Category: AFC Asian Cup 2015

AFC Asian Cup Group ‘C’ review

Source: http://www.soccernews.com/

World Cup participants Iran are the drawcard of what is set to be an evenly contested group at the 16th Asian Cup in Australia.

Iran – Australia’s arch-nemesis after cruelly preventing the Aussies from qualifying for the 1998 World Cup on away goals in Melbourne – will be led by Portuguese boss Carlos Queiroz once again as Team Melli continue in their efforts to reclaim the mantel as Asian’s leading football nation.

The three-time Asian Cup champions must first get past Gulf Cup winners Qatar, emerging nation United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The favourites – Iran, Qatar

Though Iran did not make it out of their group at the World Cup in Brazil, Quieroz’s men were more than a match for their opponents on the South American continent.

After playing out a goalless draw with Nigeria in their group opener, Argentina captain Lionel Messi struck a 91st-minute injury-time winner to break the hearts of Iran, who went on to lose 3-1 to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the final match.

Iran – ranked 51st in the FIFA rankings – have only managed to play one game since the World Cup, defeating South Korea 1-0 in an international friendly in November. A friendly scheduled for December 28 against Palestine was cancelled due to “technical” problems.

Despite the lack of preparation and the sudden departure of assistant coach Ali Karimi, Iran are determined to relive the glory days of the 60s and 70s, which saw them win three consecutive Asian Cup titles between 1968-1976.

Qatar arrive Down Under in red-hot form after overcoming Saudi Arabia 2-1 to clinch the Gulf Cup title in November.

Goals from Al Mahdi Ali and Khoukhi Boualem at King Fahd Stadium saw Qatar win the tournament for the third time, providing the perfect springboard for a serious assault at the Asian Cup.

Prior to that run in the Gulf Cup, Djamel Belmadi’s Qatar – ranked 95th – had won four successive games, including a shock 1-0 victory over Asian Cup hosts Australia in October.

The outsiders – United Arab Emirates, Bahrain

Once the whipping boys of Asian football, United Arab Emirates – led by Mahdi Ali – are slowly emerging as a threat to many teams.

A goalless draw at home to Australia in October inspired a spirited run at the Gulf Cup, where they made it to the semi-finals, eliminated by Saudi Arabia.

Their improvement on the pitch is reflected in the FIFA rankings, with the UAE 85th in the world.

Bahrain have barely made an impact at the Asian Cup, having only made it past the group stage in 2004, when they finished fourth.

They were, however, a tricky opponent throughout World Cup qualifying as they fell a mere point shy of the fourth round.

Omer Abdulrahman

Star Player – Omar Abdulrahman

He may not be playing for Iran or Qatar, but UAE midfielder Omar Abdulrahman is expected to set the Asian Cup alight in 2015. At 23 years of age and 26 internationals caps to his name, Abdulrahman has already trialled at Premier League giants Manchester City and resisted the glitz and glamour of Europe to remain with Al Ain in his homeland. Some of Europe’s elite continue to monitor the little afro-wielding magician, and a stellar showing at the Asian Cup could finally see him make the leap.

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Crunch match – Qatar v Iran

The clash between Qatar and Iran in Sydney on January 15 could well decide top spot in Group C.  Winning the group could well prove pivotal to the pair’s cup hopes, with defending champions Japan expected to dominate in Group D ahead of Jordan, Iraq and Palestine.

Matches

11 January 2015 – United Arab Emirates v Qatar (Match 6), Canberra
Iran v Bahrain (Match 5), Melbourne
15 January 2015 – Bahrain v United Arab Emirates (Match 13), Canberra
Qatar v Iran (Match 14), Sydney
19 January 2015 – Iran v United Arab Emirates (Match 21), Brisbane
Qatar v Bahrain (Match 22), Sydney

Iran vs Iraq friendly match details.

Team Melli will be meeting Iraq in an international friendly match in Wollongong , New South Wales on Sunday as part of both te teams preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia..

Carlos Queiroz will be using this match to play his full team for at least one half on order to check on the readiness of the first choice players against one of the better teams in Asia. Iraq , which won the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 is grouped with defending Champions Japan, Jordan and Palestine and considered as favorite to qualify from Group D along with Japan. The teams last encounter in the last edition of the Asian Cup in Doha 2011 , ended in a 2-1 victory for Team Melli with goals coming from Gholamreza Rezaei. and Iman Mobali.

Team Melli has been going through practice at a rate of two per day, morning and evening sessions in Sydney. In the last camp in South Africa, Iran failed to arrange friendly international matches against quality opponents , playing with reserve teams of the 3 different South African league teams. Both Iraq and Iran teams have set camps early in Australia as an acclimatization program. Iraq is coached by Radhi Shenaishel after the Iraqi FA replaced Hakeem Shaker as head coach of Iraq. One of the best Iraqi players in the last few years , Karrar Jassim , to happens to be playing with Esteghlal Tehran , was not picked for the squad this time. Captain Younis Mahmood , who is not attached with any club and currently is a free agent, was picked as a last-minute choice.

 

Iraq v Iran

WIN Stadium, Wollongong, NSW

Sun 4 Jan 2015, 06:00 PM

Team Melli continued its daily practice sessions in Sydney under head coach Carlos Queiroz. Part of the training was allocated for tactical work and part on building the physical side of the team players. Iraq match is also on the horizon in 3 days’ time and a good result in that match is essential in boosting the morale of Team Melli players who have not been blessed with good news in the last few months.

Queiroz briefed the players before the start and then Javad Nekounam had a few words to say beginning with relaying the good wishes of all players to the Christian members of the squad , Queiroz, Oceano , Dan Gasper . Mico , Diego and the two Iranians Andranik Teymoirian & Markar Aghajanian  on the occasions of the new year.

The squad then congratulated Sardar Azmoun on his 20th birthday.

Sydney weather on the day of the practice was rather warmer than usual which suited Queiroz.

Meanwhile the jersey numbers for the team has been allocated.

 

# Name
1 HAGHIGHI, Alireza
2 HEYDARI, Khosrow
3 HAJSAFY, Ehsan
4 HOSSEINI, Jalal
5 SADEGHI, AmirHossein
6 NEKOUNAM, Javad
7 SHOJAEI, Masoud
8 POURALIGANJI, Morteza
9 EBRAHIMI, Omid
10 ANSARIFARD, Karim
11 GHAFOORI, Vourya
12 FOROUZAN, Mohsen
13 AMIRI, Vahid
14 TEYMOURIAN, Andranik
15 REZAEIAN, Ramin
16 GHOOCHANNEJAD, Reza
17 RAFIEI, Sourosh
18 JAHANBAKHSH, AliReza
19 BEIGZADEH, Hashim
20 AZMOUN, Sardar
21 DEJAGAH, Ashkan
22 BIRANVAND, Alireza
23 POOLADI, Mehrdad

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Farida Shojaei & Ali Kaffashian

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.”

Seyed Mohammad Hadi Ayatollahei

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..

Dr. Ahmad Hashemian

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.

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

 

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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
**********************************
 
11 Jan 2015
08:00pm
           
Iran   vs.      Bahrain
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
**********************************
 
15 Jan 2015
06:00pm
             
Bahrain  vs.   UAE
V
Canberra Stadium
********************************** 
15 Jan 2015
08:00pm
             
Qatar   vs.     Iran
Stadium Australia
********************************** 
19 Jan 2015
08:00pm
             
Iran  vs      UAE
V
Brisbane Stadium
********************************** 
19 Jan 2015
08:00pm
         
Qatar  vs. Bahrain
V
Stadium Australia

Pooladi & Rafei cleared to join Team Melli squad.

sqd-pooladi2013
Mehrdad Pooladi

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.

Soroush Rafei

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.