Everton rumors about Ali Daei

Everton FCIran

The Portuguese star,  Cristiano Ronaldo is on his heels. However, the Iranian Ali Daei may return to the international football stage in a new role.

Once a Bundesliga goal scorer, soon in the Premier League? Ali Daei.Once a Bundesliga scorer, soon in the Premier League? Ali Daei.imago images

The former Iranian international and Bundesliga pro Ali Daei is apparently about to return to international football. According to information from kicker, a club from England is interested in working with the 51-year-old current coach. Rumor has it that it is Everton FC. So far it remains unclear in which role Daei could work for the Premier League club.

The World Cup participant from 1998 and 2006 moved to Arminia Bielefeld a good 23 years ago together with his compatriot Karim Bagheri. From 1997 to 2002, the striker scored 19 goals in a total of 107 Bundesliga games for East Westphalia and then for FC Bayern and Hertha BSC. In the Iranian national team, the metallurgy engineer, who was born in Ardabil in northwestern Iran, achieved an unprecedented record: With 109 goals in 149 international matches, the multiple “world scorer” is still at the top of the ranking of all national players. The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo is currently hot on his heels as the first European to surpass the 100-goal mark in international matches in November. The Juventus star is currently at 102 goals.

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh scores the winner against in Leicester City Europa League

The young Team Melli striker Allahyar Sayyadmanesh came from the bench and scored the winner for his Team Zorya against a leading English Premier League side Leicester City.

Sayyadmanesh who was subbed in taking the place of Oleksander Galdkiy in the 84th-minute score after three minutes assisted by Denis Favorov.

Leicester tasted defeat for the first time in UEFA Europa League Group G on Thursday evening after the late 1-0 loss to Zorya Luhansk at Slavutych Arena in Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine

The goal from a low cross into the box from Denys Favorov was turned in at the back post by Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, who is on loan to Zorya from the Turkish club Fenerbahce.

Leicester City leads UEFA Europa League Group G on goal difference ahead of Portuguese club Braga. Zorya is third ahead of AEK athens who have Karim Ansarifard on their roster.

Azmoun hat tricks for Zenit again.

Team Melli central forward, Sardar Azmoun has scored a hat trick for his club Zenit St. Petersburg in today’s Russian Premier League match against Ural. The match ended 5-1 to Zenit with Sardar adding an assist and winning a penalty on top of scoring the hat trick.

Sardar Azmoun scored two goals in the first half, the first from a power header (17th minute) and the second goal five minutes later with a beautiful flick to the far side of the keeper. He also won a penalty after dribbling his marker and being illegally stopped by the second defender.  Artem Dzyuba scored the spot-kick in the 30th minute.

Just before halftime, Azmoun provided an assist to Douglas Santos who slotted from close range.

In the second half, there were a few chances created for Azmoun that were cleared by the Ural defenders before a penalty was called after a foul on Douglas Santos. Sardar took the penalty and wrong-footed the keeper to score his second hat trick in Zenit’s colors. Sardar was substituted on 81″ and was picked up as the Man of the Match with a near-perfect score.

Azmoun has suffered a long absence from football since October due to a positive COVID19 result. He has featured in recent matches including the UEFA Champions League vs Club Brugge.

This was by far the most productive match that Sardar Azmun has played in his career. He is now heading the top scorers of the Russian Premier League with 9 goals. The Iranian international is breaking all sort of records set up by his compatriots in Europe including those of legends like Ali Daei and Mehdi Mahdavikia.

BOSNIA vs IRAN 0-2 :perfect record for Skocic

Team Melli defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina 0-2 in Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo. The first half ended goalless. In the second half, Kaveh Rezaei scored the first in the 46th Minute, While in the dying minutes 90+2, the substitute Mehdi Ghayedi scored Iran’s second.  

 Bosnian star player Miralem Pjanic was supposed to be given a rest to prepare him for the crucial match against Italy, but it seems that the coach had cold feet and needed the Barcelona midfielder to inject some experience and creativity against Iran,

Both teams played open football with Iran having a slight advantage over the host in ball keeping. In the second match under Dragan Skočić, the Croatian picked a well-balanced team in the absence of at least half a dozen regular Team Melli starters.

Despite the pre-match statement of the Bosnian coach, who reckoned that Iran’s defense was vulnerable,  this match proved otherwise. Shoja’a Khalizadeh and Hossein Kannanizadegan formed a sold wall in the center while Mohammadi and Sadegh Moharrami were excellent on the flanks. Team Melli hardly worked to their maximum and managed to easily thwart the Bosnian offensive moves. Whatever filtered from the defenders, Abedzadeh masterly controlled his goals with perfect timings and solid catches. The Maritimo keeper is certainly becoming a serious contender for the number one spot in goal ahead of Beiranvand.

Iran played a balanced game and was clearly better prepared than the host. In the first 15 minutes, Team Melli could have been at least 2 goals up if it was not for the brave Bosnian keeper Jasmin Buric who saved Kaveh Rezaei from a close-range shot after Kaveh robbed the ball in the penalty area and was face to face with the keeper. Minutes later, Ali Gholizadeh had just one defender to beat for a clear shot of the gaping goal, in a similar situation but could not dribble past his marker. And finally, Vahid Amiri was beaten in a split of a second when he also was face-to-face with the Buric.

In the second half, Team Melli started unchanged. IN the first minute, Amiri, who robbed the ball on the right flank from the Bosnian defender, found Rezaei just outside the box and he squared the pass to him. After taking a couple of steps, Kaveh Rezaei picked his spot on the opposite end of the gaol and sent a delicious curler that beat two defenders and the keeper into the net. It was a world-class strike by Chreloi forward.

Several changes in the team and the same with Bosnia changed the rhythm and the pace slightly, but both continued the offensive gameplay in what was an entertaining encounter. Saeed Ezatolahi made the team after a long absence and his presence was felt. He could have made a much better pass for Team Melli to score on the counter, but his poor pass was intercepted robbing Iran of a goal. Otherwise, his towering presence and energy were quite refreshing for the team.

Mehdi Ghayedi was introduced late, and the Esteghal tiny forward scored Iran’s second with another cracking half volley on the far side of the keeper to make it 2-0 for Team Melli in the dying minutes

It was a very good performance by Team Melli. The defense line quite assuring, while u front, Gholizadeh, and Rezaei, teammates in Chareloi were quite a threat and made Bosina defenders work hard against them. The only concern about the excellent team arranged by Dragan Skocic was the midfield. which was ineffective and lacked depth the skills to be effective. In big games, that lack of creativity could bite back badly. Omid Noorafkan and Ezatollahi’s introduction improved the midfield, Noorallahi was a disappointment.

In reality, there was no midfield as the balls traveled directly to the forwards from the keeper or defenders to utilize the speed of the flanks and Rezaei limiting the effectiveness of the midfield.

Overall, it was an excellent performance and a perfect record for the Croatian head coach who is assisted by Vahid Hashemian. This performance augurs well for the team in the qualifiers that will start again in March 2012.

 

 

FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers date agreed upon.

Kuala Lumpur: The dates for the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, were approved by the AFC Competitions Committee at their third meeting for the 2019-2023 cycle, which was held online and chaired by Dr. Tran Quoc Tuan.

It was agreed that all the Asian Qualifiers Round 2 matches should be completed by June 15, 2021 with Match Day 7 and 8 in March 2021 and Match Day 9 and 10 in June 2021 with the Final Round of the Asian Qualifiers beginning in September 2021.

FIFA Matchdays in March 2021 is from 22nd to 30th March, while the June window starts from 30th May to 8th June.

Team Melli has 4 matches left, away to Cambodia and home to the other 3 teams. It is currently in third place with 6 points behind Iraq and Bahrain.

It was agreed, in collaboration with FIFA, that the 10 matchdays of the Asian Qualifiers Final Round should be finished by the end of March 2022 with the Asian and Inter-Continental Play-offs proposed for the FIFA Window May/June in 2022. The Asian Play-off for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is proposed as a single match.

The AFC U23 Asian Cup 2022 bidding process was also agreed upon. The tournament was originally scheduled for China PR in 2022 as a preparatory competition ahead of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 but the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has now informed the AFC they are no longer able to stage the tournament.

Now the Committee has agreed that the hosting process for the 2022 and 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup editions will be reopened to Member Associations in the West with the intention of the 2026 tournament again providing preparation for the AFC Asian Cup in 2027.

It is intended that all future AFC U23 Asian Cups in non-Olympic years will be hosted by the Member Association staging the subsequent AFC Asian Cup while the competition dates for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2022 will be further discussed.

 

The Competition Regulations for the AFC Champions League 2021 and the AFC Cup 2021 were approved. The new calendar for the AFC Cup 2021 was also approved while there would be further discussions on match dates and competition formats for the AFC Champions League 2021 with all stakeholders in the coming days.

The Committee also agreed that the previously postponed AFC U-19 Championship will be staged in Uzbekistan between March 3 to 20, 2021 and they also accepted changes to the eligibility rules for the AFC U-16 Championship Bahrain to allow players born on or after January 1, 2004 to play in the tournament. The dates for the AFC U-16 Championship, also postponed from 2020, are to be further discussed.

Iran – Bosnia; Without key players.

The national teams of Iran and Bosnia will face off in an international friendly match this evening in Sarajevo. Both teams will be without key players in the lineup.

The match is the first since that memorial encounter in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The match (Thursday) at 20:30 Tehran time (18:00 local time) at Asim Farhatovic Stadium is held on FIFA Day allowing many countries the chance to test their players. For many football fans, this match is a reminder of the one between the two teams in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the game ended with a score of 3 – 1 in favor of the European rival, but in the end, neither team managed to advance from the group.

In the latest FIFA rankings, Iran is 29th while Bosnia-Herzegovina is 51st. Continentally, Iran is the second-ranked team in Asia while and Bosnia is ranked 30th in Europe. The most crucial point of this game is the absence of many Bosnian key players either enforced due to injuries but mainly due to an attempt by the coach to give more opportunities to domestic young players and several players playing in Eastern European countries. In this match, the Bosnian coach will give a rest to stars such as Miralem Pjanić, Sead Kolašinac, etc. in preparation for the game against Italy and the Netherlands.

Ehsan Hajsafy

The biggest absentee of the game is Edin Dzeko, the star of Italian AS Roma, who is absent due to Coronavirus. Also, three players and two members of the Bosnian technical staff are in the same situation as Dzeko and lost this game. In Team Melli, the illness of Mojtaba Najarian and Sasan Ansari prevented them from joining the squad hence missing the match. Mehdi Shiri and Ali Karimi are the replacement players.

The team coach Dragan Skocic, who is going through his second camp with Iran, has invited a list of domestic league players to the squad. There is a significant list of key players who will miss this match such as Azmoun, Taremi, Ghoddos, Jahanbakhsh, Beiranvand, Mohebbi, Torabi, Ghafouri, Rezaian, and so on.

However, despite being criticized, the national team coach hopes to win this friendly: “I know Bosnia well and I am aware of the strengths and weaknesses of this team. We want to win against them on and off the field. I wish Bosnia success in his next games, but we want to beat this team in the next game.”

In the first game since Dragan Skočić, took over, Team Melli defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 away from home to mark a positive start and hope for an impressive run for the Croatian coach’s tenure. Team Melli will be in Bosnia from Monday night and will return to Tehran after Thursday’s match and will not have any more friendly matches, which is due to the perpetual weakness of the Iranian federation in arranging friendly matches.

The Bosnian national football team suffered a recession after the 2014 World Cup and could not qualify for Euro 2016 or even the 2018 World Cup. Bosnia did not qualify for Euro 2021 recently, so the trail of failure is still hanging around Bosnia disappointing its fans. However, in the second round of the Europa League, they reached the highest level of competition and are in a group consisting of the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland. Bosnia collected 2 points only from its first 4 games. However, with several of the squad members playing professionally in European leagues, they are still a serious benchmark for Iran.

 “In the game against Iran, we want to give some players a chance, specifically those who do not normally get playing time. This game is an opportunity to learn about the technical quality of the young and newly invited players,” Dušan Bajević said of his team’s condition before the friendly against Iran and Italy in the Europa League.

“They are playing in the Bosnian league, but they are not at the level of the players who play in the European leagues. However, the national team player must always be serious.” The Bosnian coach also called Iran a strong team in the offensive line, but considered the national team’s defensive line to be weak: “The Iranian national team has not been able to achieve the desired results in the past few years. They changed their coach. Skocic has taken over the reins of Iran and now he has only played one game while he was in charge on the bench. We analyzed Iran’s friendly against Uzbekistan. They have good players in attack but weak in defense.”

Iran vs. Bosnia: Historic lookback

The “A” national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina will play a friendly match with Iran national team in Sarajevo on 12th November.

B&H and Iran have met 6 times so far. Five matches were friendly, while the only competitive match was played at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Iran is more successful in head-to-head matches, as it recorded 4 victories, while one match ended in a draw. The BH team achieved its only victory against Iran at the World Cup in Brazil.

These national teams met for the first time on 22nd July 2001 in Bihać, when they played a tie 2:2. Goals for Bosnia and Herzegovina were scored by Sead Seferović in the 7th, and Miroslav Dujmović in the 10th, while Sirous Dinmohammadi in the 16th and Iraj Fatemi in the 90th minute scored for Iran.

In the next 4 matches, Iran won. First at the Azadi Sports Stadium in Tehran on 10.08.2001 with the result 4:0 (Hasheminasab 5th and 90th, Karimi 65th, Daei 87th minute), then on 02.02.2005 at the same venue with 2:1 (Daei 38th, Borhani 74th – Elvir Bolić 18th minute).

The Azadi Sport Stadium hosted the fourth meeting between B&H and Iran on 31.05.2006. Iran won 5:2. The national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina had a 2:0 advantage in that match with goals scored by Zvjezdan Misimović in the 4th and Sergej Barbarez in the 17th minute, but the Iranians reversed the result through Mehrzad Madanchi (26th), Rahman Rezaei (45th), Vahid Hashemian 46th), Reza Enayatia (89th) and Rasoul Khatibi (90th minute).

The fifth match was played at the Asim Ferhatović-Hase Stadium in Sarajevo on 12.08.2009. And then Bosnia and Herzegovina took the lead with 2:0 with scored goals by Edin Džeko in the 52nd and 65th minute, but in the end, they were defeated with 2:3. Goals for Iran were scored by Masoud Shojaei in the 79th, Arash Borhani in the 86th, and  Andrenik ‘Ando’ Teymouriian in the 90th minute.

The last match of these teams was played on 25.06.2014 at the Fonte Nova Arena in El Salvador (Brazil) in the 3rd round of Group F of the World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina won 3:1, and the goals were scored by Edin Džeko in the 23rd, Miralem Pjanić in the 59th, and Avdija Vršajević in the 83rd minute. The only goal for Iran was scored by Reza Ghoochannejad in the 82nd minute.

The match will be played behind closed doors without the spectators at the Asim Ferhatović-Hase Stadium in Sarajevo on 12.11.2020.

 

Iran vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina Matches records

 

 

Venue Matches W D L Goals Goal Diff.
H 4 3 0 1 12 – 6 +6
A 2 1 1 0 5 – 4 +1
N 1 0 0 1 1 – 3 -2
Total 7 4 1 2 18 – 13 +5

 

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
25.06.2014 FIFA World Cup / Group F N 1 – 3 Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador 48,011
12.08.2009 Friendly A 3 – 2 Asim Ferhatovic Hase Stadium – Sarajevo 20,000
31.05.2006 Friendly H 5 – 2 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 40,000
02.02.2005 Friendly H 2 – 1 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 10,000
10.08.2001 Others / LG CUP H 4 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 75,000
22.07.2001 Friendly A 2 – 2 Stadion NK Jedinstvo podno Boriæa , Bihac 5,000
12.09.1993 Friendly H 1 – 3 Azadi Stadium, Tehran

Skočić invites 23 player for the friendly vs Bosnia-Herzegovina

Iran will play Bosnia-Herzegovina on Nov. 12 at the Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium in Sarajevo as part of the preparation for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, where Iran are currently third behind Iraq and Bahrain.

The ‘Persian Leopards’ defeated Uzbekistan in the last friendly international 2-1 on Oct. 8 in Tashkent. The 2022 World Cup qualifiers scheduled this year were postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The major absentees from the list are Sardar Azmoun, Mehdi Taremi, Saman Ghoddos, and Ashkan Dejagah.

Meanwhile, the captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina Edin Dzeko will miss the friendly against Iran after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

The AS Roma forward will miss coming matches against Iran on November 12 and the Netherlands on November 15. The 34-year-old player opened Iran’s goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where the Dragons beat Iran 3-1.

Team Melli Squad

Goalkeepers:
Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan), Rashid Mazaheri (Esteghlal)

Defenders:
Majid Hosseini (Trabzonspor), Hossein Kanaani-zadegan (Persepolis), Shoja Khalilzadeh (Al Rayyan), Aref Gholami (Esteghlal), Sadegh Moharami (Dinamo Zagreb), Milad Mohammadi (Gent), Mojtaba Najarian (Foolad), Morteza Pouraliganji (Shenzhen)

Midfielders:
Ehsan Haji Safi (Tractor), Ahmad Nourollahi (Persepolis), Omid Noorafkan (Sepahan), Ali Gholizadeh (Charleroi), Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Siamak Nemati (Persepolis), Akbar Imani (Tractor), Saeid Ezatolahi (Vejle Boldklub)

Forwards:
Kaveh Rezaei (Charleroi), Mehdi Ghaedi (Esteghlal), Karim Ansarifard (AEK Athens), Sasan Ansari (Foolad)

Iran’s football Marco Polo

A former Team Melli player has recently joined the fourteenth football league clubs of his career. The 36-year-old Mohammad Ghazi Najafabadi is currently playing in Mes Rafsanjan and experiencing his fourteenth club. However, the record holder for transfer belongs to another Khuzestani player and former Team Melli midfielder Milad Zenidpour

The Khuzestani midfielder has donned the jerseys of eighteen teams, a record in Iran, and not too far from a world record. The former Team Melli player is now 34 years old and plays for Sarawak United in the Malaysian League. The label of “Marco Polo of Iranian football” is quite appropriate for this professional football. Even his ardent fans have trouble keeping track of which team he is playing for!

Zanidpour began his career in Khuzestan then joined  Saipa, Peykan, Rah Ahan, Steel Azin, Damash, Sepahan, Peykan, Malvan Anzali, Zobahan, Naft Masjed Soleyman, Erbil (Iraq), Armi United (Thailand), Gostarish Tabriz, Madura United (Indonesia), Yuki M and finally Sarawak United (Malaysia). He is currently a record holder.

Of course, a much-travelled player in g=his class will hardly ever have time to develop or become a better player. His changing of clubs has not always been smooth either as he was sacked by some like Peykan,

Shojaa Khalilzadeh to sign for Al Rayyan in Doha

Shojaa Khalilzadeh, Persepolis, and Team Melli central defender has turned up in the Qatari capital Doha to sign a contract with Al Rayyan club. According to Al Arab daily newspaper, Al Rayyan has already concluded the negotiation with the Iranian defender and just awaiting the signatures on the contract.

According to sources, after accepting the conditions of a contract renewal with Khalilzadeh, Persepolis is now dealing with the news of his departure from Iran to sign a contract with Al Rayyan of Qatar Star League. The news caused the club to send a letter to the Qatar Football Federation and Al Rayyan Club regarding the legality of any contract between Khalilzadeh and any Qatari club.

Khalilzadeh, whose contract with Persepolis runs for another season, unilaterally terminated his contract with Persepolis due to the club’s breach of payment clauses. It seems that Persepolis has not paid the player, which is a very common practice in Iran’s football, and hence the player is legally allowed to cancel that contract.

Recently recalled to Team Melli after a seven years gap, the Persepolis defender was supposed to sign his contract extension and amendments at 10:30 AM on Wednesday at the club premises. However, Khalizadeh was upset by some contradictory behaviors of the club’s managers and left for Qatar.

Before traveling to Qatar, Khalilzadeh was contacted by Yahya Golmohammadi, the head coach of the team, Attempts to reach him was futile, because Persepolis defender mobile was turned off. However, Khalilzadeh, after leaving for Qatar, sent a message to Yahya Golmohammadi informing him of his intention to leave the team while wishing him personally and Persepolis’s success in the final of the Asian Champions League.

The message shocked the Reds’ coach, but Golmohammadi has decided not to react to it for the time being.

Khalilzadeh has left Persepolis while there is no news of his official agreement with Qatar’s Al Rayyan Club. However, it is possible that his contract will be signed today, given the player’s presence in Qatar.