Hadi Aghili , Iran’s national Football team central defender has signed a one year contract with Qatar FC.

The Iranian defender , who is capped 66 times for Team Melli and scored 10 goals playing for his country , has parted company with Al Arabi club of Qatar Soccer League . Aghili joined Al Arabi in the beginning of 2011/12 season from Iranian champions Sepahan Esfahan. He played one season only for Al Arabi club while the low final table position of the club was  one of the reasons the two sides parted company.

Qatar is coached by the Brazilian Sebastião Lazaroni . Both Iran and Qatar are in the same group of the FIFA World Cup qualifying group – Asian Zone.

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Melli will be camping in Hungary in preparation for the match against Lebanon. Mr.  Ayatollahei Vice President of Iran Football Federation , has confirmed the camp  details and also advised the media that correspondences with Tunisian FA has be initiated in order to arrange a friendly match between Tunisia National Team and Team Melli  with a proposed  date being 13^th August. Mr. Ayatollahei did emphasize that the arrangement has yet to be finalized but he was hopeful to sign an agreement in a few days from now.

Meanwhile,  Sami Al Traboulsi , Tunisian Head Coach confirmed that there is an ongoing  negotiation with the Iranians to arrange a friendly. He said that it will be a perfect opportunity for his team ahead of the encounter with Sierra Leone. Both Iran and Tunisia are involved in the qualification rounds of FIFA World Cup 2012 in Brazil.

Iran will be facing Lebanon in Beirut on September , 11th in match day 3 of the Final qualification rounds – Asian Zone. Iran is ranked second behind Korea Republic ahead of Qatar on goal difference.

Tehran

The Iranian football federation (IRFFI) President has demanded the release of his federation’s money blocked by the Americans Government for over a year.

In an act of victimization and in direct contradiction of American & Global stance of separating politics and sport , especially at these days where the spirits of Olympics games is on the ascend  , the US authorities have blacked the transfer of US$ 1 million ,  a sum awarded to the Iranian Football federation by Kuala Lumpur based Asian Football Federation (AFC).  Ali Kafashian has strongly protested this illicit act by the American Government and demanded the immediate release of the funds to his federation which is a Non-Government Organization (NGO) operating under the FIFA regulations.   Kafashian in a statement in Tehran today, said, “ that there is no basis whatsoever for the American Government to black our money. We are a NGO and have nothing to do with politics. We have approached the AFC and several other organizations to persuade the Americans to release our money, which we are desperate to have, to no avail.”

There is no independent confirmation from the US government or any justifications for blocking a foreign NGO fund. However, The tighter trade sanctions recently imposed on Iran and the increasing  American pressure on other nations to follow suit to pressurize the Islamic Republic to abandon its  Nuclear program , measures which  includes forcing other nations and foreign  corporations all across the world  to stop dealing with Iran , has also extended to sanction against sport federations.

The American political pressure in Iran has ultimately created an increasing number of cases of discrimination against Iranian-Americans such as the case of , Sahar Sabet, a 19-year-old Iranian-American woman, who was improperly prevented from buying an iPad at an Apple store in Alpharetta, Ga. Because she spoke Persian! There is also a major case brewing in Canada where many Iranian-Canadians in Vancouver accused TD Bank Group of discriminating against the community by abruptly closing their bank accounts. Historically and ultimately , political events  have influenced and  threatens to affect people’s  behavior resulting in discriminatory acts against  Iranian community in the west.

Ali Kafashian stated that Team Melli has not responded well to the aspiration of its fans and therefore Carlos Queiroz has been warned.

In an interview given to The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Ali Kafashian talking about the chances of Team Melli’s for qualification to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil explained, “ The team had good preparations and played lots of games. The Team performed well in the preliminary qualification rounds until the last two games (Uzbekistan & Qatar). In the past two games the players were not worthy of their national team status. We have two objectives to meet with the team, the qualification to the World Cup and second in the World Cup itself ,  playing well against strong teams.

“Just going to Brazil to appear in the World Cup is not important , we need to perform well and be strong in all the games. That is very important. When we observe Korea and Japan , we see that they are going forward with high confidence, but this is not evident in the Iranian national team. Team Melli has to meet the demands of people and we hope this is the case and the team performs better next time. I was really scared while watching the game with Uzbekistan. We warned Carlos Queiroz about that poor performance , but he also had his excuse and attributed the poor performance to poor preparation and because of the intense league program.

Asked if the administration meets with Queiroz to assist his preparation for Qualifying the finals , Kafashian responded that the federation has done everything possible to support Queiroz including cancelling of the Hazfi cup to give him time to prepare since he complained previously about like of preparation time. On top of our League matches , we also need to abide by the AFC program as there are few commitments that we have no option but to meet such as the AFC Champions League. We asked AFC to re-schedule the Champions League dates to allow more time for  Team Melli preparation. We have a crucial period starting September and have arranged at least two friendly matches for Team Melli.

Kafashian on a TV sports programs in response to the question whether these major changes in the Iran’s football program is worth it ? Stated: We have the World Cup once every four years and to qualify for that tournament is very important to us. However, the Cup and League games are held every year and we should not give excuses to the technical staff. They all wanted to cooperate this year, so the technical and development committee of experts and members have requested the Federation to help Queiroz. I accept that if you go to the World Cup, but the result is poor , it will be difficult. Even if we play well, but fail to qualify for the World Cup , people will not feel bad , but if we qualify but perform badly and concede four goals from Mexico , it reflects badly on us all.

About supporting football federation officials of the UAE Federation in their run for the Presidency of the AFC, Kafashian stated: Chairman of the UAE federation, is also the AFC competitions’ chairman. Our people have to discuss various issues with him and also exchange  views. Our Federation members also went to the UAE to share some ideas with them. It is all about collaboration, but the case of cancelling the friendly match is closed as we did not want to pursue it any further. That cancellation was based purely on political act. However, they need our cooperation, we do not need them.

Football Federation confirmed the presence of Iranian players have been banned in the UAE, said since the opening of the market for our players to the Persian Gulf states , our football have suffered and we have no interest in it. However , UAE has boycotted Iranian player again based on politics. It is a blessing in disguise quite like the boycott by the United States which is making our nations even more stronger and self-reliant. The sanctions are our gains.

He also delivered a warning to the clubs in regards to the professional licensing documents for submission to the AFC, Kafashian emphasized: this is only a warning, the club have to send to the AFC all relevant documents of all the Iranian league clubs in order to gain their professional license in Asia and operate as a company. To date, 85 percent of our documents are ready and to prepare these documents , they should be delivered tomorrow and we will subsequently send them to the AFC.

Kafashian also emphasized that he does not have any role in the votes issued by the disciplinary committee, he added: I also criticized the disciplinary committee decisions. There was a long delay in ruling on the Futsal case which eventually resulted in the second team Gitipasand went to represent us in Asia. Gitipasnd been successful in Asia and reached the final time that I say congratulations to them.

Abdulla Yusuf Helal scored for Bahrain after 45+1 minutes with the Iranians’ Morteza Pouraliganji equalising three minutes into the second half in the final match or the Asian Cup Group C qualifiers in Melaka , Malaysia.

Iran, who have accumulated 13 points and played five matches, opened their campaign by beating Kuwait 1-0, then Qatar 2-1, the Maldives 7-0 and Tajikistan 2-0, while the Kuwaitis first lost to Iran 0-1, then defeated Bahrain 1-0, Tajikistan 1-0 and Qatar 2-0.

The two best teams from the seven groups, the best third-placed team and the hosts will be pitted in the inaugural edition of the championship which will serve as the Asian qualifiers for the Olympic Football Tournaments. The finals will be played on 11-26 January 2014.

Final Table

 or the last few days there have been many conflicting reports about the next season’s cup competition. The Hazfi Cup, translated into the Knock out Cup , has been  the center of some controversy which all ignited by some sources within the Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) declaring that this coming season will have no Hazfi Cup competition.

The justification for the elimination of this long lasting and popular competition which includes many teams from all the IRIFF league divisions, is the fact that Team Melli is involved in the World Cup qualification and hence the cancellation of this competition will assist in the preparation of the National Team!

Hadi Ayatollahei, the Vice-President of the federation has been quoted by Mehr news agency that the Cup competition is cancelled, A few hours later a conflicting statement was given by the second Vice-President t of IRIFF, Gholamreza Behravan, who said that the federation is still awaiting a verdict by the Asian Football Confederation on the outcome, so there is no decision on the status of the Hazfi Cup yet!.

There were also some reports that the cancellation of the Hazfi cup was based on a request from the Team Melli coach, Carlos Queiroz. This prompted the Portuguese coach to issue an angry denial in which he categorically dismissed any involvement by himself or his coaching team on decision to whether the cup competition will go ahead or not.

To confuse matters further, Omid Jamali, The International Public Relations Manager of IRIFF, has denied any knowledge of any correspondence between his federations and the AFC in regards to this issue as quoted by Mehr news.

TeamMelli.com contacted AFC to check the status of this merry-go-round affair. AFC’s Shahin Rahmani confirming that a correspondence has been received by AFC requesting a ruling by AFC on the validity of canceling the Cup Competition. The request will be addressed by the two AFC committees before a decision is given.  The matter will be will be referred to the “Professional Football Ad-Hock Committee” and “Competitions Committee” on July 17 & 18 for their reference and decisions.

There is very little doubt that the cancellation of Hazfi Cup has been discussed in the IRIFF be it in a limited capacity or in a general meeting. What remains a mystery is how those who support such cancellation of a very old and established competition in Iran’s history and league calendar, will support and enhance Team Melli’s chances of qualification to Brazil in 2014. In the last three times that Iran qualified to the Finals of the FIFA World Cup and during the seventies golden era when Team Melli won the Asian Cup unprecedented 3 times on the trot , there was no such cancellation of the cup competition. In fact Iran holds the World record for total of matches played in a World Cup qualifications in 1997 , when Team Melli qualified to the World Cup 1998 in France , playing 27 matches , the cup competition was played as normal.

It remains to be seen what is the final verdict on this completion and what true justification the federation has to cancel it.

 Sources: AFC. Mehrnews, IRIFF

With about 10 days before the transfer deadline set by the league competitions committee of Iran’s Football Federation, a third of Team Melli player have transferred and changed clubs. A few of those players who have not signed extension of contracts with their present clubs are also candidates for transfer if better contracts are offered from rival clubs.

Amongst the players that are still undecided , Team Melli’s Captain and current Osasuna player , Javad Nekounam is the most prominent .  Despite the negotiation that is currently ongoing between the player and Esteghlal Club , there has been no words of agreement although the chances are strong that Nekounam would be leaving the La Liga club .

Mohammad Reza Khaltbari , who played for Diego Maradona’s club Al Wasl of Dubai , is another Team Melli player without a club after the UAE league club did not renew his contract. Another Team Melli player leaving his club for the same reason is the defender Hadi Aghili who , like Khalatbari is still undecided and out of contract.

Although such changes of clubs has become a normal occurrence in Iran for the last decade or so , such large percentage of turnovers  to Team Melli players is unique.  These transfers take more prominence when one considers Team Melli’s current commitments and participation in the FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifications matches.

With players changing clubs and naturally requiring time to adapt to their new coaches , teammates and tactical plans, this puts added burden on them and could very well affect their forms during Team Melli training camps and matches in the WC Qualification matches.

The stability of players both physically and mentally is crucial for this stage of the qualification rounds. Team Melli has not exactly performed to the expectations of the fans and the media. Two poor performances so far in the qualification, the last of was against a capacity crowd at Azadi Stadium against Qatar ,  increased the pressure on Queiroz and his players to deliver what was promised to the fans.

The next match against Lebanon away in Beirut is significant as it will shape the group outlook where South Korea seems to have already taken an unassailable lead after two matches. Team Melli requires a strong performance against what looks like the weakest Team in the group , but the competition is such that even Lebanon can create headaches for Queiroz especially with the lackluster of Team Melli’s performances of late.

The large number of players changing club could have an effect on Team Melli , of course we are hoping it will be positive.

Two goals from Payam Sadeghian’s 3rd minute penalty and the second from Yaghoub Karimi from Sadeghian’s fine assist , was enough to defeat Tajikistan and maintain Iran’s perfect record.

This win keeps Iran at the top of the table and assured qualification to the next round. in the final match against Bahrain , Iran’s U22 team required to avoid defeat for the qualification.

Iran maintained their winning start to the AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifiers on Thursday with a thumping 7-0 win over Maldives.

Goals from Payam Sadeghian and Kaveh Rezaei put the Iranians two up inside 18 minutes, before Morteza Tabrizi grabbed another to give his side a commanding lead at the break.

Milad Gharibi then grabbed a second-half brace along with a second from Tabrizi, before Bahram Dabbagh fired home a seventh in injury-time to make it three wins from three for Iran.

In a one sided match , Iran U-22 team easily disposed of Maldives 7 -0 in the third match of AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION, Team Melli U22 team therefore maintained its perfect record and it verge of qualifying for the final tournaments in 2013.

Iran scored as early as the 7th minute when a foul by Maldives defender inside the boc resulted in a penalty which Payam Sadeghian converted with ease. Kaveh Rezaei  then scored on the 18th while Morteza Tabrizi  made it 3-0 on the 21st minutes. The first half ended 3-0 with Maldives using some rough tactics to stop the superiority of Iran’s players.

The win means they are currently top of Group C, three points clear of Qatar and Kuwait, who recorded 1-0 wins over Bahrain and Tajikistan respectively

AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP 2013

QUALIFICATION

28-June-2012     17:00 MYT

Hang Jebat Stadium, Melaka, MALAYSIA               [Attendance]     100

MALDIVES                    IRAN

0                                 7

Scorers:  Payam Sadeghian (7 p) , Kaveh Rezaei (18) , Milad Gharibi (55, 82), Morteza Tabrizi (21,69), Bahram Dabbagh (90+1)

Maldives:  Abdulla Fayaz , Mohamed Thoriq , Amdhan Ali, Riley (c),Samdhooh Mohamed , Mohamed Thashmeen ( 46 Imaaz Ahmed) ,Ahmed Visam (73 Ahmad Ziaan Mohamed ), Mohamed Irufaan ,Guraish ,Moosa Yaamin, Hassan Wisaal(46 Abdulhannan Mohamed Sadin)

Head coach: Urbanyi Istvan Bela

Iran: Iman Sadeghi ,Vahid Esmaeilibeigi ,Shahryar Shirvand (c),Payam Sadeghian , Kaveh Rezaei (79  Bahram Dabbagh), Milad Gharibi , Ali Goudarzi ,Saeid Lotfi , Akbar Imani , Shahab Karami (86 Navid Khoshhava) ,Morteza Tabrizi (69 Saman Narimanjahan)

Head coach: Alireza Mansourian

Cautions: Hassan Wisaal (6) , Mohamed Thashmeen (28) , Moosa Yaamin (45+1), Shahab Karami  (49), Amdhan Ali (66), Guraish (88)

Iran’s National U-22 team defeated Qatar  2-1 in today’s match held in Meleka , Malaysia in the Group C qualifying matches for the AFC U-22 Asian Cup. Both Iranian goals were scored in the first half  by  minute 29 and MohammadReza Khanzadeh in 29^th  and two minutes , later in the 31st minutes Kaveh Rezaei made it 2-0. Qatar scored a consolation goal in the second half.

With this win , Iran lead the groups with 6 points

 Iran started the match playing calmly and spent most the initial 15 minutes probing the Qatari defenses.

The onslaught began in the latter stages with series of attacks from the flanks in order to open up the Qatari’s who were content to defend and

hope for a break in the counter attack. However , the sustained pressure by Iran did not allow the Qatari;s to advance much and during one of such Iranian offensives  and from a corner , Khanzadeh slotted the ball home to score Iran’s opener.

Qatar were on the brink of a quick plan change when Kaveh Rezaei robbed the ball from a Qatari defender and managed to create a one on one situation with Qatar’s goalkeeper. Rezaei made no mistake and scored Iran’s second less than 3 minutes from the first goal.

The referee from Hong Kong played on a suspicious penalty for Iran ans the rest of the match did not yield any more goals for Iran,

Qatar managed to score a consolation on the 92^nd minute.

Accordingly, Haj Amin Mohammadi has received his 2^nd yellow card and will suspended for the game against Maldives.

IRAN – QATAR

         2 – 1

AFC Asian Cup U22 Qualifications ,  Group C ,  Hang Tuah Stadium , Melaka

Scorers:  Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh  (29’) , Kaveh Rezaei   (31’)

Ali Reza Safarbeiranvand  ; Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh,  Mohammadamin HajMohammadi , Saeid Lotf , A

hmadreza  Zendehrooh  , Morteza Pouraliganji  (67’ Morteza Tabrizi ) , Yaghoub Karimi , Shahab Karami

, Farshad Ahmadzadeh (79’ Saman Narimanjahan) ,  Kaveh Rezaei  , Mohsen Mosalman (83’ Navid Khoshhava)

Coach : AliReza Mansourian

Yellow Cards:  , Mohsen Mosalman (15’) ,  Saeid Lotf (30’),  Mohammadamin HajMohammadi (71’)