Tag: Omid Namazi

Hamid Estili appointment as Coach of Omid Team, will he be any good?

After the resignation of Farhad Majidi, it seems that FFIRI had no real choice but to appoint the Team manager, Hamid Estili as his replacement. The former Persepolis player also picked his former teammates Reza Shahroodi and Alireza Emamifar as his assistants.

During the short tenure of Farhad Majidi at the helm of Omid’s team, Omid Namazi and Farshad Majedi were appointed as his assistants. It is not clear if they are is still or will remain as part of the coaching staff as neither have any Persepolis affiliation that seems to be the level of requirement in Omid team coaching structure with Estili in charge.

As such, the Omid team has turned into The red of Perspolis after the departure of the Blues of Esteghlal to prove once again that Iran’s football will have an extreme affinity with the bipolar and partisan system.

At Omid team the status quo remains, meaning the same old chaos, with partisan, Favoritism, nepotism and partiality based upon being part of a favoured group, rather than job performance or competency being the essence.

Estili has more experience than Majidi but his coaching career has been full of failures and turmoil. In reality, he is not much of an improvement on Majidi.

 

Estili Coaching Career

Estili was appointed as an assistant by Ali Parvin in Persepolis in 2004. A few months after Arie Haan replaced Parvin, he sacked Estili. In August 2006, when Mustafa Denizli was signed as the head coach, Estili returned to his former post. On 13th January 2007, during the 2006–07 mid-season break, Estili was sacked again, this time by Denizli.

Denizli later stated that “It would be better for him (Estili) to take some professional trainings”

For the 3rd time, Estili returned to his beloved club as the assistant to Afshin Ghotbi, in the IPL 2007/08 season. However, with a lot of tension between the two coaches over team selection, players, and other decisions it was foreseen that one of them will have to leave Perspolis at the end of the season. Ghotbi left and Estili was touted as the new Perspolis Manager and Head Coach.
However, when Ghotbi’s returned back, Estili left Perspolis.

in summer of 2009 Steel Azin appointed out of work Estili as head coach. Despite having a star-studded team with players such as s Ali Karimi, Mahdavikia, Kaebi, Fereydoon Zandi, Shapourzadeh and Vahedi Nikbakht, Estili failed in the Hazfi Cup and was nowhere near the championship title.

He was sacked by Estil Azin on 19 April 2010

Next station was Shahin Bushehr where he was appointed on 1 June 2010. He lasted less than 10 months as he was fired on 4 April 2011 while Shahin was in 17th place out of 18, achieving 16 points in 18 matches

On 21 June 2011, Estili was back in Persepolis again as a Head coach but after a series of disappointing results and Persepolis fans disapproval of his appointment, he resigned his post on 9th Dec. 2011 after only 6 months at the helm.

From then on, Estili’s reputation as a Head Coach was tarnished.

Critics say that Estili relies more on influences, comradeship and nepotism to cover his technical weakness and poor tactics on the field. He was a divisive influence as an assistant coach bad-mouthing the head coach in the hope of taking their places.  He caused disagreement and hostility between players to serve his own interest. It was not a successful strategy as it leads to him being sacked by 3 different coaches. While as Head Coach, his poor delivery, suspect decision-making, poor technical ability, and lack of quality were exposed at the teams he managed.

Such as shame for the player who is famous for his goal against the United States in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Heavy defeat for Omid team under Majidi.

Iran’s Omid Football Team, which is preparing to compete in the qualifying rounds of the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020, suffered a heavy defeat in the friendly match played against Uzbekistan U-23 team in Tashkent on Monday. The match ended 4 -1 for the host.

Omid team has already lost the first game 1-0 but this heavy defeat exposed a lot of tactical and technical shortfalls by the youngsters who are fightening what looks like an impossible battle to qualify for the Olympic after a 40 years absence.

Much has been said about the appointment of the rookie coach Farhad Majidi who has already maintained that he will be leading his team to Tokyo, but reality says otherwise. To mitigate the lack of experience and skills in Omid Team, FFIRI has employed Omid Namazi who has only joined the squad after the first Uzbekistan match. The expectations are all on the ex Zob Ahan coach and former assistance to Carlos Queiroz to strengthen the team tactically and introduce some game plans that actually can win matches.

Commenting on the poor result, Omid Namazi said at a post-match news conference  “It was not a good day for us, we commited lots of mistakes and gave the opponent a lot of space. Uzbekistan was a very strong opponent who played well and made the best use of the space. Of course, we had some opportunities, but we could have still come back in the second half after scoring when the score was 2-1. Unfortunately, while trying to add to our tally, our opponent succeeded in a counterattack and scored the next goal.”

Namazi said at the end: “We have to think about the weaknesses in different lines. Start organizing from the defensive line and step by step to keep the ball in place and strengthen our other lines. We must learn from our mistakes in friendly matches.”

Omid Namazi joined Iran’s U-23 coaching team.

Omid Namazi, who has served as an assistant coach to Carlos Queiroz during the Portugues tenure, has been added to the Iranian U23 squad that is currently preparing for a friendly match against Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

Namazi has flown to Tashkent today in time for the two friendly matches.

The Iranian U-23 has a tough task ahead as it is competing in the Asian championship competition at the beginning of the new year and hoping to make the top 3 in order to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics football competition.

The task has been made that much difficult by the appointment of a coach with no prior experience in top-level coaching. The Omid Team was coached by the Croat Zlatko Kranjcar before the federation ended his contract following some poor showing. Farhad Majidi, with his limited experience, has been given the herculean task of qualifying for the Olympics football competition after many notable Iranian coaches turn down the job.

Omid Namazi, whose last job in Iran was coaching Zob Ahan football club before being replaced by Alireza Mansourian, will bring badly needed experience at the bench which is in dire need of expertise and direction and tactics.

The news about Namazi’s appointment was confirmed by the Iranian football federation website.

Omid Namzi appointed as head coach of Zob Ahan.

Omid Namzi , the Iranian-American coach has been appointed as Zob Ahan football Club head coach replacing Amir Ghalenoei who crossed over to the other side of the city taking over the coaching of Sepahan.

The American born, Namazi played professionally in the American Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League, Major League Soccer, USISL and National Professional Soccer League where he was the 2001 Defender of the Year. As assistant coach of Team Melli, Namazi led the team to qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

In December 2010, Namazi was named as an assistant coach to the Iran Pro League club Steel Azin F.C.. On April 28, 2011, he became assistant coach of the Iranian national team alongside Carlos Queiroz and goalkeeping coach Dan Gaspar.On June 18, 2013, Iran qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, before qualifying for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup months later.

Namazi submitted his resignation on january 2014 citing family reasons. However, that version was taken with a pinch of salt by many observers

A week before that, Antonio Simoes also parted company with Team Melli due to personal reasons. Namazi was just one name in a long list of assistant coaches or administrators who have worked for Carlos Queiroz and left. Javad Nekounam, Ali Karimi , Dan Gasper , Afshin Peyrovani , Majid Salih , Antonio Simoes are just a few. Queiroz is known to demands complete adherence to his commands and more often than not , the assistants are there to just relay instructions rather than being partners in decesion making or tactical issues. Such role does not sit down well with many aspiring assistant coaches.

Namazi has signed a three-year deal with the Persian Gulf Pro League side which was recently eliminated from the AFC Champions League by fellow Iranian team, Esteghlal Tehran in a thrilling match series.

Is it worth it?

Iranian football has never been exposed to such a humiliating treatment like the ones that it is receiving from this Mozambique born Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz.

For the last few years and due to all sort of reasons, he has been treating the football federation with contempt. Manipulating the faults and the sheer incompetency of the system managed by the likes of Ali Kaffashian , Mehdi Taj and MohammadReza Saket (the so-called Esfahani Mafia), Queiroz has opened a front against the establishment and began a proxy war , agitation technique and a campaign in misleading the stakeholders in order to get out of his commitment and contractual obligation.  Such contempt, disrespect to the people, flagrant disregard for the etiquette of the host country would have sent him on the first flight home if that happened in one of the Persians Gulf countries, however it seems that the Persians are way too accommodating for the “Khareji”.

 Omid Namazi 

Queiroz’s  list of his misdemeanors is as long as an airport runway and it is increasing by the day. His latest antics were the indiscriminate sacking of the Iranian personnel working in Team Melli. From Afshin Peyrovani, unashamed defenders of the Portuguese man who was living in denial to the mild mannered, dedicated and the professional Markar Aghajanian. Before them, Omid Namazi faced the same dilemma.

“At what price and humiliation level do you want to make to the World Cup?” These are the words of Ali Karimi who served under Queiroz for a few days as an assistant coach only to abruptly leave his post and was subsequently bombarded with hate messages and profanities from the same people who used to cheer him on the stands during his playing days, according to Karimi’s own words. But to his credit , Karimi  always maintained silence and never discussed the reason for leaving his Team Melli assistant coach job in such an abrupt manner. Karimi, rightly or wrongly feared instability in the Team Melli camp and to preserve national interest, he remained quiet.

“Now,  you can guess what happened in my case. I say no more, but I hope all those who questioned my loyalty to Team Melli realize where I stand and why I left.” Karimi clearly hinting at the treatment of Iranian assistant coaches are receiving from the Portuguese.

There is no doubt that Queiroz was lied to, promises of support never fulfilled, worked in a chaotic rather than a systematic environment, not paid his wages on time and most importantly lacked the resources to excel in his job, but he knew all of that during his first term and yet accepted an improved offer to continue working in Iran (although physically residing in Dubai and abroad most of the time) . His agreement to extend his contract beyond World Cup 2014 was done after a series of press statements bad mouthing Iran’s football and its administration!

Is it worth it? Is qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2018 worth all of the insults, abuses and cruelties that this Portuguese man is giving to the Iranians in their own country?

A proud nation with thousands of years of culture is being taken to the cleaners by one vindictive man who has an agenda and that is quite literally, anarchy. His vindictive tactics is more petulant than clever too. Using a Persepolis player in his squad to unsettle Branko Ivankovic’s team preparation is one such leverage he selected to take revenge for the Croat coach!!

 The nation that stood against virtually all the great powers and refused to bow to their pressure thus holding its head up high and being proud of it, is unable to deal with the antics of one foreign football coach. Pity those who think that Queiroz is the only man in the world that can take Iran to the World Cup 2018.

Team Melli training starts without any Iranians !

The beginning of Team Melli Training was marred by the conspicuous absence of all Iranian personnel. No Iranian coaches or administrators was sighted in the first training session of Team Melli in Azadi Training camp ahead of the series of matches in the next few days.

Team Melli will be meeting Iraq in a friendly international on Friday before flying to Doha for the Thursday match against Qatar in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers and then flying back to Tehran to meet China in Azadi.

The absence of Afshin Peyrovani , the Team Manager, Markar Aghajanian , Javad Nekounam (assistant coaches) , Arin Ghassemi (interpreter) and Mohsen Motamedkia (Team PR specialist) raised much questions and enforced the rumors that the national contingent of Team Melli Cadre have boycotted Queiroz.!

The Portuguese coach has been resisting the inclusion of Iranians assistants in the Training cadre especially those who are hand-picked by others for the job rather himself. Two of his more famous assistants (victims) who left the job are Omid Namazi and Ali Karimi. The latter tenure with Queiroz did not last more than a few days.

Markar Aghajanian is the longest-serving cadre of Team Melli . A man who does his work very quietly and away from the spotlights. He hardly features in the media and prefers to work quietly and focus on his task. Aghajanian is the only Team Melli coach that consistently follows the Domestic Persian Gulf League while Carlos Quieroz hardly attends any league matches. Many of the new names in Team Melli squad are picked as result of Aghajanian’s recommendation and diligence.

Javad Nekounam, the ex-Captain and the record holder of Team Melli matches, who started his coaching career on the wrong note being slapped with FIFA suspension, is another surprise absentee. Queiroz’s own choice for assistant coach when the then President Ali Kaffashian insisted that the training staff must include an Iranian assistant coach, was picked without any coaching experience or formal training hence Nekounam was always exposed to failure. However, Nekounam was a strong supporter of Queiroz as a player and Captain of the team.

Afshin Peyrovani, who has no technical or coaching authority in the squad, and is only the administration manager is another strong Queiroz supporter. Peyrovani has been outspoken in the defense of Portuguese coach against wide-spread media criticism. Unlike Aghajanina, Peyrovani was always making a statement to one news agency to another in the project of defending Queiroz.  His absence is more puzzling than all the rest as he was always the Yes man and the loyal soldier to Carlos Queiroz!

The controversy and drama of  Carlos Queiroz with Team Melli continues to run unabated. Whether the absence of the Iranian contingent of Team Melli is a coincident, or an expression of protest or even a boycott , it will hardly matter to Queiroz who prefers an iron fist approach to his job and has no time for any views other than his. It is unlikely that the Iranians absent will have a negative short term effect or direct impact in the result of the coming matches.

 

 

Namazi appointed as U.S. Soccer Men’s Youth National Team Coach

thesportscampus.com | , Jan 05th

U.S. Soccer has appointed three-time World Cup veteran Brad Friedel as Head Coach of the U-19 Men’s National Team and former Iran National Team assistant coach Omid Namazi to lead the U-18 MNT program.

“We are thrilled to bring on two guys who have such tremendous experience,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “Brad Friedel played at the highest level for almost two decades, and his knowledge will be a huge benefit to our young players. Omid Namazi has not only been a professional player at all levels in the United States, he has worked as a coach both here and overseas which adds important perspective. They have both been assistant coaches in our Youth National Teams, so this is another important step in connecting the dots between our teams.”

Friedel earned 82 caps for the United States during his 13-year international career, starting all five matches in the USA’s historic run to the quarterfinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. One of the top performing U.S. professionals for more than 20 years in MLS and Europe, Friedel played for the Columbus Crew in MLS and at Galatasaray, Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa, Tottenham and others. He holds the Premier League record for most consecutive appearances (310). Holding a UEFA ‘A’ coaching license, Friedel has served as an assistant at various Youth National Team camps and worked with players at the Tottenham academy.

namazi_omid

“I look forward to the opportunity to help develop our young players into professionals and full internationals,” said Friedel. “The last four years I have focused my coaching at the academy and development levels, and I’m excited to work with the entire group of committed Youth National Team staff members to increase our levels of development here in the United States.”

Omid Namazi takes the helm of the U-18 MNT after having served as an assistant coach of the U-20’s for the last two years. Namazi brings an extensive coaching career that began in 1999, as well as an 18-year career as a professional player during which he played at all levels in the United States. He served as an assistant coach for Iran from 2011-2014, and helped the team qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

“I look forward to leading such a critical age group in our Youth National Teams set up,” Namazi said. “My experience with the U20’s in the last two years will certainly help me develop the type of players we need to compete at the highest levels professionally and internationally.”

Namazi’s first camp will be a domestic training camp with 36 players from Jan. 17-23 at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, which will serve as preparation for international games in Argentina in early March.

“Brad and Omid are very important additions as we continue working towards a more integrated National Team Program,” said U.S. Soccer Youth Technical Director and U-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos. “They both played key roles in the recent success of the U-20 National Team and we’re looking forward to working closely with all of our National Team coaches and professional leagues to continue to develop players to be ready to compete at the highest level of the game.”

The U-19 Men’s National Team’s first-ever event will be from Jan. 27-Feb. 6 in Las Palmas on the Canary Islands, taking part in the Copa del Atlantico four-team tournament with matches against Spain, France and the Canary Islands. The U-19 MNT program has been added to men’s youth programing this year and features players born in 1998, who are coming off playing in the U-17 FIFA World Cup in Chile in October.

Friedel and Namazi are the most recent additions to the Youth National Team programs, following the hiring of John Hackworth as the new head coach of the U-17 MNT.

namazi

Omid Namazi urges cautious Iran FIFA World Cup approach

 

Omid Namazi believes defending in numbers will be essential for Iran to impress at the FIFA World Cup.

Namazi aided the Iranian’s qualification for the showpiece in the role of assistant coach before leaving to take up a position with the United States women’s national team.

However, he will no doubt be a keen observer as Carlos Queiroz’s men attempt to make an impact on the biggest stage.

“Iranian players are very skilful but they’re not all great defenders,” he said.

“Carlos is not stupid. Going to the World Cup as the 31st or 32nd team in terms of level, you’re probably going to have to defend a lot. He needs players who can defend.”

While Iran enter the tournament with few expectations, being drawn in one of the less challenging groups – they are alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nigeria and Argentina – means the passion of their supporters could be rewarded.

Namazi added: “It’s a strange, strange world in Iran. Yes, the passion is there. The people live and die with soccer.

“Everyone ” everyone ” on the streets talks about soccer. But they haven’t been able to translate this passion into performance.”

Omid Namazi Named Assistant Coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team

CHICAGO (March 26, 2014) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Tom Sermanni has named Omid Namazi as a full-time assistant coach to his staff.

“Omid brings significant experience in women’s and men’s soccer, at both club level and internationally,” said Sermanni. “He brings a fresh perspective but with a high degree of knowledge on the players and the women’s game. We’re on the same page philosophically on how we want the team to play and he’ll be a valuable asset to our program moving forward.”

Namazi, who holds a U.S. Soccer “A” coaching license, comes to the WNT from his position as an assistant coach for the Iran Men’s National Team.

Namazi served as an assistant coach for Iran from 2011-2014 and helped the team qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil by winning Group A in the Asian Qualifying Tournament ahead of the Korea Republic. Namazi was coaching in Iran as an assistant for Premier League club Steel Azin when he was tabbed to join the U.S. Women’s National Team staff.

Namazi has had an long coaching career in both men’s and women’s soccer, and was head coach of the San Diego Spirit of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) in 2003, leading the team to its first and only playoff berth, as well as the Chicago Red Stars in Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), taking over the team mid-season in early June of 2010 after the former head coach was let go.

“It’s a new challenge and an exciting one,” said Namazi. “It’s a great time for women’s soccer in the United States with the NWSL starting its second season, our Youth National Teams getting more and more support from U.S. Soccer and with the 2015 Women’s World Cup on the horizon. I’m sincerely enjoying working with some of the best players in the world and helping work to bring the team to an even higher level.”

After a successful college career at West Virginia, Namazi played 18 years of professional soccer for various indoor and outdoor clubs and was the MISL Defender of the Year for the Philadelphia KiXX in 2001. Namazi turned professional in 1988 with the Washington Diplomats of the American Soccer League.

Namazi, who has a bachelor’s degree in exercise philosophy from WVU, played for the U.S. National Futsal Team in 2002-2003, earning five caps while scoring two goals. He resides in Sewell, N.J. with his wife and two young sons.

[divider]

 

Former Iran assistant Namazi joins Sermanni’s staff

by Paul Kennedy, March 26th, 2014

Iranian-American Omid Namazi, who recently left Iran’s World Cup staff in part because he had not been paid in five months, has joined U.S. women’s national team head coach Tom Sermanni’s staff as a full-time assistant coach.

Namazi, who U.S. pro career included stints at 15 indoor and outdoor clubs, has coached two women’s pro teams: the San Diego Spirit of the Women’s United Soccer Association in 2003 and Chicago Red Stars in Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) in 2010.

“It’s a new challenge and an exciting one,” said Namazi. “It’s a great time for women’s soccer in the United States with the NWSL starting its second season, our youth national teams getting more and more support from U.S. Soccer and with the 2015 Women’s World Cup on the horizon. I’m sincerely enjoying working with some of the best players in the world and helping work to bring the team to an even higher level.”

The Utah-born Namazi was coaching Steel Azin in Iran when he joined Carlos Queiroz’s coaching staff. Another American, Dan Gaspar, was also part of the staff that led Iran to the group title in Asian qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Gaspar remains with the squad that has struggled to get funding because of the impact of international sanctions, but Namazi told the New York Times he had not been paid in five months.

Namazi’s one game in MLS came in 1996 for the MetroStars when Queiroz was their coach.

“7 preparations games for Team Melli” Mohammad Nabi

The secretary general of FFIRI has mentioned that Team Melli will have 7 preparations game from now until the start of the World Cup.

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi , in a statement to ISNA said ” During our South African training camp , we will play against 4 club sides , while later on we will be facing Belarus , Montenegro , Trinidad & Tobago and Angola.”

In regard to the vacant position of assistant coach that was created by the sudden departure of Omid Namazi and the resignation of Simoez , Mohammad Nabi said “Kaffashian and myslef had a meeting with Queiroz in which the issue of assistant coach was discussed. He (Queiroz) is still looking at some candidates and shall inform us on his decision shortly. I believe he is looking at two assistant coaches from Brazil. There is no sign or any indication that he will select an Iranian assistant coach anytime soon”

When questioned about and Argentinian coach for Team Melli while Iran is facing Argentina in the World Cup , Mohammad Nabi said “he is only a physical Trainer (!!!)”.

Do we understand from Mohammad Nabi that a Physical Trainer is not an important or significant post in a football team coaching staff?