Tag: Abbas Chamanian

Taha Shariati , a star is born.

Taha Shariati, the towering defender of the Iran’s U-17 national football team who played a major role in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 qualification to the next round, is a classic star in the making for Iran’s football.

Strong in the tackle and excellent in the air, Shariati is a rugged defender who will keep things together under even the most intense pressure. Superb leadership qualities, tough tackling and no-nonsense approach to defending makes this young star a gem of a player as such a tender age.

Shariati also weighs in with his fair share of goals. 

The player, who has recently signed a one year contract with Esteghlal Tehran, is considered by many as one of the top 3 talents emerging out of Iran’s youth football system in the recent years. Taha Shariati is considered in the same class of talent as Reza Shekari and his current teammate Mohammad Sharifi.

Shariati who started his football in Moghavamat team of Tehran, is commonly compared to Pejman Montazeri, Team Melli and Esteghlal player.

Taha Shariati himself says: “I am originally Tabrizi, but I started my football in Tehran. I joined Moghavamat team through the scouts and from there, I was invited to the U-17 national team. I worked hard and tried to excel to prove myself. After 5 years of playing football I was honored to be selected to represent my country including competing for Team Melli U-16 in the AFC Championship. I played with Esteghlal for one year and I am excited and ready to play for my current team Saipa Alborz under the great Ali Daei.”

Taha Shariati, bearing the number 6 Jersey of Team Melli U-17 played as right back in his team and even when selected by the National Team. However, due to an injury to a central defender of his team in a tournament in Kazakhstan, Shariati had to occupy the central defense role and he has not looked back since then. He was selected as the MVP of the tournament and it seemed to be the ideal position for him according to Team Melli U-17 coach Abbas Chamanian. This would be the role and the ideal platform for the imposing defender to excel.

Shariati says: ” I do not have a particular idol, but I love the way that Pejman Montazeri’s plays, and I also think he’s a great footballer all round. I also have great respect for Steven Gerrard and Thiago Silva among the foreign players.  

Although I was a right back and my real interest is to play as defensive midfielder, I will play in any post that the coach wishes me to , and I have no problem with playing as the central defender . Because I’m wearing number 6 and Tabriz, many people compared me with Karim Bagheri.”

It is no wonder that scouts from Europe have spotted this talent as Shariati has already been approached by an agent for possible transfer to Greek, Swedish or Austrian leagues. The player is tight-lipped about such offer, but by the end of the FIFA U-17, there could very well be a possibility that the strong tenacious defender may end up playing European football and learning from top professionals.

Player Details.

Name: Taha Chamanian

Date of Birth: 3rd March 2000 (Age 17)

Birth place: Khameneh, Tabriz.

First Club:  Moghavamat Tehran

Post: Central Defender

Current Club:  Saipa Alborz

Date of join:  1st Jul, 2017

Date of contract end:   30th June, 2020

Height: 1.87 m

 

 

 

Perfect record for Iran U-17 with 3rd win in a row

Team Melli U-17 blanked Costa Rica 3-0 to top Group C with an all-win record in the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Friday.

Iran had already secured a place in the Round of 16 with wins over Guinea and Germany, thus coach Abbas Chamanian elected to use give opportunity to some players while resting others.

In their final group engagement at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the Team Melli youngsters scored through Mohammed Ghobeishavi (25th minute), Taha Shariati (29th) and Mohammad Sardari (89th) to top the group with nine points from three matches.

Germany, who beat Guinea 3-1 at Kochi in the other match of the day, finished second with six points, and will now travel to Delhi to play against Colombia in the knockout round.

Costa Rica and Guinea finished the group stage with one point each.

Team Meli U-17 , who topped this group with 9 pints, will stay in Goa and will play against one of the third best teams from either Group A, B or F on  Tuesday 17th October.

Keen to top the group, Asian powerhouse Iran employed five defenders and kept the rival attackers at bay, while finding the back of the net on three occasions.

After brief period of midfield battle, Iran slowly opened up the rival defence with raids from the flanks leaving Costa Rica team feeling panicky, and as a result , conceded two penalties in a span of four minutes.

Amferny Arias, while going for an aerial ball, brought down Younes Delfi inside the box and referee Hamada Nampiandraza awarded the spot kick, which Iran captain Ghobeishavi converted by sending the ball to the bottom right corner.

Under tremendous pressure in the face of Iranian offensive, Costa Rica again conceded a penalty when defender Karin Arce needlessly pushed down Younes Delfi while going for an aerial ball inside the box. On this occasion, defender Shariati had no problem converting the spot kick.

Costa Rica, who needed a win to keep their hopes of qualification alive, found the going tough and were not allowed space by the Iranian defenders.

After the break, Costa Rica coach Breansse Camacho brought his trump card Jose Alfaro in the hope of changing their fortunes, but to no avail.

Team Melli cruised through the second half before adding a third goal just before the final whistle through substitute Mohammad Sardari. The only disappointment for Iran at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was a second yellow card of the competition for Captain Ghobeishavi, which will rule him out of their Round of 16 match.

Iran U16 storm past Vietnam into the semi-finals

The Glory days of Iranian football and Futsal is continuing with the U16 booking its berth in next year’s FIFA U17 Championship  and the AFC U16 Championship 2016 semi-finals currently held in Goa, India.

Goa: Allahyar Sayyad bagged a brace as Islamic Republic of Iran advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 after a resounding 5-0 quarter-final victory over Vietnam at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium On Sunday.

Sayyad opened the scoring after 29 minutes before Mohammad Ghaderi doubled their advantage early in the second half and Alireza Asadabadi gave Vietnam a mountain to climb just after the hour.

A dominant Iran then put their opponents to the sword as Amir Khodamoradi and Sayyad’s double wrapped up a comfortable win as Abbas Chamanian’s side progressed to the last four and also ensured a return to India for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup as one of the tournament’s top four teams.

Vietnam began confidently and had their first chance of note on eight minutes when Nguyen Tran Viet Cuong’s powerfully struck left-foot effort from 20 yards was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Ali Gholam Zadeh.

The custodian was again on hand in the 16th minute to save Vu Quang Do’s volley from 10 yards after Nguyen Trong Long picked out the defender with a deep corner from the left.

Without their injured skipper Aref Alipour for a second game in succession, Iran came back into the tie and broke the deadlock in the shortly before the half hour.

Ahmad Jalali picked up the ball on the left and delivered an inch-perfect delivery towards Sayyad, who got in between two defenders to head home his second goal of the tournament from six yards out.

Iran then opened up a two-goal lead a minute after the restart as Ghaderi controlled stand-in captain Mohammad Sharifi’s ball over the top with his chest before firing low into the bottom right corner from 15 yards.

And the game was all but over as a contest by the 61st minute when Iran added another through Asadabadi’s third of the campaign.

Sayyad robbed a hesitant Nguyen Thanh Binh of possession 25 yards from goal before racing into the box and, after Vietnam ‘keeper Huynh Huu Tuan got down to block the forward’s low drive, Asadabadi was on hand to tap into an empty net.

The Iranians were threatening to run riot as Ghaderi broke in from the left and crossed for Khodamoradi to side-foot home from 10 yards on 68 minutes.

Substitute Alireza Savari then had an instant impact when he found Sayyad four minutes later and the lively forward confidently dispatched into the bottom right corner from 12 yards.

The Southeast Asians almost grabbed a consolation with five minutes remaining but Nguyen Khac Khiem was narrowly off target from inside the penalty area as Iran claimed their biggest win of the campaign.

Coach Abbas Chamanian boys will be facing the winners of North Korea vs Oman match next Thursday.

 

Iran U16 cruise to the quarter finals

Goa:

Mohammad Sharifi’s injury-time penalty helped Islamic Republic of Iran dramatically claim top spot in Group A of the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 after a 3-0 victory over the hosts on Wednesday that also ousted the young Blue Tigers.

Iran controlled the opening 45 minutes at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and took a one-goal advantage into the interval after Mohammad Ghaderi struck midway through the half, before India’s Boris Thangjam was dismissed 11 minutes after the restart.

Captain Sharifi then scored from the spot with 10 minutes remaining and once more at the death as Iran progressed to the last eight on top of the group by virtue of goal difference ahead of United Arab Emirates, who ran out 3-1 victors over Saudi Arabia in Wednesday’s other Group A clash.

The hosts left Aman Chetri and Aniket Jadhav, goalscorers in the 3-3 draw with Saudi Arabia on Saturday, on the bench while Iran gave first starts of the tournament to goalkeeper Ali Gholam Zadeh, defender Ahmad Jalali and midfielder Reza Mousavian.

Iran shaded the opening stages and had the first chance of note on nine minutes when defender Taha Shariati was just inches away from connecting with Ghaderi’s dangerous inswinging cross from the left.

And Abbas Chamanian’s side then broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute as the lively Ghaderi latched on to Allahyar Sayyad’s inch-perfect through ball and powered the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards.

The young Blue Tigers had goalkeeper Dheeraj Moirangthem to thank for keeping Iran at arm’s length on 33 minutes as the custodian first pulled off a fine reactionary save to parry out Ghaderi’s goal-bound effort and then was up quickly to deny Amir Khodamoradi on the rebound.

With India needing a win to have any chance of reaching the next stage coach Nicolai Adam introduced Jadhav at the interval but their task was made all the harder when Thangjam was sent off for a second bookable offence on 56 minutes after he fouled Ghaderi on the right side.

Never far from the action, Ghaderi could have put the tie beyond India but shot straight at Moirangthem after running on to Khodamoradi’s perfectly weighted pass.

Chetri was then thrown on midway through the half as Adam went for broke, but it was Iran who looked the more likely to add to their tally.

With 15 minutes to play Mohammad Ghobeishavi found Sayyad down the right and his cross-cum-shot across goal was almost met by the outstretched Alireza Asadabadi at the back post.

Iran then did put the game beyond their opponents in the 80th minute when Ghaderi was upended in the India penalty area and Sharifi confidently dispatched the ensuing spot kick.

Sharifi then added a second penalty in injury time after Sayyad was brought down as Iran secured top spot in Group A in a thrilling finale.

Iran coach Abbas Chamanian:
“For us it was very, very important to win the group and give us a better chance of reaching the semi-final and final. Today was our best performance so far because we were much more organised.

“We analysed India before the game and they are a good team with a good head coach and look good for the future. But today our players on the left and right controlled the game. We got in good positions and were able to make goalscoring chances. We knew what was happening in the other game so we knew we had to score the final goal.”

India coach Nicolai Adam:
“First, I have to say a big thank you to the spectators. There were more than five thousand and even in Europe that doesn’t happen. I’m sorry we couldn’t make it. The scoreline sounds very clear but in my opinion the result was not that clear.

“I kept Chetri and Jadhav on the bench because my plan was the longer it was 0-0 the better, and I would have more options in the second half. Overall the tournament was a great experience for the boys but there is a huge task ahead of the [U-17] World Cup next year. The atmosphere in the changing room is not great but I told them I don’t want any tears.”

 

AFC U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP 2016

FINALS

21-09-2016 19:00 IST
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa, INDIA

Attendance 5,892

INDIA vs. IRAN

0   –   3

Goals: Mohammad Ghaderi (23′) , Mohammad Sharifi (81′ p , 90+1 p)

IRAN:
ALI GHOLAM ZADEH (GK)
SAEID AHANI
AMIRHOSSEIN ESMAEILZADEH
AHMAD REZA JALALI
TAHA SHARIATI
AMIR KHODAMORADI
MOHAMMAD SHARIFI (C)
VAHID NAMDARI ( 54′ ALIREZA ASADABADI)
REZA MOUSAVIAN (58′ MOHAMMAD REZA GHOBEISHAVI)
MOHAMMAD GHADERI
ALLAHYAR SAYYAD

Coach : Abbas Chamanian

Group A
Teams
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
PTS
I.R. IRAN 3 2 1 0 7 3 4 7
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 3 2 1 0 7 4 3 7
SAUDI ARABIA 3 0 1 2 6 9 -3 1
INDIA 3 0 1 2 5 9 -4 1

Iran U16 defeats the Saudis in AFC qualifiers

the-afc.com

Goa: Substitute Alireza Asadabadi’s winner capped a stunning come-from-behind victory for Islamic Republic of Iran as they defeated Saudi Arabia 3-2 in the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 opener in Group A on Thursday.

Mansor Al Beshe had begun the day’s action in stunning fashion with a superb strike inside five minutes before Dhari Al Anazi doubled the advantage just before the break.

Iran roared back after half-time though and Allahyar Sayyad made it 2-1 two minutes into the second period before first Mohammad Sharifi and then Asadabadi completed the comeback in a dramatic two-minute spell at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Midfielder Al Beshe netted the tournament’s first goal in spectacular style four minutes in as he unleashed a thunderous strike from fully 25-yards out that rocketed into the net past the despairing dive of Meraj Esmaeili in the Iran goal.  

The Iranians looked to restore parity in swift succession and captain Aref Alipour did go close with a free-kick from distance on 19 minutes.

And just after the half-hour, Mohammad Ghaderi went even closer as the midfielder wriggled into the penalty area before striking a firm shot that was well saved by Hashem Al Asmari.

Abbas Chamanian’s team continued to press for an equaliser but were kept out by a resolute Saudi side who then went on to extend their lead three minutes before half-time when Mali crossed in from the left for the onrushing Al Anazi to steer home.

Within the seconds of the restart Iran could have reduced the deficit but Sayyad volleyed Saeid Ahani’s cross over the bar.

The substitute was not to be denied a second time in quick succession though as on the 47th minute Sayyad broke through on goal and struck the ball emphatically past Al Asmari.

The action flashed from end-to-end as Al Anazi could have restored the two goal cushion but somehow blazed over from six-yards out after Esmaeili could only parry Mali’s shot.

But in the space of just two minutes the game and scoreline had turned on its head.

On 68 minutes, Sharifi turned home from a goalmouth scramble after a corner and just moments later, with Saudi Arabia still reeling from the leveller, Asadabadi found himself one-on-one with Al Asmari and finished coolly to spark frenzied celebrations on the Iran bench.

Saudi Arabia could have snatched a point at the death as Mali flicked the ball on for Naif Al Mas but the captain could only blaze over as Iran secured the victory.

Iran coach Abbas Chamanian:
“I made the substitution before half-time because I wanted the team to be mentally prepared for the second half. We were better than Saudi Arabia in the first half but they scored two goals. In the second half we had good opportunities to score after we changed our tactics to 4-4-2. We were able to score three goals and two of our substitutes scored a goal each.”

Saudi Arabia coach Mohammed Al Abdali:
“In the first half we dominated the game and could have scored more goals. The Iranians scored in the first two minutes of the second half and that gave them confidence. We warned our players at half-time that 2-0 is a risky scoreline, not a comfortable position. We could have scored not just at the end of the game, but halfway through the second half. If you don’t score then you get punished, but hopefully we will learn from this.”