Tag: Persian Gulf League

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers may be held behind closed doors.

With COVID19 still prevalent, Team Melli is likely to play the rest of FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers behind closed doors.

After months of uncertainty following of the postponement of the qualifiers, the schedule for the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers in the Asian Zone was announced, and Iran will play four crucial matches in October and November this year. However, the venues have not yet been announced yet by the World Football Governing body and AFC, and it is unclear whether the games will be hosted by the home team as standard, and whether spectators will be allowed entry into the venues. There is a possibility that the rest of the qualifiers will be played in a third country behind closed doors.

This possibility of action by FIFA and AFC is due to the continuing outbreak of coronavirus in different countries of the world. Corona is currently on the rise in some countries, and experts predict that the spread of the disease will worsen in the fall, and health protocols need to be implemented more vigorously. In this regard, the head of the UEFA Medical Committee announced that all national games will be held in the fall without spectators and that fans will not be able to return to the stadiums at the moment.

Such ruling by the Europeans could also be implemented in Asia which would practically deny the Iranian fans from attending matches in Azadi.

 * Effect of behind closed door games on Team Melli Chances.

Is this ban complicating Team Melli’s chances of qualifying? Although FIFA will announce its decisions after consulting with local confederations, it is clear that some Asian countries are less prepared than the Europeans and developed countries in terms of health protocols. As a result, due to the Iranian Premier League games being played behind closed doors, the AFC may not allow Iran to host spectators in the fall, and the national team will be forced to face its rivals without the support of the fans. Iranian fans have been a hallmark of Team Melli’s success throughout the years.

The players and managers have bee counting of home advantage in their remaining games specifically against Bahrain and Iraq, the two contenders of this group.

Due to the fact that Team Melli has played three away games, the matched in Tehran without the presence of spectators will be slightly in favor of the rivals. Currently, Iran is in third place in its group due to poor results of the previous round and the loss against Bahrain and Iraq under former coach Marc Wilmots. Iram has 4 points less than its two group leaders, namely Iraq and Bahrain.

Accordingly, the schedule of the Iranian national football team’s return matches was announced as follows:

Iran – Hong Kong (Thursday, October 8)

Cambodia – Iran (Tuesday, October 13)

Iran – Bahrain (Thursday, November 12)

Iran – Iraq (Tuesday, November 17)

Dragan Skočić appointed as Head Coach of Team Melli

The Croat coach Dragan Skočić has been appointed as the new head coach of Team Melli on Thursday.

The 51 years old Croatian has just resigned from his post as head coach of Persian Gulf League club Sanat Naft after a long dispute with the Abadani club for their failure to respect the contract and failure to provide proper support for the team.

A day after Dragan Skočić announced his departure from Sanat Naft Abadan, he was appointed as Team Melli head coach.

Skočić first arrived in Iran in 2013 where he coached Malavan Anzali where he could not have much success with the team. Next season he was recruited by Foolad Khuzestan where he remained for two seasons and managed to improve the results of the team but still could not win them any trophies. He left Iran in 2016.

In 2018 Skočić turned up again in Iran where he took over the coached of Azadegan league side Khooneh be Khooneh. A season later 2019 he was coaching  Sanat Naft Abadan in July before he resigned his post on 4th February 2020.

Zlatko Kranjcar with Dragan Skocic in a league match encounter
Zlatko Kranjcar (left) with Dragan Skocic (Right) in a league match encounter

During his long managerial career, in Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, Skočić managed only a single achievement with his home club Rijeka, winning the Croatian Cup for the 2005–06 season.

Team Melli is the first National Team coaching experience of Dragan Skočić

Next Team Melli camp on July without foreign-based players.

A 5 days training camp will be held by Team Melli in Tehran starting 10th July 2019.

According to reports, the Iranian national football team will set up camp outside of the allocated FIFA days. The objective of this particular training camp is to allow the Head coach and other Team Melli technical staff to invite local league players who have shown good potential but were never given the chance to join the squad.

In essence, Wilmots and his team are looking at other talented players who have not been tested in the national team or have not been used so far.  As the team’s camp is held outside FIFA days, the presence of legionnaires are not assured and hence only half of the players are expected to be in camp. However, all players invited from the Persian Gulf Premier League clubs will have the chance to be present.

As the camp is held outside the official FIFA  there are no official matches planned, but conditions permitting, there will be a match between Team Melli and Omid Team coached by Farhad Majidi who is inviting more than 50 players as part of the preparation for qualifying to the Olympics Games 2020.

On the other hand, the current Team Melli camp is much shorter than the previous ones conducted during Queiroz era. With the insistence of the League Committee and clubs and agreement of the head coach, training camps will no longer extend to 11 days as Welmots believes that the players’ club commitment for the start of the new season should not be adversely affected.

Three years earlier, Carlos Queiroz was in the process of organizing an 11-day camp in Austria, before the start of the league competition at the time. Branco Ivankovic strongly questioned the duration and timing of that camp and considered it inappropriate, a viewpoint that led to more than three years of conflict between the two foreign coaches.

Next Team Melli Camp 

10th July 2019  to 15th July

Duration: 5 days

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.

A lesson learned from Persepolis.

The Japanese club Kashima Antlers have one hand on the 2018 AFC Champions League title after defeating Persepolis 2-0 in Saturday’s final first leg.

Following a goalless first half at the Kashima Soccer Stadium, Leo Silva opened the scoring for the hosts two minutes before the hour mark, before Serginho made it 2-0 12 minutes later to seal a potentially-pivotal victory.

Both teams meet again next Saturday at the Azadi Stadium where the Antlers can expect a hostile atmosphere, although they will take heart in not only being in possession of a two-goal cushion but having not conceded an away goal.

Despite many expecting them to adopt a conservative approach as the away side, Persepolis began the game showing plenty of adventure and created the better openings early on.

However , with the games progressing, it was clear that there is a fundamental difference between the two teams. One playing with as a calm and collected unit following the game plan, while the other playing with emotion and grit needless to say that the juvenile attitude of some players have cost the team. As expected the former. Kashima Antlers won the day, and Persepolis despite the good show especially early in the game, have shot themselves in the foot.

There are lots of lessons to be learned from this match that will serve Team Melli mostly is what to avoid or how not to play like Persepolis in the coming AFC Asian Cup 2019.

The indiscipline of Persepolis players was monumental. Despite his character and reputation, Branko Ivankovic has not been able to control the temper or the attitude of Iranian players, even during his days with Team Melli. Thanks God that there was a certain player by the name of Ali Daei at the time of Branko tenure with Team Melli who did that job in the squad.

Regardless to how good a team plays, the indcipline will render all the efforts useless in case of sending off or suspensions. Persepolis has lost Siamak Nemati for the return leg as he sent off for a second yellow card for unprofessional and highly uncalled for act. Persepolis were lucky not to lose another player, Shojaa Khalizadeh who could have been easily sent off too. The rowdy attitude of players , that is so common in the Persian Gulf League, must not reach Team Melli at any cost

Luckily, with his strong character and disciplinarian attitude, Carlos Queiroz has a good grip on the affairs and will not tolerate transgression or indiscipline. We hope the rest of players have learned from this defeat.

A Weak performance is turned into heroics, claims Ghalenoei.

Amir GhaleNoei, was interviewed in a Radio Talk show, spoke about the conditions of his team, Sepahan and the recent performance of Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

In response to a question on the status of the Team Melli and what he thought about the renewal of Carlos Queiroz’s contract Ghalenoei said “If we say any word or comment, they immediately accuse me of being negative and say that GhaleNoei, only criticizes. Given the little time  that we have, if  Queiroz is to stay , it better be on the basis of a proper defined framework, but must include everything (these words are half-finished), but what we have  right now is a group of promoters and a series of advertising teams who are the de facto decision-makers, not the minister, not the President of the football federation. Everything they want, they seem to get. Team  Melli in the FIFA World Cup, was in many ways , the fifth ranked team in Asia, but these gentlemen in the national media made such a racket it  and used superlatives . it confuse us  so much we thought they were taking about ,France, Noyt Iran’s Team Melli! As I said, the head of the federation or the minister is not influential or decision maker. It is those who hype , those gentlemen whom I do not want to mention their names (….)”

The Head coach of Sepahan, who hardly munches his words, was speaking to radio Javan,. Referring to his tenure as Team Melli head coach “They were prosecuting us for the slightest of things. While we were suspended for a year by FIFA with no the federation president at the helm, we still managed to  be high in the FIFA ranking . In this country, many people who are not competent are assigned responsibilities , but consider how this is weak performance (Iran’s national team performance in the FIFA World Cup 2018) was overturned to become a national victory and champions. So, do not ask these questions from me or the head of the federation or the sports minister, ask the gentlemen!”

At the end of the interview ,Amir Ghale Noei was asked about his opinion on the cancellation of the Super Cup match between Persian Gulf League Champions and Jam Hazfi winner, he said: “What is right in this country?” When our country is like that, and the dollar is around  8 thousand Tomans, such things will happen. We will no afford to hold the Super Cup. Well, that’s the law. In our country, the law is created by the whim of a certain person, and whatever they want to do, it becomes their law.  We must thank the efforts of the League organization and Mr. Fatahi, but we must find out who were culpable for this fiasco”

Ardeshir “Amir” Ghalenoei  is the most successful coach in the Iranian professional league . He managed several clubs, including Esteghlal, Mes Kerman, Sepahan and Tractor Sazi, with two of which he won a total of five championships titles and  lifted two Hazfi Cup. He was also the head coach  Team Melli from August 2006 to July 2007 where he managed the team for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Team Melli was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Teymourian joins Machine Sazi

Team Melli Captain has signed for newly promoted Machine Sazi club of Tabriz,

The much traveled Andranik Teymourian has signed a short-term contract with Saipa last season after he left QSL team Um Salal . Despite his initial good impact with Siapa , Teymourian’s season was marred by injuries rendering him ineffective for the team last season.

This will be the second Tabrizi team for Teymourian, He has played for city rivals Tractorsazi before.

Machine Sazi , currently coached by ex-Team Melli forward Rasoul Khatibi , was promoted to the  Persian Gulf Pro League in 2016,  after a 19-year absence from the top flight of Iranian football. 

They play their home games in Bagh Shomal stadium with a 25,000 seats capacity.

Team Melli Armenia and Austria training camps are called off.

Team Mell proposed training camps in Armenia and Austria has been called off after Branko Ivankovic and Amir Ghalenoei have refused to release their players to Team Melli according to Carlos Queiroz.

“If we fail to qualify for the World Cup, then you better go and ask Ivankovic and Ghalenoei” the Portuguese head coach of Team Melli told reporters.

Incidentally, after Portugal defeat against Portugal and elimination from World Cup 2010, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked about that loss, to which he replied: “Ask Queiroz.” Now Queiroz is borrowing Ronaldo punch line against his nemeses!!

The bulk of the problem seems to be the uncoordinated Team Melli plans that Queiroz decides unilaterally without reference and consent of the league clubs. While the Persian Gulf League is about to start in earnest and during the height of preparation, Queiroz training plans disrupts the clubs plans. On top of that, Team Melli camps seem to last weeks. Armenia and Austria camps would have lasted two weeks each, meaning the clubs would have lost the services of their players for a whole month at a critical time when most needed for league matches!

What inflamed Ivankovic further was Queiroz refusal to allow Team Melli players go through the mandatory pre-season medical examination.

Ghalenoei joined Ivankovic in refusing the Team Melli laid down plans and criticized the way his players are being manipulated and disruption to his own training program.

When asked to respond to Queiroz harsh words against him and Ghalenoei , Branko Ivankovic said “Persepolis is my team and I am responsible and accountable for its results. When I lose , I take responsibility and NOT blame others and that is the same way I operated for 5 years as Team Melli coach. I am responsible and no one else for the team results. My manner and upbringing does not allow me to respond to slanders.”

“There is no good national team without strong clubs and competitive league.” Ivankovic said.

 

 

Daei scathing attack on Iran’s football regulations

 

The peculiar and unique regulations of some of the football laws in Iran, has resulted in a scathing criticism by the outspoken Ali Daei.

The ex-Team Melli captain and the world’s top international goal scoring record holder is currently the head coach of Saba Qom. In his short tenure with Saba , he has masterfully managed to create a solid team that has been climbing up the league table all the way as high as number 3.

Ali Daei was furious after the federation has ruled against Saba Qom using Farid Karimi in the match against Malavan Anzali and the forthcoming top of the table clash against Esteghlal Tehran. Karimi was undergoing the mandatory 2 years Military Service. During this time, Tractorasazi , managed to secure his services as a football player The team from Tabriz is among the few authorized clubs in Iran who are allowed to register  players during their 2 years’ service while they are denied the chance of playing for their team. Karimi has finished his Military Service in September and as such he should have been released to his original club, Saba Qom.  Tractorsazi , however, did not release Karimi until November!

Daei questioned several acts of injustice,  according to him , that resulted in his team being knocked out of the Hazfi cup. “In which system would you find a player that belongs to the club, who has been promoted through the ranks of the club, and gets his wages from the club, conveniently turns up for the opposition and plays  in an important game in a cup competition ? ”  Daei said in a pre- match press conference today.

“Mr. Hassanzadeh, the head of the Disciplinary committee, claims that in certain cases his committee has the right to arbitrate. I want to ask him, on what basis he intervenes and approves a sanction against my player, while the law very clear states that as soon as the player has finished his service, he is free to play with his club. What part of this law is confusing to Hassanzadeh in order for him to intervene and issue a contradicting order?”

“This system of playing for a military Club is unique to Iran and quite unfair.” Daei added.

Ali Daei , is part of increasingly large number of footballers, coaches and administrators who are critical of this system of Military teams getting unfair advantage by using players of other teams. However, only a few have been  vocal about it, Ali Daei being one of them. The ex-Persepolis and Bayern Munich players is one important personality in Iran’s football whose words can make a difference.

In the Persian Gulf League , Saba Qom is currently lying fourth in the table with 25 points. Daei’s team will be facing Esteghlal Tehran lying second with 27 points on Thursday.

Persian Gulf League in action again.

The 15th season of Iran’s premiere league (Persian Gulf Professional League) will start in earnest from tomorrow Thursday 30th July 2015.

16 teams will be battling it out for the ultimate prize of lifting the Championship title and challenging the holder Sepahan Esfahan, the team with the most honors in the history of the league. The Esfahani team has been consistently challenging for the title since the start of the new league system, and has managed to win a record breaking 5 titles with 1 runner up and one third place positions. As such Foolad Mobarekeh Sepahan is the most decorated team of the league.

Sepahan won the league in style

The Defending Champions

No doubt that Sepahan will continue on the same trail this season with nearly same squad that won the title in the previous season under the leadership of Coach Hossein Faraki. The ex-Team Melli striker is building a deservedly good reputation for himself in Iran’s football by winning his second title in a row with two different clubs. The soft spoken coach has kept faith in the title winning squad and refrained from indulging in any business in the transfer market. No doubt that a fit again Navidkia will assist Sepahan further in this edition. The frail and injury prone Captain of the team was absent for many matches last season.

 

Branko Ivankovic ^ Ali Daei 2006
Branko Ivankovic Persepolis Coach

Persepolis

Persepolis, the most popular team in Iran along with Esteghlal, have been having torrid few seasons with changes in personnel occurring on regular basis. This club has so disappointed it millions of fans that the usual crowd of red army that used to paint Azadi in red has virtually disappeared. The Club numerous problems off the field, was further complicated the issue by some on the field transgressions of some players acting unruly and suffering from ill- disciplined. Poor appointments in coaching and administrative staff has furthered deteriorated the team to the extent that it was fighting for survival near the end of the last league season. Branko Ivankovic was recruited to replace the struggling Hamid Derakhshan. The Croat has maintained the league status of Persepolis and avoided the relegation, however, this season, there is little indication that the team will be decidedly better than last season.

Esteghlal goals rush unlikely

The Blues of Esteghlal

Esteghlal, forever a title contender, had a disappointing last season under Amir Ghalenoei who was eventually replaced by Parviz Mazloomi. The club has a tendency to stick to its own and picks coaches from the plethora of ex and retired players rather than seek professional and experienced coaches elsewhere. Mazloomi last stint as Esteghlal coach ended bitterly when bad results and losses against much weaker teams started a semi revolt in the stands by the blues fan who demanded his removal. The squad for this season has not seen major changes however the loss of two Team Melli players in Sadeghi and Beigzadeh to Saba and lack of real fire power in the offensive line could limit the chance of Esteghlal in challenging for the title.

Like Persepolis, Esteghlal is another organization in real administrative, financial and ,management difficulties.


[box title=”

Leauge Stats

” style=”soft” box_color=”#c8c8ba” title_color=”#0d0c0c” radius=”5″]You can follow the Persian Gulf Pro League results and tables in www. teammelli.com all the time. Simply check the “Supplements” menu and select Persian Gulf League , or go to https://www.teammelli.com/the-persian-gulf-league[/box]

The League Committee

Despite gradual improvements in the organization of the league each new season, football in Iran is still behind the overall standard of rival Asian countries and the neighboring Persian Gulf states. Most of the facilities and the stadiums lack the international standards. Mercifully, AFC pressure has forced the Iranian authorities into action. The Asian ruling body plays a major role in forcing the Iranians to improve standards and facilities like the recent ruling by the AFC and insistence to install seats in the stadiums rather than the fans endure the hardship od sitting on scorching cement slabs.

One of the weaknesses of last season was the periodical stoppage of the season for Team Melli training camps which resulted in unanimous outcry by the coaches and teams. Those league stoppages were demanded by Carlos Queiroz as conditional for Team Melli survival in the World Cup. With no World Cup in 2016 , it is hoped that the season will continue without much interruption that hurts team’ momentum.

The blues

 

Attendances

Last season suffered from lack of interest by the fans. Factors that has affected the poor attendances varied amongst the major ones were; shortages of quality games, dearth of exciting players or games to attract the crowds, failure of the two most popular teams to shine which dampened the enthusiasm of their huge number of followers, match organizers lack of respect and appreciation of fans comfort and finally the broadcast of major European leagues matches on TV. Sepahan traditional never matched the fans base of the big two and their remote stadium has played a major role in the paltry attendance figures. The only team that made a difference and kept the league stands alive was Tractorsazi with its phenomenal and passionate crowds. No team has away travelling support either as the team from Tabriz. This season, despite the disappointing finish of last, should see the Azerbaijani fans flocking back once again to the Yadegar Imam stadium. The rest of the stadiums in Iran are a matter of hit and miss.

Celebration Tractorsazi style

Broadcast rights.

 Amongst the peculiarities of football in Iran is the TV and non-payment of broadcast fees.

In Iran, there is one government owned and run organization that has unjustifiably and unfairly taken full advantage of football enjoying a free ride for decades without paying anything in return. IRIB, the TV and Radio monopoly, has flatly refused to entertain any demands for payment to the league clubs or the FFIRI for broadcasting league or Team Melli matches a system that is globally implemented. IRIB, argues that it is providing a free service for fans and clubs alike and not charging the viewers, so it does not find any justification for paying while it is not charging subscription fees. In the in the contrary, IRIB thinks that it has to be paid because it is doing a favor for the clubs!.

IRIB conveniently, opportunistically and deviously ignored the millions of dollars that it has received from TV advertisers when broadcasting football matches.

This stand of arrogance and egotism by IRIB resulted in tension in the league and spilled out in the parliament and the media with various heated debates. IRIB is an organization which is strongly supported and protected by the by the highest of the hierarchy in the regime. It has dodged all attempts by all sides including the Iranian parliament to pay for broadcasting rights that is believed to have earned it coffers millions of dollars in return. Even an attempt to a TV black out and ban of cameras in stadiums, which only lasted for one round, did not dislodge the IRIB from its position. The IRIB simply brushed such a move as a minor inconvenience!

Good news of this season, however, is that IRIB finally agreed to pay for the broadcast of matches. The figures are closely kept secret and many insiders believe that it is nowhere near the true value of the league. In any case, it is a step forward and this might be a beginning of a new era for many clubs with huge financial difficulties (read the majority of the clubs) to get some return from TV broadcast rights.

Team Melli Players

10 out of the 32 players that donned Iran’s Team Melli jersey have changed club so far. There are expected to be a few more changes as several players have not agreed terms with their present clubs while many other countries have not started the season yet..

 

The full list of Team Melli player is as follows:

 

# Players Name Previous Team Current Team
1 AMIRI, Vahid Naft Tehran Naft Tehran
2 ANSARIFARD, Karim Osasuna Rah Ahan
3 AZMOUN, Sardar FC Rostov FC Rostov
4 BEIGZADEH, Hashim Esteghlal Saba Qom
5 BIRANVAND, Alireza Naft Tehran Naft Tehran
6 DEJAGAH, Ashkan Al Arabi Al Arabi
7 EBRAHIMI, Omid Esteghlal Esteghlal
8 EZZATOLLAHI, Saeid Athletico Madrid FC Rostov
9 FOROUZAN, Mohsen Esteghlal Esteghlal
10 GHAFOORI, Vourya Sepahan Esfahan Sepahan Esfahan
11 GHOOCHANNEJAD, Reza Al Wakra Al Wakra
12 HAGHIGHI, Alireza FC Penafiel  FC Penafiel 
13 HAJSAFY, Ehsan Sepahan Esfahan Sepahan Esfahan
14 HASSANZADEH, Masoud Zob Ahan Zob Ahan
15 HEYDARI, Khosrow Esteghlal Esteghlal
16 HOSSEINI, Jalal Al Ahli Naft Tehran
17 JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza NEC NEC
18 KANANI, Mohammad Hossein Malavan Malavan
19 KHANZADEH, Mohammadreza Persepolis Foolad Kuzestan
20 MOHAMMADI, Milad Rah Ahan Rah Ahan
21 MONTAZERI, Pejman Umm Salal Al Ahli
22 NEKOUNAM, Javad Osasuna Saipa
23 POOLADI, Mehrdad Al Shahaniya Al Shahaniya
24 POURALIGANJI, Morteza Tianjin Teda Tianjin Teda
25 RAFIEI, Sourosh Foolad Khuzestan Foolad Khuzestan
26 REZAEIAN, Ramin Rah Ahan Persepolis
27 SADEGHI, AmirHossein Esteghlal Saba Qom
28 SHARIFI, Mehdi Sepahan Esfahan Sepahan Esfahan
29 SHOJAEI, Masoud Al Shahaniya Al Shahaniya
30 TAREMI, Mehdi Persepolis Persepolis
31 TEYMOURIAN, Andranik Tractorsazi Tabriz Umm Salal
32 TORABI, Mehdi Saipa Saipa