Tag: Persepolis

Team Melli ready for an Iranian coach.

It is high time this federation, aka the regime, thinks of appointing a National coach to lead Team Melli in the next stage which is the AFC Asian Cup 2023 and beyond.

It is now over 11 years since an Iranian head coach has managed Team Melli. The last one who could speak Farsi was Afshin Ghotbi, who left his post following the elimination of Iran in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2011.  Before him, it was Mayeli Kohn who was fired as soon as he was recruited, and before that Ali Daei.

The disappointing failure in the FIFA World Cup should ring some alarm bells in the FFIRI or the Ministry of Youth and Sport, the de facto ruler of football in Iran. There is nothing to suggest that Carlos Queiroz has anything more to offer Team Melli. In fact, his sudden return was an act of desperation by one man whose recent return has created controversy as head of the Football Federation. Mehdi Taj took a gamble by listening to several senior players who thought that Queiroz would be a much better option than Dragan Skocic with less than 3 months to go to the World Cup. That gamble failed, and Team Melli left Doha with two defeats, the first of which was a painful humiliation for Iran's football.

The return of Mehdi Taj is not a good omen for Iran football. The man is a political appointee and his priority is certainly not toward football development or growth. The object is to safeguard the regime's interest using the popularity of football as a tool. Such appointments are quite common in Iranian establishments.

The gamble on Queiroz, who was fired from his previous two jobs due to failures,  was part of the plan to preserve the regime while it was suffering the most serious of internal challenges. Queiroz served a purpose and with a handsome payment for a few months, he would abide by the rules.

After  8 years of the Portuguese man and millions spent, Team Melli Queiroz has achieved nothing that a decent local Iranian coach would not achieve. It is now the right time to pick that decent Iranian coach to lead Team Melli in Doha, like the last time under Ghotbi. There is no lack of candidates either, but the best candidate must be Yahya Golmohammadi.

At 51 and after an illustrious football career as Team Melli and Persepolis player, Golmohammadi coached several teams like  Naft Tehran, Zob Ahan, Tractor Sazi, and Padideh before he took over Persepolis in 2020 (for the second time in his career).  Golmohammadi managed to win the league title twice with Persepolis.  While not perfect and has his shortfalls, Golmaohammadi, proved many times that he is a skillful and consistent coach with a winning mentality who can control and lay down the best game plans for his players and could also control rebel players too. Under limited resources and shortages of star players, he lead the team to the title while others clubs with better players and resources failed to do so.  Golmaohammadi therefore must be a leading candidate for Team Melli.

Amir Ghalenoei is consistently ranked near the top of coaches in Iran. The former Head Coach of Team Melli and a record holder of League titles wins as a coach has the attributes and abilities of a successful coach.  His major shortfall has to be the temperament that has put him in all sorts of trouble. This is possibly the only setback with Ghalenoei.

Javad Nekounam is a young and upcoming star in coaching in Iran. His shortage of experience in coaching is covered by his long playing career in Spain under quality coaches. He learned from the best.

In any case, there would be other contenders for the Team Melli head coach job, the important matter is that this federation must give the Iranians the opportunity to manage their own team the way that Morocco, Japan, Australia, and many other teams in the World Cup have done. FFIRI has to put trust in Iranian coaches at some stage, and there is no better time than now. I should be a long-term project too.

Former Team Melli players passes away.

"Karim Bavi", the former Iran national football team striker, passed away this evening after suffering from a long illness for many years.

Bavi played made his debut for Team Melli against China on 28th May 1986. He went on to play 34 times for Team Melli between 1986 to 1990 and scored 10 goals. Born and raised in Abadan, Bavi movd to Tehran to join Persepolis and he also played for the Shaheen football team for many years before moving to Qatar. A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, BAvi suffered after enduring years of pain. Team Melli expresses its condolences to Karim Bavi's family and all the fans.

Karim Bavi was in Team Melli's squad that won third place in AFC Asian Cup 1988 in Qatar.

Bavi was 56 years old.

Ansarifard struggles with AEK demanding his departure from club.

Karim Ansarifard, the Iranian striker of the Greek side,  AEK Athens, has created a situation that is leading to a confrontation with the Club. The Team Melli Captain has been placed on the surplus list of the Greek club, even though he has a contract with this team for one more season. Ansarifard has been on the surplus list since before the end of last season but has not yet chosen a new team.

Ansarifard would earn nearly half a million Euro according to his contract with AEK Athen, however, the club is unwilling to pay such a sum to a player who is out of favor and a benchwarmer. This issue has caused the surprise of the Greek media in addition to the anger of the AEK club. The betcosmos site stated that Karim Ansarifard is the hardest case of the players on the black list of AEK, and wrote: "AEK wants to get rid of the payment of half a million euros in the last year of Ansarifard's contract. Since the beginning of the summer, this Iranian striker has been notified to find a team, but no progress has been made so far. What is surprising is the attitude of Ansarifard himself. We are in the year of the  FIFA World Cup and finding a team is the only hope of this striker to be in the national team of his country, but he is not entertaining any offers that come from inside and outside Greece."

 

The article in this media adds: "Reports in Iran indicate that Persepolis made continuous offers to him, but his answer was always ben negative. It seems that he is not interested in playing in Iran. This Iranian striker attracted the interest of two clubs in Lamia and OFI, but it seems that Lamia got tired of waiting for him and strengthened their attack line with the purchase of Richmond Boaki. Staying in Athens seems to be the absolute priority of  Ansarifard. Here an important question arises for AEK. Will the club continue to pay a player exorbitant money to sit on the bench, or will they find another solution? Several Media outlets such as sportdog and sportime that have published this news claimed that AEK club is angry with their Iranian attacker's attitude!

Ansarifard is married to a Greek lady and wants to remain in the Capital City.  A  big question mark is in front of Ansarifard in regards to his career in Team Melli. He has been a fringe player that makes cameo one or two appearances at the end of each game. He is way down the pecking in the forward line that is dominated by Azmoun and Taremi, as top picks. Players like Sayyadmanesh, Ghaedi,  Hosseinzadeh, and Alipour also make a strong case for inclusion in the Team Melli squad. However, it is not only his playing standard that has suffered as Ansarifard is one of those who started the rebellion against Dragan Skocic. His chances of making the 26 players' squad for the FIFA World Cup are quite slim.  

ALI KARIMI Hero of the people.

One of the most popular figures in Iran, the former Team Melli captain and Persepolis forward is being censored by the regime for his views on social issues that are not compatible with the fundamentalist regime's doctrines.

The official media in Iran was directed to blacklist Ali Karimi which means that he will not be allowed to appear on TV or on the Radio, and not quoted in official publications while the TV has been instructed not to broadcast any images or clips of the footballer.

Adding to that, in true retribution, the regime that has zero tolerance for any shape of expression that questions its principles, ruled to take down any billboards with Ali Karimi's image.

This all started when Ali Karimi, a known figure in supporting local causes and a charity supporter, urged the people of Iran to channel their “Nazr” towards real charity aid and support causes like medical care of patients who are unable to pay hospital bills and/or medication.

“Nazr” is a religious donation routed to the religious hierarchy. It supports the Mullah's affairs and provides salaries and payouts to regime loyalists. There is no record that any money from “Nazr” donation has ever been channeled to proper charity or the needy in Iran.

This comment irritated the powerful religious institution, which found it a threat to an established religious practice for centuries. Karimi’s call also alerted many people in Iran to where these donations end up (in the clergy's pockets). A certain clergy has the audacity to bad mouth, Ali Karimi, on a tribune calling him a Stupid, shameless, and ignorant man who has benefited from the public coffers without returning anything back to society.

The facts and truth are quite different. Ali Karimi made all his fortune outside Iran starting in UAE with Al-Ahli then moving on to Germany with Bayern Munich and finally Qatar. Karimi has been at the forefront of many charity works in Iran including providing tablets for rural students during the covid lockdown.

The voice of Ali Karimi and his popularity has shocked the regime, it has pushed thousands of Iranians to air support for him on social media and denounce the evil clergy who bad-mouthed the Wizard of Tehran”.

A repeat of Dehdari era revolt.

The revolt of players or players' power, whichever one wants to call it, is nothing new in Iran's Team Melli. Nothing, however, was more famous, that the mass protest of players against Parviz Dehdari in the mid 80's.

Parviz Dehdari was as much a gentleman of ethics, morality, and good behavior as a football coach. He was known among those who knew him that the ethics and values of sports were driven by the mood of the people who would exercise his moral teachings.

As a player and a successful coach with clubs like Persepolis, Homa and Team Melli , there was no person as honest, principled, and respected as Dehdari. With strict discipline along with fairness and impartiality, he was quite revered and feared by the players at the same time. However, there are alway one or two players who won't like strong leadership and think they are above the law and more favorable than the coach.

There was a player called Mohammad Panjali who had these ideas of grandeur and at the time believed he was above the laws of discipline. Panjali was the Captain of Team Melli when Dehdsari was the head coach. Panjali was getting on while Dehdari was looking at young blood for the future of the team. The wise man of football, or Ustad as many called him, quietly dealt with the issue by benching Panjali during the opening match against Japan in the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. Korea. Panjali did not like that and demanded that he plays in the starting line-up.

On the return flight back home, 15 players submitted their resignation letters to the federation. Sirous Ghayeghran quickly withdrew his signature to leave 14 players on the list. Those players thought that the football federation would have no choice but to support them by removing Dehdari and his colleagues, including Reza Vatankhah, and appointing another person as the head coach, but that did not happen.

This mass resignation which was instigated by Panjali, became one of the darkest events in Iran's football. Credit t the Federation, they stuck with Dehdari against half of the squad.

One of those 14 players who resigned back in 1986 was Morteza Fonoonizadeh. The Persepolis veteran of Persepolis commented on the recent drama in Team Melli and the subsequent retention of Dragan Skocic:

"I approved Mr. Skocic from day one. He worked hard to win qualification for Team Melli to the World Cup in the easiest way. I even asked to have a birthday party for Mr. Skocic and pay for it.  The board of directors and the technical committee were at odds with each other and finally did not reach an agreement."

Fonoonizadeh was asked to comment on the similarity between the current Team Melli situation with the differences between the players regarding the coach and the situation back in 1985 when he was involved in the mass resignation in protest against the legendary Dehdari: "Yes, I was one of the fourteen players and it was by far the worst mistake of my career. I was 22 years old and I was one of the fix players on the team. I just got it wrong. Team Melli is not the legacy of anyone's father. No one has the right to such claims. No player is as important as the team. Now that someone says I don't want Skocic and someone says I do, should we fire everyone? You fired him once and brought him back again. As soon as you brought him back, you ruined it."

"He may be the best player in Europe, but the most important thing is to preserve the sanctity of the national team. The player's duty is not to pick the coach, it is not why he is in Team Melli. We tried to do this to Mr. Dehdari a few years ago, and they kicked us out one by one while the federation kept Mr. Dehdari. He (Dehdari) was a gentleman through and through and had no grudges against anyone. He only demanded an apology to the people of Iran, not himself,  and he would take those who apologized back to the team.  We did that in an open letter published in the newspaper and mentioned that we were wrong. I, Farshad Pious, and Karim Bavi were taken back in Team Melli.

After this incident, Dehdari built a new team and a new generation of footballers was born. The young Team Melli won third place in the AFC Asian Cup 1988. Instead of those who were banned from Team Melli, Dehdari introduced players such as Abedzadeh, Zarincheh, Marfavi, etc., who became the main pillars of Iranian football. Despite finishing third in the Asian Cup, he was targeted by fans who considered club allegiance bove the national team. He was subjected to obscenities from some fans as a reward for building a young team and getting rid of rebel players. He resigned before the start of the FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers in 1990 . Dehdari finally passed away on November 23, 1992, due to kidney complications.

Alireza Beiranvand rejoins Persepolis

After an initial agreement with Alireza Beiranvand, Persepolis Club was able to finalize and sign a contract with Team Melli.

Last week, the news of Alireza Beiranvand's definitive return to Persepolis was published, and now this return has been confirmed by signing an official contract. Beiranvand signed with Persepolis for two seasons and thus returns to Tehran after an unsuccessful presence in the Royal Antwerp of Belgium and Boavista of Portugal.  By signing the contract, Yahya Golmohammadi's mind is at ease as far as the goalkeeping post is concerned for next season.

It is possible that Beiranvand is going to oust Hamed Lak although the management has denied such a claim. Accordingly, Biranvand not only can not comment on other Persepolis goalkeepers but also will not have the right to comment on the selection of the team's goalkeeping coach. Also, Payam Niazmand, who was said to be one of Persepolis' options for the team's goal, now has been dropped from Yahya Golmohammadi's shopping list. Beiranvand hopes to secure a starting place in Team Melli for the World Cup by playing regularly, a thing that he could not achieve in Europe, Also, Beiranvand was dropped as a starter by Skocic after some shaky performances for Team Melli and replaced by Amir Abedzadeh. However, Abedzadeh's blunder against South Korea handed the goalkeeping post back to Beiranvand against Lebanon.

Details of Alireza Beiranvand's return to Persepolis

Alireza Beiranvand's separation from Persepolis did not last more than two seasons.

Beiranvand, who joined Royal Antwerp FC in the Belgian First Division in the summer of 2020, after going through an unsuccessful period in this team, preferred to transfer to the Portuguese team Boavista on loan to have a better chance of playing and gain a new experience. His main objective, however, was to become the first choice keeper.

The Team Melli keeper who lost his place to Amir Abedzadeh became a bench goalkeeper for Boavista as well and played only 9 games for the team in one season so his dreams of shining in European football would be very short-lived. At the end of this season in Portugal, the Boavista club refused to activate the € 1 million clause in Beiranvand's contract so that the Iranian goalkeeper could return back to his club Antwerp; At the same time, he saw Persepolis Club as a serious destination again.

Beiranvand, whose contract with Antwerp is for another season, announced that he would prefer to go to a team where he could play in the year of the World Cup. As a bench keeper, his selection for Team Melli will be in serious doubt otherwise. In the meantime; What better team than Persepolis, which is both a customer of his and can play in the team to regain his place in Team Melli's starting line-up.

It is believed that the Royal Antwerp FC initially demanded 1 million and later reduced it to 700 thousand Euros as a release fee for the transfer of Beiranvand to the penniless Persepolis club. Shortly afterward, it was announced that Antwerp had agreed to give Beiranvand to Persepolis for less than this amount. Meanwhile, a Belgian media reported that Beiranvand's transfer from Antwerp would not cost Persepolis any money. However, Antwerp will not pay anything to the goalkeeper from the remaining amount of Beiranvand's contract, which is apparently a significant amount.

The news site nieuwsblad reported the news and wrote: "You may have forgotten him before, but Alireza Beiranvand (29) will normally return to Antwerp this summer. The Iranian goalkeeper was hired by Boavista, who did not use the option of buying him for one million euros. However, there is no prospect of the goalkeeper returning to Antwerp. He is about to sign a contract with his former club Persepolis." The website added "Persepolis does not have to pay for Beiranvand's transfer, but the fact that his high wages (and the significant amount of his contract signing) will be lost is positive for Antwerp," the report said.

Vahid Amiri in danger of missing the World Cup!

Persepolis and Team Melli midfielder Vahid Amiri who was substituted in after the injury to Saeed Aghaei in the 36th minute of the match against Zobahan Esfahan, played an effective role in changing the result of the game from defeat to draw. However, the key Team Melli midfielder suffered another severe back injury in the 88th minute leaving him incapable of continuing the match in the final minutes.

Amiri was so badly injured that he was taken by ambulance in Isfahan from the stadium to the airport where he then was carried onboard a flight to Tehran, where he was treated by a specialist in the Capital. Amiri's injury seems to be serious, the doctors will decide on his surgery by the end of the week to reduce his inflammation. In any case, Vahid Amiri will definitely not be able to accompany his team for the final four matches.

He will be absent for the matches against Sepahan Isfahan, Traktor, Shahr Khodro and Fajr Sepasi Shiraz. Amiri will undoubtedly stay away from the football fields for four months in case of his lumbar disc surgery so that the influential and key player of the Iranian national team is in danger of missing the World Cup Qatar  2022. He was one of Dragan Skocic's key players in the qualifiers to ease Skocic's worries about having a left-winger. It remains to be seen what the doctors will decide about him to increase his chances of returning to the football field as soon as possible.

Cheragpour calls for action to address shortfalls in Iran's football.

An increasing number of football analysts are concerned with the poor standard of the Iranian football league which was evident in the top of the table clash between Esteghlal and Persepolis in the Tehran derby while also bemoaning the poor discipline and the leniency of the football federation against violations and violent play in matches that are committed without being punished.

In a recent interview, Jalal Cheraghpour the former Team Melli coach and a current football analyst talked to Mehr News and expressed his disappointment with the derby draw between Persepolis and Esteghlal and also discussed Team Melli.

"The derby had everything but football! " Jalal Cheraghpour said.

" I would like to start with this issue, a comprehensive definition of a football game in one sentence; Because we need to know a specific definition of how a match is presented in order to be able to analyze it."

The veteran football expert added: "The comprehensive definition of the '98 derby was war and conflict in a game in which there was no sign of real football! We saw the wastage of football. When we do not observe tactics during the match and do not understand a certain strategy, it means that we are dealing with football waste. All the derby scenes were a football waste. There was nothing technical to rave about or analyze "

" It was like a war, not just small incidents or minor fringes " Cheraghpour, said: "Unfortunately, the incidents were not anything like what happens in a normal football game. Excessive stress should not lead to abuse to others. Pressure to get results and failure to get a win must not lead to what we witnessed,  a war in which happily no real weapons were used! "

Cheraghpour then commented on the various flashpoints in the match and in particular the behavior and misdemeanor of Persepolis coach. : "Golmohammadi's behavior was the result of the same football that we saw. The behaviors were completely amateurish and immature. I am not saying that Golmohammadi was wrong or not, but I am saying that we confused the competition with a football war."

"The Football Federation is going in the wrong direction again " The former coach of the Iranian national team pointed out the need for the federation to pay attention to the non-technical issues and the troubles and side issues that are perpetually created in every match in the league. He said: "I have no doubt that the Football Federation is still being steered in the wrong direction. We need a Human Behavior department. We need psychologists and clubs should be forced to employ psychoanalysts and disorders analysts to control the emotional disorder of players and coaches. The volume of indifference is mixed with false excitement, which is unbelievable. "

"The referees have become apathetic and the teams are behaving unprofessionally. All these wrong behaviors are naturally transmitted to Team Melli"

"The national team list is becoming repetitive" Cheraghpour said about the latest squad list to play against South Korea and Lebanon: "We are still witnessing a repetitive list despite the current disparities. Technical problems remain on the list. In my opinion, now that the qualification Team Melli is assured, we needed to solve some problems in certain positions. Why are we so conservative? " Criticizing some of the old players invited to the team, Cheragpour said: "I think if we were looking for progress, a player who has been in the national team for eight years yet plays the least minutes, would not have been invited anymore. Why Karim Ansarifard and Ehsan Haj Safi are still on the list. I like them both, but their physique and stamina no longer suit the technical requirement of modern football and even the Iranian national team. "

"The list of the national team is not progressive," said Cheraghpour. "This team is again an instrument of the head coach and only fulfills his wishes. With Carlos Queiroz, we also had the same personal selfishness and the objective was to create a successful resume for the head coach. Skocic was selfish like Quieroz. "look at the list, there are eight players that should not be there

The Iranian football expert emphasized:" Eight players of the team have passed their football best. I fail to understand why we do not invite a player who has room to develop, instead. In my opinion, Kamal KamyabiNia does process half of the abilities of three years ago, but he is still present on the list. At the same time, we leave out a player like Mohammad Daneshgar, who still has room for improvement with the national team and who has had an admirable performance in the league with his club."

He was asked whether the Croatian Head coach is also pursuing personal triumph in the games against South Korea and Lebanon? "Skocic position is quite strong," he said. "He is no longer afraid of not being on the bench of Team Melli. If he leaves Iran today, he will still have a good CV with the records he achieved with Iran."

About the strategy that should be deployed in the World Cup 2022, the former coach of Team Melli said "in my opinion, the technical staff must avoid selecting players who keep the ball at their feet longer than 3 seconds or head the ball to pass. They will no longer be useful. Now, world football is moving at a fast pace and momentary decisions of the players are crucial. Unfortunately, our football is much slower than ever. Most Iranian players need twice the time to think and ultimately lose advantage and opportunity"

The Derby ends in a draw with little to shout about.

The much anticipated Tehran Derby between Esteghlal and Persepolis was played on Thursday in Azadi Stadium and ended in a 1-1 draw. The importance of this derby was due to the fierce rivalry between the two teams at the top of the league table, allowing fans entry into Azadi and the selection of players for Team Melli.

Despite the restriction on the number of fans allowed into the stadium, the effect on the atmosphere and the players of the two teams was quite significant as the match was a thrilling contest from the word go. It is estimated that 20,000 fans were presently divided equally between the two teams’ supporters while thousands waited outside Azadi and in the perimeters.

The pace of the game was fast and furious, which excited the fans, but there were very few tactics and beautiful moves in the game.  From the onset, the game was spoilt by the continuous protests from players and the bench every time the referee whistled for a foul!

There is little to write about the positive side of this game despite its importance. Errors in passing, poor finishing, wild tackles, lack of basics of football was quite vivid in this game. Even allowing for the sensitivity of the match, there were numerous schoolboy errors by what was supposed to be a match between the two top teams in the country. The finishing in front of the goal was truly embarrassing and comical. In general, the match was not a good advertisement for Iran’s football whose national team has just qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

The biggest criticism, however, must be fired towards the two coaches of Persepolis and Esteghlal. Golmohammadi and Majidi. Two ex- Team Melli teammates from the same era, have stepped up to coaching without solid groundwork.  They both have a lot to learn in football management but more significantly in anger management and behavior.

From the start of the match, the bench of both teams was the catalyst in bringing the game into disruptions by their constant protests and violations.  lack of manners, shouting, threatening behavior, and the attempt of Golmohammdi to physically attack the referee resembled a scene from a gangster movie rather than a football pitch.

Golmohammadi was dismissed but it was far too late from a feeble referee who could have acted much firmly early on and could easily award a few cards of different colors earlier in the game.

GolMohammadi’s behavior was not befitting a professional coach and his loss of control in front of the camera watched by millions globally, should give the club an indication that the man is emotionally not fit to lead a big club at big events. Majidi is in a similar boat however, he escaped being sent to the stands for being able to control his temper earlier on after a stern warning from the referee.

The weakness of the FFIRI against the top teams is well documented in Iran. Persepolis and Esteghlal are simply too big for the feeble federation. The disciplinary Committee has historically shown reluctance in awarding heavy fines when Persepolis or Esteghlal are involved. Any final ruling would always end up being either appealed and reduced or dismissed altogether.