Year: 2014

Mojtaba Jabbari shines in QSL opener match.

Mojtaba Jabbari , Team Melli midfielder scored a brace to lead his club , Al Ahli to a convincing 4-1 win against Al Siliya in the opening match of the Qatar Star League 2014/15

Jabbari scored from a header late in the first half off a corner kick , before scoring the second from an immaculate pass from Misha’al Abdulla to make it 2-0. Al Siliya came back to score a goal  but two late strikes by Al Ahli ensured all the 3 points for Milan Macala team.

Seyed Jalal Hosseini , Team Melli central defender played his first game with Al Arabi under the sweltering heat and got a yellow card late in the match.

Despite the unbearable temperature and high humidity , both teams played quite well under the circumstances. The early start of QSL is due to several stoppages in the season including the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia and the Gulf Cup.

In a post-match interview with Al Kass TV, Jabbari expressed his delight with the result and the two goals he scored and indicated that Al Arabi is targeting to grab one of the places for the AFC Asian Champions League. “ The team finished sixth last year, but I think we will be doing better this season with the reinforcement that we have. It is pity that we can only field 3 foreign players this season instead of  4 last season, but that should not be a big problem.”  Jabbari added.

Asked if he intends to win the top goal scorer of the league, Jabbari laughed it off and said “He is not a striker, but he will certainly help his team with goals from the midfield ”

Jabbari--Al-Kass

Kaffashian “Our agreement with Queiroz is at 95% now”

Team Melli fan should be rejoicing at the news that Kaffashian and Queiroz have reached 95% agreement on contract negotiation. That is a 5% increase from the last figure that Kaffashian has publicly provided about a fortnight ago. Regardless to that , the signing ceremonies will be conducted soon, according to the head of FFIRI.

Carlos Queiroz arrived in Tehran for another shuttle visit to check on his demands and see if the incumbent football federation president has influenced his paymasters and convinced them to yield to the Portuguese demands else doomsday for Team Melli.

The saga of this long negotiation between the two parties has prolonged beyond the reasonable level to a degree which is certainly detrimental to Team Melli’s preparations program for the AFC Asian Cup 2015.  Queiroz has masterly read Kaffashian’s hands and knows very well that he (Kaffashian) has not prepared himself for any alternatives. Queiroz is now exerting maximum pressures on the federation to get all his demands and particularly on the financial aspects.

After today’s meeting between the two parties, Queiroz came out as the happier man saying that “we have reached agreement and all the outstanding issues and misunderstandings have been ironed out between me and Kaffashian”

However, that was not what Kaffashian said as he mentioned that 95% agreement has been reached, which to the common man means some sort of disagreements. Kaffashian, however, added that they will be going ahead and sign the contract soon. Despite some reporters insisting on getting a definite date from Kaffashian, he declined to provide one.

It is not clear if Queiroz will go on holiday after the signing of the contract as he demanded, or start working and earn his money. 

Qatar Star League. What attractions ?

 

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Qatar has become the favorite destination for many Iranian players seeking fame and fortune , perhaps much of the latter and little of the former. The Qatar Star League (QSL) has replaced the UAE league, which for decades was the platform of choice for Iranian players who wished to play in a foreign league.

While there is no doubt that money is the catalyst the migrations to QSL, as it is the richest league in the Middle East backed by the immense petrodollars of the country and the sport loving ruling family, there are other reasons for players to feel contented in Qatar.

The structure of the league is truly professional, and not just by name. The system is run by football professionals and with the wealth that is at the disposal of the league, they simply buy and recruit the best whether it is the players, coaches, referees, analysts, administrators and even media personnel. The league is highly organized and played in a systematic and orderly manner. The media coverage, with a dedicated TV Station, Al Kass with several channels in High Definition broadcast, is by far the best in the region if not all of Asia.

The QSL follows the top European standards in organization and has a long term plan, It publishes the calendar of events months ahead of the start of the competition covering the whole season. The marketing and promotion of the league is also one of a kind with dedicated professional taking care of business and realizing good revenues. 

Fereydoon Zand & Mojtaba Jabbari
Fereydoon Zand & Mojtaba Jabbari

The clubs facilities are the best in the Middles East by far. Although the UAE is in a stiff competition with Qatar to claim sports leadership and to have the best football league, Qatar has simply overtaken all the other countries in the Middle East in development of infrastructure , training facilities, stadiums and peripheral  structures to serve the clubs. The Qataris have certainly done it in style.

Qatar is world famous for sporting events with many sporting competition played there annually. There is nothing bigger than the FIFA World Cup, Qatar is hosting it in 2022. The Federation is also a leader in arranging big friendly matches in Doha that attracts thousand s of spectators from across the Middles East. Brazil , Argentina , England and others have all played friendly matches in the 60,000 capacity Khalifa Stadium.

However, it is not all good news and glossy for the QSL. Despite all the efforts and the promotions, Qatar has the lowest figures of crowd attendances in the whole of the region. Apart from a few matches in the season, mainly between the big clubs like Al Sadd , Al Arabi and the recently relegated Al Rayyan, the majority of the matches are characterless unexciting events. 

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[column size=”1/2″] You can virtually hear the fans talking amongst themselves while watching on TV with attendances numbers in the hundreds or lower. The competition atmosphere is pretty unimpressive and lacks the excitement that drives many players to excel. It is what one can call a sleepy league, where many famous European players come to spend the twilight of their careers while making good money at such late stages. The type of money that European clubs simply refuse to offer them. With all that in mind. Where does the Iranian player stands in Qatar?

To start with, the players will be taken care off in style. The facilities available to them are simply way better than Iran. The playing fields are truly a world class standards higher than anything they have experienced back home, which will serve the Iranians skills and creativity.  Almost all the clubs have famous European or Latin American coaches, which will be an advantage to Iranian players, as they can learn from such experiences. The foreign players in the Qatari league should also form a good competition for the Iranians.

So , it is not just the money that is an advantage for Iranian players in QSL. When everything is put into perspective, Qatar seems to be the ideal place for Iranian players , a head and shoulder above the domestic league in Iran. The only disadvantage for the Iranians, and some players might sourly miss from the Persian Gulf League, is the lack of atmosphere in the stadiums and no travelling for away matches. Qatar is, for all intents and purposes, a city Country. All the teams are located in the Capital city of Doha bar one or two that are not very far away anyway.

Socially speaking , the players should feel at home in Doha as there is a large Iranian and Persian community in Qatar . The logistic are simple and a flight from Doha to Tehran is less than 2 hours in duration, while Shiraz is less than an hour away.

Whether all this is an advantage is really dependent on the player himself. If Ali Karimi experience is taken into consideration, then it turned out to be negative. However, Karimi is a unique character. Others will certainly find rooms for self-improvement and good competitions if they wish to.

Finally. The Qatari’s are not the most tolerant lot. They don’t have much time for feeble performances. There is always pressure on foreign players to perform, sometimes unrealistically, because they are highly paid. It is a standard practice for them to point the fingers at foreign players when their teams lose.

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Mehrdad Pooladi , from the EPL to La Liga and now Qatar !

Mehrdad Pooladi was the top Iranian player in the World Cup. This is not just some wise guys opinion, but based on actual data, statistics and figures from each player’s performance that FIFA has introduced. He was solid in left back and was one of the reasons that the defense of Team Melli held tight, until the Bosnia match that is.

 Right after the World Cup conclusion, the rumor mills were talking about the English Premiere league as the next destination of the Persepolis left back. Then there was a mention of La Liga while Osasuna was also cited in the midst of clubs that have been chasing Pooladi. The player himself confirmed to the media that he has two offers from European clubs. He was in the process of choosing the best deal and naming the club soon. Suddenly however, it was the good old Qatar Star League  (QSL) that seems to be the destination of the best Iranian player in the World Cup. We are not sure whether Pooladi has got his bearing right.  

Like nearly half of the starting lineup of Team Melli , Pooladi is heading towards the hot temperatures of Doha to join a Qatari first division club. But unlike Jabbari , Dejagah , Montazeri and  Hosseini who are playing for higher ranked teams and title contenders, Pooladi is joining a newly promoted team , Al Shahania. The modest club has just gained promotion and working on a tight budget, relatively speaking. Al Shahania’s mission for the coming season is to maintain their place in First Division and perhaps cause a few upsets in the cup.

The deal has not been officially announced yet as Pooladi will be flying to Doha on Friday to complete the formalities. Qatar league has yet to start. Meanwhile Persepolis has been complaining about Pooladi’s absence from the squad, but the player said that he is not a Persepolis player anymore,  he is a free agent and out of contract. He does not quite understand why Persepolis is talking about absence.

So, the chapter of the most famous and Marquee players of Team Melli and their transfers to the grand arenas of Europe is just about close. There has been rumors of Karim Ansarifard going to the Spanish league, but frankly we have heard so much of these false grand plans, that we will not dignify the pages of teammelli.com with such stories until it actually happens.

Meanwhile, another Team Melli player Reza Haghighi is still persisting with Persepolis for a release so that he can be close to his Team Melli teammates in Qatar.

“Ehsan HajSafy has not recived any offers from Europe” says Sepahan Spokesman

With rumors going around in Esfahan that Ehsan Hajsafy is on his way to Europe but Sepahan is standing against that move, the club official spokesman put an end to those rumors and flatly denied the existence of any offer from Europe.

“We have been hearing rumors that Hajsafy has an official invitation from a European club  and that Sepahan club is procrastinating until the transfer windows closes, in order to prevent that transfer “Rasoul Khoroush said in a statement to Mehr News yesterday.

“To start with , we have not  received any offer at all from any European club regarding Hajsafy. We do not need to lie about that either. Hajsafy is a valuable player and it goes without saying that we at Sepahan value him and will do our utmost to keep him in the club. However, if there is a god opportunity that comes his way from Europe, we shall not stand against the progress of his career.”

Ehsan Hajsafy , was one of the better players in Iran’s FIFA World Cup 2014 campaign and was expected to raise the interest of a few European clubs.

Sepahan , lost its 100% record yesterday when they list to Naft Tehran 3-0. The match saw Sepahan play one man short almost from the end of the first half. The end of the match was also dominated by some ugly scenes when the few visiting Sepahan fans in the stand started shouting verbal abuses at Khalatbary who reacted to these mistreatment and exchanged heated words with the fans.

Mayeli-Kohan is sentenced to 4 months in Jail.

 

The saga of Iranian coaches misdemeanors and adventures continues unabated , this time off the field.

Former Team Melli coach, Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan has been sentenced to 4 months in prison and 100,000 tomans fine following a guilty verdict in a Tehran court. The plaintiff was none other than Persepolis coach Ali Daei who accused Mayeli-Kohan of slander, defamation, insult and smear campaign. These two have a history of differences and conflicts going back to 1997 when Mayeli-Kohan was the coach of Team Melli and Ali Daei was the striker.

daei-profile

Following some arguments & disagreement  between them, Mayeli-Kohan decided to kick Ali Daei out of Team Melli in a crucial period during the qualification rounds of the 1998 World Cup.  That decision created a lot of controversy and debate as Ali Daei was the marquee player of the team. Mayeli-Kohan critics were increasing in numbers and quite vocal in the media. Following the loss to Qatar in Doha, Mayeli-Kohan himself was sacked as the coach of Team Melli. Daei was immediately restored back to the team and the rest is history. Since that period, Mayeli-Kohan has become a sworn enemy of Daei, whom he privately accused to be behind a campaign to dislodge him from Team Melli. Mayeli-Kohan  took every opportunity to attack the current Persepolis coach in public without chewing his words, accusing him of corruption , profiteering , and abusing his position.

This verdict by a judge in a Tehran court comes out as a shock for the football community.  Coaches and players are notorious for slander accusation in the media, which in reality thrives on such news. Tales, accusations, threats to reveal it all , claims and all sort of allegations are quite common in Iranian football that is suffering from one of the worst periods on and off the field. The millions of dollars of tax-payers money that are earned by footballers and coaches, is not reciprocated by good results , performance  and behavior.

A verdict such as this is probably a good thing that should scare a few of them to keep their opinions to themselves and refrain from accusations without proper evidence.

Mayeli-Kohan can appeal the sentence or buy out his jail period. Failure to do that, the controversial Mayeli-Kohan will end up being incarcerated.   Nader Faryad-Shiran , Mayeli-Kohan protégé and longtime associate , who was also named in the same case was given a 91 days jail sentence suspended for one year.

Iranian domestic coaches have been exclusively making the headlines in the last few weeks and all for the wrong reasons.  The controversial issues and news surrounding the Iranian football coaches can fill a few books and leave no space for other news , if meticulously reported.

hashemian2 Yesterday , Ghalenoei managed to infuriate many reports and the media plus the refereeing community with his disparaging comments, while Vahid Hashemian, who is not even a fully qualified coach yet but attending a coaching course in Germany, accused the football establishment in Iran of corruption and nepotism when it comes to selecting coaches for their teams.   Hashemian said that “capabilities and credits of a coach does not matter in Iran, it is his connection that works for him and gets him lucrative contracts that he probably does not deserve.” 

References:

Kayeli-Kohan statement after the verdict in Farsi

Asian Games 2014 footballers list announced

Iranian football federation FFIRI has announced the name of 20 players for the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon. The squad will be coached by the Portuguese Nelo Vingada and shall start camp from Monday while players will be taking breaks to return to their clubs.

There are some prominent names missing from the list , including Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun, both of who are playing in European teams and their release seem to be too difficult for the federation to even attempt. However, Payam Sadeghian , suspended for three months, yet again misses a major tournament as he is excluded from the list.

 

Those missing , will be replaced by some young stars on the rise. Sepahan duo Mehdi Sharifi and Ali Karimi , head the list of names that have already impressed in the league with their clubs with Sharifi already opening his scoring this season against Esteghlal. Mohsen Mosalman, Mohammadreza Khanzadeh and Yaghoub Karimi all players of Team Melli will enhance the quality of the team , while Kaveh Rezaei is expected to shine again with his prolific scoring records in many Team Melli ages levels.

 Although , 23 players are allowed to be named for major football tournaments, it is not clear why the federation has 3 less players. Their official website did not provide any explanation. This will of course mean that the door could open up for 3 additional players.

 Iran , will be one of the contenders for the Asian Games 2014 football Gold Medal along with the favorites South Korea. While the team will be aiming for glory in Incheon , the priority by the federation remains to be the qualification to the Rio Olympics 2014 football tournament.

The squad has been quite active recently with practice matches in Jordan and Armenia. With the team having issues with clubs releasing players , so far the Portuguese coach has been unable to field the same line up for two consecutive matches. This period of training camp is expected to be much more stable and the majority of the players available for him to work with.

 

 

List of Asian Games 2014 squad players

 

Seq Player Name Club Birth date Post
1 Ali Karimi Sepahan 11-Feb-94 FW
2 Arash Rezavand Naft Tehran 5-Oct-93 MF
3 Ehsan Pahlavan Gostarish Foolad 25-Jun-93
4 Farshid Esmaeili Fajr Sepasi 23-Feb-94 MF
5 Hojat Sedghi Mes Kerman 7-Feb-93 GK
6 Kaveh Rezaei Saipa Alborz 5-Apr-92 FW
7 Mehdi Mehdipour Rah Ahan 21-Mar-89
8 Mehdi Sharifi Sepahan 16-Aug-92 FW
9 MohamadReza Akhbari Saipa Alborz 15-Feb-93
10 MohamadReza Khanzadeh  Persepolis 20-Jan-92 DF
11 Mohammad Daneshgar Fajr Sepasi 20-Jan-94 MF
12 Mohammad Naseri Gostarish Foolad 18-Apr-93 GK
13 MohammadHossein Kanan Zadegan Persepolis 23-Mar-94 DF
14 Mohsen Mosallman Zob Ahan 27-Jan-91 MF
15 Morteza Pouraliganji  Naft Tehran 19-Apr-92 MF
16 Roozbeh Chashmi Saba Qom 24-Jul-93 MF
17 Shahriyar Shirvand Tractorsazi Tabriz 21-Mar-91 DF
18 Vahid Haidariya Peykan 2-Jan-93 DF
19 Yaghoub Karimi Esteghlal 31-Aug-91 MF
20 Yusuf Vakya Foolad Khuzestan 30-Sep-91 DF

 

 

Vingada meets with Karim Bagheri during training break. Khodadad Azizia and Ando Teymourian also in the background

Mansourian “League’s goal scarcity is archetypal of the World Cup teams.”

Three weeks of the Persian football League 2014/15 has produced one of the lowest ever goals tallies, a fact that has alarmed many experts while raising some heated debates amongst the concerned. 4 teams have yet to score a single goal in 3 matches, while four of them have scored less than 1 goal per game. Thanks goodness, Sepahan is an exception , with a perfect start leading the table with 9 points and 7 goals scored.

 Many of the experts opined that this is a classical reflection of Team Melli’s performance in the World Cup , where sheer defense was the name of the game , leaving very little for imagination , attractive football , offensive plans and individual show of skills to be displayed .

 

Alireza Mansourian , a coach of Iran’s U23 until recently and currently the head coach of Naft Tehran , was one of the coaches who blamed the World Cup. “ In the World Cup , we witnessed South American teams challenging the Europeans and taking the game to the last minutes. The most successful coaches where the ones that closed their defenses well and then targeted quick counters where they hoped to snatch a goal. It seems that our coaches in Iran have quickly picked up this strategy. Their defensive game plans have something to do with Job Security as well as none wants to be beaten and get the sack!” Mansourian , however , was diplomatic in his approach , refraining from commenting on Team Melli’s defensive strategy while many others openly pointed the finger at Team Melli

 

There was one defender of Team Melli game plan amongst the crowds and that is Morteza Mohasses. The Coaching instructor and lecturer, who is also a leading member of the Federation’s Technical and football development committee, rebutted the claims that the Team Melli is setting the example and laughed off the suggestion that dearth of goals in the league is because of the defensive plans as played in Brazil.

“The fact is , our national coaches are just not good enough. They have failed to implement offensive plans preferring instead to build up their defenses. Even in the midfield, they prefer holding or defensive midfielders rather than the offensive type. With such mentality, year after year, the end result would be lack of goal scoring and shortfalls in producing quality strikers. It has nothing to do with Team Melli that played a wise defensive game plan in its first two games!”

Mohasses’ logic , however , is found wanting. As a lead instructor in FFIRI, he bears much responsibility in producing what he refers to as “not good enough coaches”. In fact he is largely condemning himself as it appears that his year of guidance, tactical planning , lecturing , and teaching these Iranian coaches, has failing to yield the optimal results. His defense of Team Melli’s game plan seems to be blatantly off side too. What the clubs are copying from the national team, in itself is not a bad practice as many countries are on such approach. However, If the National Team game plan is fine and admirable, why does it become ugly if the clubs are following the same game plan?

 

There has been various articles in the newspapers and news agencies criticizing the standards of football displayed by the league teams this season. Of course m, there are some genuine concerns, but this is only the start of the season where most teams are not at their optimum because of changes in personnel or other factors. Like everything else in Iran , there has to be some political agenda behind these veiled attacks.

 

Talks of the Parliamentary investigation committee finding a wide range of corruption in football, has not raised much eyebrows amongst the elite in the Iranian football. Corruptions of all types , is one of the worst kept secrets in Iran, but naming Kaffashian as a possible culprit , has raised the level of interest in the press zone. The final report will be submitted to the Head of the parliament for his

Iran climbs 1 place in August 2014 FIFA Ranking

Team Melli climbed 1 place up  in the August 2014 FIFA ranking to 48th place below Paraguay and above Montenegro. Iran dropped 6 places last month despite playing in the FIFA World Cup down in the world ranking to no. 49

There is no change in the continental ranking top 2 in  Asia as Japan maintains  its top rank followed by Iran in second.

Officially there is only one friendly match arranged between now and the start of the AFC 2015 Asian Cup in Australia starting mid January.

Iran is also without a coach as the negotiations between FFIRI and Queiroz has stalled,

 

Aug 2014
Last Updated 14 Aug 2014
Next Release 18 Sep 2014

Rnk Zon. Rnk Team Pts +/- Pos
44 1  Japan 593 1 Up
48 2  Iran 563 1 Up
51 3  Uzbekistan 528 1 Up
56 4  Jordan 500 1 Up
57 5  Korea Republic 499 -1 Down
65 6  United Arab Emirates 464 0 Equal
67 7  Oman 447 2 Up
79 8  Australia 391 -3 Down
83 9  Saudi Arabia 377 -5 Down
88 10  Palestine 363 -3 Down

Reza Haghghi wants a release from Persepolis to play in Qatar

The departures of Team Melli players out of Persepolis club is continuing in a bad time for the most popular club in Iran.

After Jalal Hosseini failed to reach agreement with the club management on fees, he left for Al Ahli of Qatar. Now Reza Haghighi the holding midfielder and Team Melli player, wants to leave as well to play in Qatar. Persepolis , meantime , also lost Mohammadreza Khalatbary to Sepahan.

Haghighi has received a lucrative offer from an unnamed Qatari club who are willing to pay him US$1.2 million for the transfer as a “Free Agent”. In such case, the club is not entitled for any fees, which will obviously be challenged by Persepolis. Haghighi has already told Ali Daei that he wants out of Persepolis. The Shirazi midfielder also disclosed to Daei his next destination and willingness to enhance his career abroad, however , Ali Daei was non-committal and said that when the club receives an official request , the management committee will decide.

According to the player’s agent , Persepolis owesRezaHaghighi a large sum of last year’s contract whichhas not been paid by Persepolis equivalent of  700 milliontoman. While this season ,Haghighi has not been paid any part of the 950 Million tomans contract either. Persepolis is currently facing a court order which restricts access to their accounts until such time several of the plaintiffs and suitors receive their dues. 

The departure of Haghighi will be a tough blow for Persepolis after losing two key Team Melli players , and the suspension of the agent provocateur, Payam Sadeghian for three months after his sending off against Foolad Khuzestan, then pushing the referee and subsequently breaking a glass door in the changing room. The decision was handed to Sadeghian by the FFIRI Disciplinary Committee.

Persepolis , with 1 point , is at the bottom of the league after two matches. Today , the team will meet fellow strugglers Zob Ahan in Azadi in a must win situation for both teams.