Tag: Mehdi Mohammad Nabi

Mohammad Nabi leaves the federation.

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the Secretary General of the football federation has left his post without much ceremony. The FFIRI has appointed Alireza Asadi as his replacement.

 in addition to his post,  Mehdi Mohammad Nabi was also the Manager of Team Melli. His last assignment was accompanying the team in Australia for the Asian Cup 2015 and before that; he was in Brazil in the same post.

Kaffashian embarked on a major clean up in FFIRI which included the ousted of several influential figures. Before the list was officially announced, in a hasty response to a reporter who asked if Mohammad Nabi is on the list, Kaffashian answered affirmatively. However, someone seemed to have reminded the head of FFIRI that incumbent Secretary General is also Team Melli manager and the squad will be leaving for Australia in a few days’ time. Kaffashian , quickly issued a correction to his statement and confirmed that Mohammad Nabi was still Team Melli Manager and he will continue his job as normal accompanying the team for the Asian Cup. During the whole of the competition, Mohammad Nabi was rarely seen smiling, not very surprising knowing that he is already sacked and just filling the gap temporarily. Thus Kaffashian , in his usual prowess , has created a fine atmosphere for the man to do his job!

Kaffashian and his administration are no stranger for such disorders and mix-ups and that was confirmed today when Asadi took over without inviting the press core to cover the handover , a routine exercise always carried out by the FFIRI. When Journalist quizzed the PR manager of FFIRI why the journalist were excluded from the ceremony, he replied quote “The press conference hall was full !!” Unquote.

The press conference hall was definitely not full of journalists as the few of them that were present, were behind closed doors.

Team Melli is officially Manager less now unless Asadi is appointed in the post. This is not the ideal situation and creates a conflict between the two posts. Mohammad Nabi was a temporary assignment until the federation could find someone that Queiroz approves of and likes. Not a simple deed to carry out. The common understanding in football teams is that the Team Manager is the top of the hierarchy, coach and others report to him. In Team Melli case, it works rather differently.

Tsunami in football federation!

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the Manager of Team Melli is being removed from his position hours before his flight to Australia via Dubai. Mohammad Nabi who is also the Secretary General is being sacked for undisclosed reasons by Kaffashian who seems to be on a mission to cleanse his administration

Farida Shojaei, a member of the executive committee and the head of women football has already been sacked followed soon after by Dr. Hashemian , the head of the Medial Commission of the Federation. Kaffashian also threatened the Head of the Disciplinary Committee Ismael Hassanzadeh !

When asked about his dismissal, Mohammad Nabi refused to comment and maintained silence. Dr. Hashemian reaction was subdued and retrained “I do not need that job nor does my livelihood depend on it. It was a voluntary position that I was asked to do by the federation and I agreed to assist in order to improve whatever I can in football. But the way that they have proceeded in dispensing with my services was highly uncivilized and seriously in poor taste.”

Farida Shojaei & Ali Kaffashian

Mrs. Shojae was even more critical of Ali Kaffashian’s character calling him a person who has no sense of direction, lacks leadership qualities with a serious decision making flaws & weaknesses. “He hardly deals with matters in logical and rational basis. It is usually his mood, perception or gut feeling that has the final say in his decisions. There is no such thing as systematic analysis or methodical review with this man, it is just random reaction to events.”   Shojaei, denied the rumors that the Ministry of Youth and Sports have been after her removal for some time. “All I know and I am sure of, is that Kaffashian has been after me for some time now. He asked me to resign and I refused. He then sacked me from my position because I have dared to challenge him on several issues after we had our differences.”

Seyed Mohammad Hadi Ayatollahei

The last causality of the tsunami that is hitting the Football Federation FFIRI is the Vice-President and the deputy to Kaffashian himself. Seyed MohammadHadi Ayatollahie , claimed that he has already resigned his post and there is no truth of him being sacked. Ayatollahie , hardly a popular man, has been a controversial figure who has been accused of nepotism, poor management and several failures including his role in the Omid Team. He was one of the administrators that the Ministry of Youth and Sports did not approve of , hence the moves to oust him.

Despite the significance of these moves, which smells like a semi-revolution remotely controlled by the men in the Ministry of youth and sport , Kaffashian seems to be solidifying his position. Despite his wayward style, lack of clear vision and poor managerial & communications skills, he seems to have a good grip power in the federation. He is so confident of his position that a couple of days ago , he dared anyone to outstrip him from his position. Spoken with the arrogance of a full-fledged dictator, Kaffashian said “he does not fear any challenge from the general assembly, nor is there any challenges forthcoming his way.”  Strong words from Kaffashian, but in Iran football there are always surprises, some unimaginable ones, others too comical to believe..

Dr. Ahmad Hashemian

Somehow, things are never clear cut nor black or white in Iran’s football. One day the guy is a CEO of the most popular club in the nation, the next day he is in the notorious Evin prison.  On the other hand a guy who has just been released from the same Evin prison , suddenly becomes the Technical director of the Omid Team ! The dramatic events makes a good reading material for the hungry media , though.

The urgent matter as far as Team Melli is concerned, is to look for a Manager, whose administrative job is vitally importance in a team. That said, Mohammad Nabi hardly painted a good picture of himself as a proper professional manager for Team Melli by his neglect of duty through absenteeism on several occasions.

Pooladi & Rafei cleared to join Team Melli squad.

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Mehrdad Pooladi

Mehrdad Pooladi , Team Melli’s left back currently playing for Al Shahniya club in Qatar and Soroush Rafei the young Foolad Khuzestan player have been granted permission by the armed forces to join Team Melli squad.

After a series of disappointing turns of events and depressing news around Team Melli in its preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2015, this has to be the brightest news of them all. With the absence of Pejman Montazeri who misses the tournament due to injury, Pooladi’s inclusion in Queiroz squad is quite vital. Mehrdad Pooladi was the best player in Team Melli 3 matches in the World Cup according to FIFA technical analysis. His National Service problem prevented him from being selected for duty for Team Melli.

Most of the credit for the inclusion of Pooladi and Rafei must go to the Head coach Carlos Querioz whose personal efforts and demands, including a straightforward and serious discussion with the Minister of Youth & Sport has yielded result. The latter writing to the Armed Forces and requesting the release of the two players for national duty as football players.

The two persons who should have done the most to release Team Melli players, Kaffashian and Mohammad Nabi were quite passive about the issue and maintained a stance where they kept declaring that they are abiding by the law, without making any efforts to challenge or request any alternative options from the authorities to seek the two players release.

Soroush Rafei

Although Soroush Rafei is a rookie and is not expected to play a major role in the Asian Cup in Australia,  his inclusion is vital for the long term planning of Carlos Queiroz future Team Melli build up.

Team Melli is supposed to fly to Australia via Dubai this evening for the last part of the ir training camp which includes a friendly match against Iraq in Sydney.

Queiroz seeking Pooladi & Rafei release.

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, Team Melli manager spoke of the possibility of inviting  Persepolis Captain  Mohammad Nouri to Team Melli in case of the failure in getting the release of Pooladi  and Rafei from Military Service.

During the Sunday training session of Team Melli, Mohammad Nabi said “As Carlos Queiroz has stated earlier, our opponents have prepared themselves quite well. On our side, we have tried our best to match them and  prepare the team for this competition (…) . Our start was with the match against South Korea followed by several training camps”

 “We have up to January 1st to submit the final list to the Asian Cup Organizing committee and the AFC. Because of that, Queiroz opted to leave two vacant places for the players he wants to add.” Mohammad Nabi added without mentioning the name of the players in Queiroz’s mind. When pressed for an answer and if the two places are reserved for Pooladi and Rafei, , Mohammad Nabi said “Yes. These two players are in the plans of Queiroz and he wishes to include them in his squad. But, I and Mr. Kaffashian are law abiding and need to stick to the regulations of this country. However, there are some negotiation between the Minister of Sports and the Military on the subject matter.”

“We do not have the liberty of playing an international friendly match without the approval of FIFA. The Palestine match was registered with FIFA and the unilateral cancelation of this match by Palestine FA was totally an unprofessional act. Nevertheless, any actions to be taken against the Palestinians , is the job of Ali Kaffashian” Mohammad Nabi said in reaction to the match cancelation and the demand by Queiroz for compensations from Palestine FA..

“We have played 7 friendly games in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup and still have one more to go against Iraq in Sydney.” Mohammad Nabi thus considers playing against reserves of club teams as preparation matches !

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“Carlos Queiroz assessment of the squad and the players’ forms is quite good, however more work is needed. Sometimes friendly games matches end up with results that might not be the same if it was an official match (..)”

“Our preparation program started three and a half months ago.  We had a very well laid program with the help of the Football League commission. The only setback was this Palestine match cancelation which has really hurt our plans.” The Team Manager explained.

Team Melli manager said that “The Coach has the full authority to select which players he wants. He has an assessment program where the players are technically fully analyzed and evaluated according to the requirement of the game plans. Mohammad Nouri is one of the players that might be added to the list.”

Iran files an official complaint against the Serb Referee

Sao Paulo , Brazil.

The secretary General of Iranian football federation, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi announced today that his federation has filed an official complaint against the Serbian referee Milorad Mazic , the official of Iran’s match against Argentina.

The content of the official complaint denotes the referee’s dubious calls against Iran and the non-awarding of a penalty in the second half.

The two pages letter of complaints to FIFA and World Cup Organizing Committee was shown to the media at Team Melli camp in Sao Paulo. Mohammad Nabi , who is also acting as Team Melli Manager , expressed his satisfaction with all other aspects of the World Cup hosting, including Corinthians Club Training facilities and the hospitality of the Brazilian people.

Mohammad Nabi spoke at length about his team efforts to reach Brazil and the hardships encountered, and advised the referees committee to appoint referees of the highest standards who can ensure fairness and apply the law of the game properly in matches. None of those demands will receive much interest or sympathy with FIFA as almost all the complaints against referees end up under the table in a location called ‘waste bin’ however a standard template response of FIFA investigating the claims and finding nothing wrong with the referees decision making, will be sent to the complainant

Iran has to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina to stand any chance of qualifying , provided Argentina defeats Nigeria in the other match of Group ‘F’.

This-is-the-person-accountable

Milorad Mazic leaves the field unperturbed after hearing and earful from Beikzadeh , Ansarifard and  Oceano Da Cruz.