General Accounting Office of the Government of Iran submitted its final report after a six monthly regular audit on the activities of the government ministries. This report included the auditing of both Persepolis and Esteghlal clubs as part of government properties. The eagerly awaited audit report on the Tehran clubs takes prominence after the parliament and public outcry created following the public exposure of players and coaches contracts with these two clubs. The astronomical figures that the clubs were paying their staff have shocked the nation that has suffered immense financial difficulties due to economic sanctions. Members of parliaments accused the two clubs of corruption and wastage of public funds while fingers were also pointed at some of the Ministry of Youth & Sport personnel accused of collusion with the management of the two clubs to deceive the public.
The audit report accuses both clubs of financial irregularities, shoddy dealings , unauthorized expenditure , payments to unknown bank accounts for unspecified services , lack of documentation on several large payments , violation of the state laws , accounting & bookkeeping practices that does not meet the public accounts standards , creating shadow accounts illegally depositing funds from club revenues, and several other minor violations.
The extensive report which covered the activities of many ministries, including the Ministry of Youth and Sport, as the responsible ministry for both of the government owned sport clubs Esteghlal & Persepolis. The ministry has ordered these two clubs to generate their own revenue instead of depending on government handout and claiming public money at the time when the whole government is exercising belt-tightening policies.
The damning report cast a shadow on the activities of both clubs that have been for years under poor authority’s oversight resulting in huge financial difficulties. Uncontrolled or unaccountable expenditures left both club in critical debt situation exceeding their ability to pay the creditors or balance the books in the forthcoming years. It is difficult to see how they can survive without a bail-out by the government.
The report included accusation that some of the clubs revenues from commercial activities like advertising and merchandise , were being deposited to unauthorized bank accounts not belonging to the official club bank account(s) on records.
The GAO was also critical about the fact that of those millions of public funds that two clubs have siphoned, little or none was channeled towards infrastructure, building facilities such as football pitches for the younger generation to utilize.
This is not the first time that GAO has produced such critical reports. It is not clear if any action , will be taken against the culprits apart from the customary changing of the guards (chairmen and board members) of both clubs, which has already been carried out with the exit of previous chairmen of Persepolis and Esteghlal, preempting the GAO report.
All bank accounts belonging to Persepolis Club has been suspended by a court order as a result of creditors’ claims and long over-due nonpayment of various bills including tax due by the government itself.
, many feared a gap developing at a critical time of the qualifiers. Rahman Ahmadi answered the call and in fact, did very well to become one of the key players who guided Team Melli to the finals of the World Cup. There will be two more keepers in the team beside Ahmadi, but none of them can be compared to the Sepahan keeper. Daniel Davari short stint with the team has been nothing but embarrassment conceding goals that no goalkeeper at this level should concede. The latest was the very soft goal against Angola where he was a spectator when the ball was headed in the net. Sousha Makani has not featured much in the team but at club level he has been both brilliant and a calamity. Haghighi’s standard is really unknown since very few people in Iran have seen him play en force.
Defensive strategy is hardly a pretty thing to watch and for the perfectionist, it’s a game killer. Realistically speaking though, Queiroz can only play with the cards on hands and what players he has, seems to fit his plans well. With number of solid defenders in Hosseini , Sadeghi or Montazeri , Heydari , Pooladi or Beikzadeh and a strong goalkeeper in Ahmadi at the back It seems that this line can do the job well. With Nekounam and Teymourian admirably doing the defensive midfield work, Team Melli can be pretty assured of possessing a quality defensive system. On paper, Iran has a reliable defense capable of holding the onslaught that the opposing teams might deploy on them. Although It is doubtful if any of the 3 teams will use an all-out attack game plan on Iran, not unless they are a gambling lot.
The most senior, high profile or experiences Team Melli players in the squad are mostly the midfield Players. The Captain Javad Nekounam , with 142 caps and 37 goals in his 14 years of Team Melli service, Andranik Teymourian, 78 Caps and 9 goals form the core of the Midfield holding (defensive) system but very well capable of attack and shooting from long range. Haghighi and Haddadifar are also capable backups in case they are required. Nekounam and Teymourian have a good understanding of each others role as they have been playing beside each others for years. In attacking sense, Ashkan Dejagah and Masoud Shojaei will be carrying out the duties on the flanks while several other options are available for Queiroz to enhance these two depending on the type of plan he has in mind. Khalatbary , Hajsafy and Rahmani are fine option when needed. 
y sign of potent offensive strategy, although Team Melli has the potential to inflict damage to any of the teams in the group with the players in hand. Ashkan Dejagah coming from behind the lone forward can be effective and score goals. His individual skills, explosive runs, accurate and powerful shooting are all attributes that augurs well for the Midfielder cum winger that helped him score many goals in his career. In the central forward position, be it Ghoochannejad or Ansarifard in the lone striker role, both the players have a proven record of prolific scoring. In case these two players fall short, Queiroz has the chance to introduce the yet unproven qualities of Jahanbakhsh or Azmoun. Both these youngsters lack any experience at top level, but their youthful energy and audacious tactics, can possibly yield some results. Their lack of experience could be an advantage in situations where senior players shy away from making some moves, but the younger ones would give it a go.
