Tag: Bagheri

The Sense of injustice. Mohsen Mosalman & Hossein Kaebi

The crocked FFIRI.

Mohsen Mosalman was considered as one of the brightest young footballers in Iran, destined to stardom in the European leagues in the footpath of Daei , Mahdavikia and Bagheri. Some even regarded him to be a much better talent than Ali Karimi in his senior years

He was the youngest professional players in Iran history at 16 years old in Zob Ahan.  By that time, he has already played for Team Melli U16 and in the following years , he represented his country in all the age group teams all the way to the Omid Team (U23).

Mosalman was and still is , a gifted player and naturally he was picked for Team Melli, but made limited appearances, and scored one goal in his 5 caps.

This player however, had issues on and off the field , enough to irritate the hierarchy and ruffle some feathers. The disciplinary actions against him and some self-inflicted problems, harmed his progress and relegated him from a star in the making to just about, better than average league player.

His misdemeanors varied from being filmed smoking in coffee shops, to attending parties or pictures in social media with girls..

Another wonderkid was Hossein Kaebi. The boy from Khuzestan was an absolute delight to watch as a youngster growing up to become a definite star. He made his debut for Team Melli at 18 years and unlike Mosalman, Hossein Kaebi played for an extended period of time including in the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. He also played in the Asian Cup 2007.

There was nothing controversial about Kaebi, except for his passion to look good including having Tattoo all over his body or fixing his eyebrows, for which he faced disciplinary action by the ethics and behavior committee of FFIRI

Mosalman conduct is nothing close to controversial, so is Kaebi’s. If it was in Free World, those two would not attract much, if any attention. On field violations would have been dealt with professionally and objectively, as there is no malice, ill intent or violent conducts in their actions. But in a system controlled by religious fundamentalism with absolutely minimal respect to personal freedom and a big brother approach, these two are considered as villains.

A committee for virtue and righteous, has just suspended the two players from all football activities for reasons that are not published and only known to those who penalized the players. There is no appeal. No transparency no rights!.

Hossein kaebi

And if you think that is injustice, have a thought for Mohsen Mosalman who helped Persepolis win the League title last season. In the ceremony by the FFIRI to honor winners and the achievers, in the category of top assists , Mohsen Mosalman was the clear winner with 14 assists for the season. Shockingly, the FFIRI announced that Server Djabarov, the Uzbek player who had a total of 6 assists for Esteghlal, has won the title.!!!

The writing was on the wall to suspend and punish Mosalman.

It is testament to the resolve of the nation that football actually thrives under such injustice.

More Iranians in the Premiere League.

It has taken sometime, but eventually some foreign clubs showed interest in two Iranian players who were part of Team Melli squad in Brazil. Although the 2014 FIFA World Cup was less than brilliant for Iran as a team, the bigger disappointment was at the individual level , where most of the star players did not perform nor deliver.

There was so much expected from the likes of Ashksn Dejagah and Reza Ghoochannejad and to a lesser extent , Andranik Teymourian and Javad Nekounam. None of those performed anywhere near what the fans were hoping for. While experts and fans alike, expected one young Alireza Jahanbakhsh to set Brazil alight , he was also unable to deliver what he is capable of despite Queiroz giving him some limited playtime.

Surprisingly the pick of the bunch were Mehrdad Pooladi at the defense line , who was the 2nd best performer in the world cup after the first round and Ehsan Hajsafy , whom many thought that Queiroz made an error of judgment taking him off in the Argentine game. Both Pooladi and Hajsafy operate on the left side.

Now , a few English clubs have shown interest in the duo and it is pretty certain that Pooladi will end up in the English Barclays Premier League.

As much as this piece of news will be welcome by many fans, the fear is that the English league is not quite the happy hunting ground for Iranian players. Very few Iranian players played in that league; in fact we can mention them all. Bagheri , Kaebi ,  Teymourian , and much later Dejagah and Ghoochannejad. The first two had a torrid time in England while they were at their prime as professional players, Ando fared relatively better and managed to score a few goals as well, while the last two are still struggling in the current league.

It is a big question if the Iranian players like Hajsafy and Pooladi can adapt and make the grade in England in a league known for its competitive toughness, physical & mental strength, endurance and power. EPL is not overly famous for producing players with finesse and high individual skills as the tough and long English seasons, without a break , is quite demanding with injuries very common to players. The English club has a large pool of players for this particular reason especially the top clubs that also compete in European leagues.

The onus is on the players to adapt, especially at the training grounds, where the English coaches make most of their decisions on their players. It will be a huge cultural transformation in sporting and social sense for Iranian players, and success hardly taken for granted.