Alle aandacht voor Jahanbakhsh

Translated from Dutch

December 2, 2013 06:33

Every attention to Jahanbakhsh

Personally, I was to report the match between AZ Alkamar and NEC in Nijmegen. That was a fine football afternoon . AZ really had to do some major changes because of injuries and suspensions, while NEC finally seemed to realize that , in order to climb from bottom of the table, they need to rolled up the sleeves and fight hard. NEC won , 3-2 . It was a lovely game, with thanks to the referee Pol van Boekel. Former footballer who recognizes emotions in players and a referee who is able to distinguish the real violation of Diving.

But most attention was grabbed by one Alireza Jahanbakhsh, an Iranian footballer. Still a boy actually, he has just turned 20 . He debuted three years ago at Third Division side Damash Karaj, a third division club from Iran … He soon moved to SC Damash in the top division , and from there he was selected for the Iranian youth team .

NEC scouts saw him play in Dubai and because through the village of Beuningen , in the outskirts of Nijmegen , there is some business linkages with Iran , also came to a real three-year contract. Under Alex Pastoor he did not to play a lot, but since a few weeks , that has all changed. It also witnessed a remarkable change in Alireza. He did not speak the language, but has now quickly learned English and knows the anthem of NEC !

Alireza Jahanbakhsh has in a very short time adjusted to the rules and regulations of professional football in the Netherlands in general and NEC in particular. He has already made ​​his debut for  the national team of Iran and scored his first goals for NEC . That’s clever , very clever . Go there but turned , without your family around in a short time which make the sporting expectations in a totally alien environment .

Especially the way he really gives everything on the pitch. Throws his whole heart and soul into the game and is an example for his teammates. He knows why he has made ​​the long trip to the Netherlands. He wants to succeed as a professional footballer anyway possible. NEC will benefit from him. The question is though , for how long? Top clubs will not sleep …they will be watching him.

Leo Driessen

Original article HERE

Ali Kaffashian , the head of IRIFF has downplayed the failure of Iran and Nekounam winning any awards in the annual AFC awards ceremonies of 2013. Both Team Melli and its Captain , Javad Nekounam were finalist in the categories of “Team of the Year” and the “Player of the Year” respectively , but both were beaten by rivals.

In a short radio interview on Friday morning , Kaffashian downplayed the significance of the failure of Iranian teams and individuals not winning the AFC coveted awards and instead focused on the fact that Iran has reached the top of the FIFA Ranking in Asia. Kaffashian said  “that is a significant development and we should work on it to ensure that Team Melli is well prepared for the World Cup”. Kaffashian promised that Team Melli will be playing friendly matches soon but declined to give any details.

The head of the IRIFF dismissed any notions of plots within the AFC against Iran. “Listen, the committee that selects the winners has done its job as it sees it fit. Nekounam was absent from the return leg of the AFC Champions League semi-final match and obviously the final match. That had a significant effect on his rating. We should not over-blow this issue , it is not very important. We need to move along and work towards preparing our team for World Cup and that is what matters and counts at the moment.” Kaffashian told the Radio presenter.

Javad Nekounam leads the list of the candidate for 2013 AFC Player of the Year.

On Tuesday, the attention of the Asian Football community will be focused on the annual ceremony by the Asian Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.

The best of Asian players, teams and personalities will be announced with Iran having its fair share of candidates on the nominees list. Amongst the most coveted of prizes is the Asian Player of the Year, a title that no Iranian player has won since Ali Karimi deservedly won this title in 2004 after his splendid display in the Asian Cup 2004.

Not that Iranian players have been absent from the list , since Farhad Majidi,  Hadi Aghili and Ali Karimi all made the final list from 2010 to 2012 respectively. All were selected as runner ups against their rivals and missing the title.

This year, Javad Nekounam has made the list along with China’s Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande) and South Korea’s Ha Dae-Sung (FC Seoul).

Considering the appraisal system of AFC, Javad Nekonam , the Esteghlal and Team Melli Captain, is looking top favorite for the title with his appearances in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers , AFC Asian Cup qualifiers , and the AFC Champions league matches with added bonus of scoring in these matches.

Nekounam opponents might have one advantage as both of them played in the final of the AFC Asian Champions League with  Zheng Zhi winning the title. Nekounam and Esteghlal failed to make the final losing to the Korean side in the two legged semi-final.

Nekounam has left Tehran for the Malaysian capital right after their re-schedule match against Malavan , full of hope of achieving this coveted prize. The Team Melli Captain was pivotal in Iran’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup. Being crowned as the Player of the Year will be the icing on the cake for Nekounam’s illustrious career which took him to UAE and then 5 successful year with Osasuna in the Spanish La Liga before returning home to win the championship for his club Esteghlal.

[box title=”PROFILE” style=”bubbles” title_color=”#c7cbe4″ radius=”4″]Javad Nekounam[/box]

Club:  Esteghlal Tehran

D.O.B: 06-Sep-80

Born: Shahr Rey, Iran

Height: 186 cm

Weight: 78 Kg

International Debut: Syria 28.May.00

Position: Midfield

Caps: 138

Goals : 37

Iran dethrone Russia in Dubai!

UAE completes Asian fiesta after overpowering Switzerland in the fight for 3rd of this Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup 2013

Hard training had decidedly positive impact on Russia as they found themselves in their third straight Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup final. Iran was no slouch, though. They went up one time in the first, one time in the second, and again in the third when they went up for good after a spectacular opening minute. The 4-3 win for Iran over Russia dethrones the two-time defending Intercontinental Cup champions. A spectacular calendar year for Russia ends on a slightly sour note but they constantly competed in and won almost every tournament they entered.

Iran struck first on a magnificent delivery, from one of the best keepers of the tournament, P. Hosseini, to M. Ahmadzadeh who used a flick header to get the shot past the Russian keeper. The energy was almost too much to handle as both sides were feeding off of the excited and loud fans in the jam-packed stadium. Iran maintained the one goal lead going into the middle of the first frame despite Russia having more chances on goal. That changed when another great delivery from a goalie led to the next goal, this time it was Russia, with Bukhlitskiy feeding Peremitin for the equalizer. The period came to an end with no more goals and a score of 1-1.

Excitement was non-stop in the opening minutes of the middle frame though neither team could crack the other’s defense. Russia’s keeper was asked to a little more in the opening minutes and Russia was fine with that as the score stayed level going into the heart of the period. The Persian Stars made a name for themselves in this tournament for being extremely tough and physical and the second period saw that style of play take over, but Russia was ready to fight back and did not back down. The first goal of the period came in the final minutes on a direct kick by The Iranian Lions because of a costly error by Russia, the Russian keeper held the ball for too long. The two-time defending World Cup champions took advantage of an Iranian error only a minute later to tie the game again. The period ended tied, 2-2.

Just when it looked as though the game could not get any more exciting, The Iranian Lions scored on the opening kick-off of the final frame.  The opening minute thrills did not stop there as Iran added another goal seconds later to take the biggest lead of the game, two goals. In a period that could only be expected of a final, both teams, predictably so, had each player flying on offense and defense to make sure they put in a complete performance. Iran was able to exemplify this two-way mentality just a little better. In the final minutes, Iran made a big mistake with an own goal that put Russia right back in the mix. Iran continued to attack and saw many more scoring chances but were unable to add to their slim one goal lead. The final minute was full of relentless action and with 15 seconds a penalty was awarded to Russia after an Iranian hand ball, but the Shishin unexpectedly kicked the penalty wide. The period ended with Iran up 4-3.

The 4-3 victory over Russia for Iran gives them their first Intercontinental Cup title and they wrestled it away from the only owners the crown has known, Russia. The Tsars, like all their matches, played surgerically precise offense and defense but the Russians were not able to avenge their penalties loss to Iran earlier in the tournament. Russia had not lost a single match at the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup until this third edition and now they have lost two, both to The Princes of Persia.

Goals: 1-0: M. Ahmadzadeh, min. 11 (1); 1-1: Peremitin, min. 4 (1); 2-1: M. Kiani, min. 2 (2); 2-2: Shishin, min. 0 (2); 3-2: M. Ahmadzadeh, min. 11 (3); 4-2: A. Naderi, min. 11 (3); 4-3: Kiani(own goal), min. 4 (3);