19/10/201328/10/2013

Young Iranians draw with Argentina

Dubai , UAE

From Teammelli.com reporter:

Iran’s youth football team U-17 drew with Argentina 1-1 in their first match of FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament currently held in Emirates. The Group E match game played today, (Saturday) at Rashid Stadium in Dubai in presence of 18000 fans the majority of which were Iranian fans whose tremendous support and chants lifted the spirit of the young Iranian players.

While Doustimehr boys gained a point from this draw, it could have been so easily been 3 points if the Team Melli U-17 were more composed in front of the goal of their more famous opponents, Argentina.

The match started with a bang. As early as the first minute of the match, Mostafa Hashemi smashed the ball in the back of the Argentine net to score his and Iran’s first goal in the tournament.

The Latin Americans championship title holders were shocked. The early goal was scored when the Argentine defenders failed to clear a ball in their box. The loose ball reached Iran’s Mostafa Hashemi who was lurking just behind the box. He lashed at the ball with a ferocious drive from outside the penalty area to score a spectacular goal and stun the Argentines. The stadium stands erupted with joy while many Iranians fans were still drifting in to take their seats.

The shock that Argentine players felt put them on overdrive to recover from this early deficit, however, several opportunities were also gifted to Iran before their equalizer.

Karimi’s chance in particular when he shot from distance in the 13th minute, could have made it 2-0 for Iran, but the ball cleared the bar by inches. A minute after that , Argentina equalized. The equalizer was against the run of the play as Iran had more of the ball and control of the game. In fact, the goal scored was the first serious attack that Argentina has mounted. Sebastian was lurking between several Iranian markers who failed to notice him and the young Argentine received a diagonal ball neatly slotted the ball past Iran’s Keeper for the equalizer.

Iran continued playing a neat game with glimpses of individual skills from the youngsters. The Iranians always looked dangerous. In the 27 minutes, the fans were up celebrating ,when fierce shot by Ali Hazamy rattled the Argentine post. To the dismay of the Iranian fans who were all up waiting to celebrate the second goal, the ball bounced out of play instead of going in the net. Iran long range shooting continued with Jaffary trying a shoot from distance in 36th minutes, but the Argentine keeper was alert to it and parried it away.

Argentina however, refused to let Iran dictate thee game and take control. Their tactics was to attack from the flanks utilizing the speed and the skill of their wingers and half backs. Twice the players from the right flank created scoring opportunities, the first chance was a shot directly hit Iran’s keeper who collected it with a bit of an effort, while the next one cleared the goal post to safety. Argentina looked dangerous in attack.

Overall, it was an entertaining half with Iran having the better of Argentina playing with flair and poise. Chances were missed, however there were also some neat football played to the delight of the fans.

In the second half Argentina started as the better team. It seemed they were under instruction to score an early goal in this half and let the Iranians chase the rest of game. In the first five minutes of the half, they had the control of the ball as and several scoring opportunities , with Dousitmehr players saw little of the ball and control they enjoyed in the first half.

The pressure by the Argentine, resulted in two serious threats on Mehdi Amini’s goal. The first of which Amini had to save twice from the Argentine forward, while the second was cleared after several attempts from the defenders. But the Argentine control soon faded as Iran regained the confidence and started distributing the ball once again in the midfield area. With the match progressing though, there were a series of bad passes by both teams. It could have been the effect of fatigue and the humid weather. Also this period saw both teams reverting to direct football which lowered the quality of the game. Both sets of players were playing cautiously and somehow it seems that they were content with the result.

on 61 minutes Iran’s Gholizdeh easily dribbled pass his marker and had only the goalkeeper to beat, but his shot was feeble and was easily saved. A good chance missed.

In response, in 64th minutes Jonathan Kanth , rolled a beautiful ball to Dryvsy which provided an opportunity for the creative Argentine forward to double his tally , but the Argentine goal scorer could not finish and a certain chance went up in the air. Two minutes later, the ball ended in the back of Iran’s net , but it was disallowed by the referee.

In the 81^st minute, Argentine defender was sent off after receiving his second yellow and the South American champions were 1 man down for the rest of the match. That shortage, however, did not prevent them from attacking Iran’s goal. One chance went just over the bar.

The last few minutes, the players who were visibly tired, started passing the ball whenever they had possession with very little inclination to attack.

When the referee blew for the final whistle, it was clear that the Iranians were the happier team with this result , although the Argentinians did not seem to sad either.

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fifa.com

A first-half flourish featured the best chances for Argentina, who were reduced to ten men late in the second half, and Iran as the two sides fought to a 1-1 draw, earning each a point for their FIFA U-17 World Cup campaigns.

Mostafa Hashemi celebrated his 17th birthday in style by putting Iran ahead inside the first minute of the match with a delightful half-volley from distance that caught everyone in Dubai’s Sheikh Rashid Stadium, including Argentina goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, off guard.

Iran continued to attack and maintained heavy pressure in the early stages of the contest but Argentina found their equaliser in the 15th minute through Sebastien Driussi. The Argentine No9 received Marcos Astina’s cross near the top of Iran’s penalty area and did very well to make good contact to send the ball through traffic and past Iran keeper Mahdi Amini.

Midway through the first-half Ali Hazami hit a powerful strike from 35 yards out that had Batalla beaten, but fortunately for Argentina’s custodian, his effort crashed off the far post and away from danger. Enjoying the majority of possession, Iran were searching for the lead and Saeid Ezatolahi found himself with a clear look on goal for their best chance to go ahead before the break, but he should have done better with his opportunity as his volley harmlessly sailed over the crossbar.

The second-half started brightly with several good chances at both ends in the first ten minutes, though the second goal would remain elusive for both sides. While Iran looked to be stronger team in the first half, Argentina began to assert themselves better after the restart and seemed to be the likelier to break the deadlock. Substitute Crisitan Pavon nearly made an immediate impact upon entering the match when his header clipped the crossbar in the 78th minute, but a second Argentina goal wasn’t meant to be.

Three minutes later Lucio Compagnucci saw red as a result of his second caution for a rough challenge, but Argentina continued to attack despite their numerical disadvantage.

Iran began to use their extra man to cause problems for the Argentinian rearguard during stoppage time, but it was too little too late as the Group E competitors were forced to settle for a draw. Both sides will be in search of three points on Tuesday when Argentina face Austria and Iran take on Canada.

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FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP

IRAN vs. ARGENTINA

1 -1

Golas: Mostafa HASHEMI (1′) , Sebastian DRIUSSI (14′)

Referee: Pavel KRALOVEC (CZE)

Dubai , Rashid Stadium

Attn: 18,000

1 Mahdi AMINI (GK) 2 Mostafa HASHEMI 4 Komeil HAGHZADEH 5 Majid HOSSEINI (C) 6 Saeid EZATOLAHI 8 Mohammad BAZAJ (3 Sasan JAFARI 67′) 9 Amir MAZLOUM 10 Amirhossein KARIMI 11 Reza JAFARI (19 Yousef SEYYEDI 83′) 17 Ali HAZAMI (14 Ali GHOLIZADEH 59′ ) 18 Sadegh MOHARRAMI

Coach: Ali DOUSTIMEHR (IRN)

1 Augusto BATALLA (GK) 2 Emanuel MAMMANA 4 Nicolas TRIPICHIO 5 German FERREYRA 6 Leandro VEGA (C) 9 Sebastian DRIUSSI 11 Marcos ASTINA ( 13 Cristian PAVON 77′ ) 14 Lucio COMPAGNUCCI 15 Rodrigo MOREIRA 18 Luis LESZCZUK (7 Jonathan CANETE 60′ ) 20 Matias SANCHEZ ( 17 Joaquin IBANEZ 53′ )

Coach: Humberto GRONDONA (ARG)

17/10/201317/10/2013

António Simões defends Shojae against fans abuse.

The assistant coach of Team Melli António Simões , has defended Masoud Shojaei against the fans who booed him and chanted against the Las Palmas player during Tuesday’s 2-1 win against Thailand.

The Portuguese coach said that he was not fully aware what was going on during the match in this respect and what the fans were chanting about during the game itself. “ Unfortunately , one person forgot to do what he is supposed to do. We only knew about those chants on our way back to the hotel. If Carlos Queiroz knew exactly what was going on as far as Shojeai was concerned and from what I know of Queiroz character, he would have left Shojaei in the game even if the match lasted another 4 of 5 hours !!” António Simões said in a statement to the FFIRI website.

“As a player who has served this team for 9 years, Shojeai deserves much respect and certainly better than the treatment he received on Tuesday” The assistant to Carlos Queiroz said. “Some people need to learn to be appreciative and value their assets. Shojaei belongs to the People of Iran and is part of this family called Team Mell” Simões concluded.

If António Simões is right about what he believes that Queiroz would have done and left Shojaei playing the whole match ( or even 5 hours if the match lasted that long, as he claimed) in defiance to the hostile fans and subjecting him to barrages of verbal abuse and of profanities from that section of the crowds, then Queiroz needs to learn a few lessons on human factors and psychology in the Persian culture. It might be OK in Europe ( although we seriously doubt that ) for a player to be subjected to boos and abuse, in Iran it is simply NOT acceptable. The insults are demoralizing for a player and would leave a scar that some players might not easily fully recover from.

Shojaei , to be fair , has not been playing anywhere near his unusual best since the Asian Cup 2011 in Doha, despite what Queiroz thinks of the player. Shaoje had a career threatening injury, he was off football for a season and a half. Masoud Shojaei, as a person is a decent gentleman who has hardly been in the news for wrong reasons. His disciplinary record is admirable and he is a true professional. He is also a hyper sensitive person. The world knew about how sensitive Shojaei is shortly after he was sent off during the Korea Game in Azadi for Iran to play with 10 men. Masoud was in tears, inconsolable and crying like a baby . It was like a miracle when Nekounam scored the decisive goal , not only to save Iran but also to console Shojaei , who would have never forgiven himself if Iran lost that match due to his dismissal.

We completely concur with António Simões last statements about respect and appreciations for the efforts of players, despite the fact that some of these efforts sometimes fall way short of the fans expectations. We also disagree with the fans focusing on Shaojae while many other players were playing worse than him. But because those under-performing players were from famous teams, they were immune! However, we disagree with the hawkish, defiant and stubborn mentality that the Team Melli coaching team seems to employ. There is no question that Queiroz has the last say about his players’ selection, but we firmly believe that in parallel he needs to starts thinking about protecting his players, morally and physically as well.

17/10/201317/10/2013

Team Melli drops by one in FIFA ranking

Team Melli has lost one step and dropped to 49 in the world in the FIFA/CocaCola monthly world ranking for October 2013.

Accumulating 613 points , Iran ranked is still second in Asia following Japan and ahead of Uzbekistan and South Korea in fourth position.

The drop was in the ranking came despite win against Thailand in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on the 15th of October which was counted in the ranking calculations. The fact that Team Melli was idol and did not play any matches since its qualification to the World Cup in the win against South Korea in Ulsan, was certain to lead to a slide in the ranking which is crucial for the seeding in the World Cup groups draw on December 6th. With this ranking , it is quite probable that Iran will be in the 4th seeding.

According to the latest ranking, the picture is clear as far as the top seeds are concerned.

1) Brazil 2) Spain 3) Germany 4) Argentina 5) Columbia 6) Belgium 7) Uruguay 8)Switzerland will top the group in the FIFA World Cup 2014

If Uruguay fails to beat Jordan in the playoff then Holland will take its place as a top rank team. England, Italy failed to make the top seeds as well as France and Portugal , provided they qualify after the play-offs.

Asia top 10 teams

Oct 2013

World Rank	Asia Rank	Team	Pts	+/- Pos
44	1	Japan	634	-2
49	2	Iran	613	-1
55	3	Uzbekistan	582	2
56	4	Korea Republic	569	2
57	5	Australia	564	-4
70	6	Jordan	502	3
71	7	United Arab Emirates	496	11
92	8	Oman	381	4
97	9	China PR	365	2
101	10	Saudi Arabia	338	8

16/10/2013

Iran vs. Thailand. Fans Reactions.

The coach and players were hoping for a capacity crowd to turn up at Azadi to support Team Melli for two reasons. One it is the first match that Team Melli plays after the qualification to the World Cup, and two , it was hoped that in addition to the usual support , this match would be like a tribute to the Team Melli players from the fans. Disappointedly, only 12000 fans turned out at the start of the match. The stadium security had to shift the scattered fans in the upper stands down to lower stands. This is a standard practice unique to Azadi stadium!

The total number of fans eventually rose to 17,330 or %17 of the total capacity of Azadi.

Around the hours from the match, some disgruntled fans started protesting and expressing their disapproval of what they are watching from Team Melli. Two sets of fans even started arguments that led to security forces intervention before escalating to a clash.

Some fans started cheering their clubs and calling the name of their club players.

With time passing and the team still performing poorly, a sudden crescendo calling for “Ali Daei” started echoing in the stadium from the fans. No doubt mostly Perspolis fans.

Some fans then started chanting against individual players for their poor performance. The main object of their derision was Masoud Shojaei. The Las Palmas player who was not having a good match (but then again he has not performed well for Team Melli for years ) was one easy target for the boo boys.

The scoring of the goals came at the perfect time to calm the discontents in the terraces. Those two quick goals silenced the boo boys and the supporting chants started again for Team Melli players.

Thailand scored in the 80^th minute from a tremendous drive and unstoppable shot that Team Melli goalkeeper Rahman Ahmadi had no chance against. However, that goal conceded quickly changed the mood of the fans again as some of them started calling for “Daniel Davari” and shouting his name. The recently joined German-Iranian goalkeeper was on the bench at the time. Talking to a reporter after the match , Davari thanked the fans for calling his name, perhaps not aware that in Iran , this is a form of protest against another player or a coach.

After the match, Ando Teymourian was upset by the fans who booed Shojaei while defiantly and sarcastically called for all those fans to call Queiroz and ask him to remove Shojaei from the Team Melli squad, if they dared!! The uncharacteristic remark by Teymourian indicates the level of distraught Team Melli players feel when verbally attacked by the fans.

Jalal Hosseini was another player who commented about the fans and said that Masoud Shojaei, who was substituted on the 78^th minute, was quite upset by the fans hostile comments.

15/10/201317/10/2013

Team Melli struggles against Thailand with a narrow win.

Tehran

Team Melli defeated Thailand 2-1 in Group B of AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualification rounds in Azadi Stadium. The goals were scored by defender Seyed Jalal Hosseni (67) and Reza Ghoochannejad (69) while Thailand scored on the 80^th minute from a splendid volley by Teerasil Dangda.

Carlos Queiroz started the match with his usual tried and trusted players. From the last match against Korea, there was only 3 changes all due to fitness nature rather than tactical.

In the first 20 minutes , Team Melli played a lazy game with little to indicate that it will be an easy match for the group leaders. The best chance fell to Ashkan Dejagah who was released by a smart through ball by Nekounam. Dejagah escaped from the offside trap and was faced with only the goalkeeper to beat. The Fulham player lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper but his ball just missed the target by inches, a precious chance wasted.

On the 23^rd minute – Shojaei claimed he was fouled in the 18 yards area of Thailand but the referee played on.

A minute later another chance fell to Ghoochannejad .when he had a clear shot and the Goalkeeper to beat with a marker chasing him. The standard Liege forward puts his foot under the ball to shoot skyward.

Thailand team had one good chance that Ahmadi handled with a bit of difficulty.

36^th minute Nekounam headed high from a nice cross by Mahini.

45+1 a nicely weighted Free kick by Dejagah from the right , finds Nekounam who heads directly into Thai goalkeeper hands. .

Overall, it was a poor first half by Team Melli. The team played uninspiring game , lackluster and an eyesore to the fans. The 2 serious chances they created were wasted , while most of the game was played in the midfield. Lack of stamina, urgency , passing mistakes, poor coordination was evident. In a nutshell the team looked like a group of misfits.

The 2^nd half started without any substitution by Queiroz who was perhaps satisfied with the lethargic display of his players. The first quarter of the period continued as it ended to the disgust of the 17000 fans. Despite their limited numbers , the fans were quite vocal in their support of the team until the hour, when protests and negative chants were heard within occasional boos targeting some Team Melli players,

The poor display prompted a late change of players when Ansarifard came in for the ineffective and visibly out of form Dejagah,

A minute after the substitution in the 67^th, Jalal Hosseini who was in the Thai penalty box for a corner , received a loose ball from Mahini. The central defender , like a skilled and seasoned forward , cleverly slotted the ball to the right of the advancing goalkeeper to score Iran’s first goal to a great relief of everyone in the Azadi.

Two minutes after the goal , Shojaei released Ansarifard on the left. The Tractorsazi forward, nicely squared the ball for Reza Ghoochannejad who tapped in the second.

Steven” Mehrdad “ Beitashour made his debut for Team Melli after he was substituted in for Hossein Mahini at the right back position. The 15 minutes he played was not enough to judge on Beitashour , but their were glimpses of hope.

Minute 80 Thailand’s Teerasil Dangda scored a beautiful consolation goal from a volley just outside the box after the Iranian defense blunder in which they failed to clear a simple loose ball.

There were two late chances that should have sealed the game to Iran beyond doubt , but wasted. In the 85^th minute, a clever and a unique 1-2 between Khalatbary and Ghoochannejad , released the former to face the Thai keeper, however the angled shoot by Khalatbary was fingertip saved to a corner. It was a good save .

Then Ansarifard wasted 2 consecutive changes in the added time, once when he squared the ball to Ghoochannejad while he was in a much better position to shoot and score, then the second a minute later when he shoot feebly while clear.

Despite the win and the 3 points, there was no doubt that this match was one of the worst in the recent run of poor performances by Team Melli. The fact that Team Melli is winning , by the tightest possible margins despite not playing an attractive football , is itself a good omen.

This team lacked much of what it takes to perform to respectable standard in the world cup. Not surprising of a team that compromises mainly of bench players lacking competitive match practice.

With such a performance , the worries of the fans would certainly increase as well the pressure on Queiroz who should start thinking about delivering a respectable, honorable football to Iran.

The win takes Iran to the top of the table with 7 points ahead of Kuwait with 5 points which drew earlier against Lebanon in Beirut.

Iran Line up:

Ahmadi, Beigzadeh, Montazerri, Mahini (75’ Beitashour), Hosseini, Khalatbary, Nekounam, Teymourian, Dejagah (66 ansarifard), Shojaei (78 Jahanbakhsh), Ghoochannejad

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Asian Cup 2015 (Qs) MD3: Iran 2-1 Thailand

Published on Wednesday, 16 October 2013 02:53

Tehran: Jalal Hosseini and Reza Ghoochannejhad struck in a devastating three-minute spell midway through the second half as Iran beat Thailand 2-1 on Tuesday to move two points clear at the top of Group B in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 qualifiers.

Despite dominating the match at the Azadi Stadium, the home side were frustrated by the Thais until centre-back Hosseini broke the deadlock in the 67th minute and Ghoochannejhad tapped in a second shortly afterwards,

Teerasil Dangda pulled a goal back for the visitors with 10 minutes left but despite missing a few chances to put the game to bed, the Iranians still picked up the win to move up to seven points from three games, two in front of second-placed Kuwait, who drew 1-1 at Lebanon earlier in the day.

Despite the win, Iran coach Carlos Queiroz lamented the disjointed performance of his team, who had not played an international match since a 1-0 win over Korea Republic in a World Cup qualifier in June.

“I think after four months without preparations and friendlies, it was natural to see our team put out a dull performance in the first period when there was an obvious lack of organisation. However, our players gradually got better and they improved all the way through the match to the end,” said the Portuguese.

“For sure, it was not a good game for us and also the result did not exactly show the effort we put into the game as we missed a couple of very good chances and Thailand’s goal was an accident.

“But tonight’s match should be regarded as a wake-up call for Iranian football as there is no football team in the world who can survive after staying four complete months in the absolute wilderness.”

After a disappointing first half, the Iranians picked up their game after the interval but they were continually frustrated by the Thai defence and goalkeeper Sinthaweechai Hathairattankool and the Thai defence until they finally made the crucial breakthrough midway through the half.

An Iranian corner was half-cleared and as the Thais attempted to push up, the ball was played back towards the edge of the box where Hosseini neatly sidestepped a challenge before chipping the ball to the right of the sprawling Sinthaweechai.

Buoyed by the goal, the hosts added a second just three minutes later after some fine work on the left flank by substitute Karim Ansarifard who surged past a defender before sending a low cross to the far post where Ghoochannejhad easily tapped home.

The Thais made things interesting in the closing minutes when Narong Jansawek gained possession on the edge of the Iranian box with 10 minutes left and laid it off for Teerasil, who rifled it into the top left corner past a static Rahman Ahmadi.

But the Iranians should have sealed victory in the 85th minute through Mohammad Reza Khalatbari, whose fierce effort from 10 metres was brilliantly turned over the crossbar bySinthaweechai.

While the Iranians are flying high in the group, the Thais remained rooted to the bottom with no points from three games.

“We came to Tehran to get at least one point to give us something to build on for our return match in Bangkok but things didn’t proceed as we expected,” said Thailand coach Surachai Jaturapattarapong.

“Now, we have to use all our chances in the best way possible at home to try to get a point. But Iran are an Asian powerhouse who have already qualified for the World Cup and so the return match will also be difficult for us.”

14/10/2013

Preview of Thailand Team.

The Thai team nicknamed “War Elephants” played a series of its best football during the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

The display by the Thail team returned much of the lost faith by the fans to the extent that the home matches in Rajamangala National Stadium reached capacity crowds. Thailand almost defeated Australia at their home and then defeated Oman 3-0 away. This was in addition to the draw against Saudi Arabia. These results were all indicative of a good team in the making with many young starlets given the opportunity and excelling. Such reflects the strength in depth of the Thai football which always produced plenty of good players, but as a group, they haverarely managed to cap on their skills and win trophies.

The German coach Winfried Schäfer who succeeded Bryan Robson in 2012 , was set to mount a serious challenge against the West Asian teams Iran , Kuwait and Lebanon in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Qualifying group. Thailand was looking for at least being 2nd in the group. However, the first defeat against Kuwait at home in the qualifiers damped the enthusiasm of the team as cracks started to build up. It was a shock result for the Thai fans, who expected a comfortable win against no so powerful Kuwait.

Thailand still had a lot of time to recover from that loss and Lebanon, despite recent good results, would have been a tough test for the next match but again , not insurmountable opposition. This time, the Thai team was overhauled by Winfried Schäfer in the hope of getting an away win.

Veteran Surat Sukha was inducted in the team in the hope of solidifying the defense.

All the efforts of Winfried Schäfer was up in the air and the hope of qualifying to Austarlai in 2015 seem to fall apart after Thailand was ripped apart by Lebanon 5-2 in another shock result. The only saving grace perhaps was the scoring of two goals by Thitiphan Puangjan who came in as a substitute after half an hour.

In June 2013, Schäfer resigned his post as the Head Coach of Thailand. The FA of Thailand appointed Kiatisak Senamuang as the new caretaker coach for national team. His first task was friendly match against China PR on June 15, which he won 5–1.

It is not known which of the two teams will be playing against Team Melli tomorrow , but what is apparent is that Kiatisak will be desperate for at least one point in Tehran. It is unlikely that The Thai will go for an offensive game plan, preferring to let Team Melli do all the attacking , while they try to hit the hosts on the counter with their pacey players and then hoping for the best. Team Melli , despite being quite shy in scoring recently , could very well change in this match while oozing with confidence. Their mind at easce with qualification already assured to the World Cup, and setting comfortably at the top of the Asian Cup qualkifuication group, the team should give its best.

Tuesday will be a battle between a solidified 5 man Thai defense , backed by 4 more midfield players against an offensive Team Melli trying to score as many as they did against Lebanon.

The two different teams that represented Thailand in the competition so ar:

Against Kuwait in Bangkok: 1- 3

[1]Kawin Thamsatchanan ; [2] Panupong Wongsa (c), [3] Theerathon Bunmathan, [4] Chonlatit Jantakam, [11] Anucha Kitpongsri (59’ [13] Chatree Chimtale ), [7] Datsakorn Thonglao, [10] Teerasil Dangda, [12] Adul Lahso (82’ [17] Apipoo Suntornpanave) , [19] Phichitphong Choeichiu, [23] Piyaphon Buntao, [16] Jakkapan Pornsai (72’ [20] Chanathip)

GOAL: Chanathip

YELLOW: [4] Chonlatit Jantakam, [7] Datsakorn Thonglao

Own goal: Bunmathan

Against Lebanon in Beirut 2-5

[23] Siwarak Tedsungnoen ; [3] Theerathon Bunmathan, [21]Prayat, [6] Narubadin, [15]Surat Sukha, [7] Datsakorn Thonglao (c), [10] Teerasil Dangda, [11] Anucha Kitpongsri ((46’ [20] Chanathip), [14] Anthony Petch Ampaipitakwong, [16] Jakkapan Pornsai (31′ [19] Thitiphan Puangjan), [4] Apiwat Ngualamhin (54′ [5] Atit Daosawang

[6] Narubadin, [4] Apiwat Ngualamhin

GOALS: Thitiphan Puangjan (2)

14/10/2013

Daei was sacked on Ahmadinejad’s orders.

1n 2009 , Saudi Arabia beat Iran 2-1 in Azadi during the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying group match. It was the only defeat by Ali Daei since he took over as the head coach of Team Melli. Surprisingly , and shockingly for some, Ali Daei was sacked the next day , although Iran still stood a chance for qualifying and by far not out of the qualifyers.

Despite the poor record of Daei’s team in the qualifiers, it was not the policy and method of Iranian federations to sack coaches on the spot like what their Arabs neigbors do on regular basis and as a matter of policy whenever a team loses an important match. Daei’s sacking immidiately initiated rumors much of them indicating that the orders came from right at the top!

At the Team Melli camp preparing for tomorrows match against Thailand, Kaffashian talked to the press and said that the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not talk to him directly about firing Ali Daei from his post after the defeat against Saudi Arabia. Earlier on Aliabadi who was the head of “Sazman Tarbiyat Badani” , the equivalent of Ministry of sport , has admitted to the media that it was Ahmadinejad who ordered the ousted of Daei as the head coach of Team Melli.

On this regard Kaffashian said today “It could be that President Ahmadinejad had this feeling and believed that Daei should be fired, but he did not talk to me directly about that. It was our own management committee who decided to do that, although I personally backed Daei at the time”

It was a vague statement, Kaffashian , fell short of admitting that interference from outside. The executive committee would have received the order and did what the president desired , without requiring Kaffashian’s approval. As such, the meddling in the affairs of the Football Federation would look have looked inconspicuous by Ahmadijejad who should have been focusing on his job running the government , which he did not do it well either.

The revelation by Aliabadi , has confirmed strong suspicions at the time that the government was behind the sacking of Daei with the order coming directly from Ahmadinejad himself. The ex-President was an avid football fan and particularly Team Melli. Despite his moral backing and support, he failed to deliver on many of his promises towards football in his two terms as the head of the government. The most important of them all, the privatization of Perspolis and Esteghlal clubs.

On the other hand, the flagrant interference by politicians and government in Iran’s football continues unabated. Like the rest of the Middle East countries, as football is so popular , these politician uses it to serve their own purposes. The governments are also hyper sensitive towards large crowd gathering and would prefer full control of the masses. These countries have developed various methods of deception to cover the requirement by FIFA in regards to governments’ interference in the affairs of football. The Middle Eastern countries, in particular the Persian Gulf States, pay a lip service to the FIFA requirement cleverly disguising every step to make their football federation complete NGO independent of politics and governments. The reality is something entirely different.

FIFA which is quick to react to other countries when there is a hint of government interference, seems to be reluctant to act with this part of the world !

14/10/201314/10/2013

Team Melli U-22 defeats Oman in a friendly.

Mansourian ‘s team continues its fine display.
Team Melli U-22 played its second friendly match against Oman U-22 on Sunday a defeated the host 1-0. The match was the second against the host. The first match ended with the same result in favor of Iran.

Match report

First half : Both teams started the game with six changes from the previous match. Oman appeared more aggressive than the last match from the beginning of the encounter. However , ball possession and distribution was more in favor of Iran in the first half , preferring to keep the ball possession as much as possible. Mosallman was the pivotal player for Team Melli U-22 with his ball distribution and leading the offensive moves. His assist lead to Iran’s goal whole he have a powerful shot saved by Oman’s keeper Al Habsi (not to be confused with the senior Al Habsi of Oman’s full team).

Oman did their own share of attacking. Hamoud al-Saadi shot in the tenth minute of the match was cleared off the goal line by the Iranian defenders while hit a powerful low level shot by Hatem Alhmahmahy was deflected to a corner by Seyyed Hossein Hosseini.

The second half, Oman continued applying pressure on the Iranian team in an attempting to change the result, while the guests were content with distributing the ball as they did in the first 45 minutes on the match. Hamoud al-Saadi , Oman’s best player in the first half, shot was the most serious attempt of the 2^nd half but was cleverly blocked by Hosseini in Iran’s goal. In reply a long distance attempt by Nariman Jahan the substitute player for Iran missed Oman’s goal by inches. The most important scoring opportunity came in the 70th minute from a header by Oman Sami Mubarak, which hit the upright away from Hosseini’s stretched hands. The ball bounced off the goalpost to safety .

In the last 10 minutes, Mansourian had a change of tactics with his substitution, he was after an offensive moves and more attacking prowess. Mansourian urged his players to be more aggressive in offense and targeted Oman’s goalkeeper many times. Kaveh Rezaei was released by a defense splitting pass and he was one to one with Oman’s keeper, however the young Saipa forward wasted the chance to make it 2-0 when he shoot against the advancing keeper’s chest. In the 88^th minute a powerful shot from Shahab Karami, rattled Oman’s goalposts.

In the end, Team Melli U-22 repeated the victory against Oman. The team played better and was more consistent. With the inclusion of the absent players, Iran’s U- 22 team , can mount a serious challenge for first AFC U- 22 Asian championship title to be held in January 2014 .

Goal details:

0-1 ( Iran ) : Iran’s Captain Mohsen Mosallman , robbed the ball from Oman’s Nazir Almskry Nazir and mounted a quick counterattack. With a pass from deep from the left flank, Mosallman managed to send the ball to the foot of Hassanzadeh. With the goalkeeper advancing fast to block, Masoud Hassanzadeh send his shoot to the opposite angle , scoring Iran’s goal.

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OMAN U-22 vs. IRAN U-22

1 – 0

Goal : Masoud HassanZadeh ( 21’ )

Referee: Majed Al-Harbi (Oman)

Yellow cards : Haj Amin Mohammadi, M. Pourali Ganji ( Iran )

Attendance: Approximately fifty people

Stadium Sultan Qaboos Complex ( Muscat )

Oman : Kaiser Al-Habsi, Manea Subait , Basel AlRawahi, Nadhir Almaskary , Moheeb Ezzat , Abdulla Nooh , Sammy Mubarak , Hatem Alhamhamy ( 78 – Ahmad AlSayyabi ) , Khalil Alalawi ( 65 – Ahmed Khalfan ) , Hamoud al-Saadi ( 83 – Suleiman Saeed ), Abdullah Saleh ( 51 – Sammy Khamis ).

Coach : George Philip

Iran : Seyed Hossein Hosseini , Vahid Ismail -Beigi ( 81 – Milad Gharibi ) , MohammadAmin Haj Mohammadi , Fardin Abedini , Hadi Mohammadi ( 75 – Ammar Nik Kar ) , Akbar Imani ( 75 – Morteza PouraliGenji ) , Masoud Rigi ( 62 – Shahab Karami ) , Mohsen Mosallman, Amin JahanAlian ( 58 – Saman Nariman Jahan ) , Farshad Ahmadzadeh ( 68 – Morteza Tabrizi ) , and Masoud HassanZadeh ( 62 – Kaveh Rezaei ).

Coach Alireza Mansourian

14/10/201314/10/2013

Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour joins the lads in Team Melli camp.

Shortly after arriving in Tehran and having a rest after a long journey from California, the San Jose Earthquake right back has joined his new teammate in the training camp of Azadi.

Beitashour was quickly surrounded by reporters and photographers as soon as they were allowed to speak to him. The Iranian-American expressed his delight at joining Team Melli and hoped that he makes a difference. He also promised that he will work on his Farsi and improve it in order to communicate well with his teammates.

Since it is certain that the regular right back of Team Melli , Khosrow Heydary is injured and cannot make it in time for the Tuesday clash, it is highly possible that Carlos Queiroz will give Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour his first cap against Thailand. As such it will be the ideal test for both the player and the team. Bietashour had numerous assists in the MSL with San Jose Earthquakes. The fans would be looking forward for his crosses from the flanks.

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San Jose Earthquakes’ Steven Beitashour explains why he opted for Iran after USMNT cameos

October 11, 2013

Geoff Lepper

MLSsoccer.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Having only established himself as a professional two years ago, Steven Beitashour still comes off as one of the San Jose Earthquakes’ young kids.

When it comes to the international stage, however, the 26-year-old right back knows his time is already beginning to run out. That’s why, when the Iranian national team came calling this time, Beitashour picked up and answered.

“I’m hoping to play at a World Cup, and [next year’s edition] is my best chance, because if I miss this one, I’ll be 31 in another four years,” Beitashour told MLSsoccer.com this week. “I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

Beitashour is the Quakes’ ultimate hometown kid – born in San Jose, a graduate of Leland High and a former ballboy for the franchise’s earlier MLS incarnation. He trained with the US national team last August and was in camp this January, but had to pull out after realizing offseason surgery failed to properly repair his sports hernia. Beitashour remained uncapped through 2013 as the Americans fought their way to the top of the CONCACAF Hexagonal.

“When I got called into the US national team, people thought, ‘Oh, that’s it, you’re settled. You’re playing for the US,’” Beitashour said. “But until you play a [binding] game, it’s not really over.”

That left the door open for Iran, which lays claim to Beitashour through his parents, who were both born there. The Iranians had been in contact with Beitashour since his emergence in 2011, when he notched seven assists in 19 league matches. The fact that Beitashour didn’t respond to their interest for so long left the impression that he was holding out to play for the US, but he claimed in the end it wasn’t a hard choice to make.

“If someone says, ‘Do you want to play for our country?’, I don’t think it’s too tough a decision,” Beitashour said. “It’s a good opportunity. Obviously, I still have to do well with it.”

While it’s common for players to face a choice between heritage and home with regards to a national-team commitment, the history between the US and Iran obviously raises the profile of Beitashour’s case – even if he doesn’t want to play a diplomatic role.

“For me, it’s all about soccer,” Beitashour said. “I don’t try to think at all on the political aspect of it. I’m just purely [concentrating] on playing soccer.”

On that front, Beitashour – who flew 17 hours to reach Tehran after the Quakes’ 1-0 victory against Colorado on Wednesday – will presumably get a look Tuesday when Iran faces Thailand in a qualifying match for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

“I know, speaking with Omid [Namazi, an assistant to Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz], they just want to take a look at me with the guys,” Beitashour said. “It’s different when you see someone on film all the time. You want to see how he reacts and plays with the guys on the team.”

Assuming that goes well, Beitashour could be back in Iranian colors next year during the World Cup, for which Team Melli have already qualified.

“It’s still far away, but the possibility of it is exciting,” Beitashour said of a potential Brazil trip. “To get these opportunities is very exciting. I just have to make sure that I continue to work hard at practice and in the gym and doing all the things off the field correctly, so that it gives me the best opportunity.”

13/10/2013

Arash Afshin desperately seeking an escape route.

Arash Afshin is desperately looking for an escape route out of Sepahan club after sitting on the bench in many matches. The 25 years old Team Melli player, has not featured regularly for Sepahan after his transfer from Foolad Khuzestan at the beginning of the season. Afshin’s name was also absent from the list of Team Melli recently announced by Queiroz.

It is rumored that Afshin is seeking the help of another Iranian player and some agents to find him a club in Qatar. So far those efforts have not yielded any results as it seems that Afshin has to fight it out in Sepahan to secure a starting role in the forward line, presently occupied by Mohammad Gholami.

Arash Afshin , a promising young player in his own right, represented Team Melli at different age levels and was selected for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 by Afshin Ghotbi. The Foolad player was showing a lot of promise with his club, and when given a chance in the Asian Cup, he took it well and scored a goal while continuing to impress. However , with the end of the Ghotbi era , and the return of Afshin to league football, his form started to suffer and his problems started to grow.

Like almost all young Iranian players at this stage of their career when they shoot to fame in a short period of time, he developed an attitude. So early in his career, he started to think that he must be the first choice to start in all Foolad matches. On few occasions, he displayed his displeasure for being substituted. Although , the coach and the club tolerated him fo a while , he was eventually disciplined and fined by the club for his misbehavior and lack of discipline. But very true to the usual Iranian style of doing things, he was soon pardoned shortly after he was disciplined! His fine would be waived and everything would return to normal! Except , it did not. His lack of discipline continued and it was even more evident in training where he did not give his best and certainly looked lethargic to his coach, unwilling to run, or do physical exercises.

The supposed transfer to the French league with Lille never materialized. When Sepahan came calling for Arash Afshin, both the club and the mild mannered coach Hossein Faraki, who had just had about enough of the troublemaker, agreed to sell. Afshin was a source of disturbance to Faraki’s finely balanced team, and since Afshin left, the problems decreased and the club concentrated on playing football. They are currently at the top of the league table.

While Sepahan was never short of players in every line, Afshin had to prove himself worthy of taking the place of the likes of Gholami , Dalovic , Sukaj and the promising youngster Ali Choopani. The first three players were quite established and in the top of the picking order. However, Afshin continued his way of being lazy and short of commitment in Sepahan. The difference though was one Croat in the shape of Zlatko Kranjcar , a no-nonsense man who would not hesitate one bit to bench a player of much greater stature and fame than Afshin, if he found the player is not working hard enough. While Afshin was argumentative and even shouted against Faraki, the Croat coach of Sepahan has no time for such antics, insisting that players need to show their worth in training and whenever given playing time in a match to claim for a regular place in the starting line-up. Clearly , Afshin has failed to do so, and as seen last week , his cry baby antics and leaving the match in disgust , did not go down very well with Sepahan , who are surely thinking of offloading him at the right opportunity.

Afshin, is a typical breed of Iranian young players who believe they are way better than what they actually are. The type of player that want to do the minimum but earn the maximum. The record books are full of such young players with good potentials who never made the grade because of their attitude.

If Arash Afshin is not careful and not willing to work hard, he will go into oblivion the way many has done not long time ago in Iran’s football. Unfortunately, players attitude and mentality, has never been properly addressed in Iran’s football. Only the minority of Iranian coaches have the right tools to deal with offenders. Such mentality and poor discipline, is not exclusive to young players either, which makes the job of foreign coaches like Queiroz and Kranjcar , so much difficult.