Tag: Zlatko Kranjčar

Kranjčar ultimatum to FFIRI  

The Croat coach has given Ali Kaffashian and the football federation up to this weekend to decide on his  approval and appointment as the head coach of Omid Team (U23) else he will be responding to other offers. Peykan is the prime candidate for the services of the Zlatko Kranjčar and has been quite active in pursuing him following the sacking of their coach, Mansour Ebrahimzadeh last week.

Kranjčar was all set to join the FFIRI as a coach with approvals granted internally with in the federation administrations including the president himself. However, a telephone call from the Ministry of Youth and Sport put a halt to all that. A day after Kaffashian confirmed to the press that Kranjcar is appointed he retreated and changed his wording by claiming that there are a few pending issues!

It is not clear what objection the Ministry has against Kranjcar appointment. Although the international football laws of FIFA prohibits government interference in football and has already sanctioned Iran for doing so right after the World Cup 2006, such meddling and imposition is quite common under the table and behind closed doors. With a submissive and compliant management at the helm of FFIRI, the decision making process of the federation must seek the blessing and approval of the Minister before implementation, else the wrath of the Ministry.

Mahmoud Goudarzai , the Minister of Youth and Sports.

Despite the on-going denials of the Ministry and its legal arm, it is a common knowledge that Minister , Mahmoud Goudarzi was instrumental in delaying the finalization of Queiroz contact until the 11th hours. The Minster of Youth and Sports has been quite active in manipulating managerial and coaching position in its two prize assets, Persepolis and Esteghlal which are authoritatively, wholly owned by the government.

Mahmoud Goudarzi , a former wrestler, was the fourth candidate that was suggested by President Hassan Rouhani to the Parliament for approval as Minister of Youth and Sport. 3 previous candidates of  the President were rejected by the parliament. Iran is the only Middle East country that has such a democratic system.  Mahmoud Goudarzi won the approval by a small margin.

 

Barazay “Kranjcar is the perfect coach for Omid Team”

The Captain of Team Melli U-23 , known as the Omid Team , has spoken to ISNA about the aspirations and the prospects of the team.

Behnam Barazay , the current Rah Ahan player and the Captain of the U23 team , believes in strong preparation games ” unless we play against quality teams for our friendly games to get the big experience , I am afraid we will not be able to qualify for the Olympic Games.”

The young striker , is also confident that the Croat coach Zlatko Kranjcar is the best candidate for the Omid team ” He has coached at different levels, his record is quite good , he coached in Iran and his approach is professional. I believe he is the perfect coach for Omid Team.”

“Although many players prefer to work with Iranian coaches, and I am one of those players , as communication is easier , however a coach in the class of Kranjcar can make a big difference.” Barazay added.

Regarding the recent failures specifically in the Asian Games in Incheon, Barazay said ” The players were under tremendous stress after the Asian Games. In the Qatar camp , quite a lot of work was done on the psychological aspect but fear of losing still causes a lot of stress.”

About his own future career and whether he will follow his teammates Alireza Jahanbaksh and Sardar Azamoun in to Europe,  Barazay Did not want to think about that for the time being although he received an offer from an Arab team. ” All my concentration right now is on the form of my team Rah Ahan. I have  not succeeded in gaining the full confidence of Hamid Estili yet. My goal is to do that. I need to get it right here in Iran before thinking about abroad and becoming a legionnaires”

The situation with the appointment of Kranjcar took another weird twist when it was decided that a committee within the football federation will have to examine the Croat coach resume and give its seal of approval before the coach can be appointed. This development cam up aright after Ali Kaffashian and Habib Kashani confirmed the appointment of the ex-Sepahan Esfahan coach as the head coach of the Omid Team. Many observers are suspecting some interference by the Ministry of Sport who always claims that they have no role in appointing coaches for National Team , but in reality they exert pressure on the FFIRI and Kaffashian to pass their own candidates.

 

Behnam Barazay

Behnam Barazay

Kranjcar appointed as the head coach of Omid Team.

FFIRI has approved the appointment of the Croat Zlatko Kranjčar as the head coach of Omid Team (U23/Olympics) with immediate effect.

Mehr News Agency reported  at the meeting of the board of the FFIRI , the President Ali Kaffashian cleared the way for the coach Zlatko Kranjčar’s work to start immediately.

Fereydoun Esfahanian acting as a spokesman for the federation, confirmed the news to the media.

The selection of  Zlatko Kranjčar was expected as the terms were agreed with Kashani , who is the Manager of the Omid Team and the formality of board and President approval was obtained today.

As reported earlier , it seems that Carlos Queiroz has washed his hands completely from the Omid Team after his compatriot and close friend Vingada was fired from his job following the dreadful performance and result in the Asian Games. Although the federation officials have denied any rift between the two coaches, it should be taken with a pinch of salt. The fact is that when Kranjčar was the coach of Sepahan , he was very critical of Queiroz ways and his total focus on Team Melli plans without considering the interest of the clubs during the World Cup preparation program. Some accusations have been exchanged between the two , at least in the media. With the way that Queiroz have been operating , it is doubtful that he will forget such criticism so soon. He is not known to be kind to people who do not agree with him and does hold it against them. It will be interesting to see if the two can forget the past and work together.

Kranjčar has not publicly commented on the subject.

Kranjčar main goal is to qualify Iran’s U23 to the Rio Olympic Games 2016.

Zlatko Kranjcar on the brink of signing for Omid Team

Jafar Kashani , the Manager of Iran’s Omid team (Olympics) has announced that his federation and Zlatko Kranjcar are on the brink of signing a contract for the appointment of the Croat , formerly Persepolis and Sepahan coach , as the head coach of Iran’s Olympic team.

“I am very confident that it is a matter of days for the final contract to be signed. From my side, I am fully satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation and quite pleased by the way that Kranjcar has negotiated the contract with us. He is a professional man, with high degree of integrity and values. He is not the opportunist type who negotiates even the minutest of detail regarding money or payments. Kranjcar has declared that if he fails to take Iran to the Olympics, he will resign his job with expecting any compensation or severance pay.”

Kranjcar watch Omid Team in Qatar alongside Kashani

Kashani and Kranjcar met in Doha where the Omid team is setting camp. Kashani concluded that “as far as I am concerned it is a done deal; however, I am not the only person in the federation. The process needs to go through the right channels before it is finalized, sealed and delivered.”

Kashani refused to disclose the financial deal but said it is not very far from what Vingada was getting. The proposed contract will be for 21 months until the Rio Olympics.

 

“Omid Team “, translated into English  means “Hope Team”. It refers to the Olympic or the U23 team.

 

Zlatko Kranjcar in negotiation with FFIRI.

Zlatko Kranjcar , the Croatian coach who has resigned his post as Sepahan Head coach on 8th September 2014 , will be back in Tehran to negotiate with the FFIRI about the prospects of taking over the U-23 team head coach job.

The 57 Years old Croat, is an experienced coach in Iranian football as he coached Persepolis in 2009 before being pushed aside following some turmoil in the club that brought Daei  in his place. Kranjcar went on to coach the Montenegro national team from February 2010 until his dismissal in September 2011.

On 28th October 2011 Kranjcar signed a two years contract to coach Sepahan Esfahan replacing his compatriot Luka Bonacic.

The current coach of U-23 team is the Portuguese Nelo Vingada , a close friend and colleague of Carlos Queiroz. Vingada’s mission was to take the U23 team to the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio where Iran has failed to qualify for 40 years. The first real test of Vingada , ended in a catastrophe as his star-studded team faltered against humble and third tier Asian teams such as Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan.

The usual feeble excuses for this shameful failure followed, none of which made any lasting impact compared to the magnitude of the results. It also turned out that the FFIRI has spent millions investing in   preparation of this particular team including taking part in several tournaments and training camps.

Vingada has a problem with the tax authority which is preventing him from returning back to his job in Tehran.

Zlatko Kranjcar resume is void of any coaching job at youth level. His expertise has always been at club and country football teams level, however , his total of nearly 4 years’ experience in Iran and his understanding of Iranian mentality , gives him the edge on others. Zlatko Kranjcar is much approachable as a coach for the players although some accuse him of not being punitive enough against maverick and renegade players.

Zlatko Krancjar “Iran is as good as Bosnia and Nigeria”

The Croat coach of Sepahan believes that Team Melli is as good as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nigeria.

 Zlatko who has just returned back to Esfahan to oversee players’ contracts negotiation and the opening of transfer window for the coming season, was in Austria during Team Melli’s training camp. Kranjcar attended some of the Friendly matches and commented ” I watched the friendly matches in person and despite the results all ending in a draw, I believe the team has improved and continues doing so. I don’t think either of Bosnia-Herzegovina or Nigeria are better than Iran. I do hope they play as good as they can in the World Cup.”

Kranjcar  a former coach of Croatia National Team, was speaking in a press conference arranged by the club. Kranjcar talked about several Team Melli players of his team. On Mojtaba jabbari and Arash Afshin, Kranjcar said that both of them were recruited while he was away, He was not consulted whether these players fit the teams plan and style. During the season , they did not deliver and their time with the club was not successful. That is why I am here early this season so that I make sure that we recruit the right players who suit the team requirement and fit with the other players”

“Omid Ebrahimi and Mohammad Gholami will not be with Sepahan next season.I did want Ebrahimi to stay but could not agree on the terms. The good news is that Hadi Aghili has re-signed a three years contract with Sepahan, We also managed to keep Shehab Gordan in the team,”

“Shojaa Khalilzadeh was disappointed because he did not make the final list of Team Melli , but he needs to focus more on his game, mitigate his mistakes and lower his risk taking during the games”

“Yaghoub Karimi will remain with Sepahan for next season”  Karimi , who was part of the initial 30 man squad of Queiroz , has threatened to leave Sepahan at the end of last season if Kranjcar remains the coach. Apparently he needs to eat his words now.

Niko Kranjcar, the son of Zlatko who plays for QPR and recently promoted to the premier division , has been ruled out of the Croatia team for the World Cup due to an injury he suffered in the last game of the season.

 

Zlatko Kranjčar “I will think about Team Melli job”

The Croatian coach of Sepahan Esfahan , Zlatko Kranjčar, said that he will think about Team Melli job offer after the World Cup if it was offered to him.

After winning against the city rivals Zob Ahan in a closely fought match 1-0 on Friday , the Croatian coach said that his whole effort at the moment is to win the remaining 4 matches of the current season and challenge for the league title. In the post match press conference , Kranjčar was asked about the Team Melli Job, in which the Croat coach said :

“I think the source of this rumor is no one other than Carlos Queiroz himself. He has been talking to some reporters , and now it is doing the round and hearing it from the press. I think it is not a very wise move by Team Melli coach to say something like that. When he spreads the news that he is leaving and someone else will be taking over, while the players have serious work to do in the World Cup, it will affect Team Melli. Such a fact will diminish the player’s enthusiasm and will reduce their interest in what the coach is saying knowing that he will not be around after the tournament is over. ” The Croat said.

“My whole focus now is on Sepahan both in the league and the Asian Champions League. Team Melli has a coach and in my opinion , he is the best person for the job right now. If he leaves after the World Cup when his contract expires, and if the job is offered to me, then I will certainly think about that offer. I have no other comments on that.”

Kranjčar , however, praised  Queiroz saying “Although Queiroz has created a havoc for the league with his program where some teams will be waiting for weeks without playing while others will be playing once every 4 days, I still believe Queiroz is best suited for the job and the federation should keep him. He has achieved quite a bit for Iran including qualification for the World Cup.”

Asked whether he can iron out his problems with Queiroz the way he did with Ghalenoei in a meeting a few days back, Kranjčar responded “First of all , Queiroz did not invite me to that meeting , he also did not come to Esfahan to discuss the issues in question. Most importantly though , I don’t think it would achieve much. I still stand firmly on my point. Arranging a Team Melli camp during the Asian Champions league is plainly wrong and there is no two way about it. And to make it worse , they are asking for our best players to join the camp and do not play in the ACL!”