Football instead of politics

Arian Faal

  • Iran national football team prepares for the World Cup in Stegersbach  – a site inspection of the “Wiener Zeitung”.

Steger Bach. No one wants to talk about politics here, only about football, the World Cup in Brazil and the “honor of Persia”. The slogan that unites national pride and hope to bring the Iranian soccer team luck and will also be featured on the World Cup bus.

Information

Iranian national football Team (Team Melli)

(af) Team Melli is next to Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea one of the strongest Asian football teams. Qualified three times to the finale of AFC Asian Cup (1968, 1972, 1976), all of which were won and became champions. Five times (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2004) in the semi-finals of Asian Cup , three games of them involved  penalty shoot-out losses (1984, 1996, 2004). In addition to four World Cup participation (1978, 1998, 2006 and 2014), the national team qualified three times for the Olympic Summer Games (1964, 1972, 1976). 

Even if the Islamic Republic was present in the past few years more by the nuclear issue news headline  and the former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the European media, The Iranians wants their national football team (Team Melli), which has gathered in May for three weeks in Austria for training,  to be in the news.

The daily routine of the 28 nominated players is minutely regulated. In addition to a strict diet and fixed workouts, there are always intermediate dates such as the FIFA doping test or one or the other interview. There are only a few who dare to speak to Western media. Tricky questions by reporters swarming around the camp automatically creates cautious and reserves responses. Apparently no one wants to be put into hot water by discussing controversial issues at home and answer questions by the authorities.

“Football has nothing to do with politics,” is what  the 31-year-old regular player Andranik Teymourian believes when engaged in a scarce conversation with the “Wiener Zeitung” . “But football can create a bridge of friendship,” he adds.

That was a few days ago. About the lack of jerseys of the team that received much exposure by the world ptress and the shrinking after wash. “The issue with the jersey is finished. We have plenty of them here and hope that they will be of better quality in the future,” said Teymourian a key player in the World Cup qualifiers.

“It is difficult,”
“We have been training really hard in this one and a half months, and I believe there never was in the past few years as a national team as now. Nevertheless, we know that it is difficult,” admits the professional. Three friendlies are in those three weeks of the program, one of them being, namely Belarus, already took place and ended in a draw. In this match at Kapfenberg before 1500 spectators,  the Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz almost used his entire squad. Only Daniel Davari and Ashkan Dejagah, who has previously played in the German Bundesliga were not used.

Several hundred of the approximately 30,000 people living in Austria Austro Persians traveled for the first game to support their team Melli. One of them was Arash K. “We have to be present at the games, so that the world sees that Iran has to offer other than the nuclear issue. Iranian national football team is one of the best and strongest teams in Asia. It is therefore self-evident that we qualified for the World Cup in Brazil. On the Fifa ranking of May 2014, we are ranked with 750 points 37th place, “he says with obvious pride. Why the training camp held in Austria, has several reasons. There are good relations between Vienna and Tehran, and it is a good opportunity to force the sports exchanges with Europe.

[slider source=”media: 6717,6709,6710,6711,6712,6713,6714,6715,6716″ target=”blank” width=”520″ title=”no”]

Is Faraki groomed to take over from Queiroz?

Is somehow a surprised and questionable move, Hossein Faraki sternly refused to renew his contract with Foolad Khuzestan citing Medical problem (knee injury). Faraki who has guided Foolad Khuzestan to only their second ever League title this season parted company with Foolad as he explained  “an operation is needed on my knees. I have to quit as I will not be able to accompany the team and I believe the team will waste valuable time if I do not recover properly for the start of the pre-season training.I have to have a rest period so that I can be fully fit for future duties”

While the problem with Hossein Faraki’s knee is well known, it has not prevented his mobility in a major way , and the operation that he needs to carry out , is not deemed to have a crippling effect or long term mobility problem.

The CEO of Foolad Khuzestan has said that “the club will do anything to keep Faraki in Ahvaz, even if we have to drag him on a wheelchair, but Faraki wanted to leave and concentrate on his forthcoming knee operation and recovery process. We reluctantly agreed to his request to resign. We regret that this gentleman who has left a legacy with us , beautiful memories and a team that we are proud of , is going to be no more part of the organization.”

Things being what they are in Iran , in an essence , nothing is too straight foreword, rumors are already brewing that Hossein Faraki will be taking over from Carlos Queiroz after the Portuguese coach contract expires with the World Cup.

Kaffashian has already admitted that his federation cannot afford to renew the contract of Queiroz and his coaching staff , especially since the Portuguese rate has gone up. Kaffashian also said that no one is willing to tab the bill for Queiroz expenses ( ..we wonder why ?) and hence the chances of Carlos Queiroz leading Team Melli after the World Cup is extremely slim.

When asked about the prospects of Team Melli coaching job , Faraki said that he is honored to be considered for such a position however, he denied that he has been approached by the federation although later he added that he should not really be commenting on this issue!. Faraki wished Team Melli all the best in the World Cup under its present coach and insisted that in this period he wants to get over with his operation.

With FFIRI continual financial distress and the inability to afford a high profile European coach , Hossein Faraki seems to be quite an logical choice for Team Melli amongst the rest of the candidates. Recent Iranian coaches appointments from Ghalenoei , Ebrahimzadeh,  Daei  and  Mansourian did not yield the desired results although Ghalenoei and Daei had very respectable records during their reign while the other two were hardly given a decent chance (3 matches for Ebrahimzadeh and one for Mansourian).  

With a championship title in the bag, Faraki can claim a major achievement especially considering that he won the league based on team of young players, limited budget/resources, dearth of star players or high profile footballers and inexperienced team compared to his more illustrious rivals.

Whether Faraki will take over after June is still not clear yet, but knowing the people who pull the strings in the federation and their sense of urgency which is compatible with the of a turtle’s march, Faraki might very well find himself as an emergency coach albeit a temporary one, because the FFIRI fails to  find a suitable coach in such a short time!  None of the other high profile Iranian coaches will be available because they are contracted to their teams, Faraki however, will be out of contract creating the ideal opportunity to take over at short notice. That is one very possible scenarion

 

Stay tuned.

 

Faraki-hos

 

Hossein Faraki Career Information
Personal information
Full name Hossain Faraki
Date of birth March 22, 1957 (age 57)
Place of birth Tehran, Iran
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1976–1979 Pas Tehran
1979–1981 Al-Shaab (UAE)
1981–1992 Pas Tehran
National team
1977–1980 Iran 22 (11)
Teams managed
2009–2010 Kaveh
2010–2012 Naft Tehran
2012–2014 Foolad

Bleachers Report: Analysing Carlos Queiroz’s Iran

By Sam Tighe , World Football Tactics Lead Writer

Welcome to the latest edition of our World Cup tactics board, where we look at each nation that has qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

This time around, we’ve studied minnows Iran, led by former Real Madrid and Manchester United stalwart Carlos Queiroz and spearheaded by Fulham attacker Ashkan Dejagah.

 

Qualifying

The Asian qualifying path to the World Cup is long and unforgiving; it crams many fixtures into a short amount of time, making for an early start and an early finish to proceedings.

Iran were the second Asian nation to seal their place in Brazil after Japan, topping Group A by two points and seeing off the challenge of South Korea (qualified in second) and Uzbekistan.

They lost just twice throughout the campaign and conceded just two goals in their final eight games. They struggled for goals too, scoring an average of just one per game in the final stage and winning most games 1-0.

Four of their players scored three goals during qualifying, though Reza Ghoochannejhad didn’t emerge as a starting option until late.

 

Formation and Style

Iran play the most defensive 4-2-3-1 formation you’ll see at the finals, with Queiroz preaching discipline, tracking and numbers at the back.

His back four are a genuine back four, with the full-backs only venturing forward for the odd attack and throw-ins. Out of possession, they’re as flat as can be, charged with man-marking the wingers and harassing midfield runners.

 
Iran sit off the ball-player and mark the midfield

The Persian Stars are happy to sit off the ball when their opponents have it in their own half. Far removed from any form of high-press strategy, opposing centre-backs will have all the time in the world to pick a pass.

The problem is that there are no options, as Iran swamp out the midfield by switching into a deep 4-4-1-1 or 4-1-4-1 and man-mark all outlets. They barely encroach upon ballplayers to pressure and instead decide to present the opposition with no options.

AV
With no one to pass to, SK hit it long. Again.

Inevitably, players get fed up and play longer, riskier passes. Here’s an example from a stifling 1-0 victory over South Korea that sums up the approach.

If the opposition are able to work it forward—via pass, overload or dribble—Iran become snappy and aggressive in hunting down the ball, treading the thin line between firm challenge and foul on a regular basis.

They’re often touch-tight and work incredibly hard to win the ball back, but once they have it, that’s where the problems start.

Offensively, they are stunted, and it doesn’t help when all they do going forward is pass it to Javad Nekounam and hope he can pick out a stunning, incisive long pass.

AV
Iran aggressively pursue the ball as it enters their territory.

Nekounam will always look to the wings first and foremost to release a runner, and Masoud Shojaei has impressed on the left opposite Ashkan Dejagah with his hard running, opportunistic releases and enthusiasm.

Reza Ghoochannejhad has emerged as an opportunistic finisher, with nine goals in 11 international appearances, but how will he cope against the defences of Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Nigeria?

 

Reasons for Hope

This Iran side is extremely well-drilled. Every player knows his job off the ball and has subscribed to Queiroz‘s way of thinking. He’s renowned as a defensive coach, which didn’t suit Portugal in 2010, but this is the ideal fit.

The defensive unit, led by Seyed Jalal Hosseini, looks settled and competent. Hosseini himself commands an organised back line and barks orders at his full-backs on a regular basis.

B/R Tighe (@stighefootball)
Possible Iran XI for the finals.

Andranik Teymourian, Nekounam‘s defensive midfield partner, is also more than handy and has experience—albeit very limited—in the Premier League.

Dejagah will give them an attacking edge often missing during qualifying, but he’ll be required to make his own chances and finish them himself. Nekounam will make the first pass, but beyond that, it’s up to him.

Mohammadreza Khalatbari is a wild-card substitution capable of winning a game, but he lacks consistency and lost his starting place over the last 12 months.

 

Reasons for Concern

Iranian fitness levels have always been doubted—a product of most players playing in the low-standard Iranian Pro League—and nothing we’ve seen in 2014 bucks that trend.

With the exception of Ghoochannejhad, Nekounam and Dejagah, you worry about the durability of this side over the course of 90 minutes against Lionel Messi, Edin Dzeko and Emmanuel Emenike.

Said fitness concerns aren’t exactly helped by the kick-and-rush approach taken by Queiroz and his men while attacking, and it’s no wonder they tire, as they rarely ever have the ball.

“Resting in possession,” a la Barcelona, doesn’t have to be taken too seriously by international teams, but the Persian Stars could do with adopting a little bit more patience on the ball. Quality, or a lack thereof, factors in here, of course.

Can Ghoochannejhad, Nekounam and Dejagah break down Argentina, Nigeria and BIH single-handedly? The honest answer, on paper, is no.

 

Conclusions and Predictions

You’d be mad to back Iran to get out of a very challenging Group F, but that doesn’t mean they’re a walkover.

They don’t scrabble around defensively and block shots with flailing legs a la North Korea in 2010; Queiroz has coached this team to the point that they’re positionally superb off the ball.

While they are expected to eventually yield, don’t expect landslide scorelines and a minus-10 goal difference at the end of the tournament.

Team Melli official song receives mix reviews

 

The official song of Team Melli for the World Cup has been released to a mix review by critics. The song by Iranian artist Ehsan Khoajah Amiri was officially approved by the authorities and sponsored by the Football federation (FFIRI)

Ali Kaffashian was asked on Thursday about his own personal opinion , the FFIRI President said “There is nothing wrong with it , it is a good song.”

The authorities in Iran has eased much restrictions on artists and Pop music production in the country , much of it was deemed to be taboo after the revolution. Khowajah Amiri is one of many artists who have made their name in Iran with the approval of the authorities. One artist, and for the first time in Iran , has sold more than one million official CDs recently in a country where bootleg or copy CD’s is rife.

 

Download Team Melli Song By Ehsan Khoajah Amiri

 

دانلود موسیقی جام جهانی
اثر احسان خواجه امیری

The never ending saga of Team Melli kit.

Kaffashian, once again came out firmly in support of UHLSport and their kit for Team Melli, refuting any claims by the head coach Carlos Queiroz and his players that the quality of the kit is sub-standard.

Answering reporters questions on Thursday from Khorasan where Kaffashian is in an official assignment, The head of the football federation, also claimed that Queiroz’s problem with UHLSport is due to the fact that He (Queiroz) was expecting a commission from the German company, which was not agreed by UHLSport!

Kaffashian is the second Iranian official  . following the Minster of Sports Goudarzi , who has mentioned in public Queiroz’s commission demand while the Portuguese coach has remained silent so far although has hinted before that his attorney will be doing the talking soon. .

The story does not end there either. It becomes rather comical  or  amateurish or downright denigrating, depending on one’s  mood at the time of reading this.

With world media attention directed at the story of Iran’s substandard kit provided by a German company , quoting the sarcastic remarks of Kaffashian that Team Melli players should not use cold water while washing their jersey as they need to re-use it for the next match (at least we hope it was a sarcastic remark, as it definitely was not funny),  UHLSport management was right to get very concerned. The German Kit provider for Team Melli decided to do an investigation of their own. They sent a team to Vienna, where Team Melli is camping to check first hand on the complaints by the Iranians , which definitely does the company’s reputation little good.

And what a surprise, shock or a joke when the men form UHLSport discover that a batch of non-UHLSport produced kit was mixed with genuine ones sent by the German company!  (see the official press release below) So, it seems that Queiroz and his players were right after all.  How did this happen?  Mr. Kaffashian had an explanation, and whichever way you look at it , it is seriously a depressing one.

Kaffashian claims that when Team Melli was  about to embark on the South Africa camp , only 3 colors were sent from Germany, but due to the request of the team for two different or additional colors, those were provided by the UHLSport agent in Dubai which apparently was of an inferior quality!

We are not sure if we understand Kaffashian correctly but tens of questions comes right to mind on the logic and the reasoning of his account of the story. It is simply flawed. Whichever way one looks at it. By all accounts , it signals the existence of a dismal management, lack of supervision, organization failures, poor communication, lack of accountability amongst many other fiascoes that has been the hallmark of this administration for ages.

The only thing that Kaffashian has said that we agree upon, although in essence that would amount to a cover up and concealing of facts, is his request to the media yesterday to keep a cap on the Team Melli kit issues. Obviously that is a self-serving request as he does not want more fingers pointed at him for his feeble control of the situation and fear of even more tales of exposure.   However , this very embarrassing and humiliating tales need to be put to bed

 

 

2nd Press Release from UHLSport

.20140520 uhlsport Pressemitteilung II_IRAN_DE_INT_210x297_RZ

Dejagah wins Fulham fans’ player of the season.

Fulham midfielder Ashkan Dejagah has narrowly been crowned as Fulham fans’ player of the season.

In our London 24 poll – the Iranian star pipped fellow midfield man Steve Sidwell to the gong in low rated contest after a poor season at Craven Cottage.

Dejagah has been one of very few Fulham stars to find their form this season, with crucial goals and assists keeping the west London club in with a chance of survival until the end.

Sidwell has been equally impressive, although with his contract expiring next month; it could be a farewell second place for the 31-year-old.

Goalkeeper David Stockdale claimed third spot after replacing big name summer signing Maarten Stekelenburg between the sticks and showing his best work in tough times.

Stekelenburg finished way down the poll, however above loanee Darren Bent who scored a record low 2.4/10.

Deserters Dimitar Berbatov, Adel Taarabt and Philippe Senderos were also all at the wrong end of the poll with fans clearly not appreciating their efforts.

Below are the results for Fulham’s player of the season poll.

Ashkan Dejagah – 7.6

Steve Sidwell – 7.5

David Stockdale – 7.4

Johnny Heitinga – 6.3

Lewis Holtby – 6.1

Kieran Richardson – 5.9

Team Melli news updates

Vienna

 

After the friendly international games on Sunday where Team Melli drew 0-0 with Belarus, there was a general consensuses  that the Iranian players were physically tired from the intense training. Most of the players interviewed referred to the physical stress on their bodies as one of the reasons that the team was unable to perform better.

Carlos Queiroz has decided to give the team an Off day. All the players went to a shopping spree or sightseeing the beautiful city of Vienna

Ashkan Dejagah finally joined the squad after arrival from London. The only player missing now is Masoud Shojaei whose team Las Palmas is still engaged in the second division of the Spanish league and one of the contenders for promotion. After the completion of the squad , the intense training will continue with two sessions a day. Morning and evening.

Team Melli squad will be moving to a new resident in Stegrsbach which is 140 km south of Vienna.  It is a scenic resort The match against Montenegro will be played in The TSV Hartberg Fußballstadion, at Hartberg (30 km from Stegrsbach ).

The Montenegro FA website has announced the time of the match at 18:30 CET (21:00 Tehran Time).

This is the first time Iran and Montenegro have met.  Montenegro will be the 112th international opponent of Iran since 1941 when Iran played its first international match against Afghanistan.

 

[divider]

Images from Belarus game

[custom_gallery source=”media: 6955,6954,6953,6952,6951″ limit=”15″ link=”image” target=”blank” width=”470″ height=”200″]

Keshi dismisses Argentina, focused on Iran

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi focusing on Iran first

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi says his focus at the moment is his opening World Cup match against Iran.

Keshi’s team also play Bosnia-Herzegovina and Argentina, but most of the focus has been on the South American giants.

The Nigeria coach insists that the first game is the most important one of all. “The Argentina game is not important right now,” Keshi said.

“The most important game is against Iran and when I finish playing against Iran and Bosnia then I can have an answer to that.”

Keshi also dismissed injury concerns to his players, claiming he has spoken to them and received assurances.

“There are no injuries. I have called Austin Ejide and he made it clear that he was never injured.

“Ahmed Musa had a minor injury and l spoke to the club doctor who said in two or three weeks he would be fine.

“Musa played in the last minutes for his Russian club in a league game. I called Oduamadi and he dismissed the report of his injury. In fact he told that he had a match that same day, so I don’t know where all these rumours emanated from.

“But we will assess everyone very well when they come for the training camp.”

Teymourian “The problems at Team Melli can be resolved”

In a brief statement to FFIRI website, Andranik “Ando” Teymourian commenting on the Sunday match against Belarus, said “We had a few problems in the defense and forward lines in that match, but none of it is of any serious nature. They can be resolved. ”

The Esteghlal midfielder who is in camp in Austria with his teammates said “”From nearly 90 days, we have been doing intense physical training focused on improving the body, stamina and endurance. This is a demanding process that puts the body under pressure.”

“This is the second serious test since our qualification. I believe that the players have done their best in these two matches.” Added Teymourian , who is a key player for the team.

Iran played a goal-less draw against Belarus on Sunday May 18th .

Teymourian then commented on the attendance at the match “I feel so proud seeing all these Iranian fans at such venues. I like to sincerely thank the Iranian community in Austria that have given us so much support and encouragement. “

“Belarus is a good team and plays at the highest level of football in Europe (…) . Their physical condition was high. We are trying quite hard to reach an optimum physical level. In the match yesterday , we had a couple of good chances to score , but we wasted them.”

Meanwhile Mohammad Reza Khalatbary reflected on the match and basically repeated the same on the conditions of the players.

“We have tried our best , but we were tired after such long and demanding training”

Asked if he is satisfied with his own performance , Persepolis winger responded  “It is the coach that should be asked if I was good enough or not. I tried my best.”

With less than a month to the first match, the two players’ statements are slightly worrying. It seems that all this time spent in training, the focus was on physical conditions of the player and less emphasis on tactics. Despite what Teymourian claimed about Belarus, they are far from top European side with a FIFA ranking of 83 and that was evident in their match against Team Melli. Although , Team Melli was not playing at full strength, it could only create 2 or 3 serious scoring chances against Belarus.

Teymourian did not elaborate on the solutions at hand, and did not comment on the forthcoming match against Montenegro, which is currently the highest ranking Team that Iran will met in the preparation before the World Cup standing at # 54.  Iran next opponents for test matches will be Angola (FIFA Rank #94)  and finally Trinidad and Tobago. (FIFA Rank #74)

Iran - Belarus May 2014 [1]