Ali Karimi  & Mehdi Mahdavikia the Perspolis and Team Melli players have announced their retirement from football in the aftermath of the bitter defeat of Perspolis in the Hazfi Cup final. On Sunday , Sepahan Esfahan won the Hazfi Cup after a penalty shootout depriving Perspolis from qualification to the AFC Asian Championship League next season.

Karimi who was injured for several weeks was making his first competitive appearance for Perspolis after the longish layoff. This match was crucial for himself as much as for his teammate Mehdi Mahdavikia who was making his final appearance before hanging his boots. While Mahdavikia’s retirement was known beforehand, Karimi’s announcement was an unexpected surprise.

Both players have a run in with the club management at different stages. In a veiled statement to the press on his retirement announcement , Karimi said that by leaving the club , he hopes that those people who take over are more dedicated to the club principals that himself. Karimi also emphasized that he is also not available for Team Melli selection.

 In an interview with “Emarat alyoum” newspaper, the Captain of Team Melli expressed his deep regret on leaving the La Liga club, Osasuna.  Javad Nekounam scored the winning goal against Al Ain the UAE champions in the penultimate match of the AFC Asian Championship League Group D to ensure his club Esteghlal win the group and qualify for the next round.

Nekounam said that several clubs from the Professional UAE league are negotiating with him at the moment for a possible transfer next season; however he declined to name those clubs and said it is not prudent to do so at this stage. He also refuted any ideas that his aim in playing in the UAE league is purely financial and emphasized on the point that as a professional player, he wants to give his best and achieve glory with any club he plays for.

Nekounam added that he is no stranger to the UAE league as it was his stepping stone to Europe while he was a player with Al Sharjah and Al Wehda clubs. He also confirmed that these two clubs are not involved in the present negotiation for him to return to the UAE league.

As for his thoughts about the Spanish La Lega , the 30 years old Iranian Captain said that he made a grave error in leaving Osasuna where he was playing for six seasons. “There was a professional management and training system that Osasuna applied which always encouraged the players to excel and succeed. The way the system run helped me tremendously in improving myself and to deliver my best to the club and country” Nekounam said.

Nekounam added that he has no problem to admit when he makes an error in judgment because such admission will help him avoid such errors. The Esteghlal Captain also emphasized that his playing for such a big club , added a lot of value to his game and the current successful run in the AFC Asian Championship  League is indicative of how the team , including himself , is delivering  at the highest level of football.

Original article in Arabic

Mohammad Mayeli Kohan , the ex-Team Melli coach and current Gahar Dorood football team coach, commented on Iran’s Team Melli and the league. He was particularly concerned by the Federation’s league committee decision to reduce the number of clubs next season to 16 teams down 2 from the current 18. The outspoken Maylei-Kohan said “I agree with and I am in favor of any decision that is in the interest and benefit of football of the country. Unfortunately some people are only looking for the their own individual interests and interests of the Club rather than the football as a whole. This is detrimental to Iranian football”

“I hear much talk about this reduction of league team and unfortunately quite a bit of such talk is only to serve personal interest of individuals.”

“At one point there was suggestions that each province should be allowed a representative in the league , but now we are told that we should reduce the number of teams to 16. So , why is this sudden turn?”

“Such vital decision making process should be carried out by a group of specialists and professionals who have long experience in this field. By people who have been around in Iran’s football and know the ins and outs of it. Such decisions should not be based on a whim of one individual and that is the Coach of the national team because he wants to have his players gathering much more often and free them from playing for their clubs in the different competitions.” He added that “we should re-think such decision and use the right experts in this field. It is not at all the duty of Team Melli’s coach to decide how many teams should be in the league.” Carlos Queiroz belongs to country named Mozambique. I like this country and its football but Mozambique has no reputation in the world football hierarchy. However, even in Mozambique, Queiroz will not be allowed to interfere in such issues because this beyond his expertise and terms of reference. But here, we are asking Queiroz about right number of teams in our premiere division, we are sliding down. Looks like he wants us to back to the old times again.

Mayeli-Kohan continued his criticism of the national team coach selection of players and planning. He said ” Every Team Melli game means that we have to stop the league program for several days and sometimes weeks, resulting in interruption of our programs and loss of momentum.  While all over the world just two or three days before any match suffice for their national team matches. We produced so many potentially good players like Arash Afshin , Mohsen Mosallman, Mehrdad Jama’ati, and many others, yet our Team Melli coach gets player from mediocre leagues to represent the country. Ashkan Dejagah is one fine player with talent and ability. I don’t think there is any doubt about his value for the team, but then again Queiroz selects players such as Omid Nazari or Atshkadeh just to occupy the bench.  In my humble opinion, I don’t even think that Ghoochanehan is anything but an ordinary player the like of him are quite a plenty in Iran. Many people say that the 1996 team was the best recent Team Melli, but with the players that are available now in Iran, we can even have a better team than the 1996 one.”

Tehran

IRIFF (Islamic Republic of Iran football Federation) has sent a letter of protest to FIFA against the venue of the final match of the group between Korea Republic and Iran.

The planned venue for the match by the Koreans is Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, located in the industrial city of Ulsan.

Mohammad Mehdi Nabi , IRIFF spokesman said that his federation has sent a letter to FIFA underlining three major points in regard to the final match of Group A of Asian Zone FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying match . The first was the importance of selecting a suitable referee for this vital match, the second point a demand for playing the other group match between Uzbekistan and Qatar at the same time as the Korea Rep vs. Iran match and finally a demand for change of the nominated venue by the host.

The IRIFF spokesman added that” fortunately, FIFA has agreed with our second demand and now both matches will kick of simultaneously.   “

On the subject of the venue, Nabi said that Iran’s objection to the venue is based on the fact of logistical difficulties. There are no direct flights from any point in the Middle East to the city of Ulsan. There are several means of getting to Ulsan but all involve 3 sectors for Team Melli and all involve flying to China first. He also noted the distance between the hotel accommodation and the Stadium in Ulsan which is a minimum of one hour and thirty minutes. Mehdi Nabi also highlighted the fact that in FIFA regulations, a venue for FIFA competition must have a category A airport allowing international and intercontinental flight , but Ulsan has a category B which does not allow such flights.

 Based on all these facts, the IRIFF has sent a letter of protest on Thursdays to FIFA. The response by the International football body on the change of venue has not been announced yet.

President of Iran’s Football Federation.

 

 

 The head of Iran’s football federation in a reaction to questions about the possibility of playing friendly games with Spain or Portugal during the proposed Team Melli camp in Europe , responded by saying that is is only a prelimiary talk and suggestion by Carlos Queiroz , There has benn no actin taken in this respect.”

  Ali Kaffashian , in an interview with sports reporter of Iranian Students News Agency ISNA was quoted saying that “At the present,  we must direct our attention and focus on Team Melli qualifying for the FIFA world cup, which is our top priority. The national team camp in Europe will be conducted in case our team makes the play-off or manages to qualify directly to the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil 2014.”

The Head of IRIFF added “Carlos Queiroz’s request has not been acted upon yet it is just a wish at this stage. Of course we will be analyzing the situation in due course when the  time is appropriate.” “We hope that our national team is one of the two teams that qualifies directly to the world cup but otherwise we will programs the National Team accordingly to the future fixtures and participation .”

Iran is currently third in the group and a play-off is a possibility if the team can achieve the third place in the group.

Iran’s next match in the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 is against Qatar in Doha, where a 3 point is vital for its progress.

Injured Team Melli & Fulham midfielder Ashkan Dejagah will miss the rest of the Barclays Premier League season, manager Martin Jol has confirmed.

Dejagah requires an operation to repair ankle ligament damage suffered when he collided with an advertising hoarding in Fulham’s 3-2 victory over QPR on April 1. The Iranian will go under the knife next week and he will not play again this campaign.

“Ashkan Dejagah needs an operation on his ankle ligament. That will be next week and I think he will be out for the rest of the season,” Jol said.

This is a major blow for Team Melli who is involved in the Qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup 2014. With the team struggling in the group currently lying third behind Uzbekistan and Korea Rep and with the same points as Qatar , Iran will find it tough going without their best midfielder with crucial matches coming thick and fast on June.

Team Melli will complete the qulifiers in June with three consecutive matches on the 4th , 11th and 18th against Qatar in Doha, Lebanon at Azadi and finally Korea in Seoul receptively. It seems that Dejagah will be out of those 3 matches and at best can re-join the team for the AC Asian Cup 2-15 qualifiers against Thailand in October 15th.

 

Tehran;

The head of Iran’s youth Committee announced that Team Melli U-17 will be actively taking part in 3 separate tournaments as part of the team’s preparation for FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Mirshad Majedi said that “Currently the team is under the total supervision of Ali Doustimeher and in a very good spirit and physical condition. However , the participation of the team at the highest level and that is the FIFA U-17 World Cup requires much more preparation and work in order for the team to be a good Representative of Iranian football.” The head of the youth committee also said that due to this commitment , the federation and the Technical cadre has decided to take part in 3 separate tournaments as part of the training program. We have been in contact with several federations in Africa , America and Europe and awaiting their responses , which will be announced to the public in due course.”

Asked if there is any positive responses from the associations, Majedi said that only the Asian representation for the FIFA U-17 World Cup are known, the rest of the qualified teams will be known by May of this year. Because of this , it will be slightly difficult to arrange these tournaments until the qualifications are clear.

The U-17 team last preparatory match was against the Naft Tehran which ended in a 2-0 defeat.

The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. It will be held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November.

AFC.com

Kuwait City: Kuwait and Iran edged ahead of Lebanon in Group B of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Kuwait SC Stadium on Tuesday.

Despite being on the back foot for much of the first half, the visitors took the lead just before half-time when Mesoud Shojaei capitalised on some sloppy defending to put his side ahead.
But Kuwait stepped up the pressure in the second half and they rewarded when Fahad Awad kept his cool to convert from the penalty spot with 14 minutes left.
The result meant that both sides moved up to four points, one ahead of Lebanon, who downed Thailand 5-2 in their Group B match in Beirut last Friday. Iran lead the section on goal difference after they trounced Lebanon 5-0 in their opener while Kuwait only managed a 3-1 away win in Thailand.
Playing their first home game of the qualifiers, Kuwait began the match well and they had a number of chances to break the deadlock in the first half as Hamad Al Enezi and Bader Al Mutwas missed good opportunities.
Having failed to make the most of their chances, the hosts were stunned when Iran took the lead right at the end of the first half.
Ashkan Dejagah made a strong run down the right flank but his cut-back from the byline appeared to be too close to goalkeeper Nawaf Al Khaldi, who sprawled on the floor to gather the ball. However, it slipped loose from his grasp and defender Hussain Fadhel’s weak clearance only went as far as Mojtaba Jabari, who crashed his shot against the angle of post and crossbar.
The ball rebounded to Mesoud Shojaei who volleyed it back towards the Kuwait goal where Al Khaldi made a valiant effort to stop the effort but could not prevent it from crossing the goalline.
Iran tried to defend their lead after the interval and they frustrated the Kuwaitis until the home side were awarded a penalty in the 76th minute for a foul on Abdulhadi Khamee by captain Javad Nekounam.
Fahad Awad made no mistake from the spot, sending Iran goalkeeper Rahman Ahmadi the wrong way to ensure that honours were shared between the two sides.

 

Group B

#		Team	MP	W	D	L	F	A	D	P	Last 5 matches
1		Iran	2	1	1	0	6	1	+5	4	D W
2		Kuwait	2	1	1	0	4	2	+2	4	D W
3		Lebanon	2	1	0	1	5	7	-2	3	W L
4		Thailand	2	0	0	2	3	8	-5	0	L L