Tag: Guam

Guam training in Osaka Japan while waiting for Iran visa.

In preparation for Guam’s fixture against Asia’s No. 1 country, I.R. Iran, on Sept. 3, the team and staff have all gotten together for a weeklong training camp at J-Green Sakai in Osaka, Japan, thanks to the generosity of the Japan Football Association.

For over a decade, JFA has been immensely supportive of football development in Guam and this was recognized in front of dozens of Japanese media in a press conference held this past Friday in Tokyo. Matao team members and staff were all present at the event to thank JFA for the organization’s assistance that has helped fuel the success of Guam’s national program today.

Guam’s football success

Gary White, or the “Gaffer,”  the Guam Football Association’s technical director and head coach of the men’s national soccer team, has written:

The recognition of JFA’s support over the years of Guam’s football success comes at an opportune time, as the Matao are currently group leaders in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Joint Qualification Round 2, a feat unparalleled by many of Asia’s top countries.

Now that we’ll be facing off with Asia’s highest-ranked country in a few days in Azadi Stadium, a venue with a capacity of over 100,000, we continue to thank JFA for its support in arranging accommodations and training at the beautiful and world-class J-Green Sakai facility in Osaka, Japan.

After our match in Iran, the team looks forward to returning home for its match against Oman, a country ranked in the top 100 in the world. We hope to play in front of another sellout crowd, with fans in every corner waving Guam flags and cheering the team to another milestone victory.

Omid Alishah : a star in the making.

The young man from Sari , Mazanderan has been making headlines in Iranian football since his arrival at Persepolis from Rah Ahan.

The 23 years old who started his professional football at Nasaji before moving to Tehran with Naft, has been a regular in several age level Team Melli teams. Playing on the flanks and at times in the midfield , he has a remarkable ability to out run his opponents , a burst of speed that is second to none , and  classic dribbling skills.

Alishah came under prominence in Rah Ahan under Ali Daei who quickly identified the skills and ability of the young player promoting him to the first team and giving him much playing time ahead of senior players. Alishah did not disappoint and for the two seasons he was in Rah Ahan , he played 39 matches and scored 9 goals which is considered well above average for a player at his age in Iran.

In 2013 , Ali Daei  then Persepolis coach, managed to take  Alishah with him where he continued displaying his magic and goals. Alishah has been known to score some spectacular goals to compliment his other skills.

With attributes that are close to Hassan Rowshan and Mehdi Mahdavikia, having  similar physique to the two Team Melli legends , Alishah can terrorize his markers , out running and out maneuvering them with ease. His finishing is also not bad either.

Despite his undeniable talent, Alishah is one notorious diver, which mars his immaculate play. He has recovered numerous yellow cards for diving in league games and also received marching orders for this lack of honesty.

Alishah has been picked by Queiroz for the first time in Team Melli for the two matches against Guam and India. He can be the perfect replacement for the departed Shaojei and the out of favor Khalatbary. If only he plays his cards right, this young man has plenty of talent to make him a star.

Team Melli continues preparation for Guam

Carlos Queiroz gathered Team Melli squad around the hotel to conduct a early training and warm up session this Friday morning.

The new look team is short of few Legionnaires mainly the 3 Russian contingent Sardar Azmoun and Saeed Ezatollahei from Rostov and Alireza Haghighi of Rubin Kazan, while those playing in Qatar league are all present.

Guam is arriving to Tehran full of confidence after two wins out of two as they have guaranteed themselves to stay above Iran even in case of a loss. The tiny Pacific island state would have traveled an epic journey to make it to Iran. The squad is expected to arrive in Tehran a full few days before the match.

team melli August2015

The selection of several young players has changed the complexion of Team Melli to the extent that many faces will be unfamiliar to the majority of the fans. From the old guard , Ando Teymourian , Montazaei , Dejagah , Hosseini and Khosrow Hedari are still available to add much needed experience to the squad.

The last time Queiroz used the youth team in a friendly against Uzbekistan , the new players performed admirably well and won the match. However , as soon as Queiroz reverted back to the old squad , for the official qualifiers , the team  faltered against Turkmenistan and came out with a disappointing draw.

The one admirable move by Queiroz this time round is his dropping of Masoud Shojaei and Karim Ansarifard. Shojaei , for the last few years an Achilles heel of team Melli has faced massive criticism from the media and the fans in the stands for his lackluster displays. But by the sheer fact that he was playing in Europe, albeit either at end of the table teams or lower divisions, he found favors with the Portuguese coach. Finally Queiroz has faced the reality that this particular player has passed his best years.

Ansarifard has suffered similar drop of form but that is mostly attributed to his lack of consistency, changing clubs every season and not settling well with his teams. Ansarifard is still a quality player who is expected to return to form and back in favor with Team Melli after he settles down and maintain a team for a few seasons.

The match in Azadi will be Team Melli’s first home game in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers.

Stephen Constantine: Iran are the giants of Asia

With just more than a month left for the Indian National Team to play Iran, the ‘Giants of Asia’, in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualifier in Bengaluru, AIFF Media caught up with National Coach Stephen Constantine on a number of issues pertaining to Indian football.

 

INTERVIEW

How much is the road ahead tough?
The road for us is as tough as I had expected it to be. Many may have thought that this was going to be a quick transition given that we beat Nepal and qualified. Many may have also severely underestimated Guam, and possibly overestimated the level that we are at the moment, which I personally feel cannot change within a short time.

Have there been changes to the squad?
I have made many changes to the philosophy of the team to the type of training that we do including introducing many bright new prospects into the squad.
But at the same time, they also need time to adjust to the pace and the level of international football. There is a huge difference between the standard of the domestic leagues to international football.

How is our team shaping up prior to the Iran match?
It’s Iran, the 41st ranked team in the world, the Giants of Asia. I feel that says it all.
The International Friendly against Nepal is the sole competitive match that our boys would have played before taking on the Asian superpowers. You need to remember that prior to the match against Nepal, most of the National Team players have not played a competitive game since June 2015 (against Guam) while the others have not played since May 31, 2015, i.e., the completion of the Hero I-League. So for some players, its more than two months while for the rest, it’s almost or even more than three months. The National Team is at a huge disadvantage.

We are playing Nepal on August 31st in an International Friendly? Is there any specific reason to play Nepal?
There were options playing against higher ranked teams but seeing that we are playing a home game, we wanted to play at home while those teams wanted to play at their home. So it didn’t materialize. Under such circumstance, it’s good we played some close to our ranking.
I know the sentiment of people wanting us to play more but none wants to play more than me.

(Interview & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

Team Melli unable to use players under Military Service.

The Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran has written to the concerned departments declaring that all those players who have found to be guilty of fraud by the courts for holding fake military release certificates , will not be allowed to join Team Melli or Omid teams. The ban is valid until the completion of their service.

Team Melli will be playing against Guam at home then India away. Carlos Queiroz will be unable to select those players although in real terms , none are fixed players in the team. The players are Arash Afshin , Bakhtiyar Rahmani , Shoja’a Khalilzadeh , Hossein Mahini and Soroush Rafei. In addition , Mehrdad Pooladi who is currently out of the country , is also put on the black list and cannot play for Team Melli.

The communique from the armed forces did not specifically mention those other  players who have not cheated and are currently serving their mandatory military service as required by the law. Such players are normally banned from leaving the country while serving but dispensation has been issued before on request from the FFIRI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

 Team Melli will start a short training camp next Thursday in Azadi Sports Complex in preparation for the match on 3rd September against Guam in Azadi and on the 8th in Mumbai against India.

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Gucci to miss Guam match.

Reza Ghoochannejad, Team Melli and Charlton Athletics forward has been put on the injured list by his club after suffering a knee injury during the club match against Nottingham forest in the Championship of English League.

Ghoochannejad who has returned to his English club after  two season of being on loan in the Persian Gulf leagues, has already scored a goal for his club against Dagenham & Redbridge but was injured after he was subbed in at 64th minute against Nottingham Forest.

Charlton website has declared that Ghoochannejad “Gucci” will be out for at least one month, which will put  him out of the Guam match and possibly the next one against India in Mumbai.

 

A look at Guam preparations and prospects.

In less than a month, Guam has once again ascended to its highest-ever FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – No. 146 in the world – with the latest release published by FIFA.com.

HARMON – The new ranking comes ahead of the Matao’s next set of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Joint Qualification Round 2 fixtures – Sept. 3 against I.R. Iran in Iran and Sept. 8 against Oman in Guam.

“This is a very exciting time for Guam football – just last month I was praising Guam’s national program for reaching the 150s in the world for the first time in history,” said Richard Lai, Guam Football Association President. “Now, we’re in the 140s and ranked above countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia, all with a long history of football achievements in Asia. I am looking forward to see what more we can do. We couldn’t have accomplished what we have in recent years without the full support of FIFA, AFC, EAFF, the local community and business sponsors.”

With the rise in world rank, Guam is also ranked No. 22 in Asia, surpassing 25 other more established football countries in the continent.

“I’m very pleased with the progress the team continues to make in recent years, though I truly feel that Guam has not yet reached its peak,” said Gary White, head coach of the Guam men’s national team. “There really is no limit as to what Guam can achieve in international football as evidenced by the national team’s recent first-ever victories over Turkmenistan and India in June to lead Group D in the joint qualification and many other ‘first-ever’ results in recent years. In fact, before the June matches, hardly anyone took me seriously when I stated that I believed Guam would lead Group D – a group that includes Asia’s No. 1 country, I.R. Iran – at the conclusion of the opening matches of its 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign. 

“With every historical milestone we achieve, we’ll continue to set our standards even higher. This is not only for the team, but for Guam’s entire national football program. There are now certain high expectations to meet each time Guam competes,” White added.

Following the FIFA World Cup Qualifier matches in September, next on the Matao’s schedule is its second fixture against Turkmenistan, scheduled for Oct. 13 in the Central Asian country, followed by a match against India on Nov. 12 in Bangalore. The team returns to Guam for a Nov. 17 match against I.R. Iran at the GFA National Training Center, before waiting until Mar. 24 next year to face Oman in Oman.

Tickets for the upcoming Guam vs Oman match scheduled for Sept. 8 may be purchased beginning this week at GFA. Ticket prices range from $20 to $40 based on seating sections.

guam

Garry white writes:

Since learning of Guam’s opponents, I, along with my coaching staff, have done a considerable amount of research coming to the final stretch before the scheduled matches. Before facing I.R. Iran on Sept. 3, the team will be in a short training camp in Japan, and after the match, will return to Guam for a home match against Oman — a 30-hour flight each way!

With Guam in a considerable lead in group standings, these highly anticipated matches will be closely watched not only by fans from the competing countries, but fans and media around the world, all who have kept the discussion about Guam’s progress and success alive to this day. Fans in Guam will have the rare opportunity to witness the Guam-Oman fixture live, with so much riding on the result of the match.

If you haven’t done so already, buy your tickets at GFA to watch the match against Oman, set to kick off at 4 p.m. on Sept. 8, following the Labor Day holiday. Not only will you be treated to an intense, high-caliber match, but your support may be the necessary fuel for the team’s success, as felt during the Matao’s first two FIFA World Cup Qualifier wins.

The match will be in the same week as the opening Saturday of the Triple J Auto Group Robbie Webber Youth League, and will hopefully inspire the next generation of the Matao and Masakåda, Guam’s senior national teams.

Gary White, or the “Gaffer,” is Guam Football Association’s technical director and head coach of the men’s national soccer team.

 

Guam away match venue will remain as is.

After much thought and deliberation by the FFIRI on the proposal by Guam FA to hold both the matches of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers between Iran and Guam in Iran , Team Melli’s Manager Afshin Peyrovani said today that the away match will be held in Guam as originally scheduled.

Peyrovani, in a statement to the official football federation website , said that FIFA regulations prevented both matches bein played in the same venue !

Guam has submitted an official proposal to save cost and the gigantic travel mileage the like of which can never happen anywhere else in FIFA calendar. The tiny US protectorate is currently leading the group with maximum points from two matches won against Turkmenistan and India.

Guam National Football team

Team Melli’s training camp in Turkey is off.

Team Melli’s proposed camp in Turkey is off , according to Team Manager Afshin Peyrovani.

The camp was scheduled for 2nd June to 9th in Istanbul or Ankara, however due to various logistical and financial difficulties, the camp is now canceled, Peyrovani said to the reporters.

The Manager of Team Melli went in length to explain all the reasons behind the cancelation but at the end, it was apparent that money or lack of it was the main reason for cancelation of the training camp in preparation to the Turkmenistan game.

Peyrovani added that Team Melli will be flying to Uzbekistan on a chartered flight and then proceed to the city of Daşoguz , Turkmenistan for the opener match of Iran’s FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification rounds. Peyrovani explained in details on who is paying for the cost of each leg of the flights!

On the subject of the venue, it is apparent that the AFC competitions commission has turned down FFIRI’s protest against the venue and the match is cleared to be played at Turkmenistan’s 3rd largest city. There was no reason to reject Daşoguz just because it is 600 km away from the capital.

As it is becoming fairly obvious that cost and expenditure is a major concern for FFIRI and Team Melli, expenses and cost are mentioned on every opportunity.  FFIRI seems to have difficulty in meeting the requirements of the squad including logistics.  Peyrovani talked about the proposal by Guam to play both legs of the matches in the Group D of the World Cup qualifiers in Iran. The suggestion from the Pacific nation is conditional on Iran paying for the expenses of the Guam squad including air fares. Peyrovani said the suggestion sounds good and it will be seriously considered. “If that is approved, one of the matches with Guam will be played in another Iranian City away from Tehran to allow the fans to watch their national team.”

No doubt that the accountant in FFIRI HQ is busy counting bearing the cost of Guam in Tehran versus flying to  Hagåtña in Guam some  9445 km (5869 miles) away. Both teams will be travelling a good 17 to 18 hours to reach destination considering a good connection in at least two airports for connecting flights.

Typical Flight Times:

Tehran to Manila 13:15 hours (transit through one of the Persian Gulf airports)

Manila  to Guam 3:55 hours