Tag: Branko Ivankovic

Torrid decline of U23 team no thanks to incompetent FFIRI selections.

FFIRI has an incredible knack for rewarding failures. It is something that Mehdi Taj and his predecessor Ali Kaffashian has exceled in and the Iranian football community are getting used to.  Both of these men, who have been leading the Iranian federation since 2008 , have a serious lack of picking winners while selecting staff to work for them be it on the playing fields as coaches or in the corridors of power as administrators. In Iran’s football federation, administrators and coaches do not last long, because they fail to succeed due to the pathetic selection process.

Amir Hossein Peyrovani is a classic example of FFIRI appalling policy of Mehdi Taj and his failure to pick and appoint the right person for the job. After taking Team Melli U20 to the FIFA U20 championship, the mediocre coach, who struggled to find a coaching job even at lower divisions clubs in Iran, failed miserably in dealing with the world’s top age group teams.

Iran’s U20 team was in fact one of the most promising and talented age group team of the last couple of decades. There was abundance of talents, however, tactical naivety, lack of pedigree in coaching and failure to read the game have all combined to knock Iran out of championship in the group stages. Iran U20 ended up as the bottom team of the group. The irony of this championship is that Iran U20 was scored first in all the matches and was 2 goals up against Zambia before losing 2-4.

Not convinced with the fact that FIFA U20 performance and result was a failure, Peyrovani was once again coaching but now at a higher level. Acute lack of appraisal and performance analysis system in the Iranian federation, living in denials and the relegating FFIRI’s technical committee (no thanks to Carlos Queiroz), has allowed Mehdi Taj to act and repeat the same error. In his questionable wisdom the head of the FFIRI chose Peyrovani to take the helm of the U23 team to the AFC qualifiers. Apart from a few sporadic mumbles, this appointment was surprisingly accepted by all stakeholders and the media. No one dared or bothered to question this appointment for such an important age group team, the de facto backbone of Team Melli!

Not surprising at all, that Peyrovani failed again at a much lower level of competition. Not in the FIFA U20 final but at a group qualifiers against the likes of Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan and Oman. Sri Lanka withdrew and so the group consisted of 3 teams only.  Iran’s first match against the host ended in a very difficult narrow 2-1 win but the Omani’s managed to easily defeat Iran 2-0 to shatter the dream of yet another significantly talented Iranian team. A team victimized by the acute deficiency and incompetence of Iranian football management.

It is still an enigma why Iran cannot produce quality football administrators, managers and coaches as good as they produce players. Apart from one Iranian in Kambiz Atabay back in the mid 70’s  , who headed the Asian Football Confederation , Iran has not managed to produce a competent administrator worthy of consideration for top administration jobs in AFC or FIFA. Tiny countries such as Bahrain, Sri Lanka , and Singapore had more officials in the AFC than mighty Iran.

Worst still , is the record of Iranian coaches in Asia. Even the best of Iran’s national coaches have failed to pass the group stages of AFC Champions league or at best the quarter finals of Asian Cup , in the post revolutions era.

The legendary Heshmat Mohajerani is the last of the Iranian great coaches. It seems that the wait is much longer for a quality coach to appear in Iran.

The other sad news is the remarkable decline of Iran U23 teams. From winners of the Asian Games coached by Branko Ivankovic , to struggling to make the finals stages.

Iran U23 Team coaches

 

 Winners and losers

Queiroz sends 7 Persepolis players back to Tehran.

 

While Team Melli is actively training in the camp set in Dubai, the head coach sent Persepolis players on the first flight back to Tehran from UAE.

This follows the harsh criticism by Branko Ivankovic, the head coach of Persepolis and his club management about the untimely break of the league program demanded by Queiroz and agreed by FFIRI. Earlier on Ivankovic said any failure by Persepolis to win the league title must be shouldered by Carlos Queiroz who disrupts the rhythm of his team.

In a statement to the press, Mehdi Taj the head of FFIRI who approved the Team Melli plans, tried to calm the situation and agreed that any program must be discussed by all stakeholders before being carried out. Taj however blamed the AFC scheduling for the problems of Team Melli. He said ” not only in Iran we suffer from this bad programming by the AFC but also Qatar and UAE suffer from it too. I have talked to Shaikh Salman (AFC President) and expressed my views. He agrees that there should be some changes in the system” 

Persepolis management meeting with the players after the abrupt return from Team Melli camp in Dubai

Interestingly enough, both Qatar and UAE are enjoying a full league program without any interruptions at this stage. Qatar and Iran will meet on 22nd March in Doha.

Sending the Persepolis contingent back is worrying as Queiroz has a tendency to castigate players for absenteeism, even if such absentee is beyond the players control. It remains to be seen if Queiroz will take punitive action and leave the Persepolis players out on the bench for the next match against Qatar.

Persepolis has 7 players , the highest number, in the squad of Team Melli. The players arrived in Tehran on Wednesday and met with the club management. None of the players was prepared to give statements to the press after the meeting and leaving the club premises in Tehran.

 

Goalkeeper: Alireza Biranvand

Defenders: Ramin Rezaeian, Seyed Jalal Hosseini, Mohammed Ansari

Midfield:  Vahid Amiri, Kamal Kamyabinia

Forward: Mehdi Taromi

Branko Ivankovic fuming against Team Melli plans!

The tension between Team Melli coach and the League clubs coaches are continuing unabated. The latest episode involves Carlos Queiroz and FFIRI on one side and Branko Ivankovic and Persepolis on the other.  Queiroz is known to be at odds with the league club coaches as in the past, he started a series of verbal battles with the likes of Daei and Ghalenoei on the matter of his continual demand to interrupt the league during the season on the pretext of Team Melli’s preparations.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Football League has the highest number of breaks amongst the Asian leagues.

This time, his battle is with Branko Ivankovic. The Croat is a seasoned campaigner in Iranian football. He started his work in the country as an assistant to Miroslav Blazevic in 2001 and ended up as Team Melli’s head coach leading the squad to Asian Games Gold Medal in 2002, third place in AFC Asian Cup 2004 and then leading the Team to the FIFA World Cup 2006 in one of the easiest qualifiers since the seventies.

Ivankovic returned to Iran as the head coach of Persepolis while the team was struggling last season and desperate for success that has abandoned them for years. A mid table finish was all that Ivankovic could do with the limited time and resources available but this season he is at the top of the league and has built a young energetic competitive unit that is bringing back the Red Army’s glory days and challenging for the title.

Ivankovic , however, believes there is one big stumbling block in his road map for the championship title. The untimely break in the league followed by compressed scheduling to complete the league matches, is a serious threat. The Croat had enough of Queiroz’s never ending demands for Team Melli camps and accuses the Portuguese of interrupting the whole league system by his uncalled for demands for setting up camps before the World Cup qualifiers.  “If Persepolis falters this season and fails to win the title, you should question Mr. Queiroz for continuously interrupting the rhythm of a winning team.”

Branko’s latest outburst with the backing of his club management forced the head of FFIRI , Mehdi Taj , to act and even ask Queiroz to consider sending  Persepolis players back to Tehran to join their clubs for training!

It is obvious that the aggressive head coach of Team Melli does not have time for compromise and it is his way or the highway. With such style, he does not have many friends to exchange seasons greeting with in Iran. Lots of discontent is generated amongst the clubs leading to several sharp protest or exchanges between Queiroz and the others. Some even accused him of holding the league clubs and the nation at ransom. Branko Ivankovic has mentioned that as a former Team Melli head coach, he realizes very well how important Team Melli is to the nation and the football in Iran. However, he adds that Team Melli program must be discussed amongst all the stakeholders and not be the result of one person’s decision and particularly a person that has very little regards to other people’s opinions.

The battle is still raging

 

Dr. Mohammad Dadkan, is a leading candidate for Minister of Sports.

Following the resignation of Goudarzi , the Minister of Youth and Sports in President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet , the former Head of FFIRI  Mohammad Dadkan’s name is being put forward as a replacement.

President Rouhani has reshuffled his cabinet by replacing 3 controversial ministers including Mahmoud Goudarzi. The Youth and Sports Minister has failed to improve the level of government support for sports with lack of proper infrastructure and facilities marring the progress of Iranian athletes. Football in particular has suffered from this minister with his continual interference in the administration of the federation. His attempt to implant his own men in the federation and his strong views in Team Melli affairs did not go down well with the critics.  However, in his core business and responsibilities , he failed to improve the facilities provided for sportsmen and women of Iran. He also failed to release the strong government grip on the clubs such as Persepolis and Esteghlal while he failed to honor the long promise of privatization of these clubs. Team Melli , on the verge of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup has been suffering from lack of a proper practise field for many months. Iran was embarrassed when FIFA banned the use of the upper tier of Azadi stadium , rendering the iconic stadium being halved in capacity, due to its cement slab being used for seating the fans.

Mahmoud Goudarzi, like the other two ministers have submitted their resignations , which was a face saving act.

 According to an Oct. 19 report in the moderate publication Entekhab, possible candidates to replace Goudarzi include Amiri; Ali Asghar Mounesan, the managing director of the Kish Free-Trade Zone; Mohammad Dadkan, the former head of the Soccer Federation; and Masoud Soltanifar, the vice president and head of the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization.  

Dr. Mohammad Hossein Dadkan (63 years) was Team Melli player,  having spent most of his playing career in Persepolis. He served as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation from April 2002 until April 2006. His controversial removal from his post by the government after the FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany , lead to sanctions against the federation and suspension from international football by FIFA on 22 November 2006

Post 2006 ,  Dadkan has always been an outspoken critic of football politics and administration in Iran.  He refused several appointments in the federation and Persepolis management.  Dadkan has his own critics though, plenty of them in fact. He was accused of nepotism and interference in Branko ivankovic’s job when he was the head of FFIRI. His background as a player lead him to enforce his views on the Team Melli’s coach and his constant appearance in Team Melli practise sessions and accompanying all Team Melli trips, enforced this opinion by the critics.

The nomination for the post will be announced within two weeks by the President, Hassan Rounhani.

Flashpoint between Ivankovic  & Queiroz

Tehran

Branko Ivankovic , the head Coach of Persepolis club criticized the behavior patterns of Team Melli  coach Carlos Queiroz and said “ He (Queiroz)  should serve the interest of Iran’s football rather than be exploitive and divisive” . Branko said that he is quite disappointed by Queiroz’s conduct.

Ivankovic was talking to ISNA reporter at the newly commissioned Sports Medical Test Center where Persepolis squad was  undergoing their compulsory medical examination.

In response to  the question of whether  he will release his players to join Team Melli camp or not , the Croat coach said “ something that I can say on behalf of myself is that I will not allow my players to join  team  Melli camp at this time. They are Persepolis players and the club pays their wage. It is the club that decides what approach to take in advance. If any player is not available for duty, he will be held accountable and responsible for such absence. They should know their duties as professional footballers and should act responsively.”

Branko, as he is affectionately known in Iran,  continued “ I was really disappointed by Carlos Queiroz’s behavior. He must serve Iran’s football at his capacity and offer the best services for Team Melli but not exploit his position and act divisive. You might already know that no player is allowed to play in the league unless he completes the mandatory medical examinations. For me it is strange that the national Team coach refuses to release the players for the test and behaves in such manner.  This Coach is embarking on a dangerous game. He wants to decide which teams are relegated and what team at the end of the season becomes the league champion!”

Branko said Carlos Queiroz, is the coach ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ of Iran national team but he does not hold the ownership rights. He should not play with the feelings of millions of Iranians. On behalf of myself I will not let players team join Team Melli camp. We shall refer those players who are absent to the disciplinary committee of the club and the club eventually will have to decide whether they will join  our camp or not.

The flash point is allegedly started when Queiroz , unilaterally and without the consent of the players’ clubs, prevented Team Melli players from conducting these mandatory checks which technically rules them out to play in the league according to regulation.

In the same token, Khordbin , Persepolis  Director shared Ivankovic’s concern and wondered how Team Melli coach can act in such a manner? Khordbin added “In any case, this matter has to be resolved without escalation.”

 

Esteghlal club threaens to boycott Queiroz!

After the unprovoked attack by Carlos Queiroz on Rahmati following Esteghlal’s goalkeeper excellent form in the derby, the club issued a strong statement questioning Queiroz motives, his behavior and the continuous absence of punitive measure against him following a series of misdemeanors since he took over Team Melli.

With 10 days to go to the match against Turkmenistan in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers, the Portuguese coach is already embroiled in several conflicts starting with the ethics committee who have issued statements questioning him about illegal payments from UHLSports, the Team Melli Kit providers and another public war with the Secretary General  of FFIRI, Alieza Asadi.

True to character, Queiroz has opened another front now, this time against Esteghlal club and Rahmati. Esteghlal, along with Persepolis are the two most popular clubs in the country and their response was rapid and very strong.

Extracts from the long statement follows:

During week, Iran’s national football team coach conducted interviews and issued several statements. His interviews and statements contents were full of cruel words both spoken and written. In those statements, Insult, humiliation, and flagrant display of antagonism, perhaps more than ever exposed Queiroz real character exhibiting his retaliatory behavior.

Carlos Queiroz has long been belittling various personalities, including the General Secretary of the Iranian Football Federation, players and sports officials, insulting and ridiculing them in the process. Unfortunately he has not been held accountable for such. In reference to the Captain of Esteghlal team, he has issued statements using ridiculous words in the hours of night and with a bizarre content that were astonishing and leads to questioning of Queiroz’s mental status and motives while creating resentment between millions of Esteghlal fans.

[pullquote align=”right”]”he has no right to publicly insult or question the character of the player.” [/pullquote]

Team Melli coach can assess the capabilities of players and consider their technical abilities to decide if he will invite a player or ignore him for selection to the squad, however he has no right to publicly insult or question the character of the player.  Are these tirades, statements and direct insults that he deploys a part of his character and culture? Perhaps this time Queiroz, and pursuant to the excellent form of Mehdi Rahmati ran out of technical excuses for not inviting him and found himself short of verse in the poem, even embarrassed, so he engaged in character assassination. Unfortunately, this behavior of his, once again typifies his extreme nature and as such his demeanor has to be severely questioned.

rahmati_mehdi

By using such method, Queiroz is putting his motives under question. His behavior and manners are totally rejected. In other words, social consciousness and human morality dictates that a foreign guest must have respect for Iran and Persian culture. Queiroz presence in major European teams has not enhanced his reputation as such, however it managed to create a great illusion of personality in his own mind surrounding himself with such false impression that he is beyond accountability.

With all due respect we have for the position of national team coach, Queiroz has overstepped the line, and took a bite more than he can chew and bigger than his mouth.

Now it is time to address how this person manipulative behavior like raising the flag of our country in frenzy, obscene gesture towards an opponent coach , insulting behavior against a referee and many other misdemeanors, that we all conveniently brushed aside  in the name of patriotism and protecting Team Melli.

[quote class=”If we did not want him, we would not have signed with him after the World Cup”] We will stop providing players to be under the control of this type of character![/quote]

It is expected from both the Football Federation and the national team coach Carlos Queiroz to withdraw that absurd statement against Rahmati or deny it if it has not occurred. It is expected that both sides to apologize to the club, the millions of supporters of Mehdi Rahmati and the player himself.

If you continue this rhetoric and the use of inappropriate language by a national team coach, Esteghlal club will hold both sides legally and morally accountable, and shall not only seek legal action with these perceived insults, but will stop providing players to be under the control of this type of character!

We believe there are more to this than technical issues or matters related to selection of players, we suspect that the coach wants a way out and by creating such turmoil and turbulent atmosphere, it seems the ideal way of exiting.

When Queiroz says that Rahmati does not possess the character, he has insulted more than the players himself but tens of National coaches and other team Melli coaches like Daei, Ivankovic , Ghotbi, Faraki and Peyrovani whom all picked and selected Rahmati for Team Melli.

In Iran , the a person is judged on his character , behavior , respect for others , esteem and not by his monetary value, of course in a country like Mozambique it could be different.

Payam Sadeghian “I will return to Team Melli”

The controversial midfielder, who was sacked by Persepolis, says he is determined to return to the top and back to Team Melli.

Payam Sadeghian , who is arguably one of the most talented Iranian young Players of the last few years but unfortunately notoriously indiscipline as well, said that he is looking forward to playing in Europe and then coming back to claim his rightful place in Team Melli.

Branko Ivankovic , Persepolis Croat coach has categorically refused to have Sadeghian in his team and informed the management that under no circumstances he will give this player a place in his team even if Persepolis extended Sadeghian’s contract. Sadeghian was a bench warmer in Persepolis during the time Hamid Derakhshan was the coach and continued the same after Ivankovic took over, mainly due to disciplinary reasons.

Disreputably famous for his transgressing and aggressive behavior, Payam Sadeghian looks liked he ruined a golden opportunity to enhance his career after joining Persepolis. His on and off filed antics, lack of commitment and misconduct overshadowed his talent sometimes so sublime that many critics regretted the failure of those at the helm to properly address, guide and console this talented player. Sadeghian had a lot of potential and was a promising player who represented Iran at several age level teams. Now without a club and with very few in Iran wishing to recruit him due to his troublesome record, he has to pick up the pieces to revive a tattered career outside the country.

sadeghian bench

Sadeghian refused to name the European club that he claims is interested in him. “They have watched me and they contacted me to express their interest. I also have several offers from China, Japan, Qatar and Slovakia but I am not interested to play in those leagues. If it all fails, I am hopeful that I can join Naft Tehran to play for my old boss Alireza Mansourian.” The 23 years old player said in an interview with Iran Varzeshi newspaper.

Naft Tehran has not publically expressed any interest in Sadeghian who has been consistently making the headlines for the wrong reasons. If Sadeghian is to succeed in his career, there is no doubt that he has to attend anger management classes and be counselled by experts; else he will be biting the dust.

Sadeghian has played 5 times for Team Melli in 2012 & 2014.

Another Iranian young star bites the dust.

In the last few years of Iranian football,  a few promising talents emerged from the land that has abundant talented young kids. Amongst this group, a unique skilled player who seemed to possess a multiple of skills made the headlines and the media was quick to declare the emergence of the next Ali Karimi and even the Iranian Maradona.

Payam Sadeghian

A star is born

His name is Payam Sadeghian, and to be plainly truthful, the kid had talent, plenty of it, in fact.

From the youth teams in Zob Ahan until he ended up in Persepolis, Sadeghian consistently showed his skills, his courage, passion and zest. He can dribble all right but also has a venomous shoot. His dead ball skills are second to none. There isn’t much that Sadeghian cannot excel in while on the pitch.  For such talent, Sadeghian was selected for every national team age group that existed, from the U14 in 2005 all the way to the senior Team Melli in 2012.

But the kid had one major shortfall. With the praises bestowed upon him, left , right and center, he developed an unwelcome ego and lack of discipline bordering delinquency. Time and again, on and off the field, Sadeghian was involved in unruly, disruptive and troublemaking scenes. He had several disputes with coaches and managers.

mohsen-mosalman-and-payam-sadeghian-7681

NAVAD V show interview

In an interview with TV Show Navad, Ferdowsipour asked him about this side of his “ugly” football and why does he seem to be in the news for the wrong reasons? Payam Sadeghian’s  answer was evident of a  young man is living in denial and has no real clue how his misbehavior is slowly destroying what looks like a promising career , regardless to his inherit and undeniable talents . Sadeghian accused some people of exaggeration and said that he is not the evil person that some of his enemies portray him! Obviously, Payam Sadeghian believed that he is doing fine and there is no sense in addressing his character or behavior.

However, the biggest failure in Sadeghian case is the fact that his club managers and coaches have failed to truly address his trouble case and deal with it by providing the proper solution. His poor disciplinary record was even defended by some of his peers. Even Ali Daei, who always portrays himself as a strict disciplinarian and law abiding person, miserably failed in tackling Sadeghian while he was the head coach of Persepolis. Daei is famous for being very quick in finding faults in others!

Daei was sacked , then Derakhshan came and gone and now one Branko Ivankovic , a household name in Iranian football, has taken the helm at the most popular club in Asia. Ivankovic, a disciplinarian but one of the most approachable and likable characters, has had enough of Payam Sadeghian only few weeks of working with him. The Croat head coach of Persepolis announced that he will not allow Sadeghian in his team. Asked if Sadeghian will be in Persepolis team next year, he simply said “NO.”

 Bleak future

Payam Sadeghian is a regretful case of a young footballer failure. Of course, there is a long road to recovery if he wishes, but the signs are there to assume that he has not repented. It is a personal failure and the responsibility is upon his own shoulder.  He went astray and off-course somewhere along the line regardless to the reasons. It is also another failure for Iranian football management which consistently fails to handle indiscipline players. This Persepolis team alone has half a dozen players or more in the same category, but Sadeghian is the most regrettable because the kid has talents that might never materialize and blossom the way it deserves to.

One think is taken for granted. Carlos Queiroz has no time for such delinquency. The chances of Sadeghian ever making one of Queiroz squads is quite remote knowing the Portuguese coach strict requirement by his player for disciplinary compliance.

Khanzadeh suspended for 9 months!

FFIRI Disciplinary Committee (DC) has slapped Persepolis and Team Melli defender with a nine month suspension from all official football activities as a result of his altercation with a Persepolis fan in Doha after the clubs game against Lekhawiya in the AFC Champions League. Khanzadeh used extremely foul language, heavily swearing at the fan(s) who were protesting Persepolis weak performance and defeat. All efforts to calm the player by his embarrassed teammates were fruitless.

Earlier and before the issue of this ruling, Persepolis have decided to suspend the player temporarily pending the full report from the incident in Doha. Branko Ivankovic is reported to be appalled by Khanzadeh’s behavior.

Khanzadeh was one of the Team Melli squad players in the FIFA 2014 World Cup but did not play in any matches. He was also a member of the Olympic team in the Asian Games 2014 and his ugly attack on the Vietnamese player in the last minutes of the match lead to his dismissal and further suspension by the AFC.

Khanzadeh has a track record of insubordination with a pretty wicked disciplinary behavior.

Meanwhile , Sousha Makani, another notoriously undisciplined player  was given a 3 matches suspended sentence by the Disciplinary Committee and 5 million Toman fine for his part in the incident. Mahomoud Khordbin will also have to answer to the committee for his failure to assume his role and responsibilities as the Team Manager. Khordbin was absent from the scene and did not act on hearing about the incident. On a bright note, Karim Bagheri , the assistant coach was commended for his role in ending the profanities mayhem.

This ruling by the FFIRI Disciplinary Committee (DC) is one of the strongest of its kind in such cases, however , it is a safe bet to assume that at some stage everything will be changed and all is forgotten due to someone’s intervention and advise.

Branko Ivankovic appointed as Persepolis head coach

The former Team Melli coach Branko Ivankovic has been appointed as the Head Coach of Persepolis club following the resignation of Hamid Derakhshan.

The Croat who coached Team Melli in two different terms has been sought by the club for some times now however the worsening results of the team under Derekhshan and the appointment of a new CEO , albeit in acting capacity , expedited the negotiations until Derkhshan was forced out by default.

The beleaguered Persepolis coach has announced his resignation following the match in which his team drew 2-2 with bottom of the table club Rah Ahan , prompting the fans in Azadi to chant against him and demanded his ousted.  Hamid Derekhshan was appointed as head coach of Persepolis on 10th September 2014 following the sacking of Ali Daei.

Ivankovic will be starting his job with immediate effect. The 61 years old Croat whose last match as coach of Team Melli was against Angola in the FIFA World Cup 2006 will have an immense task taking Persepolis out of the current turmoil. Despite the good showing in the AFC Champions League, Persepolis has been struggling in the league lying 10th in the table and dangerously getting close to the relegation zone.

Ivankovic has to deal with unstable management with ever changing personnel,  club instability , undisciplined squad  and acute funds shortage. His unenviable task will start with the AFC Champions League match in which Persepolis has a good chance in qualifying for the next round but a long shot to win the title.