Tag: Cristiano Ronaldo

Mehdi Taremi’s goal stuns Juventus in Champions League.

A terrific start for Team Melli’s striker, Mehdi Taremi, and an early second-half goal by Moussa Marega propelled Porto to their first victory against Juventus in the Champions League as they secured a 2-1 first-leg win against the Italian champions in their round-of-16 tie on Wednesday.

Taremi pounced on a sloppy back pass after 63 seconds to fire in the opener that left Juventus, which had a fully fit Cristiano Ronaldo in the lineup, rattled and they failed to create any clear chances before half-time.

This was the fourth consecutive goal by Taremi in as many games for his club Porto in what was described as a dream run for the Iranian striker by the match commentator. Taremi, considered by many as a bargain purchase from Rio Ave by Porto, was initially left out of the starting lineup by coach  Sérgio Conceição, however, a last-minute change of match plan meant that Porto would start to play a 4-4-2 with two strikers upfront, a plan which worked to perfection as both the strikers scored early in each half.

Taremi’s brilliant scoring run, a first for Iranian professional footballer in Europe, started with a goal against Sporting Braga in two home and away consecutive cup matches, Boavista in the league and Juventus in the European Champions League.

Mehdi Taremi (28 years) has scored 9 goals for Porto this season scoring an average of a goal in every 121 minutes.

Sardar Azmoun, Taremi’s partner in Team Melli who is also enjoying a brilliant season with the Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg has scored 11 goals for his club this season averaging a goal in every 92 minutes.

Team Melli’s third striker Karim Ansarifard who plays in the Greek League with AEK Athens, has scored 8 goals in the season averaging one goal in 155 minutes of play.

Everton rumors about Ali Daei

Everton FCIran

The Portuguese star,  Cristiano Ronaldo is on his heels. However, the Iranian Ali Daei may return to the international football stage in a new role.

Once a Bundesliga goal scorer, soon in the Premier League? Ali Daei.Once a Bundesliga scorer, soon in the Premier League? Ali Daei.imago images

The former Iranian international and Bundesliga pro Ali Daei is apparently about to return to international football. According to information from kicker, a club from England is interested in working with the 51-year-old current coach. Rumor has it that it is Everton FC. So far it remains unclear in which role Daei could work for the Premier League club.

The World Cup participant from 1998 and 2006 moved to Arminia Bielefeld a good 23 years ago together with his compatriot Karim Bagheri. From 1997 to 2002, the striker scored 19 goals in a total of 107 Bundesliga games for East Westphalia and then for FC Bayern and Hertha BSC. In the Iranian national team, the metallurgy engineer, who was born in Ardabil in northwestern Iran, achieved an unprecedented record: With 109 goals in 149 international matches, the multiple “world scorer” is still at the top of the ranking of all national players. The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo is currently hot on his heels as the first European to surpass the 100-goal mark in international matches in November. The Juventus star is currently at 102 goals.

Ronaldo slowly approach Ali Daei’s goal scoring record.

Portuguese national team striker Cristiano Ronaldo has come one step closer to Ali Daei’s record with the goal he scored against Luxembourg.

In one of the Euro qualifiers last night, the Portuguese national team defeated Luxembourg by three goals in Lisbon. Portugal’s second goal was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. With this goal, Ronaldo’s increased his national goalscoring number to 94 to reduce the margin with Ali Daei for the title of World Top International scorer to 15.

This has been widely reflected in world media, including FIFA itself. FIFA’s official account last night reported the official FIFA figures after Ronaldo scored reminded Mr Goli Ali Daei of the number of goals he and Ronaldo scored.

Daei and Ronaldo have met once in the match between Iran and Portugal during the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. The match in Frankfurt ended 2-0 to Portugal.

Team Melli marches on to the Quarter Finals.

Iran defeated Oman 2-0 to book a place in the quarter finals stage of the AFC Asian Cup 2019. Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored Iran’s first ON 32nd minute when he cleverly stole the ball from Oman’s central defender and smartly slotted it in on the advancing Oman keeper, while on the 41st minute, Captain Ashkan Dejagah scored from a spot kick awarded after a foul on Mehdi Taremi

The first half ended 2-0 for Team Melli.

The match started with a real scare when the Omani forward, closely marked by Majid Hosseini , received a long ball that bounced luckily for him, leaving Hosseini chasing behind. The Young Team Melli central defender clumsily tripped the advancing Omani forward in the box for the Mexican referee to whistle for a penalty.

Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri, Oman’s Captain took the spot kick but the excellent reflect by Alireza Beiranvand manged to save the ball which was aimed at the far right corner. This is the second Penalty save of Beiranavnd in as many game, the first being the penalty save against Cristiano Ronaldo in the FIFA World Cup 2018.

After that scare, Iran took over the play and dominated throughout the match. All figures and stats indicated Iranian superiority. Oman could not match Iran player’s skills and physical game and depended on long balls to break the solid defense marshaled exquisitely by Mortaza Pouraliganji who did not put a foot wrong. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Majid Hosseini. Apart from the penalty he gave away because of a reckless challenge and being caught out, Late in the second half, another situation led to him committing a foul on the runaway Omani winger. He was a lucky boy not to get a second yellow and marching order.

Ashkan Dejagah was majestic in this match. He was the maestro of the team with his excellent vision and distribution of the ball.

This is the fourth clean sheet for Team Melli, although Beiranvand, except for that penalty, was not really tested in this game.

The forward line, were far from clinical today. Sardar Azmoun , could have scored a hat trick on his own while Taremi wasted two golden chances. There have been quite a few profligate performances by the strikers which could be a serious concern as Team Melli advances further.

Vahid Amiri picked up his second yellow card of the tournament , so he will miss the Quarter final’s match in four days time.

In an earlier match, China recovered from a goal down to beat Thailand 2-1. China will meet Team Melli in the next round in Abu Dhabi.

Iran
1 Alireza Beiranvand GK
5 Milad Mohammadi DF
8 Morteza Pouraliganji DF
9 Omid Ebrahimi MF
11 Vahid Amiri FW
17 Mehdi Taremi MF
18 Alireza Jahanbakhsh 32‘ MF
19 Seyed Majid Hosseini DF
20 Sardar Azmoun FW
21 Ashkan Dejagah 41‘(PK) MF
23 Ramin Rezaeian DF

Substitutes
4 Roozbeh Cheshmi 69‘ -> (Jahanbakhsh)
7 Masoud Shojaei 88‘ -> (Azmoun)
14 Saman Ghoddos 78‘ -> (Dejagah)

Manager
– Carlos Queiroz

Biranvand flying high.

He might not be every fan’s cup of tea, but Biarnvand is certainly flying high these days and was the man of the match in Persepolis AFC Champions League semifinal victory against Al Sadd of Qatar.

Persepolis has secured a 0-1 away win against Al Sadd in Doha. A draw in the jammed packed Azadi would have taken the most popular club in Iran to the finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time in its illustrious history.

Al Sadd star-studded team included two famous Spanish midfielders. The legendary ex-Barcelona star Xavier Hernández Creus or better known to the world as “Xavi“, and ex Ateltico Madrid Gabriel Fernández Arenas or “Gabi”in addition to the competition top scorer the Algerian Baghdad Bounedjah and South Korean national team midfielder Jung Woo-Young

The crowd, estimated to be over 120,000 fans in Azadi , despite the official viewpoint of 78,000 , were stunned when the Algerian Bounedjah scored passed Biranvand in the 17th minute.

Persepolis scored the equalizer early in the second half when Siamak Nemati scored in the similar fashion to Al Sadd goal.

Minutes from the final whistle with the match finally in balance and the 1-1 draw result taking Persepolis to the final of the AFC Champions League. Xavi, with his immense wealth of experience in World football and Barcelona, escaped all the Persepolis defense to be on the receiving end of a fine cross which he headed powerfully towards the far end of Persepolis goal. The trajectory of the header seemed to be certain to end up in the goal and a definite winner for Al Sadd.

Alireza Biranvand , stunned by the freedom given to Xavi to freely head the ball was off guard. However, Team Melli guardian flew like an eagle and brilliantly deflected the ball over the bar to save his team from certain elimination.

This type of saves are written in the records book for its brilliance but more for its significance on the result and the fate of the teams. It was a huge and spectacular save that needs to be written in the records book which Alireza Biranvand has a claim on another one, which was his World Cup Penalty save against no other than Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.

Biranvand has saved a Xavi header and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty. Not many keepers can claim such feat.

Saying that, Birnavand remains an enigma. He can be world-class one day, and a villain the next. He concedes goals that even the weakest keepers can save. He is also a bit of nuisance cum showman in the matches with his running and shouting at his defenders act. Add this to his time-wasting tactics that are far from clever and has brought him several yellow cards.

The Team Melli fans across the world would be much gladder to see the positive side of Biranvand in the UAE. He is undoubtedly flying high now and we all hope to see that continues for the next 3 months.

Esteghlal and Pas Tehran are the only Iranian clubs who have won the Asian Clubs top prize before.

Sepahan, Zob Ahan and Esteghlal have also been finalists.

Persepolis will play Kashima Antlers of Japan in the final of AFC Champions League 2017/18 season.

Ghleechkhani’s Unreachable , Unassailable record.

Iran has a legend in Ali Daei whose 109 goals in international games is a record that seems to be incredibly difficult to beat in the near future.

The Shariyar has the World All-time Top scorer record registered under his name; no one is even close to this 109 goals unless you consider the 85 that Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal has scored to be quite near!

Despite of that, Daei is not the first hero of Iran’s illustrious football history. That accolade goes to the great Parviz Ghleechkhani who preceded him in an implausible record that is simply next to impossible to beat in modern day football.

Ghleechkhani has played in 3 AFC Asian Cup tournaments. He won 3 titles in 1968, 1972 and 1976. The utility player who has excelled in every post he played, bar in the goal, has played 12 matches in the three editions of what was called Asian Nations Cup and won them all. No draws, no defeats and absolute 100% record. As such, Ghleechkhani holds 2 Asian records with that feat. 3 consecutive championships title and the 100% undefeated record. No Asian player is close to those records.

Ghleechkhani. who was the Captain of Team Melli ,  added the Asian Games Tehran 1974 Gold Medal to his cabinet too.

Considered by many as Iran’s best ever player, Parviz Ghleechkhani was deprived from the World Cup when Iran first qualified in 1978. His absence was nothing to do with football but much about politics and his expression of leftist leaning views in the era of the Pahlavi dictatorship. Ghleechkhani was arrested by SAVAK in February 1972 for anti-regime activities and viewing or spreading of Marxists literature which was a taboo in Iran. Some months later, Ghleechkhani appeared live on national TV in an orchestrated interview where he expressed his regrets and declared repentance; as a result, he was released from prison a few days later.

Ghleechkhani continued playing football with unrelenting success on the field. He was offered professional contracts by a number of European clubs including Galatasaray S.K, Bayern Munich, Olympiacos. Despite being released, Ghleechlkhani was constantly monitored and kept under surveillance by the regime security apparatus. He was not allowed to leave Iran to play for any of the clubs that offered him contracts. While still at his peak and playing quite well in the North American Soccer League (NASL) with SD Earthquakes, he was ignored in the selection for the squad of Team Melli to Argentine for the first ever appearance in the FIFA World Cup in 1978.

The legendary midfielder played for several clubs starting from Kayan, Taj, Pas , Oghab , Daraei, and Persepolis. In 1977 he moved to the United States where he signed for the San Jose Earthquake.

The success of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 lead by Ayattollah Khomeini was another serious setback for the activist Ghleechkhani. In April 1979 Iran was declared an Islamic republic, while elements within the clergy promptly moved to exclude their former left-wing, nationalist, and intellectual allies from any positions of power in the new regime, and a return to conservative social values was enforced.  Ghleechkhani and his comrades were out of luck.

Ghleechkhani’s success was hindered by his political beliefs and the struggles against the regimes of both The Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini. Ghleechkhani was a great player in all meaning of the word. He never managed to reach his potential despite his skills and abilities, instead he made millions of Iranians fans celebrate the success of Team Melli through his great performances. One of the most memorable of which , was against Australia in the FIFA Qualifiers in 1973 in Tehran Arayamehr Stadium (Azadi) where he scored two goals in less than 30 minutes. His first was a thunderous shoot and the second a penalty.

An exile in Paris now, Ghleechkhani record of 3 consecutive Asian Cup titles and 100% record, seems like being immortal.

Parviz Ghleechkhani

Asian Cup Games Details

 

# Date Competition Venue Opponent Score
1 10-May-68 Asian Cup H Hong Kong 2 – 0
2 13-May-68 Asian Cup H Taiwan 4 – 0
3 16-May-68 Asian Cup H Burma 3 – 1
4 19-May-68 Asian Cup / Final H Israel 2 – 1
5 07-May-72 Asian Cup N Cambodia 2 – 0
6 09-May-72 Asian Cup N Iraq 3 – 0
7 13-May-72 Asian Cup A Thailand 3 – 2
8 17-May-72 Asian Cup N Cambodia 2 – 1
9 19-May-72 Asian Cup / Final N Korea Rep. 2 – 1
10 04-Jun-76 Asian Cup H Iraq 2 – 0
11 05-Jun-76 Asian Cup H China 2 – 0
12 13-Jun-76 Asian Cup / Final H Kuwait 1 – 0

P

 W D L GF GA GD Pts Win %
12 12 0 0 28 6 22 36

100%

Realistic chances of Team Melli in Russia.

With less than twenty days left to  the world Cup, what are the realistic chances of Team Melli against he might of Spain & Portugal? The other team in the group, Morocco, is not to be taken lightly either.

The World sport media is full of reviews about the Russia world cup and there are always those predictions of course. When it comes to Group B, the majority would pick the two European giants as the favorite to qualify ahead of Iran & Morocco. It is a fair assessment based on track records and achievements of the past.

However, time and again, football has shown us that winning is all about being the better team on the day and even being that good is no guarantee of winning the match. That is one beauty of football that makes it by far the most attractive sport in the world. So, can Team Melli surprise a few and qualify from this tough group, the answer is YES, very much so.

It is not a wishful thinking, but based on decades of observation of the team and the current style under the control of one Carlos Queiroz. If there is anything that is certain with the Portuguese master, it is his passion for tight defenses and his ideology that strong defenses can win you matches which has been his predominant tactics all through his reign with Team Melli.

Queiroz has an amazing record with Team Melli. In fact, the last time he lost an official match was 4 years ago against Bosnia in the World Cup. Since then, he only lost two friendly games against Tunisia and Sweden.

With the majority of Team Melli players making a living in European leagues,  that fear and complex about World Class European players does not affect their performance anymore. The cold feet syndrome hit the team in their first ever world cup in 1978.

This group of players can play against the best of them. The defenders will be dealing with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, and Diego Costa like any other forwards they have dealt with before, albeit with special instruction by the Maestro Queiroz. The chances of the two stars putting a few goals still exists but it is far from a forgone conclusion.

Team Melli strength really lies in the attack. Up front is where the two golden boys of Iran can make a difference, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun. These two can beat defenses and can score against the top ranks, but they need the supply from the midfield. Much of that support will be on the shoulders of Ashkan Dejagah , if he full recovers  , and Saman Ghoddos another amazing talent for Iran.  The success or failure very much depends on how the midfield performs in both the defensive and offensive duties.

Team Melli biggest challenge is in the goal. Number one choice Alireza Biranvand has been in abysmal form lately. Conceding goals aplenty with his club, he showed that he really lacks what it takes at top class.  The other two on the list are hardly more experienced than Biranvand with Amir Abedzadeh , the son of legendary , Ahmad Abedzadeh , just making his debut against Uzbekistan. It is certainly a worry for Queiroz and will be interesting to see his pick. Knowing that Queiroz never shies from making dramatic calls, it very likely that he might drop his number and pick the unlikeliest of choices.

Mazaheri, Zob Ahan keeper , has been in truly fine form in the Persian Gulf Pro League and with his team in the AFC Champions League, however, Queiroz might favor Abedzadeh as he is playing in Portuguese league and that might give him an edge.

Julen Lopetegui “Iran a fierce rival for Spain”

Head coach of Spain National Football Team Julen Lopetegui describes Iran’s national team as a fierce rival for his team during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Lopetegui says he and his assistants have gained a good knowledge of the Iranian national team and its head coach.

Speaking to IRNA’s correspondent in Madrid, Lopetegui s`aid Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz has been working with Team Melli for many years, and during these years, Queiroz has launched an interesting plan for the country’s football which has led to significant growth of the team in technical areas.

He went on to say that the Iranian national football team has a great sense of belonging which prompts its players to work within a regular plan. “This has led to a competing sense among them and this will put us in trouble during our competition.”

Head coach of Spain went on to say that Iran also has the experience of attending world cups in the past and performed well during those competitions. “Iran has made great progress in football over the past years and will emerge as a fierce rival for Spain.”

Iran’s national football team is in Istanbul to hold a training camp in the country. The team will face Turkey football team on May 29 in a friendly match as part of its preparation for the 2018 World Cup.

The Team Melli has been drawn in Group B of the 2018 World Cup along with Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

It will open the campaign with a match against Morocco at Saint Petersburg on June 15. Team Melli will later face Spain in Kazan on 20 June before meeting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in Saransk five days later.

The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums.

Portugal announce FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia preliminary squad

18 May 2018

Portugal coach Fernando Santos released the preliminary 23-man squad ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and has excluded no less than 10 players involved in their triumphant Euro 2016 campaign.

Led by Real Madrid captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Santos has made a few big calls ahead of the global showpiece in Russia next month.

Former Manchester United winger Nani and FC Barcelona’s Nelson Semedo are among the high-profile names excluded, while the goalscoring hero of Euro 2016, Eder, failed to make the cut.

Another Barcelona player Andre Gomes and 2016 European Golden Boy award winner Renato Sanches are notable absentees.

 

Portugal squad:

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Beto (Goztepe), Rui Patricio (Sporting CP).

Defenders: Bruno Alves (Rangers), Cedric Soares (Southampton), Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang), Mario Rui (Napoli), Pepe (Besiktas), Raphael Guerreiro (Dortmund), Ricardo Pereira (FC Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica).

Midfielders: Adrien Silva (Leicester City), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP), Joao Mario (West Ham), Joao Moutinho (Monaco), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv), William Carvalho (Sporting CP).

Forwards: Andre Silva (Milan), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Gelson Martins (Sporting CP), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas).

Opponent watch: Portugal

Having won a first major tournament at Euro 2016, can Cristiano Ronaldo now inspire the Seleccao again?

Portugal stunned Europe in 2016 after winning the European Championships despite rarely looking like potential winners until the semi-final.

Under pragmatic boss Fernando Santos, the Seleccao claimed a first ever major tournament success in France, despite drawing all three group games and managing just one win inside 90 minutes.

Now ranked No.3 in the world by FIFA, a side full full of experience, including Pepe (35), Rui Patricio (30), Joao Moutinho (31), Nani (31) and, of course, all-time record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo (33), will have one final fling at the World Cup.

Santos has shown loyalty to his veterans – and been repaid – while also bringing through younger stars such as Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Raphael Guerreiro and Andre Silva, giving the side a mixture of youth and experience, nous and speed.

“Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany and France are the favourites to win the World Cup,” says the Portugal coach, Fernando Santos, before adding: “Then we have other candidates, who want to get as far as possible, and win the tournament if possible, and Portugal are in this second group.” Santos is cautious, despite winning Euro 2016 but he is looking forward to the World Cup with optimism and does so with good reason: Portugal seem stronger now than a year and a half ago, having added creativity to the defensive organisation that underpinned the 2016 title. Bernardo Silva and André Silva have been important factors in this attacking upgrade and in general the team have more depth. The one area which is perhaps weaker is the defence, where it has been hard to find replacements for Pepe (who will be 35 next summer), José Fonte (34) and Bruno Alves (36).

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal lifts the European Championship trophy after his side win 1-0 against France
Portugal celebrate their Euro 2016 triumph (Image: Getty)
Portugal boss Fernando Santos (Image: Matthias Hangst)

The big question regards whether Ronaldo can shine on the world stage and light up the major finals with his goalscoring; dumped out at the group stage in 2014, he has a much stronger support cast backing him up this time. Andre Silva has proven an excellent foil also, but has endured a difficult season at AC Milan after a big-money move.

Their opener against Spain offers an early test, but they’ll expect to get past Morocco and Iran, before heading into the knockout stages…a road they proved two years ago that they know how to travel.

 

Form guide

The Seleccao lost their opening World Cup qualifier in Switzerland, but won the following nine – including a must-win decider against the previously unbeaten Swiss – to book their finals spot.

That initial defeat to the Swiss apart, Portugal have lost just one friendly in the past 18 months – 3-2 at home to Sweden last March – while they finished third in the Confederations Cup last summer, having been beaten on penalties by Chile in the semi-final.

 

Star player

Cristiano Ronaldo

As crucial as ever (Image: Getty Images Europe)

Cristiano Ronaldo remains absolutely pivotal to the Seleccao, their biggest star and chief supplier of goals.

He doesn’t run down the flank as much as he did in his youth, and the step-overs are far more infrequent, but there simply isn’t a better big-game goalscorer on the planet.

His relationship with pragmatic coach Fernando Santos remains crucial, and this is, almost certainly, his last chance to win a World Cup.

 

Rising Star

Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva celebrates scoring against Arsenal in March (Image: Shaun Botterill)

The former Benfica and Monaco playmaker Bernardo Silva experienced a slow start to his Manchester City career due to injury and the form of Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling, but the fleet-footed star has become increasingly important at the Etihad.

Extremely skillful, clever with his use of the ball and cutting in the final third, the 23-year-old missed out on Euro 2016 due to injury; he’ll be looking to make up for lost time in Russia.

How they qualified Winners of European Group B ahead of Switzerland 

Preferred system 4-4-2

Star player Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

One to watch Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Manager Fernando Santos

Odds 20-1

Head 2 Head

Iran & Portugal met twice. The first meeting in Brazil was 36 years ago in Brazil Centenary tournament. Portugal was one of the best teams in the World at that time with the great Eusebio leading the attack. Iran was the top team in Asia but with an aging golden generation players such as Kalani, Iranpak, Halvaei and Arab.

The next meeting was in the World Cup 2006,where the  two teams have met in the group stage. It was a tough match for both team. Cristiano Ronaldo remains the only survivor from that match. He also scored a goal against Mirzapour. Portugal included two legendary players Luis Figo and Deck in that team.

Portugal had the upper hand in both the matches with 5 goals scored and none conceded.

 

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
17.Jun.2006 FIFA World Cup / Group D N 0 – 2 Waldstadion , Frankfurt 48,000
14.Jun.1972 Brazil Independance Cup N 0 – 3 Santa Cruz Stadium, RECIFE 115,000