Tag: Persepolis

Branko Ivankovic in the run for Persepolis coaching job.

The Former Team Melli coach, Branko Ivankovic, is being considered to take over from Hamid Derekhshan as the head coach of Persepolis club.

The Croat was one of the most successful foreign coaches of Team Melli. His achievements in the 4 years stint included winning the Asian Games Gold Medal in 2002, third place title in the AFC Asian Cup 2004 in China and leading Iran to the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Ivankovic was considered for several key jobs in Iran in the last few years but he has an outstanding issue with the tax authorities from his last time employment in Iran. His tax arrears have not been paid and unless he clears the issues, he would be in trouble with the law.

Persepolis on the other hand , has been an organization in real turmoil. Under a coach with less that modest abilities, the club has been struggling in form and results.  Derekhshan , himself an ex-Persepolis player and Captain , has never coached at high level clubs and his attempts at coaching for lessor clubs has not yielded good results. His modest CV is reflected in the weak result of Persepolis. Derekshan took over afer Ali Daei was sacked from his post.

Currently Persepolis is lying 10th among 16 clubs, a position that has led to mass exodus of fans. The most popular club in Asia, and for the first time in its history, can hardly attract 5000 fans at home games in the great Azadi stadium.

Persepolis’s problems are not only technical, as the club is deep in red financially. There are virtually untold number of cases against them in Iranian courts and FIFA. Their chairman has been in jail for a few months now, and the club is running in handicapped mode since. Yesterday, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the official owner of the club , has appointed an acting chairman Mohammad Hossein FalahNejad to run the club affairs. The new chairman did not waste much time in acting to revive the club’s fortunes.

 Persepolis fans in AzadiIt was FalahNejad who broke the news of Ivankovic deal. The acting chairman has also said that he met with Derekhshan and his assistants today and explained to them the intention of the club to recruit Branko Ivankovic.  Up to that time the deal is finalized with the Croat coach , pending the settlement of the tax issues, Derakhshan can keep his job, according to FalahNejad.

No Persepolis players for Team Melli

For the first time in Iran’s football history, no player from Persepolis has been selected for Team, Melli squad participating in a major championship or tournament.

Persepolis is arguably the most popular team in Iran and has the biggest fan base in all of Asia. After the success of the revolution in 1979, the club was nationalized and taken over by the government. The idea was to return the club back to private ownership after the cleansing and rectification of the club. 36 years later, and after packs of promises from several Presidents, including the football mad, Mahmoud AhmadiNejad, nothing has changed. During this current government, Persepolis affairs have taken a sharp turn to the worse.

Persepolis-Pray2

Years of mismanagement including financial irregularities have resulted in a huge buildup of debts with hundreds of footballers and athletes not receiving their wages. Suppliers have also faced the same fate and experienced nonpayment of bills for services rendered or goods supplied , although practically speaking , the club is a government entity. Tens and some say, hundreds of legal cases are lying in the courts of law in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran claiming unpaid bills by Persepolis. The current CEO Siyasi is in jail for undisclosed reasons.

Several management changes in the recent years have failed to improve the conditions and the financial health of the popular club. Naturally, off the field conditions deterioration has caught up with the players and coaches of the team resulting in some of the poorest performances in the proud club’s history.  The decline of the team also saw a marked decline in match attendances in Azadi.

Rouyanian & Daei
Rouyanian & Daei

The warning bills about the demise of the club have been ringing for the last few years. The government does not seem to be willing to pay the huge debts left by the unscrupulous past managers and CEO’s and considering shutting down the club for good if no feasible buyers who is politically acceptable to the regime, comes forward to bail out the ailing club.

Persepolis is currently in the 8th position in the League table with 17 matches played. The Club has qualified for the Asian Champions league courtesy of Ali Daei success in giving Persepolis one of its highest ranking in the past few years last season. Daei was sacked early this season and replaced by Hamid Derakhshan. An ex-Persepolis player and coach himself, Derakhshan has failed to leave his mark at the club and he is in serious trouble himself and could end up being sacked soon.

“Only Nostradamus can predict Team Melli’s results” Haj Rezaei

Amir Haj Rezaei , the prominent Iranian football analyst and former coach , was highly critical of the long interruption of the football league program lasting 50 days in order to set camp for Team Melli.

“You cannot build one team on the ruins of the rest. Football league program is the foundation and fundamental in any country’s football progress. You cannot stop this program for the sake of one team.” Haj Rezaei said in an interview with ISNA.

“I am totally against such scheduling which it is the result of poor planning and loss of awareness. No country I know of has such long interruptions of the league program while it is at its peak.”

Persepolis-&-Esteghlal-in-Azadi

Asked about the prospect of the 4 Iranian clubs in the forthcoming Asian Champions League, Haj Rezaei said that the prospects are quite dim. “The Iranian teams are facing well organized, strong, resourceful and experienced Arab teams from the Persian Gulf states. Their job will be quite difficult at best. I cannot see much chance of progress for these Iranian teams, most of which are facing all sort of problems or financial difficulties.”

“Naft Tehran which has been doing well in the last two seasons has the best chance to progress. They have a well-built and strong team. They have managed to keep the right balance under capable coaches. The only problem with Naft is lack of experience. The same can be said for Tractorsazi. Foolad Khuzestan has lost some key players because of the military service issues however with a clever coach, the team still managed to do well in the league and keep their high ranking. Whether Foolad will be good enough for the Asian Champions league is another question.”

“Out of all the 4 teams, Persepolis has the most daunting task. The club has no CEO , no one to sign their checks , players want to leave , the team is struggling at mid table with some bad results ,  and  to cap it all ,  internal conflicts are aplenty in this organization.  I can’t see how Persepolis can get through this mayhem.”

Asked about Team Melli prospects in the AFC Asian Cup. Haj Rezaei summarized by saying “Only Nostradamus can predict Team Melli’s results.”

Minister files suit against Daei and Rahimi for slander and defamation.

The Minister of youth and sport in the government of Iran has filed a law suit against the former CEO of Persepolis Club , Alireza Rahimi and the former coach Ali Daei demanding compensation and apology for their false accusations.

Fatema Mehrabi , the head of legal affairs in the Ministry in an interview with ISNA discussed the proceedings of the case by accusing both Rahimi and Daei of slander , false information and smear campaign against the Minister .” Mr. Goudarzi has much respect for both of these Gentlemen who contributed a lot for the development of sport in this country. However, they have both going beyond the limits of decency' by accusing the minister as being the instigator of firing them from their positions in the club. Mr. Goudarzi was not involved in the recruitment of Daei as the head coach of Persepolis and neither was he involved in his termination at any level, even in an advisory manner. Their public accusations in the media amounted to an insult to the reputation and character of the honorable minister in public. Therefore such case must be dealt by a court of law where truth and facts are made clear to the public and proper judgment is announced.”

Ali Daei has openly accused Goudarzi of being behind the decision by Persepolis Chairman of sacking him from his position. This was also backed by the then CEO and Daei’s staunch supporter, Rahimi in Navad TV show. Daei's lawyer has confirmed that his client was summoned to the Public Attorney's office to face the accusations against him.

Ali Daei responding to the Public Attorney summon
  Ali Daei has recently won a case he filed against Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan , the ex-Team Melli coach whose rhetoric , frequent trash talking, allegations and denunciations is monumental. The verdict was a three month jail sentence for the beleaguered Mayeli-Kohan whose has been found guilty of slander and defamation for the second time against Daei. Mayeli-Kohan must serve the jail sentence. Ali Daei might find himself in prison if the case against him by Goudarzi is actually reaches the courts. The absence and dearth of glory and achievements in Iranian football is compensated by off the field activities with a series of dramatic events mostly involving misdemeanor, transgressions, indiscipline and fraud.

Mehrdad Pooladi saved by FIFA !

The enigma of Mehrdad Pooladi and his failure to sign for a club was revealed at last.

Pooladi , who was Iran's best player in FIFA World Cup 2014 according to figures and performance statistics, has failed to sign for a club since his contract with Persepolis expired at the end of last season.

It seems that whole problem preventing  Al Shahaniya , who had Pooladi in the top of their shopping list , from signing Team Melli's left back was the refusal by FFIRI to issue an ITC despite Pooladi being a free agent and out of contract.

In an official statement by FFIRI published in their website, the federation announced that it has received a request from Qatar FA on 20th of September 2014 for the issue of International Transfer. Certificate (ITC) for Mehrdad Pooladi upon the request of  QSL club Al Shahaniya Club of Doha. FFIRI refused to issue the ITC because of Military Service commitment by Pooladi !

As per the FIFA regulation governing the transfer of players, if the original country of issuance failed to produce the ITC without providing a valid reason(s), then after 15 days the player may join his desired team without requiring an ITC while the FA that refused to issue the ITC in the first place has no legal right to that player.

In what seems to be another of those weird twists of the wonderful football administration of Iran, the interference of the football federation in a governmental task is immediately put under scrutiny. The question that would be asked by anyone with an average level of intelligence is, what has FFIRI , an NGO as Kaffashian likes to always brag about, has got to do with the Military service requirement of a player , which is purely government official business?

Time and Time again, FIFA has warned, suspended, sanctioned many of its FA members across the world because of government interference in football. Iran was one such country that was suspended right after the 2006 World Cup as the government forced the head of FA at the time , Mohammad Dadkan to leave his office, citing unsatisfactory results in the FIFA World Cup 2006 !!!

Masoud Shojaei along with Mehrdad Pooladi in the signing ceremony

It seems that FFIRI are not heeding the warnings and have yet to fully comprehend the risks of government interference in any shape, a taboo as far as FIFA is concerned. The government of Iran has the power , the tools , the procedures and the legal means to deal with the players who have escaped the military service, the Football Federation has no right to act as an agent of the government and refuse to issue ITC for a player because Pooladi has an issue with military service. To complicate the matters even more, one must ask, where has the FFIRI been all these years since 2006 when Pooladi started with Peykan Esteghlal, Tractorsazi , Mes Kerman , and now Persepolis? The answer was nicely provided by FFIRI themselves when an official responded to media questions and stated that FFIRI is not to be blamed for the latest problems of fake certificates because it does not have the tools nor the legal power to ascertain the validity of a player’s military service status. That is of course quite a valid point and a genuinely true statement, but refusing to issue an ITC for Pooladi is a direct contradiction to this statement and playing with fire as far as FIFA regulations are concerned. When FFIRI does not have the tools, the information and the legal power, why is it refusing to issue an ITC based on a military matter ?

Mehrdad Pooladi officially joined Al Shahaniya of Qatar Star League (QSL) to join his team Melli teammate Masoud Shojaei as the second Iranian in the team.

The team will be playing against Umm Salal who has Pejman Montazeri in their line up on Thursday. Al Shahaniya is currently two places above the relegation zone of the QSL with 4 points from 5 games.

Asian Icons: Ali Karimi

AFC Player of the Year 2004, Ali Karimi, who recently announced the end of his compelling playing career, kicks-off the first of the-afc.com's 'Asian Icons' series as we build up to the AFC's 60th Anniversary celebrations in November by profiling the individuals and incidents that have impacted on the Asian game over the years. The charismatic Karimi will undoubtedly go down as one of Iran's greatest footballers who, on his day, could dazzle Iranian and Asian football fans with his silky passing, unbelievable imagination and light feet as he orchestrated attacks for club and country. Standing proudly alongside other Iranian football legends such as former team-mates Ali Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Karim Bagheri, Karimi is third in the all time Team Melli scoring chart with 38 goals from 127 matches in an international career that was not without its tensions as major disagreements between strong personalities were not uncommon in Iranian football over the years. Top scorer as Iran finished third at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, Karimi has also helped Team Melli win the 1998 Asian Games gold, two WAFF Championships and a 2003 AFC/OFC Challenge Cup title in which he scored twice in a 3-0 win over New Zealand and was named MVP. The Karaj-born attacking midfielder was even more successful at club level and after winning two league titles with Persepolis and two UAE Cups with Al Ahli, Karimi followed in the footsteps of compatriots Bagheri, Daei, and Mahdavikia and made the move to the German Bundesliga. Karimi, nicknamed 'the Asian Maradona' by fans in Iran, won the 2005/06 league and cup double with Bayern Munich before winning his second DFB Cup winner's medal with Schalke 04 following a brief spell back in Germany in 2011 following a stint in Qatar with Qatar Sports Club and Al Siliya and two seasons back in Iran with Steel Azin. Karimi-Ali-Kahn-Bayern After his second stint in Germany Karimi returned to Persepolis for a third stint at the Tehran giants before calling time on an illustrious career that spanned almost two decades at his final club Tractorsazi Tabriz, where he had a final cameo appearance on Asian club football's biggest stage, the AFC Champions League

FFIRI disciplinary committee ruling on the Military Service.

Ismael Hassanzadeh , head of the Disciplinary Committee of the FFIRI has confirmed that the federation will deal firmly with any cases of fake Release Certificates from Military Service.

In a recent statement , Hassanzadeh said “We are awaiting the report from the League commission about those cases. Any player who is found to be in violation of the military service regulations or holding a fake certificate will be immediately suspended form playing league football.”

A recent statement  by Persepolis management have implied that Hossein Mahini, who is one of the players suspended by the federation due to violations of Military Service rules, will be soon be allowed to play for Persepolis until his case is heard by the authorities. This statement triggered fears amongst other clubs that Persepolis is wielding its power and influences to get their player off the hook while other clubs will be denied such privileges and remain suspended.

Ismael Hassanzadeh also refuted any suggestions that Payam Sadeghian will be pardoned putting an end to another widely circulated news that the suspended player is about to play for his club, Persepolis  and join Team Melli training camp in Portugal.

Mahini on the brink of suspension from football !

Hossein Mahini , Team Melli and  Persepolis defender is on the brink of suspension from football after he failed to produces genuine and authentic medical report justifying his exclusion from the mandatory Military Service. Mahini , who was born in Bushehr, but played most of his senior football in Khuzestan , was named as one of over 100 footballers holding fake Exemption from Military Service certificates. Many footballers were subsequently acquitted while the name of about 10 was publicized as player who are confirmed to have cheated. None of the 10 players were Team Melli members of any age level. Mahini’s exemption was based on a medical certificate, which apparently was not very convincing to the investigating committee.   These investigations were initiated by the authorities, ironically after Persepolis and Ali Daei blew the whistle on Foolad Khuzestan players hoping that the FFIRI will deprive Foolad from their championship title last season and declare Persepolis, who were ranked second behind  Foolad, as champions! The federation refused to act on Persepolis demands due to legality and absence of such ruling in the Federations byelaws, however FFIRI initiated an investigations into these allegations and passed the findings to the relevant authorities. As Karma would have it , an important Persepolis player in Hossein Mahini was on the list to the dismay of the reds. If Mahini fails to produce authentic documents, he will face at least a two year suspension from playing for Persepolis putting more pressure on the beleaguered club especially in the defense where the team is already suffering after the loss of two international players Jalal Hosseini and Mehrdad Pooladi.

Mehrdad Pooladi is declared a free agent.

Team Melli left back and ex-Persepolis player, Mehrdad Pooladi has been declared as a free agent. Pooladi was involved in a long dispute after the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2014 with Persepolis. While the players has repeatedly said that he is a "Free Agent" as his contract with the club has expired by the end of last season, Persepolis insisted that Pooladi is contract bound and must report back to duty and training else they will take disciplinary measures against him. In the meantime, Pooladi was seeking a new club. Although there has been some interest from Europe, Mehrdad Pooladi , who was the best performing Iranian player in the World Cup , failed to conclude any deal in Europe. The next destination was closer to home. Al Shahaniya club of the Qatar Star League promptly showed interest and began verbal negotiation on the knowledge that Pooladi is available. The two sides were close to agreeing terms except that Al Shahaniya demanded a release in form of ITC from Persepolis as a condition for recruiting the Iranian defender. Persepolis refused to release the player or cooperate with the Qatari club. With time running out to the closing of the transfer windows, Al Shahniya withdrew their offer to Pooladi due to lack of progress and documentations issues and instead the newly promoted team to the QSL , signed Pooladi’s compatriot and Team Melli teammate , Masoud Shojaei.  Pooladi took his case to the Board of Arbitration of the FFIRI. Today the board issued a statement declaring him as Free Agent. The Board also declared that Pooladi’s financial settlement with Persepolis club is still unresolved and not settled. According to the contract, Pooladi is still to receive a substantial payment from the club outstanding from last season.

On a side note, The newly appointed Persepolis coach , Hamid Derakhshan was asked yesterday by a reporter about  the whereabouts of Mehrdad Pooladi and the reason for his absence from the team's training session. Instead of speaking facts and truth, Derakhshan attributed Pooladi's absence to the problems he has with the Military Service Release Form (...) ! 

Ali Daei sacking goes viral.

From as far as Japan and Malaysia through the Middle East and all the way west of Europe, the sacking of Ali Daei has made the news.

"Iranian legend Ali Daei sacked at Persepolis" was Agence France-Presse news item circulated rapidly and widely from website, newspapers and news agencies. 

As a country which does not lay a claim to too many football legends , it seems that the sacking of the only one with such title , had an immediate impact round the globe. Still, with Senor Queiroz coming to save Iran's football by Tuesday, we hope that the world will hear much better news from Iranian football.