Category: Blog

Why is the match tomorrow in Azadi closed to the fans?

If you have been following the events of Iran’s football lately, you must have heard the good news of Azadi being opened for a limited percentage of its capacity for fans under the strict protocols. The requirement of AFC includes 2 shots of COVID19 vaccinations amongst a list of other requirements. The opening of the Azadi gate was given by  FFIRI President Aziz Khadem and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sajjadi.

48 hours before the match, there was a U-turn as FFIRI announced that Azadi will not be open to the fans after all. The football federation did not specifically mention the reason for the change of heart but leaks from FFIRI headquarters insinuated that due to some administrative difficulties, the FFIRI is not in full compliance and therefore no fans can be allowed to enter the stadium for the match against Korea Rep which has to be conducted behind closed doors.

in a matter of minutes, accusations of incompetence, lying, and downright ineptitude were thrown at the football federation in social media plus some semi-official media outlets leading the masses to believe that the failure to adhere to the AFC health protocol is the direct responsibility of the federation with their late application for authorization being one of the main reasons.

 Somehow, this account of administrative failure did not make sense. Many sources, including the FFIRI itself, have declared that the application was sent ahead of time, so there was no question of delay. Like always in Iran, one has to dig quite deep to get to the truth and this one is no exception.

ISNA sport corrospondance said

“While Team Melli fans were rejoicing and preparing to buy tickets to enter Azadi Stadium and celebrate the end of the two-year absence from the stadium, the Football Federation, after two months of storytelling, was finally unable to exercise its full right of hosting, and now Team Melli will be deprived of the support of the fans in one of the major Asian classic encounters.”

“It seems that mismanagement and lack of planning have taken root in Iranian football and this football is not going to breathe new life by changing its management. In the absence of infrastructure and financial resources, the fans are the only important and reliable assets of Iranian football. Thanks to the shortcomings and empty promises of the managers of the Football Federation, Team Melli will be deprived of this valuable capital in the match against South Korea. In the World Cup qualifiers, Iran is only host on paper.”

There is no argument about the incompetence of the federations managers, as the ISNA reporter rightly stated, but after some in-depth inquiry and insiders info, this time it seems that the federation was not that incompetent to be unable to get the process right for a straight forward authorization application from AFC. It is not rocket science after all as even FFIRI can complete it!.

So, what is the real reason for preventing the fans?

There are several theories but the one that is closet to reality in our opinion is the FIFA pressure on Iran to allow women entry into the stadium.

It was only in June that FIFA applied pressure to ensure that Iran allows female fans and expected the authorities to comply, or else. Under Rouhani women were allowed for a couple of matches, but now with Ebrahim Raisi in power, a hardline cleric who was previously head of the country’s judiciary, and has ultra-conservative political views the situation has changed, to the worst. Images of Iranian females waving flogs, taking selfies, wearing lipsticks, or cheering their national team, do not fit the bill. It could also be due to pressure from his hardliner peers’ which has forced the authorities from rescinding the agreement or the promise given to FIFA.

Allowing women in stadiums in Iran in 2019 for the first time since the revolution. was a personal triumph for the Chief of FIFA after a strong reminder from the World Football governing body that Iran would face expulsion from the World Cup if they do not follow the FIFA rules. “Fifa’s stance on the access of women to the stadiums in Iran has been firm and clear: women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran. For all football matches,” Fifa had said in a statement at the time.

So, Covid is one great convenient and timely excuse for the authorities to dodge the issue and close the great Azadi for everyone.  Technically speaking, Iran has not broken FIFA rules on women in stadiums.

It can be easily said that Iran has outfoxed FIFA, AFC, Infantino, and everyone else by this simple step. Iran cannot be sanctioned because this step does not target women only but everybody.

After all, the west has experienced firsthand the cunning and skills of the Iranian while negotiating the JCPOA. The Iranians managed to settle everything and agree on terms in 2015 only for one not-so-smart Donald Trump, a shallow person, an inexperienced politician,  to tear it off thinking that he can outsmart the Iranians by quitting the pact and exerting more pressure demanding more strict terms.

History says Iranians did not budge and did not accept the blackmail while it witnessed Trump’s failure. The businessman President of the USA could not outdo the Iranians and it seems like FIFA, a much less of an adversary to the Americans, will see the same fate. After all, they are dealing with carpet merchants with a tradition dating thousands of years.

Why is Jahanbakhsh move is a win-win situation?

When Alireza Jahanbakhsh, a pacy winger, who beats defenders with agility, capable of accurate and powerful shooting from distances, a player who was scoring goals at will, and recently being crown as the Highest Goalscorer of the Eredivisie elected to choose Brighton and Hove Albion, many eyebrows were raised.

Many Iranians fans had to Google Brighton, while others with more knowledge wondered what on earth attracted the promising Jahanbakhsh to a recently promoted club that will spend life in the top flight of the English League struggling not to be relegated!

Chris Houghton, then Brighton coach had a lot of faith in Jahanbakhsh and managed to convince the Team Melli winger to join his team even breaking the record of the club in transfer fee. He had plans for Jahanbakhsh, unfortunately, his faith did not survive the brutal reality of football as he was sacked.

It was always a question of survival for the seaside city team, which continued to struggle in the competitive  English Premier League.   In the late 1990s, Brighton was in the fourth tier of English football and were having financial difficulties. After narrowly avoiding relegation from the Football League to the Conference in 1997, some investors injected funds into the club and their fortune changed.

In the 2016–17 season, Brighton finished second in the EFL Championship and was thus promoted to the Premier League, ending a 34-year absence from the top flight. In the first 3 seasons, Brighton finished 15th, 17th, 15th in the Premier League.

It is no wonder that the focus of the club was different from the more established teams.

To maintain its status and avoid relegation, the strategy was based on tight defenses with physically strong players who would run and run the way classic English football has been known for in the hope of not conceding goals.

Brighton under Graham Potter was operating under this strategy as pressures to maintain the EPL status simply reduced the chances of a player in the caliber and capabilities of Alireza Jahanbakhsh. As such Jahanbakhsh did not fit in the grand scheme of the Brighton project.

In Hindsight, Jahanbakhsh made a poor choice opting to move to a struggling club in England, and despite his denial, he must regret all the wasted time in England. Feyenoord Rotterdam is a completely different class and category of football teams. One of the most successful clubs in Dutch football. A team synonymous with championships (15 Eredivisie titles, 13 KNVB Cups, and 4 Johan Cruyff Shields) European Titles (one European Championship, two UEFA Cups), legendary players, and occupants of one of the largest stadiums in the Netherlands and Europe (The Stadion Feijenoord capacity 51,177)

The scene is set for return to glory to Alireza Jahanbakhsh at Feyenoord. A coach that has worked with him before, knows him and loves his style, a team that is always challenging for the Eredivisie title (3rd, 3rd and fourth in the last 3 seasons), and most importantly, Alireza will be operating at his most favorable position in the right-wing where his success was evident in AZ Alkmaar.

There is also a great opportunity to improve his style and prowess working under the legendary Robin van Persie who is the striker’s coach at the club.

This is completely a different setup than the modest struggling Brighton.

At the recently concluded FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers, Team Melli qualified with full marks with many remarkable performances from the players such as  Azmoun, Taremi, and Ghoddos amongst others. However, Jahanbakhsh was less than impressive.

Even the likes of Kaveh Rezaei and Ghaedi played well, that cannot be said of Jahanbakjsh where there always is a lot of expectation from him. Sitting on the bench at club level and away from competitive football has always affected professional players and Alireza is no exception. Playing in mighty Feyenoord is a breath of fresh air for the capable winger and exceptionally good news for Team Melli too if he keeps playing regularly. He needs to prove himself, of course, but that will probably take some time in order to acclimatize and gain some of the confidence he lost in England.

The confidence will be provided by the capable and caring head coach Arne Slot. The future looks bright, let us hope Alireza Jahanbakhsh takes this opportunity well.

What is Queiroz’s real problem?

[row]
[column size=”1/2″] The controversial Portuguese has been hitting the headline lately with some provocative and to many, some offensive statements.  “Team Melli ship is sinking “ that is how he described a team which just hit 9 goals in 2 international friendly matches this week three of them against a European opposition.

 
For that statement alone, Queiroz must have lost quite a few friends and the paltry number that showed up in Azadi on Tuesday against Kyrgyzstan is a testament of his popularity. His last statement in an interview given to Radio Varzesh has not been received too favorably in the press even amongst his allies and suitors.  
What is behind the continuous nagging and rhetoric of Queiroz i? What is the real story ?
Does Queiroz think that his “Lack of resources” pretexts are sold so easily on the masses? No one in the history of Team Melli coaching , including expatriates such as the long serving Branko Ivankovic, has received so much funding as him and during his reign. Facts and figures are evidence of that.  The local Team Melli Iranian coaches like Daei and Ghalenoei would have dreamed of the type of support this Queiroz has been receiving.
Not that Queiroz is wrong in demanding the best for Team Melli, but the fact remains that this is the type of structure and management that administers football in Iran always had and nothing will dramatically improve real soon. Only the naïve will believe that Mehdi Taj, with all the good intents, will revolutionize the football in Iran. Queiroz is much savvy and clever to believe all the promises that Taj has given him lately.
If Queiroz is not complaining about lack of funds and resources, he usually gets embroiled in verbal battle and assault with someone.  It could be the VP of the FFIRI, another coach, a Lady administrator, the Director of Azadi stadium, journalist, TV reporter and the list goes on. He has no respect for his position nor does he care much about the slander and defamation laws of the country either. That seems to be strange since another famous antagonist, whose tongue slashing is legendary, was jailed recently after a court case where the judge found him guilty of defamation and contempt. That is the famous Daei vs. Mayeli-Kohan case. Queiroz is so far has a diplomatic immunity and can say whatever he likes.
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[column size=”1/2″] It seems that no one is immune from the Portuguese wrath, including Minister of Sport and his associates!
It is possible that many punters believe him and support his cause, but behind all this belies a fact or two  that needs a careful scrutiny.
Known Fact one: Carlos Queiroz does NOT want to continue working with Team Melli and working in Iran. Proof and evidence: he has submitted his resignation, which was rejected as he is bound by a contractual obligation. Queiroz is also known for his continual absent from Iran on holiday or assignment abroad.
What are the reasons for Queiroz’s lack of enthusiasm for Team Melli? Only Queiroz himself knows but it could anything of these, lucrative offers from other countries, a new challenge needed, lack of riches in Iran, lack of total and absolute support, difficulty adjusting to Iranian social life, and/or doubt in the fortunes of Team Melli as evident from his notorious quote “Team Melli ship is sinking”
Known Fact two: with the renewal of his contract after the last World Cup, Queiroz must serve the period or pay penalties if he opts out. The quickest way and the most profitable for him is to get the sack. Not only the FFIRI has to pay the severance amount, they have to pay him until the remaining of the contract. It is in the millions of US$ and FFIRI is certainly not willing perhaps incapable of raising that money.
As such, Queiroz rhetoric will continue while Taj and Kaffashian will set suffering the embarrassment of the old moaning Portuguese. Kaffashian , incidentally , still has a plenty of major roles in FFIRI although he is officially only the Deputy for Taj.
It is a pitiful situation for a team that has been sitting at the top of Asian FIFA ranking for over two years. A team, although failed to win any trophies, managed to qualify for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil and has a big chance of repeating it again. A team that has played some good matches, beautiful football and defeated Chile, the Copa America Champions. A team that has only lost once in that period against Sweden, scored 48 goals in 19 matches since January 2015 and has a winning percentage of 73.7% in all competitions
Unless there is an intentional sabotage brewing within Team Melli, we have a strong belief that this team with a set of young talented players mixed with experienced campaigners has plenty of potential and can make it to the World Cup. This is hardly a sign of a team sinking.
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Lack of fans interest, is that the warning sign?

After 4 years at the helm, the status and popularity of Carlos Queiroz remains a mystery. While some media such as Navad program lead us to believe that he is an immensely popular head coach , the attendance and interest  of fans to watch Queiroz and Team Melli tells another story.

Many believe that Team Melli and football in Iran does not generate that world renowned Persian Passion and patriotic sentiments anymore. Such passion that drove Millions of joyous Iranians to the streets of Iranian cities singing, dancing and celebrating the victory against Australia and qualification to the FIFA World Cup 1998.

iran-chile gb

No more than 15,000 fans (estimated figure) turned out in the magnificent Azadi stadium, on Tuesday to watch the friendly international between Iran and Japan. Two of the top teams in the continent with household names playing is a guarantees for attracting a sizable crowd anywhere else in football capitals of the world, Fans in Tehran think otherwise. This paltry number of Iranian fans speaks volume about the popularity of Team Melli and particularly its coach. That is a worrying sign for Iran’s football.

Add to it, the poor figure the attendances of the league matches, then the problem is magnified!

Queiroz in Bangkok Press conference.

The connection between the popularity of Team Melli players, matches results, coaches and the attendances of fans is indisputable. Hence, it is telling us that the team is not too popular despite the attempts of some media to paint a different picture through manipulation of polls.

The role of the team coach is so important as it reflects the image of the team. Carlos Queiroz remains a bit of an enigma. He is a man who seems to be firefighting on all fronts. For the uninitiated and those who are alien to Iran’s football, from the rants and rhetoric of the Portuguese coach, it seems that everyone is against him; at least that is what he implies. He is always accusing someone or somebody of being an enemy not only against him but against Iran and Team Melli. He portrays himself as Mr. Know-it-all and the rest of Iran has to learn from him.

This sort of attitude is wearing off on people and many Iranian fans don’t buy it anymore. Queiroz remains the first choice and much more popular in comparison to any of the local coaches, but people cannot keep on hearing his war stories and feeble excuses for some less than ideal results.

[quote class=”If we did not want him, we would not have signed with him after the World Cup”]Japan football is 25 years ahead of Iran’s [/quote]

Carlos Queiroz

As it happened, Team Melli played very well against Japan and could have won the game, but that beautiful show of football is not repeated on regular basis. Team Melli can excel in one match while flop in another in matter of days.

As much as Queiroz has to be credited for introducing younger bloods in the teams, he is also accountable for tactical naivety, lack of ideas in some matches and failure respond under pressure. Oman match and that of Turkmenistan were solid evidence of those.

To complicate this issue further, Iran remains at the top of FIFA ranking in Asia ahead of Korea, Australia and Japan, which Queiroz claimed that its football  (Japan )is 25 years ahead of Iran. Queiroz did not care to explain why Japan is behind Iran in the ranking all these months and years.

In all cases, the popularity of Team Melli can only be revived by solid performances and results, which at the moment seems to be inconsistent.

Editor’s Blog : World Media outlook on Team Melli.

Scouring the web looking for interesting articles about the greatest football show on earth, and mainly looking at the World’s prestigious media for reviews on Group ‘F’ which Includes Argentina, Nigeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina in addition to Team Melli, it is surprising how some reporters have superficial and sometime no knowledge of Iran’s football while writing reviewing the prospects of Group ‘F’ teams. Obviously analyzing Argentina is a no brainer. As one of the candidates to lift the FIFA World Cup 2014 and a star-studded team that includes the best player in the world, the exposure and information is so readily available in all forms of media, making the job of analysis that easy.

Information on Bosnia-Herzegovina as a European team with some star players like Edin Dzeko , is also easily available in the press and the web. To lesser extent is Nigeria, although good dossiers of their European based players are available for reviews and analysis and used extensively.

It is not the same with Iran. Much of the analysis is focused around the few European based players particularly Ashkan Dejagah. Alireza Jahanbakhsh is the other player who has received a good, and one must say, deserved exposure lately. Others like Nekounam and Shojae have been mentioned but the information about them refers to their days in Osasuna and somehow ancient. Football team is more just a handful of players, and analysis of a team based on a few of them falls short of being accurate and reliable. Hence, most of the analysis around the web and other media, gives Iran very little chance of success based on their inadequate knowledge of Team Melli. That is ambiguous for the World Cup fans, but perhaps it could work well for the team being the weak outsider. However, it is doubtful that the coaches of Iran’s opponents in Group ‘f’ are as shallow and ill-informed about the capabilities, strength and weaknesses of Team Melli as some of the reviewers around the net.

On the other hand, and from personal experience, the truly knowledgeable journalist and reporters whom one can depend on their analysis and reviews about Iran’s football, are the foreign reporters who reside or based in the Middle East. This group’s work is meticulous, thorough and one can really observe that the analysis has been researched properly.

For what is worth, we like to remind all, that Ashkan Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejad were born in Iran and both speak Farsi.

Gucci-&-Ashkan