Tag: Amir Haj Rezaei

Analysis of the matches vs UAE and Korea Rep.

 In an interview on the prospects of Team Melli, the former lecturer and football analyst Amir Haj Rezaei spoke of Team Melli chances for the upcoming games against the UAE and South Korea in the group stage of the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,

“The unity and empathy of the players can be clearly seen in the games of this team. The most important factor in shaping a team’s success is their sense of engagement, duty and technical responsibility”. Haj Rezaei continued: “The victory of the Iranian national team against Syria and Iraq was very important and we were able to defeat teams that were always a problem for us during the period of Carlos Queiroz, but now we see that they have nothing to say against Team Melli.”

Referring to Dragan Skocic’s excellent statistics on the Team Melli bench, Hajrezaei added: “He was not a leading coach and not a front runner for the post of coaching Team Melli, but now he has proven himself to everyone. Although Skocic, was not a household name, his success on and off the field are speaking volumes about him and his reputation is growing bigger and bigger.”

“There is no call to ignore his performance and credit the victories to other issues such as the legionnaire players and the management of the federation. The fact is that the current pillars are harmonized and we see successive successes in the senior team because of many factors, not just one.” HajRezaei who was a former assistant coach of Team Melli commented on differences and comparisons between Skocic and Carlos Queiroz ” I really do not understand why there is a need to compare these two people, who have nothing to do with each other. Each has done his own thing. The only point I like to point out is that during Queiroz, there was no stability and high tension as a result of the Portuguese coach’s demeanor.”

“but talking about the past does not help the current situation. We need to enjoy the results over time and learn from them when we fail to achieve our goals.”

He noted: “Team Melli will have a lot to say against the UAE and South Korea, and I think it is not necessary to create giants and hype the opposition like they are doing to  Al-Hilal, which really did not perform well against Esteghlal.” Hajrezaei added: “The fact is that we have neglected our resources and do not enjoy it, then we talk about the small assets of other teams.”

“Let us stop criticizing the team on every point and remember to be supporters aiming for the success of Team Melli. Let’s leave the technical issues for the coaching staff,  and focus our energy on being supporters of Team Melli which currently has at least three good players in each position.”

“Only Nostradamus can predict Team Melli’s results” Haj Rezaei

Amir Haj Rezaei , the prominent Iranian football analyst and former coach , was highly critical of the long interruption of the football league program lasting 50 days in order to set camp for Team Melli.

“You cannot build one team on the ruins of the rest. Football league program is the foundation and fundamental in any country’s football progress. You cannot stop this program for the sake of one team.” Haj Rezaei said in an interview with ISNA.

“I am totally against such scheduling which it is the result of poor planning and loss of awareness. No country I know of has such long interruptions of the league program while it is at its peak.”

Persepolis-&-Esteghlal-in-Azadi

Asked about the prospect of the 4 Iranian clubs in the forthcoming Asian Champions League, Haj Rezaei said that the prospects are quite dim. “The Iranian teams are facing well organized, strong, resourceful and experienced Arab teams from the Persian Gulf states. Their job will be quite difficult at best. I cannot see much chance of progress for these Iranian teams, most of which are facing all sort of problems or financial difficulties.”

“Naft Tehran which has been doing well in the last two seasons has the best chance to progress. They have a well-built and strong team. They have managed to keep the right balance under capable coaches. The only problem with Naft is lack of experience. The same can be said for Tractorsazi. Foolad Khuzestan has lost some key players because of the military service issues however with a clever coach, the team still managed to do well in the league and keep their high ranking. Whether Foolad will be good enough for the Asian Champions league is another question.”

“Out of all the 4 teams, Persepolis has the most daunting task. The club has no CEO , no one to sign their checks , players want to leave , the team is struggling at mid table with some bad results ,  and  to cap it all ,  internal conflicts are aplenty in this organization.  I can’t see how Persepolis can get through this mayhem.”

Asked about Team Melli prospects in the AFC Asian Cup. Haj Rezaei summarized by saying “Only Nostradamus can predict Team Melli’s results.”

Will Iran U23 be eliminated before the Asian Games start?

After the humiliating opening group game defeat against Vietnam, a 4-1 result that sent shock waves to many critics, experts and fans in Iran, the Olympic team is under the threat of elimination from the Asian Games , before even the game officially starts. This would be a milestone in Iran’s football, a one which is truly mortifying for a nation that claims to be at the top level of Asian football.

Iran has to beat Kyrgyzstan on Thursday and by a comprehensive margin to assure qualification in what was seen as an easy group.  The Asian Games Men’s football competition draw could not have been any kinder to Iran , as not only it has put it in 3 team group instead of 4 , it also  placed it with FIFA ranking 139 (Vietnam) and 144 (Kyrgyzstan) or no 21 and 22 in Asia. This time there are no Arab teams, who have really learned how to play against the Iranians, to disturb the U23 team progress. Apparently that huge advantage meant nothing as the little Vietnamese showed the mighty Iranians a few tricks of their own, specifically scoring.

Beating Kyrgyzstan at this level is not an easy task as Iran discovered in the last Olympic Qualifiers in 2011. Human Afazeli was the coach when Iran U23 struggled to beat Kyrgyzstan by the tightest of margins 1-0 in Tehran while they were lucky to get a goal-less draw in Bishkek and qualified by a single goal margin. Afazeli is currently working alongside Nelo Vingada as the U23 Team Manager in Incheon.

Vietnam player celebrates scoring against Iran

Defeats in football is part and parcel of the game, but the manner of defeat can make a world of difference and in many cases, it highlights the underlying problems of that football. Ali Kaffashian has been running the federation with his usual grin for 7 years and getting away with one poorly and disjointed organization. According to the respected Amir Haj Rezaei ” the system and the administration of football in Iran is the biggest culprit behind these humiliation of our football.  Time and again, the only victims are the coaches who lose their jobs while those who are really accountable or at least share  a large portion of the blame ,  maintain their power , repeatedly display their incompetence and inability to manage football , and continue repeating the same mistakes. Our football is at the mercy of politicians’ whims and being exploited by them. These are people who have seen a great opportunity in football to exploit it and benefit from its popularity. Without improvements at the top, chances of success are slim at field level.”

For Kaffashian , it is business as usual. Asked about this humiliating defeat in the press conference after signing the contract with Queiroz, the incumbent President of FFIRI claimed that there are no easy teams in the World Anymore! Down deep inside, he was probably wondering what all this fuss is about!

That response by Kaffashian , just about sums up this man’s standard and aspiration towards Iran’s football.  Driven by other behind the scenes, not much can be expected from this FFIRI administration.

Players and coaches, have to take all the burden of competitions in order to succeed.

Iran U23 meets Kyrgyzstan u23 at 12:30 Tehran time on Thursday 18th September.

 

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