Year: 2014

Brazil vs. Team Melli match in prospect.

World Sports Group WSG , the Singapore based company is negotiating with both sides to arrange a friendly match between Brazil and Iran in the coming months.

Meanwhile , Ali Kaffashian has also indicated that he is pursuing the same objective and it is hopeful that an agreement will be reached for a match within a couple of months from now.

Iran and Brazil played in Abu Dhabi on October 2010 in Abu Dhabi. The Brazilians won 3-0.

The match , if it materializes , will be a good practice for the upcoming 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia. Up to the now, it is not known who the coach will be as Carlos Queiroz contract with FFIRI has already expired with no sign of an accord on the extension.

 

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BRAZIL VS. IRAN

3   –   0

(1   –   0)

Date: 07.10.2010

Time:  21:00

Venue: Zayed Sport City – Abu Dhabi


Dani Alves (14)
Alexnder Pato (68)
NILMAR (92)

BRAZIL:

Victor Leandro Bagy (Grêmio)
Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Andre dos Santos (Fenerbahçe)
David Luiz (Benfica)
Carlos Eduardo Marques (Rubin Kazan) ( [60′ Giuliano (Internacional) ]
Lucas Leiva Pezzini (Liverpoll) [81′ Wesley (Werder Bremen)]
Philippe Coutinho Correia (Internazionale) [46′ Elias (Corinthians)]
Ramires (Chelsea ) [66′ Sandro (Tottenham Hotspur)]
Thiago Silva (AC Milan) [ 78′ Réver (Wolfsburg)]
Robinho (Manchester City) [66′ NILMAR Honorato da Silva(Villarreal)],
Alexnder Pato (AC Milan)

Coach: Luiz Antonio Venker de Meneze

 
IRAN:
Mehdi RAHMATI;
Jalal HOSSEINI,
Mohammad NOURI,
Andranik TEYMOURIAN,
Pejman NOURI [86′ Milad MEYDAVOUDI]
Khosrow HEYDARI,
Javad NEKOUNAM,
Masoud SHOJAEI [73′ Karim BAGHER]
Ehsan ,HAJSAFY
Milad ZENIDPOUR [59’Iman MOBALI],
Mohammad GHOLAMI [54′ Karim ANSARIFARD ]

Coach: Afshin Ghotbi

 

2014 FIFA World Cup: Performance of Team Melli

Performance of Team Melli

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The debate on the performance of Team Melli in the World Cup continues and with it the inevitable saga of Carlos Queiroz contract extension.

Although the first two matches in the World Cup , thrilled thousands of Iranian fans and with it the  increased support for Queiroz work as the master tactician, this enthusiasm was stretched to the belief of Team Melli fans that Iran would defeat Bosnia to qualify for the next round. The reality was quite different. It was a highly disappointing finish. Iran lost 3-1 in a forgettable match performance and result wise. A match that really exposed Team Melli in all departments , including the coaching techniques and aspiration.

A detailed systematic analysis, the sort that the Japanese and the Korean federations religiously produce after each major tournament participation, does not exist in Iran but it is about time that the federation FFIRI comes up with such study. Supposedly , there is a committee named Technical and football development , which is responsible for producing such report. What makes this issue take more importance is that the Asian Cup is only 6 months away , not exactly a long time to go in footballing term if Iran has the aspiration to win the Asian premiere prize that evaded them for 39 years.

Right now as it stands, emotions prevail in decision making for the coaching of Team Melli. Queiroz himself and his supporters, boast about how the team has done well and the people proud, although we suspect that the majority of the fans are quite disappointed by Team Melli in the World Cup according to our surveys and polls. Instead of judging by sentiments, a better tool would be an in depth scientific study  to suppress  the various conflicting emotional and subjective views that is not based on technical studies.

A quick look at the three matches’ data, indicates that Iran was far behind the top teams in many classes, except for distance Run. In fact , even compared to the worst teams , Team Melli did not shine producing some low figures. We have selected Honduras as one of the least successful teams in the 2014 World cup for comparison to Iran. Honduras lost all its three matches and was eliminated at the group stages.

PASSING

Iran was one of the worst teams in passing, completing 604 passes compared to the tournament average of 1305. This is quite an astonishingly poor figure, as even Honduras managed 1046 passes. Spain completed 1703 passes in its 3 matches and that is 282% more than Iran.

In the three matches played, passing the ball especially while the ball was out of the defense was an eye sore. Be it lack of preparation, fear element , or under-confidence, the Midfield players have not managed to play a passing game that they have known to ether at club level or international level. The midfield failed to supply proper ball to the lone forward, the majority of which were in form of crosses. 

 

PASSES COMPLETION RATE

The average passes completion rate for the tournament was 80% a figure which is expected from team playing at the highest level and managed to qualify to be among the best 32 teams in the world. Iran , however managed only 60% passes completion rate. Honduras , to give them credit , managed the tournament average of 80%.  The low percentage of Team Melli passing completion is a poor reflection of a football team playing in the World Cup. This is another critical area where Team Melli failed to produce a respectable performance and subsequently did not achieve the desired result. 

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GOAL ATTEMPTS

Iran made 7.3  goal attempts per match , while the tournament average was 13.1 per team per match. . Honduras , our sample for the poorest team managed 11 attempts.  That is nearly 4 attempts more than Iran. It goes without saying that if there is few attempts on goal , the chances of scoring will be less. The result was evident in Iran’s case with one goal only scored in the last match to save everyone’s blushes.

Poor goal attempts are related to the previous factor of passing. With passes uncompleted or intercepted that attempts on goals will subsequently reduce.

GOAL SCORED

one solitary goal in three matches for Iran while the average for this 2014 FIFA World Cup was an incredible 4.3 per team per match. However , Iran managed to equal Honduras which also scored 1 goal.

Subsequent to the two previous factors, the one goal scored should not surprise anyone. With a team that is built for defense only , it is difficult to see where the goals will come from.

FOULS COMMITTED

Iran was on par with the rest of the team in the group round as it committed 49 with the average being 49.4, while Honduras committed 5 less at 46 solitary goal.

 

DISTANCES PER MATCH

Average tournament distance run was 108.3 Km per match. Team Melli achieved 107.8 Km , very slightly below the average nevertheless a satisfactory figure. Honduras made 96.1 Km per match. This is about the only performance related figure that was satisfactory of Team Melli’s performance  in the FIFA World Cup

This data provided by FIFA only touches the surface but it is a very useful tool to begin the analysis with. Much of the end results as seen in this data , is due to the preparation of the teams before the start of the world cup. The only satisfactory result in distance run per match was due to the three week of heavy and demanding physical fitness program that Team Melli had to go through.   

The comprehensive report should also include the federation objectives (public or confidential) have been satisfied in Iran participation in the World Cup or not. Whether the federation share the opinion of Queiroz that Argentina did not defeat Iran 5-0 as Queiroz claims the whole world was predicting and as such  a 1-0 defeat is considered as a victory for Iran?  Or not.

1 point from 3 games , with only  goal scored , 4 against and being the bottom of the table , cannot be a satisfactory result to any team let alone Team Melli. Even if we live in denial and add a few bells &  whistle and some dressing , there is no escape that Team Melli was poor in performance and result.

The failure of Team Melli , like any failure in any system is usually multi-pronged As much as no victory can be credited to a coach alone never mind how genius he was, if there are any genius coaches in the first place. No such bad result is the sole responsibility of coach either. Saying that, the Portuguese coach feeling of satisfactions of his Team Melli work, as he stated in a recent TV interview, indicates how modest the team mentality was and so little aspiration existed. It sounds like the objective was NOT to concede too many goals rather than playing an honorable football that the world would remember Team Melli for.  This is a truly perturbing mindset for Team Melli, which has a championship pedigree. Is that an indicator that Team Melli fans have to constantly lower their level of expectations?

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Memeber of FFIRI Technical Committee declares his support of Queiroz

A member of FFIRI technical committee and football development, said that he supports  the federation’s decision to extend the contract of Carlos Queiroz . “Of course it is a bit of a complicated issue, that involves Financial situation and technical appraisal but from Technical viewpoint , I agree with the extension” Fereydoon Moeini said in an interview with ISNA.

“During his 3 ½ years with Team Melli , Queiroz has achieved good results and managed to qualify for the world cup. In the Finals , Iran played very good games against powerful nations”

“There has to be a detailed appraisal and analysis of his work , although I think it is positive.”  Moeini said. “Continuation with Queiroz is the best option that the federation can take since we have gained a lot of experience by qualifying for the World Cup “

The technical committee and football development  of FFIRI, has not produced any reports nor conducted a detailed analysis of Queiroz work , yet one of its member publicly declare his support based on technical viewpoint which has not been provided yet.

Moeini was one of the people accused of failure to conduct his duty when Iran was declared a loser after using a suspended player against Iraq in the Olympic Games football tournament qualification game against Iraq. Iran subsequently had a mountain to climb in the return match which it lost and failed to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Moeini who was a player in Persepolis , pursued a coaching career after retirement but never managed to  succeed at the top level in Iran. He has been given various duties in the FFIRI structure in the last few years. 

Goudarai “The federation is capable to pay the coach”

In a quick and emphatic response to the repeated requests for help by FFIRI president, The Minster of Youth and Sport said “The football federation is capable of paying for the coach (Queiroz). I don’t know why in our country, whenever there is a bit of complication in some organization’s work, they always turn towards the highest posts in the government seeking help and advice. It is the job of the sport federation to decide on the coaches, run the sport, the league and all the activities. They are and have to be the sole decision makers of their sports. The federations should work independently from the government and run as NGO, we cannot interfere with their works, their budget and policies.”

“The football federation is a mature organization, it has to decide by itself which coach it wants and within its capability. It is not our (The Ministry) job to get involved in such details. We do not have personnel in the Ministry who has top expertise in football team coaching. “

“If I was asked in an advisory role if it is worth renewing the contract with Queiroz , my advise to them will be to review and analyze the work of this coach during his time in Iran. Based on a proper study covering all aspects on and off the field , then they have to base their decision on that.

When asked about the possibilities of the ministry supporting the FFIRI in paying for Queiroz , the minster responded “Today as we speak , the FFIRI is in a very good financial position after receiving the US$ 8 million from FIFA and the huge TV commercial revenues and other sources of income. The federation can and should pay for their coaches. “

Thus, the Government once and for all has categorically refused to pay the wages and contracts of the coaches selected by the football federation, putting an end to the numerous and repetitive cries for help from the incumbent Kaffashian.

Goudarzi warned about being emotional on decision making in reference to the selections of coaches. “Countries like Japan, Korea and Australia have systematic management processes. Their decision making are based on studies and data, not on emotions that can rise one day and fall the other. This can happen in Iran, as we witnessed in the during the world cup. We really need to seriously look at the results and the accomplishments. Look at where we stand in the football world and where do we want to go, before making strategic decisions. Error in decision making could be costly, not just financially either;”

AFC President positive on Asia’s potential

Published: 27 June 2014

The 2014 FIFA World Cup can so far be succinctly summarized as one of the most intriguing World Cup in recent memory. With several big teams exiting early and some surprise packages showing their mettle unperturbed by reputations, the World Cup has been a joy to watch.

Unfortunately for the Asian confederation, the journey has come to an abrupt end. With teams closer to the locality of the competition – this time around teams from the American continents – traditionally performing well during the World Cup as evidenced in the current tournament, the players of Japan, Iran, Korea Republic and Australia had their work cut out in each of their respective groups.

Although each team gave it a go, with Australia and Iran in particular close to causing an upset against giants of world football Netherlands and Argentina, in the end the Asian teams found it hard to break down resolute opposition defences in most of their matches; and in games where they were able to do so, their own line of resistance failed.

Qualification to the next stage of the tournament may have been out of reach for the Asian teams, but AFC President, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, believes that the tournament was not a lost cause for Asian football.

“This World Cup serves as a lesson to all Asian nations. The Asian teams are rather young on average so they can only get better, but what is of particular importance now is that we stay united. We have shown time and again that we can compete with the best of the global game, and with total commitment from everyone we will definitely improve ourselves and catch up on the rest of the world,” he said.

“Asia must acknowledge its shortcomings, but at the same time we must believe in our own ability. The AFC is determined to unlock the full potential of Asian football, and that can only be achieved through hard work, dedication and unwavering support in the AFC’s efforts to have equal and sustainable football development across the continent,” he added.

Shaikh Salman further stated, “We must bring our game to the next level and there is no time to wait. Football will not slow down and nor will the rest of the world. Our brand new initiatives are planned with progress in mind, as we look to enhance the overall quality of our football, from infrastructure, commercial, competition to administration, and hopefully its effects are evident by the next World Cup”.

The 2014 World Cup might be an unpleasant experience for Asia, but all teams would do well to brush themselves off quickly as the AFC Asian Cup 2015, which will be held in Australia in January, is just around the corner.

Ivankovic “The team should have played an offensive game plan against Bosnia”

Branko Ivankovic , former Team Melli coach in a short interview with ISNA, beleives that Iran missed a golden opportunity in the World Cup.  In regards to the recent Team’s performance in the World Cup , Ivankovic who was Iran’s coach in the last appearance in a World Cup in 2006 Germany , expressed his belief that “Iran should have been much more adventurous in the last game against Bosnia. The team should have played an offensive game plan because it had the potential.”

” I believe there is a big chance of winning the Asian Cup with this team” said Branko 

Branko Ivankovic is the most successful coach of Team Melli in the post revolution era.  He coached Iran U23 to the Asian Games Gold Medal in 2002, won the WAFF title in 2003 ,  lead Team Melli to third place in Asian Cup 2004 , then qualified Iran to the World Cup 2006.  

ivankovic dae epa_main

“Despite the fact that Bosnia teams has changed to the better and has many quality players, I think with the chance to qualify to the next round still alive , Iran team should have gone for it and gave it all it can , instead of sticking to the same defensive plan.” Ivankovic said “Of course , there will be a risk if a team is playing offensive football and be scored upon , but there was no choice. I was very disappointed to watch the last game against Bosnia , I think Iran missed a very good chance, it was not easy but certainly achievable.  The team could have made history for people of Iran in the last game.”

Iran should have taken a risk and played offensive against Bosnia

             Branko Ivankovic

“In the first two matches against Nigeria and Argentina, I think that defensive plan worked quite well . However , against Bosnia the game changed even before kick ogff. I really do not understand how the team will play with the same line up and the same defensive mentality, when it has to win the match ! If you have run a poll and asked Team Melli fan , I am sure that most of the Iranians wanted their team to go and attack to win the match.  The Iranian fans are the best and the deserve the best.  But in reality you must accept also that Bosnia was by far the better organized team in that match.”

“What do you think are the reasons behind Iran’s early exit ?”  the reporter asked.

“I am not with the team and definitely not aware of the circumstances around it. This question has to be directed to the team coach who has been with the team a long time now and is fully aware of everything surrounding the team especially his players. I can only judge on whatever I see on the TV screen.”

“Is there any significance that non of the Asian Teams qualified for the next round?”

“I don’t think that has any significance . Big teams such as Spain , Italy and England were eliminated from the first round. This is the World Cup where anything can happen. Sometimes teams achieve their objectives sometime thy fail.”

“For argument sake , if you were the team coach in Brazil , would you have opted to play a defensive game?”

“In the first game, I would be cautious and lean towards playing a tight defense, I would also extend that to the second game against a powerful opposition, but like I said earlier , there is no reason to play defense when you need to win and score goals.! A golden opportunity was missed for Iranian people and fans.”

” For the Asian cup 2015 , I believe that this team has the potential to lift the trophy after so many decades. Although the players gave it their best in the World Cup , they did not succeed however in Australia they can compensate for that failure.”

“What is your opinion on Carlos Queiroz continuing with Team Melli?”

“I heard that Hossein Faraki is going to take over the job.  He is a good coach, he worked with me and I have a lot of respect for his character. If he gets the job , I am confident that he will build a good team for the championship which can play with confidence.”

“Do you think that Team Melli needs to inject new younger players for the Asian Cup?”

“I cannot answer that question. It is up to the new coach to decide and I am sure whoever it is , he will pick what he believes is the best team.”

“What is you opinion on your own country’s team Croatia ?”

“We had a very good team and people are very disappointed that it did not qualify. We played very well in two games but against Mexico we were disappointing., This is football , what you wish is different than what is in reality.”

 

Team Melli back in Tehran on Saturday,

After exiting the World Cup , Team Melli will be arriving in Tehran at the early hours of Saturday morning. The team will depart Sao Paulo at 1 AM on Friday,

Esteghlal Club has issue an official communique in which it said that the club will send a delegation to the airport welcome the team. Meanwhile it encouraged it supporters and other Team Melli fans o join them in Imam Khomeini Airport.

Details of the flight is as follows

Flight Number: EK9751

  • Departure 00:55  from Dubai International Airport (DXB)
  • Flight duration 02hr 10min
  • Arrival 03:35  at Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA)

Are we surprised at Team Melli’s results in the World Cup 2014?

It is all over for Team Melli at the World Cup. Iran exited in a disappointing, heart breaking and less than exciting manner. A deserved goal-less draw and a last minute defeat temporarily made us believe and have faith but then the reality hit everyone quite hard in the last match. Emotions aside, Team Melli got what it deserved nothing more nothing less. If it had made the next round ahead of Bosnia or Nigeria , it would have been an injustice to football in general but most importantly it would have falsely covered the derisory state of the football in Iran .

The teams that made the World Cup finals have worked hard, planned well, played number of competitive practice matches and their federations wasted no resources in trying to support their teams to reflect their nations’ pride.  In contrast Team Melli was an ill-prepared team , run by a federation that had comical and acute lack of resources , trained by a coach who had little confidence in his players, and  a coach who was not versatile enough to change tactics when it was most required. Expecting success under these circumstances is pretty much a wishful thinking.

Despite all that, we have to respect the performance of our players who all gave more than 100%. No one can deny the fact that they tried hard and simply went out of steam. Again, with the training regime of Queiroz who spent the majority of the valuable training camps physically pushing his players to the limit , it would have been a matter of time before they would collapse at some stage. Unfortunately, it was the last match and the one that mattered most where Team Melli players came short. Fatigue was killing them, two weeks in South Africa and another in Austria , with very little rest , they flew to Brazil early for another couple of weeks of tough physical training to prepare for the World Cup.

Iran v Nigeria: Group F - 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil

In essence, Queiroz was trying to build a top physical shape team in a couple of month while such task requires a whole season of regular regimented training with ample rest periods for recovery to build a strong team. The work of a whole season cannot be done in a couple of months only. Bad practices of players also cannot be undone in such a short period.

Could Queiroz have done much better than this ? or maybe that is his ceiling of his capabilities and could not give any better than that.  After the exit from the last World Cup 2010, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked to give a reason for Portugal exit, he pointed at Querioz, Portugal coach and told the reporter to ask him. What he really meant was that Querioz coaching and game plan failed the team. Looking back at the last few months of his work with Iran Team, CR7 may very well had a valid point.

 

Putting all the blame on the coach is quite unreasonable though, despite the common belief that coaches have to shoulder most of the blames for defeats.  Queiroz and the FFIRI administration did not see eye to eye either and that had negative effect on his work. The Portuguese ruffled a few feathers in Iran by some of the publicity he created  on issues such as the Official kit , Friendly matches , lack of resources and marginalizing of the domestic league. You can safely say that Queiroz does not have many friends in Tehran. His adversaries are aplenty and they come from all corners of football.

The Federation has never been financially strong or organized enough to meet Queiroz’s demands, be it tactical, monetary or logistic. Kaffashian and brazenly for that, never skips a chance for begging money from the government. There is hardly any talk of self-reliance and organizing the federation in a professional way to generate revenue. It is too much of a burden on Kaffashian and his generals, as he prefers the easy way and hand out. So, naturally if there is little money to spend , the expectations should also be limited. 

The irony is that lessons learned from previous failures have hardly been heeded in Iran’s football. The chances are that the status quo will prevail and with it the heart break of one of the finest sets of fans in the world, Team Melli fans.

Team Melli Coaches stats : Where does Queiroz stands?

Carlos Queiroz joined Team Melli as the head coach after signing  a two-and-a-half-year deal  on 4th April 2011, Queiroz.

Queiroz First match was a friendly against a lowly African Team Madagascar on 17th Jul 2011 that ended in 1-0 win in Azadi. His last match with Iran was the World Cup Groep F against Bosnia-Herzegovina which ended in a 3-1 defeat.

 In total , Team Melli played 40 international games under Queiroz , and his results are as follows:was the coach for 

 

P W D L GF GA GD
Queiroz 40 20 13 7 73 28 45

The matches were in these competitions

World Cup:                       3
World Cup Qualifiers     16
Asian Cup Qualifiers      5
Friendlies                       13
Others                              3

 

The winning percentage of Querioz is 50% 

During the 2 1/2 years reign of Queiroz  and 40 matches played, only 4 opponents were above Iran in the FIFA ranking , Argentina , Bosnia , Tunisia and South Korea in 2012.

Achievements:

Queiroz managed to qualify Team Melli to the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Queiroz managed to qualify Team Melli to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup

 

Post Revolution Team Melli coaches winning percentage

Coaches with 10 matches or more are selected

Rank Coach Name Nationality Winning %
1 Hassan HABIBI Iran 64.29%
2 Ali Daei Iran 64.00%
3 Mohammad MAYELI-KOHAN Iran 60.00%
4 Branko IVANOKOVIC Croatia 58.93%
5 Amir Ghalenoei Iran 58.82%
6 Jalal TALEBI Iran 56.00%
7 Afshin Ghotbi USA 53.33%
8 Mansour POURHAIDARI Iran 52.63%
9 Miroslav BLAZEVIC Croatia 52.63%
10 Parviz DEHDARI Iran 50.00%
11 Carlos Queiroz Portugal 50.00%
12 Ali PARVIN Iran 43.90%
13 Nasser EBRAHIMI Iran 40.00%

 

 

 

Highest number of matches won is by Branko Ivankovic winning 33 out of 56 matches , followed by Mayeli-Kohan who won 24 out of 40.

The least number of losses while by Team Melli in the same list above was achieved by Amir Ghalenoei losing 1 match in 17  (5.88%) followed by Hassan Habibi losing 1 match in 14 (7.14%). Queiroz losses were 7 out of 40 (17.5%)

The Worst number of losses by a coach is by Ali Parvin who lost 12 matches in 41 or 30%.

 

World Cup Finals

Excluding the first World Cup in 1978 where only 16 teams made it to the finals , the rest of the three participation shows that 2014 was the no improvement on the other two. It is the only tournement that Iran managed to score 1 goal only. FIFA World Cup 1998, remains Iran’s best performance and result so far.   

 

Year Coach P W D L GF GA GD win % GF per match GA per match
1978 Mohajerani 3 0 1 2 2 8 -6 0 0.66 2.66
1998 Talebi 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 0.33 0.66 1.33
2006 Ivankovic 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 0 0.66 2
2014 Queiroz 3 0 1 2 1 4 -3 0 0.33 1.33

 

 

 

 

 

World Cup qualifications

Coaches who managed to qualify Team Melli for the World Cup.

  • Valdir VIERRA 1998
  • Branko IVANKOVIC 2006
  • Carlo Queiroz 2014

 

Longest serving Coaches

 

  1. Ali Parvin -From 1st Nov-1989 to 28th -Oct-1993  – 1457 days
  2. Branko Ivankovic –  two different spells total of 1208 days
  3. Carlos Queiroz – from 4th April 2011 to 26th June 2014 total of  1179 days

 

Best Offensive records coach

 # Name Nationality Matches GF GA GD GF Avg
1 Hassan HABIBI Iran 14 43 8 35 3.07
2 Mohamad MAYELI-KOHAN Iran 40 109 27 82 2.73
3 Branko IVANOKOVIC Croatia 56 115 52 63 2.05
4 Mansour POURHAIDARI Iran 19 36 19 17 1.89
5 Carlos Queiroz Portugal 40 74 28 46 1.85
6 Amir Ghalenoei Iran 17 30 12 18 1.76
7 Ali Daei Iran 25 44 15 29 1.76
8 Jalal TALEBI Iran 25 41 21 20 1.64
9 Miroslav BLAZEVIC Croatia 19 31 20 11 1.63
10 Parviz DEHDARI Iran 24 37 12 25 1.54
11 Ali PARVIN Iran 41 62 36 26 1.51
12 Nasser EBRAHIMI Iran 10 14 8 6 1.40
13 Afshin Ghotbi USA 30 39 27 12 1.30

 

Best Defensive records coach

 # Name Nationality Matches GF GA GD GF Avg GA Avg
1 Parviz DEHDARI Iran 24 37 12 25 1.54 0.50
2 Hassan HABIBI Iran 14 43 8 35 3.07 0.57
3 Ali Daei Iran 25 44 15 29 1.76 0.60
4 Mohamad MAYELI-KOHAN Iran 40 109 27 82 2.73 0.68
5 Carlos Queiroz Portugal 40 74 28 46 1.85 0.70
6 Amir Ghalenoei Iran 17 30 12 18 1.76 0.71
7 Nasser EBRAHIMI Iran 10 14 8 6 1.40 0.80
8 Jalal TALEBI Iran 25 41 21 20 1.64 0.84
9 Ali PARVIN Iran 41 62 36 26 1.51 0.88
10 Afshin Ghotbi USA 30 39 27 12 1.30 0.90
11 Branko IVANOKOVIC Croatia 56 115 52 63 2.05 0.93
12 Mansour POURHAIDARI Iran 19 36 19 17 1.89 1.00
13 Miroslav BLAZEVIC Croatia 19 31 20 11 1.63 1.05

 

 

GF = Goals For

GA = Goals Against

GD= Goal Diffrence    (GF – GA)

GF Avg = Average goal scored per match

GA Avg = Average goal conceded per match

Iran slump out of World Cup with disappointing defeat to Bosnia

Argentina played their part and won in Porte Alegre, yet Iran could not rouse themselves to take advantage and progress at Nigeria’s expense. Iran needed a win by a couple of goals to finish second, but goals are evidently not their speciality.

For more than 80 minutes it looked like they would fail to trouble the scorer for a third match in succession, and in the end said a meek goodbye to the tournament, allowing Bosnia to record a convincing first win at their first World Cup finals even if their overall experience was soured by a poor refereeing decision.

It was Edin Dzeko’s wrongly disallowed goal against Nigeria that Bosnia feel changed the course of their World Cup, and though the consolation was entirely hollow once his side had been eliminated after two games, at least the Manchester City striker registered a goal that did count.

After seeing a shot on the turn clear the bar and a header saved by the goalkeeper in the opening minutes, Dzeko came back down the pitch in search of the ball and was successful with a longer range attempt midway through the first half. Picking up the ball from 40 yards out from Miralem Pjanic, the Roma midfielder who initiates most of Bosnia’s attacks, Dzeko carried the ball forward then cut inside to make room for a left foot shot that found Alizera Haghighi’s bottom left corner with some precision. Perhaps the goalkeeper should not have been beaten from outside the area by a low shot that was less than thunderously struck, yet Dzeko aimed for exactly the right area.

201406251312475798689

Having barely crossed the halfway line by that point, Iran almost managed to equalise within a minute when the lively Masoud Shojaei crashed a shot against Asmir Begovic’s bar. Reza Ghoochannejhad was unable to accept the rebound but was in an offside position anyway. Interestingly the goalline technology replay was triggered, even though the ball had clearly rebounded back into play. A no-goal verdict was duly returned, though the suggestion that the ball had gone anywhere near the line was misleading.

While there is no doubt Iran can defend well – they proved that against Argentina – it is their attacking efforts that are often stodgy. They could theoretically have reached the round of 16 for the first time here, depending on Nigeria losing their final group game, though even when a goal behind they never drove forward with the sort of intensity that might have been expected.

They have scored only one goal in this tournament and it is not difficult to see why – they are much too conservative. It would have been amusing to have been a fly on the wall in the Iran dressing room at half-time when Carlos Queiroz, of all people, was presumably telling his players it was time to throw caution to the wind.

Iran did get forward a little more in the second half without looking entirely convincing. Ashkan Dejagah spent far too much of his time being pulled up for offside, as if unfamiliar with operating in such an advanced role. The television reaction shots of Iran supporters in the crowd showed disbelief and dejection when Pjanic’s well-taken second goal put the matter beyond doubt, but Queiroz and his players were hardly in a winning position before that.

At no time in this World Cup have Iran been in a winning position, and when Pjanic just about stayed onside to accept Tino Susic’s pass and elegantly slip the ball beyond the goalkeeper after an hour, they paid the price for lack of adventure.

Even when Ghoochannejhad finally opened their World Cup account with eight minutes of the competition remaining – Bosnia were waiting for an offside flag that never came – Avdija Vrsajevic hit back within a minute to restore a two-goal winning margin. Fair enough, Iran had a hard luck story after their Argentina defeat, yet even that does not match the one Bosnia can tell.