weak opponent and, although the hosts were in control from the first whistle, it took the Iranians until the 39th minute to take the lead.

Reza Ghoochannejhad and Mohamad Reza Khalatbari were guilty of missing several chances before Khalatbari finally opened the scoring six minutes ahead of the halftime break when he slipped the ball beyond Abbas Hassan.

Captain Javad Nekounam doubled his side’s advantage as the half moved into Stoppage time when the former Osasuna midfielder headed into the top corner following Khosro Heydari’s cross.

The second half was not even a minute old when the Iranians made it 3-0 via Ghoochannejhad, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net after turning past Hassan Daher and Iran had numerous opportunities to add to their goal difference throughout what remained of the game.

Despite their dominance, however, Iran had to wait until four minutes from time when Nekounam claimed his second and his team’s fourth with a fabulous finish with the inside of his right foot from outside the area that gave Hassan no chance.

But the size of the win means a draw could be enough for the Iranians when they take on the Koreans next week to advance to their fourth FIFA World Cup finals.