Habib Kashani offered his apologies for the loss that Team Melli suffered against Saudi Arabia in Azadi stadium in the penultimate match of the AFC U23 Championship qualifiers. The 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia resulted in the qualification of the opponents to the finals of the competition while Iran also qualified as one of the 5 best groups runners up.

Kashani , however , wasted little time in providing the usual bundle of excuses and justification for the loss. He said the team had only 3 months to prepare while Vingada’s team had 8 months yet lost to Vietnam and drew with Kyrgyzstan in the Asian Games in Incheon 2014.

“Half of the players were only recently added to the team and as such we needed more time to prepare. The defeat against Saudi Arabia was an unfortunate event which the coaching staff should offer a justification for.”

Kashani added that in order to prepare for the final tournament in Qatar , the U23 team needs the cooperation of the league commission and their consent to the Omid Team training schedules and programs. “ As it is now, we only have the FIFA day where we can gather the players and practice. That is not adequate. In Doha , there will be no Nepal of Afghanistan , but facing strong teams like Korea , Qatar , Japan and  Emirates.” Added the Ex-Persepolis CEO.

Kashani also pointed to the other problems that many players will face in Omid team and in particular the Military service, which is a fundamental and chronic obstacles in front of the young Iranian players.

The Manager of Omid Team admitted that the FFIRI has provided everything possible for the team and for that he is quite grateful. He also acknowledged the Military Service commission’s support in allowing some players to compete in the qualifiers. “I appreciate all the people who helped Omid Team case in order to compete in the best possible way.” However, Kashani went to by saying “ I apologize for the loss against Saudi Arabia , all I can say at this moment is that I shoulder all the blame for that loss (…) . I have nothing else to offer except to say I am sorry!”

There was no mention of technical flaws or coaching deficiencies nor player’s performance issues in Kashani’s statement.