Tag: Mehdi Taremi

“Fair Play” that has gone with the wind.

 

Team Melli head coach Dragan Skocic and Mehdi Taremi questioned AFC’s decision to hold World Cup qualifiers in Bahrain saying the decision was not made in the best interests of the participants.

They were not alone by any means as this great disappointment his all level of football in Iran which was counting of hosting 3 home matches against Hong Kong. Bahrain and Iraq.

 

Nothing is furthest away from “Fair Play” than the decision by AFC to award the hosting of group C remaining matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers to Bahrain.

Iran has already played in Bahrain and lost. Iran is within its full right to avenge that defeat and become a contender by given its legitimate right to play Bahrain in Iran (be it Tehran, Tabriz, or Esfahan).  But to the shock of many, Bahrain was awarded the hosting!

There has to be some process matrix in taking such a decision, at least that is what many think. It should not be arbitrarily, politically motivated, based on favoritism, or based on factors beyond sport.

It is worth looking at a simple comparison. Surely it is not rocket science to figure. When it comes to accommodation and logistics, perhaps Bahrain beats Iraq and Cambodia, but it is way behind Hong Kong and at in a best-case scenario on par with Iran.

If we take the weather factor, then Bahrain is right at the bottom of the table. P{laying football in the heat and high humidity of June in the Persian Gulf countries, is not for the faint-hearted and is a hazard to the players, especially those who are not accustomed to such weather.

That is why FIFA moved the World Cup 2022 dates to November/December where the climate is much milder and pleasant. It was a major historical decision but in the end, it was the right one for all involved. The question now is, how come these weather considerations have not been applied in the case of awarding the hosting to Bahrain?

Iran is a big country, and it could host matches in cities ideal weather. The average temperature of Tabriz in June is 14.8 °C  to 26.6°C. It has the second biggest stadium which was recently renovated too.

If we are talking about Venues, Iran leads all of the group teams in a number of Stadia and facilities.

Apparently, AFC’s decision process is nothing like that.

The Iranians are furious at the AFC decision and have demanded an explanation, but seriously, no one expects AFC to provide any logical reasoning beyond its own. The world witnessed how football is administered by the ruling bodies. It is an autocratic system and one-sided which means the right to appeal and grievances are nothing but ceremonial especially if it involves commercial rights and financial interests.

In the corridors of Arab-dominated AFC, Iran has been deprived of many of its rights and the biased decisions against it are aplenty. The Iranian federation’s managers have played a major role in Iran losing so many cases, or at least not being given any favors. In general, these rulings are controlled by minnows albeit with quite a few accumulated votes. The Iranian representations in the AFC have been weak. The ineffectiveness of FFIRI management is institutional as a consequence of a system of appointment in the shape of a so-called election of the federation. Incompetent personnel reaches leadership posts due to their political influence more than their administrational skills and abilities.

Politics is quite rife in Iran’s federation, blame culture is a standard mode of operation, the current one accuses his predecessors, and the cycle repeats itself. The recently appointed President of the Football Federation (FFIRI) Shahab Azizi-Khadem was very quick to issue a long emotional communique accusing the previous administration of incompetency and lack of effort that resulted in the loss of the hosting rights. No one is in any illusion that this Azizi-Khdem will do any better than the rest of them, however.

 

Iranian fans are the eventual losers in all cases. When a small country like Bahrain has one of its subjects heading the Asian football ruling body, and good luck to them, it is no wonder that the decision of hosting the World Cup 2022 qualifiers tilted towards Bahrain. One needs to ask, why Iran a country with thousands of years of civilization is unable to produce competent representatives and candidates for the presidency of the AFC , or at least someone who can protect its interest in Kula Lumpur.

The decision for Bahrain hosting was taken way back before the announcement two days ago. AFC was just trying to create justifications, which until the writing of this article was not publicized.

Let’s end this with a quick quiz.

When is “Fair Play” the slogan that has been promoted by FIFA in football for many years, not a “Fair Play”?

If you guessed any of the answers below, then it is not too far from the truth:

  • When fair play is applied by AFC.
  • When your opponent in the World Cup qualifiers whom you have already played away and lost, has a man in the top of the AFC Pyramid.
  • When you play the same opponent in home and away format, at the opponent’s venue twice.
  • When playing in 29°C to 38°C degrees temperature and humidity that can be up to 90% (59% average) is much healthier and cooler for the players than high altitude mild weather of Tehran (average of 20.1°C to 34.5°C) with Maximum Humidity of 10%
  • When Covid19 is used as the ultimate excuse for bending the rules and breaking it.

Of course, we can go on and provide you a full sheet but we believe that you have caught the drift.

Daei sends an inspirational message to Taremi

Following Team Melli’s central striker Mehdi Taremi, dazzling run of goals for his club Porto, with the icing on the cake being the goal he scored against Juventus last night, the Iranian Legend Ali Daei sent Taremi an inspirational message.

Ali Daei wrote to Mehdi Taremi: “I am glad that you are becoming more complete every day. I have no doubt that by continuing this process, you will reach the highest of standards.”

Daei scores against Chelsea in 1999/2000 Champions League game at Stamford Bridge.

 

Daei is one of the Iranian players who has played for Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin of Germany and has also scored in the Champions League. He is the Worlds top international goal scorer, followed very closely by the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, whom Taremi helped to defeat last night.

 

Mehdi Taremi’s goal stuns Juventus in Champions League.

A terrific start for Team Melli’s striker, Mehdi Taremi, and an early second-half goal by Moussa Marega propelled Porto to their first victory against Juventus in the Champions League as they secured a 2-1 first-leg win against the Italian champions in their round-of-16 tie on Wednesday.

Taremi pounced on a sloppy back pass after 63 seconds to fire in the opener that left Juventus, which had a fully fit Cristiano Ronaldo in the lineup, rattled and they failed to create any clear chances before half-time.

This was the fourth consecutive goal by Taremi in as many games for his club Porto in what was described as a dream run for the Iranian striker by the match commentator. Taremi, considered by many as a bargain purchase from Rio Ave by Porto, was initially left out of the starting lineup by coach  Sérgio Conceição, however, a last-minute change of match plan meant that Porto would start to play a 4-4-2 with two strikers upfront, a plan which worked to perfection as both the strikers scored early in each half.

Taremi’s brilliant scoring run, a first for Iranian professional footballer in Europe, started with a goal against Sporting Braga in two home and away consecutive cup matches, Boavista in the league and Juventus in the European Champions League.

Mehdi Taremi (28 years) has scored 9 goals for Porto this season scoring an average of a goal in every 121 minutes.

Sardar Azmoun, Taremi’s partner in Team Melli who is also enjoying a brilliant season with the Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg has scored 11 goals for his club this season averaging a goal in every 92 minutes.

Team Melli’s third striker Karim Ansarifard who plays in the Greek League with AEK Athens, has scored 8 goals in the season averaging one goal in 155 minutes of play.

Two Team Melli legionnaires shine for their teams.

It was another sweet week for Team Melli player in Europe.

Yesterday, Mehdi Taremi was the Man of the Match for FC Porto in the 3-1 win against FC Famalicão

Porto got themselves started with Taremi’s first-time goal in the 13th minute before the Iranian’s goal was canceled out seven minutes later through Jhonata Robert’s penalty. Sérgio Oliveira scored from the spot-kick too just moments later, dispatching Porto’s second of the night and giving his side a 2-1 lead going into the break.

Mehdi Taremi once again displayed his quality and added greater comfort to the visitors’ lead in the 57th minute, looping a header into an unattended net to grab a second for himself and make it 3-1.

Famalicão aimed for a final push but, in times of desperation, Porto proved to be ruthless on the counter, adding the finishing touches to a 4-1 victory with a precise drive from João Mário, fresh off Sérgio Conceição’s bench.

Taremi has scored 6 goals in the Primeira Liga so far for Porto.

Today, yet another nearly forgotten Team Melli player made the headlines for his team. Saman Ghoddos, assisted in the first goal while scoring the second and the winner for his club Brentford in the third round of the FA Cup in London.

Ghoddos, who is still not a fixed starter for the Championship side that is aiming to win promotion to the Premier League, has shown enough quality and skill to challenge for a starting place. In today’s match, he was chosen as the Man of the Match, and with this 2-1 win against Middlesbrough, Goddos has helped his team to a place in the FA Cup fourth round draw.

Team Melli defeats Uzbekistan.

In the first match under the Croatian head coach Dragan Skocic, Team Melli defeated Uzbekistan in Tashkent 2-1.

The first half ended 1-0 for Iran with Sardar Azmoun (44′) scoring from just outside the box. Mehdi Taremi (51′) scored Iran’s second from a penalty spot after he was fouled in the box. E. Shomurodov scored Uzbekistan’s only goal two minutes after Taremi’s penalty.

Both teams have introduced new faces in their line ups with Iran using many of the Persepolis players that have just qualified for the final of AFC Champions League. Sardar Azmoun could have put Iran in the lead but his tame shot missed the target after a quick counter-attack. Iran had most of the possession and was dangerous on the counter.

In the second half, the pace of the match slowed down after the two goals. The various substitution meant that both teams had difficulty finding their rhythm with both sets of new players finding it hard to gel.

The new-look central defense of Khalilzadeh and Kanani-Zadegan was quite solid but a momentarily poor marking allowed  Shomurodov to score a soft goal against Team Melli. Payam Nazmand could have done much better though. The Sepahan debutant still needs much more experience with the team. His punching of the ball on crosses were less than satisfactory and allowed the Uzbek to counter again.

The midfield still lacks a creative schemet=r although Ali Gholizadeh provided some promise.

Upfront, Azmoun, and Taremi combined to create many chances but the finishing needs to improve.

Iran will p[lay Mali next in Antalya m Turkey.

Marítimo, Ali Alipour’s next destination.

As reported earlier, Persepolis is facing a major exodus of its star player out of the team and country. The Portuguese newspaper Record has said that  Marítimo is almost assured of recruiting the Brazilian right-back Cláudio Winck, who terminated his contract with Vasco da Gama and will sign for 3 seasons; and the Iranian striker Ali Alipour, ex-Persepolis, who has an agreement for 2 seasons and is waiting for his visa to travel to Portugal.

This news comes as Persepolis is struggling financially and is in a perilous situation with piles of court cases against it for non-payment. Mehdi Torabi has left the Team to Qatar while other players are awaiting contracts abroad.

Ali Alipour has been chased by Rio Ave as a replacement for his compatriot Mehdi Taremi who left to join FC Porto. This is the first time Marítimo was mentioned as a destination for Persepolis’ top scorer.

Taremi signs for FC Porto

TEHRAN, Sep. 01  – Primeira Liga’s defending champion FC Porto announced the signing of Team Melli striker of Rio Ave Mehdi Taremi on a four-year contract.

Porto has reportedly paid around €4.5m plus 25-year-old forward Andre Pereira for this transfer.

The Iranian striker impressed Portugal’s league with 21 goals and five assists in the last season, being named one of the top goal scorers of the league. He had reportedly been under the radar of other Portuguese giants including Sporting Lisbon and Benfica.

Porto hopes to defend its title with goals that will be added by Taremi.

After signing the deal, Taremi said he seeks to score more than 20 goals for Porto in the next season. The team’s aim is to win the league’s and Taça de Portugal’s title in the coming year, he added.

OnWednesday, FC Porto defeated Académica 5-1 a training game held at the Olival internship center, in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto District, with Sérgio Conceição using 24 players including the new signing Mehdi Taremi.

Taremi’s transfer to FC Porto is imminent

Despite the reports that Porto FC will announce the transfer of Mehdi Taremi on Monday, no such announcement came from the leading Portuguese club and the transfer still Hangs in Balance.

Alireza Samimi, goalkeeper of the Iranian futsal team and close friend of Mehdi  Taremi, assured, this Wednesday, that the future of the (still) Rio Ave player really passes through FC Porto.

“The transfer of Mehdi to Porto is final and I am satisfied with that because I also wished he would choose Porto”, confessed  Alireza Samimi, who also confirmed Benfica’s interest in his friend Taremi.

” Mehdi had two serious proposals, Benfica and FC Porto. I think FC Porto is bigger than Benfica. FC Porto also plays in the Champions League and have had better results,” he added.

The goalkeeper recalled that Taremi  “helped Rio Ave to achieve the best results in history”, but leaves a serious warning to his friend: “My personal opinion is that there are more stars in FC Porto, and Mehdi will have to work hard more to get a fixed place in the line up”.

Meanwhile, it is reported in Portugal that the Iranian player is scheduled to travel to Portugal on Sunday, to finalize his move to the Estádio do Dragão.

Monitored during the season by all the big three Portuguese clubs, the Rio Ave striker has chosen the blues and whites for believing that he can succeed in the Dragon.

In order to compete in the Champions League and also to assert himself in his selection, the striker is the promise of goals for the next season of the city club Invicta.

According to the newspaper O Jogo, Taremi should land in Porto in exchange for less than five million euros, and then sign a valid contract for the next seasons.

A big surprise from the last edition of the Portuguese championship, the Iranian scored 37 games and 21 goals for Rio Ave last season, showing a sharp talent when shooting at the opposite goal. Taremi is also the lead scorer for Team Melli.

Benfica is after Taremi.

Benfica FC, Portugal’s most celebrated and greatest club is on the lookout for Team Melli and Rio Aves striker, Mehdi Taremi. The news has been reported by Record.pt website.

According to the popular site, the Iranian striker appeals to the Benfica officials who see Taremi as an advantageous solution who can bring glories to the club.

Taremi has done exceptionally well for Rio Ave before the endemic outbreak and suspension of the league. Rio Ave has been approached by several Portugues clubs including Sporting regarding the possible transfer of Taremi, but the reluctance of the club to release the player short of their expected valuation and also their aspiration to make the Europa League has put a stop to these negotiations. However, post COVID19 the situation might be different, and Rio might concede to a club such as Benfica which is has been rumored to offer 10 million Euros for Taremi.

Mehdi Taremi has scored 8 goals in the league for Rio Ave. He was transferred from Qatar Star League club Al Gharaffa to Rio for an undisclosed sum. Taremi was Persepolis’ top scorer in 2017/18.

 

Sporting CP desperate for Mehdi Taremi.

The center forward of Team Melli, Mehdi Taremi is on the front pages of the sporting press of Portugal.

The Rio Ave forward who is having quite a successful first season on the Portuguese top league is wanted by Sporting Clube de Portugal or as commonly called, Sporting Lisbon.

The famous club has just sold one of its best players Bruno Fernades to Manchester United. With the Brazilian forward Luiz Phellype’s suffering serious injury, which keeps him out of the competition at least until the end of the current season, added to the transfer of Fernandes, the clock is ticking for the accelerated arrival of Mehdi Taremi’s at Jose Alvalade Stadium of Sporting CP.

The Iranian striker of Rio Ave has already been the subject of interest of many top clubs however the more serious discussion has been between Sporting and Rio Ave. The leaders of the two clubs have been talking for some time, and the injury of the Brazilian, as well as the biggest financial relief provided by the transfer of Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United, may accelerate the transfer of Taremi.