Sporting CP desperate for Mehdi Taremi.

The center forward of Team Melli, Mehdi Taremi is on the front pages of the sporting press of Portugal.

The Rio Ave forward who is having quite a successful first season on the Portuguese top league is wanted by Sporting Clube de Portugal or as commonly called, Sporting Lisbon.

The famous club has just sold one of its best players Bruno Fernades to Manchester United. With the Brazilian forward Luiz Phellype’s suffering serious injury, which keeps him out of the competition at least until the end of the current season, added to the transfer of Fernandes, the clock is ticking for the accelerated arrival of Mehdi Taremi’s at Jose Alvalade Stadium of Sporting CP.

The Iranian striker of Rio Ave has already been the subject of interest of many top clubs however the more serious discussion has been between Sporting and Rio Ave. The leaders of the two clubs have been talking for some time, and the injury of the Brazilian, as well as the biggest financial relief provided by the transfer of Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United, may accelerate the transfer of Taremi.

Dadkan attacks the football hierarchy and the government action.

The former head of the FFIRI, severely criticized the Ministry of Sports and the managers of Iranian clubs, in an unprecedented verbal salvo in the aftermath of AFC saga with the Iranian clubs hosting of home games.

Mohammad Dadkan said: “Our meeting with the AFC did not accomplish anything whatsoever for us, yet these people claim victory!! what victory when the AFC does not even give you an inch?”

 Dadkan one of the few remaining outspoken individuals who have criticized the football establishment for their incompetence and corruption many times pointed fingers at the managers of Iranian clubs and the Deputy Minister of Sports for their failure to protect Iranian football interests in their visit to Malaysia to meet AFC.

He told Radio Tehran in an interview on Friday: “The two biggest threats to any civilization are – lies and incompetent managers/leaders.  You see, in our society, we seem to be accustomed to lies & fabrications of facts rather than demanding the truth. We have become habitual to the official “don’t rock the boat” policy which is a sure way of destroying the nation”

He continued “Our executives came out and hyped the nation two days ago about national honor and prestige but today, we found out that AFC has stood by its ruling, yet these people (FFIRI & the Ministry of Sport) come and tell the Iranian fans we have won against AFC !!”

Dadkan flanked by Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad on the right and Aldi Daei with Ali Karimi

“what do these officials think the people of this country are? Your meeting with the Secretary-General of the AFC has been nothing but a non-event. I myself am still a member of the AFC and am able to view the report of the meeting.”

The former head of the Iranian Football Federation emphasized:” They had a meeting with the Secretary-General of the AFC. What can the Secretary-General do for you? The Iranian delegation that traveled to Malaysia, do not even know the duties and authorities of the Secretary-General ?”

“Secretary-General can’t decide on the subject of hosting, it is not within his authority.  All he can do in this regard is to note down your requests and pass it to the top AFC officials and the competition committee. What have you won? Your games are moved outside of Iran and that decision stands. The Ministry of Sports also had its own victory claims too. What victory have you achieved?”

“The club managers meeting with the AFC has not made any difference for us” Dadkan added. “Allow decent and competent people to talk. The society would decay to corruption when those dishonest ones have the upper hand and it is on the rise, while its good people are silenced. Let the experts speak“

“The Asian Confederation has taken this decision, based on our own statements and information coming out of Iran.  You should be accountable for this NOT the AFC” he said.

In his criticism of the Minister of Sports who had previously pressurized the Football Federation to suspend the league for seven days claiming the situation was not safe to play football in our country and that the league games must be suspended., according to Dadkan.

“AFC officials hear about such statements and it alarms them when the source is government Minister. You declared insecurity in Iran for demanding the league suspension. You have to answer to the fans and clubs, not the AFC. Do not cover things in secrecy. Let all the people hear the words the Minister uttered on this subject. Who said that we are not safe and who demanded the postponement of Persepolis and Tractorsazi game.?” Dadkan added

“You said you’re not going to take part in the AFC Champions League but the fact is that you’re going.”

“If you are not going to participate in the champions league, Well, that’s fine but why are you bringing up national honors and dignity, if you are not able to protect it? “

The former head of the football federation also criticized the National Olympic Committee, saying: “When our champions and heroes are valued by outsiders and other nations and given asylum, all that our committee officials can say is ‘let them go away; they are just like the rest of them.’ Is that what our champion is worth to the Olympic Committee? They are national heroes that we revere and adore that we have lost, not an ordinary person.”

“Not only that, to cover their humiliation and incompetence they demand from others to speak out against those champions who seek asylum in other countries. I say this based on the documents I have seen. They are shaming our athlete’s class to say that these champion athletes were lying and have sold their homeland….”

“We had 2 major doping cases and more than 5 asylum seekers who left Iran this year. All that these sports officials can come up with is that these athletes are aliens and let them leave as if the country is yours only.  Everybody can go out of Iran and we will stay only?”

FFIRI denies any talks with Di Biasi

A spokesman for the Iranian Football Federation FFIRI denied the news about any communication and contract negotiations between his federation and the Italian coach Gianni Di Biasi!

During the last few days, there has been a lot of stories about the Iranian Football Federation’s negotiations with De Biasi. The source of the news was the Italian media including the normally reliable  Sky Italia. The sources even disclosed some details like FFIRI offering a 30 months contract taking the coach’s assignment all the way to the World Cup.

 However, a day after the news spread, Amir Mehdi Alavi, spokesman for the Football Federation, said: “This issue is officially denied. The Football Federation has not had any discussions with De Biasi and this coach is not an option for the Team Melli head coach job”.

What is the story behind Di Biasi ?

The saga of Iranian football managements ( or mismanagement, to be more accurate) continues unabated with the latest revelation that an Italian coach is being considered for Team Melli after the debacle of Marc Wilmots!

Notwithstanding the truth behind this story and lack of an official confirmation, it is prudent to analyze such possibility and dissect the pros and cons of appointing a foreign coach who does not have the slightest clue about Iranian football culture to head Team Melli at this critical juncture.

Who is Di Biasi?

Giovanni “Gianni” De Biasi is an Italian coach who started his career in 1990 and managed several clubs in Serie C, B, and A, the most famous of them was Torino. Di Biasi never seemed to stay with one club for more than two seasons. During his playing days, he played with Treviso, Inter Milan ( 10 matches only) Brescia, Palermo but never managed to make it at top grade.  The same can be said about his coaching career until the big break came when he was recruited by the Albanians to coach their national team.

It was with Albania that Di Biasi enjoyed his best days in coaching. In his 6 years with Albania, he succeeded in qualifying to the Euro Finals in 2016. He left in 2017 to coach Alaves in La Liga.

Clearly, Gianni Di Biasi is not in the elite category of world coaches however, his success with the Albanian national team was remarkable considering the status and standard of the tiny European nation.

DI Biasi and Iran.

While Marc Wilmots had a similar resume as Di Biasi, perhaps a little bit better for coaching a powerful team like Belgium, he struggled to succeed with Iran. In fact, his poor familiarity with his players’, poor reading of the game and sub-standard knowledge of the opposition, resulted in two major defeats for Team Melli against teams that should have been beaten.

That Marc Wilmots was not familiar with the Team Melli players was a direct result of the guy living and working remotely with minimal contact and communication with the team members. It is only natural that a coach cannot employ the capabilities of the players to the full if he does not understand those skills and abilities. There are other factors too, but nothing like the poor technical and tactical leadership of the game which resulted in these diabolical defeats and possible elimination at an early stage.

Di Biasi is in the same boat as Wilmots was before taking the job. A person who has no knowledge of football in Iran, perhaps unable to name more than two or three players and is totally alien to the Persian culture and football politics. To settle in Iran in the first place, is a challenge for this Italian, assuming he is not going to be a suitcase flying coach. It will take him time and we are talking months if not years to be comfortable enough to deliver the goods.

The establishment, environment and the politics of Iranian football is a steep learning curve for any outsider. Expecting a foreign coach to deliver in a short time is unreasonable and unfair on both sides.

Team Melli has just about two months for the next match in the World Cup qualifiers vs. Hong Kong in Azadi. Granted, it is not an intricate mission but it still needs preparation, the familiarity between the coach and the players and building the best team line-up. The real test is against Bahrain and Iraq at home, two matches that must be won for Team Melli to be in contention for a place in the next round.

The contract!

It is not clear what has changed since Wilmot’s dispute with FFIRI which turned sour mainly due to non-payment or delay of wages by FFIRI.  This will repeat with any other coach if it is not sorted out.  Will Di Biasi suffer the same as Wilmots, Branko Ivankovic, Calderon and Andrea Stramaccioni who all had disputes with their paymasters on payments of dues? It is highly unlikely that the FFIRI has suddenly created a magic wand to manage to circumnavigate the American sanctions to enable paying the wages of its foreign coaches, so what has changed in FFIRI policy to assure the respect of contractual obligations?

It is particularly this subject that can turn a good relationship into a fractured one. It is a big challenge and a bigger risk for the federation as they have already been burnt, although no one takes responsibility or accountability.

This administration of the FFIRI is far from a competent operative. Although the fans of Team Melli should not be normally bothered or concerned with the administrations or contract details, with FFIRI and as we have experienced previously, it is a major concern. A lot is dependent on how he FFIRI respects its contractual obligations. By track records, it is not too promising. If there is anything that this administration excels in is, making excuses, fabrication & twisting of fact and diverting blame.

Chances of success

Assuming all is well with the contract, It is not an absolute requirement for a top-level coach to handle Team Melli. It needs a strong person, knowledgable, dedicated and tactically astute. Di Biasi can tick a few boxes here. His lack of familiarity can be addressed as he can develop that depending on how happy the man is at his job.  Iran can be both a pleasant place to live and frustration at the same time. He can do the job as well as any although from the onset it looks a lot more complicated for a newbie foreign coach than having a domestic one at the helm.

The Ghalenoei’s, Daei’s or Golmohammdi’s have their advantages as Team Melli coaches but also we must not forget a certain stigma attached to them, after all, in Iran, a local coach has an automatic label of being biased! A foreign coach is revered even if he struggles. The fans seem to be more tolerant of foreign coaches but unforgiving to a local. It is the Iranian culture.

Esteghlal bows to AFC ruling!

After all the threats and objections by Iranian clubs to withdraw from AFC Champions League as the result of AFC decision to move the venues of the 4 Iranian clubs to neutral grounds, Esteghlal Tehran just announced that it has agreed on the venue change from Tehran to Dubai.

According to ISNA, Esteghlal has announced in an official press release that they are going to Dubai to play Al-Kuwait in the AFC Champions League Groups play-offs and have accepted the terms of AFC. Earlier, Iranian representatives had stated that they would not accept the decision of the AFC to ban Iranian teams from hosting matches and would withdraw from the AFC Champions League if the AFC did not respect their rights.

This decision is yet another indication of the weakness and ineffectiveness of Iranian football management and lack of harmony with the federation.  It is not clear whether the other three clubs have accepted the AFC decision like Esteghlal.

Anger in Iran as AFC plays politics again

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has moved two Asian Champions League matches out of Iran citing security concerns in the country.

In a statement on Twitter, the AFC said on Wednesday that two home matches involving Iranian teams “have been moved to neutral venues because of ongoing security concerns and the decision of several governments to issue travel warnings to the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

The games, originally scheduled for Tuesday, will now be held on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates, the governing body for Asian football said. The decision came despite threats of a boycott from Iran, which has four teams playing in the continental club competition.

A spokesman for Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani slammed the AFC’s decision as a political move.

“This is an unsporting and unprofessional move,” he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

There was no immediate comment from Iran’s football federation

The four Iranian clubs competing in the AFC Champions League – Persepolis, Sepahan, Esteghlal, and Shahr Khodro – told the AFC on Monday they would only turn up for the games if they were allowed to host their games in Iran, according to IRNA.

When news of the AFC decision initially became public, Iran’s Sport and Youth Minister, Masoud Soltanifar, told reporters the move was “totally political and unathletic” based on “false pretexts of lack of security and safety of aerial routes to Iran“, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

The AFC’s move has prompted anger in Iran. A young football fan in Tehran, Hojat Vafaee, described the decision as a “purely political decision taken under the pressure of some Arab countries“.

He called on FIFA, football’s world governing body, to intervene and defend Iran’s rights, saying its president, Gianni Infantino “was here in Tehran last year and he has seen the spectacular and safe atmosphere of our stadiums”.

Ali, a 20-year-old supporter of Sepahan, a major sports club from Esfahan in central Iran, also slammed the decision.

“The AFC always says Iran has the best and greatest football fans in Asia and take so much credit for itself. But because of politics, they close their eyes on the feeling of millions of Iranian football fans,” he told Al Jazeera. “We’ve always been told that politics should be kept out of sports, but yet we see it happening by AFC itself.“

Many took to social media in protest, using hashtags including “Shame_On_AFC“, “ACLneedIranianfans” and “AFC_Iran_Is_Safe“. Many criticized the decision on AFC’s Instagram account.

Gianni De Biasi close to becoming Team Melli’s new coach

After the years spent on Albania’s bench, achieving a historic qualification for the 2016 European Championships, Gianni De Biasi is ready to start again for another national team.

After the unfortunate and unhappy experience of Andrea Stramaccioni with Esteghlal Club, it seems that another Italian is ready to land in Iran. This time it is Gianni De Biasi who is very close to becoming the coach of Iran’s Team Melli.

As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, the former Albanian coach has received an offer of a 30 months contract, with the aim of qualification to the World Cup for which the Iranian national team is competing. The deal could be closed within 48 hours.

Gianni De Biasi is ready for a new adventure at the head coach of a national team. The coach, 64 years old in June, is in fact ever closer to the agreement to become the Iran coach. The Iranian Federation offered him a 30-month contract, also thinking about the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Iran has participated in 5 World Cups and has qualified for the last two played in Brazil and Russia (2014 and 2018) in addition to three championships in the AFC Asian Cup (in the last edition of 2019 the Iranian national team was stopped in the semifinals). The deal should be closed by the end of the week.

A new adventure after Albania

For De Biasi it would be the second experience on a bench of a national team. In fact, the coach led Albania from 2011 to 2017, leading to a historic qualification for the 2016 European Championships. A success that made him become a real idol in Tirana, so much so that he was awarded the honorary Albanian citizenship

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (L), the captain of Albania's national soccer team, Lorik Cana (C) and Albania's national football team head coach Gianni De Biasi review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at Mother Teresa airport in Tirana on June 23, 2016. Albania's Euro 2016 squad was welcomed home on June 23 with a formal red-carpet ceremony and National Guard troops on its return from the country's first ever participation at a European Championship. / AFP / GENT SHKULLAKU (Photo credit should read GENT SHKULLAKU / AFP via Getty Images)

UAE steps in as secure host for Iranian clubs’ opening games in Asian Champions League

January 22 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed it is moving two Asian Champions League preliminary matches out of Iran to neutral venues because of security concerns, a move that has infuriated Iranian authorities.

Shahr Khodro FC were scheduled to host Bahrain’s Riffa and Esteghlal FC were set to play Kuwait SC on Tuesday but both were postponed and rescheduled for the United Arab Emirates at the weekend.

“To help facilitate the switch to neutral venues, which has been approved by the relevant AFC committees, the AFC will now reschedule the games to January 25, 2020 in the United Arab Emirates,” the AFC said in a brief statement.

Apart from the AFC brief statement, there is no clear explanation of what those security concerns are.

Iran has already threatened to boycott the tournament altogether over the ban on staging home games, saying they will withdraw all four of their clubs which also include Persepolis and Sepahan .

But there is precedent. Iran also threatened to boycott the tournament when matches against Saudi teams were switched to neutral venues before relenting.

Persepolis have been drawn to meet Al Duhail from Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s Al Taawon and United Arab Emirates champions Sharjah in the group phase of this year’s competition. Sepahan are slated to meet Saudi champions Al Nassr, Qatar’s Al Sadd and a qualifier from the play-offs.

Hrvoje Milić : “Never felt safer in my life like walking in Tehran”

Hrvoje Milić the Esteghlal Croatian player expressed his disappointment and surprise by the decision of AFC to ban Iranian clubs from playing at home.

“I have never felt vulnerable on the streets of Tehran,” he said, stressing that Iran was safe.  “I have never felt safer while walking in Tehran”. “The way Iranians treat foreigners is remarkable, very friendly and hospitable. They go out of their way to help or guide you. I have always told my family that the Iranian people are courteous and  hospitable”

Hrvoje Milić the Estghlal Croatian player

The 30 years old Croatian footballer continued: “Life in this country is like any other country. People go to their workplaces and kids go to school. Personally, I would not have gone back to Iran if I felt that Iran was an unsafe place or there is a risk to my life.  I would have loved to play against the Kuwaiti team in front of 100,000 supporters, but this decision by AFC has deprived and surprised me from such experience.”

Esteghlal was scheduled to play Al-Kuwait Club in Azadi in the preliminary rounds of the AFC Champions League before AFC shocked Iran football by banning Iranian teams from hosting their matches.

Persepolis, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro have collectively refused to give up their legal rights of playing and hosting games in Iran.

Iran football body slams AFC ban on hosting international matches

The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) has said it would stand up to the “illegal” decision by the Asian Football Confederation AFC to prevent the country from hosting any international matches on Iranian soil.

Federation Acting Chief Heidar Baharvand said the federation and managers of the four teams playing in the AFC Champions League held an extraordinary meeting on Saturday and decided unanimously to reject the decision.

“The Iranian Football Federation, clubs and officials unitedly oppose it and will definitely stand up to this decision,” said Bahrvand.

Baharvand told state television that if the ban was not reversed, all teams would withdraw from the AFC Champions League. Iran has four teams – Persepolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro – in the AFC Champions League.

The federation on Friday said it had received a letter from the AFC saying all matches involving Iranian clubs would be held at a neutral venue.

The Iranians did not say if any reason was given or if the decision was related to the accidental downing of a Ukrainian jetliner last week and the tension between the United States and Iran in the wake of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.

Iran is reeling under a “maximum pressure” campaign by the US after President Donald Trump pulled his country out of a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

AFC to meet on Sunday

A federation official on Friday said Iran’s sports ministry had provided the required security guarantees to the AFC and pointed out that the country hosted the final of the 2018 edition at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

The AFC’s position is still reversible as the body’s executive committee is scheduled to hold a session on Sunday to make a final decision.

“We must host matches because this is our people’s right. We should not deprive our spectators in hosting games. This is our absolute right and we insist on it,” Bahrvand said.

FFIRI spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying Iran is “fully ready to host various teams as it has repeatedly proven during the past several years”.

Meanwhile, Persepolis club’s chief executive director Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard said there is “no safer space in the Middle East and West Asia than Iran”.

“It is the right of Iranian teams to benefit from the presence of their spectators,” he said, according to the club’s website.

Iran’s men’s football team has participated in 14 editions of the AFC Asian Cup, winning three titles since the country’s first appearance in 1968.

The AFC ban has angered fans in Iran, where football is the most popular sport. Social media posts with the hashtag #ACLneedIranFans trended on Twitter.

The  AFC has not published the justifications behind this ban and if the proper mechanism has been activated to reach such a decision. Insiders claim that there has been pressure applied by the Arab countries to apply this ban lead by Kuwait, despite the fact that the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) chairman Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah intervened to side with Iran on this issue..

There is no UN Security Council declaration that Iran is indeed a war zone., while Saudi Arabia which is at war in Yemen and has been subjected to missiles and drone airstrikes one of which nearly destroyed the Abqiq Oil processing facility. (see below)

A photograph taken by the commercial satellite company Planet shows the Abqaiq facility shortly after an attack on Sept. 14.