Tag: Qatar

Down memory lane: Bitter defeats of World Cup 1994 qualifiers

Iran’s football history is full of glories and honors almost all of it was in the pre-revolution era. Achievements such as winning the Asian Cup three times in a row have never been repeated by any team thus far.

The beginning of those glories started way back in 1964 when Iran made it to the Olympics Games Tokyo. In 1966 a younger Team Melli won the silver medal of the Asian Games in Bangkok, while at home, Iran won its first-ever Asian title when Hassan Habibi lifted the trophy in Amjadieh after they defeated Israel 2-1.

That was the beginning of the golden age of Iranian football in 1968. In 1972 Iran successfully defended its Asian Cup title in Thailand while the same year, it qualified for the Olympic Games in Munich. Iran won the Asian Games football gold medal for the first time in 1974. Two years later 1976 was another glory year for Team Melli with double achievements, winning the Asian Cup for the third time and qualifying for the Montreal Olympics. Iran also made it to the quarter-finals for the first time.

Team Melli led by the legendary Iranian coach Heshmat Mohajerani qualified for the Argentina World Cup in 1978. It was the perfect icing on the cake for a decade of glorious years of football. Then came the revolution and political upheaval that disrupted the whole society and disturbed the exceptional progress of Iran’s football. The glory days were never to come back.

However, twelve years into the revolution with Team Melli completely devoid of any success, Ali Parvin lead a young side to win the Asian Games 1990 gold medal. It was hoped that this was the omen and the glory days are surely coming back.

While Team Melli struggled for success, there were still some good moments to be proud of the team and a few bad moments. There were some bitter defeats during the 1990s however, one particular period is considered by many as the worst performance of Team Melli ever.

This happened at the Asian Zone equalization for the FIFA World Cup 1994.

in October 1993, the qualification matches for FIFA World Cup USA 1994  were held in Doha, Qatar. Iran, while missing several key players such as Kermani Moghadam, Farshad Pious, and Mojtaba Moharrami due to suspension and Ahmad Abedzadeh due to injury headed to Doha. The squad was lead by Ali Parvin but internal politics and wide disputes prevented the team to properly prepare for those qualifications rounds. The team did not have and friendly preparation matches and the camp was disrupted by internal disagreements.

The result of an ill-prepared team marred by dispute and disharmony was exposed quite early in the competition when Team Melli was beaten comprehensively by South Korea 3-0.

The aftermath of this heavy defeat disrupted the squad even more and its effect also lead to calls for change in Iran’s coaching team, back home. is loss had very bad consequences for Iran’s football, According to some squad members, after this game in the locker room and later at a hotel where the team was accommodated there were many disputes between the players and the coaches and it escalated to the point that some players wanted to leave the camp.

The federation officials came to the rescue and with a mixture of promises and threats, they managed to cool the situation until these qualifiers are concluded.

In the second game, Iran defeated Japan 2-1, to ease the pressure on Parvin. The third game was crucial for Iran who needed a win to stay in the competition for a place in the World Cup. They were facing Iraq. Despite a hard-fought game the match ended with Iraq winning 2-1.

In the fourth match, another good win against North Korea 2-1 boosted the morale of the squad ahead of the final game against Saudi Arabia.

That match was a game-changer in Iran’s football history. Team Melli, clearly lacking a proper game plan and mostly depending on direct football, lost in a seven-goal thriller. It was clear that the team was commanded to go for it and score as many goals, leaving the defense exposed and in the process conceding 4 goals.  Iran lost 4-3 to Saudi Arabia, the team was eliminated from the World Cup and failed to achieve what the coaching staff promised while it was ranked fifth among 6 countries.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Saudi Arabia 7 5 2 3 0 8 6 2
 South Korea 6 5 2 2 1 9 4 5
 Japan 6 5 2 2 1 7 4 3
 Iraq 5 5 1 3 1 9 9 0
 Iran 4 5 2 0 3 8 11 -3
 North Korea 2 5 1 0 4 5 12 -7

Saudi Arabia took first place with its 4-3 victory over Iran. Japan and South Korea were even on points, but South Korea held the goal difference advantage after the 3-goal victory over North Korea and won the tiebreaker.

After the return of Team Melli to Tehran, Parvin was the target of the wrath of the fans. It all started from Mehrabad airport where mobs shouted profanity and accusation of treason and it continued all the way to his home, despite police protection. The protests against him did not stop either as they continued wherever he went.

Parvin had warned many times in the months before the qualifiers in Qatar that the national team had problems (problems with the preparation game, players, finances, etc.). However, those words were of very little use as after a few days, the whole of Team Melli coaching staff including Head Coach Ali Parvin, Nasser Ebrahimi, Amir haj-Rezaei Kumasi, and Mohammad Maeli-Kohan, were fired.

That was not the end of that either. As the consequences of the defeat in Qatar continued until Safizadeh, the president of the Football Federation, and Hassan Ghafouri Fard, the head of the Physical Education Organization, were also relieved from their duties as they were singled out as accountable for these bad results.

Sardar Azmoun scores a brace for Zenit

Sardar Azmoun scored a brace in the match between FK Sochi and Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Premier League match on Sunday 11th April.

The home team opened the scoring through Nikita Burmistrov in the 58th minute, but the visitors equalized with a powerful header by Team Melli forward, Sardar Azmoun from a cross by Jarosław Rakicki.

Azmoun then scored the winner and his team’s second goal with another well-placed header out of reach of the stretching keeper.
This was Azmoun’s 15th goal of the season in the Russian League. He heads the top scorers’ list ahead of his striking partner and Teammate Dzuba, who has two goals less to his credit.
Zenit leads the table by 7 points margin in the 25th week of the season and looks a firm favorite to retain the title this season and lift the championship trophy before the end of the season.
After the match in an interview with the official Broadcaster of the Russian league, Azmoun was asked what he thought of him leading the top scorers’ table with 15 goals, to which the Iranian striker said that he is much more important for him to win the title with his teammates rather than achieving individual honors.
Sardar is expected to lead Team Melli on the 3rd of June against Hong Kong , in the return legs of FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifiers

World Cup qualifiers to be changed yet again!

There are strong indications that the upcoming two FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers of Team Melli against Cambodia and Hong Kong will be postponed and the possibility of playing all the remaining rounds of matches in a round-robin format in one country. This has made Dragan Skocic’s mission of qualifying that much harder for several reasons.

While some countries have suggested that the remaining matches should be held centrally because of the coronavirus, there are others that oppose that idea and insisting that the matches should be carried out on a home and away basis as normal while strictly observing health protocols and compliance with Covid19 prevention conventions.

Currently, several Asian countries are continuing ahead with football activities behind closed doors. The league competitions are held in this way in most countries and one of them is Iran.

It is natural for the Iranian Football Federation FFIRI to resist holding the games in a centralized venue, because Team Melli is hosting three of the remaining 4 games, and now if it is to play in a centralized venue, it will be deprived of home advantage. According to the Football Federation, the AFC has not yet sent a letter to the member states regarding the manner of holding the remaining games, and as far as the FFIRI is concerned, it would follow the last original schedule. However, it is hardly unlikely that such an arrangement will prevail. If the Asian Football Confederation decides to hold the remaining matches centrally, the Iranian Football Federation will vote for Qatar as the host of the games.

Another country that has announced its readiness to host Iran Group Games is the UAE. Interestingly, if the games are finalized in one centralized venue, the matches will be held at later dates possibly June 2021.

One issue with the single venue is that the matches will be held intensively, and this round of qualifiers will have to be over in less than two weeks. All teams must play 4 matches within 14 days.

In this scenario, the remaining qualifying rounds of FIFA World Cup 2022 matches will probably be held after the end of the league season, which means that Team Melli will not have a program in April.

Without a doubt, these will be stressful times for all the teams in the qualifiers and most of the teams need to go back to the drawing board to reschedule and change their plans. For Team Melli, it is of the utmost importance to arrange friendly matches to prevent the squad from being inactive and stagnant if the matches are to be held in June 2021.

Shojaa Khalilzadeh to sign for Al Rayyan in Doha

Shojaa Khalilzadeh, Persepolis, and Team Melli central defender has turned up in the Qatari capital Doha to sign a contract with Al Rayyan club. According to Al Arab daily newspaper, Al Rayyan has already concluded the negotiation with the Iranian defender and just awaiting the signatures on the contract.

According to sources, after accepting the conditions of a contract renewal with Khalilzadeh, Persepolis is now dealing with the news of his departure from Iran to sign a contract with Al Rayyan of Qatar Star League. The news caused the club to send a letter to the Qatar Football Federation and Al Rayyan Club regarding the legality of any contract between Khalilzadeh and any Qatari club.

Khalilzadeh, whose contract with Persepolis runs for another season, unilaterally terminated his contract with Persepolis due to the club’s breach of payment clauses. It seems that Persepolis has not paid the player, which is a very common practice in Iran’s football, and hence the player is legally allowed to cancel that contract.

Recently recalled to Team Melli after a seven years gap, the Persepolis defender was supposed to sign his contract extension and amendments at 10:30 AM on Wednesday at the club premises. However, Khalizadeh was upset by some contradictory behaviors of the club’s managers and left for Qatar.

Before traveling to Qatar, Khalilzadeh was contacted by Yahya Golmohammadi, the head coach of the team, Attempts to reach him was futile, because Persepolis defender mobile was turned off. However, Khalilzadeh, after leaving for Qatar, sent a message to Yahya Golmohammadi informing him of his intention to leave the team while wishing him personally and Persepolis’s success in the final of the Asian Champions League.

The message shocked the Reds’ coach, but Golmohammadi has decided not to react to it for the time being.

Khalilzadeh has left Persepolis while there is no news of his official agreement with Qatar’s Al Rayyan Club. However, it is possible that his contract will be signed today, given the player’s presence in Qatar.

The bitter reality of Iranian football

The poor showing of Iranian clubs in the AFC Champions League has resulted in many criticisms and demands for change.

Masoud Eghbali, a football expert and FIFA instructor, talked to Mehr about the performance of the four Iranian clubs representatives in the AFC Champions League currently being played in Doha, Qatar. He was particularly critical with the appointment of the coaches of these clubs and considered some most of the appointments as irresponsible, amateurish, and indicative of a lack of insight and knowledge.

The format of the competition has been changed due to the COVID19 pandemic, The remaining group matches and next round plus the next round of the AFC west division has been arranged like a mini tournament in Doha,

Iran is represented by Perspolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan, and Shahr Khodro. The latter two teams have been eliminated from the competition however, Persepolis and Esteghlal still stand a slim chance in the final group games.

Eghbali commented: “The appointment of Mehdi Rahmati (Shar Khodro) and Moharram Navidkia (Sepahan) who have no qualification whatsoever as coaches and neither have attended any coaching courses as head coaches of teams that are playing in Asian competition, makes a mockery of football and its principles. It is only natural that these inexperienced coaches will fail and it is clear for even the average football fan to predict their failures against the top clubs in Asia who invest in the best coaches in the world.”

“Our football is facing deep-rooted and fundamental issues. While in the few last decades, Asian football has experienced rapid movement forward, our football has snoozed in the memories of past successes and proudly stood still and even retreated in many cases. We have to accept this reality, even though it is bitter. The bitter truth about our football is that we are years behind the top tier of Asian football. Just look at the facilities of Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan and many other Asian countries and compare it with our football facilities. You will instantly recognize the vast gap in infrastructure and our shortfalls. Korea and Japan have hosted the World Cup in the past, and Qatar is set to host the next World Cup. Look at the stadiums in Iran, we do not even have one such high standard facility in comparison. In terms of investment, it is not possible to catch up with these developed countries. In football management, we are light years behind the Asian competition and that is where it really hurts. Technically, the results of our clubs and national teams is evident as it show that we are not at the top tier of Asian football anymore. We are at best second tier, drifting down to third if drastic measures are not taken to address the shortfalls”

If football in the developed Asian countries stagnates at the standards where it is today and makes no progress, and there is a revolution in our football that progresses and develops rapidly in the fields of structure, technology, facilities, investment, and management, we may require 15 years later to catch up with the top tier Asian countries like to reach Japan, Korea, and Qatar.”

“We still look at football as a ‘game’ while the world sees this sport as a ‘sport, industry, business, economy and politics’. We must change our mentality and mindset with regard to football. As long as our clubs are the playground and backyard of political leaders and they look at it as “a heavy burden in every way”, as long as we do not invest enough in it, as long as we do not become proactive, honest, and dedicated to the sport rather than using it as a tool for political propaganda or personal gains, the status quo will remain and this football will not improve, perhaps even drop further. This current situation means a large distance between us and the top level of Asia and it will be more and more evident day by day.

Honestly, with this situation of our football, there will be hardly any progress and it remains only at the level of a (childish) game and entertainment.”

Single country hosting for FIFA qualifiers.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is thinking of a plan for one venue or one country to host the remaining  FIFA 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia have been postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.  The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is considering a single host country, given the continuing coronavirus and the restrictions of entries by many countries that have been placed on their borders. Qatar seems to be the obvious candidate for such hosting.

To create such a scenario, FIFA must first approve such a plan, so the AFC is consulting with FIFA to reach a final conclusion. The AFC website said that the AFC considers the continuation of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 Asian Cup as a cumulative system (hosted by one country) as the best solution for the current situation with Corona. Qatar’s Ustad al-Doha website reported by saying that creating such conditions will allow the member countries of the Asian Football Confederation to hold their local leagues as well.

Certainly, this decision will not be in favor of Iranian football, because Team Melli lost in the away matches against Iraq and Bahrain, and it is hoped that by hosting both teams in Azadi, it will make up for the defeats, and improve its standings in the table.

Although Corona has not yet been eliminated as countries like India and the USA are seeing a rising number of cases, the AFC, like other football governing bodies, seems to be determined to continue football even suggesting games without fans, just to ensure financial revenues. Some European leagues such as the English Premier League blackmail their governments citing huge losses. redundancies and bankruptcies of clubs, to force the authorities to award some kind of dispensation to start playing football. If that happens, AFC and FIFA will certainly have a solid backing to start the competitions again.

Iranian legionnaires mixed fortune.

2019 has been a difficult year for Team Melli.

There was high hope for the Team to lift the Asian Cup for the first time since 1976. Iran was the favorite for the AFC Asian Cup and reached the semi-final without much difficulty too. Then a moment of madness and breakdown of discipline allowed the Japanese to open the scoring and the rest was a steep uphill struggle for the Team Melli. The match ended in one of the worst defeats of the decade after Japan scored 3 goals. That was also the end of an era as Carlos Queiroz Finally packed his bags for good.

Then came a relatively unknown quality in the form of a Belgian coach who did not last the distance on his last job with the Ivory Coast. Marc Wilmots started brilliantly with a big win in a friendly against Syria and a draw away to South Korea. The real test, however, was the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. It started well against the two weakest teams of the group, but when they faced the first real test, Team Melli failed tactically and lost to Bahrain. There was hope that the second match away to Iraq will yield a better result but like the match against Japan the semi-final of the Asian Cup, the poor tactical discipline of the players and lack of concentration in the last seconds meant another defeat and now the qualification is at perils.

Wilmots left the Job, which he frankly hardly got involved in, and Team Melli is now coachless.

Despite the disappointing Team Melli results, some of the players have been having a good year abroad.

The most delightful of the successes must be that of Al-Shahaniyah Iranian defender, Ramin Rezaeian. Despite his post of a defender, he is one of Qatar’s top five goalscorers by the end of the year.

Rezaian who is on his second season with Al-Shahaniyah is becoming a hot commodity in Qatar Star League (QSL). Rezaian, despite being a defender, has also been among the best players in Qatar. His name in Top Scorers list is among the elite of the league such as  Baghdad Bonajah (19 goals), Akram Afif (17 goals) who are the two top scorers. Rezaeian, Mohammed Montari and Thiago Parisa of Al-Khour are next all on 9 goals.

Interestingly enough, Team Melli center forward, Karim Ansaifard has scored 5 goals only in the same, he plays for  Al -Sailiya.

The Other refreshing performance must go to Kaveh Rezaei who is making real waves in the Belgian league. His disappointment at Brugge last season is all but forgotten as the 27 years old Sporting Charleroi forward has scored an average of a goal in every two matches bagging 8 goals so far this season. His compatriot and teammate Ali Golizadeh also scored 3 goals.

Sardar Azmoun is also having his best season ever and is being sought after by many clubs hoping to lure him out of the Russian League.  Sardar has scored 7 goals in the league so far which is on winter break. He scored 9 all season last term. Zenit is leading the table in Russia.

Another of the legionnaires who exploded on the scene abroad is Mehdi Taremi.  The Team Melli Center forward and Azmoun partner upfront joined the Portuguese club Rio Ave and not only he managed to make a sensational start in the cup competition by scoring 4 goals, his tally so far is 5  goals in 10 games ( a goal every two matches) in the league. Taremi suffered several nagging injuries meantime while in Portugal, but the winter break should keep him fit and ready for another adventure.

Also in Portugal, another Team Melli player has been doing quite well with Desportivo Aves. Mehrdad Mohammadi has been brilliant and scored 5 goals in a team that is struggling near the end of the table.

Alireza Jahanbaksh who is the most expensive Iranian player in history had been having a torrid time since joining Brighton from AZ Alkmaar, but in one week the star player scored two wonderful gaols for his club to take the headlines.

Two very disappointing stories of Team Melli players are those of Saeid Ezatollahi and Samman Ghoddos. The former had a long injury that threatened his career. After a full recovery, he struggled to regain even a fraction of his previous level. He is now warming the bench in AS Eupen, a team in the Belgian league at the bottom of the standing. The 23-year-old Ezatollahi has made one appearance for Eupen this season, while his Team Melli teammate in the same club, Omid Ebrahimi has featured 12 times in the league for AS Eupen.

 

Saman Goddos is a sad story as he is suspended by FIFA for breach of contract. On 29 August 2019, FIFA suspended the  French Ligue 1 side Amiens SC Saman Ghoddos from all football activities for four months plus a €4 million fine for his failure to report to Huesca in the La Liga in accordance with a signed contract.

Omid team ties Qatar with Gentleman Estili’s generosity!

In a friendly match held in Doha, Iran’s Omid Team (U23) tied with Qatar U23  2-2 today. The match played on Saturday evening at Al Arabi’s Hamad AlKabir Stadium behind closed doors.

Omid team led the first half 2-0 with goals scored by Reza Shekari from a penalty kick, and Mehdi Ghaedi.

Hamid Estili’s had the upper hand on Félix Sánchez Bas, the Spanish coach of Qatar and the Asian Cup Champions in the first half. Both teams are preparing for the upcoming AFC U23 Championship in Thailand, which is also the qualifiers for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 football tournament.

In the first half, Qatar player Mohammed Emad Aiash was sent off in the 35th minute for violent conduct, however, Hamid Estili suggested to his Qatari counterpart Felix Sanchez to replace the sent off player with another one. Qatar team obliged as they sent in Ahmed Suhail to replace the sent off player.

It was the sportsmanship act by Estili and a clever one too as he needed to see his team play against the strongest opposition possible regardless of the result.

The ensuing Free kick from the sending off was a beautifully executed goal by Mehdi Ghaedi.

The first half ended 2-0 for Iran’s Omid team.

At the beginning of the second half, the Qatari’s again lost another player Yusuf Abdulrazzaq with a red card. And again, Estili became the true gentleman and invited Sanchez to send a replacement! This time Qatar sent Amro AbduFattah to the field.

It is the first time in history at this level of football that one team is given two red cards, yet continue playing to the end with 11 players. Simply unheard of.

Abdul Rashid Ebrahim reduced the deficit on the 83rd minute for Qatar. The same player scored the equalizer in the dying seconds of the match om minute 96.  As customary with Iranian teams, there is always a lapse of concentration leading to conceding a goal.

In support of Hamid Estili’s demand for the league to be postponed, the FFIRI partially postponed some of the matches to enable the Omid team to set up a training camp in Doha and play this friendly match.

Teams Line up

Iran U23

Merag Esmaeili: Aref Aghasi, Mojtaba Najarian, Matin Karimzadeh, Reza Dehghani [76′ Sina Zamehran], MohammedMedi Mehdikhani, Mohammad Mohebi [66′ Mohammad Khodabandelo], Ali Shojaei [70′ Amir Roustaei], Omid Noorafkan, Mehdi Ghedi [70′ Reza Jabeira], Reza Shekari [66′ Jafar Salmani]

Coach : Hamid Estili

Qater U23

Mohammed AlBakri: Abdullah Ali Saei, Tarek Salman, Mohammad AlBayati, Yusuf Abdurazzaq , Abdulla Abdulslam, Khalifa Saad, Mohammed Emad Aiash , Hashim Ali, Abdulrahman Mohammed, Homam Elamain Ahmed.

Coach : Felix Sanchez Baz

Omid Team training is at full throttle.

Omid team is actively preparing for the crucial AFC U23 Championship 2020  by conducting constant practice sessions under the direction of Hamid Estili.

Today’s (Sunday) session which started at 9:30, Hamid Estili briefed the players on the objectives and details of today’s practice session. Then Mohammad Sharifi, Sina Zamiran and Mohammed Mohebbi left the group to conduct the fitness tests which all other players went undertook.

The training of the rest of the squad started with all members of the technical staff supervising the proceedings and giving the required tactical and technical advice.

This session which was carried out in the National Football Training Center included a light physical program. The next practice is scheduled for tonight at 9 pm.

Meanwhile, Omid Noorafkan and Mohammad Mohebbi (Sepahan) Reza Shekari and Mohammad Reza Azadi (Tractorsazi) Aref Aghasi and Mojtaba Najarian (Foolad Khuzestan) Ali Shojaei and Reza Dehghani (Nasiji Mazandaran) Ali Shahsavari and Mohammad KhodabandehLo (Peykan) and Sina Zamehran (Shar Khodro ) have joined the squad after their respective teams released them to Omid team.

Mohammad Mehdi Khani who plays for the Croatian side  NK Varaždin will also join the Omid (Olympic) squad on Monday.

“The initial list of Olympic team players, including 50 players, according to the AFC’s regulations. ” Hamid Estili said on the eve of the training camp’s inauguration. “After shortlisting the number to 30, the squad departs to  Qatar, where we will have an 8-day training camp and two friendly matches in Doha.”

“After returning to Tehran, we will announce the list of the final 23 players which form the Omid Team that will be competing in the AFC Asian Championship also the Olympic qualifiers scheduled to be held in Thailand. In some of the posts, we are still looking for the final option, such as the right-back, which was vacated due to the injury to  Aghajanpour and we are reviewing the names of 1 or 2 options to decide the final squad,” Estili added.

The coach of the Omid team once again called on the clubs to cooperate and assist with the team by saying: “Our plan during these 18 months of engagement was comprehensive. We tried to invite players for training or matches in FIFA days. We were aware of their special circumstances and situation, but at this juncture we expect the clubs to understand our situation too. Invited players will return to the clubs before the 16th week but after the end of the week it is necessary for the clubs to abandon their squads and allow our training to start. There are legal measures we can refer to, of course, but there should not be such issues among colleagues, and we need to all work in a friendly manner. I am sure my good colleagues at the clubs are on the side of the Omid team, preferring the national interest to everything else and helping us at this point.”

Iran comes out of AFC Annual Awards empty handed

The Asian Football PConfederation Annual Award ceremony was held without any achievement for Iranian football as the Iranian representatives returned home empty-handed.

The top Asian football awards event was held in Hong Kong yesterday (Monday) and various prizes were awarded to top players. Various countries, including Japan and East Asia in general, which have been leading the West for many years, have won numerous awards, but the most prestigious award  (Asian Player of the Year) was given to the Al Sadd and National Qatari Team player, Akram Afif.

Al-Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez received the award on behalf of Afif who is involved in the Gulf Cup football tournament currently held in Doha, Qatar.

Although Iran had candidates in five different categories, the Iranians failed to win any awards. Alireza Biranvand (Asian Footballer of the Year nominee), Sardar Azmoun (Asian Legionnaire of the Year), Mehdi Javid (Asian Footballer of the Year), Katayoun Khosrowyar (Asian Football Coach of the Year) and the Iranian Football Federation (Best Inspirational Federation) were Iran’s representatives. The day before the ceremony, however, Mehdi Taj and the director of the Ministry of Sport’s Information Center had revealed that Beiranvand has not won the award! Despite Iran’s lack of success and absence from the honours awards, an Iranian, Alireza Faghani, currently working and residing in Australia, was selected as Asia’s best referee in 2019. The fact is that award was the result of his individual genius and talent, rather than a proper system and mechanism of producing quality referees like himself (Faghani).

According to the famous French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Recent national teams and club football failures such as World Cup qualifying defeats against Bahrain and Iraq, failure of Iranian clubs in AFC Champions League teams, Futsal Club failure, loss of AFC top rankings, not to mention various other failures at age-group football and so on were another stern reminder of lack a predetermined programming, quality, planning and long term systematic strategy in Iran.

The achievement of the existing system, or lack of it to be precise, and the poor mechanism has resulted in the failure to win the men’s and women’s titles of the year, as well as the Asian men’s and women’s coach of the year, which is highly regarded in Asian football but Iran has not won the title for many years. Although Alireza Biranvand is one of Asia’s top male candidates and Katayoun Khosraviar is one of Asia’s top female candidates and Alireza Faghani’s selection as Asia’s best referee is a delight and Iranian football is proud of the presence of such figures, their success is due to their innate talent, individual brilliance, rather than being products of a  Collaborative attitude and system. Their personal efforts are hardly derived from the organized, progressive and systematic football regime.

Alongside the growth and promotion of East Asian football, the Qataris have shown by their impressive achievements in the individual and team sectors that success is not just a matter of genius and talent, but the planning and existence of competent and capable managers who can lead to the achievement of plans and goals. Iran football managers are found wanting in this department and have failed time and again to meet the expectations of the passionate fans.

Recent events and successive failures are another important warnings for Iranian football, proving that the successive qualification for the  FIFA World Cup twice in a row, the AFC Champions League final appearance by Persepolis in 2018, and even the winning AFC footballer of the year in 2004 were all the  outcomes and efforts of talented coaches and footballers, and has nothing to do with management systems or development efforts of Iranian managers or the Ministry of Sports.

It is no secret that besides Iran’s weak Asian football lobby for prizes, the current dilemma is the incompetence of sheer lack of skills by the executives of the football federation incapable of properly executing programs that were practically implemented in countries that are way behind Iran’s capabilities and riches.  Other countries, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, became West Asia’s flagship solo and team achievements.

With the present incompetent football management at the three most important levels (Clubs, Football federation and the Ministry of Sports) any success will be in isolation, any award-winning will be individual brilliance, any titles will be miracles of those poor passionate Iranian fans that have waited for over 4 decades.

The present Iranian football system will NOT produce winners and champions. However, the bleakest of the news is the fact that there is no prospect in sight of a White Knight on horseback who can save Iran’s football. There are plenty of critics armed with rhetorics, but no strong leader to take control of the situation and develop it like a real professional.