Tag: World Cup

FIFA ranking is deceiving , Is Iran really the number one football nation in Asia?

Although Team Melli has been topping the FIFA Ranking in Asia for many months and years, the reality of the football results, performances of other Iranian teams, global reputation, management, and administration chaos tells a completely different story. A close analysis of the above shows that Iranian football is lagging behind major Asian footballing nations in recent years. According to the FIFA ranking system for the Senior National Football teams, Iran's team has often been at the top rank of Asian teams in the FIFA rankings in recent years. This ranking cannot be questioned because it has its own criteria and points are awarded for winning in each match, while each match has a factor based on importance and the position/rank of the opponents. So, it is quite scientific and the process v=cannot be faulted in any way. However, by examining various fields and indicators, including the superiority of Iranian football in the competition with important teams in the world at the club and junior levels football and the results obtained In the AFC Asian Cup, World Cup rounds, and Olympics, we find out that Iranian football is by far not the top nation in Asia as we have always been led to believe. Now the question is why Iranian football has not been able to get results in important Asian competitions for many years. Why has a team that claims to be a contender in Asian football not achieved any important honor in the last 30 years in the club division and in the last 40 years at the national level?  

1/ Performance in the World Cup

Performance of Asian teams in the World Cup (teams that advanced to the second round are highlighted in blue)  
Teams Korea Rep Japan Saudi Arabia Iran Australia Korea DPR
Played 34 21 16 15 16 7
Won 6 5 3 2 2 1
Drawn 9 5 2 4 4 1
Lost 19 11 11 9 10 5

2/ Performance in the Olympics

46 years have passed since Iran's last participation in the Olympics, and by the time the Paris Olympics begin, this longing will reach 48 years. For every Olympic qualifier, failures and lackluster results lead to elimination from the early stages of qualifiers. Iran's Omid national team fails to advance to the Olympics tournament after tournament. The following is the list of Asian Teams that qualified for the Olympics since 1980.
1980 IRAQ SYRIA  KUWAIT
1984 IRAQ SAUDI ARABIA QATAR
1988 IRAQ KOREA REP CHINA
1992 QATAR KOREA REP KUWAIT
1996 JAPAN KOREA REP SAUDI ARABIA
2000 JAPAN KOREA REP KUWAIT
2004 JAPAN KOREA REP IRAQ
2008 JAPAN KOREA REP AUSTRALIA
2012 JAPAN KOREA REP UAE
2016 JAPAN KOREA REP IRAQ
2020 JAPAN KOREA REP AUSTRALIA SAUDI ARABIA
 

3/ The AFC Asian Cup

The longing for lifting the AFC Asian Cup trophy by Team Melli, which Iran won three times in a row before the revolution, is now 47 years old, and Iran has not won the title since the revolution. by the next edition of the Asian Cup, this longing will last half a century. This is despite the fact that since Iran's last championship in the Asian Cup, Japan won 4, Saudi Arabia won 3, and Kuwait, Iraq, Australia, and  Qatar have won the title once in Iran's absence.
YEAR CHAMPION FINALIST THIRD
1980 KUWAIT KOREA REP IRAN
1984 SAUDI ARABIA CHINA KUWAIT
1988 SAUDI ARABIA KOREA REP IRAN
1992 JAPAN SAUDI ARABIA CHINA
1996 SAUDI ARABIA UAE IRAN
2000 JAPAN SAUDI ARABIA KOREA REP
2004 JAPAN CHINA IRAN
2007 IRAQ SAUDI ARABIA KOREA REP
2011 JAPAN AUSTRALIA KOREA REP
2015 AUSTRALIA KOREA REP UAE
2019 QATAR JAPAN IRAN & UAE
  4/ Performance in the AFC Champions League Pas won the Asian Club Cup in the 1992-1993 season. Three decades have passed since then. In this competition, Iranian club teams have never been able to win the championship title in its new format. The Asian Champions League has been held in a new format since 2002. The number of championships of Asian teams since the start of the Champions League: South Korea: 6 championships Japan: 4 championships Saudi Arabia: 4 championships Australia: 1 championship Iran: Zero  

5/ The number of legionnaires in the 5 prestigious leagues of the world

   
JAPAN KOREA DPR AUSTRALIA IRAN SAUDI ARABIA
Bundesliga 9 4 4 1 0
English Premier League: 2 2 1 1 0
La Liga 1 1 2 0 0
Serie A 2 0 0 0 0
14 7 7 2 0
   

Iran Criticized for Slow Preparations for Qatar

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — While Japan and South Korea will start fine-tuning for the World Cup with high-profile warm-ups against Brazil next month, there are concerns in Iran that Asia’s top-ranked team has been slow off the mark with its preparations.

Iran is in Group B with England and the United States at the World Cup, which kicks off Nov. 21 in Qatar. But while there have been reports of a June friendly with New Zealand and talk of a potential match with Canada, so far Iran hasn’t confirmed its warm-up commitments.

“There appears to be no concrete plan,” Afshin Ghotbi, head coach of Iran’s national team from 2009-11, told The Associated Press. “Time is of the essence and preparation is vital to the success of Iran.

“Most teams have already arranged matches and many good opponents are not available anymore. Iran needs to urgently set up appropriate fixtures in the build-up to the World Cup.”

There has been criticism within Iran about the lack of movement so far, with a Tehran Times editorial last month headlined: “Iran wastes golden chance as always.” The editorial hoped for greater urgency when the soccer federation meets to choose a new president on May 10.

Interim president Mirshad Majedi has said no games will be announced until details are finalized.

As the country is under international sanctions, attracting teams to Tehran or traveling overseas can be more complex for Iran than its Asian rivals.

Ghotbi wants to see Iranian players such as Medhi Taremi at FC Porto and Sardar Azmoun, with Bayer Leverkusen of Germany, given every chance possible to succeed in Qatar.

Iran, No. 21 in the FIFA rankings and currently coached by Dragan Skocic, has qualified for five previous World Cups but has never progressed past the first round.

“I faced many of these challenges during my tenure, as did those who came before and after me,” Ghotbi said. “It is frustrating as Iran has a golden generation of players and if they have the best support and preparation then they can reach their true potential on the world stage.”

Carlos Queiroz, Ghotbi’s successor as head coach, complained about the quality of opposition that Iran faced leading up to the 2018 World Cup when it prepared with games against Turkey, Lithuania, Sierra Leone, Algeria, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

“If you copy the preparations of the last four World Cups, you don’t go anywhere. It’s a simple conclusion,” Queiroz said in 2017. At the same time, seven Iranian players took to social media to ask that the country to emulate South Korea when it came to preparations.

This time around, South Korea, drawn in Group H along with Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana, will take on Brazil in Seoul on June 2 and then meet Chile four days later and Paraguay on June 10.

Japan will start preparations for Group E — containing Germany, Spain, and either Costa Rica or New Zealand — by taking on Brazil and Paraguay in the first week of June.

Saudi Arabia has also qualified from Asia and Qatar gets an automatic spot in the tournament as host. Australia and the United Arab Emirates will meet in an Asian playoff for the right to take on the fifth-place team from South America for another place in Qatar.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh to Brighton & Hove Albion !

The transfer of Erdivisie top scorer Alireza Jahanbakhsh to Brighton & Hove Albion is a certainty and a very special one for AZ . The Iranian is sold for 24 million euros and with that he is the most expensive AZ Alkmaar player of all time.

There has been lots of speculation about the destination of the Iranian , with the English Premier League being the favorites. Jahanbakhsh had a quiet World Cup in Russia and he was  bound to follow the coach defensive game plan thus limiting his effectiveness in the offensive duties. however, many clubs have been monitoring him well before the World Cup.

Star on the rise The Iranian winger has been one of the standout players in the Eredivisie in recent years and he has the potential to be an exciting capture for a Premier League team. He showed flashes of his talent during the World Cup with Iran and he is now ready to test himself at a higher level. Last season, he finished as the Eredivisie top scorer with 21 goals with one coming every 135 minutes in the competition. In addition to that, he contributed 12 assists and was regularly causing problems for opposition defences. His feats are even more impressive considering he wasn’t playing for one of the top two teams. That said, his performances allowed AZ Alkmaar to finish above Feyenoord who had won the league as recently as the 2016/17 campaign. The 24-year-old delivered consistency in the Eredivisie with 4.3 shots, 3.4 dribbles and 2.4 key passes. They are huge attacking numbers and underline the quality that he does possess. Although it is unlikely that he could reproduce these with a team like Brighton, he would represent an upgrade on their current options. Transfer Record

AZ Alkmaar old transfer record was in the name of Vincent Janssen. Tottenham Hotspur paid AZ about 22 million euros 2 years ago  for Janssen,. Jahanbakhsh, was even rumored to have had his medical with Leicester City , but Brighton, surprised everyone with this hefty offer.

 Brighton's Dutch player Davy Pröpper, commented on the transfer "The transfer of the Iranian to Brighton is almost concluded with a few minor details and will soon become official."

It was already a lucrative transfer summer for AZ. Earlier, striker Wout Weghorst was sold to VfL Wolfsburg for more than 10 million euros. Top scorer It will be a tough job to replace that pair. Alireza Jahanbakhsh became top scorer of the Eredivisie last season with 21 goals, 3 more than teammate and buddy Weghorst.

Scandalous Saudi 

Fahad al-Mirdasi, a Saudi referee lined up to take part in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has been removed from duty for Saturday's Saudi King's Cup. He has been referred to investigating authorities - after it was alleged he contacted the president of one finalist requesting payments. British referee Mark Clattenburg, also the head of the Saudi officials' association, will be calling the King's Cup Final instead of Al-Miradsi, whose career is in tatters over with reports of recorded phone calls indicating cash payments, team numbers and games in which he was involved in illegal activity. The story continues to develop, and analysts say more murky details of the management of Saudi football are likely to emerge in the coming weeks.

The case of this Saudi referee uncovers a long line of corrupt politics in football in the Arabian Middle East countries. High stakes and the ruling families immense influence in football, has dragged the beautiful game in disrepute and there is nowhere that this is more evident than the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

No one exactly knows how many games and referees have been bought for certain, but only the naive or those who benefit from such corrupt act will deny the existing of referees for sale in Saudi Arabia. It goes beyond offering money to buy games, threats have been used against those who dare to refuse or speak up. Many Saudi critics talk about the Englishman Mark Clattenburg , who himself was not immune from controversy in England, as the first step towards fighting favoritism, nepotism and corruption in Saudi football. The re-building will take years but the mere fact that the story about Fahad al-Mirdasi has made the media , is in itself a progress in this despot regime and police state.

"Iran is facing its biggest challenge in history" Queiroz

“We’ve been drawn in the toughest group in the World Cup. Morocco are the best African team and the team’s results in the last two years speak for themselves. They have not conceded goals and claimed the African Nations Championship,” Queiroz said in an interview with Khabar Varzeshi sports daily.

“Spain and Portugal are also favorites to win the title. To book a place in the next stage is the biggest challenge in Iran’s football history,” the former Real Madrid coach added.  

“We will play at the World Cup for our pride, that’s why I am here and I believe that those who don’t back the idea are the people who don’t respect Iran’s football,” the Portuguese coach stated.

“For us, to be in knockout stage means conquering Mt Everest. This is the highest mount in front of Iran’s football and all of coaches and officials must take it seriously,” Queiroz concluded.  

Iran have been drawn in Group B along with Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

The Persians will kick off the campaign with a match against Morocco at Saint Petersburg on June 15.

Team Melli, meanwhile, face Spain in Kazan on 20 June before meeting Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Saransk five days later.

Team Melli Coaches performances and Queiroz vs. Ghalenoei debate.

The war of words between Ghalenoei and Queiroz has reached its peak after the conclusion of the Asian Cup 2015. The warring coaches are undermining each other verbally, with fans taking sides in debates on forums.

What does the figure say about the performances of the two coaches? It must indicate to some degree the success (or failure) of the coach, if results are indeed the catalyst.

 Along with these warring coaches, we have included another 4 former Team Melli coaches performance data for a meaningful comparison.

Head to head

Direct comparison between Queiroz and Ghalenoei indicates that the Iranian coach has better record in offense and winning categories, while the Portuguese has a better defensive record.

Both have now played in the Asian Cup. Both achieved identical result. Both lost at quarter finals stage with penalty shootout. Queiroz takes the edge with winning 3 out of 3 matches against Ghaelnoei’s 2 wins and 1 draw.

Queiroz qualified for the World Cup , but that is after being in charge for 3 years. Ghalenoei lasted only 1 year and never had the chance to coach in the World Cup qualifiers.

Offense:

 Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan had the best attacking record amongst the 6 coaches with his team averaging a very respectable 2.73 goals a match. This is indeed a high goal average scored and a record that might stand for decades. The worst offensive team was Afshin Ghotbi with only 1.30 goals per match , the second worst is Carlos Queiroz with 1.59

Winning percentage:

 the most wins percentage goes to Ali Daei whose teams had as 64% rate. Daei is , closely followed by Mayeli-Kohan with 60%. The worst is Ghotbi teams with only 53.33% while the second worst is Queiroz with only 54.35%.

Defense:

Best defensive team goes for Carlos Quieroz with his team conceding .52 goals per match. The worst defense was Branko Ivankovic teams conceding shy of a goal per game ,  at 0.93.  Ghotbi was second worst in defense close to Ivankovic at .90 goal per game.

We leave it to you to decide who the better coach in terms of performance is. What is clear for us , though , is that Carlos Queiroz record , is far from being the best overall coach despite holding the job for 4 years now.

Table

 # Name Nationality Matches W D L win % GF GA GFPG GAPG
1 Mohamad MAYELI-KOHAN Iran 40 24 10 6 60.00% 109 27 2.73 0.68
2 Branko IVANOKOVIC Croatia 56 33 14 9 58.93% 115 52 2.05 0.93
3 Amir Ghalenoei Iran 17 10 6 1 58.82% 30 12 1.76 0.71
4 Ali Daei Iran 25 16 6 3 64.00% 44 15 1.76 0.60
5 Afshin Ghotbi USA 30 16 6 8 53.33% 39 27 1.30 0.90
6 Carlos Queiroz Portugal 46 25 14 7 54.35% 73 24 1.59 0.52