Tag: Sardar Azmoun

The story behind the Special One’s interest – Mourinho finally welcomes Azmoun at Roma

Azmoun is set to join the Giallorossi from Bayer Leverkusen. He’s been a long-time target for Mourinho who had already tried to sign the 28-year-old in 2021, during his first season at the Stadio Olimpico.

Mourinho and Roma’s interest was so evident that Azmoun’s at-the-time club Zenit jokingly warned the Special One off their striker. The Iran international eventually joined Bayer Leverkusen the following summer.

Given Zenit’s reluctance to sell Azmun in 2021, Roma eventually signed Shomurodov from Genoa but the Uzbekistan forward didn’t live up to expectations at the Stadio Olimpico scoring just six goals in 48 games and joining Spezia and Cagliari on loan.

Mou and Azmoun crossed paths this past May during a Europa League semifinal between Roma and Bayer Leverkusen when the Special One hugged the striker before his introduction from the bench in the second half.

Roma needed a new center forward this summer following Tammy Abraham’s knee injury in the last Serie A game of 2022-23. At the moment, Andrea Belotti, scorer of a brace in the first league game of 2023-24, is the only center forward available for Mourinho.

Azmoun has arrived in Rome to undergo his medical tests, and his transfer is expected to be made official soon.

The Iranian forward will join the Capital giants on an initial loan with an option to buy for €13 million.

The Giallorossi are looking to add another centre-forward to their ranks before the end of the transfer window, with Lukaku’s name cropping up in recent times.

Jose Mourinho, who has managed Lukaku at both Chelsea and Manchester United, has indicated that the Belgium international could join alongside Sardar Azmoun.

When asked about Roma’s move for Lukaku, Mourinho said on Friday: “I struggle to talk about Azmoun, let alone talk about Lukaku who is still a Chelsea player.”

AZMOUN LAND IN ROME AHEAD OF AS ROMA SWITCH

Sardar Azmoun is set to join Roma from Bayer Leverkusen.

The capital club has finalized a deal for the Iran international who is expected to join the Giallorossi on loan from Leverkusen after two underwhelming seasons in the Bundesliga.

According to Filippo Biafora of Il Tempo, Azmoun has already boarded a flight to Rome and landed in Ciampino airport at 20h00 local time.

The 28-year-old striker will undergo his medical with Roma tomorrow morning (Friday) before signing his contract with the Italian side.

Roma will have a buy option on Azmoun which will amount to around €13 million.

Roma’s transfer market escapades this season can be best described as a total slog. While certain moves happened in a flash, Roma’s hunt for a second striker to complement Andrea Belotti has hit snag after snag, and when Gian Piero Gasperini reportedly blocked Duvan Zapata’s move to Roma, it seemed like Roma might never get their striker.

Well, the hunt for a new striker is over.

Completely out of the blue, Serie A journalists started reporting this morning that instead of continuing to push for Duvan Zapata, Tiago Pinto decided to go in a different direction: signing Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun from Bayer Leverkusen and fulfilling one of José Mourinho’s original requests when he signed with Roma back in 2021.

Of course, back in 2021, Roma was unable to sign Azmoun and instead went to Eldor Shomurodov, while after his near-move to Roma, Azmoun continued with Zenit for one more season before moving to Leverkusen in the summer of 2022. Now, with both Roma and Azmoun unsatisfied with their current situations, it looks as if the Iranian Messi will truly be wearing a Roma kit.

Azmoun comes to Roma on an inexpensive loan with an option deal (what else), with that option valued at somewhere between €10 and €12 million. As opposed to the rumored Zapata deal, which Atalanta reportedly was finally going to accept this morning until Pinto decided to sign Azmoun, bringing in Azmoun on an inexpensive loan with an option likely leaves the door open for the Giallorossi to push hard for a January signing of Marcos Leonardo. A loan signing also makes Roma’s depth chart at striker seem slightly more manageable if Marcos Leonardo is signed, Belotti rediscovers his form, and Tammy Abraham returns from injury.

There are some hitches that prevent this move from being a perfect transfer, despite Roma seeming to beat out AC Milan for the striker’s signature. First is the simple matter that Azmoun is reportedly injured in the short term, with a reported return date of early September. That injury might make him feel right at home with Roma, but it doesn’t solve the immediate problems the Giallorossi are facing in terms of striker depth.

Perhaps more concerning is that Azmoun will undoubtedly be called up by the Iranian National Team for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, which takes place between January 12 and February 10 of 2024. Is it really worthwhile to bring in a striker on loan who’s unavailable right now and is almost guaranteed to be unavailable for an entire month later in the season?

This rumor seems to becoming reality incredibly fast, so expect more analysis on the Sardar Azmoun front once he’s landed in Rome. Keep an eye out on the Marcos Leonardo transfer saga as well, as reports indicate that Manchester United might be trying to swoop in on Roma’s pre-agreement with Santos. So that’s fun.

Sardar Azmoun linked to Milan move.

Sardar Azmoun is the latest striker to be linked with a move to AC Milan but as per Italian media, the interest is not that concrete. In fact, the Rossoneri remain focused on Chelsea’s Armando Broja.

Lorenzo Colombo is expected to join Monza on a season-long loan and therefore, Milan are set to bring in a striker before the window closes. Broja is their primary target, per Italian media, but Azmoun has also been linked with the club.

AC Milan are looking for a striker on the market and they have been linked with several players over the last few weeks. The latest name is Sardar Azmoun, who reportedly already has an agreement with the club.

Milan will send Lorenzo Colombo out on another loan spell for this season (Monza in pole position) and as a result, they are expected to sign a striker before the window closes. The latest player to be linked with the club is Azmoun.

The Iranian international currently plays for Bayer Leverkusen and according to BILD, he has a personal terms agreement with Milan. The latter are thus in talks with the German side over the transfer and it remains to be seen if an agreement can be reached.

Azmoun made 33 appearances for Leverkusen last season, 12 of them from the start, but found the back of the net just four times. At the age of 28, he needs to revive his career and his next destination might be Milan.

Azmoun out injured for two months

Sardar Azmoun, Team Melli and Bayer Leverkusen’s forward have just recently joined his teammates for pre-season training. Azmoun, who had suffered an injury a short while back was immediately tested for physical condition and underwent a medical examination to determine the extent of his old injury.

According to Kicker magazine, Sardar Azmoun claimed that he was injured in the left leg tendon area last week, and thus he will be out of action for 6 to 8 weeks. Kicker announced the definite absence of Azmoun in the first three matches of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, as well as the team’s first match in the DB Pokal. The striker will definitely not be able to play for a team until the middle of September, and if his treatment goes well according to plan, he will be ready for selection for the match against Bayern Munich on September 24. Azmoun struggle with this injury comes at a time that Team Melli has a full training schedule during FIFA Day in September. Iran will play Bulgaria and an African team, which is yet to be named.

The absence of Sardar Azmoun will be quite disappointing for Amir Ghalenoei who was hoping to test the duo Azmoun and Taremi against tougher opposition starting with Bulgaria in five weeks time.

Team Melli lifts the CAFA Nations Cup 2023

Iran’s national football team defeated host nation Uzbekistan in the final of the CAFA tournament to lift the inaugural championship

A goal by the second leading goal scorer of the tournament, Sardar Azmoun in the 48th minute from a nice assist by Mehdi Taremi settled the match early in the second half.

While the two teams were testing each other, a cross from the Uzbek winger saw the clumsy Beiranvand rushing out in an attempt to punch the ball clear without an awareness of the position of his teammates, as such he managed to punch the ball and the head of Saeid Eztollahi leaving the midfielder bleeding in the head. Beiranvand himself was also injured and could not continue. He was replaced by Payam Niazmand. A repeat performance for Beiranvand against England in the FIFA World Cup.

The physical nature of the game against Uzbekistan led by the absent Serco Katanic, due to illness, caused the referee to repeatedly blow his whistle for fouls.

The most serious threat of the first half was the Uzbeks’ counterattack by Uranov in the 43rd minute, where the ball hit the post. Apart from that, no real action was created by the two sets of forwards.

in the second half, Vahid Amiri replaced the ineffective Mehdi Ghaeid in order for the two strikers to get a better service from the flank. Ghalenoei’s change of plan paid off soon after the re-start for the second half. Taremi got the bell from the left flank and saw Azmoun free right in the box, his pass was well controlled by Sardar who then composed himself to shoot powerfully into the net to announce the first goal.

After this goal, Team Melli tried to control the game’s pace rather than go out on an all-out attack. They played a logical possession football with some intricate passing that was delightful. Niazmand was hardly tested by the Uzbeks players who were getting frustrated as the time went on.

Next, the Uzbeks tried to threaten the depth of the Iranian national team’s defense with their long passes, realizing the slow pace of the defenders, especially Hajsafi and Pouraliganji. In one attack, they nearly managed to score when the Uzbeck player found himself in plenty of space left behind Hajsafi and then a dribble past Poyralganji but haste and Nizamand’s timely interception prevented the Uzbel player from scoring.

In a match that neither team managed to take control of and which was about to end victoriously and peacefully for Team Melli, a petulant act from the notorious Hossein Kananizadegan nearly threatened to erupt the match right at the end.

Kananizadegan, who was earlier cautioned by the Russian referee for one of his silly and totally uncalled-for fouls when he pushed the Uzbek keeper, Yusupov, while he was trying to shoot, The center back got the second card in the 90th minute when he started a childish protest against something that he did not like demanding a penalty. His zealous protest led the Russian referee to award him another yellow card and subsequently the red and the marching order.

The center back, sulking and crying foul refused to leave the field and instead, he sat down on the lawn in protest. This aggravated the Uzbek players, a couple of whom tried to lift Kananizadegan up and force him out of the field where he should be rather than on the lawn. An altercation between the two teams’ players followed and if it was not for some cool heads from both sides, the situation could have turned quite ugly scenes.

After Kananizadegan’s petulant act and his dismissal, Ghalenoei did not risk it and replaced Mohammad Karimi who himself replaced Azamoun in the 75th minute, with Majid Hosseini to secure the heart of the defense.

The match ended 1-0 and was a deserved victory for Team Melli.

Oman took third place after defeating Kyrgyzstan 1-0

Second victory for Team Melli in CAFA Nations Cup 2023

Team Melli faced Kyrgyzstan in the final group match of CAFA Nations Cup 2023 this Friday evening. The match ended 5-1 for Iran with Mehdi Taremi scoring a hat trick (34′, 39′, and 56′) and Sardar Azmoun helping himself to a brace (56′ and 66′). Morzaev (52) scored the only goal of the host.

It is the second game in a row by Amir Ghalenoei players which was accompanied by a high-scoring victory, while the possession of the ball and the field was completed in the hands of the Iranian national team.

This team was able to score two goals in the first half by using the players’ tactical intelligence and the combined efforts of Mehdi Taremi. The second half was accompanied by the Kyrgyz shock. A blunder by Morteza Pouraliganji’s in clearing the ball in the box, and Beiranvand poor positioning and awareness, allowed the Kyrg striker to score their only goal of the match, to the delight of about 10,000 spectators present at the “Dolan Omurzakov” stadium in Bishkek.

It was for the second consecutive game against that the second-ranked team in Asia, that Team Melli has been breached with ease due to a combination of factors. That fact that Team Melli was easily scored against must have raised a few alarms in the coaching staff.

Amir Ghalenoei has some serious work to do on the defense.

Also, a point of concern was the failure in the game plan to change offensive moves, as the team tactics is becoming obvious. There has to be a combination of plans to attack as the stronger teams will not be so easily defeated by crosses from the flanks.

Mehdi Taremi showed his high quality when he again scored a hat trick for the second consecutive game.

The introduction of Sardar Azmoun to replace the ineffective Reza Asadi changed the game up front. the Pair Azmoun and Taremi scored three times.

Team Melli has now qualified for the final match to be played against Uzbekistan next Tuesday.

Apart from the strikers Azmoun and Taremi, Mohammad Mohebbi played a solid game as well. Ramin Rezaeian, Mehdi Torabi, and Omid Nourafkan were also at their best. Reza Asadi, Pouraliganji, Beiranvand were the weak links.

Team Melli trounces Afghanistan 6-1

Team Melli outplayed Afghanistan at Dolon Amorzakov Stadium in Bishkek in its first match in the CAFA Nations Cup 2023 winning 6-1.

With that result, Iran takes a commanding lead in Group B of the tournament as it only requires a draw against Host Nation Kyrgyzstan next Friday to qualify for the final match in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Mehdi Taremi scored a hat trick in the match which included a penalty, while Azmoun, Jahanbakhsh, and Asadi helped themselves to one goal each.

Contrary to expectations, Amir Ghalanoei preferred to use most of the main players in the match against the 155th FIFA ranking team in order to get familiarized with the players that will most probably form the core of the starting lineup in the AFC Asian Cup next January.

As predictable, the game was dominated by the favorites Iran from the first minute, and by the 3rd minute, Team Melli could have scored with Mehdi Taremi’s shot on Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s pass, but Afghanistan’s goalkeeper blocked the ball. Iran’s pressure finally paid off in the 20th minute, with Sardar Azmoun opening the score tally after a cross from the left by team captain Ehsan Hajsafi’s cross. Azmoun neatly headed the ball into the net to give Iran a 1-0 lead. One minute later, Team Melli scored again, and this time Mehdi Taremi did the trick to make it 2-0.

Five minutes later, a foul by the Afghan goalkeeper Faisal Hamidi on Tarimi in the penalty area resulted in a penalty, which Taremi himself dispatched cooly into the net in the 28th minute. In the last minutes of the first half, Afghanistan caught the Iranian defense napping and could have scored in their first real attack of the match, when Musawi passed the ball in front of an empty goal but Niazmand managed to grab it just before passing the goal-line.

In the 45th minute, Azmoun skilfully dribbled his markers in the box and sent a neat pass to Taremi, who stepped over the ball and left it to the on-rushing Jahanbakhsh. The Feyenoord winger scored Iran’s fourth goal with a precise shot.

In the second half and in the 51st minute, Mehdi Taremi completed his hat trick when he scored his third goal and Iran’s fifth from a deep pass by Omid Nourafken. In the 57th minute, a foul was committed by Saeed Ezatollahi on the Afghan forward right on the edge of the box, where the Iranian midfielder was left for dead by the nifty Afghan’s dribble. Ezatollahi had no choice but to foul him for a free kick. The resulting shot produced the best goal of the match which was scored by the Afghan captain Farshad Noor with a ferocious shot into the roof of the net. Niazmand had no answer to that shot.

That spectacular free-kick goal made the result more respectable and precious for the underdogs. However, 10 minutes later, Iran scored the sixth goal by the substitute forward Reza Asadi who recorded his first national goal on a back pass by Sadegh Moharrami. In the rest of this match, the efforts of both two teams did not yield results, as Iran came out with a clear 6-1 winner.

Team Melli will face the Kyrgyz team on Friday, June 26 at 18:30 Iran time in the second game of the CAFA Nations Cup 2023.

starting line-up.

Iran: Payam Nazam, Ehsan Hajsafi, Sadegh Moharrami, Mohammad Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Seyed Majid Hosseini, Saeed Ezzatollahi, Omid Nourafkan, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebbi, Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.

Head coach: Amir Ghalenoei

Afghanistan: Faisal Hamidi, Farshad Noor. , Amanullah Sardari, Mehboob Hanafi, Farzad Ataei, Mohammad Saharani, Basit Mushtaq, Ali Basit Nazari, Tofi Eskandari, Yama Sharzad and Omid Mousavi. Head coach: Abdullah Motairi. who was suspended for the rest of the tournament and was watching the match from the stands.

CAFA Nations Cup 2023 Diary.

Taremi’s attack on CAFA!

After the training session of Team Melli under Ghalnoei yesterday, Mehdi Taremi was quizzed by a horde of journalists and reporters on his view n Team Melli. After the customary praise of the head coach, effusing about the qualities of Amir Ghaleneoi. whom he never worked with in his club career, the interesting part was Taremi’s comment on the Technical value of CAFA Nations Cup. ” Such a tournament has no value for The National Team.” The Porto forward decried, albeit indirectly, pointing to the low standard of the participating team, while he said added that he understands that taking part in the tournament is a commitment and needs to be respected.”

When a reporter reminded him that Team Melli has always lagged behind others in the preparation and organization of friendly practice games, Taremi was unimpressed and stuck to what he said!

Perhaps not the wisest of characters on and off the field, as a professional who plays in the top league in Europe, his declaration that it CAFA has little value lacks insight. During the preparation for the FIFA World Cup, Iran managed only two quality friendlies while Japan, Korea, and Saudi Arabia tripled that number.

Taremi forgets that it is not winning in these matters that matter, it is a big chance for the coach in his new job to understand, evaluate, and familiarize himself with the qualities of his players and their capabilities in different formats. What better than a handful of games in a matter of a week or so?

Sardar Azmoun also gave a brief interview after the practice session on the same subject of CAFA. Asked about the value of this tournament for Team Melli’s preparation, Azmoun said that “We have all the respect for all participating teams, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan Oman, and the rest. Our mission as players is to execute what the management has planned, It is not for me to answer that question, you need to direct it at the federation leaders, not players. Our job is to play and represent our country at international levels”

The rebel Kuwaiti coach of Afghanistan makes headlines

The video where the head coach is directing his players to leave the pitch is going viral across social media.

Abdullah Al Mutairi, a mediocre Kuwaiti coach at best with hardly any achievements in his coaching career, beckoned, or rather, forced the Afghan players to leave the field after Kyrgyzstan scored the winner deep into injury time.

The game was level at 0-0 when Kyrgyz Republic found the winner deep in minute 97 of the match which gave them a huge chance of winning the match. However, a massive controversy took place immediately after the goal as Afghanistan’s head coach, in protest, forced his players to leave the playing area before the final whistle. Despite a few attempts by the referee to simmer down the heated situation, the former head coach of the Nepal men’s national team was not in a mad state signaling the referee has been bribed!!.

The sight that followed the walkout by the Afghanistan men’s national team was embarrassing. Kyrgyz Republic’s players celebrated their opponents leaving the pitch while Abdullah Al-Mutairi applauded sarcastically.

People like Al Mutairi with zero credibility as a coach and a track record for controversy, should be put away from football. There is no place for such characters in the beautiful game. Granted, football has become tarnished in the last few years as it is not the purist game, with commercial interests, bribery, and corruption in the World of Football making headlines, the beneficiaries are most the leaders at the top. depriving young footballers of playing their beloved game is bigger than anything. This is why the like of Al Mutairi needs to be made an example with FIFA, AFC, and CAF need to act by giving him the heaviest sentence possible. Long, preferably permanent, suspension from the game should be applied.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1667592843706380288

Mehdi Taremi claims top scorer title while Porto loses the league title to Benfica.

Team Melli and FC Porto forward, Mehdi Taremi claimed his first top-scorer title in one of the top Europe leagues to become the third Iranian after Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun winning such accolades in the Eredivisie and Russuan premiere leagues respectively. Taremi ended the season 2022/23 with 22 goals, 3 more than second-place Goncalco Ramos of Benfica.

Meanwhile, FC Porto have failed in their defense of the Primeira Liga title after Benfica’s home win versus Santa Clara secured the championship, this Saturday, despite the Dragons’ 3-0 triumph at home to Vitória.

Sérgio Conceição’s men were in need of a huge favor from bottom-of-the-table Santa Clara in order to leapfrog Benfica at the top of the table, as Vitória came to town.

Porto held up their end of the bargain with a 3-0 victory, complete with goals from Mehdi Taremi, Otávio, and Evanilson, but an equally-proficient night in front of goal for the Eagles meant the Blue & Whites were kept at bay, trailing top-spot by two points on the final day of the season.

Conceição pulled up no surprises with his XI at the Estádio do Dragão, filled to the brim with hopefuls roaring their team on to a potential back-to-back conquest of the Primeira Liga title. Things began to look very favorable for the Northern giants after their regional heavyweights Vitória found themselves reduced to ten men just two minutes in, following Tomás Händel’s red card for a poor challenge on Matheus Uribe.

Just five minutes later, an incredible run on the counter from Pepê enabled the Brazilian to set Taremi up for the opener, with the Iranian requiring little more than a side-foot toward the goal to break the deadlock.

Unfortunately for the Dragons, the Eagles had also taken the lead via Gonçalo Ramos before doubling their advantage through Rafa Silva, just as Otávio’s strike across goal landed a second blow to Vitória in the 32nd minute.

In the 39th minute, Evanilson made it 3-0 with a classy finish on the half-volley, adding comfort to the scoreline before the half-time interval.

For the second half, the protagonists were the same but the intensity wasn’t quite at the levels demonstrated in the first period, with Vitória holding back Porto’s waning forcefulness and appetite.

The Primeira Liga’s top scorer Taremi neared a brace in the 67th minute with a chipped attempt on Bruno Varela, stopped by the ex-Benfica man before Ibrahima Bamba’s risqué clearance off the line, using his shoulder.

Porto left it a 3-0 – a score matched by Benfica at the Estádio da Luz – as the Dragons bowed out to a second-placed finish behind their bitter rivals, lifting the title for the first time in four years.

 

MEHDI TAREMI SCORING RECORD IN PORTUGAL

 

Season Team Comp Minutes played Appearances Lineups Substitute in Substitute out Substitutes on bench Goal Yellow card Yellow 2nd/RC Red card
2022/2023 Porto PRL 2636 33 31 2 22 2 22 7 0 0
2021/2022 Porto PRL 2434 32 27 5 13 5 20 4 1 0
2020/2021 Porto PRL 2226 34 26 8 20 8 16 1 0 1
2019/2020 Rio Ave PRL 2352 30 26 4 11 4 18 2 0 1

The plight of Team Melli players in Europe

The spiral dive of Iranian footballers’ fortunes have continued since the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

It is safe to say that apart from Mehdi Taremi, in one match against England, none of the Team Melli players displayed any meaningful football or quality in the World Cup to attract interest from European clubs, or even regional Persian Gulf leagues. As if this was bad with no buyers turning up for the Iranian stars, most of the Team Melli players (on the edge or above 30 years old) even household names are struggling in their clubs too,

Perhaps the most noticeable fall from grace and drop in form has to be that of Sardar Azmoun. The days when the central forward of Team Melli was in Russia playing for Zenit, were perhaps the greatest achievement of any Iranian player in history. Not only Azmoun won several titles with the St. Petersburg club, he also achieved the title of top scorer in the Russian league to become only the second Iranian footballer to do so after Alireza Jahanbakhsh in the Netherlands Eredivisie.

Then came that dreadful transfer to the Bundesliga.

No doubt, the injury to Sardar was a great setback at the time when he needed to prove himself at Bayer Leverkusen, however, even after full recovery, Azmoun was far from convincing and lacked the quality to earn himself a place in the starting line up for a middle of the table Bundesliga club. Now, Leverkusen is thinking of cutting their losses by loaning him to other clubs.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is another player whose winning the top scorer title was a bad omen. His time with Brighton in the Premiere league was best to be forgotten. On his return to the Eredivisie with Feyenoord this time, it was hoped that Jahanbaksh will rediscover himself and find the quality that abandoned him in England. It was not to be as Jahanbakhs steady decline and poor showing made him a semi-permanent bench warmer. Jahanbakhsh never utilized the occasional playing time he was afforded to prove himself. It is safe to say that he will be on the unwanted list of Feyenoord by the end of the season, barring a miracle, that is.

in Charleroi, Ali Gholizadeh was a lively and important player. The winger had enough quality to force the Belgian club to renew his contract for another three years, however, the jinx of drop in form hit Gholizadeh too, this time in Belgium. Recently, it seems that the winger of Team Melli has been facing domestic problems complicating the matter even further.

Royal Charleroi will face the Union team in the framework of the 23rd week of the Belgian league. Charleroi’s 20-man squad was announced for this match, while the name of Iranian winger Ali Gholizadeh was once again missing from the list. In last week’s game against Club Brugge, Gholizadeh was left out by head coach Felice Mazo’s, and this happened for the second week in a row. The Belgium website ‘le Soir claimed that Ali Gholizadeh’s mind is somewhere else and this Iranian player is getting closer and closer to the exit door of the club.

Saman Ghoddos continues to be a fringe player in the Premier League with Brentford, with cameo appearances every now and then. Saeed Ezatollahi plays in the second division of the Danish league, which even the local media hardly covers. Ehsan Hajsafi and Milad Mohammadi play in AEK Athens, The latter has seen action in 10 of the 19 league e matches his club played only six as a starter while Hajsafi fared much better with 12 matches starting and 1 substitute out of 19.

Majid Hosseni’s club Kayserispor is currently ranked 8th in the Turkish Süper Lig. With the domestic league at halfway stage, Hossini has featured in 15 out of 19 matches, displaying acceptable form in most of the matches. He is one of the few successful Iranian players in Europe.

The onus on Mehdi Taremi  to continue being the flag bearer of Iranian footballers. Although far from perfect, Taremi continues displaying quality and scoring valuable goals for his club. He is the only Team Melli player who is making headlines in Europe.