Year: 2014

31/12/2014

Happy New Year to Team Melli fans

Wishing all the Team Melli fans across the globe , a very Happy new year.

With the onset of year 2015 , we all hope that our treasured and beloved Team Melli do us proud in the AFC Asian Cup. Such a great feat cannot be easily achieved without the support of the greatest fans in the world, that is “Team Melli fans”. Time and again you have showed how loyal , how devoted , how wonderful you are in you support of the team and motherland in all corners of this world.

To the victory of Team Melli Iran.

31/12/2014

The forgotten men : Steven ‘Mehrdad’ Beitashour

Carlos Queiroz was globetrotting looking for dual citizenship players or those with Iranian ancestry to pick them for Team Melli. in his quest , he managed to find a player who was a long way from Iran. Steven’ Mehrdad ‘ Beitashour , playing for San Jose Earthquake at the time, was one of these players attracting the attention of the Portuguese coach.

INTERNATIONAL

A dual American-Iranian citizen, Beitashour chose to represent Iran after being approached by Queiroz, when he was called into camp for 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification. He made his debut in Iran’s 2-1 win over Thailand, coming on as a 76th minute substitute for Hossein Mahini. He made his first start and recorded his first assist for Iran in the ensuing match, again against Thailand, a 3-0 victory that ensured their qualification to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Beitashour then went on to start the next match as well, a 4-1 victory over Lebanon. Prior to committing to Iran, Beitashour had been called into one camp with the United States men’s national team, getting the call from head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in August of 201

The American-Iranian also made the squad to the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, however he was not picked to start any match nor was he used as a substitute.

From then on , Beitashour went into oblivion with Team Melli. Not selected for any matches , not that there were many and not considered for the finals of the Asian Cup 2015. Whether he will be available again to play for Iran in the future, is debatable.

So , what went wrong?

The major problem with selecting Beitashour was the logistics. Selecting a player who resides and makes his living on the other side of the world is a logistical nightmare under any circumstances. The only practical time that a player can join a squad is during major tournaments such as the World Cup , once every 4 years. Under other circumstances or during FIFA days, a trip from USA to Iran and back within 3 or 4 days is simply a nightmare.

Logistics aside, Beitashour had a very tough player and established veteran to compete with in Team Melli. AT the time, Khosro Heydari was one of the best performers in the team while Hossein Mahini was closely challenging for recognition as a fix starter. Apart from these two , several younger defenders were raring to go. Beotashour’s position was looking shaky and his value for the team beginning to be questioned.

Overall, Beitashour never really established himself in the team with the logistics problem and the tough competition around. In total , he made 6 appearances for Team Melli half of it only as a starter. At 27 Years old, he has still a long way to go in his football career, whether any of it will be with Team Melli is another argument. At the present moment and with the Team in Australia without Beitashour , the Vancouver Whitecaps defender may find it difficult to make the Team Melli squad anytime soon before the next World Cup. Beitashour is still a quality player as he has shown with his club in the MSL where he made 27 appearances for the Canadian outfit. He was also included in the “Protected Players” list , which indicates that his team is not willing to let him go or transfer to another club.

31/12/2014

Team Melli eventually arrives at Sydney

After a long and tiring trip. Team Melli squad landed in Sydney Airport.

There were still quite a few numbers of fans waiting to greet Carlos Queiroz and his men. The Portuguese coach got a special attention from the Team Melli Iranians fans in Sydney Airport .

30/12/201430/12/2014

Bahrain hammers Saudi Arabia 4-1 in a friendly

Bahrain National football team hammered its Saudi Arabian counterpart 4-1 in a friendly match played on the Australian soil.

Bahrain is in Group C of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 along with Iran , Qatar and the UAE. The result was a severe setback for the Romanian Cosmin Olăroiu who has recently stated that his team is in Australia to challenge for the title. Saudi Arabia failed to win the Gulf Trophy at home losing the final to Qatar. Bahrain , on the other hand , suffered a heavy defeat only a month ago in the Gulf Cup against the same Saudi Team 3-0 , a result that lead to the sacking of the coach.

Meanwhile , the Saudi striker Nassir Al Shamrani, who is the AFC Player of the Year 2014, created yet another controversy when he physically assaulted a Saudi fan before the match with Bahrain. Al Shamrani , who plays for Al Hilal club in Riyadh , was offended by the the fan carrying a rival team flag. The player did not take kindly to the fan and decided to teach him a lesson. Nassir Al Shamrani, a volatile and undisciplined player is already suspended by AFC disciplinary committee for 8 matches for attacking an Australian player in the final of this years AFC Champions League.

Kudos to AFC for ignoring sportsmanship and fair play by selecting this violent player as the best player in Asia !!

Bahrain is currently being coach by a replacement coach Marjan Eid who took over in Riyadh after the sacking of the Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad.

Bahrain plays Iran January 11th in the first appearance for both teams in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

30/12/2014

Alireza Mansourian pledges full support to Queiroz

Naft Tehran coach and a former Team Melli player, Alireza Mansourian pledged his full support to Team Melli and Coach Carlos Queiroz. Mansourian was present at the farewell ceremony of Team Melli to wish them well before departure to Australia.

In a short statement to the press at Team Melli camp site, Mansourian said “I came here to show my support to the boys, and Carlos Queiroz. It is my duty to do so and I sincerely wish Team Melli all the best in their difficult task in Australia. Yes, it is not an easy job by any means but the boys are well up to it.”

“Queiroz has been trying his best for the team, however the preparation was less than ideal and there is no denial in that. However some might justify the circumstances and whatever was said; we must admit that the preparation of Team Melli was well below Querioz’s expectations and definitely way below our competitors’.”

Mansourain , who has 3 players in the squad Biranvand, Amiri and Pouraliganji added “I believe that Queiroz and Team Melli in general were victims of the disputes between the Ministry of Sports and the football federation. That should not have happened but the reality was, a high tension between these two organizations resulted in Team Melli being hurt by it.”

Alireza Mansourian urged all the fans and the media to be behind Team Melli and support the team to the end.

30/12/2014

Team Melli stuck in Melbourne !

Emirates Airlines flight carrying Team Melli to Sydney , Australia was stuck in Melbourne airport for as long as three hours.

The flight originating from Dubai airport departed nearly two hours behind schedule enroute to Melbourne, then Sydney. This late arrival of the aircraft meant that the next flight could not depart to its final destination due to the local noise abatement regulations. The flight had to remain in Melbourne until morning, 6 AM for it to continue to fly to Sydney which was some 3 hours later.

Many Iranian fans in Sydney (Kingsford Smith) airport waiting to receive Team Melli were disappointed and returned back home.

Team Melli is in Group C of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia along with the UAE , Qatar and Bahrain.

29/12/2014

Tsunami in football federation!

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the Manager of Team Melli is being removed from his position hours before his flight to Australia via Dubai. Mohammad Nabi who is also the Secretary General is being sacked for undisclosed reasons by Kaffashian who seems to be on a mission to cleanse his administration

Farida Shojaei, a member of the executive committee and the head of women football has already been sacked followed soon after by Dr. Hashemian , the head of the Medial Commission of the Federation. Kaffashian also threatened the Head of the Disciplinary Committee Ismael Hassanzadeh !

When asked about his dismissal, Mohammad Nabi refused to comment and maintained silence. Dr. Hashemian reaction was subdued and retrained “I do not need that job nor does my livelihood depend on it. It was a voluntary position that I was asked to do by the federation and I agreed to assist in order to improve whatever I can in football. But the way that they have proceeded in dispensing with my services was highly uncivilized and seriously in poor taste.”

Mrs. Shojae was even more critical of Ali Kaffashian’s character calling him a person who has no sense of direction, lacks leadership qualities with a serious decision making flaws & weaknesses. “He hardly deals with matters in logical and rational basis. It is usually his mood, perception or gut feeling that has the final say in his decisions. There is no such thing as systematic analysis or methodical review with this man, it is just random reaction to events.” Shojaei, denied the rumors that the Ministry of Youth and Sports have been after her removal for some time. “All I know and I am sure of, is that Kaffashian has been after me for some time now. He asked me to resign and I refused. He then sacked me from my position because I have dared to challenge him on several issues after we had our differences.”

The last causality of the tsunami that is hitting the Football Federation FFIRI is the Vice-President and the deputy to Kaffashian himself. Seyed MohammadHadi Ayatollahie , claimed that he has already resigned his post and there is no truth of him being sacked. Ayatollahie , hardly a popular man, has been a controversial figure who has been accused of nepotism, poor management and several failures including his role in the Omid Team. He was one of the administrators that the Ministry of Youth and Sports did not approve of , hence the moves to oust him.

Despite the significance of these moves, which smells like a semi-revolution remotely controlled by the men in the Ministry of youth and sport , Kaffashian seems to be solidifying his position. Despite his wayward style, lack of clear vision and poor managerial & communications skills, he seems to have a good grip power in the federation. He is so confident of his position that a couple of days ago , he dared anyone to outstrip him from his position. Spoken with the arrogance of a full-fledged dictator, Kaffashian said “he does not fear any challenge from the general assembly, nor is there any challenges forthcoming his way.” Strong words from Kaffashian, but in Iran football there are always surprises, some unimaginable ones, others too comical to believe..

Somehow, things are never clear cut nor black or white in Iran’s football. One day the guy is a CEO of the most popular club in the nation, the next day he is in the notorious Evin prison. On the other hand a guy who has just been released from the same Evin prison , suddenly becomes the Technical director of the Omid Team ! The dramatic events makes a good reading material for the hungry media , though.

The urgent matter as far as Team Melli is concerned, is to look for a Manager, whose administrative job is vitally importance in a team. That said, Mohammad Nabi hardly painted a good picture of himself as a proper professional manager for Team Melli by his neglect of duty through absenteeism on several occasions.

29/12/2014

Squads of UAE , Qatar and Bahrain.

Team Melli will be facing a tough task against 3 well prepared team in Group C of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia.

With all the 3 opponents starting their preparation at least six months ahead of the competition and playing numerous friendly games, Team Mell has only managed one game against South Korea in Tehran while a scheduled match against Palestine was canceled in Azadi by the guests. Team Melli should have one last friendly against Iraq in Sydney.

On paper , Qatar is considered the favorite to qualify or top the group. Iran & UAE have equal chances to join the Qatari team while Bahrain is not been given much hope by the experts after their poor showing in the Gulf Cup and going through their 3rd coaching changes in a short time.

UAE

Exciting Al Ain playmaker Omar Abdulrahman has been included in the 24-man United Arab Emirates squad for next month’s AFC Asian Cup in Australia.

23-year-old Abdulrahman played a key role in Al Ain’s progress to the AFC Champions League semifinals this year. He has been selected in the squad by coach Madhi Ali, despite not having played competitive football since sustaining an injury during last month’s Gulf Cup. UAE were defeated 3-2 by eventual runners-up Saudi Arabia in the semifinals.

“Omar Abdulrahman is fine, his doctor reports he has started jogging. He needs five to seven days to get back to full fitness,” coach Ali told the official AFC Asian Cup website.

UAE are in the all-West Asian Group C of the elite continental competition along with fancied Iran — who impressed at June’s World Cup in Brazil — and neighbours Bahrain plus Gulf Cup winners Qatar.

Ali has named six players who were not part of the Gulf Cup squad for the elite continental competition beginning in January. Al Ahli goalkeeper Majed Nasser and Al Wahda centre-back Hamdan Al Kamali have been recalled to the side.

UAE will play friendlies against Jordan and Kuwait after reaching Australia on Wednesday. After the friendlies, Ali will trim his squad down to 23 players.

UAE — who reached the final of the competition in 1996 when they were hosts — take on Qatar on Jan. 11 in their first group game in Canberra.

Squad:

Goalkeepers Majed Nasser, Ali Khaseif, Khalid Essa,

Defenders: Mohammed Fawzi, Abdulaziz Haikal, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohamed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Mohanad Salem,

Midfielders: Ismail Al Hammadi, Hassan Ibrahim, Majed Hassan, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Amer Abdulrahman, Haboosh Saleh, Mohamed Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman,

Forwards: Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil, Salem Saleh, Saeed Al Kathiri

[divider]

QATAR

Doha: Experienced striker Sebastian Soria was left out of Qatar’s 23-man squad for next month’s Asian Cup with the Gulf Cup winners instead opting for uncapped African-born forwards Tresor Kangambu and Mohammad Montari.

Soria won his 100th cap for Qatar in October and marked the milestone by scoring in a 3-0 success over fellow Asian Cup finalists Uzbekistan but it was not enough to make the squad for the Gulf Cup tournament the following month.

The 31-year-old has continued to score goals for Qatar Stars League champions Lekhwiya but national team head coach Djamel Belmadi opted against a recall when he named his travelling party for the Jan 9-31 tournament in Australia.

The Algerian instead went for the Congolese-born Kangambu, a wide forward who plays alongside Soria at the league leaders, and El Jaish’s striker Montari, who was born in Ghana.

The 27-year-old Kangambu moved to Qatar four years ago, while 21-year-old Montari has been in a rich vein of form for his club side in recent weeks. The duo joined Asian Player of the Year nominee Khalfan Ibrahim in the squad after the Al Sadd playmaker was recalled after he missed the Gulf Cup because of injury. Qatar have been drawn in an all West Asian Group C in Australia alongside Bahrain, Iran and United Arab Emirates.

The Maroons faceD final warm-up matches against Estonia , which saw them easily win 3-0 and Oman next week before they kick-off their campaign in Canberra on Jan. 11 against the UAE.

The 2022 World Cup hosts staged the Asian Cup four years ago, matching their tournament best showing of a quarter-final berth in 2000.

Squad :

Goalkeepers: Saad Al Sheeb (Al Sadd), Ahmed Sufyan (El Jaish), Qasem Burhan (Al Gharafa)

Defenders: Ahmadi Ali Mukhtar (Al Sadd), Abdelkarim Hassan (Al Sadd), Ibrahim Majid (Al Sadd), Mohammed Musa (Lekhwiya), Khalid Muftah (Lekhwiya), Abdulrahman Issa (El Jaish), Bilal Mohammed (Al Gharafa)

Midfielders: Khalfan Ibrahim (Al Sadd), Ali Assadalla (Al Sadd), Karim Boudiaf (Lekhwiya), Mohammed Muntari (El Jaish), Majed Mohammed (El Jaish), Khaled Al Zereiqi (El Jaish), Boualem Khoukhi (Al Arabi), Abdulaziz Hatem (Al Arabi), Ahmed Abdul Maqsood (Umm Salal)

Forwards:

Hassan Al Haidos (Al Sadd), Ismaeel Mohammad (Lekhwiya), Mohammed Tresor Abdullah (Lekhwiya), Meshal Abdullah (Al Ahli)

BAHRAIN

The Bahrain national soccer team arrived yesterday in Balart City, Australia, for their second training camp ahead of the 2015 Asia Cup to be held in Australia from January 9 to 31.

Bahrain are in Group ‘C’ with Iran, Qatar and the UAE.

Bahrain completed their first training camp in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and the second camp will run till January 7.

The team will play its first friendly match tomorrow against Saudi Arabia.

They held their first practice session yesterday evening under the supervision of national coach Marjan Eid and his assistant Isa Al Sadoon. The team warmed up and worked out some tactical moves while the goalkeepers trained separately under goalkeepering caoch Abdulla Belal.

Faisal Bu Dahoom and Abdulla Abdo also trained separately under physical fitness trainer Deen Taylor as they are yet to fully recover from recent injuries.

The team will have an early evening training session before the friendly game tomorrow.

Coach Eid has included all three professional players – Fawzi Ayesh, Abdulla Omar and Jessi John – in the squad which was cut from 27 to 23 before leaving for Kuala Lumpur.

The trio were not selected by the previous coach Adnan Hamad of Iraq for the 22nd Gulf Cup held in Riyadh in October. Bahrain failed to qualify for the knock-out stage and coach Hamad was sacked.

The best position of Bahrain was in the 2004 edition in China where they were ranked 4th. Bahrain has a player nicknamed “Karimi” after the famous Iranian player Ali Karimi.

Goalkeepers :Sayed Mohamed Jaafar (Muharraq) Ashraf Waheed (Manama), and Hamad Al-Dosari (Al Riffa)

Defenders : Mohammed Hussain (Al Nasr KSA), Hussain Baba (Al Kuwait FC KWI), Rashid Al-Houti (Al Busaiteen) , Abdullah Al-Hazza (Al Hidd) , Faisal Ali Budahoom (Al Riffa) , Mohammed Daij (Al Riffa), Walid Al Hayyam (Muharraq)

Midfielders: Abdullah Yusuf (East Riffa), Abdulla Abdo (Al Riffa), Abdullah Shallal (Al Riffa), Sami Al-Husseini (Al Busaiteen) , Abdullah Omar(Al Riffa), Fawzi Ayesh (Al Saliyya QAT), Abdul Wahab Almalood (Al Hidd)

Forwards : Ismail Abdullatif (Al Nahdha KSA), Abdulwahab Ali, Syed Zia Saeed Muharraq) , Seyed Ahmed Jaffar “Karimi” (Al Busaiteen), Jaycee John Okwunwanne (Al Khraityat QAT), Mohammed Tayeb (Al Najma)

[divider]

Group C

UAE, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar

11 Jan 2015

06:00pm

UAE vs. Qatar

Canberra Stadium

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11 Jan 2015

08:00pm

Iran vs. Bahrain

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

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15 Jan 2015

06:00pm

Bahrain vs. UAE

Canberra Stadium

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15 Jan 2015

08:00pm

Qatar vs. Iran

Stadium Australia

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19 Jan 2015

08:00pm

Iran vs UAE

Brisbane Stadium

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19 Jan 2015

08:00pm

Qatar vs. Bahrain

Stadium Australia

29/12/201429/12/2014

Pooladi & Rafei cleared to join Team Melli squad.

Mehrdad Pooladi , Team Melli’s left back currently playing for Al Shahniya club in Qatar and Soroush Rafei the young Foolad Khuzestan player have been granted permission by the armed forces to join Team Melli squad.

After a series of disappointing turns of events and depressing news around Team Melli in its preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2015, this has to be the brightest news of them all. With the absence of Pejman Montazeri who misses the tournament due to injury, Pooladi’s inclusion in Queiroz squad is quite vital. Mehrdad Pooladi was the best player in Team Melli 3 matches in the World Cup according to FIFA technical analysis. His National Service problem prevented him from being selected for duty for Team Melli.

Most of the credit for the inclusion of Pooladi and Rafei must go to the Head coach Carlos Querioz whose personal efforts and demands, including a straightforward and serious discussion with the Minister of Youth & Sport has yielded result. The latter writing to the Armed Forces and requesting the release of the two players for national duty as football players.

The two persons who should have done the most to release Team Melli players, Kaffashian and Mohammad Nabi were quite passive about the issue and maintained a stance where they kept declaring that they are abiding by the law, without making any efforts to challenge or request any alternative options from the authorities to seek the two players release.

Although Soroush Rafei is a rookie and is not expected to play a major role in the Asian Cup in Australia, his inclusion is vital for the long term planning of Carlos Queiroz future Team Melli build up.

Team Melli is supposed to fly to Australia via Dubai this evening for the last part of the ir training camp which includes a friendly match against Iraq in Sydney.

29/12/2014

Qatar seals a 3-0 win against Estonia

Doha: Qatar downed Estonia 3-0 in a warm-up game for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games. The Persian Gulf Cup title holder scored through Mohammad Muntari, Abdul Karim and Mohammad Ismail to put the match beyond Estonia’s reach in the first half.

Although the result was a good sign of this team’s progress, the game plan and the fluid like football that the Qatari team displayed against the European opposition , was highly impressive. Qatar continuing to play in such a style and immaculate performance , will undoubtedly make it one of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 title contenders and certainly the favorite team to qualify from group C that also includes Team Melli, UAE and Bahrain

The 2014 Persian Gulf Cup champions will begin their Asian Cup campaign against the UAE on January 11 before taking on Iran and Bahrain.

Qatar will play their final friendly on New Year’s eve in Canberra against Oman.