Saeed Ezatollahi, joins Al-Gharafah of QSL on a loan deal

Saeed Ezatollahi, the Team Melli midfielder, joined Al-Gharafah Qatar on a 6-month loan contract under the coaching of the Italian Stramaccioni. The former Esteghlal coach Stramaccioni has been looking to attract the Team Melli player for some time.

The much-traveled Ezatollahi has been playing for Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub. His initially promising career start well from the Age groups team of the Spanish La Liga side, Athletico Madrid joining from Malavan Anzali. Since then, Al Gharafa is the ninth side that Ezatollahi has joined. The Qatari clubs have a tradition of dismissing players at will and have little patience and tolerance with non-performing foreign players. Even Ali Karimi, a star of his own right found it difficult to settle and deal with the Qatari’s who expect miracles from foreign players.

 

Iran’s women team gains its first point.

The-afc.com

Navi Mumbai: Iran held India to a 0-0 draw in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™ Group A clash at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Thursday.

India had the better chances but determined defending by Iran kept the hosts at bay as both teams now set their sights on their Matchday Two ties.
Iran, making their first AFC Women’s Asian Cup appearance, found themselves on the backfoot as India started aggressively with their attacks coming from the flanks.
India had their first attempt on goal in the second minute as Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi’s run down the left caught Iran by surprise but the midfielder’s effort was easily cleared by goalkeeper Zohreh Koudaei.

Iran found themselves under pressure again two minutes later when India’s Manisha Kalyan sent a delightful cross to Pyari Xaxa who, however,  sent her header wide.
With India controlling the pace of the game, Maryam Irandoost’s side saw very little of the ball but they could have taken the lead against the run of play in the 12th minute from a set-piece.

Samaneh Chahkandi sent a delightful ball into the area for Negin Zandi, whose looping header beat India goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan, only to bounce off the crossbar.

India, however, continued to dominate but the South Asians missed several chances with Indumathi Kathiresan and Kalyan firing their efforts over the bar as the score remained 0-0 going into the break.

India continued to dictate the pace of the game after the restart with Kalyan Iran’s main tormentor when she sent a clever pass to Kathiresan who at full stretch missed the target by mere inches.
Thomas Dennerby’s side almost broke the deadlock just after the hour mark when Kathiresan made a darting run down the left after linking up well with Xaxa but her effort was undone when she slammed the ball into the side netting from close range.
Koudaei had to be on her toes a minute later when she denied Kathiresan from inside the box as Iran continued to hold out.
India were denied what looked like a sure goal in the 77th minute when substitute Manisha Panna sent a delightful cross to Dangmei Grace, whose header from close-range was denied by a one-handed save by Koudaei.
Dennerby’s India will be aiming to claim their first win when they face Chinese Taipei on Sunday, while Iran face eight-time champions China PR.

MATCH STATS

India

4-3-3
 0 – 0 Iran

4-4-2
AFC Women’s Asian Cup

India
1 A. Chauhan GK
3 M. Panna DF
4 A. Devi DF
7 R. Devi 82‎‘‎ MF
8 S. Yadav DF
9 A. Tamang MF
10 P. Xaxa 65‎‘‎ FW
12 I. Kathiresan MF
13 S. Ranganathan 55‎‘‎ FW
16 M. Kalyan 69‎‘‎82‎‘‎ FW
17 D. Chhibber DF

Substitutes
5 Shilky Devi 82‎‘‎82‎‘‎ Sub
11 D. Grace 55‎‘‎55‎‘‎ Sub
15 Renu 65‎‘‎65‎‘‎ Sub
22 S. Kumari 82‎‘‎82‎‘‎ Sub

Manager
– Dennerby MAN

Iran
1 Z. Koudaei GK
4 M. Motevalli DF
5 G. Banitalebi DF
6 Z. Sarbali 59‎‘‎ MF
8 B. Taherkhani DF
11 S. Chahkandi 59‎‘‎ MF
17 N. Zandi 88‎‘‎ FW
18 M. Mohammadi MF
19 F. Adeli DF
20 H. Dabbaghi 70‎‘‎ FW
23 S. Sadeghi 67‎‘‎70‎‘‎ MF

Substitutes
7 A. Chatrenoor 88‎‘‎88‎‘‎ Sub
10 S. Zohrabi 70‎‘‎70‎‘‎ Sub
13 Y. Farmani 70‎‘‎70‎‘‎ Sub
16 Z. Masoumi 59‎‘‎59‎‘‎ Sub
21 M. Nikkhah 59‎‘‎59‎‘‎ Sub

Manager
– Irandoost MAN

Omid Team to start a training camp alongside Team Melli.

The Omid National Team Camp begins at the same time as the Team Melli at the National Team Camp. According to ISNA, with the plans made by the technical staff and the announcement of Mohammad Mohammadi, the head of the Omid national football team, the camp of this team will start on the 24th or 25th of January, and players under the age of 23 will be called to the national team camp after three months. . The Omid national team camp will be held at the same time as the senior national team camp – which is preparing to meet Iraq and the UAE in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers – and MahdaviKia’s boys will hold several training sessions and two preparatory matches for a week.

According to the plan, two Premier League teams will be the opponents of the Omid national team, to help the U23/Olympic team prepare better. Mehdi Mahdavikia and his assistants will arrive in Tehran in around the 21st of January. Previously, the work visas of three foreign assistants of Mahdavikia have been issued b

In the period between the departure of Mahdavikia and his assistants from Iran, the games played in the Premier League have been regularly reviewed and analyzed. One of Mahdavikia’s assistants has been assigned to evaluate new and potential candidates for the Omid team in Iran’s first and second division leagues for a long time so that new faces can be added to the Omid national team in the upcoming camp. Over the next five months, Mahdavikia seeks to identify new members and bolster his team’s strengths and ensure the weaknesses are mitigated in order to participate in the AFC Under-23 Championship, which will be held in Uzbekistan in mid-June.

Women Team Melli star: Hajar Dabbaghi

Iran’s Women futsal team will play its first-ever match in the AFC Woman Asian Cup in four days’ time against the host nation India in Navi Mumbai D.Y. PATIL Stadium.
It is a challenge that the girls of Team Melli are most eager to take for various reasons. Under the leadership of the Charismatic coach, Mariyam Irandoost., The women team are hoping to make a difference although they are ranked outsiders in the championship and little is expected from them. The team made history and headlines when they qualified and the media suddenly took an interest in this young team. In the following series, we will introduce some of the stars of the team who are normally unknown and are the least athletes exposed to the media in Iran.
source: www.the-afc.com
Hajar Dabbaghi (IR Iran)
Hajar-Dabbaghi
On their road to a historic qualification for India 2022, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Hajar Dabbaghi (22 years) caught the eye, having first made her name at the continental level when she helped her nation qualify for the AFC Women’s Under-16 Championship in 2015.

However, Dabbaghi’s potential was truly witnessed at the 2019 CAFA (Central Asian Football Association) U-23 Women’s Championship when the forward netted eight goals, helping Iran to a runners-up place and claiming the top scorer award in the process.
The 22-year-old went on to score five more goals in national team colours in the qualification campaign for Tokyo 2020 as well as finding the back of the net en route to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in a 5-0 victory over Bangladesh.

Possessing great situational awareness in the box, Dabbaghi’s goalscoring instincts will be key for Iran. As player and country get set to kick off their maiden campaign against hosts India on January 20, the stage is set for the 22-year-old to shine.  Dabbaghi plays for Sepahan Esfahan club in the Women’s league.

List of Iran National Women Football Team for AFC Asian Cup 2022

 

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Zohreh Koudaei 24 November 1989 (aged 32) 30 0 Iran Zob Ahan
2 DF Fatemeh Amineh 3 June 1997 (aged 24) 12 0 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
3 DF Hadieh Kor 0 0 Iran Malavan
4 DF Melika Motevalli 6 May 1998 (aged 23) 15 2 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
5 DF Ghazaelh Banitalebi 5 0 Iran Zarebatrie
6 MF Zahra Sarbali 13 August 1993 (aged 28) 21 0 Iran Bam Khatoon
7 FW Afsaneh Chatrenoor 14 April 1998 (aged 23) 16 0 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
8 DF Behnaz Taherkhani 22 May 1995 (aged 26) 20 3 Iran Bam Khatoon
9 FW Sara Ghomi 20 August 1987 (aged 34) 52 17 Iran Heyat Alborz
10 MF Sara Zohrabi 13 November 1996 (aged 25) 25 6 Iran Sepahan
11 MF Samaneh Chahkandi 28 March 1989 (aged 32) 21 3 Iran Bam Khatoon
12 GK Maryam Yektaei 19 June 1993 (aged 28) 32 0 Turkey Beşiktaş
13 MF Yasaman Farmani 12 February 1995 (aged 26) 8 0 Belgium Charleroi
14 MF Elham Farahmand 12 September 1993 (aged 28) 10 0 Iran Zob Ahan
15 DF Zohreh Jalali 16 February 1999 (aged 22) 0 0 Iran Zarebatrie
16 MF Zahra Masoumi 18 June 2004 (aged 17) 3 0 Iran Heyat Alborz
17 FW Negin Zandi 20 January 2004 (aged 18) 4 1 Iran Bam Khatoon
18 MF Melika Mohammadi 28 March 2000 (aged 21) 6 0 Iran Bam Khatoon
19 DF Fatemeh Adeli 16 July 1995 (aged 26) 22 0 Iran Sepahan
20 FW Hajar Dabbaghi 22 March 1999 (aged 22) 16 6 Iran Sepahan
21 MF Marzieh Nikkhah 25 November 1992 (aged 29) 3 0 Iran Sepahan
22 GK Arefeh Seyedkazemi 1 0 Iran Shahrdari Sirjan
23 MF Sana Sadeghi 12 June 2000 (aged 21) 7 1 Iran Sepahan

Maryam Irandoost to Lead Iran’s woman to the AFC Women Asian Cup India 2022.

the AFC Women’s Asian Cup football matches will be hosted by India from January 20 to February 6, with the participation of 12 teams in three groups.

 

Iran’s women team led by head coach Maryam Irandoost will face off with the host India in their first match. In September of this year, the Iranian women’s national football team defeated the Jordanian team in the preliminary competitions and qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2022 for the first time in its history. It is a great honor for the motivated players of Maryam Irandoost, and this time they are trying to figure out another big surprise, despite all the problems ahead, including not holding any preparatory friendly matches and minimal training sessions.

Maryam Irandoost

Maryam Irandoost, the head coach of the national team, said before being sent to the tournament: “Considering the lack of a preparatory game and the fact that nearly four and a half months have passed since the qualifying round of the Asian Cup, I hope we can display a good performance and have bright days in Mumbai.”

“Fortunately, the players are in good physical and mental condition. They are quite motivated and excited to take part in Asia’s top women’s competition. This is the first time our team is competing, and I think that the fact that they say we have to reach the World Cup puts a lot of pressure on the kids. Anyway, we all know that a team like China is the proudest team in this tournament, and Chinese Taipei and India have better conditions than us, but we will definitely look forward to qualifying from this group and aiming higher.” Irandoost concluded.

Melika Motavi, the defender of the women’s national team, also said: “Considering that there are 12 top Asian teams in this competition and everyone is fully aware of the fact that we have a difficult task ahead of us, our goal in this period of competition is making history. It is the making of women’s football, and we want to once again show the power of Iranian women’s football in Asia, in this way, we will do our best to be a wonderful generation.

The national women’s soccer team, which is experiencing its first appearance in the AFC Asian Cup, could not play any pre-tournament games before the championship because most countries did not consider Iran as a strong opponent and rejected Iran’s request for friendlies. In response to this issue, Irandoost said: “We emailed 14 countries, but unfortunately 80-70% stated that they do not see Iran as a strong team because it was out of the ranking and wanted a stronger competitor. Of course, one or two countries had other reasons, but in any case, they did not want to play us. In any case, we will participate in the Asian Cup to show what a rival we really are.”

Iran Women national team will have to face China, the most successful team with eight titles, Chinese Taipei with three titles, and India with two runners-up in the group stage, which will be very difficult. A strong and positive point for Maryam Irandoost’s players is the alignment with the Asian powers, which can be the beginning of a clear path for women’s football. A path that can begin with the high motivation of history-making.

 

Who is Marayam Irandoost.

Many older fans heard the family name Irandoost before. A Malavan Anzali player and coach, Nosrat Irandoost has made quite a name for himself in the football-loving Bandar Anzali in the 70s as a player and the 90s and beyond as a coach. Irandoost spent his entire career playing for Malavan. In 1976, he helped the team win the Hazfi Cup. He was a member of a golden generation of players that included the likes of Ghafoor Jahani, Aziz Espandar, Ali Niakani, and Bahman Salihnia.

Maryam is the daughter of Nosrat Irandoost.  Born on February 3rd, 1979 in her hometown of Bandar Anzali, she played football turning into a professional playing for Pegah Gilan and Malavan.  She represented Iran from 1995 until the end of her plying days in Team Melli in 2003.

Irandoost, following her father’s step, went into coaching and the most natural team would have been Malvan where she spent the bulk of her career, From Bandar Anzaliu she went on to become the assistant coach of the National Women Team in 2008 until 2010. A year after working as an assistant, she was appointed as the head coach of Iran’s U-16 girl’s team.

In 2010 she made the grade and became the head coach for Women Team Melli. Her stint lasted 2 years. Between 2012 and 2014 she returned back to her beloved club Malavan.

In 2021 Irandoost was once again appointed as the head coach of the national team. Her task of success in the AFC Asian Cup looks colossal particularly in a difficult group facing the giant Chinese and hosts India. To make the best shoot at success, Maryam has opted to have her veteran father alongside her as an advisor and assistant coach.

The 42 years old Maryam is a great motivator and popular amongst her players. What the Iranian players lack in technique, Irandoost can perhaps substitute that by clever use of inspiration, motivation, and full support regardless to result and performance.

While she is not promising anything spectacular, she is hoping that by her team making history and qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup for the first time, she can continue this drive and by using the same psychology, perhaps to push her players beyond their natural skills and ability.

It is interesting to note that Iran has two legionnaires players. Goalkeeper Maryam Yektaei (age 28) plays in  Turkey for the famous Istanbul club Beşiktaş, and midfield player Yasaman Farmani who has recently joined Charleroi in Belgium.

 

 

Vahid Shamsaei appointed as head coach of Iran’s Futsal team.

The former captain of the national futsal team Vahid Shamsaei has been appointed as the head coach of the National Team and a successor of Nazima al-Sharia.

The football Federation FFIRI after the meeting of the Board of Directors this morning (December 12) at the National Football Center, reached this decision and was subsequently announced to the public. Meanwhile, Ali Sanei was also appointed as the head coach of Iran’s national under-19 futsal team.

Iran’s last participation in the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 was deemed as a disappointment after losing to Kazakhistan in the quarter-finals. Nazima al-Sharia came under heavy criticism after the elimination of Iran and failure to repeat the achievement of the last World Cup.

 Shamsaei, a legend in his own right, began his coaching career with Tasisat Daryaei in 2014 in a Player/coach capacity. In 2020–2021 season he moved on to Giti Pasand also as Player-coach. Shamsaei is the world’s top futsal scorer, with 392 in 189 appearances for Futsal Team Melli. He is officially the world’s Top Futsal Goalscorer with 82 goals ahead of Manoel Tobias of Brazil national futsal team, the previous holder of the title with 302 goals.

Shamsaei has won two titles with Tasisat Daryaei.

Team Melli : FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers updates.

The preparation for Team Melli is on its way after the return of head coach Dragan Skocic from his homeland. The Croat coach will be preparing the final list for the upcoming matches vs. Iraq and the UAE on 27th January and 1st February respectively.

There is no major changes or surprises are expected from the new list and it is pretty certain that Mehdi Taremi who missed two matches of the qualifiers, will be invited back to the team. Barring any serious injuries, the squad list will be close to the last one.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022
AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS – GROUP A

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES v    SYRIA

LEBANON  v    KOREA REPUBLIC

                                                                            SAIDA MUNICIPAL STADIUM
15:00
(SAIDA)

IR IRAN   v   IRAQ

18:30
AZADI STADIUM
(TEHRAN)

Qualification possibilities.

With the 3rd rank team, UAE on 6 points, which is 10 points behind Iran, a win against Iraq will increase Iran’s points to 16 assuring qualification for the third consecutive FIFA World Cup. A win for UAE against Syria increases their point to 9, the maximum point the UAE can achieve from their remaining 3 matches is 9 only.

Team Melli will be highly motivated to register a win in Azadi and celebrate the early qualification.

Since the last two matches, the Legionnaire players have been al doing well except for a brief goal drought by Taremi, However, the Porto forward has scored in his last two consecutive matches  Azmoun is involved in a transfer struggle with Lyon being the most possible destination. Ansarifard and Hajsafy are well settled in AEK Athens and have been scoring goals too.

GROUP TEAMS BRIEFS

IRAQ

 

Iran injury vows continue. A key player in the Iraq team’s defensive line has been injured, and this has raised concerns for the team. Zargham Ismail,  is injured and will most probably not recover in time for the match against Iran, and Rabin Solaqa, another Iraqi defender who plays in the Thai league, is also infected with the Coronavirus, and there are rumors that he will not be invited to the squad. Mohammad Qasim is another key player for the Iraqis, who is also very unlikely to recover to play this crucial game. Iraqi is scheduled to play a friendly match against Uganda in Baghdad before facing Iran, after which it will depart for Tehran.

It is also believed from unofficial sources that the trio of the Iraqi national team players: Saad Natiq, Mohammad Daoud, and Alaa Mahawi, have outstanding administrative problems that prevent them from being selected for the squad to face Team Melli.

UAE

The team was in crisis after the humiliating 5-0 defeat against Qatar in the recently concluded Arab Cup. There were calls to sack Van Marwijc but the UAE FA did not find it appropriate to change the coach at this crucial stage of the competition.  UAE still stands a chance to qualify for the play-off if it can maintain the 3rd rank with 4 matches to go.

No major absentees have been announced but the final squad list for the two matches against Iraq and Iran have yet to be announced.

KOREA REP.

 

Bad news for the Koreans with their star player Son Hyung-min injury in the match against Chelse in Carabao cup semi-finals. Son will not be able to accompany his country’s national team for the World Cup qualifier due to due to a muscle injury according to the Tottenham Hotspur announcement.

Korea still has a good squad but the game against Lebanon in Sidon will be a tough test for the Koreans and three points is not a foregone conclusion. Korea Rep trails Iran by two pints at the top of the group.

SYRIA

The temporary committee in charge of managing the affairs of the Syrian Football Association announced that it had reached a final agreement with Romanian coach Tita Valerio, for the latter to continue coaching the Syrian national team, after long negotiations that brought the two sides together for more than 60 days.

For his part, Valerio confirmed that he will do his best to achieve what is required in the remaining matches in the Asian qualifiers of the World Cup, especially in the next two matches against the UAE and South Korea.

Tita indicated that he had contacted Omar Khribin and Omar Al-Soma, and confirmed the inclusion of the two strikers in the list of Syrian squad.

Meanwhile, the federation is active in recruiting players of Syrian origins in Europe. The Expatriate Committee has identified six such players of Syrian origin active in Europe, at the request of Romanian coach Valerio, who is looking into the possibility of utilizing their services in the remaining matches of World Cyp qualifiers.

Four players who are active in Sweden League: Matthias Behnan, Sherko Shehab, Almar Abraham, and Mark Gerges, have already completed the formalities and arrived in Aleppo to join the squad.

Iran futsal players candidates of the best in the world.

Iran’s Futsal is enjoying a successful period and is considered one of the top teams in the world. It is now ranked 6th and many players have enjoyed success as legionnaires too, Futsal Planet website which sponsors the annual best-of Futsal players has nominated Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh as the candidate for the best player of the year while his compatriot and national teammate Salar Aghapour as the candidates for the best young player of the year. Soheila Molmouli is also on the list of the best women futsal players.

The prestigious site of Futsal Planet is the global reference for futsal and the list of this year’s candidates includes the top layers in the world of futsal.

Additionally, Mes Sangoon is nominated as one of the best clubs in the world.

Humiliations and shame.

Controversy, disciplinary actions, sanctions are never very far from Iranian football scenes although thankfully in the past few years, marked improvements have been noticed with less negative news and punitive actions taken against the Iranians.

Iran football at its roots is a bipartisan system based on two teams Persepolis and Esteghlal. Although the accurate figure is impossible to determine, an estimate of more than 90% of the fans in Iran supports one of the two Tehrani teams, has been mentioned. Persepolis probably has more fans than the population of many Asian countries members of AFC .

The whole system is also geared towards the welfare of the two iconic clubs. From journalists, the media, Radio & TV all the way to the Majlis. Sometimes the affairs of the two clubs are topics of discussion in the assembly as if there are no other more pertinent problems to discuss.

The Aura that has been created by the two clubs has also led to corruption, lobbying, and nepotism in a big way thus affecting the livelihood of the many and causing pain and distress to others.  If we have failed to mention it, the owners of the two clubs are none other than the government of the Islamic republic!

Imagine that Manchester City and Manchester United are owned by the same company. To start with, that is a huge conflict of interest, against the spirit of clean competition and something that is not acceptable anywhere in the civilized world. The question that many would ask though, is what is the government doing running a football club or two, in this case?

In Iran’s case, it is simple. Political propaganda and ensuring the big brother keep an eye on the massive force of the youth. Governments do not own and run football clubs, there are much more important businesses to take care of, however, success, winning trophies, and titles would have alleviated the peculiar structure and ownership of the clubs by a long shot. The reality is otherwise as this regime has failed miserably in running the two football teams. Not only they have not won any Champions League titles, but they are also both on the brink of bankruptcy and being sued for millions of dollars in courts for breaches of contracts with their staff, suppliers, and partners.

For over 40 years, not a single Iranian club has won the coveted continental trophy under the Islamic Republic’s control. That is an incredible sign of failure for a proud nation.

If that is not bad enough, the humiliation of both Persepolis and Esteghlal being kicked out of the Asian Champions League due to a countless number of irregularities tops every shame that Iran’s football has been subjected to in the last four decades. This one is the absolute disaster that touches the feeling and the pride of the people and the country. And there is one and one culprit only. The regime of the Islamic Republic has been promising since Khatemi’s days to hand over the clubs to private sectors and failed to do so for decades.

This is the result….the anger and disgust felt by Iranians and Iran football supporters outside the country touch beyond sport, it is an insult that could be quite costly for the regime.

The honorable thing to do for the Islamic Republic is to admit that it is not geared for running football teams and being engaged in their quarrels, hand over the teams to the public and refrain from using these clubs as propaganda tools.

We have been critical of AFC on many occasions, but this time the Asian Football Confederation has done Iran’s football a favor that only the intelligent and the more mature audience would appreciate.