Year: 2014

World Cup Group F – squads

 

 

Argentina – La Albiceleste (The White & Sky Blue)

Argentina

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Sampdoria), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Agustin Orion (Boca Juniors)

Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Federico Fernandez (Napoli), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisbon), Hugo Campagnaro (Inter Milan), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), Jose Basanta (Monterrey), Nicolas Otamendi (Atletico Mineiro)

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (FC Barcelona), Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Ever Banega (Newell’s Old Boys), Ricardo Alvarez (Inter Milan), Augusto Fernandez (Celta Vigo), Jose Sosa (Atletico Madrid), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell’s Old Boys), Enzo Perez (Benfica)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Rodrigo Palacio (Inter Milan), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris Saint-Germain)

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Bosnia & Herzegovina – Zmajevi (The Dragons)

Goalkeepers: Asmir Begovic (Stoke City), Jasmin Fejzic (Aalen), Asmir Avdukic (Borac Banja Luka)

Defenders: Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen), Sead Kolasinac (Schalke), Ermin Bicakcic (Eintracht Braunschweig), Ognjen Vranjes (Elazigspor), Toni Sunjic (Zorya Lugansk), Avdija Vrsajevic (Hajduk Split), Mensur Mujdza (Freiburg), Ervin Zukanovic (Gent)

Midfielders: Zvjezdan Misimovic (Guizhou Renhe), Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor), Miralem Pjanic (Roma), Sejad Salihovic (Hoffenheim), Senad Lulic (Lazio), Izet Hajrovic (Galatasaray), Senijad Ibricic (Erciyesspor), Edin Visca (Istanbul BB), Tino Susic (Hajduk Split), Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros), Anel Hadzic (Sturm Graz)

Forwards: Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Vedad Ibisevic (VfB Stuttgart)

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Iran – Team Melli (The National Team)

Goalkeepers – Daniel Davari (Eintracht Braunschweig), Alireza Haghighi (Sporting Covilha), Rahman Ahmadi (Sepahan), Sousha Makani (Foolad Khuzestan)

Defenders – Khosro Heidari (Esteghlal), Hossein Mahini (Persepolis), Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour (Vancouver Whitecaps), Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal), Jalal Hosseini (Persepolis), Amir Sadeghi (Esteghlal), Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh (Zob Ahan), Ahmad Alenemeh (Naft), Hashem Beikzadeh (Esteghlal), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan), Mehrdad Pooladi (Persepolis).

Midfielders – Javad Nekounam (Al Kuwait), Andranik Teymourian (Esteghlal), Reza Haghighi (Persepolis), Ghasem Hadadifar (Zob Ahan), Bakhtiyar Rahmani (Foolad), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (NEC Nijmegen), Ashkan Dejagah (Fulham).

Forwards – Masoud Shojaei (Las Palmas), Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (Persepolis), Mehdi Sharifi (Sepahan), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Charlton), Karim Ansarifard (Persepolis, on loan at Tractor Sazi), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan)

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Nigeria – Super Eagles

Nigeria

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Lille), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be’er Sheva), Daniel Akpeyi (Warri Wolves), Chigozie Agbim (Gombe United).

Defenders: Elderson Echiejile (Monaco), Efe Ambrose (Celtic), Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor), Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves), Kenneth Omeruo (Chelsea), Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod), Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce), Kunle Odunlami (Sunshine Stars).

Midfielders: John Mikel Obi (Chelsea), Ramon Azeez (Almeria), Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio), Joel Obi (Parma), Nnamdi Oduamadi (Varese), Ejike Uzoenyi (Enugu Rangers), Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis), Sunday Mba (Bastia), Reuben Gabriel (Waasland-Beveren), Michael Babatunde (Volyn Lutsk).

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle), Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce); Obinna Nsofor (Chievo Verona), Peter Odemwingie (Stoke), Michael Uchebo (Cercle Brugge), Victor Moses (Chelsea), Uche Nwofor (Heerenveen)

Iran ace underlines importance of Nigeria clash

Iran national team’s star, Ashkan Dejagah, is looking forward to Super Eagles’ clash against Scotland on Wednesday in London, which will take place at the ground of Dejagah’s club, Fulham.

Although Dejagah himself is currently preparing with Team Melli in Austria, the Iranian winger shared his opinion about the upcoming Nigeria’s friendly with his club’s website. The former Wolfsburg midfielder has assured that Iran players will be watching the match together, as their World Cup’s opening group stage clash against Super Eagles in considered as the most important encounter by the Asian side.

“I’m sure Iran will send some people and scouts to watch this game. It’s an interesting game and it’s nice because it’s taking place at Craven Cottage and there’s bound to be a great atmosphere”, Dejagah told fulhamfc.com. “If we don’t have training, perhaps our manager [Carlos Queiroz] will ask us to watch this game together as a squad.”

“I think it’s [Nigeria against Iran] a big game for both of us because it’s our first game in the group. It’s the most important game to take some points and I think Nigeria are a good team. “It will be difficult to play against them because the African teams are very physical and very strong but we have time to be ready and to work hard to prepare for the tournament.”

In Dejagah’s opinion, all three teams apart from big favourites Argentina – Nigeria, Iran and Bosnia – have equal chances to get past the group stage. “I think Argentina will go through but the other three teams also have a chance so we will try our best and we will see. Our first game is the most important game because if we start well we have a good chance to go through.” Iranian team will be having a day off on Wednesday, as Carlos Queiroz’ men face Montenegro tomorrow (May, 26th) and Angola on Friday (May, 30th).

Match Review : Iran vs. Montenegro

On Monday , Team Melli will be facing the most serious opponent in its humble low-key series of friendlies when they meet Montenegro. The ex-Yugoslav country is relatively new member of world football community, nevertheless , they have shown some good promise and results,

During the World Cup 2014 qualifiers, Montenegro was grouped along with England, Ukraine , Poland, Moldova and San Marino. While England qualified directly at the top of the group , Ukraine came second and lost to France in the play-off. Montenegro was placed a respectable 3rd ahead of once mighty and more experienced Poland.

Iran and Montenegro have never met at international level before.

The match on Monday at the TSV Hartberg Fußballstadion, in Hartberg Austria , will probably be the first match where Queiroz has the luxury of fielding his strongest side which includes the legionnaires Dejagah , Ghoochannjad , Shojaei , and Davari. Those players joined the camp later than the rest. However, being a friendly match, changes or at least 6 of them is a forgone conclusion in the match.

In the Belarus game, fatigue was evident on the Iranian players. According to the sources close to the camp, the tough physical training has continued in Austria where it has left of in South Africa. This has obviously  taken its toll during that match. With Queiroz betting on the high physical preparation of his players as a tool to counteract the more skillful and tactical oppositions in Brazil, it seems that the grueling training regime will continue in the Austria camp. As the result of the first match in the World Cup is so vital , as admitted by both Nigeria and Iran coaches, Queiroz has repeatedly stated that he wants to see a physically robust team. The result of friendlies does not matter to him, as much as the physical strength and players’ stamina. This match should be a good test for Team Melli. A strong defense and solid midfield will definitely make Queiroz much happier and hopeful of positive results in Brazil.

Montenegro does not have a good defensive record as they have conceded 17 goals in the WC qualifiers. That should wet the appetite of Ghoochannejad and co to try their luck at scoring for a change in a team that is shy on scoring.

On Friday , Montenegro lost to Slovakia 2-0 while in March they beat Ghana , one of the World Cup qualifiers,  1-0.

The match kick off time is 18:30 (21:00 Tehran time). A large number of Iranian expatriates fans are expected in Hartberg for the match. The ever loyal fans were present at the last game against Belarus and they created an ideal atmosphere for the boys with their chanting and singing.

IRIB will be broadcasting the match live for the rest of the world.

Too Early for Azmoun to go to Europe.

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Rinat Bilyaletdinov , the coach of Russian Club FC Rubin Kazan , has praised his Iranian player Sardar Azmoun and predicted that if the young forward stays with the club , he will improve his standard and becoming a better player. The Tatar coach who has worked with Azmoun this season said that the young Iranian had a few difficulties this season but with his hard work and resolve , he managed to win the right to play some games .

Bilyaletdinov said that it is too soon for Sardar Azmoun to go to Europe.

The talented Sardar Azmoun has played for different Team Melli age groups but has yet to win his first cap at international level. His transfer to the Russian League club Rubin Kazan was a blessing and perhaps surprising given that Azmoun was not even classed as a starter or a regular full team player while on the books of Sepahan Esfahan from 2011 to 2012.

His career so far with Rubin Kazan can be rated as modest, mainly due to the limited number of games he has played. In his first season with the Russian team 2012/13 , he played 8 matches for the reserve team (B Team) scoring 2 goals. He never made the senior team list.

In the next season 2013/14 , there was signs of progress as he eventually made the senior team and also scored on his debut coming out from the bench. He made a total of 9 appearances and scored 4 goals.

Despite those low numbers, talks of big and rich European clubs chasing after the “Iranian Messi” has circulated around and was opportunely picked and spread by the Iranian media. Azmoun was interviewed by Fedowsipour in his popular Navad TV show where the Rubin Kazan forward revealed the interest of several big European clubs.

The main concern about such claims is that Azmoun might lose his track and can easily end up in oblivion if he is not properly guided to take the right decision.

However one looks at the career of the young player , there is nothing magical about his progress. At 19, he has a long way to go to make the grade in a professional European League. If he is being pushed to believe that he is a world beater, then there is a serious flaw in the mental state of the young man. Chances are high that he is being manipulated and taken advantage of by people who are after making a quick buck.. [/column]

[column size=”1/2″] Even if Azmoun ends up in Arsenal or Barcelona, the chances of him playing even a few minutes in the first team in a season, is as high as India winning the FIFA World Cup! It is wrong to assume that Azmoun transfer to big clubs is beneficial. There is a dark side to young and talented players market in Europe which Azmoun may very well end up in the trap.

Many of the richer clubs operate what is deemed to be a Glorified slavery system. Their armies of scouts travel round the globe looking to snare any talents. The shoddy part of this scouting system is the one that deals with teenagers, the raw talent players in the bracket of 15 to 19 years old. The rich clubs buys these players or bind them by tightly sealed contracts that are drawn by the most expensive of lawyers.

Several scenarios can be expected after securing their signatures.

The very small minority , those would be classed as special unique talents in the class of the greats like Messi , Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo etc…will make it in the first team and most probably make a few headlines in the process.

azmoun-sardar

The absolute majority of the young players , will not that fortunate to be inducted in the first team or even the reserves. What happens to them is also divided into two parts. One group of them who can be loaned to other lessor class or lower division clubs, end playing in the lower divisions to gain experience, while the other group that cannot be loaned out, remain glued to the bench. The chances of them being utilized at top flight football are absolutely minimal. The only chance of playing football is during training only. That would be the real talent assassination for some of the promising young players.

In order for a young player to develop, he must be involved in competitive matches on regular basis. Azmoun will not be given such an opportunity at the bigger European clubs. It is much better for him to get playing time at lower clubs in Europe or elsewhere than warming the bench in Arsenal or Milan.

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Football instead of politics

Arian Faal

  • Iran national football team prepares for the World Cup in Stegersbach  – a site inspection of the “Wiener Zeitung”.

Steger Bach. No one wants to talk about politics here, only about football, the World Cup in Brazil and the “honor of Persia”. The slogan that unites national pride and hope to bring the Iranian soccer team luck and will also be featured on the World Cup bus.

Information

Iranian national football Team (Team Melli)

(af) Team Melli is next to Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea one of the strongest Asian football teams. Qualified three times to the finale of AFC Asian Cup (1968, 1972, 1976), all of which were won and became champions. Five times (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2004) in the semi-finals of Asian Cup , three games of them involved  penalty shoot-out losses (1984, 1996, 2004). In addition to four World Cup participation (1978, 1998, 2006 and 2014), the national team qualified three times for the Olympic Summer Games (1964, 1972, 1976). 

Even if the Islamic Republic was present in the past few years more by the nuclear issue news headline  and the former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the European media, The Iranians wants their national football team (Team Melli), which has gathered in May for three weeks in Austria for training,  to be in the news.

The daily routine of the 28 nominated players is minutely regulated. In addition to a strict diet and fixed workouts, there are always intermediate dates such as the FIFA doping test or one or the other interview. There are only a few who dare to speak to Western media. Tricky questions by reporters swarming around the camp automatically creates cautious and reserves responses. Apparently no one wants to be put into hot water by discussing controversial issues at home and answer questions by the authorities.

“Football has nothing to do with politics,” is what  the 31-year-old regular player Andranik Teymourian believes when engaged in a scarce conversation with the “Wiener Zeitung” . “But football can create a bridge of friendship,” he adds.

That was a few days ago. About the lack of jerseys of the team that received much exposure by the world ptress and the shrinking after wash. “The issue with the jersey is finished. We have plenty of them here and hope that they will be of better quality in the future,” said Teymourian a key player in the World Cup qualifiers.

“It is difficult,”
“We have been training really hard in this one and a half months, and I believe there never was in the past few years as a national team as now. Nevertheless, we know that it is difficult,” admits the professional. Three friendlies are in those three weeks of the program, one of them being, namely Belarus, already took place and ended in a draw. In this match at Kapfenberg before 1500 spectators,  the Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz almost used his entire squad. Only Daniel Davari and Ashkan Dejagah, who has previously played in the German Bundesliga were not used.

Several hundred of the approximately 30,000 people living in Austria Austro Persians traveled for the first game to support their team Melli. One of them was Arash K. “We have to be present at the games, so that the world sees that Iran has to offer other than the nuclear issue. Iranian national football team is one of the best and strongest teams in Asia. It is therefore self-evident that we qualified for the World Cup in Brazil. On the Fifa ranking of May 2014, we are ranked with 750 points 37th place, “he says with obvious pride. Why the training camp held in Austria, has several reasons. There are good relations between Vienna and Tehran, and it is a good opportunity to force the sports exchanges with Europe.

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Is Faraki groomed to take over from Queiroz?

Is somehow a surprised and questionable move, Hossein Faraki sternly refused to renew his contract with Foolad Khuzestan citing Medical problem (knee injury). Faraki who has guided Foolad Khuzestan to only their second ever League title this season parted company with Foolad as he explained  “an operation is needed on my knees. I have to quit as I will not be able to accompany the team and I believe the team will waste valuable time if I do not recover properly for the start of the pre-season training.I have to have a rest period so that I can be fully fit for future duties”

While the problem with Hossein Faraki’s knee is well known, it has not prevented his mobility in a major way , and the operation that he needs to carry out , is not deemed to have a crippling effect or long term mobility problem.

The CEO of Foolad Khuzestan has said that “the club will do anything to keep Faraki in Ahvaz, even if we have to drag him on a wheelchair, but Faraki wanted to leave and concentrate on his forthcoming knee operation and recovery process. We reluctantly agreed to his request to resign. We regret that this gentleman who has left a legacy with us , beautiful memories and a team that we are proud of , is going to be no more part of the organization.”

Things being what they are in Iran , in an essence , nothing is too straight foreword, rumors are already brewing that Hossein Faraki will be taking over from Carlos Queiroz after the Portuguese coach contract expires with the World Cup.

Kaffashian has already admitted that his federation cannot afford to renew the contract of Queiroz and his coaching staff , especially since the Portuguese rate has gone up. Kaffashian also said that no one is willing to tab the bill for Queiroz expenses ( ..we wonder why ?) and hence the chances of Carlos Queiroz leading Team Melli after the World Cup is extremely slim.

When asked about the prospects of Team Melli coaching job , Faraki said that he is honored to be considered for such a position however, he denied that he has been approached by the federation although later he added that he should not really be commenting on this issue!. Faraki wished Team Melli all the best in the World Cup under its present coach and insisted that in this period he wants to get over with his operation.

With FFIRI continual financial distress and the inability to afford a high profile European coach , Hossein Faraki seems to be quite an logical choice for Team Melli amongst the rest of the candidates. Recent Iranian coaches appointments from Ghalenoei , Ebrahimzadeh,  Daei  and  Mansourian did not yield the desired results although Ghalenoei and Daei had very respectable records during their reign while the other two were hardly given a decent chance (3 matches for Ebrahimzadeh and one for Mansourian).  

With a championship title in the bag, Faraki can claim a major achievement especially considering that he won the league based on team of young players, limited budget/resources, dearth of star players or high profile footballers and inexperienced team compared to his more illustrious rivals.

Whether Faraki will take over after June is still not clear yet, but knowing the people who pull the strings in the federation and their sense of urgency which is compatible with the of a turtle’s march, Faraki might very well find himself as an emergency coach albeit a temporary one, because the FFIRI fails to  find a suitable coach in such a short time!  None of the other high profile Iranian coaches will be available because they are contracted to their teams, Faraki however, will be out of contract creating the ideal opportunity to take over at short notice. That is one very possible scenarion

 

Stay tuned.

 

Faraki-hos

 

Hossein Faraki Career Information

Personal information
Full name Hossain Faraki
Date of birth March 22, 1957 (age 57)
Place of birth TehranIran
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1979 Pas Tehran
1979–1981 Al-Shaab (UAE)
1981–1992 Pas Tehran
National team
1977–1980 Iran 22 (11)
Teams managed
2009–2010 Kaveh
2010–2012 Naft Tehran
2012–2014 Foolad

Bleachers Report: Analysing Carlos Queiroz’s Iran

Welcome to the latest edition of our World Cup tactics board, where we look at each nation that has qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

This time around, we’ve studied minnows Iran, led by former Real Madrid and Manchester United stalwart Carlos Queiroz and spearheaded by Fulham attacker Ashkan Dejagah.

 

Qualifying

The Asian qualifying path to the World Cup is long and unforgiving; it crams many fixtures into a short amount of time, making for an early start and an early finish to proceedings.

Iran were the second Asian nation to seal their place in Brazil after Japan, topping Group A by two points and seeing off the challenge of South Korea (qualified in second) and Uzbekistan.

They lost just twice throughout the campaign and conceded just two goals in their final eight games. They struggled for goals too, scoring an average of just one per game in the final stage and winning most games 1-0.

Four of their players scored three goals during qualifying, though Reza Ghoochannejhad didn’t emerge as a starting option until late.

 

Formation and Style

Iran play the most defensive 4-2-3-1 formation you’ll see at the finals, with Queiroz preaching discipline, tracking and numbers at the back.

His back four are a genuine back four, with the full-backs only venturing forward for the odd attack and throw-ins. Out of possession, they’re as flat as can be, charged with man-marking the wingers and harassing midfield runners.

 
Iran sit off the ball-player and mark the midfield

The Persian Stars are happy to sit off the ball when their opponents have it in their own half. Far removed from any form of high-press strategy, opposing centre-backs will have all the time in the world to pick a pass.

The problem is that there are no options, as Iran swamp out the midfield by switching into a deep 4-4-1-1 or 4-1-4-1 and man-mark all outlets. They barely encroach upon ballplayers to pressure and instead decide to present the opposition with no options.

AV
With no one to pass to, SK hit it long. Again.

Inevitably, players get fed up and play longer, riskier passes. Here’s an example from a stifling 1-0 victory over South Korea that sums up the approach.

If the opposition are able to work it forward—via pass, overload or dribble—Iran become snappy and aggressive in hunting down the ball, treading the thin line between firm challenge and foul on a regular basis.

They’re often touch-tight and work incredibly hard to win the ball back, but once they have it, that’s where the problems start.

Offensively, they are stunted, and it doesn’t help when all they do going forward is pass it to Javad Nekounam and hope he can pick out a stunning, incisive long pass.

AV
Iran aggressively pursue the ball as it enters their territory.

Nekounam will always look to the wings first and foremost to release a runner, and Masoud Shojaei has impressed on the left opposite Ashkan Dejagah with his hard running, opportunistic releases and enthusiasm.

Reza Ghoochannejhad has emerged as an opportunistic finisher, with nine goals in 11 international appearances, but how will he cope against the defences of Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Nigeria?

 

Reasons for Hope

This Iran side is extremely well-drilled. Every player knows his job off the ball and has subscribed to Queiroz‘s way of thinking. He’s renowned as a defensive coach, which didn’t suit Portugal in 2010, but this is the ideal fit.

The defensive unit, led by Seyed Jalal Hosseini, looks settled and competent. Hosseini himself commands an organised back line and barks orders at his full-backs on a regular basis.

B/R Tighe (@stighefootball)
Possible Iran XI for the finals.

Andranik Teymourian, Nekounam‘s defensive midfield partner, is also more than handy and has experience—albeit very limited—in the Premier League.

Dejagah will give them an attacking edge often missing during qualifying, but he’ll be required to make his own chances and finish them himself. Nekounam will make the first pass, but beyond that, it’s up to him.

Mohammadreza Khalatbari is a wild-card substitution capable of winning a game, but he lacks consistency and lost his starting place over the last 12 months.

 

Reasons for Concern

Iranian fitness levels have always been doubted—a product of most players playing in the low-standard Iranian Pro League—and nothing we’ve seen in 2014 bucks that trend.

With the exception of GhoochannejhadNekounam and Dejagah, you worry about the durability of this side over the course of 90 minutes against Lionel Messi, Edin Dzeko and Emmanuel Emenike.

Said fitness concerns aren’t exactly helped by the kick-and-rush approach taken by Queiroz and his men while attacking, and it’s no wonder they tire, as they rarely ever have the ball.

“Resting in possession,” a la Barcelona, doesn’t have to be taken too seriously by international teams, but the Persian Stars could do with adopting a little bit more patience on the ball. Quality, or a lack thereof, factors in here, of course.

Can GhoochannejhadNekounam and Dejagah break down Argentina, Nigeria and BIH single-handedly? The honest answer, on paper, is no.

 

Conclusions and Predictions

You’d be mad to back Iran to get out of a very challenging Group F, but that doesn’t mean they’re a walkover.

They don’t scrabble around defensively and block shots with flailing legs a la North Korea in 2010; Queiroz has coached this team to the point that they’re positionally superb off the ball.

While they are expected to eventually yield, don’t expect landslide scorelines and a minus-10 goal difference at the end of the tournament.

Team Melli official song receives mix reviews

 

The official song of Team Melli for the World Cup has been released to a mix review by critics. The song by Iranian artist Ehsan Khoajah Amiri was officially approved by the authorities and sponsored by the Football federation (FFIRI)

Ali Kaffashian was asked on Thursday about his own personal opinion , the FFIRI President said “There is nothing wrong with it , it is a good song.”

The authorities in Iran has eased much restrictions on artists and Pop music production in the country , much of it was deemed to be taboo after the revolution. Khowajah Amiri is one of many artists who have made their name in Iran with the approval of the authorities. One artist, and for the first time in Iran , has sold more than one million official CDs recently in a country where bootleg or copy CD’s is rife.

 

Download Team Melli Song By Ehsan Khoajah Amiri

 

دانلود موسیقی جام جهانی
اثر احسان خواجه امیری

The never ending saga of Team Melli kit.

Kaffashian, once again came out firmly in support of UHLSport and their kit for Team Melli, refuting any claims by the head coach Carlos Queiroz and his players that the quality of the kit is sub-standard.

Answering reporters questions on Thursday from Khorasan where Kaffashian is in an official assignment, The head of the football federation, also claimed that Queiroz’s problem with UHLSport is due to the fact that He (Queiroz) was expecting a commission from the German company, which was not agreed by UHLSport!

Kaffashian is the second Iranian official  . following the Minster of Sports Goudarzi , who has mentioned in public Queiroz’s commission demand while the Portuguese coach has remained silent so far although has hinted before that his attorney will be doing the talking soon. .

The story does not end there either. It becomes rather comical  or  amateurish or downright denigrating, depending on one’s  mood at the time of reading this.

With world media attention directed at the story of Iran’s substandard kit provided by a German company , quoting the sarcastic remarks of Kaffashian that Team Melli players should not use cold water while washing their jersey as they need to re-use it for the next match (at least we hope it was a sarcastic remark, as it definitely was not funny),  UHLSport management was right to get very concerned. The German Kit provider for Team Melli decided to do an investigation of their own. They sent a team to Vienna, where Team Melli is camping to check first hand on the complaints by the Iranians , which definitely does the company’s reputation little good.

And what a surprise, shock or a joke when the men form UHLSport discover that a batch of non-UHLSport produced kit was mixed with genuine ones sent by the German company!  (see the official press release below) So, it seems that Queiroz and his players were right after all.  How did this happen?  Mr. Kaffashian had an explanation, and whichever way you look at it , it is seriously a depressing one.

Kaffashian claims that when Team Melli was  about to embark on the South Africa camp , only 3 colors were sent from Germany, but due to the request of the team for two different or additional colors, those were provided by the UHLSport agent in Dubai which apparently was of an inferior quality!

We are not sure if we understand Kaffashian correctly but tens of questions comes right to mind on the logic and the reasoning of his account of the story. It is simply flawed. Whichever way one looks at it. By all accounts , it signals the existence of a dismal management, lack of supervision, organization failures, poor communication, lack of accountability amongst many other fiascoes that has been the hallmark of this administration for ages.

The only thing that Kaffashian has said that we agree upon, although in essence that would amount to a cover up and concealing of facts, is his request to the media yesterday to keep a cap on the Team Melli kit issues. Obviously that is a self-serving request as he does not want more fingers pointed at him for his feeble control of the situation and fear of even more tales of exposure.   However , this very embarrassing and humiliating tales need to be put to bed

 

 

2nd Press Release from UHLSport

.20140520 uhlsport Pressemitteilung II_IRAN_DE_INT_210x297_RZ