Tag: Reza Ghoochannejad

20/05/2018

President Rouhani receives Teami Melli delegation

The President of Islamic Republic of Iran congratulated the players and the technical staff in a meeting with the national football team (Team Melli).

President Hassan Rouhani, Minister of Sports and Youth Masoud Soltanifar , Team head Coach Carlos Queiroz, and Cruz on behalf of the technical staff, Masoud Shojaei, Ehsan Haj Safi, Ashkan Dejagah, Karim Ansari Fard, Pejman Montazeri, Reza Ghoochannejad and Alireza Beyranvand were honored on behalf of the players and the secretary of the Football Federation and the head of the national team.

Rouhani also praised Iran’s refereeing team at the World Cup. Alireza Faghan, Reza Sokhtaneh and Mohammad Reza Mansouri are Iranian referees in the World Cup.

In this ceremony, Jersey No.2 of Team Melli was awarded to Hassan Rouhani.

Team Melli which is heading for the second consecutive World Cup and its fifth time in the World Cup, met with President Hassan Rouhani today (Sunday) and will be scheduled for a few minutes at a ceremony held at the Vahdat Hall of Tehran. Hassan Rouhani met with members of the national team four years ago on the occasion of the national team’s ascent to the 2014 World Cup.

10/06/201710/06/2017

Team Melli on track for the Uzbekistan match

Team Melli is on course in preparation for the crucial match against Uzbekistan on Monday.

FIFA announced the name of the referees for the match. Ahmad Abu Baker Said Al Kaf from Oman will be assisted by Hamed Suleiman and Abu Baker Saleem. The fourth referee is Omar Mubarak all from the Sultanate of Oman.

The Omani referee was the fourth official in 4 matches in the recent FIFA World Cup U-20 championship 2017 in South Korea. He was not assigned any matches to referee. His last international match was in Sydney on 27th March 2017 refereeing the match between Australia and UAE which the host won 2-0.

Meanwhile, the FFIRI has encouraged the fans not to go to Azadi Stadium in matchday unless they carry a ticket on hand. The ticket sales for the match against Uzbekistan is all on-line through a dedicated website. No tickets will be sold on the match day from kiosks.

FIFA was given assurance by the FFIRI and the security authorities that strict measures and tight security will be implemented on match day following the terrorist attacks Parliament and the Ayatollah Khomeini mausoleum a few days back.

Carlos Queiroz is relying on his team’s solid defence with a perfect defensive record of not conceding a goal since the opening match, while he will be deploying a powerful offensive line up front to unsettle the Uzbek defenses. Azmoun has been in top form , while both Ansarifard and Ghoochannejad had their best ever forms playing in Europe. domestically , Mehdi Taremi has been the best Iranian forward and the league’s top scorer.

To supplement the forwards, Jahanbakhsh and Vahid Amiri will be feeding the attackers with their runs and crosses on the flanks , leaving Dejagah and Ezzatollahie to cover the middle of the field.

There are no injuries worries to report in the squad , however , Ashkan Dejagah is short of match practise and made a short appearance for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga following a long injury. Ramin Rezaeian is without a club after he was sacked from Persepolis , nevertheless the defender form was quite good against Montenegro in the recent 2-1 win.

26/02/2017

Glorious days for Iranian strikers in Europe.

Team Melli strikers in Europe, are rewriting the history and reaching feats that their predecessors did not manage or was unthinkable.

Reza Ghoochannejad, Sardar Azmoun , Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Karim Ansarifard the four players who happened to be all playing up front in their teams have done Iran’s football pride by consistently scoring goals in the most competitive of leagues.

Reza “Gucci” Ghoochannejad , who had a torrid couple of season in the lower English League and Persian Gulf countries, gradually found his form after transferring to SC Heereneveen in the Eredivisie. Gucci scored his 14^th goal of the season yesterday in a 3-0 win against Roda JC Kerkrade .

Sardar Azmoun, the golden boy of Iran has scored 7 goals for his team in various competitions, including 4 goals in one season of the UEFA Champions League. He is the only the second Iranian player to score in this competition after Ali Daei who scored 6 goals in two seasons for Hertha Berlin in the UEFA Champions League.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh who has been playing professional in the Eredivisie for 4 seasons now although he is only 23, has enjoyed a good run with his club AZ Alkaamar. He has already doubled his tally from last season scoring 6 goals so far for the Dutch club.

Karim Ansarifard whose football career was seriously being undermined while warming the bench at segunda Division Osasuna in Spain, made it good after transferring to the Greek league. With Panionios he scored 14 goals in one a half season before being grabbed by the league leader Olympiakos Piraeus in the winter transfer window. Karim already opened his account with Olympiakos by scoring a brace in UEFA Europa league against Turkish side Osmanlispor.

.It has never been so good for Iranian players in European leagues. Household names such as Ali Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi , Vahid Hashemian, Karim Bagheri and host of other Iranian players played in Europe especially after that famous FIFA 1998 World Cup. However, despite the relative success , it is definitely not comparable to the success that the current group is enjoying in Europe despite Team Melli lack of success or achievement.

21/12/2016

Iranian-British Ryan Tafazolli sought by Queiroz..

Iran’s national manager Carlos Queiroz has been keeping an eye on Peterborough defender Ryan Sirous Tafazolli who, though born in England, is qualified to play for the country through his father.

The 6ft 5in defender, who started out in the same Southampton academy team as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, has had rave reviews since moving from Mansfield in the summer.

Queiroz, best known here from his days as Sir Alex Ferguson’s No 2 at Old Trafford, will have noted that 25-year-old Tafazolli got on the scoresheet in the 2-0 win at Charlton which moved Peterborough

into the League One play-off places.

Queiroz has previously sought the services of many different Iranian dual nationality players. Only Reza Ghoochannejad and Ashkan Dejagah remain with team.

the 25 years old Tafazolli is born on September 28, 1991 (age 25), in Sutton, United Kingdom. With his height of 1.94 m and a weight of 93 kg, he is a formidable and intimidating figure in the centre of defense.

16/04/2015

Pooladi and Shojaei relegated in QSL.

Al Shahaniya club lost its final match in the Qatar Star League QSL against Al Ahli and were relegated to the second division. Al Shahaniya which has two Team Melli players Mehrdad Pooladi and Masoud Shojaei in their squad , were just promoted last season. The two Iranian players started with the team from the beginning of the season , but their efforts were fruitless and could not help keep the newly promoted team in top flight for more than one season.

Al Shahaniya finished in 13th position with 20 points 7 points ahead of the bottom team Al Shamal which is also relegated along with Al Shahaniya.

Al Ahli which is coached by the ex-Sepahan coach Zlatko Kranjcar and has Jalal Hosseini and Mojtaba Jabbari playing for them finished the season at 5th place. Hosseini and played Pooladi played the full match for their respective teams , while Masoud Shojaei was introduced as a substitute from the second half. Jabbari is currently injured.

Al Wakrah which has Reza Ghoochanejad in their squad , just missed on relegation by beating Al Gharafa 2-1 in the final round of the QSL a result that ensured their survival. Al Wakrah finished with 23 point at 12 place just above the relegated Al Shahaniya. Ghoochanejad made a cameo appearance for Al Wakra when he replaced Ahmad Koheyl Substituted in the final 5 minutes of the game.

QSL title was won by Lekhwiya for the fourth time in their history.

17/02/2015

Ghoochannejad to Al Wakrah Club in QSL.

Team Melli’s forward, Reza Ghoochannejad is on the final stages of completing the formalities to join Al Wakrah Club in Qatar Star League QSL.

Ghoochannejad who was released by his last club Al Kuwait SC and was not desired back at Charlton athletics, has found refuge in Qatar to become the sixth Team Melli player who play in the QSL. Ghoochannejad’s departure from Al Kuwait was mainly attributed to financial issues rather than performance in the very modest Kuwait League.

Ghoochannejad is carrying out his medical and pending successful result of the medical test , he will sign a one year contract with the Qatari club currently lying 12th in the 14 clubs league and only one place above the drop zone and relegation.

Other Iranian players in the QSL are: Ashkan Dejagah (Al Arabi) , Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal) , Masoud Shojaei & Mehrdad Pooladi (Al Shahaniya) , Mojtaba Jabbari & Jalal Hosseini (Al Ahli). Umm Salal is the highest ranked QSL team with Iranian player at 5th place while the rest of the clubs lying in the lower regions. Al Shahaniya is already in the drop zone with 12 points , 4 points less than Al Wakrah one place above them.

11/01/201511/01/2015

Perfect start for Team Melli in AFC Asian Cup

Team Melli defeated Bahrain 2-0 lead in the first match for the two teams in group C of the Asian cup. The goals scored in the dying seconds of the first half by Eshasan Hajsafi , while Masoud Shojaei made it 2-0 in the 71st minute in the second half..

Carlos Queiroz started with the nucleus of the world Cup team with two exceptions. Morteza Pouralganji and Vouriya Ghafoori were replacing Khosro Heydari and Amir Hossein Sadeghi in the defense line

hajsafy-scores-vs-Bahrain — Hajsafy’s strike seconds after his shoot floats over towards the goal.

The Iranian fans in the Melbourne created a wonderful atmosphere turning the Rectangle stadium into what the Australian TV commentator called a “Mini Azadi”. The vociferous fans loud chant was only challenged by a very whistle happy Australian referee whose continuous whistling threatened to spoil what was an intriguing encounter. Both teams started lively sharing possessions without creating any serious scoring chances.

Ashkan Dejagah was by far the most active of Iran’s players on the right flank. He managed to give the Bahrain defense some real work out, however the ex- Fulham player delivery and finishing were quite poor in comparison to his skills and work rate . He missed a glorious chance to give Iran the lead when Hajsafy put him through with a brilliant pass in the box ,

Ashkan only managed to find Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar’s legs instead while he had better options including squaring to unmarked Ghoochannejad,

The game went on with Iran having a strong grip on the match but the end product was lacking despite being the more controlling side.

And then came a brilliant piece of work by Ehsan Haj Safi from a corner kick in the finals seconds of the half. Teymourian’s floating corner kick, was too close to Bahrain Keeper Seyed Jaffar who ball punched it away only to find Hajsafy. The Sepahan midfielder controlled the ball with a perfect touch before he chips a wonderful ball with side footing over a crowd of players in front of the goal into the net. A truly wonderful strike by one of the two best Iran players of the half.

The first half ended 1-0

Shojaei sidefoots his shoot towards the far end of Bahrain keeper

The second half continued with the rhythm of the first with both teams playing openly. The first real threat came from Bahrain on the stroke of the hour when Alireza Haghighi mad his first save of the match from a powerful strike by Bahrain’s Jessi John , whose ferocious shot was deflected by Iran’s keeper. However , 10 minutes later Haghighi left the crowd ins suspense and anxiety for a few seconds when he collected a ball and then ran into Bahrain’s Fouzi Aaish who dropped on the ground. The referee whistled for a foul, thankfully it was against Bahrain player who protested and was clearly upset at the decision. The replay clearly showed that it was in fact Haghighi who charged into Aayesh. Hs indiscretion and foolish act could have been quite costly except for the mercy of the Aussie referee.

Not long after that incident , Iranian fans were relieved to see Team Melli scoring again. in the 71st minute Masoud Shojaei , whose contribution to the team up to that moment was absolutely minimal , scored from another corner kick. The floating ball was sent to the left corner of the stretched arms of Bahrain keeper to end up in the net. 2-0 for Iran

With the 2 goal margin , Team Melli opted to control the match leaving the Bahraini team to venture forward. Queiroz introduced his new players , with Azmoun , Jahanbakhsh and finally Soroush Rafei coming into the game. Although their contribution were minimal , it gave the team a new look and certainly raised the confidence of the young players.

Despite Bahrain’s gallant attempts , except for one case where Haghighi had to deflect a shot into a corner, Iran defense remained solid and intact. The rookie Pouraliganji was superb in partnering the veteran Hosseini in the middle of the defense, Ghafoori on the right flank was also a revelation while Pooladi was the same solid defender of the World Cup games.

The lack of creativity on the midfield was quite evident. Nekounam and Teymourin doing their routine defensive duties and hardly venturing towards opposition territories. Masoud Shojaei , as poor as always and looked like a lost figure in the midfield simply walking the match off , while leaving the bulk of the offensive load on Hajsafy and Dejagah to feed Team Melli’s lone forward Reza Ghoochannejad who was trapped between 5 Bahrain defenders.

Despite all the preparations problems and many side issues that the team and coach Queiroz had to endure with , this was perfect start for Team Melli . There was the obvious shortcomings but at the end of the day , Iran had the higher quality and experience to finish the match on winning all the 3 points and deservedly so.

26/12/2014

Reading into Queiroz squad

The number of new players in this squad is quite refreshing. In we add them to the already younger or less experienced players Carlos Queiroz seems to have done a fine job in his selection. 5 uncapped players are selected (Frouzan , Biranvand, Amiri , Rezaeian, & Pouraliganji) in addition to the low experienced Azmoun and Ghafoori as the new faces in the team heading for Australia.

However, despite the excitement about the selection of new players, the old guard will undoubtedly play the key pivotal role in Queiroz game plans once the competition kicks off. Chances of any of the new faces making an impact by given playing time is quite remote and quite uncharacteristic of the conservative Portuguese coach, who prefers subtle and gradual changes.

The biggest problem with this team, like the ones before is the absence of creative midfield player. The selection of Iman Mobali in the squad for the South African camp was a blessing as it signaled a slight shift in Queiroz mentality. Mobali is one of the few masters of creativity in Iran’s football. He is a much mature and composed player now that he reached his thirties. His vision, long balls and reading of the game is second to none. Only Mojtaba Jabbari can claim anything near the quality of Iman Mobali.

Unfortunately, Mobali was not selected in the final squad, although there are still two more places to be filled. Undoubtedly, one will be reserved for Montazeri who is on the injury list at this time hoping that he might recover in time. So, the short lived excitement of Queiroz possible tactical switch in Australia and inclinations for offensive game plan seemed to be premature presumption. Queiroz, seems to stick to his tried and trusted defensive game, the one that bore the world to death against Nigeria and Argentina in Brazil.

The finest way to look at the selection of the new players is to look forward to building a better team to compete in FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers. Any other ideas or notions about them being part of the Asian Cup adventure seems to be more like a fairytale.

The major issue in this squad is the form of those players that Queiroz has put his full trust in. The small set of players Queiroz calls on through thick and thin , those he entrusts deliver, the likes of Dejagah , Ghoochannejad , Nekounam , Teymourian, Sadeghi , Hosseini, Shojaei , Heydari and Beigzadeh. With the best intent and benefit of the doubt given to this group, none has performed anything more than average with their clubs. The standard of Dejagah , Teymourian , Ghoochjanejad and Nekounam has been on the decline in this season. Chances of them turning their dismal lackluster performances at their clubs abroad into a championship winning performance in Australia , is yet another of those wishful thinking that the fans put so much hope upon in Team Melli.

Not all Team Melli players have disappointed though. Arguably the best two who performed above average, and at times excellently are HajSafy and teammate Khalatbary. The first is already in the squad, the latter is in the black list of Queiroz hence he is out of the team. The Portuguese coach will no doubt contest the existing of a blacklist in his pocket but the reality is that Queiroz spends too much energy on off the field side issues, firefighting , counting the numbers of his enemies and who said what rather than focusing on the game itself, the league and the standard of players. If his off field energy was properly channeled , he would have done a better job that selecting a feeble Karim Ansarifard , who has failed to score or impress with a second division Spanish club, while ignore a youthful inspiring and hungry striker such as Sajjad Shabajzadeh or Mehdi Sharifi.

hajsafy surrounded — Ehsan Hajsafy surrounded by Uzbek players

A few days back, Queiroz admitted that Iran is not even the favorite to qualify from the group, let alone win the title, Qatar and UAE are the two favorites from Group C. That might upset a few million fans, but Queiroz for what it’s worth, is a realistic man in this statement. You cannot claim that you are the best team and vying for the title with such a shambolic pre-tournament preparation. Chaotic, disorganized and under-funded, as team Melli was in the last few months cannot claim anything but to perform the best they can , nothing more and nothing less.

There is a wide gap between the expectations and aspirations of Team Melli fans and those at the helm of the team. While the absolute majority of fans polled in here at TeamMelli.com and in the Navad TV show think of winning the title or reaching the final, the realists would be happy with making it out of the starting black and into the knock out stages.

Ashkan+Dejagah+Thailand+v+Iran+jyARYeOsHF3l — Ashkan Dejagah vs Thailand

26/12/2014

The misfortunes of Team Melli forwards.

With around 3 weeks to go for Iran’s first match in the AFC Asian Cup 2015, Team Melli’s bad fortunes continues unabated,

Reza Ghoochannejad , the forward who singlehandedly took Iran to the World Cup 2014 with his precious vital goals in the qualifiers , has just been shown the door by a uninspiring team, low level team playing in less than modest league. Ghoochannejad has been told by Al Kuwait FC that his services are no longer required and has to return to his club , Charlton Athletics. Gucci in fact scored 7 goals for AL Kuwait during the half season , but it was deemed not a good return on investment that the Kuwaiti club which has paid over a million Euro for his services.

Reza Ghoochannejad scored the only goal for Team Melli in the World Cup against Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 3-1 defeat.

Karim Ansarifard, the young player who promised so much in the last few years , has fared much worse than Gucci . The reserve Team Melli forward has not managed to score any goals for his club Osasuna during his 8 matches and 351 minutes of playing time.

Ansarifard has been told by the Pamplona club that he needs to find another club in the January transfer windows as he will be no longer wanted in Osasuna where his Captain Javad Nekounam is a key player in the Segunda Division side.

Team Melli is not renowned for their offensive prowess in Asia , as the tactical policy of the team is built around solid defense, however with their two main forwards being out of a job , it does not augur well for the team in Australia.

Just as expected after Umm Salal last league game, Pejman Montazeri’s injury looks like a serious one. It has been announced today that Team Melli’s central defender will not be available for selection for the Asian Cup due to the injury.

Another player who might miss the trip to Australia is Khosro Haidary whose recovery has been slow from his injury. The Esteghlal right back is currently under special observation.

06/08/201406/08/2014

Al Kuwait ٍSC gets Reza Ghoochannejad.

While the one goal scored by Iran in the World Cup along with two defeats, did not impress any European clubs and we failed to see any real interest from even second tier Europeans, it was believed that the scorer of the lone Iranian goal would find a better fortune than a lower tier league club in England and stand a good chance in getting a decent club playing top-level football.

Reza Ghoochanejad was not a happy man at Charlton Athletics, a club that struggled for survival and eventually scraped through and maintained it English Championship league status for the next season. Even in this frail team, Reza did not manage to find a fixed starting role. He was hardly used and only managed to score one goal. The writing was on the wall that Reza would seek out of this fortunes elsewhere, but very few predicted that he will fly 7 hours east and precisely to Kuwait to continue his professional career.

After Nekounam left Al Kuwait SC, Reza Ghoochanjed has repacked him. The news is still not official by Charlton Athletics yet, but it seems that it is a pretty done deal.

Why Al Kuwait SC?

The Kuwaiti league is one of the poorer leagues in the Persian Gulf region. It had no representation in the Asian Champions League for many years although the next edition will see of the Kuwait clubs playing in the ACL. The overall standard of the Kuwait league is way behind the likes of Saudi Arabia, Iran , Qatar and UAE. The Kuwaiti clubs do not get the generous government support that the other Gulf Arab countries get and even much less that Iranian clubs , which are mostly government-owned anyway. As such , the financial structure of the Kuwait clubs and football league is pretty feeble to moderate at best. The infrastructure and the facilities are also of a lower standard than the rest of its neighbors. It seems since the Iraqi invasion in 1990 and the ensuing liberation war , Kuwait has completely forgotten about investment in football.

So , who is it that they can afford the likes of Nekounam and Choochannejad?

Kuwait has many foreign players from as far as Brazil , plenty from the African continents and quite a few Arabs, whoever , these are mostly seventh or eight grade footballers. You would never hear of a player in the stature of Raul Gonzales, the ex-Real Madrid Captain heading to a Kuwaiti club , for example.

With the exceptional and relatively immense wages that Nekounam was getting in Esteghlal , Al Kuwait SC must have either matched or improved on it for Iran’s Captain to be tempted. It would be the same situation with Ghoochannjad who had offers from Qatar and Iranian clubs as well. Al Kuwait is quite obviously, the richest club in Kuwait , although not the most popular one. That title goes to AL Qadisiya and Al Arabi.

On the bright side of this transfer is that Al Kuwait SC will be one of the country’s representatives in the 2014/15 AFC Asian Champions league and many Iranian will be able to see him play. The chances are pretty strong that Al Kuwait will be playing in a group along with an Iranian club.