Tag: FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017

PSV scouting for top Iranian talent: Younes Delfi

With pen and paper in hand and dozens of scouts gasping in the neck, Voetbalzone scours the international fields every week. Who are the stars of the future, which talents should absolutely be watched? Our next target: Younes Delfi, who will join PSV within the foreseeable future.

By Tim Siekman

The Iran’s Under-17 team started well  on the bright side in October 2017 at the  FIFA U-17 World Cup by defeating Guinea 3-1. A great achievement, but also factored in. The Asian talents in the group phase would give a much heavier blow to the might of Germany, whom with  their star forward Jann-Fiete Arp had a well-coveted diamond in the making . The top striker of Hamburger SV scored five times in five matches at the final tournament in India and took his team to the quarter finals of the World Championship.

An interesting clash was therefore expected in advance, again with a possible leading role for Arp, who is on the radar of Bayern Munich.  however It went differently. In the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, Germany was outclassed by Iran. The 4-0 loss of that Mannschaft meant the breakthrough of Younes Delfi on the international podium. The seventeen-year-old right winger took his team by the hand and after six minutes broke through the doctrine, via defender Jan Boller, by placing the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Luca Plogmann.

Plogmann then faced a barrage of attacks. Just before halftime, Delfi again struck: the fast winger hit the spot with the help of Mohammad Sharifi’s assist. After the break, the top talented boy from Khuzestan produced an assist for Allahyar Sayyad,  and later Vahid Namdari sealed the match with the fourth goal for Iran and the final score ended 4-0 to Team Melli. With that impressive win over Germany, the name of Delfi was definitively established. Several clubs in Europe have lauded scouting reports of the Iranian in the drawer, including Besiktas, but it was PSV that has taken the initiative.

PSV

Delfi is on his way to the PSV Eindhoven, as recently confirmed by director Amir Soltani. The seventeen-year-old attacker is plucked for a fee of 550,000 euros from Esteghlal Khuzestan, which also stipulated a sale percentage of 20 percent. Soltani recently said that the deal is as good as done and that ‘the last details’ still have to be discussed. From mid-August, Delfi will try to repeat his excellent form and shine with the Under-23 team of Iran at the Asian Games  2018 in Indonesia, and the youngster will later officially join PSV, probably in January.

Last March, Delfi, who incidentally also can play as an attacking midfielder, were planned to join Eindhoven training camp together with Taha Shariati. The two youth internationals would train with the Under-19 team, which at the time was led by Mark van Bommel, currently head coach of the national champion. Delfi, however, was not allowed to travel to the Netherlands, but now he  can make the step. He can sign a professional contract with PSV on his birthday on 2 October.

Younes Delfi with his teammates from the Under-23 of Iran in a friendly game with Iraq.

Delfi’s excellent performance at the Youth World Cup against Germany, according to him, was partly due to a close preparation that he carried out together with his offensive partner and roommate Sayyad. “We watched a lot of videos from the U17  team of Germany and knew what they had to offer. We have analyzed them down to the smallest detail and from this we drew our conclusions “, says Delfi, who ended up in the loosing side in the quarter finals with a defeat against Spain, in an interview with New Indian Express .

Cristiano Ronaldo

In Iran, people are convinced that the youth can handle top football in Europe in the future. “Being a regular player in Persian Gulf Pro League is a blessing for the team,” said team manager Amir Sedighi last October. “He is a valuable addition, both for his club and country.” Since his debut for Esteghlal Khuzestan, Delfi has been labeled by various media as ‘prodigy’. After ‘only’ six appearances in the 2016/17 season, the winger was awarded almost every game of play minutes the following year. In total, the dribbler has 32 appearances in the club so far, with 7 goals and 1 assist under his name.

Delfi is determined to once again draw attention to the Asian Games. The talented player remains ambitious, despite all the praise that has already been awarded to him. “My goals are not based on my performance. I expect more from myself, “Delfi said recently in an interview with varzesh3 . Delfi has had a good time at the club where he played since his early youth, but acknowledges that the move to Europe is very tempting. “My ambitions are very big: I want to exchange Esteghlal Khuzestan for Europe to eventually play for top clubs.”

The attacker is praised for his speed, his technique, his dribbles and his urge to constantly look for one-to-one situations. Delfi does not turn his hand around for the dirty work and is willing to make runs for his teammates. The 17-year-old gem considers Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol. The five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or often says that hard work is the basis for success and that opinion is also attributed to Delfi: “To be even in the shadow of Ronaldo, I have to work very hard, I know that. But my goal is to become better than Ronaldo. one  of theses days. “

Name: Younes Delfi
Date of birth: 2 October 2000
Club: Esteghlal Khuzestan
Position: right winger, attacking midfielder
Strengths: speed, dribbling qualities, insight

Iran biggest story of group stage

The Times of India (New Delhi edition)

  • Baichung Bhutia

The group stage is over and it’s now over to the knockout stage which kicks-off with the Round of 16 matches. The knockout matches always have their own charm – it’s a do or die for both teams as there can be only one winner.

To me, Iran have been the biggest story of the group stage. Normally in any World Cup we always expect the traditional forces – Brazil, Germany, Spain — to do well. But Iran, the ‘Giants of Asia’, have surprised all. More than the three wins in three matches, it’s the manner in which they demolished opponents was most noteworthy.

African teams have always done well in youth World Cups and keeping true to tradition, Mali and Ghana have been equally impressive. Kolkata: New Caledonia’s ce- lebration, after Jekob Jeno scored the equalizing goal in the 83rd minute of their final Group E league encounter against Japan at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, said it all.

Their players rushed to the bench as the substitute players, coach and support staff joined the euphoria on the sidelines. Even goalkeeper Gaizka Ipeze sprinted about 50 metres to join in the celebrations.

For a team making its debut in the Fifa under-17 World Cup and having conceded 12 goals in their previous two matches, holding Asian powerhouse Japan to a 1-1 stalemate was indeed creditable. For New Caledonia, who are taking baby steps in world football, the match this match will be part of their footballing folklore.

The celebrations continued even after the match as the players wowed the spectators

Taha Shariati , a star is born.

Taha Shariati, the towering defender of the Iran’s U-17 national football team who played a major role in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 qualification to the next round, is a classic star in the making for Iran’s football.

Strong in the tackle and excellent in the air, Shariati is a rugged defender who will keep things together under even the most intense pressure. Superb leadership qualities, tough tackling and no-nonsense approach to defending makes this young star a gem of a player as such a tender age.

Shariati also weighs in with his fair share of goals. 

The player, who has recently signed a one year contract with Esteghlal Tehran, is considered by many as one of the top 3 talents emerging out of Iran’s youth football system in the recent years. Taha Shariati is considered in the same class of talent as Reza Shekari and his current teammate Mohammad Sharifi.

Shariati who started his football in Moghavamat team of Tehran, is commonly compared to Pejman Montazeri, Team Melli and Esteghlal player.

Taha Shariati himself says: “I am originally Tabrizi, but I started my football in Tehran. I joined Moghavamat team through the scouts and from there, I was invited to the U-17 national team. I worked hard and tried to excel to prove myself. After 5 years of playing football I was honored to be selected to represent my country including competing for Team Melli U-16 in the AFC Championship. I played with Esteghlal for one year and I am excited and ready to play for my current team Saipa Alborz under the great Ali Daei.”

Taha Shariati, bearing the number 6 Jersey of Team Melli U-17 played as right back in his team and even when selected by the National Team. However, due to an injury to a central defender of his team in a tournament in Kazakhstan, Shariati had to occupy the central defense role and he has not looked back since then. He was selected as the MVP of the tournament and it seemed to be the ideal position for him according to Team Melli U-17 coach Abbas Chamanian. This would be the role and the ideal platform for the imposing defender to excel.

Shariati says: ” I do not have a particular idol, but I love the way that Pejman Montazeri’s plays, and I also think he’s a great footballer all round. I also have great respect for Steven Gerrard and Thiago Silva among the foreign players.  

Although I was a right back and my real interest is to play as defensive midfielder, I will play in any post that the coach wishes me to , and I have no problem with playing as the central defender . Because I’m wearing number 6 and Tabriz, many people compared me with Karim Bagheri.”

It is no wonder that scouts from Europe have spotted this talent as Shariati has already been approached by an agent for possible transfer to Greek, Swedish or Austrian leagues. The player is tight-lipped about such offer, but by the end of the FIFA U-17, there could very well be a possibility that the strong tenacious defender may end up playing European football and learning from top professionals.

Player Details.

Name: Taha Chamanian

Date of Birth: 3rd March 2000 (Age 17)

Birth place: Khameneh, Tabriz.

First Club:  Moghavamat Tehran

Post: Central Defender

Current Club:  Saipa Alborz

Date of join:  1st Jul, 2017

Date of contract end:   30th June, 2020

Height: 1.87 m

 

 

 

Perfect record for Iran U-17 with 3rd win in a row

Team Melli U-17 blanked Costa Rica 3-0 to top Group C with an all-win record in the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Friday.

Iran had already secured a place in the Round of 16 with wins over Guinea and Germany, thus coach Abbas Chamanian elected to use give opportunity to some players while resting others.

In their final group engagement at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the Team Melli youngsters scored through Mohammed Ghobeishavi (25th minute), Taha Shariati (29th) and Mohammad Sardari (89th) to top the group with nine points from three matches.

Germany, who beat Guinea 3-1 at Kochi in the other match of the day, finished second with six points, and will now travel to Delhi to play against Colombia in the knockout round.

Costa Rica and Guinea finished the group stage with one point each.

Team Meli U-17 , who topped this group with 9 pints, will stay in Goa and will play against one of the third best teams from either Group A, B or F on  Tuesday 17th October.

Keen to top the group, Asian powerhouse Iran employed five defenders and kept the rival attackers at bay, while finding the back of the net on three occasions.

After brief period of midfield battle, Iran slowly opened up the rival defence with raids from the flanks leaving Costa Rica team feeling panicky, and as a result , conceded two penalties in a span of four minutes.

Amferny Arias, while going for an aerial ball, brought down Younes Delfi inside the box and referee Hamada Nampiandraza awarded the spot kick, which Iran captain Ghobeishavi converted by sending the ball to the bottom right corner.

Under tremendous pressure in the face of Iranian offensive, Costa Rica again conceded a penalty when defender Karin Arce needlessly pushed down Younes Delfi while going for an aerial ball inside the box. On this occasion, defender Shariati had no problem converting the spot kick.

Costa Rica, who needed a win to keep their hopes of qualification alive, found the going tough and were not allowed space by the Iranian defenders.

After the break, Costa Rica coach Breansse Camacho brought his trump card Jose Alfaro in the hope of changing their fortunes, but to no avail.

Team Melli cruised through the second half before adding a third goal just before the final whistle through substitute Mohammad Sardari. The only disappointment for Iran at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was a second yellow card of the competition for Captain Ghobeishavi, which will rule him out of their Round of 16 match.