Tag: Persepolis

Saman Ghoddos , a repeat story for Iranian players.

Saman Quddos has been suspended for four months after being sued by Spain’s Huesca club in addition to paying € 5m in damages. The FIFA ruling was due to a preliminary agreement by the Swedish club Ostershunds and Saman Ghoddos for transfer to the Spanish club, but instead of heading to Spain Ghoddos turned up in France to sign for the French side Amiens.

This FIFA rule is reminiscent of the one handed to Mehdi Taremi on September 2017. A Persepolis player at the time , all parties agreed on terms of the contract to transfer to Turkey’s Çaykur Rizespor Club. At that time, Taremi was suspended for four months after unilaterally breaking his contract and returning back to Iran. Taremi’s suspension meant his absence from Team Melli

Persepolis was also banned from two transfer windows. It came at a time when Iran has already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2018  and its presence at the Russian World Cup was assured. Taremi declined to appeal to CAS for fear of prolonging the proceedings and missing the World Cup all togother.

Carlos Queiroz, the then head coach of Team Melli, commented  “It certainly hurts both Taremi himself and Persepolis club as well as the fans. Even the national team suffers because the player cannot be mentally ready. What we need to do is keep the player mentally and physically fit for the next few months so that he doesn’t have problems with the international games. But what happened in 2017 was a strange and shameful act that is damaging to Iranian football’s reputation and one has to accept responsibility for it.” the Portuguese concluded.

About two years later, Saman Goddos is committing the same act of indiscretion. Ghoddos , of course, has the right to appeal and he might succeed in reducing the ban, although it is quite doubtful. The point that needs emphasis, however, is the lack of professionalism and poor awareness of Iranian players.  It does not take a distinguished person to realize that contracts have to be honored and breaking it is unlawful.  It is not only about the law but also the ethics and integrity of a person involved in a contract.

The lack of success of the many Iranian players in Europe can be summarized in one main phrase, lack of professionalism. That of course entails, ethics, commitments, teamwork, team integration and dedication. Iranian players seemed to be poorly prepared for Europe and the lack of true professional management and advisors has reduced their value and potential to succeed outside Iran. Saman Ghoddos should have known much better as he grew up in the European environment, but!

Marc Wilmots has not yet commented on the Ghoddos suspension.

 

Taremi joins Portuguese club Rio Ave.

Portuguese club Rio Ave has hired Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi, who played for Qatar’s Al-Gharafa, the Portuguese Premier League club announced today.

The 27-year-old, who is international for his country, with 47 games and 19 goals, has signed a two-year contract and is already in Vila do Conde and will soon be part of the squad.

Team Melli’s leading scorer for the season, Mehdi Taremi, who may also play as a midfielder, has played most of his career in Iranian football, having excelled at Persepolis before joining Al-Gharafa (played 24 games and scored 10 goals) last season. 

According to the information provided by Rio Ave, Taremi will join the remaining squad, at the orders of coach Carlos Carvalhal.

Iran’s talent excites Wilmots

the-afc.com

Team Melli head coach Marc Wilmots is more than hopeful of Team Melli’s future after what he has seen in the past month.

The 50-year-old Belgian coach took over the reins from Carlos Queiroz early in June and enjoyed a good start to his tenure as Iran beat Syria 5-0 in an international friendly, before playing to a 1-1 draw against the Korea Republic less than a week later.

Tasked with ensuring Team Melli make their sixth appearance in the FIFA World Cup, Wilmots is confident his side can rise up to the challenge en route to Qatar 2022, praising numerous his players with Persepolis’ goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and youngsters Younes Delfi and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh coming in for special mention.

“There is a lot of talent here,” Wilmots said in an interview with Sporz.be.

“I have a goalkeeper in my team who could play at any top club in Europe. I also let an 18-year-old attacker make his debut. He had already scored twice against Germany in the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup. In the match against Syria, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh came off the bench and immediately scored a goal.

“And I am convinced that there are so many talents and we must find them. As a national coach, I like to look for different ingredients to make a delicious soup.”

Wilmots is clear on his approach of the game for Iran, which is a more aggressive and attacking style of football, emphasizing that the budding players will need to grow and adapt that playstyle as they climb through the ranks.

“And the question remains: How we want to play? Of course, you can’t change everything in three training sessions, but in the friendly match against Korea Republic we created 16 scoring chances. Iran were not afraid of playing attacking football.

“The younger players need to adopt the new philosophy.”

Iran, Asia’s top-ranked team, will identify their opponents for Round Two of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 & AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualification in the draw on July 17.

The former Belgium boss, who was also a Red Devil international, led the team to a quarter-final finish in the UEFA Euro 2016, and hopes that he can achieve a historic feat with Team Melli.

“With the Red Devils I always thought we were going to win that tournament. Now, that is different. But you can also surprise with Iran.

“Iran has not advanced to a World Cup knockout stage so far and it will be a good challenge for me.”

Photos: AFP

Zlatko Krancjar ” I left Iran because of sanctions”

The former head of the Iran Omid  (U23) team believes the sanctions imposed on Iran were the reason for his departure from the team, something that has caused other Iranian teams to face difficulties.

The Croatian coach Zlatko Krancjar ended his partnership with Iran’s Omid team and is now back in his own country, according to ISNA. The coach who held several coaching posts in Iran including leading Persepolis and Sepahan in Iranian football league, in discussion about his departure from the Iran team said “I could not continue to work in Iran because of the sanctions. Everything is determined by money, and because of sanctions, Iran’s sport, especially football, is in suffering severely.”

“The administration of the national teams at all age group levels is dependent on the on the government and the state of which it is willing to support, so it is not possible to improve the situation,” he continued. “In any case, I have been in Iran for 6 years and I thoroughly enjoy that period and enjoyed Iran. In Sepahan, I was able to win two trophies. In the Omid team of Iran, I also got good results in the Olympic qualifiers were we qualified for the finals. I’d better rest now.  Also notice that , Winfred Schaefer also left Iran. Branco Ivankovic , who has won three championships in a row and has been in the AFC Champions League final, is facing some financial problems.”

Chaos reigns supreme in Hazfi Cup Final

The final of the Hazfi cup between Persepolis and Damash Gilan had to be abandoned several times after chaotic scenes in Ahvaz threatening to turn into unrest. The match was eventually on after 2 hours and 15 minutes delay!!

This final was between David and Goliath of Iran’s football, Persepolis arguably the most popular team in Iran and Asia and the minnows from second division Damash Gilan from city of Rasht.  Damash was the unlikeliest finalist of the cup, however they had a good run and managed to display some heroics to reach the final ahead of the likes of Esteghlal, Zob Ahan and Sepahan.

Angry fans throwing objects

The full capacity newly built Foolad Arena in neutral city of Ahvaz, was full to capacity hours before the start of the match when it was announced that there will be a 30 minutes delay presumably to ensure the safety of the spectators.

However, despite the referee leading the teams for the start, Damash players refused to join the pre-match lineup and continued warming up. The apparent reason for refusal to play was an order from their Club chairman. About 300 Damash fans were not allowed entry by the match organizers and were stuck behind closed doors leading to strong protests and threats from Damash Chairman.

Despite efforts from players such as Biranvand and Jalal Hosseini pleading with their own fans to give up their seats for Damash fans, their pleas went to deaf ears as no one was interested to do so. Fans made an effort and bought tickets to watch a cup final and there was no reason anyone would want to give up the seat, especially the opposition team. It looked like a ridiculous solution and desperate attempt to start the match.

Damash team insisted that they will not play until they see their supporters in the stands.

There were no official announcements from the speakers on the progress and status of the match leading to unsettle the fans. Unrest started and the situation was becoming volatile.

After nearly two hours and 15 minutes of late kick off, the match was started but not before angry fans pelted Damash players with all sort of objects. Damash team ran for cover under barrage of objects being thrown at them, without any protection from the security forces or riot police!

The final of the cup that is supposed to be the showcase of any football federation’s season. In the last few finals, it has been chaotic, unruly and quite messy at the end of each match. However, this edition started (finally) quite messy and ended in shame nearly resulting in riots with high risk to the fans and the public.

The accountable party must be the FFIRI, who has a track record in incompetence, poor organization and poor management. This was a shameful day for Iran’s football and a warning for outsiders of the risk of playing important tournaments in Iran under the present Federation.

Later in the evening, the Disciplinary Committee of the FFIRI issued an communique regarding the events of the Hazfi Cup final in which it mentioned that “As the result of inadequacies and lack of control in the process of holding the Cup Final between the Persepolis Tehran and Damash Gilan, which lead To disorder, chaos, and damage to the national football credibility and reputation. Mr. Saeed Fattahi [Head of FFIRI League Organization committee] has been suspended from all football activities until further notice.”

It also added that Mr. Heydar Baharvand and Abdol Kazem Taleghani are required to provide explanations regarding the events that took place during the match.

Saeed Fattahi who is notorious in Iran for involving himself in every matter to do with the federation and issuing unsanctioned statements on behalf of the Federation, was supposed to be the chief organizer of the match who has forgotten to allocate tickets for the Damash Team fans.

Marc Wilmots leads first Team Melli practice session.

The first training session of Team Melli lead by Marc Wilmots was carried today with the presence of assistant coach Vahid Hashemian .

Prior to start of the session, the players and technical staff of Team Melli team handed flowers bouquets to the media personnel present at the training ground as a gesture of appreciation. . Persepolis players, who were scheduled to play the final of the Hazfi Cup in Ahvaz were absent today. Apart from Beiranvand, Torabi and Noorolahi, from Persepolis, the injured Rashid Mazaheri and  Sardar Azmoun were absent from the session.

Hossein Hosseini has replaced Mazaheri in the squad. The players started with a warm up run along the ground, then the group training consisted of practice with single-shot passes and stretching exercises. During the training, Ramin Rezaeian made errors in executing one or two moves, which forced Wilmots to give him a reminder.

The training continued in several routines under continuous instructions from Wilmots. Despite the various issues with the official sponsor of Team Melli kit, the team was wearing the Adidas kit, but it seems that the use of this kit is not expected to last for long. Media  were asked to leave after 25 minutes to allow Wilmots the freedom of continuing his work.

“Pathetic direction and administration of football” Massoud Eghbali

The Iranian national U23 football team (Omid), barely managed to qualify for the final rounds of AFC U23 Championship which is also the qualifiers for the 2020 Olympic Games. Despite having the advantage of being the host, Iraq won the group on goal difference, while Iran had to wait until late to find out if they have qualified as one of the 4 best second ranked team.

The cesarean qualification has led to many discussions and different views on the status of the team and mainly on whether Krancjar should continue with the team after such modest performance. Some experts believe Krancjar should remain at the helm while others are opposed to the Croat continuing to work with Omid team.

In the midst of such arguments , the views of Massoud Eghbali, the official Asian Football Confederation coaching master is quite interesting. Eqhbali spoke to Mehrnews sports reporter.

“The main problems of our football has always been the deep-rooted management and administration of football at its highest level. Football does not have a healthy atmosphere and strong foundation in general. Our organization and conditions suffer from numerous problems, and like cancer it keeps spreading. One of the biggest and most important problems in this football is the management problem. Mismanagement in Iran’s football is a long-standing problem that has existed in these 30-40 years. Management problems have never been eliminated, in fact it has been spreading and getting worst. With each management personnel changes, the problems that existed is passed on to the new managers who are incompetent or unable to improve them.”

“It is uunfortunate that these pperennial pproblems have not only not disappeared, they have in fact have increased and become more severe and deliberate. All national teams have suffered from these identical problems. The difficulties in groundwork, resources, programs, logistics and training facilities are facing all national teams in all age groups. “

“Look at our senior Team Melli. It is without a coach since January, and there is no solution in sight, just the official propaganda of the FFIRI repeating the same old statements or on the other hand a bunch of speculations and rumors. There are no coaches in other national teams too. The criterion for choosing coaches by the football federation is not right at all. Coaches are appointed, mostly based on nepotism rather than competency or suitability. At age group teams where it is very vital to have quality coaches, there are appointmentS based on anything but merit, subsequently they fail and then leave quietly. There is no appraisal process, no investigation, no inquiry to why the team failed!

There is no board member in the football federation assigned to justify these failures, no one who can explain why these coaches come and go without being investigated. No one is ready to explain the whole process of selections and appointment of coaches. The Omid team of Iran is one of those teams that is immersed in these problems.

Political influences in choosing a coach In the Omid team,

At Omid team we finally choose a perfectly competent coach like Zlatko Krancjar, but we do not facilitate his job and deprive him of the resources. One of the most important tools of any boss is a very strong technical staff with background and experience, involvement in high level competition at club or national team levels. What is happening in reality in our Omid Team is that people with connections to the federation management get the job to sit on the bench with Krancjar. They choose young assistants or inexperienced coaches while ensuring to equally divide the bench appointments between Esteghlal and Persepolis!!

While we were hosting the qualifiers, we failed to win the group but qualified to the final by luck, and if we are realistic, we have to say that there is little hope for Omid Team to make it to the Olympics as one of the 3 top teams of Asia. The team, called Omid Iran in Asia, does not have the quality to be among the top three Asian teams that qualify for the Olympic Games. Most players in this team do not have what it takes to make the grade to the Senior Team Melli. The problem is not Krancjar, he is a quality coach with experience and has coached national teams. Now there are whispers that they are supposed to dismiss him.

Krancjar is a professional coach, tried and tested .If we are to sack him and replace him with the world’s leading coach, with the same problems at hand such as lack of facilities and this lack of cooperation with by the clubs in releasing their players, the same thing will be repeated again and again.

Clubs dilemmas

Among the major problems in Iran’s football is the unwillingness or disinterest of the clubs in grassroots football. For one reason or another, there is no strong urge or commitment to build and form strong academy level teams. Success and ranking in the league table is the utmost priority of almost all the clubs especially those at he top like Persepolis and Esteghlal, which makes it hard for them to focus or have serious interest in promoting the youth

This policy has become a cycle and it turned into a defective cycle, the effect of it is felt at Team Melli level and also in the ranks of the clubs themselves who have to go into the international transfer market and import cheap players, not necessarily good players.

There is a long-term damage in following such policy, and the results are so obvious. Iran has hardly won anything of worth in the last forty years. The Asian cup have eluded them, no Iranian club has won the AFC Champions League so far, Last time Iran was in the Olympic football competition was in 1976 (qualified for 1980 Olympics but subsequently boycotted it) and at youth level, success has been rare.

That is the reality of our football. More serious damage in imminent the future if this pathetic direction and administration of football in Iran continues.”

Interim coach is considered for Team Melli

Team Melli will most probably schedule 2 friendly games in April 2019. The opponents or location of the national team training camp has not been determined yet but strong preference is given to the China’s International 4 side round ribbon invitational tournament.

The football federation is hard pressed for time in choosing a new head coach, so it’s more than likely that an interim coach will sit on the bench until negotiations and appointment of a permanent new coach is finalized and concluded.

Javad Nekounam is one of the candidates as Iran’s interim coach, because he is available and due to his familiarity with the Team Melli players. Nekounam is however a risky choice if the permanent coach negotiation is extended and prolonged. He has showed a lack of discipline in his short career in coaching. When appointed as assistant to Carlos Queiroz, in his first match against Qatar, he nearly started a riot by his childish and provocative celebration in front of the Qatar bench when Iran scored late in the game. A conduct that earned him a suspension by FIFA and consequent to that, his time with Queiroz did not last long.

There are two other names that are being talked about as well as Nekounam. Ali Daei and Branko Ivankovic. Both of these coaches have club jobs to attend to and both are bound by contracts to their clubs. Unlike Javad Nekounam who is out of work and is believed to be the cheapest option, Daei and Ivankovic are a different challenge all together for the federation

Saipa and Persepolis coaches, will not be cheap in terms of contract. Both have aspirations for full time jobs rather than being a fill gap for someone else. In their own rights, they have the credentials and the competency while both have carried out the job of Team Melli head coach previously unlike Nekounam who has a short coaching career which is barely satisfactory.

And there is always the release by the clubs if they agree and what compensations will they be awarded.

Ali Daei, a patriot that he always is, might agree reluctantly to lead Team Melli on temporary 1 or 2 match basis until the FFIRI final decision on a permanent appointment. Some insiders, however, doubt that Daei will agree while Kaffashian-Taj axis is at the helm of FFIRI. Daei is still very bitter about the way he was treated after the loss to Saudi Arabia in 2009 and blames Kaffashian, the President of FFIRI at the time and his buddy Mehdi Taj for his unfair dismissal. Since both are retirees who draw benefits from government pension, as the law stands, they are not allowed to take a job and a pension at the same time. Kaffashian is said to have left FFIRI but Taj is still procrastinating. The chances of Daei agreeing on the fill gap post are much higher when those two bosses leave their posts in FFIRI.

Ivankovic is a more difficult case. He is not obliged by any means to help the federation. His resume speaks for itself and if the FFIRI is looking for a competent replacement for Queiroz, they are obliged to consider the Croat who has coached Team Melli on two separate occasions taking Iran to the 2006 World cup. A temporary assignment will not interest Ivankovic who is busy with Persepolis and intends to perform one step better in the AFC Champions League this time.

After Queiroz’s departure, most critics have agreed that the next coach should be as good or better than the Portuguese coach to take Iran forward to the next biggest challenge and the is the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Appointment of Daei or Ivankovic as Team Melli coach has its merits and advantages. However, the legacy that Queiroz has left needs strong character to improve upon his work. Daei is a typical Iranian coach who usually blames failures on other factors, at least publically. Iran needs a realistic modern thinking coach who can adapt to circumstances, which sometimes are poor.  A coach who is tactically agile and always has options up his sleeve. Blaming the earth and sky will not achieve much for Iran’s football. Facilities, administration and management have always been poor to sub-standard. Coaches and players need to live with it. The legend Daei needs an attitude adjustment to make it at international level. He has yet to show that change in that respect.

Ivankovic has his own shortfalls. He can be too nice of a man against footballers who can be very difficult to handle. Queiroz had no times for those players and simply got rid of them in Team Melli despite the public outcry and federation intervention. It is doubtful if Branko can repeat the same

Queiroz Iran vs Japan during their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Semi-finals match
Team Melli Head Coach

Queiroz’S cryptic message!

Carlos Queiroz has sent a cryptic message to the Iranian football community, with a motive that is far from prudent and borders a malicious act!

In a message published on the official FFIRI website, Queiroz praised coaches such Amir Ghalenoei, Javad Nekounam and Mehdi Mahdavikia.

In his message, he said “Football is a game were people have different opinions, and we , the football family, learn that in this game, whether we agree or disapprove on some points, we still have respect for each other. I always admire the courage and valor of my fellow professionals when they rise up and fight for the principles and values that protect the interests of football. For example: Ali Parvin, Ali Daei, Amir Ghalenoei, Winfred Shaefar, Javad Nekounam, Yahya Golmohammadi, Hossein Kalani, Mehdi Mahdavi Kia and Vahid Hashemian. If there is a name in this list of “high courage and personality” that I have missed, accept my apology.

There is very little doubt in any one close to the affairs of Iranian football that this is another dig by Queiroz against his nemesis Branko Ivankovic. However, the timing of this message seems to be strange, especially when Queiroz and his squad are less than a month from the AFC Asian Cup. Queiroz has always demanded peace and tranquil atmosphere during his preparations with Team Melli but such message is not exactly what he preaches, and clearly intended to score a point in his long running dispute with the Croat coach of Persepolis.

Persepolis club with its influence and popularity is fundamental in the support and success of Team Melli. With its massive fan base and supporters across Iran and beyond, the majority of whom have clearly sided with their coach and shouted slogans against Queiroz, this message and exclusion of Branko Ibankovic name from the list of dedicated servant of Iranian football, is ill-timed.

The Croat coach who has served as assistant coach to Miroslav “Ćiro” Blažević and then  head coach of Team Melli twice, taking Iran to the World Cup in 2006, winning the Asian Games Gold medal and winning third place in Asian Cup 2004 in China, he remains one of the most decorated coaches of Team melli. Branko Ivankoivic is undoubtedly a candidate of any such list

Jalal Hosseini to quit Team Melli.

Persepolis football team Captain intends to announce his retirement from Team Melli.

 Seyyed Jalal Hosseini, who was one of the key players in the Iranian national football team before the 2018 World Cup, was left out of the squad announced by Carlos Queiroz  and hence did not make the roster for the finals of FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia.

After some deliberation Persepolis , captain decided to officially say goodbye to the national football team. Seyyed Jalal Hosseini is scheduled to announce  his retirement from international football in a press conference on Sunday (tomorrow). Hosseini was born on February 3rd, 1982 in Bandar Anzali. He started his senior football with the local team, Malavan Bandar Anzali, in 2005 he moved on to Saipa 4 years later he joined Sepahan where he played for 3 season before moving back to Tehran to Join Persepolis, his current club.

Hosseini also played for Al Ahli of Qatar in 2014/15 season the back to Tehran to play from Naft Tehran until 2016. He re-joined Persepolis in 2016 until now.

the 36 years old central defender made his debut for Team Melli in February 2007 in a friendly against Belarus. Seyed Jalal is one of the handful players who made a century or more appearances for Iran. He has played a total of 114 matches between 2007 and 20168 and scored eight goals in the process.  Those eight goals puts him on the top of Iranian defenders goal scorers.

Seyyed Jalal Hosseini is the most decorated player in the Persian Gulf League history with six championships  titles  He is the only player in the history of the League who has won three championships with 3 different clubs. He was also a finalist in the AFC Champions League 2018 where Persepolis lost to Kashima Antlers.