The Osasuna and Team Melli player who has been on the long term injury list , is on his way to full recovery .

Masoud Shojaei-Soleimani missed nearly a whole season and a half after has suffered an injury that refused to heal and took much longer than anticipated.

The Iranian midfielder whose career was held in balance at Osasuna , declared on Thursday at a press conference in Nakhonar “I am currently in good physical condition. But still not 100% but so much better than before.  In every practice and every game, my confidence & condition are getting better. Fortunately, I do not feel any pain or discomfort in my feet, but I need to take it step by step to reach the ideal conditions.”

He added ” I have lost weight and I am a bit lighter that before my injury , that is normal  after a long injury. I needs to have some time to go back to its ideal physical condition.”

Masoud Shojaei , who was sidelined due to finger fracture in his left foot and was 15 months away from the football, pointed out that “During the time of my recuperation ,  I did not have any thoughts of saying goodbye to football, , but sometimes it was too frustrating,  especially when I was told at San Miguel clinic that I needed to have yet another surgery on my feet. While I was waiting for the medical staff to tell me that I am ready to return to the football fields. That news was devastating”

During his long term injury , Shojaei said that he really felt that the club was supporting him and that feeling was quite valuable to him. At no stage he felt abandoned or forgotten by Osasuna club and his teammates. He said at that time he did not feel homesick because he felt home here in Pampalona.  ” I received all kinds of support. I can only thank everyone.I love them, I do not know how to respond to their kindness.”

Masoud Shojaei commenting on his first game for Osasuna after returning to the field, said he loved it but it was a very slow start. I did play bad because I wanted to do things calmly, but my coach encouraged me and comforted me after that no so good of a display. I am quite excited for a new season at Osasuna in the La Liga to begin and I want to prove myself.

Esteghlal Tehran player and Team Melli Captain,  Javad Nekounam made his126th Team Melli international cap to pass Ali KArimi as the second highest player after Ali Daei.

While Nekounam was absent from several Team Melli international friendlies during his time in Spain , it was quite possible to see him approach or even exceed Ali Daei’s record of 149 caps.

The table below list the players who have played 50 or more caps for Team Melli along with other stats.

Rank

Name

Openin.

Subst.

Total

Goals

Yellows

Reds

Budapest  August 15^th , 2012

 Iran drew with Tunisias 2-2 in a friendly internationa match held in Széktói, Kecskemét, Hungary. The match which was in the conclusion of a week-long training camp in Budapest , ended scoreless at half time with Iran having more of the possession and creating several scoring opportunities.

In the first chance , as early as the 3^rd minute , Ashkan Dejageh ball was cleared just before passing the goal line , while Karim Ansarifard , missed am easy ball while he was beautifully fed by Ali Karimi leaving him facing the goalkeeper with no marker in sight. Ansarifard blasted the ball off mark. Dejageh again found himself one on one with the Tunisian Keeper later on in the half . He dribbled past the advancing keeper with ease , but his feeble shoot towards the empty goal was intercepted by the advancing Tunisian defender for yet another chance to go astray.

In the second half , on the 53^th minute, Iran soon found the goal from clever work by Ashkan Dejageh , who fed Heydari with a clever ball on the right flank. The Esteghlal defender , went past his marker and penetrated into the box and passed a perfect ball to Mohammadreza Khaltabry , who had ample time to receive and control the ball before smashing it into the goal past the helpless goalkeeper and defenders.

But the Iranians joy was short lived as three minutes later , Tunis equalized when substitute Ammerl Jemel , tapped a simple ball into the net past Rahmati. The goals was gifted to the Tunisians due to some poor marking and clearance which allowed the Tunisian winger to play simple pass to Jemel t

The Iranians retored the lead on the hour when another piece of clever football yielded result. Khaltabary on the left wing , played havoc with his two Tunisian defenders and he slalomed his way with ease passing them to cross a delicately measure inch perfect ball to the advancing Mohammad Ghazi , for the Perspolis forward to head home , Iran’s second. Ghazi was slightly injured when the Tunisian goalkeeper clashed into him trying to intercept Khalatbary’s cross.

Iran still managed to control the match , but yet another momentary lapse of concentration and another poor timing by Mehdi Rahmati cost Iran the match . A long cross from the right found Jomaaa, the Tunisian Substitute with plenty of time to jump and head the ball while two central defenders ball watches. Rahmati , in one of his classical misjudgment of the flight of the ball, allowed the ball to pass him while it could have been easily saved.

A last minute plea for a penalty by Javad Nekounam after the bal hitthe Tunisisan defendewrs armwas waved on by the Hungarian referee for the match to end in a tie.

Overall, it was a much better performance for Team Melli with some positive and organized football played by the Iranians. Omid Nazari , the Iranian-Swedish player made his debut , while there was no sign of Ghoochinejad the other new player in the squad.

Carlos Queiroz Iran’s national football team coach, in a post-match interview after the friendly match between Team Melli and Tunisia  played in in Hungary , that the his team’s performance in this match was better than the results obtained.

“We had several one to one situations that did not yield any results. Unfortunately , we also concede two very simple goals. Of course ,it is not an individual fault but the overall team’s responsibility.” He added.

“ In general , I was not really satisfied with the results , because it was lower than I expected. We have wasted a good chance of winning this game. However , I am not too concerned , as there is no problem in this team that cannot be resolved(…)”

Queiroz  then explained the circumstances behind conceding those two simple goals “
“We lost concentration in the two moments that we conceded the goals. We also allowed the Tunisians to exert pressure on us during the times that we conceded the goals.  The positive point of our team, was the creation of many scoring chances which in itself is encouraging. While the fact that we rarely allowed the opposition to reach our goal . was another positive aspect. I think we are doing a good job and we are moving forward and am excited for the next camp because I have this mentality that we were fully prepared to meet in Lebanon.”

Iran’s coach commented about the players, especially the new players and said, “I am satisfied with the performance of the Omid Nazari. He had high concentration throughout the game and he looked like he was a veteran rather than a rookie in the team.

“I am satisfied with the performance of the team but I am so upset with the result”

“I was quite excited to have Ghoochanejad in the match as he trained very well with us since he joined the squad. However , the FIFA documents allowing him to  play with Iran was not issued in time . I was quite satisfied with Maziyar Zare in his new role in the center of defense as well. He did a good job. I am comfortable to have another solid defender in this position now.”.

Related Links

Match Details

Daniel “Dan” Gaspar  “Iranian goalkeeprs cannot win a place in the starting line up by using the media”

On the eve of the friendly match with Tunisia , Daniel Gasper , the Portuguese American goalkeeping Coach of Team Melli, commented on the week long training camp that was set up in Hungary. Gasper stated his satisfaction with the facilities provided and the resources available. He also declared that this was a very timely training camp which gave the technical crew a good opportunity to work with the players, specially the new faces, after a longish break since the last match against Qatar. The camp was quite productive.

Gapser praised the work ethics of the players and said that all of them showed a lot of enthusiasm and energy which was quite pleasing for the coaching team. Asked whether new goalkeepers will be added to the squad , Gasper said that there will never be anything called a permanent position in the team. We always look for new talents and capable players. At the moment I have two new goalkeepers that I will work with and hope that they reached a high standard to enable them to be competent keepers for the near future. These two are Mohsen Forouzan and Hamed Lak. They are both young and very talented. We are keeping very close eyes on them and I believe that the pair of them will excel”

“Goalkeepers need to show their worth to the coaching team of Team Melli , by being impressive and working hard. They need to focus their energy on the practice session and subsequently during matches in order to attract attention. Goalkeepers cannot win a place in the team or be selected by talking to the press . It is their good work on the pitch that distinguishes them and forces the coach to select them , not by talking or marketing themselves”

Gapser then went on to comment on Alireza Haghighi” Alireza is a very good goalkeeper and an excellent prospect. He currently plays in the Russian league which we must admit is of a higher standard than Iran’s league. He is the second choice goalkeeper in Rubin Kazan and he will have a very tough time replacing the first choice , who is a very popular Russian keeper. But with determination and persistence, Alireza is certainly capable. I believe he has the abilities and skills to be a first rate goalkeeper, in fact, I believe in him. He just needs to stay focused and continue working hard.”

Gapser is the long-time assistant and consultant to Carlos Queiroz with whom he co-authored Project 2010 for the USSF in 1998, with the goal to create a blueprint for long-term improvements in US soccer. He is living away from his family but hope that they could join him in Tehran after the New Year. He said that he is quite happy living in Iran after he settled in his own flat.
Gasper says he spends his spare time learning cooking , and in fact he has competition with Carlos Queiroz on who is the better cock. Gasper said he normally wins that competition, but a man in the caliber of Queiroz will soon beat him if he puts his mind on it.

Iranian football federation has announced the appointment of the Belgian , Bart Caubergh as Physical Trainer or Team Melli.

Carlos Queiroz , has announced the list of 23 players who will be undergoing a training squad starting from 9th August in Hungary. The squad will include a friendly international match against Tunisia in Hungary

.

Reza Ghoochannejad  Sint Truiden VV (Belgium) and Omid Nazari was also included in the list. These two European based Iranian players will be joined by Ashkan Dejagah and will be directly flying to the camp site in Budapest. Reza Ghoochannejad is making his debut in Team Melli camp , while Omid Nazari has been with the Team Melli squad in Turkey camp but for immigration and naturalization reasons , he was not able to joining the team during the initial matches versus Uzbekistan and Qatar in the FIFA World Cup Qualifications round.

The major exclusions from the list seems to be Ando Teymourian , who is cup tied in Qatar League , Mojtaba Jabbari , Esteghlal player who has not figured for his team this season , and Gholamreza Rezaei whose form with Perspolis has dipped this season.

The team will be flying to Budapest on Thursday after an initial practice session in Tehran on Wednesday.

The Full List

Team Melli will set camp in Hungary in preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2012 Asian Zone Qualification matches.

The Director of Media and  International Relations in IRIFF , Khosrow Valizadeh has announced the details of the upcoming Team Melli training camp. The selected players , will be gathering in Tehran on Wednesday evening before flying to Hungary a day later on Thursday 9th August 2012.

Carlos Queiroz will be announcing the list of the players next Monday at the latest and the list will include a few new faces , according to Valizadeh . He added that since the start of the league, there has been a few impressive performances by some players which attracted the attention of the Portuguese Team Melli coach , and hence , it is quite probable that a few players will be added to the current squad.

Khosrow Valizadeh mentioned that the venue for the friendly match against Tunisia which was scheduled to be held on 25th August in Budapest has been changed. Since hist nation Hungary has a friendly game in the same day in the capital city , according to FIFA rules , two international matches cannot be held in the same city on a FIFA day. Valizadeh stated that IRIFF is actively seeking an alternative venue for the match , away from Budapest in coordination with the Tunisians.

Asked about the rumors of Reza Ghoochinejad joining Team Melli , Valizadeh denied any knowledge of  the Mashhad born Iranian-Dutch footballer, who currently plays for Sint-Truiden in the Belgian Pro League , is in the list of Queiroz, however , he said that barring any visa problems , a few new faces will be in the list of passengers to Hungary without specifically naming them.

Carlos Queiroz has visted Jordan to inspect the training facilities for team Melli’s upcoming September camp in Amman, added Valizadeh . Queiroz will be back on time to attend the Pesrpolis – Saba match in Azadi.

Ali Kafashian , the head of Iran’s football Federation , has announced that Team Melli will be taking part in the next West Asian Football Federation t (WAFF) Tournament to be held in Kuwait.

Kafashian has mentioned to news agency ISNA , that his administration has discussed with Carlos Queiroz , the Portuguese Team Melli coach on the possibilities of sending the full team to Kuwait. Both sides have studied the merit of participating in WAFF championship, which Iran has dominated since its inception some 12 years ago and finally agreed to it.

The timing of the tournament has been deemed to be appropriate for the participation of the full team taking into account the preparations and the matches in the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification rounds. Kafashian also added that the period of the tournament falls in the half season league break , which is quite ideal for the players and the clubs. He also advised that some slight date shifting could be possible to accommodate the participation of the team in this upcoming tournament.
The 7th West Asian Football Federation Championship,WAFF C 2012  will be hosted by Kuwait . West Asian Football Federation confirmed the final dates for WAFF.  The tournament will be taking place during 8-20 December 2012. WAFF sent the invitations for the thirteen member associations to confirm their participation. The 6th edition of WAFF championship was held in Jordan in 2010, as Kuwait won the title after winning 2-1 against Iran in the final.

12 member associations confirmed their participation, whom are: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon, Oman, Yemen, Palestine, Iraq and UAE. The only country that did not enter this year’s tournament is Qatar. The dates for the draw will be  announced  by WAFF later this coming month.

 Nekounam agrees terms with Esteghlal

Javad Nekounam has finally signed for Tehran’s Esteghlal club after a prolong negotiation between the two sides. The settlement for the transfer was dependent on Esteghlal paying the penalty for Osasuna as the Iranian National Team Captain has still one year to go on his contract with the La Liga club.

Javad Nekounam was  believed to be the highest player in the cash stripped Spanish club and they were desperate to offload him to another club. It is believed that no European club could match Nekounams asking wages while Esteghlal offered quite an attractive package to bring back the ex-PAS club player home after many years playing in the UAE league and the Spanish La Liga.

Nekounam was one of the Pampolana club stars and leaves the club with some fond memories and excellent performances.

Meanwhile , Vahid Hashemian , the ex-Team Melli forward and Perpsolis player , who spent quite a few years in the Bundesliga , has announced his retirement form football at the age of 36.

Hashemian , was not able to gain much  opportunity to play for Perspolis under the Turkish coach , Mostafa Denizli in last year’s disappointing Perspolis team and is believed that the New Portuguese coach has no plans to give him much playing time either.

Tehran –

Iran’s Team Melli fitness trainer Mick McDermott gas resigned his post, The Iranian Football Federations has announced.

Al Nasr club of Dubai have prized away Iran’s fitness trainer Mick McDermott as an assistant to Walter Zenga in charge of the players’ fitness.

McDermott , who previously worked for Al Ain Club in the Emirates, claimed that he was not seeking a job in the UAE and was simply there for a visit. However, when he talked to Walter Zenga , The ex-Italy goalkeeper and current Al Nasr coach, he was persuaded to join the Dubai based club.

McDermott also cited family reason, who are apparently residing  in the UAE , as one of the factors he left his job in Iran alongside Carlos Queiroz.

The Physical trainer who has previously worked with Walter Zenga in Al Ain club , has lasted 15 months with the Portuguese coach in Team Melli. He said that he enjoyed his time in Iran and praised the capabilities of the Iranian players. And added that there is a pool of talented players in Team Melli and he had no problems dealing with anyone of  them .

He also commented that living in Tehran was sometimes challenging while regretted the fact that his separation with Carlos Queiroz and Team Melli might mean that he wasted an opportunity to be in the World Cup finals, and that he does regret.

The 45 years coach, is a former Northern Irish football player and he has played in USL Second Division.(Minor Leagues).  McDermott claimed that due to political reasons, fewer teams are willing to play friendly matches against Iran and for that reason he sympathizes with the Iranian players. McDermott claims are unsubstantiated and in direct contrast to what IFF’s Torabian , at the time the Manager of national Teams , mentioned a few months back that the technical team is reluctant or unwilling to play stronger teams that the IFF has been negotiating with for friendly matches.