Galleries

Bad news all over for Iran’s football.

If you are a die-hard fan of Iranian football, the bad news coming out of Iran is enough to send one into depression.

It seems that since Carlos Queiroz left the country to seek his fortunes in Latin America with the Colombian National team, hardly anything has gone right for Team Melli and Iran’s football in general. It all started with the recruitment of Marc Wilmots, a coach who has been sacked in his last two jobs with the latest appointment lasting only six months with the Ivory Coast. For the first time in decades, Team Melli suffered two consecutive defeats and that was in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

There have been a lot of secret talks and behind the scene negotiation to find a competent and true replacement for the legendary Queiroz. The odds on that were quite low for a lot of reasons. Not only the leading and the renowned coaches were already active coaching teams and thus not available, the second tiers looking for a job, did not put Iran’s Team Melli coaching on the top of their priority. Any potential foreign coach fancied the job but examined Queiroz’s experience in Iran or heard about the pandemonium in the football federation management with several layers of governance making decisions, would have thought twice before indulging in such an adventure.

Not surprisingly there were no quality takers for the job. Is this a Queiroz curse ?!

 Then came the real shock. While the masses were waiting for an Amir Ghalenoei or an Ali Daei to take over the helm, there comes an outsider and takes over the chair. To the utter shock of many, Dragan Skocic, a Croat who was coaching Sanat Naft was announced as Head Coach of Team Melli and assumed responsibility without much fanfare.

While the Croat enthusiastically started his mission by building rapport in preparing for the two upcoming matches, the coronavirus struck and chances of the fans seeing Skocic in action is delayed for at least 3 or 4 months.

Team Melli at least has a leader in Skocis, the football federations do not. The leadership struggles, political interference, influences, and the circus, continues in the head-less FFIRI. Mehdi Taj was forced to resign citing ill-health while the government is looking for an obedient regime stooge to install him as President of the Federation in the upcoming election!

FIFA got hold of these games and finally put its foot down hard on the authorities and the FFIRI itself declaring any elections under the current conditions and rules will not be recognized by FIFA unless the FFIRI amends its statute and rules in compliance with the international football law governance.

Away from Team Melli, Iranian clubs in the AFC Champions league displayed their worst performances and results ever with one solitary win in 8 matches. It was not only the results that were disappointing but the manner of defeats and the amateurish attitudes of the Iranian players with a lack of character and professionalism that hurt the most.

The so-called professional football league devoid of proper competition is full of drama, however, yet nothing like what Sepahan club did when they refused to turn up for the match against Persepolis in their home ground Naghsh Jehan stadium in Esfahan for. These things belong to the fifties and in Europe, such acts may result in relegation to lower divisions, but the FFIRI disciplinary committee like the rest of the federation is as incompetent as the rest of the federation. When it comes to applying strict discipline and punitive measures.

And then there are players who receive a cheque from one club to turn up playing for another club in a league match!

The initial enthusiasm of Iranian legionnaires in Europe all but evaporated with one player after another struggling to make the starting line-up. Even Sardar Azmoun was benched in Zenit last match with Jahanbakhsh remaining a solid benchwarmer in Brighton, Ezattolahi making a rare cameo appearance in a lowly Belgian league club and Taremi losing that initial goalscoring brilliant run of his in the Portuguese league.

Very little good news to report from Iran’s football. Perhaps it needs a real shake-up and severe jolt for it to recover again.

FFIRI Requests postponement of Team Melli matches from FIFA

The Iranian Football Federation FFIRI, along with eight other Asian countries, has called for the postponement of international matches held in the FIFA World Cup qualifying stages due to the outbreak of Corona.

The UAE’s Al-Etihad newspaper said in a special statement today that nine Asian countries have requested a postponement of the World Cup qualifier in a letter to FIFA. Malaysia, Iran, Japan, China, Thailand, South Korea, Guam, Sri Lanka, and Mongolia have all called for their national team matches to be postponed due to the spread of the Coronavirus.

FIFA will decide on these requests on Thursday this week, after an emergency committee meeting. Iran’s national football team are scheduled to meet Hong Kong in Azadi and away to Cambodia in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifiers. While Hong Kong has announced that it will not travel to Iran, the Cambodian media also have found it difficult for Iran to visit them. As conditions are becoming critical, FIFA is increasingly coming under pressure to delay the World Cup qualifying matches until the conditions stabilize and the public confidence is restored.

FFIRI offenses triggers AFC and FIFA actions.

Iran’s Football Federation has been given serious warnings from the two governing bodies.

The disciplinary committee of the AFC has found FFIRI guilty of serious violations and slapped it with a heavy fine of US$130,000. The breach of the Law which amount to cheating in issuing the Professional License to Iranian clubs despite the fact that those clubs did not meet the standards and the bylaws of professional football clubs as specified by AFC and FIFA.

FFIRI has renewed the licenses of Esteghlal, Persepolis, Shahr Khodro and Sepahan Esfahan to enable them to compete in this season’s AFC Champions League, however, those clubs have not met all the requirements. FFIRI failed to apply the law and issued Professional Licences knowingly that there were many areas of shortfall and violations of the international charter of professional clubs.

The fine is suspended for two years by the AFC, however, a repeat of such breach of the law will mean that FFIRI has to pay the full amount in addition to another punitive measure which normally means expulsion of the club from Asian Competitions.

While AFC has been firm against FFIRI, FIFA was in no mood either with its warning to the Iranians that the bylaws of its football federation are in violation of the international standards set by FIFA and no election will be recognized until an amendment to the laws is incorporated.

In a letter to FFIRI, the International Football Federation, while expressing objections to the FFIRI’s statute, called for the postponement of the election of its President.  The election of FFIRI president, vice-Presidents, and executive board members, was supposed to be held on March 5,  The International Football Federation, which has long been examining the status of the Iranian Federation, has emphasized in its letter that the Statute of the Iranian Football Federation has not been approved and should be amended. By sending this letter to the Iranian Football Federation, the March 6 election will be canceled and postponed to another time.

Despite the so-called independence of the FFIRI in Iran, the fact remains that the Government through the ministry of Youth and Sports is the de-facto controlling authority of all sports in Iran particularly football. From appointing of Chairmen to CEO’s and selecting the Coaches of Team Melli, The government has ensured a tight and full control of the sports.

Meanwhile, many observers believe that FFIRI election hardly qualifies to be called that as it is all selection and appointment cleverly disguised as free elections.

Mehdi Taj has resigned his post as President of FFIRI due to ill health.

FFIRI denies any talks with Di Biasi

A spokesman for the Iranian Football Federation FFIRI denied the news about any communication and contract negotiations between his federation and the Italian coach Gianni Di Biasi!

During the last few days, there has been a lot of stories about the Iranian Football Federation’s negotiations with De Biasi. The source of the news was the Italian media including the normally reliable  Sky Italia. The sources even disclosed some details like FFIRI offering a 30 months contract taking the coach’s assignment all the way to the World Cup.

 However, a day after the news spread, Amir Mehdi Alavi, spokesman for the Football Federation, said: “This issue is officially denied. The Football Federation has not had any discussions with De Biasi and this coach is not an option for the Team Melli head coach job”.

What is the story behind Di Biasi ?

The saga of Iranian football managements ( or mismanagement, to be more accurate) continues unabated with the latest revelation that an Italian coach is being considered for Team Melli after the debacle of Marc Wilmots!

Notwithstanding the truth behind this story and lack of an official confirmation, it is prudent to analyze such possibility and dissect the pros and cons of appointing a foreign coach who does not have the slightest clue about Iranian football culture to head Team Melli at this critical juncture.

Who is Di Biasi?

Giovanni “Gianni” De Biasi is an Italian coach who started his career in 1990 and managed several clubs in Serie C, B, and A, the most famous of them was Torino. Di Biasi never seemed to stay with one club for more than two seasons. During his playing days, he played with Treviso, Inter Milan ( 10 matches only) Brescia, Palermo but never managed to make it at top grade.  The same can be said about his coaching career until the big break came when he was recruited by the Albanians to coach their national team.

It was with Albania that Di Biasi enjoyed his best days in coaching. In his 6 years with Albania, he succeeded in qualifying to the Euro Finals in 2016. He left in 2017 to coach Alaves in La Liga.

Clearly, Gianni Di Biasi is not in the elite category of world coaches however, his success with the Albanian national team was remarkable considering the status and standard of the tiny European nation.

DI Biasi and Iran.

While Marc Wilmots had a similar resume as Di Biasi, perhaps a little bit better for coaching a powerful team like Belgium, he struggled to succeed with Iran. In fact, his poor familiarity with his players’, poor reading of the game and sub-standard knowledge of the opposition, resulted in two major defeats for Team Melli against teams that should have been beaten.

That Marc Wilmots was not familiar with the Team Melli players was a direct result of the guy living and working remotely with minimal contact and communication with the team members. It is only natural that a coach cannot employ the capabilities of the players to the full if he does not understand those skills and abilities. There are other factors too, but nothing like the poor technical and tactical leadership of the game which resulted in these diabolical defeats and possible elimination at an early stage.

Di Biasi is in the same boat as Wilmots was before taking the job. A person who has no knowledge of football in Iran, perhaps unable to name more than two or three players and is totally alien to the Persian culture and football politics. To settle in Iran in the first place, is a challenge for this Italian, assuming he is not going to be a suitcase flying coach. It will take him time and we are talking months if not years to be comfortable enough to deliver the goods.

The establishment, environment and the politics of Iranian football is a steep learning curve for any outsider. Expecting a foreign coach to deliver in a short time is unreasonable and unfair on both sides.

Team Melli has just about two months for the next match in the World Cup qualifiers vs. Hong Kong in Azadi. Granted, it is not an intricate mission but it still needs preparation, the familiarity between the coach and the players and building the best team line-up. The real test is against Bahrain and Iraq at home, two matches that must be won for Team Melli to be in contention for a place in the next round.

The contract!

It is not clear what has changed since Wilmot’s dispute with FFIRI which turned sour mainly due to non-payment or delay of wages by FFIRI.  This will repeat with any other coach if it is not sorted out.  Will Di Biasi suffer the same as Wilmots, Branko Ivankovic, Calderon and Andrea Stramaccioni who all had disputes with their paymasters on payments of dues? It is highly unlikely that the FFIRI has suddenly created a magic wand to manage to circumnavigate the American sanctions to enable paying the wages of its foreign coaches, so what has changed in FFIRI policy to assure the respect of contractual obligations?

It is particularly this subject that can turn a good relationship into a fractured one. It is a big challenge and a bigger risk for the federation as they have already been burnt, although no one takes responsibility or accountability.

This administration of the FFIRI is far from a competent operative. Although the fans of Team Melli should not be normally bothered or concerned with the administrations or contract details, with FFIRI and as we have experienced previously, it is a major concern. A lot is dependent on how he FFIRI respects its contractual obligations. By track records, it is not too promising. If there is anything that this administration excels in is, making excuses, fabrication & twisting of fact and diverting blame.

Chances of success

Assuming all is well with the contract, It is not an absolute requirement for a top-level coach to handle Team Melli. It needs a strong person, knowledgable, dedicated and tactically astute. Di Biasi can tick a few boxes here. His lack of familiarity can be addressed as he can develop that depending on how happy the man is at his job.  Iran can be both a pleasant place to live and frustration at the same time. He can do the job as well as any although from the onset it looks a lot more complicated for a newbie foreign coach than having a domestic one at the helm.

The Ghalenoei’s, Daei’s or Golmohammdi’s have their advantages as Team Melli coaches but also we must not forget a certain stigma attached to them, after all, in Iran, a local coach has an automatic label of being biased! A foreign coach is revered even if he struggles. The fans seem to be more tolerant of foreign coaches but unforgiving to a local. It is the Iranian culture.

FFIRI contemplating an Iranian coach for Team Melli.

The FFIRI has been negotiating secretly with several Iranian coaches in search of a new coach to take over the incredibly challenging task of coaching Team Melli.

Although the football federation as customary keeps denying such reports, it is not a secret that Ali Daei, Yayha Golmohammadi, and Amir Ghalenoei have been approached and talks have been carried out. Ali Daei is always a candidate for the job, but Daei’s standing and achievements have not been at its best lately. He was last fired from Saipa Alborz after failing to meet the expectations of the club board. Daei has turned down many job offers lately since then.

Ghalenoei coaching in Asian Cup 2007

Yahaya Golmohammadi, unlike the other two, has never coached Team Melli and is the least experienced the lot, however, he seemed to have an excellent chance to take the post. And then Persepolis comes calling and grabs  Yahya right under the nose of the FFIRI. Golmohammadi has been offered a return to his old club replacing the Argentine Calderon. Perspolis seems to have a contractual dispute with their coach with Calderon refusing to return back to the club.

Sepahan’s Head Coach Amir Ghalenoei seems to be in the lead to sit on the bench of Team Melli. His records with clubs are second to none. He is by far the most successful Iranian coach In the history of the league with 5 championship titles. He also coached Team Melli during the AFC Asian Cup 2007.

But Ghalenoei is driving a hard bargain. He has a bitter experience working for the federation. He is aware of how his paymasters can turn on him and deny him support.  This time, the former coach of Esteghlal, Tractorsazi, Zob Ahan, and Sepahan wants to ensure that such experience is not repeated.  Ghalenoei is giving the FFIRI all the strict conditions upon which he will only accept the offer including a handsome numeration package similar to the foreign coaches and complete say on the selection of the technical assistance and training crew.

FFIRI administrators and managers have hinted many times that the next Team Melli coach will be a foreigner, although local coaches are not being ruled out either. However, with the recent developments, the reputation of this federation and their habitual tendency to breach contracts with their employees, it will be very difficult to imagine a foreign coach agreeing to work for this federation unless he is very desperate. After the experiences and well-publicized hardships of Marc Wilmots, Branko Ivankovic, Gabriel Calderon and Andrea Stramaccioni amongst others, it is unlikely that we will see a foreign coach leading Team Melli any time soon.

FFIRI and the Iranian clubs’ justification for not paying their foreign coaches and/or players is the American sanctions on financial dealings and money transfer. The questions remain, however, if this is indeed the reason, then why offer jobs to foreigners knowing that they cannot be paid properly and regularly?

With Ghalenoei negotiations with FFIRI still in progress; Sepahan will have a tough time replacing Ghalenoei if he leaves. The Esfahani club has a good chance of grabbing the title this season and the departure of their coach will definitely impact the team chances of winning the Persian Gulf Pro League.

Haidar Baharvand elected as Interim President of FFIRI

Haidar Baharvand has been appointed as Acting President of the Iranian Football Federation and Chairman of the League committee at the same time, according to Hedayat Mombini a member of FFIRI’s Executive Committee following the emergency meeting of the federation’s Board of Directors.

“After the resignation of Mr. Mehdi Taj as a result of ill-health, we had a meeting to discuss this subject and according to the Statute of the Football Federation, one of the Vice-Presidents or a member of the Board of Directors of the Federation had to be selected as a replacement. Since Ali Kaffashian, who previously held this post has resigned, Mr. Baharvand was elected in an acting capacity. This was the whole subject of the meeting and following this decision another meeting was held with the Minister of Youth and Sports who gave his approval to this appointment” Hedayat Mombini said to ISNA reporter.

It seems that FFIRI Executive Committee and Board Member have no concerns or apprehensions about publically stating that the appointment of the head of the football federation FFIRI or approval thereof, is sanctioned by the government of Iran in direct violation of FIFA charter.

 Mombini added: “We are in a critical period as Omid Team will soon compete in AFC U23 Championship hoping to qualify for the Olympic games and there are also concerns on the appointment of a Team Melli. God willing, with this process completed and the situation returning to normal, the leadership of the Football Federation will continue in the same way. “

Asked how is the arrangement for the league, Mombini said: “Anyway, this issue has come up and now Mr. Baharvand will be the head of both, the Football Federation and the League Organization. We have no changes in the organization of the league at this time. We will decide next week on the Federation and Electoral Assembly dates. As you know, the elections were supposed to take place on May 6, but we will make the final decision sooner than that”

“I have not seen or heard of a written letter of resignation” Mombini responded to a question of whether Taj’s letter of resignation has reached the board of directors. “I have no knowledge about that but Mehdi Taj has verbally resigned.” !!!

Asked about the urgency in selecting a Head Coach for Team Melli, Mombini said “there is a lot of work that needs to be done for the appointment of the coach; it would be a little late if we wait for May when the elections of a new President is scheduled. The coach and his assistants need to be selected soon. We are considering foreign and domestic options but are more inclined to choose foreign ones.”

Marc Wilmots files suit against FFIRI

The former head coach of Team Melli has the Iranian national football team has sued the Iranian Football Federation at FIFA following the termination of his contract while seeking compensation from FFIRI

The Football Federation FFIRI has also filed a  countersuit against the Belgian Marc Wilmots for breach of contract.

The poor showing of Team Melli resulting in two losses against Iraq and Bahrain in the second round of the FIFA World Cup qualifier has raised tension and fan’s displeasure with the Belgian coach. The criticism of the on-vacation coach was even harsher in the Iranian media. Wilmots’ performance and refusal to carry out his duty prompted the federation to negotiate the termination of the coaching contract.

However, Wilmots unilaterally terminated the contract before the game against Iraq citing overdue payments and non-payment of wages by the Football Federation. After a meeting with federation officials in Turkey, the Belgian coach was paid his dues just a few days before meeting Iraq.

Wilmots refused to return to Tehran even after his loss to Bahrain and the doubts started to emerge on the qualification to the next stage. While the Federation has insisted in recent weeks that the process of terminating the contract with Wilmots is continuing and the parties are seeking an amicable way to reach an agreement, the Speaker of the Parliament’s Cultural Commission commented on the news of Wilmots’ complaint to FIFA and similar action.

It is not clear how much compensation is Wilmots demanding as the federation has kept the contract under strict secrecy raising doubts about the clauses and concerns about possible profiteering.

Amir Ghalenoei, The pride of Iranian coaches

Amir Ghalenoei is the most decorated coach in the Iranian domestic league. His record stands at 5 championships titles, 3 with Esteghlal and 2 with Sepahan. All this is about to change as the controversial Ghalenoei is leading the charge for another championship and another record-breaking season.

Sepahan already holds the record for 21 consecutive undefeated matches in the Iranian Premier League. An old record leftover from the tenth Premier League era. In that year, Sepahan, coached by Amir Ghalenoei, lost against Esteghlal in the seventh week but remained unbeaten until the twenty-ninth week of the league when it lost to Mes Kerman.

This record is about to collapse. Again it is Sepahan and again it is Amir Ghalenoei. Interestingly, this time it also started with a defeat against Esteghlal, which was last season. Since then, the yellow and black jerseys have not been defeated. The only zero in the league table standings of the current Iranian Premier League is under losses for Sepahan.  Naft Masjid Soleiman finished the half-season unbeaten, but eventually, they were defeated in Tabriz in the 16th week. Sepahan with 31 points leads the table ahead of Persepolis with goal difference.

 

When Amir Ghalenoei set the record for undefeated matches, he also won the title with Sepahan.  He won the league title twice for the “Nisf Jahan” club and can now break his record for the third time for Sepahan. Ghalenoei and Sepahan have played 20 consecutive Premier League games without a loss. If they win the next two games, they will have a new record.

Team Melli under Ghalenoei in AFC Asian Cup 2007

Additionally, with Sepahan, Zob Ahan, Esteghlal, and TractorSazi, Ghalenoei has also been vice-Champion.

Amir Ghalenoei also managed Team Melli most notably during the AFC Asian Cup 2007. His statements before and after games are always controversial. He is not by any means unique in his rhetoric as almost all the Iranian coaches have this Blame Culture, feeling of being prosecuted, conspired against, treated unfairly and most famous of all of them, “the referee was against us” mentality. Ghalenoei has been sent off to the stands, sanctioned and disciplined many times in his career for his misdemeanors; however, he remains unique in one important aspect. He is technically one of the most acute and advance coaches that Iran has ever seen.  If there was an Iranian coach that can easily coach at the highest level in Asia (language barrier permitting) it is Amir Ghalenoei. This man is head and shoulder above the rest.

 

It is a great pity that his chances of coaching Team Melli are not great as he admits himself, he has far too many adversaries domestically. The FFIRI and Taj will not be able to deal with the outspoken Ghalenoei. The loser, however, is Team Melli and the national football at large.

Taj and Wilmots to meet for termination of the contract.

After a lot of speculations and what looked like a covert operation, the FFIRI seems to have reached the decision to terminate the contract of the current head coach of Team Melli, Marc Wilmots.

The president of the Iranian Football Association FFIRI Mehdi Taj who attended the AFC awards ceremony, has left Hong Kong to arrange a meeting with Marc Wilmots or his lawyers in Istanbul with the objective of terminating the Belgian coach contract on mutual consent. It is believed that the groundworks for such termination has been completed and the meeting will be a formality to end what was a bitter and dark period of Team Melli history under the ineffectual Wilmots.

This would be Wilomts third successive sacking from his post after he was dismissed by his country’s federation in June 2016, and then came his short tenure with Ivory Coast, where he left his job  in November 2017 “by mutual agreement” where he had only been in the role six months, but paid the price for his failure to guide the Elephants to a fourth successive World Cup 2018.

With Iran , Team Melli is in serious risk of elimination from the World Cup with two successive defeats in the group qualifications rounds. It seems that the World Cup is Marc Wilmots’, Achilles Heel.

Branko Ivankovic is the leading candidate as successor , however there is still a major financial settlement that needs to be sorted out by Persepolis club before the Croat will agree to return back to Iran.  The president of that club has admitted that their former coach (Branko Ivankovic) is negotiating with the Iranian Football Association to become the national team coach after Ivankovic emphatically turned down Persepolis club offer to return to his old job.

Ivankovic is still very bitter with Persepolis club specifically his last few months with the club, not just because the club failed to respect the contract and held his wages for several months, but because of all the troubles and the turmoil that was created in the team led by a few players to undermine his authority and hinder his job.

Although Branko, as he is popularly known in Iran amongst the fans, has not signed up yet, it is believed that if FFIRI can guarantee regular payment of his wages, Ivankovic will sign to lead Team Melli for his third time.

.