Tag: Persepolis

Zlatko Krancjar ” I left Iran because of sanctions”

The former head of the Iran Omid  (U23) team believes the sanctions imposed on Iran were the reason for his departure from the team, something that has caused other Iranian teams to face difficulties.

The Croatian coach Zlatko Krancjar ended his partnership with Iran’s Omid team and is now back in his own country, according to ISNA. The coach who held several coaching posts in Iran including leading Persepolis and Sepahan in Iranian football league, in discussion about his departure from the Iran team said “I could not continue to work in Iran because of the sanctions. Everything is determined by money, and because of sanctions, Iran’s sport, especially football, is in suffering severely.”

“The administration of the national teams at all age group levels is dependent on the on the government and the state of which it is willing to support, so it is not possible to improve the situation,” he continued. “In any case, I have been in Iran for 6 years and I thoroughly enjoy that period and enjoyed Iran. In Sepahan, I was able to win two trophies. In the Omid team of Iran, I also got good results in the Olympic qualifiers were we qualified for the finals. I’d better rest now.  Also notice that , Winfred Schaefer also left Iran. Branco Ivankovic , who has won three championships in a row and has been in the AFC Champions League final, is facing some financial problems.”

Chaos reigns supreme in Hazfi Cup Final

The final of the Hazfi cup between Persepolis and Damash Gilan had to be abandoned several times after chaotic scenes in Ahvaz threatening to turn into unrest. The match was eventually on after 2 hours and 15 minutes delay!!

This final was between David and Goliath of Iran’s football, Persepolis arguably the most popular team in Iran and Asia and the minnows from second division Damash Gilan from city of Rasht.  Damash was the unlikeliest finalist of the cup, however they had a good run and managed to display some heroics to reach the final ahead of the likes of Esteghlal, Zob Ahan and Sepahan.

Angry fans throwing objects

The full capacity newly built Foolad Arena in neutral city of Ahvaz, was full to capacity hours before the start of the match when it was announced that there will be a 30 minutes delay presumably to ensure the safety of the spectators.

However, despite the referee leading the teams for the start, Damash players refused to join the pre-match lineup and continued warming up. The apparent reason for refusal to play was an order from their Club chairman. About 300 Damash fans were not allowed entry by the match organizers and were stuck behind closed doors leading to strong protests and threats from Damash Chairman.

Despite efforts from players such as Biranvand and Jalal Hosseini pleading with their own fans to give up their seats for Damash fans, their pleas went to deaf ears as no one was interested to do so. Fans made an effort and bought tickets to watch a cup final and there was no reason anyone would want to give up the seat, especially the opposition team. It looked like a ridiculous solution and desperate attempt to start the match.

Damash team insisted that they will not play until they see their supporters in the stands.

There were no official announcements from the speakers on the progress and status of the match leading to unsettle the fans. Unrest started and the situation was becoming volatile.

After nearly two hours and 15 minutes of late kick off, the match was started but not before angry fans pelted Damash players with all sort of objects. Damash team ran for cover under barrage of objects being thrown at them, without any protection from the security forces or riot police!

The final of the cup that is supposed to be the showcase of any football federation’s season. In the last few finals, it has been chaotic, unruly and quite messy at the end of each match. However, this edition started (finally) quite messy and ended in shame nearly resulting in riots with high risk to the fans and the public.

The accountable party must be the FFIRI, who has a track record in incompetence, poor organization and poor management. This was a shameful day for Iran’s football and a warning for outsiders of the risk of playing important tournaments in Iran under the present Federation.

Later in the evening, the Disciplinary Committee of the FFIRI issued an communique regarding the events of the Hazfi Cup final in which it mentioned that “As the result of inadequacies and lack of control in the process of holding the Cup Final between the Persepolis Tehran and Damash Gilan, which lead To disorder, chaos, and damage to the national football credibility and reputation. Mr. Saeed Fattahi [Head of FFIRI League Organization committee] has been suspended from all football activities until further notice.”

It also added that Mr. Heydar Baharvand and Abdol Kazem Taleghani are required to provide explanations regarding the events that took place during the match.

Saeed Fattahi who is notorious in Iran for involving himself in every matter to do with the federation and issuing unsanctioned statements on behalf of the Federation, was supposed to be the chief organizer of the match who has forgotten to allocate tickets for the Damash Team fans.

Marc Wilmots leads first Team Melli practice session.

The first training session of Team Melli lead by Marc Wilmots was carried today with the presence of assistant coach Vahid Hashemian .

Prior to start of the session, the players and technical staff of Team Melli team handed flowers bouquets to the media personnel present at the training ground as a gesture of appreciation. . Persepolis players, who were scheduled to play the final of the Hazfi Cup in Ahvaz were absent today. Apart from Beiranvand, Torabi and Noorolahi, from Persepolis, the injured Rashid Mazaheri and  Sardar Azmoun were absent from the session.

Hossein Hosseini has replaced Mazaheri in the squad. The players started with a warm up run along the ground, then the group training consisted of practice with single-shot passes and stretching exercises. During the training, Ramin Rezaeian made errors in executing one or two moves, which forced Wilmots to give him a reminder.

The training continued in several routines under continuous instructions from Wilmots. Despite the various issues with the official sponsor of Team Melli kit, the team was wearing the Adidas kit, but it seems that the use of this kit is not expected to last for long. Media  were asked to leave after 25 minutes to allow Wilmots the freedom of continuing his work.

“Pathetic direction and administration of football” Massoud Eghbali

The Iranian national U23 football team (Omid), barely managed to qualify for the final rounds of AFC U23 Championship which is also the qualifiers for the 2020 Olympic Games. Despite having the advantage of being the host, Iraq won the group on goal difference, while Iran had to wait until late to find out if they have qualified as one of the 4 best second ranked team.

The cesarean qualification has led to many discussions and different views on the status of the team and mainly on whether Krancjar should continue with the team after such modest performance. Some experts believe Krancjar should remain at the helm while others are opposed to the Croat continuing to work with Omid team.

In the midst of such arguments , the views of Massoud Eghbali, the official Asian Football Confederation coaching master is quite interesting. Eqhbali spoke to Mehrnews sports reporter.

“The main problems of our football has always been the deep-rooted management and administration of football at its highest level. Football does not have a healthy atmosphere and strong foundation in general. Our organization and conditions suffer from numerous problems, and like cancer it keeps spreading. One of the biggest and most important problems in this football is the management problem. Mismanagement in Iran’s football is a long-standing problem that has existed in these 30-40 years. Management problems have never been eliminated, in fact it has been spreading and getting worst. With each management personnel changes, the problems that existed is passed on to the new managers who are incompetent or unable to improve them.”

“It is uunfortunate that these pperennial pproblems have not only not disappeared, they have in fact have increased and become more severe and deliberate. All national teams have suffered from these identical problems. The difficulties in groundwork, resources, programs, logistics and training facilities are facing all national teams in all age groups. “

“Look at our senior Team Melli. It is without a coach since January, and there is no solution in sight, just the official propaganda of the FFIRI repeating the same old statements or on the other hand a bunch of speculations and rumors. There are no coaches in other national teams too. The criterion for choosing coaches by the football federation is not right at all. Coaches are appointed, mostly based on nepotism rather than competency or suitability. At age group teams where it is very vital to have quality coaches, there are appointmentS based on anything but merit, subsequently they fail and then leave quietly. There is no appraisal process, no investigation, no inquiry to why the team failed!

There is no board member in the football federation assigned to justify these failures, no one who can explain why these coaches come and go without being investigated. No one is ready to explain the whole process of selections and appointment of coaches. The Omid team of Iran is one of those teams that is immersed in these problems.

Political influences in choosing a coach In the Omid team,

At Omid team we finally choose a perfectly competent coach like Zlatko Krancjar, but we do not facilitate his job and deprive him of the resources. One of the most important tools of any boss is a very strong technical staff with background and experience, involvement in high level competition at club or national team levels. What is happening in reality in our Omid Team is that people with connections to the federation management get the job to sit on the bench with Krancjar. They choose young assistants or inexperienced coaches while ensuring to equally divide the bench appointments between Esteghlal and Persepolis!!

While we were hosting the qualifiers, we failed to win the group but qualified to the final by luck, and if we are realistic, we have to say that there is little hope for Omid Team to make it to the Olympics as one of the 3 top teams of Asia. The team, called Omid Iran in Asia, does not have the quality to be among the top three Asian teams that qualify for the Olympic Games. Most players in this team do not have what it takes to make the grade to the Senior Team Melli. The problem is not Krancjar, he is a quality coach with experience and has coached national teams. Now there are whispers that they are supposed to dismiss him.

Krancjar is a professional coach, tried and tested .If we are to sack him and replace him with the world’s leading coach, with the same problems at hand such as lack of facilities and this lack of cooperation with by the clubs in releasing their players, the same thing will be repeated again and again.

Clubs dilemmas

Among the major problems in Iran’s football is the unwillingness or disinterest of the clubs in grassroots football. For one reason or another, there is no strong urge or commitment to build and form strong academy level teams. Success and ranking in the league table is the utmost priority of almost all the clubs especially those at he top like Persepolis and Esteghlal, which makes it hard for them to focus or have serious interest in promoting the youth

This policy has become a cycle and it turned into a defective cycle, the effect of it is felt at Team Melli level and also in the ranks of the clubs themselves who have to go into the international transfer market and import cheap players, not necessarily good players.

There is a long-term damage in following such policy, and the results are so obvious. Iran has hardly won anything of worth in the last forty years. The Asian cup have eluded them, no Iranian club has won the AFC Champions League so far, Last time Iran was in the Olympic football competition was in 1976 (qualified for 1980 Olympics but subsequently boycotted it) and at youth level, success has been rare.

That is the reality of our football. More serious damage in imminent the future if this pathetic direction and administration of football in Iran continues.”

Team Melli Head Coach

Queiroz’S cryptic message!

Carlos Queiroz has sent a cryptic message to the Iranian football community, with a motive that is far from prudent and borders a malicious act!

In a message published on the official FFIRI website, Queiroz praised coaches such Amir Ghalenoei, Javad Nekounam and Mehdi Mahdavikia.

In his message, he said “Football is a game were people have different opinions, and we , the football family, learn that in this game, whether we agree or disapprove on some points, we still have respect for each other. I always admire the courage and valor of my fellow professionals when they rise up and fight for the principles and values that protect the interests of football. For example: Ali Parvin, Ali Daei, Amir Ghalenoei, Winfred Shaefar, Javad Nekounam, Yahya Golmohammadi, Hossein Kalani, Mehdi Mahdavi Kia and Vahid Hashemian. If there is a name in this list of “high courage and personality” that I have missed, accept my apology.

There is very little doubt in any one close to the affairs of Iranian football that this is another dig by Queiroz against his nemesis Branko Ivankovic. However, the timing of this message seems to be strange, especially when Queiroz and his squad are less than a month from the AFC Asian Cup. Queiroz has always demanded peace and tranquil atmosphere during his preparations with Team Melli but such message is not exactly what he preaches, and clearly intended to score a point in his long running dispute with the Croat coach of Persepolis.

Persepolis club with its influence and popularity is fundamental in the support and success of Team Melli. With its massive fan base and supporters across Iran and beyond, the majority of whom have clearly sided with their coach and shouted slogans against Queiroz, this message and exclusion of Branko Ibankovic name from the list of dedicated servant of Iranian football, is ill-timed.

The Croat coach who has served as assistant coach to Miroslav “Ćiro” Blažević and then  head coach of Team Melli twice, taking Iran to the World Cup in 2006, winning the Asian Games Gold medal and winning third place in Asian Cup 2004 in China, he remains one of the most decorated coaches of Team melli. Branko Ivankoivic is undoubtedly a candidate of any such list

Biranvand flying high.

He might not be every fan’s cup of tea, but Biarnvand is certainly flying high these days and was the man of the match in Persepolis AFC Champions League semifinal victory against Al Sadd of Qatar.

Persepolis has secured a 0-1 away win against Al Sadd in Doha. A draw in the jammed packed Azadi would have taken the most popular club in Iran to the finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time in its illustrious history.

Al Sadd star-studded team included two famous Spanish midfielders. The legendary ex-Barcelona star Xavier Hernández Creus or better known to the world as “Xavi“, and ex Ateltico Madrid Gabriel Fernández Arenas or “Gabi”in addition to the competition top scorer the Algerian Baghdad Bounedjah and South Korean national team midfielder Jung Woo-Young

The crowd, estimated to be over 120,000 fans in Azadi , despite the official viewpoint of 78,000 , were stunned when the Algerian Bounedjah scored passed Biranvand in the 17th minute.

Persepolis scored the equalizer early in the second half when Siamak Nemati scored in the similar fashion to Al Sadd goal.

Minutes from the final whistle with the match finally in balance and the 1-1 draw result taking Persepolis to the final of the AFC Champions League. Xavi, with his immense wealth of experience in World football and Barcelona, escaped all the Persepolis defense to be on the receiving end of a fine cross which he headed powerfully towards the far end of Persepolis goal. The trajectory of the header seemed to be certain to end up in the goal and a definite winner for Al Sadd.

Alireza Biranvand , stunned by the freedom given to Xavi to freely head the ball was off guard. However, Team Melli guardian flew like an eagle and brilliantly deflected the ball over the bar to save his team from certain elimination.

This type of saves are written in the records book for its brilliance but more for its significance on the result and the fate of the teams. It was a huge and spectacular save that needs to be written in the records book which Alireza Biranvand has a claim on another one, which was his World Cup Penalty save against no other than Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.

Biranvand has saved a Xavi header and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty. Not many keepers can claim such feat.

Saying that, Birnavand remains an enigma. He can be world-class one day, and a villain the next. He concedes goals that even the weakest keepers can save. He is also a bit of nuisance cum showman in the matches with his running and shouting at his defenders act. Add this to his time-wasting tactics that are far from clever and has brought him several yellow cards.

The Team Melli fans across the world would be much gladder to see the positive side of Biranvand in the UAE. He is undoubtedly flying high now and we all hope to see that continues for the next 3 months.

Esteghlal and Pas Tehran are the only Iranian clubs who have won the Asian Clubs top prize before.

Sepahan, Zob Ahan and Esteghlal have also been finalists.

Persepolis will play Kashima Antlers of Japan in the final of AFC Champions League 2017/18 season.

The Sense of injustice. Mohsen Mosalman & Hossein Kaebi

The crocked FFIRI.

Mohsen Mosalman was considered as one of the brightest young footballers in Iran, destined to stardom in the European leagues in the footpath of Daei , Mahdavikia and Bagheri. Some even regarded him to be a much better talent than Ali Karimi in his senior years

He was the youngest professional players in Iran history at 16 years old in Zob Ahan.  By that time, he has already played for Team Melli U16 and in the following years , he represented his country in all the age group teams all the way to the Omid Team (U23).

Mosalman was and still is , a gifted player and naturally he was picked for Team Melli, but made limited appearances, and scored one goal in his 5 caps.

This player however, had issues on and off the field , enough to irritate the hierarchy and ruffle some feathers. The disciplinary actions against him and some self-inflicted problems, harmed his progress and relegated him from a star in the making to just about, better than average league player.

His misdemeanors varied from being filmed smoking in coffee shops, to attending parties or pictures in social media with girls..

Another wonderkid was Hossein Kaebi. The boy from Khuzestan was an absolute delight to watch as a youngster growing up to become a definite star. He made his debut for Team Melli at 18 years and unlike Mosalman, Hossein Kaebi played for an extended period of time including in the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. He also played in the Asian Cup 2007.

There was nothing controversial about Kaebi, except for his passion to look good including having Tattoo all over his body or fixing his eyebrows, for which he faced disciplinary action by the ethics and behavior committee of FFIRI

Mosalman conduct is nothing close to controversial, so is Kaebi’s. If it was in Free World, those two would not attract much, if any attention. On field violations would have been dealt with professionally and objectively, as there is no malice, ill intent or violent conducts in their actions. But in a system controlled by religious fundamentalism with absolutely minimal respect to personal freedom and a big brother approach, these two are considered as villains.

A committee for virtue and righteous, has just suspended the two players from all football activities for reasons that are not published and only known to those who penalized the players. There is no appeal. No transparency no rights!.

Hossein kaebi

And if you think that is injustice, have a thought for Mohsen Mosalman who helped Persepolis win the League title last season. In the ceremony by the FFIRI to honor winners and the achievers, in the category of top assists , Mohsen Mosalman was the clear winner with 14 assists for the season. Shockingly, the FFIRI announced that Server Djabarov, the Uzbek player who had a total of 6 assists for Esteghlal, has won the title.!!!

The writing was on the wall to suspend and punish Mosalman.

It is testament to the resolve of the nation that football actually thrives under such injustice.

Masoud Shojaei and Ashkan Dejagah, join Tractorsazi

Both Captains of Team Melli , have joined Tractorsazi Tabriz, in the surprise transfer of the season.

While both have been playing in Europe and could have continued doing so, yet in a strange turn of event, they turned up in Tabriz with a lot of question marks on the motives of the move. Masoud Shojaei and Ashkan Dejagah, two well-known and influential players of the Iranian national team who participated in the 21st World Cup recently in Russia, reached peculiar decision to join Tractorsazi team.

Though it will be very good news for the Tabrizi team, it will raise questions about the reasons for the decision made by Shojaei and Dejagah and wheter it hase been either coordinated or orchestrated, especially since the two players have signed up to a three-year contract with Tractorsazi, which is questionable and ambiguous.

Shojaei and Dejagah have joined a team whose owner has been a tremendous support for Team Melli in recent years and has even provided the squad with a special chartered Jet for the squad travels.

The two captains were expected to join Foreign teams with better prospective after the World Cup. Or, even if they did not do well in the European teams, they could have easily continued to play in the neighboring countries League, in particular Qatar.

The main question is why Massoud Shojaei and Ashkan Dejagah have decided on the domestic league in the year leading up to the Asian Cup? The two joined the Tractorsazi while Queiroz always preferred and emphasized on the presence of players in international teams for greater readiness.

It is not clear if Shojaei and Dejagah, who have a close relationship with Queiroz – as national team captains – have consulted the Portuguese coach for their next season’s team selection?

It seems that reasons other than a simple choice in the transfer of Massoud Shojaee and Ashkan Dejagah have been influential.

Branco Ivankovic, who has won the Premier League for two consecutive seasons and has gained a lot of popularity among Persepolis fans, and even considered as a strong candidate to replace Queiroz  in the national team, now sees his opposition much stronger than before.

What’s clear is that Tractorsazi has built a strong team under John Toshack and will form a challenge to Persepolis and Esteghlal with the recruitment of Shojaei and Dejagah

Ghleechkhani’s Unreachable , Unassailable record.

Iran has a legend in Ali Daei whose 109 goals in international games is a record that seems to be incredibly difficult to beat in the near future.

The Shariyar has the World All-time Top scorer record registered under his name; no one is even close to this 109 goals unless you consider the 85 that Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal has scored to be quite near!

Despite of that, Daei is not the first hero of Iran’s illustrious football history. That accolade goes to the great Parviz Ghleechkhani who preceded him in an implausible record that is simply next to impossible to beat in modern day football.

Ghleechkhani has played in 3 AFC Asian Cup tournaments. He won 3 titles in 1968, 1972 and 1976. The utility player who has excelled in every post he played, bar in the goal, has played 12 matches in the three editions of what was called Asian Nations Cup and won them all. No draws, no defeats and absolute 100% record. As such, Ghleechkhani holds 2 Asian records with that feat. 3 consecutive championships title and the 100% undefeated record. No Asian player is close to those records.

Ghleechkhani. who was the Captain of Team Melli ,  added the Asian Games Tehran 1974 Gold Medal to his cabinet too.

Considered by many as Iran’s best ever player, Parviz Ghleechkhani was deprived from the World Cup when Iran first qualified in 1978. His absence was nothing to do with football but much about politics and his expression of leftist leaning views in the era of the Pahlavi dictatorship. Ghleechkhani was arrested by SAVAK in February 1972 for anti-regime activities and viewing or spreading of Marxists literature which was a taboo in Iran. Some months later, Ghleechkhani appeared live on national TV in an orchestrated interview where he expressed his regrets and declared repentance; as a result, he was released from prison a few days later.

Ghleechkhani continued playing football with unrelenting success on the field. He was offered professional contracts by a number of European clubs including Galatasaray S.K, Bayern Munich, Olympiacos. Despite being released, Ghleechlkhani was constantly monitored and kept under surveillance by the regime security apparatus. He was not allowed to leave Iran to play for any of the clubs that offered him contracts. While still at his peak and playing quite well in the North American Soccer League (NASL) with SD Earthquakes, he was ignored in the selection for the squad of Team Melli to Argentine for the first ever appearance in the FIFA World Cup in 1978.

The legendary midfielder played for several clubs starting from Kayan, Taj, Pas , Oghab , Daraei, and Persepolis. In 1977 he moved to the United States where he signed for the San Jose Earthquake.

The success of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 lead by Ayattollah Khomeini was another serious setback for the activist Ghleechkhani. In April 1979 Iran was declared an Islamic republic, while elements within the clergy promptly moved to exclude their former left-wing, nationalist, and intellectual allies from any positions of power in the new regime, and a return to conservative social values was enforced.  Ghleechkhani and his comrades were out of luck.

Ghleechkhani’s success was hindered by his political beliefs and the struggles against the regimes of both The Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini. Ghleechkhani was a great player in all meaning of the word. He never managed to reach his potential despite his skills and abilities, instead he made millions of Iranians fans celebrate the success of Team Melli through his great performances. One of the most memorable of which , was against Australia in the FIFA Qualifiers in 1973 in Tehran Arayamehr Stadium (Azadi) where he scored two goals in less than 30 minutes. His first was a thunderous shoot and the second a penalty.

An exile in Paris now, Ghleechkhani record of 3 consecutive Asian Cup titles and 100% record, seems like being immortal.

Parviz Ghleechkhani

Asian Cup Games Details

 

# Date Competition Venue Opponent Score
1 10-May-68 Asian Cup H Hong Kong 2 – 0
2 13-May-68 Asian Cup H Taiwan 4 – 0
3 16-May-68 Asian Cup H Burma 3 – 1
4 19-May-68 Asian Cup / Final H Israel 2 – 1
5 07-May-72 Asian Cup N Cambodia 2 – 0
6 09-May-72 Asian Cup N Iraq 3 – 0
7 13-May-72 Asian Cup A Thailand 3 – 2
8 17-May-72 Asian Cup N Cambodia 2 – 1
9 19-May-72 Asian Cup / Final N Korea Rep. 2 – 1
10 04-Jun-76 Asian Cup H Iraq 2 – 0
11 05-Jun-76 Asian Cup H China 2 – 0
12 13-Jun-76 Asian Cup / Final H Kuwait 1 – 0

P

 W D L GF GA GD Pts Win %
12 12 0 0 28 6 22 36

100%

Biravand is no show for Persepolis training.

The pre-season training of Persepolis has reached the final stage, while there is no news from their number one goalkeeper according to reports from the club.

Alireza Beiranvand has a mandatory two weeks off as a member of Team Melli squad that competed in the FIFA 2018 World Cup. The rest, which ended on Sunday, however the Team Melli guardian did not show up for Persepolis yesterday’s training. Beiranvand’s absence has upset Branko Ivankovic, and he informed the club’s managers to sort out Beiranvnd’s situation as soon as possible.

The Persepolis head coach made it clear to the management that if Beiranvand does not attend the training by the end of the week, he can not be picked for the senior team and will be benched.

The Persepolis goalie is determined to seek contracts and consider his foreign offers and then to attend the training. But the Persepolis club is against this and explicitly stated that it will not sell him until the end of the half season.