Tag: AFC Asian Cup 2019

Queiroz “It is a 50/50 match against Oman”

Abu Dhabi

In the pre-match Press conference today, Carlos Queiroz has said that the group stages and the results achieved by the teams are history. He labelled his side’s AFC Asian Cup Round of 16 match against Oman as a ’50-50′ tie.

Queiroz has analysed the performance of Oman and seems to be highly impressed with Pim Verbeek’s Oman. The Portuguese head coach of Team Melli warned his players to be on their toes against the Gulf Cup champions ahead of the last 16 tie at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

“The Oman team is a very good team. They have prepared well and have achieved fantastic results over the last year or so. They played 23, 24 matches and only lost two or three.

“They have a very good coach in Pim Verbeek and we must be careful against them,” said Queiroz.

Oman may have qualified as one of the four best third-placed teams but turned heads with fighting performances against Uzbekistan and Japan before losing 2-1 and 1-0 respectively.

Their determination to qualify for the knockout stage was so great that they kept pushing right till the end against Turkmenistan on Matchday Three, with the third goal coming deep in stoppage time, with the 3-1 win sealing their place.

“They have been very impressive but having said that, I am confident that if we play our game and the players express themselves, we will progress,” Queiroz added

Focus, said the Portuguese tactician, will be key.

“The group stage results do not matter now. We played for points then but now, it is about survival. I rate the match as 50-50 with everything for the winners and nothing for the losers.

“There is no room for mistakes, regrets, apologies and tomorrows. It all comes down to 90 minutes and we must make sure we come out on top.”

Iran, stressed Queiroz, will keep the game simple.

“I always tell my players to keep it simple. Control the ball, pass the ball, don’t lose the ball and score. When we have the ball, we must always be positive and think of scoring.”

That they have done very well, having defeated Yemen 5-0 and Vietnam 2-0 before playing to a 0-0 draw with Iraq.

“We have our dreams, our aspirations and our targets. When we started, I said we had seven finals to play and tomorrow is the fourth one. I am confident my players will deliver what is expected of them.”

Verbeek’s Oman are also equally confident, despite having to face the Continent’s top ranked team.

“Rankings do not matter in a match like this. We will do everything we can to advance to the quarter-finals. My players are excited and confident,” said Verbeek, who has guided Oman to their first AFC Asian Cup knockout stage in four attempts.

“These are the kind of games we train for, whether as coaches or players. Iran are a fantastic team and they will be a challenge but as everyone saw, we are a team who fight till the end,” said Verbeek.

Aussie fitness guru working magic with Asian Cup favourites

By Vince Rugari
The Sydney Morning Herald

When serial pest Peter Hore ran onto the MCG and cut down the goal nets on November 29, 1997, Dr Craig Duncan watched the agony unfold from his lounge room in Sydney.

More than two decades on, Duncan is still a proud Australian – but all his knowledge, intuition and mental energy is now dedicated to Iran, the team who profited from the carnage on that fateful night.

Iran are one of the favourites to take out this year’s Asian Cup, and for good reason. They are Asia’s top-ranked team according to FIFA and one of the confederation’s traditional superpowers. Team Melli are coming off a World Cup campaign in which they only narrowly failed to qualify from a group featuring Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

Coached by famed Portuguese manager Carlos Queiroz – who was linked to the Socceroos job following Ange Postecoglou’s resignation – Iran have arguably their most talented squad since the ‘golden generation’ that knocked Australia out of qualifying for the 1998 World Cup in France. But they have not won the Asian Cup or even made the final for 43 years.

That’s where Duncan, one of Australia’s leading sports scientists, comes in. A key cog of Postecoglou’s backroom team during his time in charge of the Socceroos, he was brought into the Iran set-up in October at the behest of Queiroz and his assistant Mick McDermott to help harness Iran’s incredible potential.

 

Duncan has been given a broad high performance role, contributing in a number of portfolios including fitness, sports science and rehabilitation to assist in bringing the absolute best out of their players at the Asian Cup.

For those who know Duncan, it should come as no surprise that he has not pondered the significance of being an Australian working for Iran in football since starting his new job.

“That was the past and yes, at that moment in time, I remember very little other than being obviously upset that we didn’t qualify for the World Cup,” he told the Herald. “I remember that guy taking down the net. But I have not thought one moment of that night. It has nothing to do with the project I am now working on.”

Many Socceroos fans would love to see the two nations to cross paths again. Despite being in the Asian Football Confederation since 2005, Australia has incredibly managed to avoid Iran through three Asian Cups and three World Cup qualifying campaigns. That night is still the last time they met.

If Australia finishes second in Group B and Iran tops Group D as expected, the only way they can face each other in the UAE is if both teams make the final.

On form, the Socceroos would go in as rank underdogs. Team Melli are in imperious form, having begun their Asian Cup run with a 5-0 belting of Yemen. Next up are a fast-improving Vietnam on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, a clash which should be one of the most entertaining of the tournament so far.

Duncan cannot speak highly enough of Queiroz, the former right-hand man of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United who is reportedly set to take over Colombia after the Asian Cup. “His attention to detail, his work ethic, his wisdom, his overall intelligence is just unique. It’s just a very enjoyable experience to be around him,” he said.

Duncan naturally is keeping an eye on the Socceroos, but his priorities are clear. “There’s absolutely players I have known there for a long period of time and I wish them all the best,” he said.

“It’s obviously my country, but I’m very focused on what is in front of me. You can’t wipe away what I went through with a lot of those guys in the last World Cup cycle. But football’s a world game and there’s always new challenges.”

Jorge Fosati to replace Queiroz in Team Melli !!

An Colombian website  caracoltv claims that the next Team Melli coach will be coming from Uruguay. The site mentioned Jorge Fosati as the successor to Carlos Queiroz whose contract ends after the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

The website wrote that while Carlos Queiroz is expected to lead the Colombian national team, Jorge Fosati will take the helm at Iran’s national team. Day after day, the news that Carlos Queiroz’s will be taking over the head coach job of the Colombian national team are getting stronger , naturally a replacement coach should also be appointed to lead Iran in place of the Portuguese. In the meantime, Jorge Fosati of Uruguay is on the verge of being appointed to that post in Iran’s national football team. A few days ago, the Colombian Football Federation has denied any communication with Luis Felipe Scolari.

In Abu Dhabi, Carlos Queiroz has neither denied nor confirmed this news after he was asked by a reporter prior to the game against Vietnam. He asked the media to only ask questions about the match as any other question about his future is an insult to the team and the fans.

Carlos Queiroz is preparing Team Melli to play Iraq for a top of the table match in Dubai in the final match of Group D of AFC Asian Cup 2019

Vingada in Team Melli training.

Nelo Vingada, a familiar face in Iran’s football and a close associate of Carlos Queiroz has been observed in the pitch in Team Melli training in Al Neheyan stadium this morning.

There did not seem to be any interaction between him and the players while the media was allowed to observe the training.

It is believed that the Portuguese coach is accompanying the team as a consultant.

Team Melli will be playing its second match in the 17th AFC Asian Cup 2019 versus Vietnam on Saturday at 15:00 local time.

Iran is leading group D with 3 points on goal difference from Iraq.

Vietnam, the tales of unknown quality.

Vietnam football team leaders, are quite confident and comfortable being singled out as unknown team in Group D of the Asian Cup. After some Iranian press articles wrote about Vietnam and the fact that all their players are domestic league based. with little international exposure hence a difficult group of players to assess, team leader Duong Vu Lam spoke up and welcomed the fact that Vietnam is of unknown quality.

Iranian newspaper Varzeshi had a commentary that, at first glance, everyone felt a sense of disregard for the ability of the Vietnamese team – Iran’s rival at table D.

The author has identified Vietnam as an unknown team because it does not have any famous players. Their players only play in domestic league and no one plays abroad, Varzeshi called the Vietnam team an unknown quality team. In an interview with Thanh Nien Newspaper, the leader of Duong Vu Lam expressed another opinion.

Head of the delegation Duong Vu Lam said that “the Iranian report expressed disdain, proving that they are afraid of Vietnam”

‘”admittedly, at the Asian Cup, we don’t have a name. But in my opinion, this is an article of encouragement, the Iranian newspaper said that they are very concerned and shy about us.” said Mr. Lam.

Besides, leader Duong Vu Lam also encourages young Vietnamese players to keep up their good spirits, compete while knowing that the Iranians know us well as they did in Asian Games 2014 at U23 level.

“The press in their country says so, we should not be so excited or frustrated. The answer is just to be calm. It is important that we prepare well, know people who know us, dare to set great goals. Doing so, the Vietnamese team will be stronger in will and fighting spirit and will have a chance to achieve the goal of knocking down the big teams.” said Duong Vu Lam

Iran’s coach Carlos Queiroz , has a different viewpoint : “Vietnam cannot be underestimated”
“

Before the news that some Iranian newspapers expressed disdain for Park’s team, Coach Carlos Queiroz of Iran has completely disagreed with what was written in the press “These are very misleading statements. And I am no stranger to the subjective statements of this kind for a long time. They (Iranian sports press) thought that we would win very easily in the Asian Cup and it would be easy to defeat all opponents to win the championship, ” Mr. Queiroz answered on the Asian Football Federation website (AFC).
‘People think Iran will win against Vietnam. It is very wrong. They just won an important tournament in Southeast Asia. Iranian newspapers may not be interested, but we are very interested in these developments of Vietnam team. We respect every opponent, and appreciate it all.”

Iran and Vietnam has never met at senior level, however, at youth level , Vietnam has been a strong opponent for Iran and even managed to humiliate Iran U23 in Asian Games 2014. In that match goals from, Vo Huy Toan . Mac Hong Quan, Tran Phi Son and Ngo Hoang Thinh ensured the match ended in a humiliating defeat for the Iranian side which scored a consolation penalty goal by Mohsen Mosalman. Team Melli will be glad that none of those players are in the Vietnamese squad in Abu Dhabi to repeat their goal scoring feat.

Midfielder Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng (30 years) is the most senior member of the squad with 57 caps  and 12 goals . He plays for FLC Thanh Hóa. 
The Captain of Vietnam is the 25 years old defender,  Quế Ngọc Hải  who plays for Sông Lam Nghệ An.

Vietnam Coach is the South Korean Park Hang-seo

Jahanbakhsh doubtful for Yemen match.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh who has been suffering from a hamstring injury is doubtful for the first game of Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

The Brighton & Hove Albion winger has been sidelined for almost three weeks now. Although he has resumed training recently and even managed to join Team Melli squad for the Training Camp in Doha, his main focus was on light work and physical strength exercises. Jahanbakhsh did not play against Palestine or Qatar in the last two test matches before the tournament.

For Queiroz, Jahanbakhsh’s absence from the game against Yemen and even against Vietnam in the next match, will not be a major concern as Team Melli has enough strength in-depth to win both matches without Jahanbakhsh. However, starting from the match against Iraq and the next round matches, his presence is significant. The only other concern will be if Jahanbakhsh shows rusty signs because of  injury and lack of playing competitive football for some time.

Iran will meet Yemen in Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in the first match of Group D of the AFC Asian Cup. In the other group match Vietnam will take on Iraq.

Jahanbakhsh is currently the most expensive Iranian player. A lot is expected from him after what was a disappointing World Cup. Along with Sardar Azmoun, he is the major hope of Team Melli in the Asian Cup.

Fariba detects lack of ambition in Queiroz’s Asian Cup objectives.

“I believe Team Melli is going to have a tough time challenging for the title against opponents such as Japan, South Korea and Australia, all fighting for the crown ” Behtash Fariba said in a recent interview.

The former Taj & Team Melli player, was a sensation when he started in Iranian football. Despite his short career in Team Melli, he was the most prolific scorer in the history of the team. Fariba was commenting on the status of Team Melli ahead of the AFC Asian Cup tournament. “Meanwhile, teams such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also contenders for the title. Fourth grade teams such as Yemen and Vietnam have progressed well in football, and it’s unreasonable to expect four or five goals margin against these so-called minnows. In Asian football, countries like India are investing heavily and developing. They are building for the future in the hope of being Top Asian Football nation.”

He continued: “For the past eight years, Queiroz has been in charge of the national team” he said. “The coach has introduced many young players who have now developed and matured, quite a number of them play outside of Iran and have gained great international exposure. Team Melli top players in the Persian Gulf league are among the best in Asia and henceforth this squad is one of the finest team that has been prepared for the Asian Cup in recent years. I believe that we have 80 percent chance of lifting the trophy.”

Fariba, in response to a recent statement by Queiroz, who said that our objective is to make it to the semi-finals, along with Australia, Japan and Korea, stated: “We have already made it to semifinals several times and won the title on 3 of them also winning third place a few other times. May God bless his soul, Parviz Dehdari won third place while he was on the shoestring budget and half of his players abandoned the squad because of rivalry and internal politics leading to boycott of Team Melli. He won third place with much under-strength team.”

“Queiroz words in this sense are not logical. It sounds to me like there is a lack of confidence and ambition. Maybe the coach wants to have some justification ahead of any possible negative result. We have a good team and Queiroz is expected to challenge and win the Asian Cup. That is the least he can do after 8 years at the helm to declare his success.”

Ansarifard and Rezaeian on the brink of drop from Team Melli.

For Karim Ansarifard and Ramin Rezaeian , two key players of Team Melli, the time is fast running out for them to find suitable clubs and hence their selection for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 will be seriously under threat.

Ansarifard, was Team Melli’s lone goal scorer in the World Cup , albeit from a penalty spot, however, he is also a valuable player in Carlos Queiroz plans. His European experience has enhanced his abilities while he thrived in the Greek league with significant number of goals. The Olympiacos new coach, however, did not believe in Karim and did not utilize him much. Ansarifard’s contract was not renewed for the new season leaving the Team Melli forward out of contract as a free agent.

Out of the few offers that Ansarifard has received, the one from Nottingham forest of the English championship league was the most attractive. With all the efforts, this contract did not materialize as it is believed the Iranian could not secure a work permit to enable him to play in England.

So, up to now Karim remains without club and of course is not taking part in training and will significantly lose form because he is not competing at the highest level or even in a moderate football competition.

Ramin Rezaein has a similar story with his Belgian club K.V. Oostende  which has released him at the start of the season. Rezaeian is a free agent and so far he has not been able to secure a club. It is believed that several major clubs in Iran has turned down Rezaeian offer of a contract. The right back who can also operate in the defensive midfield role has  a prior with Persepolis and Turkish sides which perhaps alarmed the Iranian clubs on his behaviour.

Carlos Queiroz will have no serious issues replacing both the two players posts, however undoubtedly effective and valuable players for the team even being on the bench would be adding value to the squad. Coaches do not normally pick players who are out of practice, short of form or away from competitive match. Quieroz has been known to defy that rule.

For Ansarifard, former Saips and Persepolis player, the only path to English football and Nottingham forest, if the club is still interested, is the winter transfer window which opens in January.  It might be too late for him as far as the Asian Cup is concerned. As for Rezaeian, there is still no sign of any club that has shown interest in recruiting him. at least publicly.

Venezuela also cancels the friendly match!

FFIRI has received a message from its Venezuelan counterpart stating that its national team which was supposed to be in Tehran on 20th November to face Team Melli, will not be able to appear.

 

According to FFIRI spoke person Homeira Asadi, the Venezuelans have stated that several of their players are resident in the USA and hence will be unable to join the squad. Asadi declined to comment on whether the FFIRI will seek compensation from the Venezuela FA for such move.

After this cancellation , Team Melli will play against Trinidad and Tobago and Qatar before flying to UAE for the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

Iran and Qatar to meet in a friendly

Team Melli will probably be playing its last preparation match against Qatar on the last day of the year to complete its schedule before flying to the UAE to compete in the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

The Qatar Football Association has announced the program for its national team which includes four matches against Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Algeria and Iran.

Team Melli will be playing against Trinidad and Venezuela before meeting Qatar.

There was no confirmation from FFIRI on this match., but that is pretty much expected.