Author: Editor

Stanko Poklepovic , ex-head coach of Team Melli passes away.

Former Team Melli and Persepolis club coach Stanko Poklepovic passed away at the age of 81.

Poklepovic died after a long illness at the Split Hospital in the early hours of December 24th.

The Croatian made his impact in the 1984–85 Yugoslav First League as the manager of Hajduk Split when he took over the Yugoslav powerhouse at the time when a lot of important players left the club and a lot of young players like Asanovic, Andrijasevic and Spanjic joined the club with little experience.

In 1994, he was named as the head coach of the Iranian national football team and Persepolis. He won back-to-back Azadegan League titles with Persepolis in 1996 and 1997.

Poklepovic replaced Ali Parvin as Team Melli coach in 1994 after the Iranian legendary coach failed to qualify for World Cup 1994.
He took the helm for the Asian Games Hiroshima 1994. Team Melli played Bahrain (0-0), Turkmenistan (1-1), China(0-1) and Yemen (4-0) but failed to qualify from the group stages.

Poklepovic also coached Iranian football clubs Sepahan and Damash Gilan.

TeamMelli.com offers heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family.

Saeid Ezzatollahi is out of Asian Cup 2019

Saeid Ezzatollahi  the Iranian national team midfielder who  has recently joined Team Melli squad in Doha, has been declared unfit and will lose the chance to take part in the 17th AFC Asian Cup 2019.

The disappointing news on Ezzatollahi who was injured and recently recovered, was released after the medical team examined the English championship side, Reading the defensive midfielder for fitness and recovery. In consultation with the coaches, it was decided that Ezzatollahi was not at the optimum shape and condition for the grueling tournament. Ezzatollahi  has not featured for his team , Reading for the last three weeks but it was hoped that he will be fully recovered by the time the championship starts in Abu Dhabi. Queiroz personally relayed the bad news to the midfielder.

The news is a big blow for the team and the supporters.

Team Melli head Coach will be announcing the final squad list  for the Asian Cup 2019 on Wednesday, and he has already mentioned that he needs fully fit and ready players against the tough opponents in the Asian Cup. Queiroz has emphasized, that the list of omitted players will be privately discussed with the individuals and will be conducted in a civilized and respectful atmosphere before being publicized.

Team Melli is scheduled to meet Qatar on December 10 at Khalifa Stadium at 20:00. The seventeenth Asian Cup will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates on January 5th, and the Iranian team is set to end 43 years of misery at these Championship. Yemen, Vietnam, and Iraq, are Iran opponents in the group stage of the competition

Disappointing draw against Palestine for Team Melli

In the match played in Doha Qatar, Team Melli played a 1 – 1 draw against Palestine. Iran scored first through Mehdi Taremi, while Palestine equalized in the added time at the end of the match.

While Team Melli controlled the game and had most of the ball possession , they did not seem to be able to score due to the profligate attackers mainly Medi Taremi. Palestine had their own chances as well and could have scored if it was not for Biranvand’s timely reactions.

The second half saw Taremi score early in the 50th minute but the rest of the match saw many chances going amiss . The perennial problem of Team Melli which is the final ball was at display again in this match as their finishing left a lot to be desired with inaccurate passes or shots.

Jonathan Cantillana, scored Palestine’s goal in the added time of the second half.

Team Melli will play a tougher opposition next in the shape of Qatar National Team.

The team line up

Alireza Beiranvand (Seyyed Hossein Hosseini  74″), Ramin Rezaeian, Pejman Montazeri (Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh – 46″), Hossein Kananazadegan, Milad Mohammadi, Roozbeh Cheshmi (Omid Ebrahimi – 70″), Ashkan Dejagah (Masoud Shojaei – 60″), Ahmad Noorollahi, Mehdi Torabi (Vouria Ghafouri – 60″), Sardar Azmoun(Ali Alipour – 60″), and Mehdi Taremi

Gucci calls it quits!

Reza Ghoochannejad decided that he will quit playing for Team Melli in protest after not being given any playing time in FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

Gucci was the only goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 and played a major part in the team. Four years later, however, Queiroz was not sure if Ghoochannejad, who had his best ever professional season in Holland, will be as useful in Russia as he was in Brazil.

Reza Ghoochannejad (31 years) who plays for SC Heerenveen in the Dutch league, was an unused substitute in all the three Iran matches against Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

 

Shock as Azmoun quits Team Melli in protest

Sardar Azmoun , the golden boy of Iran’s football has shockingly announced that he has quite Team Melli after arriving home from the World Cup.

After failing to score in 3 matches and playing below expectation, Azmoun was subject to criticism by section of the fans however some went way beyond the bound of decency by calling him names and using profanities.

Azmoun decided to quit on that basis and has published a message in his social media page declaring his decision. The Rubin Kazan player mentioned in his statement that he is not ready to be subjected to such insults against himself and his parents while trying to do his best for the country.

Despite his poor showing in Russia, Azmoun remain the best forward that Team Melli has with a brilliant scoring record. Perhaps he needs a cooling down period before he reverses his emotional decision.

 

Team Melli Head Coach

Queiroz up the ante for continueing with Team Melli.

After the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 for Iran and the elimination  of Team Melli from the first stage with a very respectable 4 points in the group in which Portugal, Morocco and Spain were present, the result had a very positive reflection in the community and people of the country culminating into hours of joy and Celebration in the streets of Iranian cities.

Carlos Queiroz, who has now become a cult figure among the Iranian masses and a hero, did not waste much time in practicing his habitual rhetoric, attacking his critics as soon as the World Cup adventure was over in yet another controversial interview. His main target of attack was Persepolis’s Branco Ivankovic. When Queiroz was interviewed in a TV show “ 2018 program” he lashed at Ivankovic and cornered him in various areas.

The Team Melli head coach, referred to Ivankovic as a professor who injected venom into the national team and caused a conflict within the squad. Branco Ivankovic was also accused of “destroying” the Emirates Training camp by Queiroz while challenging the Ukrainian players’ presence in Persepolis without given playing  time for the team!!. The Pek foundation, which Queiroz refers to as his legacy in Iran, is another subject in which he has come into clash with  Branco Ivankovic. Queiroz claims that that Ivankovic, along with his friends (Hooman Afazeli), has sought to control and take over the National Development & Training Center.

The head of the Persepolis Club, Hamid Reza Garshasbey, was the first to respond to the interview, and urged the FFIRI not to allow the work of the clubs and the Branco Ivankovic to be undermined by irresponsible and unfounded claims. Queiroz defied Ivankovic in the new interview , and said: “People have to decide; either you or me!”

Ivankovic categorically denied any interference in federation’s  decisions and rejected accusations of disrupting the national team’s squad in a conversation last night well  before the Queiroz interview, he also sought the support of Amir Ghalenoei and Kranjcar Sepahan and Omid team coaches to side with him against the accusations of the Portuguese. However, Queiroz made no  mention of  Ghalenoei or  Krancjar in his interview.

Now the federation faces a major challenge. Perhaps if the most important concern before for the FFIRI was the financial demands of the Portuguese head coach and the duration of the contract (4 years demanded by Queiroz instead of 6 months proposed by the FFIRI) , now the national team manager wants to dismiss his critics from the Persian Gulf Pro League, or at least ignore their wishes, and move towards full and unchallenged implementation of his wishes on the league program.

According to the Mehr News Agency, in the upcoming season, due to the Jakarta Asian Games, the AFC Champions League and the Asian Cup, the Persian Gulf Pro League will have a tight schedule, and naturally, the national team’s interests will be in conflict with the clubs. Armed with the knowledge of this matter, Queiroz has already conditionally related the extension of his contract to preparation schedules, so that the preparations for his team on the World Cup will not be repeated; the days when the national team even trained with three players; One of its main camps was dissolved in the UAE.

Queiroz demands are clear. He needs to ensure Team Mell]s preparation for the Asian Cup and other championship to run perfectly and purely according to his wishes without any challenge, and devoid of any tension with the clubs and their supporters. It seems that the way to approach these demands is to remove or silence his critics who, of course, have many weak points while Queiroz counts on their weaknesses to advance his strategies and plans.

The sense of Déjà vu

The sense of Déjà vu was overwhelming by the end of the match against Portugal.

Another brilliant performance by Team Melli boys, another close call, another if only that Taremi ball was a few inches to the right…. But at the end, it counted for nothing more than a brave performance that culminated to nothing for Team Melli.

What is left are sweet memories and some unforgettable moments that will linger in our memories until, at least, the next World Cup in Qatar. That save by Biranvand will stay with us a bit longer we suspect. Karim Ansarifard’s unstoppable penalty in the dying minutes in the roof of the net, was another sweet one. The tears of some players at the end of the game was touching and inspiring too.

There are also those bitter memories. How on earth that violent conduct play of Cristiano Ronaldo against Pouraliganji was not a red card, and especially after the referee used VAR and took his sweet time,  is beyond any logic. Elbowing an important is a straight red card, unless the game rules were changed before yesterday’s game. The Paraguay referee decided in his wisdom that it warranted a yellow card only. No doubt the name of Cristiano Ronaldo had much to do with that decision. Peer pressure by FIFA hierarchy and their fear of losing the best players in the tournament was playing at the back of the referee’s mind too when he swapped his red with yellow!

Favoritism was everywhere; the media was one of them too. The bias towards the more famous and household teams was blatant and widespread. Against Portugal, they complained about the penalty call awarded to Iran, yet the violent conduct of Ronaldo elbowing Pouraliganji m a definite red card offense, received way less attention!!

Ronaldo VAR assisted penalty decision was blessed by the media, despite the minimum of contacts between Ezatolahi and Ronaldo. Interestingly, the ref was close to the scene and waved play on, however, insistence of Ronaldo for a VAR, meant that the penalty was a foregone conclusion.

No matter how much you ridicule the theory of conspiracy, one simply cannot dismiss it and hide from the fact that it simply is not just a coincident. From the cancellation of friendly preparatory matches of Team Melli before the tournament to refusal of Nike to supply boots, it seems that the odds were very much against Iran qualifying.

It is a cruel world and if you need to be recognized, you have to be at your best. Then, even refereeing decisions tend to favor you. Iran is not there yet, but with this group of gallant players and an astute coach like Queiroz, the path is not too long. Bravery, desire and pride were in full display by the boys and that is way more than what Egyptians displayed in that shameful match against Saudi Arabia.

Proud to be a Team Melli supporter.

Last Gasp penalty not enough for Team Melli.

So Portugal are not a one man team after all. On a sultry, sticky night in the Mordovia Arena, they progressed to the knock out stage without any meaningful contribution from the man who defines them. His goatee may grow ever more prominent with every game, as he seeks visual confirmation of his status as the greatest of all time, but for Cristiano Ronaldo this was not his most accomplished moment in a red shirt. He even had a penalty saved. And was lucky to stay on the pitch after the VAR noticed that he had thrust an elbow into an opponent’s face.

But if it was not his night, despite the bravest of late, late comebacks, despite hurling the kitchen sink at their opponents, it wasn’t Iran’s either. And it is to the detriment of the tournament that Carlos Queiroz’s side have played their last in it. It is certainly to the detriment of the competition’s atmosphere that their tens of thousands fans, with their incessant broiling enthusiasm and their relentless parping of their horns, are going home. How they contributed. And at the last, how they suffered.

Iran’s problem here, though, was they needed to win. The draw they somehow engineered, remarkable as it was, deserved as it was, littered as it was with controversy and video assistance as it might have been, was never sufficient.

But this is a side set up to defend, a side who had sparked Spain’s ire earlier in the tournament with their ten man defensive line. And they began this game once again more concerned with the opposition than with themselves. Mind, when the opposition contains Ronaldo it pays to be attentive. And no one was more motivated to stop him that Carlos Queiroz, the Iran manager.

Once he was his protege but has latterly become his nemesis. Putting Saeid Ezatolahi in front of the back four, to stop Ronaldo’s forward surges, Queiroz had a constant barrier against Portuguese assault.

Group B

Pos Team P W D L GD Pts
1 Spain 3 1 2 0 1 5
2 Portugal 3 1 2 0 1 5
3 Iran 3 1 1 1 0 4
4 Morocco 3 0 1 2 -2 1

The trouble was, moving forward in pursuit of the goal they needed required a level of tactical revisionism beyond this side. When they attacked they looked nervous, lacking in belief and purpose. And too often the ball.

Their task was made all the more pressing just before half time. Until then Portugal had huffed and puffed without any hint that they might create an opening or two. Then Ricardo Quaresma, who was in the side replacing Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, demonstrated why he had been picked. Receiving the ball near the touchline he pushed it into the path of Adrien Silva who deftly returned it with a backheel.

The winger then advanced into the area before arcing a beautiful shot beyond the Iran keeper Ali Beiranvand with the outside of his right boot. The first person to congratulate him was his captain Ronaldo, perhaps informing him he could do that.

From there, Iran had only one course. And it was clearly not one with which they were comfortable.

The AZ Alkmaar forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh did his best, trying to find space, trying to work his way into the Portuguese box. He even fashioned a freekick of a sort Ronaldo himself might admire, when picking himself up after being fouled and, after playing a cunning dummy, he curled the ball on to Ezatolahi’s head. But Rui Patricio was wise to it, showing Wolves fans what they might expect next season with a sharp save.

Ronaldo was not to be ignored, however. With Iran trying to attack, he broke into space, dipped his shoulder and ran into the area, tumbling as he passed Ezatolahi. He was convinced it was a foul, but Enrique Caceres, the Paraguayan the referee was having none of it. Until that is someone had a word in his ear. After consulting his touchline video equipment, which clearly indicated Ronaldo had been tripped, he gave the penalty, booking Ezatolahi in the process. But Beiranvand prevented the self-proclaimed goat from catching Harry Kane at the top of the scoring charts with a smart save.

For a moment the Iranian fans thought this might be a sign. Convinced the world is against them here appeared to be vindication. But despite their roaring, despite the endless tooting on their horns, their team could not find a way forward. Their sense of frustration was hardly reduced when, after consulting the VAR again, the referee ruled that Ronaldo had elbowerd Morteza Pouraliganji in the face. But, extraordinarily, much to Queiroz’s boiling fury, only a yellow card was flourished.

Iran finally had the moment they deserved when, consulting his video box for a third time, the increasingly embattled referee awarded them a penalty for handball by Cedric. Cue pandemonium in the stadium, a noise that was hardly quelled when the substitute Karim Ansarifard put his kick in the top corner. Now with the whistle looming, Iran could only pile forward. Mehdi hit the side netting, sending half the stadium (and Queiroz) into raptures.

It was not to be. Portugal will now face Russia in the last sixteen. And Iran, their players all in tears at the end, are going home, recognising the terminal truth that football can be a harsh game.

Iran

  • 1 Alireza Beiranvand ; 8 Morteza Pouraliganji, 23 Ramin Rezaeian, 3 Ehsan Haji Safi [56′ 5 Milad Mohammadi[, 19 Majid Hosseini, 11 Vahid Amiri, 6 Saeid Ezatolahi [7’5 10 Karim Ansarifard], 9 Omid Ebrahimi, 18 Alireza Jahanbakhsh [70′  14 Saman Ghoddos], 17 Mehdi Taremi, 20 Sardar Azmoun

Portugal

  • 1 Rui Patrício , 21 Cédric Soares, 5 Raphael Guerreiro, 3 Pepe, 6 José Fonte, 20 Ricardo Quaresma [70′ 11Bernardo Silva],, 14 William Carvalho, 10 João Mário, [80′ 8 João Moutinho],  23 Adrien Silva, 9 André Silva, [90+6 17 Gonçalo Guedes],  7 Cristiano Ronaldo

A disallowed goal vs a fluke, gives victory to Spain.

Spain edged out a gallant Iran in an absorbing contest to ensure they will reach the World Cup knockout stage with a draw in their final group game.

The 2010 champions needed a fortuitous Diego Costa goal after half-time, having been frustrated in an opening period in which they had 81% of possession.

Iran, who defended admirably until the ball ricocheted in off Costa, instantly showed more intent and thought they had levelled, only for Saeid Ezatolahi’s strike to be ruled out for offside.

Carlos Queiroz’s Iran side had gone close through Karim Ansarifard and Mehdi Taremi before the crucial offside call and their endeavour throughout seemed to endear them to the crowd at the Kazan Arena.

They survived a chaotic goalmouth scramble where Gerard Pique somehow failed to turn home from a yard out, but again showed heart and threatened late on, with Taremi heading over when well placed.

Fernando Hierro, installed as Spain manager two days before the World Cup started, knows his side will reach the knockout stage if they draw with Morocco on Monday.

Spain overcome another test
Spain may feel they have faced several noteworthy hurdles already throughout their stay in Russia.

The sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui before the tournament was followed by a last-minute equaliser by Portugal in their opening game. Then came this significant examination.

Spain are accustomed to dominating possession against sides content to soak up pressure, but Iran’s deep 4-5-1 set-up in the first half afforded them only one shot on target. Costa cut an isolated and frustrated figure, with 12 first-half touches.

Iran set a record of 1,121 minutes without conceding a goal in qualifying and only after the break did Spain begin to find holes in a well-drilled defensive block, with Sergio Busquets forcing a fine save and Pique unable to flick home in the six-yard box.

Hierro’s side were typically neat with the ball – completing 90% of their passes – and their early second-half momentum told, with a Ramin Rezaeian clearance hitting Costa and finding the corner of the net. It was Costa’s ninth goal in his past nine international starts.

The fact he continued to hassle Iran’s defenders on a night when he was so often crowded out of the game is to his credit and, after scoring twice against Portugal, he looks to have made the lone striker role his own.

Spain top Group B courtesy of having collected fewer disciplinary points than Portugal.

This was their first competitive defeat since the 2014 World Cup and the way they switched from a defensive focus to chase the game after falling behind showed they have more to offer than simply a stiff rearguard.

Ansarifard’s lashed volley left David de Gea motionless but found the side netting, while Taremi failed to hit the target with two headers, notably late on when he rose unchallenged.

But Iran will look back at Ezatolahi’s disallowed goal as key. He stabbed home from close range, only for the assistant referee – and then the video assistant referee – spotted he had strayed offside when the ball was flicked on.

Ranked 37th in the world by Fifa – 27 places lower than Spain – Iran continued to show grit in denying Pique in an almighty goalmouth scramble but they crucially failed to find the target with their seven shots at the other end.

Queiroz said the Spain match was Iran’s “game of the universe”. Their fixture in Saransk on Monday now arguably deserves a bigger title.

A win would send them through to the knockout stage for the first time in their history and a draw could prove enough if Spain lose to Morocco.

Man of the match – Isco

Isco was at the heart of Spain’s play and saw more of the ball than anyone on the pitch with 138 touches. He completed 92% of his passes and played eight crosses – another high. He found shooting opportunities and also won the ball back as many times as anyone else in his side. On a night when the Iran defence deserved praise, he was key in wearing them down.
‘We had one match point’ – what they said

Iran boss Carlos Queiroz: “We showed that we were ready to suffer and ready to compete.

“There’s no doubt Spain play wonderful, stylish football but we deserved more for the way we played.

“We will learn a lot from this game. If you think of it like tennis, we had one match point today and we will have another against Portugal. Everything is still open. We are still alive and still dreaming.”

Spain boss Fernando Hierro: “What I can say is that we have three more points. We knew it was going to be very difficult and, sure enough, it was a very complex game.

“There were times in both halves when things were tough. During the break, we knew we had a plan and we carried it out – my players did what they had to do.

“Iran are a strong team and it’s very tough to score against them. We knew how hard it would be. But once again my players have given everything.”

Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 live: “Iran had a game plan and they sat deep and let Spain come on to them.

“But in a funny way, Spain’s goal gave Iran belief, because that’s when they really went for it.

“They gave absolutely everything and I felt so sorry for them lying down on the pitch at the end.”

Spain find a 1-0 win again

“It was not a miracle that we won,” Queiroz

Team Melli coach Carlos Queiroz said his team may have won their World Cup ‘final’ against Morocco on Friday but he already has his sights set on a “Universe Cup final” against Spain.

Iran have emerged as the early challengers to Spain and Portugal in Group B after Aziz Bouhaddouz’s 95th-minute own-goal sealed a dramatic 1-0 win in Saint Petersburg. It was only Iran’s second World Cup victory in the country’s history and means Queiroz’s side head into their clash against La Roja on Wednesday (today) with momentum and hope.

“If the game against Morocco was the World Cup final for us, the game against Spain will be the Universe Cup final,” Queiroz said.

Iran’s build-up to this tournament had not been smooth. Nike had blocked the players’ supply of boots only four days before their opening game while further back, friendlies against Greece and Kosovo were cancelled.

“It was not a miracle that we won,” Queiroz said. “Superman is only in the cartoons. Nobody is superman.

“What can happen once in a while is a group of people, when they are united, we can create super stories and super things. Our attitude is to try and make the impossible, possible.”

Spain coach Fernando Hierro confirmed that David De Gea will continue as goalkeeper against Iran, despite failing to stop Ronaldo from scoring a hat trick in their opening game.

“We see he (De Gea) is calm, training as usual,” Hierro said at a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Iran.

“I have clear ideas and the way forward. From my experience, athletes need confidence not only in good times,” he added.