Tag: Competition

28/12/201429/12/2014

Why is playing for your National Team NOT a national duty!

It is really hard to think of why many Iranian athletes/sportsmen , who by playing for the national teams, thus serving their country, giving their best to raise the tri colored flag , fight for honors , respect and victory of the motherland and in the process could be exposed to injuries that could life threatening or permanently handicapped, why are these Iranian athletes/sportsmen are not categorized as serving the nations and even worse, prevented from joining their teams that needs them ??

Hamid Sourian – The living legend of Iran’s wrestling

The same person that is wanted in Australia to defend the national honors of Iran in the Asian Cup is considered an outlaw if he does not join the military service and work in a remote village teaching some kids how to run or write. Surely , if the person is talented enough , he must be utilized and serve the country in his filed and specialty rather than wasting him. This is the fundamental of proper Human Resource Management.

The question that begs itself for the Iranian government and lawmakers is, what is the meaning of National Service and why representing the country is NOT considered national service although the media is always ready to hype the players and the fans by pointing to the patriotic duty of football players and other athletes as servant or soldiers of the country when talking part in competitions abroad?!

Iran’s Behdad Salimi (R) and his with compatriot Sajjad Anoushiravani celebrate winning medals at London Olympics games

There is quite a bit of contradiction in the philosophy of the system of National Service. In the World Cup, Mehrdad Pooladi is a hero who is serving his nation, but a few months later, he is a villain and a deserter for trying to do the same in Australia without doing the military service!

Granted, there are laws in Iran governing the military or national service which has to be respected. The question though if these laws are truly reflecting the concept of national service, especially when talking about peace time. These laws need to be amended, serving one’s country cannot only be in the Military field, it could be in the scientific, agricultural, sport and many other fields. The Military should NOT have the exclusive monopoly on people. Law makers need to seriously address this area. National service must re-defined from the archaic system inherited from the days of the pre-revolution era.

As it is , there are many instances where a person can be granted exemption from national service in Iran, why not add sporting duty while representing the country, to that long list?

26/12/2014

The misfortunes of Team Melli forwards.

With around 3 weeks to go for Iran’s first match in the AFC Asian Cup 2015, Team Melli’s bad fortunes continues unabated,

Reza Ghoochannejad , the forward who singlehandedly took Iran to the World Cup 2014 with his precious vital goals in the qualifiers , has just been shown the door by a uninspiring team, low level team playing in less than modest league. Ghoochannejad has been told by Al Kuwait FC that his services are no longer required and has to return to his club , Charlton Athletics. Gucci in fact scored 7 goals for AL Kuwait during the half season , but it was deemed not a good return on investment that the Kuwaiti club which has paid over a million Euro for his services.

Reza Ghoochannejad scored the only goal for Team Melli in the World Cup against Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 3-1 defeat.

Karim Ansarifard, the young player who promised so much in the last few years , has fared much worse than Gucci . The reserve Team Melli forward has not managed to score any goals for his club Osasuna during his 8 matches and 351 minutes of playing time.

Ansarifard has been told by the Pamplona club that he needs to find another club in the January transfer windows as he will be no longer wanted in Osasuna where his Captain Javad Nekounam is a key player in the Segunda Division side.

Team Melli is not renowned for their offensive prowess in Asia , as the tactical policy of the team is built around solid defense, however with their two main forwards being out of a job , it does not augur well for the team in Australia.

Just as expected after Umm Salal last league game, Pejman Montazeri’s injury looks like a serious one. It has been announced today that Team Melli’s central defender will not be available for selection for the Asian Cup due to the injury.

Another player who might miss the trip to Australia is Khosro Haidary whose recovery has been slow from his injury. The Esteghlal right back is currently under special observation.

25/12/2014

“Khakpour is as good as Kranjcar” Kaffashian claims

The head of Iran’s football federation, Ali Kaffashian, much more known for his bizarre and outlandish quotes than his knowledge of football administration, admitted that Habib Kashani knows much better than him in football affairs and Kashani was right when he strongly expressed his concerns about the Omid Team prospects by submitting his resignation. “I have to say that Kashani is quite knowledgeable man in football, much more than I am. We have not accepted his resignation because we needed him although he had valid points about coaching selection” However, controversially Kaffashian said that the appointed Omid Team coach , Mohammad Khakpour , who has virtually no experience at top level football, is as good as the veteran and championship winner Zlatko Kranjcar , who was Habib Kashani’s handpicked choice!

Kaffashian did not offer any rational explanation for his bizarre claim, nor could we explain the conflict between his two statements!

On the Omid Team, Kaffashian also admitted that the results and the performance of the Omid Team were poor and inexcusable. “Without having a proper program, we simply brought in a foreign coach, appointed him and told him to win us the Asian Games gold medal. The result was what you have all seen.” Thus for the umpteen times, Kaffashian unwittingly admits his administration poor management, planning and organizational skills.

Asked about the chances of Iran winning the Asian Cup and lifting the trophy for the first time since 1976, the head of FFIRI in his usual sarcastic tone said “ Our team is very good as you have all seen in the World Cup. What I promise you in Australia is that the players will pass the ball instead of sending the ball high in the sky!!”

In a way, Kaffashian officially joins Queiroz as the two people in Iran that have given Team Melli no hope of winning the Asian Cup. Although the promise of not playing “Ali Asghari“ football might appeal to some fans!

Kaffashian dismissed any notions of resignation from his post if Team Melli fails in the AFC Asian Cup.

“There is no reason for me to resign because of that. I will continue doing my job and prepare for the next stage. I have a 4 years cycle of presidency and plan to serve it. If the general assembly accepts me and finds me suitable, I will carry on for the next 4 years as well.”

The concept of accepting responsibility and resigning due to shortcomings and failures, has not reached Iranian football shores yet. Failures and defeats are quite acceptable to this federation. 2014 was the one of the worst years of failures at all levels for the proud and glorious Iranian football history, all under the administration of the all-smiling and not too serious Ali Kaffashian.

25/12/2014

“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.”

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.”

24/11/201424/11/2014

Pooladi is suspended in Iran

Mehrdad Pooladi has been suspended by the football league as a result of a ruling by the Government organization for employments.

The ruling has been issued because Pooladi has failed to produce a genuine “Certificate of Release from Military Service.” When the Al Shahaniya player was summoned by the authorities either to produce different documents or proceed on the mandatory 2 years military service, Pooladi , however , failed to show up. At some stage , his continuous failure to turn up might end up quite costly if he is labeled as a deserter.

As such, Pooladi being suspended from football activities in Iran , he will not be selected for Team Melli and as of now , it is pretty certain that the best performing Iranian player in the FIFA World Cup 2014 will be missing from the roster for the AFC Asian Cup 2015.

The ruling does not affect Pooladi’s playing outside of Iran and it is not binding for his Qatari club.

26/08/2014

Development of a new mentality in Iran’s football planning.

Nelo Vingada, the Portuguese coach has been hard at work preparing the team for the Asian Games 2014 which for Iran will start on the 15^th September with an opening match against Vietnam.

The team’s preparation has been going well under the circumstances and the usual difficulties, however, the marked difference in the preparation this time is the tendency for the team to be mostly the U21 footballers. This policy has developed within the corridor of power of FFIRI based on the ultimate goals of Iran achieving qualification for the Olympic Games. However, when the final list of the squad for Incheon games was announced, almost a third of the players will not be eligible to participate in the 2016 Olympic Games from qualification stages.

Nelo Vingada - U-23 Head Coach — Nelo Vingada – U-23 Head Coach

That raised a few questions about how the federation is proceeding with this team considering the earlier plans for the 2016 Olympics and if there was a change of heart triggered by the recent events and the result of the friendly matches played by the team, which to the best of descriptions, were quite modest.

Iran has always been a contender for Asian Games medals. Historically and statically, Iran has been the most successful football team in Asian Games History with 4 Gold medals, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze followed closely by their nemesis South Korea. Incidentally both teams have met each other in the Bronze match play-off in the last two Asian Games and the honors were even.

Unlike their mentality towards marginalizing the Asian Cup, the Asian Games football tournament, is a different proposition all together. Iran’s patriciaption in the Asian Games and the Olympics falls under the responsibilities of the National Olympics Committee (NOC). All federations must strictly follow the NOC guidelines and send athletes whose records indicate that they can compete for one of the medals of the sports they are participating in. Therefore , Iran football team must abide by this charter and filed their strongest team.

With that in mind, 7 quality players who have been making their names in top level of Iran’s league have been added to the list to strengthen the squad. Kaveh Rezaei , Morteza Pouraliganji , Mohammadreza Khanzadeh, Shahriyar Shirvand , Mohsen Mosalman , Mehdi Sharifi, and Yaghoub Karimi are the top guns.

To explain this turnaround, a FFIRI spokesman confirmed that FFIR has been instructed by Iran’s Olympic Committee to field the best and full strength team for the Asian Games. “The NOC made it clear for us that Asian Games is no place for trials. Only the best must are allowed to compete and represent the country. If sending the best athletes or Teams are not possible, then there will be no participation..” This firm policy of Iran’s NOC has seen some individual Iranian world class athletes lose their place due to loss of form or lack of practice hence possibilities of defeat.

So, it seems that this mentality of FFIRI , which is planning for 4 years ahead competitions like the next World Cup and the next Olympic games is being followed unabated. It is only the IOC that has stepped its authority and threatened to kick Team Melli U23 out if it cannot compete for one of the medals. FFIRI futuristic plans, incidentally, has no mention of competing for championships titles in it. Just qualifying for the World Cup or Olympic Games!

Suddenly, a top level continental and elite competition like the Asian Cup, has no place in FFIRI agenda! To add to the complexity of this twisted mentality , Iran is actually a leading candidate to host the 2019 Asian Cup!

17/07/2014

Iran drops 6 places in July 2014 FIFA Ranking

Despite participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup , Iran continued dropping in the world ranking to no. 49 while it also lost the Asian top ranking that it maintained for the last 4 months.

A series of poor results including two losses in the World Cup , meant 6 places drop for Iran which also drained the total points which stands at 563 in the current ranking issued today. Japan leads Asia with 604 points and ranked 4 places above Iran at 45.

Australia , which will host the AFC Asian Cup 2015 had the worst drop amongst the Asian team losing 15 places after 3 losses in the World Cup.

The Asian teams did not do well at all in the World Cup as none of the 4 teams made it to the next round and all of them were the bottom of their groups.

With the uncertainty of the coaching situation in Team Melli and a fast approaching AFC Asian Cup in which most of Asian teams have already arranged friendly matches, Iran is nowhere near any scheduled friendlies , except for the proposed South Korea match which has yet to be confirmed by the FFIRI.

FIFA Ranking July 2014

World Rank	Zone Rank	Team	Pts +/- Pos
45	1	Japan	604	1
49	2	Iran	563	-6
52	3	Uzbekistan	523	7
56	4	Korea Republic	501	1
57	5	Jordan	500	6
65	6	United Arab Emirates	466	7
69	7	Oman	443	10
76	8	Australia	397	-14
78	9	Saudi Arabia	384	12
85	10	Palestine	362	9

31/03/2014

Qatar coach “Iran is quite strong and a team with a global reputation.”

The Algerian coach of Qatar National Football team , Djamel Belmadi said that we have to accept the result of the draw that placed Qatar to face of Iran, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.”

In an interview with Al Kass TV , a Qatari sport network broadcasting from Doha, he added “At this level you should accept the results and the draws. We must be ready for all situations.”

In his assessment of the teams that will compete with Qatar in Group C , Belmadi added “The Iranian national team is quite strong and a team with a global reputation beyond the region. UAE team is stubborn and went through an successful evolution recently, while the Bahraini team should always be respected … generally speaking, it will be difficult and a tough group”.

The 38 years old Belmadi admitted that the national team did not perform well in the West Asia Cup despite winning the title, but said that “we will have enough time to get ready for the competition and to perform up to expectation in the AFC Asian Cup 2015.”

He continued “We will have a preparatory camp and we have a good opportunity to prepare well. We are entering a different competition in the Asian Cup, unlike West Asian (WAFF) competition. In Australia, we will be facing the best and we must prepare for that and be at our best.”

“Our hopes and our aspirations are legitimate, as we have what it takes at this level of competition.”

“With our resources and standard, it is our legitimate ambitions to go far in the competition and do well but despite this ambition, we also need to remain realistic.”

He continued “We have to aspire to be better and start looking beyond mere participation by challenging the title.”

The Algerian coach of Qatar made a tour of Australia to inspect stadiums and sports facilities in order to familiarize himself with the quality of the facilities, “That tour shall result in a more efficient preparatory program that can enhance our team chances in the tournament and enable us to perform with all of our strength.”

“I have a long list of candidates for the national team. I will choose players from league matches and the Gulf Cup.” With regard to the final list that will be chosen to represent Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 , Bulmadhi explained “ it is still too early, but initially we will invite players who are already in the current squad.”

He added “There are a lot of players who can be with the team, but in the end there are league matches and the Gulf Cup competition which will allow us to truly appraise the potentials and the level of the players.”

Djamel Belmadi has been appointed as the head coach of Qatar football Team two weeks ago. He played as a professional in several European clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Cannes, Celta Vigo, Manchester City, before heading to the Persian Gulf to play for Al-Ittihad and Al-Kharitiyath in Qatar. He had a 2 year spell with Southampton in the Championship between 2007–2009 before hanging his boots with Valenciennes.

He is a young coach who started with Kharitiyath and Qatar B team. His selection as a head coach has raised a few eyebrows in Qatar who normally look at high profile experienced coaches. The Qatar FA , like mny of the Arab states of Persian Gulf , are notorious for sacking coaches.

Djamel Belmad is the 13th coach of Qatar since years 2000 , making it an average of 1 coach every year.

25/03/2014

Stage set for Asian Cup draw in Sydney

afc.com

PUBLISHED: 24 MARCH 2014

Sydney: The Sydney Opera House will host one of Asian football’s night of nights – the final draw for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015, this Wednesday, March 26.

The cream of Asian football talent will descend on Australia next January for Asia’s biggest single-sport event and the biggest football tournament ever staged in Australia.

The draw will determine what route their national teams will need to take to reach the final at Sydney’s Stadium on January 31, 2015.

In terms of mouth-watering match ups in the knock-out stages, the aficionado will be looking to those nations qualified for this year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil: Australia, Iran, Japan and Korea Republic. Jordan and Uzbekistan were the next two closest to qualifying and should pose problems for their opponents.

The draw for the 16 team-tournament will feature the head coaches of the 15 confirmed sides, with the winner of the AFC Challenge Cup 2014, which takes place in the Maldives in May, making up the final participant.

The 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four teams, with each group playing a one-round league.

There will be four country pots with hosts Australia occupying the A1 position of Pot 1 and the rest of the countries getting their respective positions based on FIFA Ranking announced on 13 March 2014.

The first four top-rank countries will be slotted in Pot 1 and the rest will be slotted in Pot 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

The seedings are as follows:

Pot 1 (teams ranked 1-4): Australia, Iran, Japan, Uzbekistan

Pot 2 (teams ranked 5-8): Korea Republic, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia

Pot 3 (teams ranked 9-12): Oman, China, Qatar, Iraq

Pot 4 (teams ranked 13-16): Bahrain, Kuwait, DPR Korea and Challenge Cup 2014 winners.

27/01/2014

24 teams in AFC Asian Cup 2019

The AFC has announced major changes in the competitions structure.

The major competition of the conteninet, the AFC Asian Cup will feature 24 teams in 2019 edition while AFC Champions League will see a similar number of nations participating according to AFC announcement following a meeting in Muscat where the AFC U-22 Championships were recently held.

The AFC Challenge Cup, which sees participation from lower ranked Asian teams, with winners gaining direct entry to the Asian Cup, will also be scrapped following this year’s edition in Maldives.

Qualification process for the Asian Cup and Fifa World Cup will also be combined at the preliminary stage. AFC Member Associations (MAs) will be split into eight groups with the group winners and four second best teams going forward to the final qualifying round for Fifa World Cup, as well as gaining automatic entry to the Asian Cup. This also increases the number of Asian teams competing in the final round of the World Cup qualifiers from 10 to 12.

The top 24 remaining teams who failed to progress to the final round of World Cup qualifiers, will instead compete for a chance at the Asian Cup in six groups of four teams. However the final round of qualifiers for the World Cup and Asian Cup will remain separate.

Changes have also been implemented for AFC’s club competitions. Assessment criteria for a nation’s AFC Champions League eligibility will now also include national team performances over the previous four years. 30% of the criteria points will be drawn from national team with the remaining 70% based on clubs’ showings.

The top 24 ranked MAs based on this new criteria will get a direct slot in the AFC Champions League group stage. Other criteria such as club licensing, existence of integrity programmes, organization of a professional league, satisfactory facilities and logical support also need to be fulfilled.

The next eight highest ranking MAs will get a direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage while those ranked from 33 to 47 will get a chance to play in the AFC Cup playoff stage.

The new rules will come into effect in competitions from 2015 with assessments taking place this year.

AFC President Shaikh Salman Ebrahim Al Khalifa praised the new changes and hoped for a positive impact.

“Competitions are the main products of AFC and I am happy that it is in the good hands,” he told AFC.com.

“We must market our product and generate income to sustain football across the continent. I am sure that the changes that happen will have big impact in Asian football and will benefit our Member Associations.”