Category: News

Taremi shines again and leads Porto to top the group

FC Porto and Team Melli striker, Mehdi Taremi, once again made the headlines as the Portuguese club defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the last game of Group B of the UEFA Champions League.

Porto went ahead in the fifth minute when forward Taremi tapped in a cross from Evanilson, registering his fifth goal in the Champions League this season. Porto had already qualified for the last 16 but leapfrogged Club Brugge to finish as group winners with 12 points, one point ahead of the Belgians who also went through.

Taremi, for the second match in a row, managed to finish as the MVP of the difficult encounter against the powerful Diego Simeone players. Atletico Madrid failed to qualify from the group.

The five goals that Mehdi Taremi has scored so far is the highest number that has been achieved by any Iranian player in the history of the UEFA Champions League. The Iranian player from the Persian Gulf port city of Bushehr thus ensured that his name will be in the record books for many years to come. With 5 goals scored in five games, Taremi is on par with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski in the list of top scorers of the UCL this season. Mohammed Salah (Liverpool) with 7 goals leads the table followed by Kylian Mbappe (PSG). Taremi finds himself amongst the elite of European elites to the delight of the Iranian fans.

Queiroz complains and then threatens!

According to Mehr’s reporter, today’s training of the Iranian national football team was held in a situation where

Carlos Queiroz appeared in front of reporters for a few minutes to explain the latest developments and the conditions of his team. In his short conversation with the press, the Portuguese head coach of Team Melli complained about the training camp progress which he claimed was ruining his plans. He predicted that the preparation of Team Melli collapsing!!

In the beginning, he said: “For whatever reason, our preparation program is not moving in the right direction. You are aware that preparation is a key step in the path ahead and without it, we cannot achieve an ideal condition.” The head coach of the national team, for the first time, indirectly warned that some players not participating in this current training of the squad might face the chop. He said: “Now that we don’t have these players, it is difficult to check on their forms, rediness and standards. Probably, some of them will miss the opportunity to be on the national team.” Queiroz raised this issue of Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan and Shoja’a Khalilzadeh, the two central defenders , who had to return to Qatar after two weeks of training with the national team, by the order of the Al-Ahli club.

In this regard, he said: “Unfortunately, Qatar’s Al-Ahli Club did not allow Shoja’a Khalilzadeh and Kananizadegan to continue training with us. Five weeks without a football game is hard for them to be on the roster. I have to think about this again. All players must practice and play and be available. Queiroz also mentioned the absence of Esteghlal players in this round of training. The Esteghlal players are training for the Super Cup match against Nasaji, and now it is not clear whether the head coach of the national team is referring to the possibility of some players being crossed out from Team Melli roster. It is not clear if Queiroz exclusion warning was towards the Esteghlal player on Team Melli list or the defensive line pair of the Al-Ahli club.

In any case, Queiroz is back to his old tricks preparing people in case of failure in the World Cup. Al Ahli club have done Team Melli a favor by realsing the players for two weeks as they are under no obligation to release them a month before the start of the World Cup. Estghla Club is also in the same boat as Al Ahli as Esteghlal have an important match in the domestic league calender. They are playing the Nasiji in the super cup.

Iran ‘tried to kidnap 127-cap international legend Ali Karimi after issuing arrest warrant for criticizing regime’

IRAN tried to kidnap a former national football team captain for criticising the regime, according to his friend.

Ex-skipper Ali Karimi made 127 appearances for his country between 1998 and 2012, including at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Ali Karimi is at the centre of a kidnap attempt by the Iranian regime

Ali Karimi is at the centre of a kidnap attempt by the Iranian regimeCredit: AFP

However, he is now said to be living in exile in the UAE and at the centre of a social media, ploy to lure him back to his homeland because of his support for recent protests. Karimi, 43, went public with comments following the shocking arrest and death in custody three days later of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September for wearing her hijab incorrectly.

As reported by The Times, that resulted in an arrest warrant, accusing Karimi of “collusion with the intention of acting against national security”.

And now pal Mehdi Rostampour has detailed how an elaborate plan to capture the former Bayern Munich playmaker was devised.

In a lengthy social media post, Rostampour described how a “celebrity” (alleged to be Mehran Modiri) with alleged links to the regime wanted to follow Karimi’s lead and leave the country, requesting to meet in Fujairah, UAE. The message was sent to Karimi via another footballer he knew – but the sporting icon grew suspicious. Rostampour said: “Karimi was not keen on meeting him in any case.

“But just before the set time, he received a text from a friend saying, ‘Fujairah is a trap’.

“Who was the sender? Someone from within the intelligence ministry!”

Rostampour alleged the plan – conjured up by Iran’s intelligence ministry – was to force Karimi onto a boat, ship him back to Iran and strongarm him into making a false confession on state TV.

Around 200 people have died at the hands of security authorities while many of the crowds have chanted Karimi’s name. It is thought Iran wants to silence Karimi as a powerful voice of opposition – and he has reportedly had his passport confiscated yet still managed to fly to the UAE. Rostampour concluded: “Fortunately Ali Karimi is in good hands and safe. He has committed no crime other than standing by his people.”

people.”

All my pain and sorrow is the safety of the people in Iran

Ali Karimi

Karimi said on Monday: “I thank my countrymen who are worried about my humble self. “I and my family have been threatened and are threatened in various ways. But I am not important. “I still mourn my countrymen across Iran and all my pain and sorrow is the safety of the people in my homeland.”

There are growing calls for Fifa to banish Iran from the World Cup due to the oppressive regime and human rights record as well as the government supplying drones to Russia in their illegal invasion of Ukraine.

 

 

Grand performance by Mehdi Taremi in UCL.

Team Melli’s central striker Mehdi Taremi accomplished a grand Man-Of-the-Match performance for his team, FC Porto, against the group leaders Club Brugge by leading them to a 4-0 win away.

In the 33rd minute, Taremi opened the scoring with an immaculate snooker-type shot into the former Liverpool keeper Mignolet. The 30-year-old forward also closed the match with his second and Porto’s fourth in the 70th minute.

Meanwhile, Taremi also provided a slick pass to assist Eustaquio for the third goal in minute 60.

Taremi could have easily scored a hat trick, but his effort earlier in the first half was shot high off the mark while he was on-to-one against Mignolet.

Sergio Conceicao’s FC Porto is second in the table and would qualify early if Atletico Madrid fails to beat Bayer Leverkusen, missing Azmoun, in the later match.

With a rating of 9.1 and a man-of-the-match performance, Taremi has primed at the right time for the World Cup in less than a month.

AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 draw

Tashkent: The continent’s rising stars are set for exciting tussles following the completion of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 draw on Wednesday.
The 16 teams were divided into four groups with the top two from each group to advance to the quarter-finals in the March 1 to 18, 2023 showpiece.
Hosts Uzbekistan were placed in Group A alongside Indonesia, Iraq and Syria.
Group B will see Qatar, Australia, Vietnam, and Iran vying for the quarter-final berths while Korean Republic, Tajikistan, Jordan, and Oman are the four teams in Group C.
Group D saw defending champions Saudi Arabia, Japan, China PR, and the Kyrgyz Republic being drawn together.

Youth Competitions Brand Reveal

Besides continental glory, there will be four tickets at stake for the FIFA U20 World Cup 2023, which will return to Asia in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11.
Draw Result
Group A: Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria
Group B: Qatar, Australia, Vietnam, Iran
Group C: Korea Republic, Tajikistan, Jordan, Oman
Group D: Saudi Arabia, Japan, China PR, Kyrgyz Republic

Top Team Melli players who missed the World Cup.

Iranian stars who missed the World Cup

During the five times that Iran qualified for the World Cups, big names missed out on participating in the World Cup squads due to injuries.

Injuries are one of the biggest concerns of national coaches before the World Cup. As we get closer to these competitions, the fear of injury increases every time the stars fall. During the past few days, new players have been added to the list of those who missed the World Cup. For many players who have been injured for a long time and are undergoing treatment to be on time for this event, it is not clear what percentage of preparation they will need to be fit for the World Cup and whether they can help their team or not.

There is also this concern about Iran. Carlos Queiroz monitors the performance of the players who are likely to be on the final list every day. He has assigned his assistants inside and outside Iran to monitor the level of readiness of his players on daily basis, two of his assistants left Iran to continue the task of checking on the legionnaires a few days back. Many experts believe that along with the technical and tactical preparation of the teams, the luck of the teams in having their players in this World Cup and not getting injured before this important event is very important.

A look at the history of Iran’s Team Melli also confirms that sometimes injuries have plagued the teams and Iran has not been able to perform at its best.

ARGENTINA 1978

For the first time in history, Iran qualified for the FIFA World Cup when only 16 teams had such honor. Unfortunately, Iran left out three key players, while one star was half-fit.  A few days before departing for Argentina, Reza Adelkhani was injured in a freak domestic accident that left him with severe swelling and a broken knee, he was left out.

Gholamhossein Mazloomi, the prolific striker and arguably Iran’s best missed the World Cup due to a long-term injury, leaving Team Melli with young and little-known strikers such as Hossein Fekri and Behtash Fariba. However, Iran’s greatest and most celebrated player Parviz Ghleechkhani missed the world cup altogether not because of any injury but due to political decisions as a result of his anti-regime leanings.

Hassan Rowshan, one of the scoring hopes of Iran was listed in the squad carrying an injury.  and cannot accompany the national team as he should. 

GHOLAMHOSSEIN MAZLOOMI
Gholamhossein Mazloomi
Parviz Ghleechkhani
Mohammad Reza Adelkhani

France 1998

While there were no significant key players missing for this edition before departure to France, Reza Shahroudi, the left back, suffered an untimely injury while he was at his peak. He lost his seat and Team Melli was suddenly in a great panic to find a replacement in time.

Injuries occurred during the 1998 World Cup in France. Team Melli suffered from injuries at the wrong time. Ahmadreza Abedzadeh, the No 1 goalkeeper, was injured before the start of the first match against Yugoslavia to add to the worries at the defense in addition to Sharoudi’s absence. Iran lost 1-0. 

Germany 2006

Sattar Zare, the favorite left defender of Branko Ivankovic, was injured a few days before their departure to Germany for the World Cup, Branko Ivankovic had to look for an alternate. While at his peak, Mojtaba Jabbari did not make it to the World Cup due to a torn cruciate ligament. But a single player who was more prominent in the team and the one that worried the head coach was Alireza Vahedi-Nikbakht. The Esteghlal star enjoying his best playing days was the best-left winger in Iran in those days and he recently won the championship with Esteghlal, but a bad injury prevented him from making it to the World Cup and Mehrzad Madanchi was his replacement in Germany. 

Sattar Zare
Alireza Vahedi-Nikbakht
Mojtaba Jabbari

BRAZIL 2014

Hashem Beikzadeh suffered the strangest of injuries. He was a certainty as the left defender of Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup 2014, but the injury destroyed his dream and he went to the World Cup in Brazil only as a spectator. 

Hashim Beikzadeh

Russia 2018

The 2018 World Cup edition in Russia, had the most number of injuries. Ali Karimi, the central midfielder, missed the chance to play in the World Cup due to an injury. Dariush Shojaeian, who was becoming a regular in Team Melli’s squad, also was injured and missed the world cup due to a torn cruciate ligament.
 Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan one of  Carlos Queiroz’s favorite players, could not make it due to injury. Ali Golizadeh was on the list of Queiroz before the 2018 World Cup, but the injury in the last game in the final training match led to his exclusion as the young midfielder and winger missed this tournament.

Ali Karimi
Ali Gholizadeh
Hossein Kanani-Zadegan
Dariush Shojaeian

Qatar 2022

* Qatar World Cup 2022 From now on, it can be said that Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, the Hull City striker, is the first absentee from the squad for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, but there are still doubts about the next players. So far, Sardar Azmoun‘s injury has caused the most concern for the coaching staff and fans, but the necessary care is being taken for this player in order to make the squad to Qatar. Azmoun is likely to make it to the tournament according to the latest medical diagnosis as he is recovering well from the injury while warming up for the UCL match against Porto. Other players such as Ali Reza Beiranvand and Sarlak continue their recovery work with minor injuries and it does not seem that two will be absent in the World Cup. Carlos Queiroz, his third time with Iran in the World Cup is beaming with hope. He definitely does not need more bad news on the fitness of his players with less than a month to the start of the competition.

Azmoun could be back in St, Petersburg in January.

The Russian “sports” website claimed in a news article today that Sardar Azmoun is on the verge of returning to Zenit St. Petersburg team.

This sport media announced that “Sergei Sumak”, the head coach of Zenit, requested the club to recruit Sardar Azmoun in the winter transfer window in January 2023 and named the Team Melli striker team as one of the winter gifts for Sumak. A part of this site’s report states: “Zenit will try to bring back Sardar Azmoun from Bayer Leverkusen, where he has struggled recently.

According to reports, the Russian club is planning to arrange a loan deal for Azoun. It is possible that the contract has a permanent purchase option. “The transfer market website has estimated the price of Sardar Azmoun at 18 million euros.” Azmoun is highly valued by the Zenit, he was on this team roster for three seasons and holds the record for the most goals among Russian foreign players. He has scored 85 goals in Russia along with “Wagner Love”, the former striker of CSKA Club.

Before this, news about the interest of Russian clubs Zenit and Dynamo in acquiring Azmoun was published and denied by some media outlets in Russia. Today’s news on the sports site is the latest news related to the striker of the Iranian national team who is currently injured and out of action for Bayer Leverkusen.

Now Shakhtar sulking CEO is demanding!!

The Daily Mail has reported a Ukrainian team by the name of Shakhtar demanding FIFA to kick Iran out of the World Cup and replace it with Ukraine !!!!

The audacity of some is beyond belief!

The Daily Mail’s report says:

Shakhtar Donetsk’s CEO Sergei Palkin wants Ukraine to replace Iran at the World Cup amid reports Tehran has supplied Russia with drones to aid their invasion.

The Ukrainian capital city Kyiv was stuck by Iranian-made ‘kamikaze’ drones deployed by Russian forces last week.

President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed seven such drones had been shot down, while the United States said Iran has deployed military experts in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Footage emerged of police officers shooting down what local authorities described as an Iranian-made Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over Kyiv.

Iran has pleaded its ‘neutrality’ in the conflict but Ukraine has already downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran and now the chief of one of its leading football teams has demanded further punishment.

The Iranians open their World Cup campaign in Qatar against England on November 21 and also face the United States and Wales in Group B.

In a statement released on Shakhtar’s Twitter feed, Palkin wrote: ‘While the Iranian leadership will have fun watching their national team play at the World Cup, Ukrainians will be killed by Iranian drones and Iranian missiles.

The chief executive of Shakhtar Donetsk has called for Ukraine to replace Iran at the World Cup!!

Our Take…

So…it seems that the UIkranian’s motive has very little to do with any drones as the motive is for their team, which has lost in the play-off in the qualifiers, to get a free out-of-jail card similar to the Italian claims. These people have no virtue or honor and have mistaken football for the mafia and the cartel by trying to swindle their way into the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

As for the Ukrainian club, with zero achievements in its international history, the devious CEO of that club, if he had an ounce of honor, should have advised the Ukrainian national team players to engage themselves in defending their country and supporting the needy in their homeland, rather than spending a couple of weeks enjoying a first-class treat and luxury life in Doha while their families and friends are suffering under deadly attacks.

Of course, every team will get a minimum of two million dollars just being in Doha, perhaps that was not considered by the Ukrainian CEO as a motive for his cowardice demand, or has it?

 

The reader’s comments below that have not been moderated and are from the daily mail article.

WilliamsNike, Hub City, United States, 10 minutes ago

Lol oh go away Ukraine. Nobody cares

Why mix sport with politics? Football is one of the few pleasures left in Iran, that women can also enjoy. Punishing the footballers will not bother the Iranian Government in the slightest.

Jesus_Christ_is_Lord, Manchester, United Kingdom, 47 minutes ago

kick politics out of football…or does it only favor European football teams…remember the 2010 incident with the Togo team, when the government tried to step in and got banned for a few tournaments??

Two more friendly games for Team Melli.

According to the official website of Iran’s football federation FFIRI, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the vice president of the federation, said: “Following the start of the preparation process of the national team for a powerful presence in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, a friendly international match has been finalized against Nicaragua was determined. “Team Melli and Nicaragua will face off on November 10th in Tehran at 19:30. Furthermore, Mohammad Nabi said: “The national team will face the Tunisian national football team in their last preparatory meeting before the start of the World Cup. This meeting will be held on November 16th in Doha, Qatar.

Team Melli has never played Nicaragua and this central American team will be the 124th country that Team Melli has faced in its illustrious history. On the other hand, Iran and Tunis met twice with Tunisia winning once and the other match ending in a draw.

FIFA ignores calls for exclusion Iran from the World Cup.

The campaign to kick Iran out of the World Cup is still active and being pursued by various factions each looking at their own interests, however, it is pretty clear that FIFA has no interest in heeding this subject.

The Italian media, unashamedly are the flag bearers of this campaign hoping that their pathetic national team that did not qualify for the World Cup gets in from the backdoor. Iranian activists abroad are also chasing after FIFA due to the recent and ongoing brutal treatment of women and protesters in the country, the British have joined the party also claiming Iran is assisting the Russians by providing them with attack drones for use in bombing Kyiv in Ukraine. So, according to British twisted logic, Iran has to be thrown out of the World Cup while bombing Baghdad and killing thousands of civilians in the process was for the benefit of the Iraqis!

It remains to be seen if any other country will file a case against Iran’s participation in the FIFA World Cup perhaps due to the rising prices of pistachio, Oil, Gas, and Persian carpets!

The Iranian activist, who certainly have the right to campaign against the regime, are simply barking at the wrong tree. This  Team Melli is NOT a representative of the oppressive regime but a team that plays for the honor of the country regardless of who rules. The world is full of dictators and tyrants but you hardly hear that their national teams are banned or excluded from competitions except under exceptional conditions such as war and aggression against other countries. By sending letters to FIFA, the Iranian activist abroad would only make some noise nothing but.

While some Italian media had claimed that FIFA will decide on Iran’s exclusion from the World Cup in its meeting this week in New Zealand, there was no discussion about Iran’s football at Saturday’s meeting of the international body. To counter the Fake news, Marca newspaper said: “This morning’s meeting of the FIFA Supreme Council was held in Auckland, during which there was no discussion about the exclusion of the Iranian national football team from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”

Contrary to recent rumors and campaigns, the participation of Team Melli in the World Cup is a certainty. Iran is in Group B with England, Wales, and the USA with the first match scheduled for 21 November when Team Melli will open the campaign against England.

While Iran’s exclusion from the World Cup in the FIFA Counsel meeting was not even on the agenda, the hottest news from the meeting in Aukland was FIFA’s anger with broadcasters.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has criticized broadcasters for what he calls unacceptably low offers for rights to screen the Women’s World Cup next year