Tag: Japan

Branko Ivankovic : ” No intention to coach Team Melli”

Former  Team Melli and Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic says he has no intention of coaching Iran national football team.

Ivankovic led Persepolis to the Iranian domestic treble last season but left after they failed to pay him his salary, a common practice in Iran in the last few years.

The 65-year-old coach, considered as one of the best foreign coaches of Team Melli, won the gold medal in 2002 Asian Games and led Team Melli to third place in 2004 AFC Asian Cup.

The Croat coached Iran at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where the Team Melli failed to qualify for the next stage after losing to Mexico and Portugal. while drawing with Angola.

“At the moment, I have a lot of offers from Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China but have not accepted them so far. In Al Ahli, I was fired after three matches, something I never experienced such a thing before. I believe I worked well for the team as it needed some changes in dressing room but this is football and I accept it,” Ivankovic said.

Asked why he left Persepolis at the end of the last season, Ivankovic said, “I had four fascinating years in Iran and I so much miss the country. However, I was forced to leave Persepolis because they didn’t pay our salaries for about one year. At that time, Al Ahli gave me a good offer and I accepted it,” he added.

Persepolis have lost three times in the last 10 matches but Ivankovic says they are favourites to win the title for the fourth time in a row.

“I think Gabriel Calderon needs time in Persepolis because he is a great coach. Persepolis fans love their team and support their players and coaches. In my opinion, Persepolis and Sepahan are vying for the title in the current season,” Ivankovic stated.

Ivankovic believes that Team Melli had a chance to qualify for the next round at the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

“I think (Carlos) Queiroz preferred to defend in Russia. Iran could have played attacking football against Portugal and Span. After beating Morocco, Team Melli should have taken risks,” said Ivankovic .

“Is there any chance to return to Team Melli if he receives an offer?”

“I would prefer to work at club level. I am not going work as a national team head coach,” Ivankovic concluded.

Iran’s Futsal climbs to 4th in the World Ranking.

Iran’s futsal Team has climbed to the 4th place in World Ranking joined by Argentina.

In the latest figures published by the Futsal World Ranking website for the month of October 2019, Brazil maintained top ranking followed by Spain and Russia. Iran is also the top-ranking team in Asia.

Just like the football ranking, Japan is behind Iran as the second-best Asian team at 15th place in the world. Thailand is also in the top 20 teams of the world at 19th place behind Iran and Japan.

WORLD FUTSAL RANKING

Current ranking – 31 October 2019
Ranking Team Points rank
dec 18		 +/-
dec 18
1  Brazil 1839 1 0
2  Spain 1785 2 0
3  Russia 1670 3 0
4  Iran 1644 6 2
4  Argentina 1644 5 1
6  Portugal 1637 4 -2
7  Kazakhstan 1565 7 0
8  Italy 1494 8 0
9  Ukraine 1466 9 0
10  Colombia 1454 12 2
11  Croatia 1443 13 2
12  Paraguay 1437 10 -2
13  Serbia 1416 15 2
14  Azerbaijan 1409 11 -3
15  Japan 1380 14 -1
16  Czech Republic 1367 16 0
17  Slovenia 1359 17 0
18  France 1300 18 0
19  Thailand 1295 19 0
20  Belarus 1294 22 2

Three places drop in Team Melli’s FIFA Ranking

IN the latest ranking published by FIFA, Iran dropped three places to No 23 while solidly maintaining its top AFC ranking.

Team Melli lack of competition plus the continental competitions in the Americas and Africa has resulted in many teams getting points while Iran remaining stagnant on theirs.

Team Melli is in the 23rd spot with 1518 points

Iran is one spot behind USA (1548 pts) and one above Wales (1514 pts).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the continental ranking, Iran is still at the top of AFC ranking ahead of AFC Asian Cup runners up Japan which lost 5 places, Korea Rep and Australia.

 

FIFA WC 2022 Asian Qualifiers Draw

The Round Two draw of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 concluded in the Malaysian capital on Wednesday.

The draw, conducted by FIFA Director of Competitions Christian Unger and Australian legend Tim Cahill, saw Asia’s top-ranked team Iran pooled in Group C alongside Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Iran will be aiming for a third consecutive appearance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, having narrowly missed on qualifying for the knockout stage in Russia 2018.

Japan, Asia’s best performers in the 2018 FIFA World Cup where they were defeated by Belgium in the Round of 16, were drawn in Group F with Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar and Mongolia.

The Korea Republic, who have appeared in every edition of the FIFA World Cup Finals since 1986, will have Lebanon, DPR Korea, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka in Group H of the Asian Qualifiers.

Saudi Arabia, who defeated Egypt 2-1 to end their 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign on a high, will face Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen and Singapore in Group D.

Australia, who became the record fifth Asian team at a World Cup Finals after going through the Inter-Continental Playoff to earn a berth in Russia 2018, will go up against Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait and Nepal in Group B.

Qatar, who will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, were drawn in Group E alongside Bangladesh, Oman, India and Afghanistan in their bid to defend the AFC Asian Cup they won in spectacular fashion in the UAE last February.

China PR, the host for the AFC Asian Cup 2023, will have to navigate past Syria, Philippines, Maldives and Guam in Group A their bid for a second appearance in the FIFA World Cup Finals.

Group G had a distinctly Southeast Asian flavour as ASEAN rivals Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia were all drawn together, with the United Arab Emirates completing the cast.

The eight group winners and four best runners-up will advance to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Finals and the final round of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

The next best 24 teams from the second round of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots in the 24-team AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Iran through after surviving Lebanon challenge

The-afc.com

Tabriz:  Iran needed extra time to see off the plucky challenge of Lebanon, winning 3-2 to seal their place in the semi-finals of the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship IR Iran 2019 on Tuesday.

Iran will play Japan in Thursday’s semi-final after the East Asians defeated 2017 runners-up Iraq in their last eight tie earlier on Tuesday.

The other semi-final will see Indonesia taking on Afghanistan.

Iran entered the match as clear favorites after progressing into the quarter-finals undefeated as Group A winners. On top of that, the host nation had also beaten Lebanon two years ago at the same stage.

Lebanon, meanwhile, lost to Thailand two days ago to finish Group B runners-up, but were looking to shock Iran.

The opening minutes were equal but Iran gradually gained more possession of the ball as the game wore on, and were creating more opportunities with their quick passes.

In one such instance in the eighth minute, Iran forced the Lebanon players to come forward leaving unmarked Ali Aghapour plenty of space and time to send the ball past goalkeeper Victor Hanna Gerges for Iran to take the lead.

Lebanon, however, were undaunted and kept pressing and despite not finding the equalizer, would have taken heart from the fact that they only trailed by one at the half-time break.

Iran’s dominance continued well into the second half but failed to increase their lead thanks to a rock solid Lebanese defending.

Sahand Rezapour came close to doubling Iran’s lead in the 34th minute after beating two defenders but smashed his right-footed effort against the post.

 

Determined to extend their stay in the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Lebanon sent on Hussein Hamieh as the power player in the 38th minute and his impact was instant.

Iranian goalkeeper Mohammadali Niknamtoghabe, who had been untroubled for most of the second period, was called into action moments later to pull off a double save to deny Hamieh and Mohamad Elkaisst.

Iran were left to rue their missed opportunities when Lebanon’s Jamal Selwan found the back of the net with a quick twist and turn strike, to force extra time.

 

The woodwork continued to be Iran’s main adversary in extra time, as Rezapour struck the upright again after Reza Ghanbarisaeidabad’s free-kick deflected off the Lebanese wall in the 43rd minute.

It took Iran 37 minutes to find their second goal, and Aghapour received all the credit with his crackling strike from near the half-line mark into the top right corner of the net that left Hanna Gerges rooted to the ground.

Aghapour turned provider in the 48th minute through a corner set-piece, and Ghanbarisaeidabad directed the ball into the net with ease to make it 3-1.

Captain Steve Koukezian pulled one back a minute later, but Lebanon still suffered heartbreak as Iran held on to book their place in the last four.

Hamid Moghadam: IR Iran head coach

“I don’t know why this happens to Iranian teams a lot when the easiest game becomes the hardest game. Maybe it’s got to do with the mentality, and we need to change that. I didn’t expect such a hard game, and that the match would be a draw. We lost so many chances, and if we had utilized our chances, we wouldn’t have been under pressure. Not scoring goals and the ball not going into the area is two different things. We had created many chances, and sometimes you’re unlucky in scoring. We hit the crossbar so many times I lost count, but that’s futsal.”

Tarek Rizk: Lebanon head coach

“Honestly, after the match against Thailand, people said this would be the easiest quarter-final. I told my players that it was not my team against Thailand, and we tried to adjust it. Previously, we knew we couldn’t compete with Thailand, and Iran wasn’t far from it. So we adjusted our mistakes and defended from our hearts and mind. I’m so proud of my boys, so proud that the Lebanese futsal committee trusted me and I hope that we have given a good image of Lebanese futsal as we look forward.”

Hajsafi talks about the childish mistake against Japan.

Twenty days after the shocking loss of Team Melli to Japan, Ehsan Haj Safi is the first player to publicly talk about the match.

Talking specifically about that strange first goal that Iran conceded, the Tractorsazi player said “It was an irresponsible act that I deeply regret when I think about it. It was a child mistake which lead to conceding the first goal. We were growing in confidence by that time and were sure to score against them if it was not for that regrettable goal that broke our heart. That unfortunate scene is still lingering on all the players’ mind. It is still like a nightmare scene to all of us “HajSafi, who was himself one of the guilty players in the scene pleading with the referee, said.

“It was not the fault of any players for seeking an advantage at that moment (…). When we saw the Japanese player play acting to get a foul on the edge of the box and falling to the ground, we went towards the referee, demanding to punish the player and show him a yellow card for un-sportsmanship conduct, without realizing that the referee has waved play on and the other Japanese player collecting the loose ball, took his time and crossed creating a great opportunity for the forward to score the first goal. In any case, it was a collective mistake of all the 5 players for being negligent. We are to be blamed, the 5 players on that part of the field. This was a costly mistake and a valuable experience for all of us, at international and club level which we hope is never repeated again.”

Iran lost 3-0 to Japan in the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, UAE.

Qatar won the title for the first time in its history by defeating Japan 3-1 in tn a memorable match in Abu Dhabi..

After the loss to Japan, the FFIRI terminated the contract of coach Carlos Queiroz.

Iran climbs to 22nd in FIFA World Ranking

Team Melli has reached one of its highest FIFA ranking in history as it achieved the 22nd spot in the world while maintaining the top of AFC Asian ranking.

In the list that was issued today by FIFA, Iran climbed 7 spots from last month to accumulate 1516 points just behind Peru and one spot above Austria.

The credit to this success gores to the results of Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup where Iran played 6 matches winning 4 , drawing 1 with a single loss.

Japan took the 2nd spot in Asia and 27th in the world with a whopping 23 places climb after reaching the Finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

South Korea also had a very good rise with a 15 places climb to no 38 in the world and 3rd in Asia followed by Australia which lost 1 place to 42 and 4th in Asia.

The greatest climb was for Asian Cup 2019 champion Qatar who leapfrogged number of team and climbs an incredible 38 positions to 55 in the world and fifth in Asia.

 

AFC Rank FIFA Rank Team Points Previous Points Rank Change
1 22 Iran 1516 1481 7
2 27 Japan 1495 1414 23
3 38 Korea Republic 1451 1405 15
4 42 Australia 1441 1436 -1
5 55 Qatar 1398 1258 38
6 67 United Arab Emirates 1355 1309 12
7 70 Saudi Arabia 1344 1335 -1
8 72 China PR 1339 1317 4
9 80 Iraq 1310 1271 8
10 83 Syria 1286 1322 -9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qatar stuns Japan to win Asian Cup 2019

Qatar produced the most famous moment in its sporting history Friday after defeating Japan 3-1 in the final of the Asian Cup.

In a tournament that has been as much about the geopolitical struggle in the region as much as the football itself, Qatar secured the sweetest of triumphs courtesy of goals from the competition’s top scorer Almoez Ali, Abdelaziz Hatim and Akram Hassan Afif.
To win the title was perhaps unexpected, but to do so in the United Arab Emirates, one of the countries to join with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in breaking off relations with Qatar in June 2017, is likely to feel even more satisfying for those in Doha.

Almoez Ali's spectacular overhead kick gave Qatar the lead.

Almoez Ali’s spectacular overhead kick gave Qatar the lead.
While Qatar’s participation in the tournament was ostensibly about football, the talk throughout has often steered away from the sport and instead centered on the political and diplomatic strife in the region.
Qatar’s 4-0 win over the UAE in the semifinal was particularly difficult for the host nation to swallow, but this result is likely to prove even more embarrassing with celebrations likely to last all night in Doha.
The boycott of Qatar, the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the Gulf Arab states in decades, followed allegations that the state was supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.
Qatar rejected the accusations, labeling them “unjustified” and “baseless.”
Much of the criticism aimed at Qatar comes from its alleged support of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Qatar supporters cheer during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup final football match between Japan and Qatar.

Qatar supporters cheer during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup final football match between Japan and Qatar.
Qatari citizens were given 14 days to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, while all three countries banned their own citizens from entering Qatar.
Yemen, Mauritius, Mauritania, the Maldives and Libya’s eastern-based government also joined the boycott.
The air and land blockade imposed on Qatar also meant that the national team had to take a longer route to reach the UAE, flying via Kuwait instead.

Abdelaziz Hatim of Qatar scores his team's second goal against Japan.

Abdelaziz Hatim of Qatar scores his team’s second goal against Japan.
But the off-field tensions have not appeared to have had any negative effect on a Qatari side that was ranked 93rd in the world going into the tournament.
Even when the Asian Football Confederation confirmed to CNN that the UAE football association had lodged a formal complaint with the Asian governing body over the eligibility of two of Qatar’s players, a complaint that was dismissed, Qatar seemed unfazed.

Qatar and UAE face off in Asian Cup

Its run to the final of the competition, which included victory over the much-fancied South Korea in the quarterfinal, and UAE in the last four, was remarkable. Under huge pressure and orchestrated anti-Qatari crowd booing their national anthem, the  unwelcome guest demolished the host with a 4 – 0 drubbing.  Each goal scored by Qatar was met by throwing objects, water bottles and obscenities against the celebrating Qatari players.
There were no Qatari citizens in the stadium, as they are not allowed in UAE but the Omani and Iranian fans did the job of support in the stadium instead of the absent Qatari fans.
And yet, against a Japan side, a four-time winner of the competition, it reached a whole new level.
Led by Ali, whose spectacular overhead kick was his ninth goal of the tournament, a new record for the Asian Cup, Qatar doubled its lead on 27 minutes when Hatim fired home.

Japan's forward Takumi Minamino scored in the second half.

Japan’s forward Takumi Minamino scored in the second half.
Japan fought back in the second half with Takumi Minamino halving the deficit in the 69th minute, the first goal Qatar had conceded in the tournament.
But any hopes Japan had of rescuing the tie were firmly extinguished when Afif kept his cool to score from the penalty spot to settle the tie and start the celebrations.
For Qatar, the host nation of the next World Cup, 2022 cannot come soon enough.

Sour grapes: UAE files a protest against Qatar Team players eligibility.

The UAE Football Federation officially challenged the eligibility of some Qatari players who appeared for the Qatar National Football team in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 hosted by UAE.

The written protest was given to AFC within the permitted time after the semi-final of the Asian Cup. The complaint  is yet another layer to Qatar’s politically-charged progress to the finals in the UAE, which as a country is part of a quartet boycotting Doha socially, economically,  and politically.

The UAE Federation has attached the required documents to confirm the validity of the appeal before 48 hours of the match finishing time, which was held on Tuesday.

According to Emarati media, the UAE football federation prepared a file containing official documents proving act of fraud by Qatar in the naturalization of several players, specifically Iraqi Bassam Al-Rawi and Sudanese AlMoez Ali.

Qatar comprehensively defeated host UAE  4-0 in the semi-finals amid shameful scenes from the hostile and abusive local fans which started from booing the national anthem of Qatar, to throwing objects at Qatar players and chanting abusive politically driven chants in the stands.

The official campaign of ill treatment of Qatar began before any ball was kicked in the tournament starting with denying access to 5 Qatari journalist and then Saoud al-Mohannadi , the Qatari official and senior Asian Cup tournament organizer was denied entry 24 hours earlier, amid a simmering diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

Saoud al-Mohannadi, is vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Qatar Football Association, he is also standing for the upcoming election of AFC presidency against the current president Salman bin Khalifa.

While the Asian Cup was being played, there was hardly any day without UAE media news and editorials attacking Qatar in an orchestrated move by the authorities to undermine the gas-rich Persian Gulf State and disturb the team’s concentration. The effect of political conflict cum animosity was clearly felt in the Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium among the local fans.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain are the four countries that have broken diplomatic relations with Qatar and closed all their skies, ports and land access to Qatari vehicles, goods and people. There was no Qatari fans in any of the Qatar matches, however small pockets of Omani fans shown their support for Qatar during this tournament. There was no Qatari press or photographers in the UAE.

Queiroz and the European style in Asia.

It is not a solid rule that a coach with a strong curriculum vitae and great experience can succeed, make a difference, lead a tactical revolution anywhere in the world, and with any footballing entity he trains.

Alberto Zaccheroni has been strongly established in Asia, where he lifted the AFC Asian Cup title with Japan, and had a reasonable time with UAE, not to mention that he was one of the biggest names in football world coaching beforehand. Yet , he failed to repeat the same success in UAE.

It is also not possible to think that moderately famous coaches with modest CVs and achievement have no keys to success. There simply no specific rule on that.

Zlatko Dalic for example, was not a great coach before coming over to train in the Persian Gulf,  training at club levels and not really to any great success, yet with Croatia , this man achieved a remarkable success.

The simple reality is that , many factors in football has to combine to produce success and lift trophies. Before coaching in Asia Marcello Lippi, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Alberto Zaccheroni and Carlos Queiroz, were household names, but that is no guarantee for winning titles.

The other reality is that the experience of most of the big names coaches is not so good in Asia, especially the European mindsets that have not been able to prove themselves, or have not succeeded in imposing their style on Asian footballers.

The nature of football in Asia and Europe is different in many aspects and that is the major reason for the lack of success of European coaching celebrities. It may be associated with physical weakness, mindsets, discipline, mental abilities and failure to absorb the European tactics, as hinted by veteran Italian Lippi when he talked about the players of China.

The current AFC Asian Cup  2019 wrote the final scenario in the march of Marcello Lippi, Goran Erikson and Carlos Queiroz, while continuing to swing Paolo Pinto with South Korea in spite of the state of anger sweeping the Korean fans  after their exit from the tournament and the loss of the dream they have been looking for 85 Years.

It is interesting to study Queiroz’s case

Carlos Queiroz has been with Team Melli for 8 years. More than any coach in the history of Iran National Team. The man coached Real Madrid, Portugal, UAE and South Africa with two stint as assistant coach to Sir Alex Ferguson in Manchester United. There is no denying his record of excellence. However, if one follows Queiroz’s career, a major lacking is noted in his CV. Queiroz is no title winner and has rarely succeeded in lifting trophies. Regrettably, he has no championship pedigree.

Queiroz succeeded in leading Iran to the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, and that was never achieved before him, it is a huge achievement but the big prize has always been the AFC Asian Cup.

It was a sad end for Queiroz tenure with Team Melli when they he was comprehensively beaten by Japan in the semi-final. Team Melli which has not conceded a single goal from the start of the competition, collapsed and lost by 3 goals. Queiroz , true to his character, blamed the momentary lapse of concentration of his players leading to the first goal for that defeat. The truth is much more complex. It was his failure to change the style of play and his poor reading of the Japanese tactics, that lead to this defeat. But the Portuguese man is adept in deflecting blame on something or somebody.

Ironically, he never talked about winning the title. Perhaps Queiroz never believed in his team’s ability and skill to lay a claim for the title. He did not even consider Iran Team good enough for the semifinal at the beginning naming Korea Japan Australia and China as the real contenders. Surely he knew his players much better than we do and hence he never intimidated the Championship.

His personal trait was quite suspect.

Carlos Queiroz was a man with so many persons created in one. By far the most contentious of Team Melli coaches. Frequently controversial, Creator of many soaps, divisive personality, and a person who will never shy from belittling or  insulting his opponents (the Donald Trump side of him). The man always depicted himself as the one that has the monopoly of knowledge and intelligence when it comes to football and Team Melli in particular (the Jose Mourinho side).

He could also be compassionate, caring and kind when he wanted to be.

The Portuguese, known for his controversial expressions and words, quoted the famous lyrics of Frank Sinatra’s song “The moment has come.”  Before he set course to what looks like a Colombian adventure.

Some will miss him, some are glad to see the back of him. In any case, credit must be given to the man for making a difference in Team Melli. It is doubtful that his legacy will survive, if a local coach is appointed to replace him.  A coach in the class of Queiroz or better might achieve the big success with this generation of Iranian footballers and win something. Queiroz has changed or at least tried to improve many aspects of the organization of Team Melli, his players mentality, discipline, physical training regime among many other positives of his career.