Tag: Pas

Former Team Melli player Majid Ghulamnejad passes away at 35.

Iranian football was shocked by the sudden demise of  one of the former Team Melli players. Majid Ghulamnejad, who  played 17 times for Team Melli between 2008 and 2009 has died today due to a massive heart. Gholamnejad played for Esteghlal , Saipa and Pas, and during the tenure of Ali Daei as head coach of Team Melli, the defender/midfielder was picked for Team Melli  and participated in several squad selections,

Majid Gholamnejad departed this world at the age of 35

Gholamnejad was prominent player in Saipa Asian Champions League campaign and his contribution was significant in Saipa qualifying to the Quarter finals in season 2007/08

He made his debut for Team Melli  in Manama , against Bahrain in the first match under Daei’ coaching against. Gholamnejad, was one of Daei’s discoveries.

Gholamnejad went on playing for Team Melli in several of the Asian Zone  FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers as well as the AFC Asian Cup 2011 qualifiers.

TeamMlli.com expresses its condolences to the Iranian football community and the family of the deceased.

 

News Update: Bandar Abbas Civil Defence authority has announced that Gholamnejad’s body was picked up from the sea near the port on the Persian Gulf . Apparently He was with a group on a diving trip.

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%

Vahid Hashemian “Iranian players lack physical strength and have fitness issues.”

Vahid Hashemian, a former Team Melli forward who played in the FIFA World Cup 2006 believes that Iranian players have an acute lack of physical strength and fitness issues.

“In both of our the last World Cups , Team Melli came short. It is evident that Iranian players are not capable of playing 3 consecutive competitive games at the highest levels of football. The reason for this is well-known and that is the poor physical strength, body fitness and lack of stamina. Of course, it is not entirely the fault of the Team Melli coaches, because these players are the byproduct of a league that fails to create physically strong teams and players.” Hashemian said.

The Ex Pas and Bayern Munich forward , is currently undergoing a one year long German Football Coaching course, which is globally recognized as the best quality training for future football coaches.

In an interview with Tasnim , he described the performance of Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup as honorable. “When you look at the statistics, you will find that our passing and creativity was one of the worst amongst the World Cup teams. It was clear that our aim was to play like destroyers and prevent the other teams from attacking us. If that was the aim of the coach and his aspiration, then he has done a good job of it in the first two matches, but then again we failed at the last hurdle like we always do. Because of lack of strength and energy, our defense crumbled in the last match. In one sense, the fact that we were not beaten easily, is a success in itself”

On the contract extension with Querioz , Hashemian said ” If the priority was for a foreign coach , then Queiroz after 3 years at the helm , would be the best option. However, the Football Federations needs to be intelligent and astute while spending such a huge amount on a coach. We need to ask many questions such as , what has Queiroz done for the country’s football, how many young players has he produced for Team Melli, is he following young players leagues and careers , is he paying attention on the foundations, has he any plans in producing certain numbers of young players for Team Melli by 2018 , is he doing anything to promote Iranian assistant coaches for Team Melli? Many other questions need to be asked to justify the high value contract.”

Asked if the huge payslip of Queiroz is justified, Hashemian commented “ The contract pay out should be proportional to the capabilities of the federation and in unison with the country’s ability, i.e. it should not be a burden. Queiroz pay was the 16th highest in the World Cup and with the US$800,000 bonus that he got, he climbed to number 7 or 8 in the world. What that means is that he is very highly paid coach, but that is not important for me. What is important is what has he delivered or going to deliver in the future for that sort of money and whether his end product is worth it.”

On the issue of Iranian assistant coach for Queiroz, which has become a hot topic, Hashemian said “I don’t think it is right to force appoint someone as an assistant coach to work with Queiroz. The coach has to hand-pick his own , else it is not going to work. I have no comment on the issue of Majid Saleh who left the Camp. I think that he wasn’t Queiroz’s choice and that is where problems started.”

Hashemian (38 years) played 49 times for Team Melli scoring 14 goals. He played in the Bundesliga from 1999 to 2010 for Hamburg VfL , Bochum ,  Bayern Munich ,  Hannover 96 and  VfL Bochum  a second time , before transferring to Persepolis in 2010 where he ended his footballing career two years later.

Vahid Hashemian attending German Football Coaching course.