Abu Dhabi
teammelli.com report
The pre-match press conference of Iran vs Yemen match was conducted in Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium earlier today.
Iran Conference.
Masoud Shojaei, who accompanied Carlos Queiroz started the press conference responding to teammelli.com question of “What is the level of the team performance in the match ahead that will satisfy him? Will the team be inspired and go forward with a narrow straight forward win , or a big score margin?”
The Captain of Team Melli simply said “We want to be ourselves and play like we always play”
Questions then were asked of Queiroz, Answering about his statement that Yemen game is a final in itself; Queiroz said that there was a misunderstanding of what he has said.
“I didn’t say the game against Yemen was the most important game, I simply said that we will take each game as it comes and take it seriously. We are focusing on Yemen game, one game at the time.”
On his opinion on which team is the black horse of the championship.
Queiroz said “As far as I am concerned , Japan and South Korea are the two top contenders as they have invested heavily in football, have expansive youth program, quality infrastructure and they have the resources.”
“Next comes Australia with and couple of dreamers! 20 or 21 other dreamers” as Queiroz put it.
Asked about his aspiration in the championship , Queiroz said that he does not consider his team as title contender. “All I can say is that we will try to be better and if we win we win deservedly. “
On the conditions of the players, The head coach of Team Melli said “2 major players were not able to recover for the game on time, fortunately we have other options to replace them. It is not a major concern for us and I am happy with the situation, Injuries can happen to any team. UAE lost Omar Abdulrahman for the tournament and it already has a big impact on them”
Question ” Is there any lessons to be learned from the two games already played, UAE drew with Bahrain and title holder Australia lost to Jordan?
“It is always a warning for big teams. No team has a credit card that tells it that it is the favorite. We have to display our abilities. Yemen has a good coach, I praise him for working under difficult conditions, and they have beautiful players.”
“We are looking to play a good match that entertains the fans and makes them happy; we do have the ability to display such standard.”
A question was asked by a reporter saying that Team Melli fans and indeed Iranian all across the world followed you for many years now, what do you have to present to them in this championship?
“ We can’t control the outcome of the game!. We can control our commitment and attitude. I always challenge my players to play so that the fans are proud of them. Display positive attitude inside the pitch. Personally I feel proud if that is achieved”
Non-Committal.
Queiroz refrained from giving any promises apart from playing to entertain, as he put it. Short of entertainment, he has not declared or publicaly announced any championship aspiration as he puts Iran in the dreamers group with another 21 teams that plays second fiddle to Japan and Korea.
It is indeed a confusing and perhaps shattering statements for some fans who expect nothing less than lifting the trophy after 43 years of absence. It shows how Queiroz is detached from the public sentiments but if he really has such aspirations, then he is holding his cards close to his heart.
It needs no reminder that Queiroz is following his old and trusted style. By constantly reminding the world about the lack of resources in Iran and glorifying the opposition, even Yemen, he is limiting expectations. A win is a bonus but a loss is expected as he would easily respond by saying “I told you so”
Querioz has successfully navigated rough terrains of Iranian football by following such policy. Today he downplayed any championship expectation but it is not clear if the crowds like such lack of ambition.
Team Melli Training
The media was allowed to attend the first 15 minutes of the practice which was entirely dedicated to stretching exercise and light training with and without the ball. The goalkeepers then formed their own mini group and headed to far side for shooting training.
Player formed several circles passing the ball between themselves.
While a group was passing the ball, Biranvand got whacked in the face. The players of the group surrounded him to console him. It looked painful, but he emerged out of it laughing.
Stretching exercises while the press was allowed to watch was carried out in a jolly spirit. Some players displayed exceptional control of the ball.
Jahanbakhsh individually trained with Montazerri. He looked quite sharp despite his chances of playing against Yemen is slim.
YEMEN Press Conference
Yemen’s Czech trainer expressed his views in the formal diplomatic style that coaches deploy nowadays. Calling Iran as one of the best Asian teams that has played very well in Russia’s World Cup, he said he has no delusions about that he expects and what he can be achieved. He has studied Iran and knows that his team has a difficult task ahead, however, he has asked his team to play to their best ability. On the troubles and war in Yemen, Jan Kocian said that most of the selection was carried out by his assistant and the Coaching team, though the training camp that was carried out in Saudi Arabia was quite valuable as they have played several games too.
Alaa Al Sasi , the star player of Yemen team was asked if he has thought of any opposition player that the team need to control or limit his threats , he said that the coach has reviewed Iran thoroughly and we accept all their players are quite good but there is no plan to focus on any single player of Iran.
Kocian was asked what he thinks of Queiroz, the Czech coach said as a coach he has a lot respect for his colleagues, Carlos Queiroz is no exception but saying that he is a good coach who is well known outside of Iran. He knows that Queiroz has faced some pressures from the media and there were some uncertainties, but he remains an excellent coach.
Iran and Yemen will meet in the opener of Group D of AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on the 7th January.