Tag: FFIRI

Editorial: Ghaleneoi’s narrative.

Although far from a perfect coach for Team Melli, Amir Ghalenoei has delivered results that cannot be ignored. His record speaks volumes about his ability to achieve success even when the team struggles to perform at its best. However, his tenure has not been without controversy, particularly regarding his interactions with the media and his press conferences.

Why TeamMelli.com Limits Press Conference Coverage

Some of our followers have questioned the limited coverage of Ghalenoei’s press conferences during official matches. We believe it is important to clarify our stance. At TeamMelli.com, our focus has always been on Team Melli itself—the players, performance, and results—not on political narratives or personal agendas.

While we strongly advocate for free speech, open dialogue, and constructive criticism, we also value impartiality and balanced reporting. Unfortunately, Ghalenoei’s press conferences often deviate from these principles, turning into platforms for personal promotion, political rhetoric, or unwarranted attacks on journalists and critics.

The Nature of Ghalenoei’s Press Conferences

Ghalenoei’s press conferences typically follow a predictable pattern. They begin with a series of formalities: thanking various individuals, praising the Team Melli staff, and expressing gratitude to his boss, Mehdi Taj, the head of FFIRI, for performing his duties. While courteous, this repetitive routine often feels more like unnecessary theatrics than substantive dialogue.

The tone then shifts to a more combative narrative. Ghalenoei frequently criticizes media personnel who dare to question the team’s performance, sometimes implying that such critiques are unpatriotic. He also references alleged personal rivalries, claiming there are “jealous” individuals working against him, though he rarely elaborates. Fans, however, care less about these personal grievances and more about the team’s performance, strategy, and results.

Why We Choose to Focus Elsewhere

In the modern world of football, where data-driven analysis, tactical insights, and performance reviews dominate discussions, Ghalenoei’s narrative feels outdated. At TeamMelli.com, we prioritize content that adds value to our readers: match reports, player statistics, historical perspectives, and tactical breakdowns. Covering Ghalenoei’s press conferences, which often lack substance, does not align with this mission.

That said, we do not completely dismiss Ghalenoei’s comments. Occasionally, he offers valuable insights or observations that are worth sharing. However, we choose to filter out the rhetoric and focus on content that genuinely matters to Team Melli fans.

A Commitment to Constructive Dialogue

Our decision is not a rejection of Ghalenoei as a coach but rather a reflection of our commitment to meaningful and objective coverage. Team Melli deserves reporting that highlights its achievements, analyzes its challenges, and celebrates its history. By staying true to this mission, we ensure that our readers receive the most relevant and impactful content.

Analysis of Reza Enayati’s Tenure in Iranian Football

Failure stories.

Last year, Iran’s Omid football team faced a significant setback when they were eliminated from the Asian Olympic football competition qualifiers after a surprising defeat against Hong Kong. This loss dashed their hopes of advancing to the next stage of the Olympic qualifiers. The team’s head coach, Reza Enayati, was a controversial choice due to his lack of coaching experience. His appointment came with the backing of several officials, including Team Melli’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei. Unfortunately, Enayati’s inexperience was glaringly evident both in his squad selection and his management during the qualifiers. Despite having a roster filled with promising young talents, some of whom were already part of Iran’s senior team, Enayati’s tactical shortcomings led to the team’s early exit against a modest Hong Kong side.

The aftermath of this failure was met with widespread disappointment from both the media and fans, who demanded accountability from the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). However, no significant actions were taken, and the pervasive impunity in Iranian football continued unabated. Surprisingly, despite this major setback, Enayati was soon appointed as the head coach of Peykan Football Club, one of Tehran’s oldest and most prestigious teams. This decision was perplexing, especially given Peykan’s history of developing young players for Iran’s national teams at various levels.

Enayati’s tenure at Peykan proved to be another disastrous chapter in his coaching career. Under his leadership, the team suffered relegation from the Premier League following a 0-2 defeat against Esteghlal in the final week of the season. This relegation marked a significant blow, as Peykan had been a mainstay in the top flight for many years. Tehran’s football scene also took a hit, losing one of its Premier League representatives.

Given these consecutive failures, it raises questions about whether any CEO would be willing to entrust Enayati with a team for the next season. However, it appears that those who supported Enayati’s appointment despite his failure with the Omid team may once again find a new opportunity for him.

Enayati’s situation is emblematic of broader issues within Iranian football, including incompetency, corruption, and nepotism. The rapid progression of former players to coaching roles without adequate training, certification, or experience is a troubling trend. Coaches like Nekounam, Shojaei, and Navidkia are examples of individuals who have been given significant coaching responsibilities without meeting international standards. In contrast, European leagues often require formal coaching certifications and a thorough vetting process before appointments, a practice largely ignored in Iran.

This lack of process and disregard for international coaching standards not only hampers the development of Iranian football but also undermines its credibility on the global stage. For Iranian football to progress, there needs to be a significant overhaul in how coaches are trained, certified, and appointed, ensuring that competence and meritocracy replace the current culture of favoritism and expediency.

The match versus Capo Verde is OFF !!

As usual yet another friendly match arranged by FFIRI is canceled only days after it is announced!!

Mehdi Taj, head of FFIRI, has earlier announced that a match against Capo Verde has been agreed upon, with the venue still to be confirmed but most probably it will be in Tehran.

Today, the director of Team Melli had something else to say about the international friendly matches on FIFA Day.

According to Mehdi Mohammad Nabi; the contract for the first friendly match, which is scheduled to be held on September 07, against the Bulgarian national team, has been approved by both federations, the relevant confederations, and FIFA. He added: Regarding the second friendly match which is scheduled to be held on September 12, considering that the Cape Verde national team has an official match against the Togo national team on September 10, and based on the statements of the representative of the mentioned federation, they have not succeeded in changing the time of the official game!!!. Accordingly, Cape Verde will not be able to play the friendly match in Tehran. (…)

He added: “We are trying to take the necessary measures after consulting with the head coach of Team Melli for finding other options for the second friendly game.”

Yet again, it is another messy, amateurish act by this federation whose intellect and professionalism are on par with that of primary school pupils, with the utmost respect for the kids. How on earth, they even think of arranging a friendly match with a National Team that plays in Africa, and expect the squad to be in Tehran two days later for a match against Team Melli, is beyond comprehension!!!

Iranian football has for the last four decades severely suffered from mismanagement, failures, screw-ups, and a lack of common sense in the most basics of administration and management. We are not even approaching corruption, political interference, nepotism, and bias.

The standard of management personnel, mostly inept former or current civil servants, Basij, revolutionary guards, and regime loyalists, have left Iran’s football handicapped and absent from crowing and championships for nearly half a century.

And there is NO hope of any improvement in sight.

Italian coach Antonio Manicone is to be appointed as an assistant coach with Ghalenoei.

Petkovic’s former assistant on the Lazio, Switzerland and Bordeaux bench is expected to assist Amir Ghalenoei in Team Melli

Together with Petkovic

(Keystone)

June 3, 2023

According to reports in the Iranian media, Antonio Manicone is about to join the coaching staff of Team Melli, as an assistant to Amir Ghalenoei. The FFIRI has already confirmed its intention in fact confirmed its intention to hire a foreign assistant without naming anyone specific.

The 56-year-old Italian was assistant to Vladimir Petkovic on the benches of Lazio, the Swiss national team, and Bordeaux. As a player, he wore the shirts of Inter, Palermo, Genoa, and Perugia.

Currently, there are three Iranian assistant coaches helping Amir Ghalenoei, Andranik Teymourian, Hamid Mottahari, and Rahman Rezaei while Miguel Teixeira is the only non-Iranian assistant on the bench.

Afshin Ghotbi in the shortlist for coaching Omid Team.

The Iranian Football Federation is considering former Team Melli and Persepolis head coach Afshin Ghotbi as a candidate for coaching Iran’s Omid team (U21). This comes after a 3-hour meeting between Mehdi Taj, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, and Habib Kashani to discuss the appointment of a new head coach for the team. Other names being considered include Mojtaba Hosseini and Mehdi Tartar.

In the meantime, the name of Afshin Ghotbi, the former head coach of the Iranian national football team, was added to the list of coaches available and willing to take the job. In past meetings, names such as

The coach will take over the assignment ahead of two important competitions, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in September 2023 and the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

Two Iranian candidates and one foreign are being shortlisted according to an announcement by the National Olympic Committee (NOC) to the Football Federation. It is also determined that this appointment must be determined by May 25 so that this team is ready to participate in the Asian Games. In this regard, the Football Federation has decided to identify the head coach of the Omid national team by May 24 and introduce him to the National Olympic Committee. Also, after last night’s meeting, Mehdi Taj, the president of the football federation, and Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the vice president of the federation, left for Qatar to participate in the draw of the  AFC Asian Cup 2023, which will be held on Thursday.

The coaching of the Omid Team has left many of those with heads down with failure after failure in all official competitions. Apart from some odd exceptions, the FFIRI tends to pick some inconspicuous or obscure coaches to save on wages and the result is inevitably, elimination from the competitions. With the Olympic Games, there is an added situation as the Iranian NOC is involved and history shows some bitter disagreement between the two sides (FFIRI and NOC) on various issues

Ghotbi is currently the head coach of Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC, He was appointed in November of last year. Before that Ghotbi coached in the Chinese league with Cangzhou Mighty Lions.

Milad Kor suspended for 1 year due to crtisicm of FFIRI and U20 team coach

Milkad Kor, one of the pillars of the Iran U20 team that has failed to qualify beyond the quarter-final after losing to the finalist Iraq, has been given a heavy-handed suspension by the FFIRI for daring to speak out against the Federation and lack of support for the U20 team in AFC Asian Cup U20 that was held in Uzbekistan.

MIlad Kor , Tractor’s defender was suspended from all football activities by the Disciplinary Committee of FFIRI. He was also handed a heft fine payable to the federation.

Interestingly, unlike the rest of the world, this federation did NOT mention why the player, one of Iran’s better future prospects, has been given such a heavy sentence and whether he was allowed to defend himself against any supposed allegations. The tyrannical sentence is in line with the regime’s complete intolerance of its system including expression of thought that is published in a publication under government control. There is no independent journalism in Iran. Amazingly not one of the Iranian news and sports publications that published the news of Kor’s ban attempted to seek an explanation or question the FFIRI. All of them just copied and pasted the FFIRI disciplinary committee’s notice which was published on the federation’s own website!!

In the longish interview with ‘Hamshahri; newspaper, Kor’s main criticism was directed at Samad Marfavi, the team’s coach, and the lack of support by the federation. There were no bonuses paid to the players, he claims. Kor was also critical for the team’s management’s refusal to use the swimming pool for recovery like the rest of the teams because the pool was mixed and there could be girls swimming too!  While the defender had some praise for Mirshad Majedi, he was quite scathing of Marfavi’s behavior and discriminatory acts among the players in the squad.

Meanwhile, Kor and for the first time said that the players were just about to go on strike and refuse to take part in training before the Iraq game because of the indifference of the management towards their demands.  ” In the Vietnam game, we were determined to do our best to prove ourselves and we got what we wanted, but in the Iraq game, we had no motivation. Some players did not have money to buy shoes and took loans to buy them. Some players did not have a club to play for as such they had no income. The whole situation transpired into a toxic atmosphere. We were mentally in a terrible state plus we really never had proper recovery exercise before the match with Iraq” Milad Kor said in the interview.

Hamshari reporter asked Kor “What was the story of not going to the swimming pool?” to which Kor replied ” They didn’t allow us the use of the swimming pool because there were girls in there! Well,  if this is the case, why bother forming a team when basic requirements cannot be entertained? Our bodies were fatigued half destroyed and yet we were deprived of cool water. Excuse me, but this is no back alley team that does not have such facilities and if there are ones, you are not allowed to use them.”

“In Tehran, Marfavi was not in a good mood at all since he had not received his money from the federation, he did not even come to the airport to see us off. Later, after he got his money, he joined the team. But he did not lend support to the demands of players’ bonuses. If a head coach wants the good of a player, he needs to stand by him, but this gentleman was selfish. We finished first in the group of death and had an easy quarter-final draw. Iraq also plays like us and its style of play was like ours. But we had no motivation, we were empty from the beginning of the game. I used to say that I wish we were in Iran and called several people and told them to at least bring supplements. “

“A whole generation was wasted. Our generation was golden and by the grace of my mother, we could have won the Asian championship and won the World Cup or at least advanced from the group, but they wasted our generation, with their incompetent hands. We beat Vietnam and became the group leader, but…”

The 19 years old player who is born in Bandar Torkaman, is fully supported by his club Tractor which intends to file a strong appeal against the harsh suspension.

Iranian domestic coaches.

Since the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Team Melli has had no coach or program. It is in fact, disbanded.

Mehdi Taj hinted recently that the FFIRI will be looking much closer at domestic coaches for Team Melli citing difficulty in wages payment and bank transfers.

The problem is, there are NO suitable, competent Iranian coaches who can effectively lead Team Melli.

Iranian candidates for Team Melli

Of the domestic coaches’ names, there are several that can be considered but are not necessarily capable at this time to coach at the international level. Beginning with Ali Daei and Amir Ghalenoei. They are the only two who have led Team Melli and are qualified to do so again. Daei however is in the bad book of the regime, and he himself has no interest whatsoever to coach the team again. He has also been away from football for some time. Ghalenoei, on the other hand, is active and coaching a flourishing club in Gol Gohar. Ghalenoei however, has never been popular with the establishment, and a person whose demeanors and constant finger-pointing at others for his own failures and defeats, have ranked low in popularity and competence.

On the newer generations, we have Yayha Golmohammadi, Javad Nekounam, and Alireza Mansourian. The latter is out of work since he parted company with Sanat Naft Abadan, while his coaching career is not considered successful in general. Nekounam, former Team Melli captain and record holder of most games played for Team Melli, currently is the head coach of Foolad Khuzestan. Nekounam, attitude, antics, and general lack of leadership skills, controversial, ill-spoken, and on the technical side, uncertified coach, he cannot possibly be a serious candidate.

That leaves, Yayha Golmohammadi as the most serious candidate. The current coach of Persepolis has a successful CV which includes two Persian Gulf Pro League titles in the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons with Persepolis. Political dissent and possible reluctance by the club to release him might create difficulties in getting the job at the helm of Team Melli.

Apart from these five aforementioned, no other coach comes even close to making the mark.

But national coaches are not everyone’s cup of tea.

Lack of domestic Iranian coaching talents.

Jalal Chiragpour, the former head coach of Iran’s Team Melli, rejected the idea of an Iranian coach or Queiroz or Bronco to lead Iran’s national football team. In justification,  Chiragpour said: “We want a coach who can educate the players and teach them the style and mentality of modern football; Not a coach who does not allow anyone to see the training sessions, play friendly matches behind closed doors, and not allow journalists to attend the training. Team Melli team needs a “teacher-coach”.

With less than two months left until the next FIFA day (20–28 March 2023) the window of the national team’s games, the FFFIR continues to proceed slowly and calmly and seems in no hurry to choose a head coach. Some coaches and experts believe that the federation can choose a temporary coach (Caretaker) for Nowrooz at least and finally, after the end of the current season of club competitions, can make its final decision.

Jalal Chiragpour said “I have to say a few things about the Iranian coach. If we had an Iranian coach who had received coaching degrees from outside Iran, we could count on him. In this case, we would say that this Iranian coach is more educated than FFIRI’s Education Committee.

Referring to the state of the football federation’s Education Committee, whose task is to promote local Iranian coaches,  Chiragpour said: “Iran’s Education Committee is 30 years behind the modern science of the world football. Our resources are 30 years behind the world. We still teach handouts from 1974 and earlier. That’s why I say that no Iranian coach can become the head coach of the national team because they all got their coaching certificate from an outdated, archaic training institution. If FFIRI had sent a number of coaches to five or six countries like Germany, Portugal, Brazil, England, Spain, or France five or ten years ago and paid for their training, we would have a cadre of competent and certifies coaches. Our football would have changed for the better, but because they have not done anything to train the future coaches, and the football federation does not care much for coaching education, our domestic football has fallen behind even smaller neighbors.”

Teacher-coach vs. Manager coach

Chiragpour said: a “Teacher coach” is the type of coach whose work ethic is like a teacher, educator, or instructor. “Manager-coach” is  manages the team in a professional and commercial way. He deals with ready made, skilled players who need or require only little guidance. If he does not have quality players, he buys talent and brings it to his team. Queiroz is a “Manager-coach”,

Queiroz was a manager and ordered to summon such and such a player some of them with dual nationality. Or he would find talent in Manchester. No one knew why, but he made good choices about talent. The technical committee or the board of the football federation should specify whether they want a “teacher-coach” or “manager coach”?

“Team Melli requires a Teacher Coach”  Cheraghpour stated. “the foreign coach of the national team should teach Iranian footballers. We want someone to teach these players skill sets and tactics that they are not exposed to at club levels.

Mehdi Taj “FIFA still investigating Iran-Lebanon match incidents.”

The President of Iran’s football federation FFIRI Mehdi Taj said that the verdict on the controversial Iran-Lebanon match in Mashad in World Cup 2022 qualifiers is still under investigation by FIFA.

According to Taj, the case is still open with FIFA.

“Our case is in the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and the President of FIFA can only postpone it. He has no authority or influence beyond that,” Taj declared “the jurisdiction and the verdict is only in the hands of the Disciplinary Committee.”

Infantino helped Iran before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2022 to prevent what would have been a serious risk of Team Melli being sanctioned. After the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup, the serious violation committed by the government and security forces at and around Imam Reza Stadium will be addressed. The violations include preventing females from entering the stadium despite carrying official tickets, using undue force in doing so, and serious overcrowding and lack of safe practices and crowd control measures at entry and exits of the venue.

FIFA Disciplinary Committee must issue a ruling in this regard, which could be anything from depriving Team Melli of playing home games in Iran to heavy fines or both.

There could also be other ramifications for FFIRI as, despite the promises given to FIFA about females being allowed into stadiums, the hardliners and religious hierarchy are not happy with such a ruling and have defied FIFA and forced their own will on the subject matter. Suspension of Iran from FIFA and AFC is a possibility, though remote.

Sajjadi accused by Majlis (Parliament) of mismanagement

Story by Mina Aldroubi, Nada AlTaher 

Iran’s Parliament gave a warning on Tuesday to Sports Minister Hamid Sajjadi, accusing him of mismanaging the ministry, the Fars news agency reported.

Mr Sajjadi spoke to parliamentarians in an open session on Tuesday to brief officials on the ministry’s financial problems and expenses, especially regarding the country’s football teams.

It came after the Iranian men’s national team (Team Melli) failed to progress past the group stages of December’s World Cup in Qatar.

“The MPs were not satisfied with Sports Minister Sajjadi’s answer about the mismanagement situation in professional sports, especially football, and he received a yellow card from the parliament,” said the agency.

Yellow cards are the Parliament’s way of holding cabinet members accountable by summoning them for questioning or interpellations, a report by Germany-based think tank Carpo said.

“Depending on the minister’s performance, interpellations can lead to ‘yellow cards’ or impeachments. Even the President can be challenged through this mechanism,” the report said.

At the World Cup in Qatar, Iranians were seen wearing the “Women, Life, Freedom” slogan made famous during months-long protests in the country, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody on September 16.

Hamid Sajjadi practically runs Iran’s football federation. He was the force behind the sacking of Dragan Skočić and restoring Carlos Queiroz to Team Melli and hence accountable for the failure of the team in the World Cup 2022. The government of Iran is the largest contributor to the football federation coffer, some claim, the only contributor to the FFIRI budget. Other federation income is mostly from FIFA and AFC for Iran’s participating in international tournaments. The government of Iran always denies interfering in football and claims that FFIRI elections are free from outside interference, however, events in the last general election and the return of the disgraced Mehdi Taj refutes such claims.

In any case, even if Hamid Sajjadi is kicked out of the Ministry, the one that will replace him will continue on the same path and the same objective of using sports, particularly football, as a tool to serve the regime.

Mehdi Taj, The arrogant and condescending head of FFIRI under fire.

In a feeble attempt by Mehdi Taj to cover his own personal shortfalls and those of his administration, the president of the football federation FFIRI gave explanations about the bitter exchanges in a live TV show, the future plans of Team Melli, and the new form of club competitions in Asia suggested by the AFC.

Referring to the results of Iran in the World Cup, Mehdi Taj, said: “The result is always determined on the field, It’s true that we endured big pressure off the field and the players didn’t have the concentration required for such top-level competition, and maybe time will pass and no one will remember what these issues were. Moreover, when we returned to Iran, this important issue (off-field tension) was not discussed much, and how far the team was from the tranquil atmosphere of concentration required for the competition. However, I accept that we failed and I apologize for that. Although no one has seen our apology in the statement of the federation, my colleagues and I had done this with full humility. I believe that under normal circumstances, our team would have advanced with this quality that we have.”

Although he claimed that “we” failed, it was far from a genuine admission in the interview as he was vigorously defending his federation and the work of Queiroz.

The head of the football federation added: “I know that the main discussion these football days is about the issue of Team Melli’s head coach. I want everyone to allow us to make the best decision in this matter. I assure you that the federation and the board of directors will be the trustees of the people and will make the best decision. Our goal is to compensate for this result in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 and, God willing, we will announce our decision on the appointment of the head coach considering all aspects and the good of the national team.”

What Taj claims is not consistent with facts and track records. In his shift, Taj was responsible for two major failures in appointing the Head Coach of Team Melli, one was the disastrous Marc Wilmots, for which he resigned his post before being questioned, and the other was recently in appointing Carlos Queiroz with three months to go to the World Cup!

How would the fans and critics believe that Taj will get it right the third time? Has he gained some superior knowledge in the last few days or weeks, has he attended seminars or consulted with the elites of world football for us to believe that he and his cronies, will get it right this time?

Selection of the Head coach and the coaching team in National teams is a process. FFIRI lacks that process and even if there is written in some obscure manual of FFIRI, it will not be followed. It is the Head of the FFIRI that decides. Not dissimilar to the system that country is run, it is a one-man show here too. The comical act of the Technical Committee that sacked  Dragan Skocic without having the authority to do so, during Misrshad Majedi’s term as acting head of FFIRI, shows how chaotic this federation and the people associated with it are.

Taj finally mentioned a subject he was trying hard to avoid, and that was the TV Sport show that was talk of the town and social media since Thursday. Taj’s arrogance, sarcasm, dark humor, and condescending attitude toward the two presenters, were not received well by the fans and media.

” First of all, I consider it my duty to once again thank the media for their sincere support during the World Cup. My colleagues and I at the Football Federation are eagerly interested in receiving suggestions and criticisms from media friends. Regarding the topics related to appearing on the sports network program, that night I had general expectations about the manner of the questions and the questions themselves, which I don’t want to reveal, but for example, in the discussion of the former head coach of the national team, Mr. Khiabani, could have said “what happened to the Wilmots case? ‘, which I should have answered, instead, Mr. Khabani suddenly said, “Where is the Wilmots case?” Maybe I shouldn’t have said it was in my pocket, but I should have explained the process that I did. I fully explained that the Wilmots case has resulted in a penalty against the FFIRI in the amount of 9.2 million euros, because of contract violations.

Regarding the issues raised with Rasul Majidi, the young show host of the program whom Taj clearly insulted, he said: “The reality is that this host is like my own son. I am also interested in him. At the beginning of the World Cup, I spoke only with him in this TV show. I was supposed to go to the studio on the last day. I am interested in them and I sincerely apologize.  Taj who insinuated that Majidi was a novice in football due ro his young age, turned around and said “In the football federation, people of his age do important work. I don’t want him to be upset either.

At the end of that interview, Taj made a strong statement saying that the IRIB has no place in making football policy or questioning who is going to be Team Melli’s coach.

Not only Taj has exposed his weak self and his lack of integrity and true management skills, his arrogance and looking down on people are something that the Iranians have experienced for the first time from this man. The industrialist from Esfahan who comes from a rich family loyal to the regime has truly uncovered his mask.

© 2024 Team Melli
Designed by ThemeBoy