Shojaei released early by Osasuna.

Osasuna has agreed to release the Iranian Masoud Shojae a few days earlier than required by FIFA regulation to enable the midfield player to  join Team Melli’s camp in Dubai. Iran , which is preparing for the match against Qatar on Tuesday, has the full compliment of its players in Dubai except for Shojaei.

Club Atlético Osasuna will play its final La Liga match of the current season against Real Madrid next Sunday. The result of the match is immaterial for both the teams, as Real Madrid has already secured a qualification for the Champions League and  the second spot in the table behind Barcelona. On the other hand, Osasuna has also secured its place in the La Liga after last week win against Seville making them safe from relegation that has threatened the Pamplona club during the whole of the season.

According to FIFA Regulations regarding the eligibility and release of International Players (article 36) , it is compulsory for the club to release a player who is involved in FIFA qualifying competition and representing his country , a period of 3 days before the match.

Iran’s coach Carlos Queiroz blasts Fifa calendar.

Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz

Asia deserves more after World Cup qualifiers fall under friendly day, Iran boss says.

Gulf News

  • By Ashley Hammond Staff Reporter 
  • Published: 08:00 May 31, 2013

Dubai: Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has slammed the Fifa calendar after next Tuesday’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Qatar falls on a friendly day, meaning some players won’t join training until 48 hours before kick-off.

Team Melli are currently third in Group A of the fourth round qualifiers for the 2014 Fifa World Cup, three points off automatic qualification with three games to play.

The bulk of the former Real Madrid boss and assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United’s 36-man squad has been on camp at Dubai’s Iranian Club in Oud Mehta since last Sunday, but Europe-based players will join late.

While Belgium-based Standard Liege striker Reza Ghoochannejhad arrived in Dubai on Wednesday, fellow forward Masoud Shojaei of Spain’s Osasuna, goalkeeper Daniel Davari of Germany’s Eintracht Braunschweig and midfielder Omid Nazari of Sweden’s Angelholms are still on club duty.

 

Had the fixture been arranged on an official Fifa match-day, overseas players would have been granted five days leave to prepare.

“With the major dream and responsibility of a country like Iran, you can only call players on Sunday night to play Wednesday. I find that difficult to understand,” Queiroz, 60, told Gulf News.

“I’m sure this kind of situation can never happen to Germany or England. Nobody would accept that. But this is the reality and it’s not right. These are the limitations of our World Cup qualifying campaign.

“For a continent that contributes towards 60 per cent of Fifa and world football’s sponsorship agreements, Asia deserves better attention than this.”

Queiroz added that Qatar, who have all their national team players playing at Qatari clubs, would have more time to prepare for the match.

Meanwhile of Iran, who have never progressed beyond the group stage in three World Cup appearances, in 1978, 1998 and 2006, he added: “It’s a major dream for all countries to qualify to the World Cup and, of course, the expectation in Iran is very high because it’s a football country with a lot of passion.

“We know that it will be a difficult game for both teams but I am very positive and confident we can get a good result in Qatar.

“At this moment everybody in the group can be in [automatic qualification] and everybody can be out. So it’s still open for all the teams. It’s my major goal in this moment of my career to qualify Iran for the World Cup.”

 

Vingada “I have not been asked to be on the bench for Qatar match”

Dubai

In a surprise statement to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) Nelo Vingada who has been brought by Carlos Queiroz to assist him, for what was believed the rest of the World Cup qualifiers, has confirmed  that he has not been asked by his long time friend to sit on the bench for Qatar match on Tuesday!

Carlos Queiroz is serving a two match suspension by FIFA and he is banned from the bench in Doha. It was believed that one of the main reasons for Vingada’s involvement in Team Melli was to replace Queiroz for this particular match where the Team Melli coach will not be present with his players.

In Dubai, Vingada repeated his prior statements about cooperation with Queiroz in any capacity he can or as requested, but did not explain the particular nature of this cooperation except to say that he has a good knowledge of the football in this part of the world. Vingada, currently the coach of Chinese club Dalian,  also mentioned that he has some person business to conduct in Dubai. His involvement with Team Melli will be for the Qatar match only as then he has to fly to Lisbon to attend a seminar from 11th to 14th of June in which  time Iran will be playing with Lebanon in Tehran.

In the absence of transparency and clear official statements from the Football federation and the Team Melli coach, regarding the true nature of the Vingada mission , the speculations will continue.

For a person  who always seeks and demands full and unequivocal support from everyone and in particular the Iranian media, Carlos Queiroz has not been too exemplary in his conduct and openness to the press.  The coach perhaps needs a reminder about his own obligation to the media and the fans, taken into requirement the confidentiality of some issues. This lack of transparency will only aid in suspicious media behavior and in a country such as Iran , where speculations and rumors have lots of takers, Queiroz and his masters are only fueling these unwanted issues and creating unhealthy environment which could be detrimental to Team Melli.

Someone needs to tell the public, the true reason for Vingada’s involvement with Team Melli. The public statement given about Vingada’s knowledge of Iranian and Persian Gulf football does not carry much credibility as both of these are very limited experiences.

http://media.isna.ir/content/IMG_6754.JPG/6

Team Melli news and Data

Vingada in Team Melli camp
Vingada in Team Melli camp
  • Team Melli players got a partial day off training in Dubai and went on a group shopping spree to Dubai Mall on Wednesday.
  • Two players suffered minor injuries. Mojtaba Jabbari had a pulled muscles while Mohammad Nouri faced a similar problem yesterday. Both players were rested due to their slight injuries.
  • Iran’s ambassador to UAE , Dr. Fayyaz was as special guest in Team Melli training camp.
  • Nilo Vengada was back in Dubai and actively participated in the training sessions.
  • The average of of the Team Melli players is 28 years , which is on the high side
  • The average cap of the 25 players is 26 ( Nekounam with 132 caps is the highest , Farzad Hatemi with 0 caps is the lowest)

    Queiroz practising his PK.
    Queiroz practising his PK.

  • Goals scoring average is quite low as the 25 players managed to score an average of 0.11 in all the matches they collectively played (671 matches in total).
  • The highest scoring player is Javad Nekounam with 34 goals.
  • South Korean squad is camping near Team Melli hotel. The East Asian team will be playing Lebanon on Tuesday.
  • While still on duty with Team Melli . Rahman Ahmadi the no.1 designated goalkeeper has rejoined his previous club Sepahan Esfahan, it was announced today.

[tableEasy class=”table-striped” caption=”Team Melli Squad FIFA World Cup Qualifiers” ]
#,Player,Age,Club,Caps,Goals
1,”AHMADI, Rahman”,33,Sepahan Esfahan,5,0
2,”BEIGZADEH, Hashim”,29,Esteghlal,11,1
3,”EBRAHIMI, Omid”,26,Sepahan Esfahan,4,0
4,”GHOOCHANEJAD, Reza”,26,Standard Liege (BEL),4,2
5,”HADDADIFAR, Ghassim”,30,Zob Ahan,13,0
6,”HAGHIGHI, Alireza”,25,Ruben Kazan (RUS),3,0
7,”HAJSAFY, Ehsan”,23,Sepahan Esfahan,51,2
8,”HATAMI, Farzad”,27,Esteghlal,0,0
9,”HEIDARY , Khosrow”,30,Esteghlal,42,0
10,”HOSSEINI, Jalal”,31,Perspolis,77,5
11,”JABBARI, Mojtaba”,30,Esteghlal,24,2
12,”KHALATBARY, MohamadReza”,30,Sepahan Esfahan,52,4
13,”KHALILZADEH, Shojaa”,24,Mes Kerman,6,0
14,”KHANZADEH, Mohammadreza”,21,Perspolis,4,0
15,”MAHINI, Hossein”,27,Perspolis,17,0
16,”MAKANI, Sousha”,27,Naft Tehran,2,0
17,”MONTAZERI, Pejman”,30,Esteghlal,13,1
18,”MOSALMAN, Mohsen”,22,Zob Ahan,2,1
19,”NEKOUNAM, Javad”,33,Esteghlal,132,34
20,”NOURI, Mohammad”,30,Perspolis,28,4
21,”OULADI, Mehrdad”,28,Malavan Anzali,13,1
22,”REZAEI, Gholamreza”,29,Perspolis,47,11
23,”SADEGHI, AmirHossein”,32,Esteghlal,8,0
24,”SHAOJAEI , Masoud”,29,Osasuna (ESP),42,5
25,”TEYMOURIAN, Andranik”,30,Kharatiyat (QAT),71,9
,,702,,671,82
[/tableEasy]

Hope of a repeat success for the ‘Dynamic Portuguese Duo’

Queiroz and Vingada with FIFA Youth Cup 1991
Queiroz and Vingada with FIFA Youth Cup 1991

Carlos Queiroz, was the coach of Portugal  in the  FIFA World Youth Championships of 1989 in Riyadh and 1991 in Lisbon. His assistant at the time was none other than Nilo Vingada.

With players such as Luís Figo, Rui Costa
João Oliveira Pinto, and Abel Xavier, Portugal lifted the trophy on both the occasions that Queiroz and Vingada were coaching the team.

Vingada who is currently under contract with the Chinese professional league club Dalian Shide, has accepted an invitation by Carlos Queiroz to accompany Team Melli during the last three matches of the World Cup qualifiers. In a brief statement to the press in Dubai, Vingada announced that he has to return back to China as some issues have cropped up in Dalian that needs his urgent attention. He affirmed his intention to return back in time for the match against Qatar in Doha.

Vingada said that he and Queiroz have known each other for over thirty years now. They  are close family friends as well as having worked together in Portugal. The result of the duo cooperation yielded two FIFA Youth World Cups for their country. Vingada said that his close relationship with Carlos Queiroz and his trust in the man is more important than any written contracts. He is now committed to help his friend and do whatever possible in order to take Iran to the World Cup finals in Brazil next year.

Vingada said that he has enough knowledge of Iranian players as he was a coach for Perspolis for a brief period. He has also good knowledge about Arab teams as he world in the area before. His task to ensure the implementation of Queiroz strategies and plans during the match. Vingada said that he has all the confidence that he will deliver as required from him.

The Iranians will be hoping the `Dynamic Portuguese Duo’ can replicate even a minute portion of the success they have achieved a few years back for Portugal.

[archives]

News Snippets

 
  • Reza Ghoochannejad , the Standard Liege player has joined team Melli Camp in Dubai.
  • IRIFF has sent an invitation to Khodadad Azizi to be a guest of honor in Doha for the Game against Qatar. Azizi scored the equalizing goal in 1997 against Australia in Melbourne to qualify Iran for the 1998 World Cup in France.
  • The honorrary coach of Team Melli , Nelo Vingada has arrived in the hotel where Team Melli resides. Vingada was met and brief

  • Queiroz & Vengada in Dubai
    Queiroz & Vengada in Dubai

  • Carlos Queiroz had a slight illness that required a visit to the team doctor in Dubai.
  • Queiroz declined an invitation by the local Iranian club in Dubai for a friendly match fearing injuries to his players ahead of the crucial encounter with Qatar.
  • Qatar player of Uruguayan origin Sebastian Soria will be missing the match against Team Melli due to suspension.
  • Karim Ansarifrd who was omitted from Team Melli list after his poor performance against Oman , has faced another dilemma as his club Perspolis is ready to offer him a renewal of a contract but with 50% cut in the fee.
  • Ando Teymourian announced that despite him not being fully fit , he is fully ready for the match against Qatar.
  • Mehdi Seyed Salehi and Shehab Gordan the two players who have not joined the rest of the Team Melli squad because of family commitments according to the players themselves, have been summoned to the IRIFF Disciplinary committee to explain for themselves why they turned down the invitation to play for Team Melli.
  • For the first time in decades, Team Melli will be using a private chartered aircraft for the travel to Qatar and Korea. The Aircraft belonging to Aseman Airlines, will be used for transportation of the team in the last 3 matches. IRIFF has struck a sponsorship barter deal with the domestic airlline , however no actual cash will be given to the federation . instead the airline will provide services.

 

Iran vs. Qatar statistics.

The match on 4th June will be the 19th time that the two contries have met at full international level. In the last 18 , Iran won 10 matches drawing 5 and losing 3. All of the 3 losses for Team Melli came at Doha.

 Of these 3 losses , the most famous one was during the 1998 World Cup qualification matches , where Iran was on the brink of qualification but an unexpected loss to Qatar meant that Team Melli had to take the longer road for eventual qualification through play-off. That was also the match that saw the dismisal of the coach . Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan partly for his refusal to play Ali Daei , Iran’s top striker at the time.

The results of the matches played between these two teams has been a tight affair especially in the last few years. Iran has failed to beat Qatar home or away since always 2008 where the teams met twice, one of which was a WAFF tournament group match where Iran humilated Qatar 6-1 and the other one was a friendly in Doha which Iran won 1-0.

 

[tableEasy class=”table-striped” caption=”Iran vs. Qatar Head2Head results”]
Date,Comp.,Final score,Stadium,Attendance
12.06.2012,WCQ,0-0,Tehran,80000
29.02.2012,WCQ,2-2,Tehran,55000
06.09.2011,WCQ,1-1,Doha,8125
28.12.2010,Friendly,0-0, Doha,3000
28.12.2009,Intl. Tourney,2-3, Doha,3000
09.11.2008,Friendly,1-0, Doha,5000
11.08.2008,WAFF,6-1,Tehran,5000
10.01.2008,Friendly,0-0,Doha,2000
24.03.2007,Friendly,1-0,Doha,7000
13.10.2004,WCQ,3-2,Doha,3000
18.02.2004,WCQ,3-1,Tehran,0
01.08.2001,Friendly,1-2,Doha,0
27.09.2000,Friendly,2-1,Doha,5000
07.11.1997,WCQ,0-2,Doha,20000
03.10.1997,WCQ,3-0,Tehran,70000
01.06.1996,Friendly,1-0,Doha,10000
17.05.1996,Friendly,2-0,Tabriz,30000
02.12.1988,Asian Cup,2-0,Doha,
[/tableEasy]

Editorial: Vingada’s appointment , could it be a Masterclass move?

CoachingCrewThe appointment of Nilo Vingada as an honorary coach with a week left to Iran’s vital clash with Qatar in the World Cup qualifiers would result in one certain thing. The Portuguese coach will replace his compatriot on the bench of Team Melli acting as the de facto coach as Carlos Queiroz earned himself a two match ban after his outburst in the Korea Match that led to his dismissal from the game and was sent to the stand by the Singaporean coach.

Carlos Queiroz has a several  assistant coaches to help him in his duty amongst them Iranian/American Omid Namazi , and another Portuguese household name Antonio Simoez, a famous player in his own right in the bygone years. It was customary for Omid Namazi to take the helm in case of voluntary absence of Queiroz for one reason or another during friendly matches and Namazi has also been actively involved during official matches as well perhaps more as an interpreter rather than leader or tactician for the team.  Simoez, on the other hand has taken a backseat role during matches and rarely seen venturing out of the bench to guide play. Simoez job is focused in training sessions and practices.

With such a vital period in Iran’s football consisting of 3 crucial and defining matches,   the absence of Queiroz from the bench in Qatar’s game seems to be a massive drawback to Iran’s team. Lack of leadership from the bench with requirements to change tactics, players tasks as the game progresses and results dictate, is of a vital importance to any team. With Queiroz being deprived of this role during his suspension for the Qatar match, it seemed that Team Melli is facing a perilous situation. Omid Namzi lacks the international experience to take such a vital role. His last performance at the helm during the West Asian Footfall Federation (WAFF) championship did not augur well for his resume as Iran was eliminated from the group stage for the first time in the history of this competition.

Taken all the circumstances into account, the appointment of an experienced coach even for one match, nonetheless an imperative one for that matter seems to be like a astute move by Queiroz. However , whether such appointment  is a brilliant move or a last gasp attempt for survival , can only be determined by June 18th when the fate of Team Melli as far as World Cup qualification is concerned will be decided.

In what seems to be unrelated move, but interesting none nonetheless, a Perspolis club official announced that his club will be settling the financial dispute with Vingada this week. Amir Moshiri , Perspolis’s public relations manager announced that he will be travelling to Dubai ON Wednesday 29th May , to hand over a check with a value of US$ 110,000 to Vingada as part of the final settlement between the two parties. Moshiri claimed that this fund was awarded to the ex-Perspolis coach but was held up in a Turkish bank for a month! As luck and fortune would have it the fund release from the bank in Istanbul conveniently occurred in conjunction with the appointment of Vingada which necessitated the travel of the Perspolis official to Dubai to hand him the check.

Iran women eliminated from Asian Qualifiers.

Iran women team was eliminated from the Asian Cup qualifiers after their second heavy loss. In today’s match, Thailand the group favorites defeated Iran 5-1 a result which left Iran with 3 points and an exit from the competition.

Iran lost to Philippines in the first match 6-0 before the Iranian ladies bounced back against Bangladesh winning 2-0.

Thailand has won the group with 9 points followed by the Philippines with 6, Iran lies 3rd with 3 and Bangladesh without a point in fourth place.

 

 

Team Melli heading to UAE camp.

Queiroz in joking mood.
Queiroz in joking mood.

 

 

In its final training preparation, Team Melli will be flying tomorrow Sunday, 26th May to Dubai , UAE to set up camp just prior to the match against Qatar in Doha to be held on the 4th of July in Al Sadd stadium.

Carlos Queiroz ,  last assignment before this camp was attending the friendly international match between Qatar and Latvia (FIFA Rank 110) in Doha, in which the host displayed some impressive football defeating the European rival 3-1. The win was a morale booster for the Qatari team and in sharp contrast to the shaky result of Team Melli which lost to the reserve team of Oman 3-1 in Muscat.

The Portuguese coach of Team Melli admitted to the media in Doha, that his team’s task is going to be quite difficult in front of a much improved Qatar. He said that the new coach Fahad Thani has introduced some new faces that did not play against Iran in the first match. “I think the coach has managed to integrate these new players quite well in the team. The overall standard of Qatar has improved, and with the advantage of home ground and the fans, we have a tough task in this match.” Queiroz added.

The Portuguese coach continued stressing that he knows the potential of Qatar in spite of the changes in the lineup during the recent period, where Coach Fahd used many young faces. In response to a question whether he achieved his objective by watching Qatar match,  Queiroz responded “I am fully aware that coach Fahad has deliberately fielded a different lineup to conceal the features of the starting lineup of the team facing us. Under such circumstances, especially with new players in the team, it pays to use them in friendly matches, which certainly is normal because of the sensitivity of the position of the national team with a dream to reach the 2014 Brazil World Cup. ”
The Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, then went on to praise the role played by Qatar football Association which provided all the support from facilities to resources to serve Qatar football. Such support provides comfort to the technical staff and led by Qatari coach National Fahad Al-Thani and augurs well for his work to prepare the team to contest the qualifying Asian qualifying for the 2014 World Cup .“

Asked whether the Iranian national team was affected by the loss to Oman prior to facing Qatar, the coach replied: “I think that the loss will not affect the morale of the Iranian national team, particularly as the team that played in Muscat was our second team not the full team.”  Explaining further, Queiroz said “The game was part of the preparation for the upcoming confrontation against Qatar next month.”

Queiroz greets Karimi
Queiroz greets Karimi

On the non-use of legionnaire players in the match against Oman, the coach said: “The lack of time was not in our favor, especially as there was a game in the AFC Champions League involving Esteghlal and also some mandatory rest period for the European based players, which meant that we were unable to use a large percentage of our full team.  However, the team played well despite the loss against Oman.”
Portuguese coach praised his team’s performance despite the loss, particularly as it was a good opportunity to observe the standard of the players before the Qatar match (…) He pointed out that the performance will improve after the arrival of the core of the team, as well as the inclusion of professionals in Europe to strengthen the ranks of the Iranian national team.

Queiroz confirmed that it would sitting in the stands rather than the bench during the Qatar match as he is serving a two match ban by FIFA .
On Saturday’s final training session , a group of ex-players and dignitaries showed up in Team Melli camp to wish the team well , encourage them and boost the morale.  One of those who visited the camp was the recently

retired Ali Karimi who was greeted and hugged by Carlos Queiroz. Other personalities that visited the camp included Mayeli-Kohan , Majeed Jalali , Hameed Estili , Framarz Zelli , Majeed Namjo-Motlagh , Afshin Peyrovani and Karim Bagheri.

In an interesting move, all the players wore a t-shirt in support of the injured Ashkan Dejagah who will be operated upon soon and will be sorely missed until the end

of the World Cup qualifications round. The players took a photo-shoot with “We are with you” slogan T-shirt before continuing training.

 

Team Melli training
Team Melli training