Tag: Mansourian

Is Faraki groomed to take over from Queiroz?

Is somehow a surprised and questionable move, Hossein Faraki sternly refused to renew his contract with Foolad Khuzestan citing Medical problem (knee injury). Faraki who has guided Foolad Khuzestan to only their second ever League title this season parted company with Foolad as he explained  “an operation is needed on my knees. I have to quit as I will not be able to accompany the team and I believe the team will waste valuable time if I do not recover properly for the start of the pre-season training.I have to have a rest period so that I can be fully fit for future duties”

While the problem with Hossein Faraki’s knee is well known, it has not prevented his mobility in a major way , and the operation that he needs to carry out , is not deemed to have a crippling effect or long term mobility problem.

The CEO of Foolad Khuzestan has said that “the club will do anything to keep Faraki in Ahvaz, even if we have to drag him on a wheelchair, but Faraki wanted to leave and concentrate on his forthcoming knee operation and recovery process. We reluctantly agreed to his request to resign. We regret that this gentleman who has left a legacy with us , beautiful memories and a team that we are proud of , is going to be no more part of the organization.”

Things being what they are in Iran , in an essence , nothing is too straight foreword, rumors are already brewing that Hossein Faraki will be taking over from Carlos Queiroz after the Portuguese coach contract expires with the World Cup.

Kaffashian has already admitted that his federation cannot afford to renew the contract of Queiroz and his coaching staff , especially since the Portuguese rate has gone up. Kaffashian also said that no one is willing to tab the bill for Queiroz expenses ( ..we wonder why ?) and hence the chances of Carlos Queiroz leading Team Melli after the World Cup is extremely slim.

When asked about the prospects of Team Melli coaching job , Faraki said that he is honored to be considered for such a position however, he denied that he has been approached by the federation although later he added that he should not really be commenting on this issue!. Faraki wished Team Melli all the best in the World Cup under its present coach and insisted that in this period he wants to get over with his operation.

With FFIRI continual financial distress and the inability to afford a high profile European coach , Hossein Faraki seems to be quite an logical choice for Team Melli amongst the rest of the candidates. Recent Iranian coaches appointments from Ghalenoei , Ebrahimzadeh,  Daei  and  Mansourian did not yield the desired results although Ghalenoei and Daei had very respectable records during their reign while the other two were hardly given a decent chance (3 matches for Ebrahimzadeh and one for Mansourian).  

With a championship title in the bag, Faraki can claim a major achievement especially considering that he won the league based on team of young players, limited budget/resources, dearth of star players or high profile footballers and inexperienced team compared to his more illustrious rivals.

Whether Faraki will take over after June is still not clear yet, but knowing the people who pull the strings in the federation and their sense of urgency which is compatible with the of a turtle’s march, Faraki might very well find himself as an emergency coach albeit a temporary one, because the FFIRI fails to  find a suitable coach in such a short time!  None of the other high profile Iranian coaches will be available because they are contracted to their teams, Faraki however, will be out of contract creating the ideal opportunity to take over at short notice. That is one very possible scenarion

 

Stay tuned.

 

Faraki-hos

 

Hossein Faraki Career Information
Personal information
Full name Hossain Faraki
Date of birth March 22, 1957 (age 57)
Place of birth Tehran, Iran
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1976–1979 Pas Tehran
1979–1981 Al-Shaab (UAE)
1981–1992 Pas Tehran
National team
1977–1980 Iran 22 (11)
Teams managed
2009–2010 Kaveh
2010–2012 Naft Tehran
2012–2014 Foolad

Kaffashian criticizes Mansourian for resigning.

Ali Kaffashin , the head of FFIRI criticized Alireza Mansourian  for reigning his post as the head coach of the Team Melli U-22 teams a fortnight before the team taking part in the Inaugural Asian U-22 Championship in Muscat Oman.

Kaffashain said “Mansourian should not have left the team in such critical stage. We have made it clear that the priority for us is the participation of Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup. This takes precedence over all other activities at the moment and as such even the League program is adjusted to serve the needs of the World Cup training schedule. Team Melli U-22 is of a lower priority”

Kaffashian , did not agree with Mansourian reasoning and said  “ although Iran would have been the main title contender in Muscat , if we sent a full strength team , we have accepted the fact that under-strength U-22 team is a good enough team and we are look for participating rather than winning the title. Other priorities has dictated this and we accepted it, hence Mansourian was not in line with our objectives.”

Human Afazeli , who was working alongside Mansourian in the U-22 team has agreed to take over the head coach post from Mansourian.

Kaffashian disclosed that an official offer was given to Vingada to coach Iran’s Ol, ympics team or the U-23 team, knows as “Omid Team”. The FFIRI is awaiting a response from the Portuguese coach. Kaffashian admitted that the FFIRI offer to Vingada might not be too attractive due to lack of financial resources of the federation, but hoped that the Portuguese coach might be tempted to work in Iran and be close to his friend & compatriot Carlos Queiroz.

Puma to provide Team Melli U-22 kit.

The German sportswear manufacturer PUMA will be supplying Team Melli U-22 kits in the forthcoming AFC U-22 championship to be hel in the middle of next January in Muscat Oman.

In a statement to ISNA , the Vice-President of FFIRI  Seyed Hadi Ayatollahei , announced the deal and said that the U-22 team is not included in the contract with main Team Melli kit supplier UHLsport. PUMA is the supplier to many World Cup finalist teams and was the supplier of the kit in Iran’s last world Cup appearance in Germany 2006.

PumaAyatollahei also dismissed fears expressed by Alireza Mansourian about the recruitment of a foreign coach for the Omid Team.

 

The FFIRI official emphasized that the coach will be assigned to the U-23 team or the B team and not the U-22 which will remain under Mansourian for the foreseeable future. “He should focus on his job as we have no plan on changing him, The coach we are trying to recruit is fo another TEam Melli age rank , which is the Omid or U-23” Ayatollahei said.

Ayatollahei also confirmed that the current Team Melli sponsor , a Car dealer , has been having difficulty sticking to its

contractual obligations. A last minute sponsorship deal was struck between the FFIRI and a small company that deals in importing foreignluxury cars to Iran , in what seemed like a surprise move. The deal was questioned by many observers, and it does not come as a surprise that the sponsoring company has difficulty in paying its commitment. Ayatollahei said that a last warning was given to the sponsor to respect its obligations. “Failure by the sponsor to carry out its contractual obligation will force us to cancel the contact and look for a new sponsor”

 

 

Team Melli U-22 squad announced

Alireza Mansourian has announced an initial list of 31 players who will be called for a Training camp to be conducted at the National Teams training centere in Azadi Complex.

The squad was strengthened by the availability of both Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh ,both of whom will be enjoying the European winter breaks from their clubs and are available for the competition.

26 players will proceed to Kish Island for a friendly match against South Korea.

During the period, the U-22 team will be playing 3 friendly matches with club sides. At the end of the camp ,Mansourian will issue a shortlist of 23 players who will form the squad for the inaugural AFC  U-22 championship which will be held in Muscat , Oman. Iran is grouped with Australia,Japan and Kuwait in Group C. Team Melli U-22 will meet Japan on the 12th January 2014.

Team Melli U-22 is one of the title contenders.

PLAYERS LIST

1    Ahmad GOHARI (12/01/1996)
2    Ali FATHIAN
3    Ali GHOLIZADEH (10/03/1996)
4    Ali RIGI
5    Alireza JAHANBAKHSH (08/10/1993)
6    Amir ABEDZADEH (26/04/1993)
7    Amir Mohammad MAZLOUM (27/01/1996)
8    Amirhossein KARIMI (09/02/1996)
9    Armin HASHEMI  (04/02/1996)
10    Armin SOHRABIAN
11    Iman SALIMI (01/06/1996)
12    Mehdi AMINI (16/05/1996)
13    Majid HOSSEINI (20/06/1996)
14    Maysam JOODAKI
15    Milad SARLAK
16    Mobin EZZATI
17    Mohammad BAZAJ (30/03/1996)
18    Mohammad BAZARAFSHAN
19    Mohammad NIYARAKI
20    Mohammad SAEEDBROAYEH
21    Mohammadreza KAVEH (22/07/1997)
22    Mohammaed ABBASI
23    Mojtaba MOGHTADAEI
24    Morteza TABRIZI
25    Mostafa HASHEMI (19/10/1996)
26    Pyam NIAZMAND
27    Sadegh MOHARRAMI (01/03/1996)
28    Sivahsh HAGH-NAZARI
29    Sardar AZMOUN (01/01/1995)
30    Yahya NAJJARIAN
31    Yousef SEYYEDI (08/03/1996)

Team Melli U-22 defeats Oman in a friendly.

Mansourian ‘s team continues its fine display.
Team Melli U-22 played its second friendly match against Oman U-22 on Sunday a defeated the host 1-0. The match was the second against the host. The first match ended with the same result in favor of Iran.

Match report

First half : Both teams started the game with six changes from the previous match. Oman appeared more aggressive than the last match from the beginning of the encounter. However , ball possession and distribution was more in favor of Iran in the first half , preferring to keep the ball possession as much as possible. Mosallman was the pivotal player for Team Melli U-22 with his ball distribution and leading the offensive moves. His assist lead to Iran’s goal whole he have a powerful shot saved by Oman’s keeper Al Habsi (not to be confused with the senior Al Habsi of Oman’s full team).

Oman did their own share of attacking. Hamoud al-Saadi shot in the tenth minute of the match was cleared off the goal line by the Iranian defenders while hit a powerful low level shot by Hatem Alhmahmahy was deflected to a corner by Seyyed Hossein Hosseini.

The second half, Oman continued applying pressure on the Iranian team in an attempting to change the result, while the guests were content with distributing the ball as they did in the first 45 minutes on the match. Hamoud al-Saadi , Oman’s best player in the first half, shot was the most serious attempt of the 2nd half but was cleverly blocked by Hosseini in Iran’s goal. In reply a long distance attempt by Nariman Jahan the substitute player for Iran missed Oman’s goal by inches.  The most important scoring opportunity came in the 70th minute from a header by Oman Sami Mubarak, which hit the upright away from Hosseini’s stretched hands. The ball bounced off the goalpost to safety .

In the last 10 minutes, Mansourian had a change of tactics with his substitution, he was after an offensive moves and more attacking prowess. Mansourian urged his players to be more aggressive in offense and targeted Oman’s goalkeeper many times. Kaveh Rezaei was released by a defense splitting pass and he was one to one with Oman’s keeper, however the young Saipa forward wasted the chance to make it 2-0 when he shoot against the advancing keeper’s chest. In the 88th minute a powerful shot from Shahab Karami, rattled Oman’s goalposts.

In the end, Team Melli U-22 repeated the victory against Oman. The team played better and was more consistent. With the inclusion of the absent players, Iran’s U- 22 team , can mount a serious challenge for first AFC U- 22 Asian championship title to be held in January 2014 .

Goal details:

0-1 ( Iran ) : Iran’s Captain Mohsen Mosallman , robbed the ball from Oman’s Nazir Almskry Nazir and mounted a quick counterattack. With a pass from deep from the left flank, Mosallman managed to send the ball to the foot of Hassanzadeh. With the goalkeeper advancing fast to block, Masoud Hassanzadeh send his shoot to the opposite angle , scoring Iran’s goal.

[divider]

OMAN U-22 vs. IRAN U-22

 1 – 0

Goal : Masoud HassanZadeh ( 21’ )

Referee: Majed Al-Harbi (Oman)

Yellow cards : Haj Amin Mohammadi, M. Pourali Ganji ( Iran )

Attendance: Approximately fifty people

Stadium Sultan Qaboos Complex ( Muscat )

 

Oman : Kaiser Al-Habsi, Manea Subait , Basel AlRawahi, Nadhir Almaskary , Moheeb Ezzat , Abdulla Nooh , Sammy Mubarak , Hatem Alhamhamy ( 78 – Ahmad AlSayyabi ) , Khalil Alalawi ( 65 – Ahmed Khalfan ) , Hamoud al-Saadi ( 83 – Suleiman Saeed ), Abdullah Saleh ( 51 – Sammy Khamis ).

Coach : George Philip

Iran : Seyed Hossein Hosseini , Vahid Ismail -Beigi ( 81 – Milad Gharibi ) , MohammadAmin Haj Mohammadi , Fardin Abedini , Hadi Mohammadi ( 75 – Ammar Nik Kar ) , Akbar Imani ( 75 – Morteza PouraliGenji ) , Masoud Rigi ( 62 – Shahab Karami ) , Mohsen Mosallman,  Amin JahanAlian ( 58 – Saman Nariman Jahan ) , Farshad Ahmadzadeh ( 68 – Morteza Tabrizi ) , and Masoud HassanZadeh ( 62 – Kaveh Rezaei ).

Coach Alireza Mansourian