Tag: Amir Ghalenoei

Ghalenoei does not believe Team Melli is old!!

“I don’t believe that the national team is old”, the head coach of Team Melli has said.

“We will probably invite four or five young players for the upcoming camp. We have to build support, the same way we did in 2006 when we formed the “B” national team. We don’t have time right now, but luckily the players are in form and have been playing in competitive conditions. They should be with the national team little by little, and in case of changes, it should be done the right time. Many people say that the national team is old, but I don’t believe so. There is no place for youth in the national team“, he said:

“Ehsan Haj Safi played 90 minutes against Marseille. The coaching staff of his team checked the physical condition of this player and gave him the go ahead for the full 90 minutes. Therefore, we should use these players as much as we can. Such players are ethically and technically approved by us and put in a lot of effort. Rejuvenation does not take place in the national team; this should be carried out at club levels. Sepahan does this, I have to thank their technical staff. We will announce the national team list on Sunday and maybe two lists will be announced.”

Such statements is quite a disappointment for the fans while some might deem it shocking. But from track record, especially when Ghalenoei took Team Melli to the Asian Cup in 2007, he always seemed to be apprehensive in giving playing time to the younger players in his teams. The case of one Javad Kazemian is a testament to Ghalenoei’s reluctance and even phobia of younger players playing in the team at major competitions.

Despite living in denial about Team Melli being old, he will always rely on such an aging team for glory in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 ignoring the fact that lack of pace, particularly at the back, might come to haunt him in Qatar.

So, young talented Iranians such as Amin Hezbavi, Yasin Salmani, Javad Hosseinnejad, Saman Touranian, Arya Barzegar, Saman Fallah, Mohammadreza Bordbar and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh have to wait for a few years under Ghalenoei for their turn in Team Melli. The current head coach is still thinking of players such as Karim Ansarifard (33 years) and Vahid Amiri (35 years) to join the squad!!

Ghgalenoei hits out at his critics.

“Enough is enough” bemoaned Team Melli’s head coach, following widespread criticism of Team Melli’s performance under his command.

” We played 5 games, 4 of which were away from home. We won two finals and conceded only one goal, but look how much we were battered. These attacks are reminiscent of 2006. Manchester City, which has not achieved good results in the last 2-3 weeks after winning the English and UEFA Champions League, has not been attacked as much as we have been!” Ghalenoei said of the recent criticisms of his playing tactics, player selections, poor defensive and midfield composition, and finally his high age average team., all of which he labeled as attacks!

In defense of his record, the head coach of Team Melli said ” If you look at the statistics of the games we played against Jordan, they have managed to defeat us in Tehran and we defeated them in their own country, we beat them at home with a of 2 goals difference. Are these criticisms justified? We have a problem and we accept it, no team or player in the world can play 30 games consistently at the same level, and things happen anyway. In that game, the grass was of poor quality and damaged and one or two players made individual mistakes. In the finals, we also beat Uzbekistan and Qatar, which are great teams, and you will definitely see them in the AFC Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers.”

Ghaleneoi, who has never been too comfortable with criticism and has demanded that for the sake of Team Melli the media and the fans should refrain from mentioning the negatives and instead pray and support the team, continued ” They say that Team Melli is old, but do they produce players at the senior levels? it is the duty of other youth teams to produce the players(…) “

Ghalenoei also lamented the fact that in Iran, greed and jealousy are rampant.

“since 2006, you judged me and did whatever you wanted against me. I was on constant trial. in these 80 days for the sake of the people, support the national team. The way to success is interaction. The difference between other countries and us is that they care about their country and we have love and hate relationship. The pens that were used against me in 2006 were a kind of cruelty. Now they say the same things in a different way” Ghalenoei whined in reference to similar criticism before his departure to Malaysia for the AFC Asian Cup 2007.

It is clear that Ghalenoei is back to his sulking best. He never offered a sensible reason for insisting on selecting the same squad that has failed to achieve any meaningful victory for the best part of a decade now. He had no excuse to have a player like Ansarifard, while Ghaedi, Sayyadmanesh, and many other younger and promising forwards were available. Although he mentioned Japan as an exemplary footballing nation with a long-term plan to produce an abundance of young players, he has yet to explain his clear ignoring of plenty of Omid Team players who deserve trials in Team Melli.

The fear of failure has already put Ghalenoei on the defensive. Ghalenoei like many other Iranian coaches , has yet to learn how to deal with criticism, normally attacking the critics while offering no solid defense for his actions.

Two young defenders are to be added to Team Melli’s squad.

After lots of criticism of Amir Ghalenoei for his aging squad, the injury to Morteza Pouralgangi, and his subsequent operation which will put him out of action for six months, forced Ghalenoei to pick a replacement for the defender. The Team Melli head coach finally remembered that the team requires f much-needed youth energy to this geriatric team.

Amin Hezbavi, the Omid and the Qatari Al Sadd defender is now included in the squad. The 20-year-old Khuzestani player (born in Ahvaz) joined Al Sadd club in 2023 and has featured in this team as a fixed player despite his young age. Hizbavi has already scored a stunning header for his club in the Qatar Star League. Hizbavi has played for the Omid team and was one of the stars.

The Other addition is Gol Gohar and Omid Team defender, Saman Fallah. Despite the failure of the team under Reza Enayati, Fallah displayed some impressive football work on the flanks as a winger. The 22-year-old player from Sari is playing his football in Peykan but it is only a matter of time before one of the three big clubs in Iran will lure him, or if he gets the proper advice and opportunity, will head towards professional football in the Persian Gulf states or Europe.

Pouraliganji, who was looking for the third appearance in the AFC Asian Cup with Team Melli, will now be a TV spectator watching Iran matches in Qatar.

The selection of Pouraliganji’s successor in Team Melli has become a subject of many discussions in the last few days. Majid Hosseini, the Kayserispor of Turkey, is mentioned as a candidate. However, Amir Ghalenoei opted to invite Amin Hizbavi and Saman Fallah instead. That is quite a move from the head coach of Team Melli, who disappointed many fans and critics with his last selection for the Jordan 4 side tournament. His selection of Karim Ansarifard was a particularly disappointing and a step backward move for a team that is in dire need of rebuilding and decreasing the average age.

Team Melli will play two matches in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Hong Kong and Uzbekistan this year and then head to Doha for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

Confidence crises with Iranian coaches.

Amir Ghalenoei has produced his list for Jordan’s four-nations tournament. Not only this list was quite disappointing for those fans and pundits who liked to see new young faces in an aging Team Melli, but it also included a veteran in Karim Ansarifard who has not been in the picture and has hardly shown the public in Iran any proof of his worth in the Cypriot league. Ansarifard is not even a regular starter for Omonia Nicosia

Since his appointment. Amir Ghalenoei has been facing regular criticism, mainly because he is a local coach. There has been a crisis of confidence in Iranian coaches for a long time, particularly in these few months. The reason is that the fans of different sports have witnessed a decline in performance whenever a local Iranian coach is appointed to coach a team. The worst case was Volleyball, followed to a lesser extent, Basketball, and Futsal. All three sports lost their continental titles under local coaches.

It is a fact that the fans do not trust Iranian coaches. It is a fact that was highlighted in an ISNA poll with the majority losing voting against domestic coaches. It is a deep-rooted problem and has been hidden under the carpet, at least in official media. It seems that talking about it is taboo and the reason is, like everything in Iran, it is the policy of the regime, and one cannot disagree with it. Not in public at least.

SUPREME LEADER SERMON

However, volleyball, which was fast becoming the number one team sport in Iran threatening the domination of football, suddenly hit a spiral dive after Ataei was appointed. His promotion to Volleyball Team Melli and rise in value was right after a ceremonial meeting with the supreme leader in which Ayatollah Khamenei explicitly declared that domestic coaches have much better value for the Iranian teams than foreign nationals.

Sport authorities took that as a Fatwa that needs to be strictly adhered to not just a pip talk from the supreme leader. It has quickly become a perceived policy of maintaining the values of the Islamic revolution through the appointment of Iranian coaches.

Although Ayatollah Khamenei did say that he is no expert in sports and did not interfere in the appointment of coaches in that meeting with the Iranian national volleyball team, who dares to disagree and work independently selecting coaches based on merits, international standards of competence, experience, and ability rather on patriotism or politics?

Right after the free fall of volleyball, pundits mentioned that Behrouz Ataei, the Iranian head coach of the national team, showed that “we have not yet reached a level with domestic coaches where we can compete closely with the world’s volleyball powers, and we need the presence of a skilled foreign head coach so that the domestic coaches can learn and experience major world events alongside him and improve their own technical abilities. Maybe this issue is not pleasant for some, but it is a fact that many veterans and fans of volleyball acknowledge.”

In football, Ghalenoei, or any Iranian head coach is bound by many limitations.  In a bi-polar football culture, his first felony is that he is a Blue so he will have an apparent bias towards Esteghlal players. This has been observed many times over with Iranian coaches, although Daei was an exception during his tenure.

DEMANDS AND PRESSURE TO SUCCEED

Iranian coaches have a fear of defeat and setbacks and that is not entirely their own fault. They are facing masses of supporters and press that demand immediate results. A nation hungry for success that eluded it since the revolution over 40 years ago. There is no time for experimenting and being a maverick. Ghalenoei is no exception. Fear of failure pushes him to rely on the most battle-hardened warriors, counting on the experience of senior players to achieve success.  He has just taken over an aging team, the oldest in the last World Cup 2022, in fact, to increase the average age by adding yet another over-33-year-old player!

It is true that the U23 team, which is supposed to be the backbone of senior Team Melli, has been poorly performing for many years, but under a sub-standard unqualified coach in Reza Enayati, the real potential of the team was never going to materialize. Nonetheless, there were a few good players in that team that deserve a trial and call-up. Only one made Ghalenoei’s list.

POLITICS

There will always be political pressure on the national team. The regime’s interest supersedes any other objectives. Players not showing total loyalty to the regime, will have to be excluded and any sign of political dissent must be swiftly dealt with. Under a foreign coach filtering players based on politics is that much more difficult especially if you have a strong character coach.

DISCIPLINE

One of the biggest shortfalls of Iranian coaches will always be DISCIPLINE. Time and again, the local coaches have failed miserably in self-discipline and that of their own players’. Never mind what they preach in public, the Iranian coaches in general feel obliged to be protective of the players even when committing the silliest or most damaging of acts.

The regional teams realize that Iranian footballers play with strong emotion, and the opposition takes advantage of that even provoking their Iranians whose self-control and emotional intelligence are suspect. This could be a game changer comes major championships like the Asian Cup.

Finally….. Do you think Ansarifard’s call to team Melli is justified?

Here is his record this season. Note that he played only one 90-minute game in the league.

Karim Ansarifard

ClubDivisionminutesgamesstartSub inSub outbenchgoalsYC2 YCRC

Omonia Nicosia		1.D277734341200

“Discipline is a top priority in Team Melli,” says Rezaei

In a short interview with Khabar Varzeshi, Rahman Rezaei, the assistant coach of Team Melli, highlighted the importance of discipline in Team Melli and how crucial it is for the overall success of the team.

Rezaaei was asked by the reporter “In the previous camp, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan was not invited due to disciplinary issues. Is he on the blacklist for the coming camps or not?”

“Disciplinary issues are a top priority for Team Melli’s coaching staff, headed by Amir Ghalenoei. In any case, in the previous camp, it was decided that Kananizadegan would be excluded from the group. Regarding whether he will be added to our team in the new camp or not, it is all up to the direct opinion of the respected head coach. I would like to emphasize again that Ghalenoei has a special emphasis on maintaining order and discipline in the national team because this issue is directly related to the fate of the team. You must have noticed, in the recent games of the Omid team in the Olympic qualifiers, the yellow cards were the difference between us qualifying or losing the chance to create history.”

“Disciplinary issues cost our football dearly. Previous experiences should be a lesson for us. Lately, football rules have become stricter than before, and both AFC and FIFA are very strict on the conduct of players and coaches, hence we attach high importance to it and should have zero tolerance for indiscipline no matter how important a player is for the team. We continue to advocate good behavior and discipline even in training and around the camps.”

This is an encouraging development for Team Melli’s mentality but it remains to be seen if this strict discipline and behavior will be implemented in competition matches. Historically, lax discipline has been the Achilles heel of Iranian football and that includes tactical discipline on top of behavior on and off the field. The former coach of Team Melli, Carlos Queiroz has done a fine job creating a strict disciplinarian environment in the camp. That discipline waned slightly during Dragan Skocic’s tenure.
it remains to be seen if Amir Ghalenoei is serious about this vital issue. Domestic coaches are known to be more tolerant of players’ indiscretions as evident in the Omid team in recent weeks.

Team Melli lifts the CAFA Nations Cup 2023

Iran’s national football team defeated host nation Uzbekistan in the final of the CAFA tournament to lift the inaugural championship

A goal by the second leading goal scorer of the tournament, Sardar Azmoun in the 48th minute from a nice assist by Mehdi Taremi settled the match early in the second half.

While the two teams were testing each other, a cross from the Uzbek winger saw the clumsy Beiranvand rushing out in an attempt to punch the ball clear without an awareness of the position of his teammates, as such he managed to punch the ball and the head of Saeid Eztollahi leaving the midfielder bleeding in the head. Beiranvand himself was also injured and could not continue. He was replaced by Payam Niazmand. A repeat performance for Beiranvand against England in the FIFA World Cup.

The physical nature of the game against Uzbekistan led by the absent Serco Katanic, due to illness, caused the referee to repeatedly blow his whistle for fouls.

The most serious threat of the first half was the Uzbeks’ counterattack by Uranov in the 43rd minute, where the ball hit the post. Apart from that, no real action was created by the two sets of forwards.

in the second half, Vahid Amiri replaced the ineffective Mehdi Ghaeid in order for the two strikers to get a better service from the flank. Ghalenoei’s change of plan paid off soon after the re-start for the second half. Taremi got the bell from the left flank and saw Azmoun free right in the box, his pass was well controlled by Sardar who then composed himself to shoot powerfully into the net to announce the first goal.

After this goal, Team Melli tried to control the game’s pace rather than go out on an all-out attack. They played a logical possession football with some intricate passing that was delightful. Niazmand was hardly tested by the Uzbeks players who were getting frustrated as the time went on.

Next, the Uzbeks tried to threaten the depth of the Iranian national team’s defense with their long passes, realizing the slow pace of the defenders, especially Hajsafi and Pouraliganji. In one attack, they nearly managed to score when the Uzbeck player found himself in plenty of space left behind Hajsafi and then a dribble past Poyralganji but haste and Nizamand’s timely interception prevented the Uzbel player from scoring.

In a match that neither team managed to take control of and which was about to end victoriously and peacefully for Team Melli, a petulant act from the notorious Hossein Kananizadegan nearly threatened to erupt the match right at the end.

Kananizadegan, who was earlier cautioned by the Russian referee for one of his silly and totally uncalled-for fouls when he pushed the Uzbek keeper, Yusupov, while he was trying to shoot, The center back got the second card in the 90th minute when he started a childish protest against something that he did not like demanding a penalty. His zealous protest led the Russian referee to award him another yellow card and subsequently the red and the marching order.

The center back, sulking and crying foul refused to leave the field and instead, he sat down on the lawn in protest. This aggravated the Uzbek players, a couple of whom tried to lift Kananizadegan up and force him out of the field where he should be rather than on the lawn. An altercation between the two teams’ players followed and if it was not for some cool heads from both sides, the situation could have turned quite ugly scenes.

After Kananizadegan’s petulant act and his dismissal, Ghalenoei did not risk it and replaced Mohammad Karimi who himself replaced Azamoun in the 75th minute, with Majid Hosseini to secure the heart of the defense.

The match ended 1-0 and was a deserved victory for Team Melli.

Oman took third place after defeating Kyrgyzstan 1-0

Match Preview: Iran v Kyrgyzstan

Team Melli will face host Kyrgyzstan in the final group match of CAFA Nations Cup 2023 today Friday 16th June at 18:30 Iran time.

The winner of this match will go through to the CAFA Nation Cup 2023 final as the leader, while the losing team will play in the ranking match.

Iran leads the group on goal difference with three points and a goal difference of 5 and Kyrgyzstan with three points and a goal difference of 3 as both assured a trip to Uzbekistan for the next stage. The third team, Afghanistan lies at the bottom of the table without any points. If Iran needs only a draw against Kyrgyzstan, to qualify for the Final match which will be against Uzbekistan.

in Group A, Uzbekistan has qualified for the final match by heading the group while one team from among the teams of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Oman will be playing the 3rd playoff match.

Iran and Kyrgyzstan have faced each other three times before today, which resulted in three victories of 6-0 (1995), 3-1, and 7-0 (1976) for Iran.

H / A / NMatchesWDLGoals+ / –
H22009 – 1+8
A00000 – 0+0
N11007 – 0+7
Total330016 – 1+15
DateComp.H / A / NFinal scoreStadiumAttendance
07.06.2016FriendlyH6 – 0Azadi Stadium, Tehran4500
09.06.1997World Cup Qualifier / Group 2H3 – 1Azadi Stadium, Tehran50000
04.06.1997World Cup Qualifier / Group 2N7 – 0Al Abbasyeen Stadium , Damascus25000

This is Iran’s first participation in CAFA Nations Cup and regardless to the results, it would be a confidence booster for Team Melli preparing for AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. In the first game, Team Melli defeated Afghanistan 6-1 to head group B table and did not have a hard time against its rival. For the second game, Team Melli will face a team that is ranked 97th in FIFA, and in the last meeting between the two teams in 2015, they won 6-0 against the Kyrgyz Republic. In that meeting, Mehdi Taremi, Mehdi Torabi, Sardar Azmoun, Masoud Shojaei, and Karim Ansarifard scored for Iran.

Despite needing a draw only to face Uzbekistan in the final, Team Melli under Amir Ghalenoei will be aiming for a win in Bishkek in front of an expected full-capacity stadium. The Kyrgyz national football team, the host of the CAFA Nations Cup 2023 Group B, has made good progress compared to previous years. In their first game, they won 1-0 against Afghanistan, and the only goal of the game was scored in the 97th minute, which did not amuse the Afghanistan team. While the team protested an ugly scene led by the Kuwaiti coach Abdulla Mutairi ensued. He forced and pushed the Afghan Player to leave the field.

As a result, according to the decision of the disciplinary committee of the tournament, Kyrgyzstan was declared the winner 3-0, despite scoring one goal only. Kyrgyzstan needs to defeat Iran to advance to the final while it is assured a place in the top four. According to local media, the match is sold out hours before the start with Kyrgyz spectators grabbing the most. Their fans are hoping for a miracle from their country’s team and a famous victory against ran.

Ghalenoei continues the preparation of Team Melli. Antonio Manicone introduced.

Team Melli head coach is actively working with the incomplete squad ahead of the upcoming CAFA Nations Cup 2023 in the Kyrgyz Republic. Meanwhile, today, the Italian coach Antonio Manicone was introduced to the players as a new member of the national team’s coaching staff.

Referring to Manicone ‘s records, Amir Ghalenoei wished him and other members of the national team success in the upcoming mission. The Italian officially commenced his duty in Iran’s national team today. The 56-year-old coach has experience working in different teams in his career. Anthony Manicone; was born on October 27, 1966. He started his professional career with Internazionale and played for other Italian teams like Udinese, Genoa, and Perugia. He also made one appearance for the Italian national team in 1993.

The newest addition to the Team Melli coaching staff, served for seven years on the technical staff of the Swiss national team, being on the Iranian national team is his second national coaching experience.

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 review

The draw for the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Asia organized by AFC was held hours ago in Doha, Qatar.

The Main football championship in Asia is delayed by over a year due to a combination of AFC short-sightedness and the unreliability of the Chinese authorities. China was supposed to hold its second AFC Asian Cup tournament after the successful one in 2004 but a series of events and circumstances surrounding COVID lockdown in China has meant that the most prestigious tournament of the continent was not going to be held in China. Qatar, as reliable as ever, and beaming from the fresh success of golding the biggest tournament in the World, FIFA World Cup 2022 came to the rescue.

Parviz Ghaleechkhani lifts the Asian Cup for the third time in Tehran 1976.

 

The draw ceremony was held with the coaches of all teams present. Amir Ghalenoei is experiencing his second presence in the AFC Asian Cup since his lone appearance in Malaysia back in 2007. Ghalenoei hops for a much more successful tournament this time to compensate for the bitter failure in Malaysia. Iran has failed to lift the trophy since it won it three times in a row in 1968, 1972, and 1976., Also present was the ever-familiar face of Carlos Queiroz who failed to lift the trophy with Iran in two attempts in 2015 Australia and 2019 UAE. This time the Portuguese coach will try with Qatar who are now the defending champions.

However, Ghalenoei’s mission is far from easy as his biggest challenge remains in dealing with an aging team left by Queiroz. Iran was the oldest team in the last World Cup.

In Group C, Iran is joined by familiar opponents in UAE, Hong Kong, and Palestine. This is on paper at least. one of the easiest groups of the Asian Cup for Iran in recent tournaments. None of the three teams have managed to defeat Iran in an official competition, although the UAE managed a win in Abudhabi in a friendly 26 years ago in September 1997.

TEAM MP W D L GF GA GD
UAE 18 14 3 1 26 4 +22
HONG KONG 6 6 0 0 14 1 13
PALESTINE 6 3 3 0 16 4 +12
  30 23 6 1 56 9 +47

Barring a disaster, there is little doubt that Team Melli will make it through to the knockout stages that Iran has always managed to qualify to expect in Japan back in 1992. The problem starts at later stages with stronger opposition. Iran will remain one of the top contenders for the title with Japan remaining the favorite, followed by Australia and South Korea.

Ali Parvin lifted Asian Cup in 1976 with Hassan Rowshan

Despite the games not starting until December, Ghalenoei might consider that as not adequate time to create a strong team that can challenge East Asians. Such is football nowadays, that preparation times for national teams are quite limited specifically for those national teams that have players playing abroad in Europe. There is no excuse for Team Melli as there are teams in worse conditions than them so that needs to be addressed and not to be used as an excuse. A major big challenge with Ghalenoei, however,  is the administration.

The FFIRI is not exactly a beacon of outstanding management nor is it even a proper organization ruled by processes and planning. It is run by a group of ill-qualified personnel placed there based on their allegiance rather than competency. and if Ghalenoei needs to get things done, there will have to be a lot of personal effort and sacrifices as this football federation is unreliable and incompetent as ever. Last time over, Ghalenoi was more frustrated with the organization than anything else which lead to his early resignation from his post after the quarter-final elimination in Kuala Lumpur in 2007. Perhaps, this time over, his diplomacy, experience, patience, and older wiser age will make him much more capable to handle the difficulties and hardships. Perhaps this coach after so many failed attempts by his predecessors,  can fulfill a mission that has eluded this soccer-mad nation for 47 years.

Russia withdraws from CAFA tournament

Earlier this week it was announced that the Russian national football team has accepted CAFA’s invitation to participate in the first Central Asian Football Associations tournament in June of this year as a guest, with the presence of Central Asian teams, including Iran, but the Russians suddenly changed their minds.

The Russian Football Federation announced that this country will not participate in CAFFA. Today, “Valery Karpin”, the head coach of the Russian national football team, in an interview with the TASS news agency, explained the reason behind the withdrawal of this country’s team from CAFA after initially agreeing to attend. Karpin said that “the playing surface, the timing, and the weather conditions were the reasons for this decision.

Karpin said: There are several reasons. The first is the time of holding competitions. On June 11, the final of the National Cup will be held, and the decision to participate in the tournament should have been made in advance. The head coach of Russia added: You also have to consider the conditions of the competition. The tournament is in Tashkent or Bishkek. It is clear that the air temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius. I want to remind you that in Bishkek there is an artificial grass pitch where the risk of injury increases significantly. For example, after the game in Bishkek last fall, five players of the Russian national team could not participate in the next game.

In response to critics saying that the decision to withdraw from CAFA was wrong because Russia does not have many choices to play the preparation game on FIFA Day, he said: “Yes, our choices are not really great, but this does not mean that we sacrifice the health of the players and the opportunity to spend vacations. be completely deprived of them. Moreover, this is not an official tournament, but a friendly tournament. If participating in competitions is part of the preparation for official competitions, it may be worth the risk.”

The head coach of the Russian national team emphasized the future plans of the team: “The officials of our federation will do their best to hold friendly games in the next windows of the International Football Federation (FIFA) calendar, including in June. We hope that the negotiations will bear fruit and we will be able to hold a full preparation camp with a couple of matches. Ideally in Russia and with our fans.” According to Mehr’s reporter, Iran’s national football team hoped to be in this competition with the presence of Russia and experience some serious tests. Now, with the withdrawal of the Russians, it is not clear whether Team Melli will go to Kyrgyzstan or not. In his latest interview, the head coach of Iran’s national team, Amir Ghalenoei, said that participation in CAFA is conditional on holding a meeting with Mehdi Taj, the president of the Football Federation.

Meanwhile, some Russian football experts are already critical of the Russian decision to withdraw, with some sarcastic remarks about Karpin’s reasoning. especially about the temperature of 30 degrees C. It seems that Karpin’s players are built for arctic weather football only and will melt in the temperatures of 30 degrees.”

Valery Ovchinikov, a former Russian player and coach, was also critical of the decision and commented by accusing the Russian team of being afraid of possible defeat against Asian teams. Ovchinikov said: “The weather is a good excuse not to participate inCAFA. We don’t play in the summer. We are used to the cold! He continued sarcastically: The Russian Football Federation probably thinks that our football is played by the Chukchi people (indigenous people of Russia who are close to Siberia). We mustn’t go to the racetrack in the summer or we’ll melt!”