Tag: Andranik “Ando” Teymourian

Serjik Teymourian passes away

The brother of former Team Melli captain, Serjik Teymourian (46) passed away this morning in Tehran after suffering fatal injuries in a motorcycle crash. Serjik who was born in Tehran on 29th May 1974, started his football career like most Iranian-Armenian players with Ararat. He was soon discovered by Esteghlal and joined the famous club in 1993. He played from p Esteghlal until the season 1998 where he joined the Bundesliga team Mainz 05. He was in Germany for two seasons. Serjik played several international selection games for Tehran and Iran XI teams. God bless his soul.  

Ando Teymourian transfer to Esteghlal halted!

The former Team Mell Captain, whose transfer to Esteghlal Tehran club has been announced as void, is extremely upset by this turn of events. Esteghlal Club has been sanctioned by FIFA and is banned from any transfer activities until such time they settle a pay dispute with the German born Moroccan International Adil Chihi.  The 28 years old Moroccan made 6 appearances for Esteghlal in 2016 before leaving Tehran. The Player subsequently filed a claim with FIFA against the Tehran giant for non-payment of dues.

Despite various letters from FIFA asking Esteghlal for proof, there was only one response from Esteghlal and that was considered inadmissible. The club Chairman, without admitting any guilt or wrongdoing claimed that his club has fully paid the Moroccan but because of the international sanctions, the bank transfer of funds was not carried out!!!

FIFA issued the sanction by a letter submitted to FFIRI on 9th January 2017 banning Esteghlal from any transfer activities.

Andranik “Ando” Teymourian, who is hoping to revive his flagging career by joining the blues, is at a crossroad now. Due to the official signing & registration with Esteghlal, he is ineligible to play for another team or go back to his last club, Mchine Sazi . He is, for all intents and purposes, a victim of circumstances beyond his control. His chances of selection and playing for Team Melli seems to be at minimal with the current situation prevailing.

Unless the FIFA sanction is removed after Esteghlal settles the dispute including payment of fines and legal cost, neither Teymourian nor the Uzbek player Server Djeparov who like Ando signed for Esteghlal, can play competitive football.

In a related development, Mehdi Taj, the Head of FFIRI has said that the matter is being calmly resolved, while the chairman of Esteghlal , a civil servant appointed by the government and typical to the class of administrators running football in Iran for the past few decades, made an appeal to Mehdi Taj to negotiate a discount from FIFA …. Truly pathetic and comical act.

FIFA has also indicated that Esteghlal has a long history of violations and financial irregularities. In general, Iranian football is becoming quite notorious for payment delays to foreign players and coaching staff, partly because of banking restrictions due to sanction but mostly due to poor financial discipline of Iranian clubs federation. The mentality that they can bargain their way out of financial commitments is still rife and very much practised!

Teymourian joins Machine Sazi

Team Melli Captain has signed for newly promoted Machine Sazi club of Tabriz,

The much traveled Andranik Teymourian has signed a short-term contract with Saipa last season after he left QSL team Um Salal . Despite his initial good impact with Siapa , Teymourian's season was marred by injuries rendering him ineffective for the team last season.

This will be the second Tabrizi team for Teymourian, He has played for city rivals Tractorsazi before.

Machine Sazi , currently coached by ex-Team Melli forward Rasoul Khatibi , was promoted to the  Persian Gulf Pro League in 2016,  after a 19-year absence from the top flight of Iranian football. 

They play their home games in Bagh Shomal stadium with a 25,000 seats capacity.

Team Melli players transfer market 2015/16.

The transfer window has opened in most of the leagues round the world and our focus , as usual has been the Team Melli players past and present.

It is safe to say that the movement of the Team Melli players was not exactly an earth shattering activity. Domestically, there has been very few transfers to talk about with most of the Team Melli players renewing their contracts with their current clubs.

In essence,  Team Melli players fall in three categories, The Young promising including rising stars, the established players, the twilight zone players.

ramin-rezaeian-28553

Young prospects: Most clubs hunt for bargains while pursuing young players. Iran is a big country and find the right talent in the right place is not something that can be considered a routine or easy task. Competition amongst the clubs can be become rough and messy at times each side pulling all the tricks up their sleeves. Players also take full advantage when faced with situation where there are multiple suitors. It is not uncommon to hear that a player has signed for two clubs or more in Iran!

The favorite destination of most of the young players is Esteghlal or Persepolis. The popularity of these two teams and the bi-partisan nature of football in Iran, puts these two teams at an unfair advantage. The two most popular clubs in Iran contribute very little if any in developing or producing young players themselves. However, they are at a vantage point when players, particularly young ones, come to them and consider it an honor to don the jerseys of the big two clubs.

However , now that Persepolis and Esteghlal have been facing dire cash shortage and are technically bankrupt , the attraction of these two teams is dwindling. Young aspiring players are more careful and vigilant although the appeal of these two names is still there.

Unfortunately, this season the number of players in this category is not too pleasing. Most would be staying put in their club like Mehdi Sharifi and Ali Karimi of Sepahan and Mehdi Torabi of Saipa. Ramin Rezaeian is the only one who has joined Persepolis from Rah Ahan , otherwise the lack of promising players is becoming of some concern amongst the coaches and experts.

Ando cute

Established players: most of the Team Melli players in this category have opted to stay with their clubs despite some of the clubs not honoring timely wage payments.  The odd ones who made the change include the Captain Ando Teymourian (Tractosazi to Umm Salal (QAT)) , Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal (QAT) to Al Ahli (QAT)) , Daniel Davari (Grasshoppers to Arminia Bielefeld) , Mohammad Nouri (Persepolis to Al Mesaimer (QAT).

This category is also lacks exciting transfers or prospects of major changes.

The Twilight zone : Unfortunately , a number of current Team Melli squad fall in this category including Teymourian (32 years) whom we gave the benefit of the doubt as he is the Captain of the team. Jalal Hosseini (33 years), the Solid and always present central defender , did not renew his contract with Al Ahali of Qatar but surprisingly he was rejected by his first choice and favorite destination , Persepolis. Eventually he was recruited by Naft Tehran, but there were not many suitors chasing him either.

Masoud Shojaei (31 years), the perennial ever-present midfielder who has been struggling for many seasons with clubs of lower divisions, once again flopped but this time in Qatar not Spain. His team Al Shahaniya was relegated last season and as expected the Qatari’s found him to be a surplus to their requirement this coming season. Shojaei is currently negotiating with Persepolis. It is rumored that he will accept a huge pay cut in order to join the reds with no sign on fees demanded by the player.

Shojaei against Montenegro
Shojaei against Montenegro

So, it looks like 2015/2016 season will start with relative calm in the Team Melli squad, which could be a hidden advantage for Carlos Queiroz if not for the fans or the transfer market.

There are tough roads ahead. Guam , Oman and India will be ready to challenge Iran in the qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup 2018. As Team Melli players found out against Turkmenistan , it is not a forgone conclusion to win against such oppositions. Guam , in particular has made a tremendous progress and will be testing Iran, while Oman will always remain a tough nut to crack for Team Melli.

Minimum disturbance of the players may be just what the doctored ordered for Team Melli squad.

Ando Teymourian joins Umm Salal.

The Captain of Team Melli Andranik 'Ando' Teymourian has joined Umm Salal in the Qatar league for a fee close to US$ 1.2 million. Teymourian who was playing for Tractorsazi Tabriz team last season , has played in QSL before with Al Khraitiat club before returning to Iran and playing with Esteghlal. Pejman Montazeri , who is the other Team Melli player in Umm Salal is certain to leave the team and join Al Ahli club to be the partner of Mojtaba Jabbari. Teymourian will be back in Tehran after the signing of the contract , then will join his new team in the Holland preparation camp. Umm Salal ended last season in a respectable 6th position.

Tabrizi fans victim of the biggest prank!

If that was not the world’s biggest prank , then I don’t know what it.

It all happened early Friday evening in Yadegar Imam Stadium in Tabriz, the home of Tractorsazi team which was playing for the Championship title for the first time in its history. The Tabrizi team needed to win the match against arch rival Naft , themselves needing the 3 points to win the title.

The stadium was over filled to the rim. As usual in Iranian stadiums, there was little regards for safety and regulation. Eyewitnesses in the stadium have mentioned hundreds or thousands of seats that were occupied by two persons. All emergency exits and pathways were occupied by the passionate Tabrizi fans that were ready to enjoy the mother of all celebrations at the end of the game. That would be Tractorsazi’s Persian Gulf League title season 2014/15.

There was a third team involved in the last day title race, and that was Sepahan Esfahan playing at home against Saipa. Sepahan, needed to win but also needed the match in Tabriz between Tractorsazi and Naft Tehran to end in a draw for Sepahan to win the title.

All was going well for Tractorsazi and they were 3-1 up in the second half and well on the way for the celebration of the century. Sepahan two goal advantage against Saipa was meaningless. But then disaster struck.

Team Melli veteran midfielder Andranik Teymourian , the assist provider for the first goal and scorer of  2nd for Tractorsazi  was sent off a couple of minutes after his team’s 3rd goal. The rest was all downhill for the Tabrizi team. Naft scored twice to equalize and make it 3-3 and that was the result after Alireza Faghani blew his whistle at the end of the game.

Millions of TV audiences were astonished by the celebrations that ensued. It was so unreal, illusionary, bordering a joke. Nowhere in the world, have fans celebrated their team becoming second like these fans were doing in Tabriz. A pitch invasion that threatened the safety of the players, huge chanting and celebration for those in the stands who could not join the mass on the pitch , waving flags, scenes of frenzy captured by the Iranian TV was part of this incredible event.

tractorsazi vs. Naft Tehran

To top it all , the local TV commentator, who had no idea why the fans are behaving like that but acted and reasoned that the fans in Tabriz are unique in the world ,  and even celebrate their team losing the style in style !!

There was something that was definitely not right……Surreal , false and comical in all that.

And then the truth was revealed. Someone has played the biggest prank of them all on the unsuspecting Tabrizi fans.

It all started when a few minutes before the end of the match, the Public Address announcement urged the fans to be ready for the celebration. When the match finished, someone has informed the bench of Tractorsazi that the match in Esfahan ended 2-2 while the fact  was Sepahan have won it 2-0.

The euphoria began, the celebrations, while truly incredible and exuberant was all the result of one of the biggest pranks in the history.

The follow up to this incredibly heart breaking episode for the Tabrizi fans, while their rivals had the biggest laugh, was even sillier than the event itself. It goes beyond saying that lying, rumor mongering and fabrication of news is institutional and a way of life in Iran.  At least 80,000 people were in the stadium, many carrying radios and smartphones that have all the information they needed about the match in Esfahan and elsewhere in Iran. How on earth this mass was cheated into believing the lies is itself quite incredible.

One Azerbaijani official claimed that there was a total loss of communication in the stadium, a seriously retarded claim, while others demanded that people responsible for this  are put to trial and severely punished.

faghani red card Teymopurian

Ando Teymourian , in the aftermath of this prank said that Friday was one of his darkest days in football. “Not only the result itself and the loss of the title in the last quarter of the match was heart breaking but the false news that lead the masses in wild celebration and then realizing it was all false, just added a huge insult to the injury. I am really sorry for the fans. I do apologize to every warm blooded Tabrizi fan. This is all I can say.”

Andranik Teymourian leaves Esteghlal.

Team Melli Midfielder , Andranik 'Ando' Teymourian has finally been granted approval to leave the club by the chairman of Esteghlal.

After months of dispute between the player and the club, resulting from several issues such as the club holding the player's wages, delay in payments, contract renewal differences, among other issues, both sides agreed to end their long standing association.

Teymourian was unsettled in Esteghlal and that has obviously affected his form in the league , which at best , was quite  modest compared to the usual Teymourian form.

The midfielder has not announced his next club although Zob Ahan has showed very strong willingness to attract the 31 years old midfielder.

Commenting on Teymourian departure from Esteghlal , head coach Amir Ghalenoei said that he was aware of the dispute between the club and the player   resulting from non-payment of wages. “However, even if a plyer is not paid, he must remain professional enough to conduct his job at 100% for the club and leave these financial issued aside!!!” Ghalenoei , then proceeded and watered down his claim by adding “Of course , the club has an obligation to pay the players.”  

One wonders how would Ghalenoei perform and work if his own salary is not paid for three months!

Teymourian “The problems at Team Melli can be resolved”

In a brief statement to FFIRI website, Andranik “Ando” Teymourian commenting on the Sunday match against Belarus, said “We had a few problems in the defense and forward lines in that match, but none of it is of any serious nature. They can be resolved. " The Esteghlal midfielder who is in camp in Austria with his teammates said ""From nearly 90 days, we have been doing intense physical training focused on improving the body, stamina and endurance. This is a demanding process that puts the body under pressure.” “This is the second serious test since our qualification. I believe that the players have done their best in these two matches.” Added Teymourian , who is a key player for the team. Iran played a goal-less draw against Belarus on Sunday May 18th . Teymourian then commented on the attendance at the match “I feel so proud seeing all these Iranian fans at such venues. I like to sincerely thank the Iranian community in Austria that have given us so much support and encouragement. “ “Belarus is a good team and plays at the highest level of football in Europe (…) . Their physical condition was high. We are trying quite hard to reach an optimum physical level. In the match yesterday , we had a couple of good chances to score , but we wasted them.” Meanwhile Mohammad Reza Khalatbary reflected on the match and basically repeated the same on the conditions of the players. "We have tried our best , but we were tired after such long and demanding training" Asked if he is satisfied with his own performance , Persepolis winger responded  "It is the coach that should be asked if I was good enough or not. I tried my best." With less than a month to the first match, the two players' statements are slightly worrying. It seems that all this time spent in training, the focus was on physical conditions of the player and less emphasis on tactics. Despite what Teymourian claimed about Belarus, they are far from top European side with a FIFA ranking of 83 and that was evident in their match against Team Melli. Although , Team Melli was not playing at full strength, it could only create 2 or 3 serious scoring chances against Belarus. Teymourian did not elaborate on the solutions at hand, and did not comment on the forthcoming match against Montenegro, which is currently the highest ranking Team that Iran will met in the preparation before the World Cup standing at # 54.  Iran next opponents for test matches will be Angola (FIFA Rank #94)  and finally Trinidad and Tobago. (FIFA Rank #74) Iran - Belarus May 2014 [1]

Esteghlal management defies Team Melli.

In a statement to ISNA , Ali Fathollazadeh , the CEO of Esteghlal club said that club will be traveling to Riyadh to play Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia with a full strength squad, including  their Team Melli players In order for Esteghlal to qualify for the next rounds of the 2014 AFC Champions League , it has to win the remaining two matches. The heartbroken Esteghlal which  was defeated in a crucial last day of the season match by Tractorsazi, will not be competing in the premiere competition of Asian club football after missing out on the ranking. Winning this current edition of the competition is the only salvation for this proud champion pedigree team from Tehran and hence the clubs has decided to go with full force to Riyadh. Esteghlal lost the league title to Foolad Khuzestan while the cup was won by Tractorsazi this season. With Esteghlal taking all their players, Team Melli may have to depart to South Africa without them. As it is , there will be at least 7 or 8 players missing from the Team Mellli squad already due to club commitments. Players in Kuwait and Qatar are yet to be released by their clubs , while there is no chance of any European based players joining the camp.  There was no comment from the football federation or Team Melli coaching staff regarding Esteghlal decision and their refusal to release their players for the South Africa camp.  Legislation does not force a club to release the players for the national team training camps, so legally the IRIFF is helpless if Esteghlal departs to Saudi Arabia with their full team.   Current Team Melli players HEYDARI, Khosrow SADEGHI, AmirHossein TEYMOURIAN, Andranik

Esteghlal stars exodus continues, Ando wants out!

  Andranik Teymourian announced  he wants to leave the Persian Gulf League leader , Esteghlal. In the wake of Midfield Dynamo Mojtaba  Jabbari , Team Melli Captain Javad Nekounam  and Defender Pejman Montazzeri , Andranik "Ando" Teymourian will be the fourth Esteghlal superstar / Team Melli player to leave the club. Although the reasons behind his intentions are not clearly defined in his request to leave, it is assumed that financial problems and payment arrears by the club is a major reason. Teymourian has been doing well with his club Esteghlal which he re-joined after a stint in the Qatar league.  Despite the internal disputes within the blues of Tehran, and the money issues, Esteghlal has been leading the table and showing good quality of football. Teymourian , uncharacteristically has played some rough football recently which lead to his one match ban by the FFIRI. His recent demeanor and clashes with opponents and referees was perhaps an early sign that Ando was unsettled in Esteghlal. With only a few months to go to the World Cup , a number of players are on their way to change clubs which could have a negative effect on their form. A spokesman for Esteghlal club has insisted that the Club CEO , Fathollahzade , is adamant to keep Ando in Esteghlal and will not let him go. Then Again, he said the same thing about the other stars who left,except for Jabbari who was an antagonist of Fathollazadeh.