Tag: Qatar

Team Melli will play Benfica Reserves !

Iran’s Team Melli will be playing a friendly match against the reserve team of Benfica in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup! The match will be played at 10:30 in the morning next Tuesday 14th October 2014.

Team Melli squad is currently in Carlos Queiroz homeland and so far has managed to arrange two matches only, one of which would have been a real test for Team Melli which has lost valuable preparation time for the upcoming premiere Asian Competition. Due to procrastinating of Queiroz and Kaffashian on signing a contract extension, Team Melli had no coach or a program until a few weeks ago.

The match against full strength Benfica, would have been a strong duel to test Queiroz’s much favored defensive system. However, since the famous Portuguese club and three times European Cup holder is involved in the Champions League and the National Team of Portugal is busy with the European Cup qualifiers, Benfica coach Jorge Jesus has preferred to field the reserve team giving his main players enough rest for the tough schedule ahead.
Benfica will be meeting Sporting Covilhã in the Portuguese cup on 18th October.

On the other hand, Iran opponents in the group have been having a busy schedule from the summer as UAE has played strong oppositions like Paraguay , Lithuania, Norway, Georgia & Armenia while Qatar played the likes of Uzbekistan, Peru, Morocco, Indonesia and Macedonia.

It is rumored that a friendly match against Palestine is on the cards next for Team Melli, but it has yet to be finalized.

 

Ashkan Dejagah leaves Fulham for Al-Arabi

bbc.com  -29 July 2014 Last updated at 14:34 GMT

Championship club Fulham have sold Iran international Ashkan Dejagah to Qatari side Al-Arabi for an undisclosed fee.

The 28-year-old winger joined the Whites from Wolfsburg in summer 2012 and made 49 appearances during his time at Craven Cottage, scoring six goals.

“Having spoken with Ashkan, we decided in the best interest of both Fulham and himself, that he would leave the club,” Fulham boss Felix Magath said.

“We wish him very much luck for the future at Al-Arabi.”

The German boss added: “During his time with us, he made some good appearances and scored some memorable goals.

“However, we decided to part ways.

“It will always be our policy to have players who are committed to the club and have a desire to work for the common goal.”

Dejagah featured in all three of Iran’s games at the World Cup in Brazil.

Jalal Hosseini Joins Al Ahli of Qatar

Team Melli central defender , Seyed Jalal Hosseini has joined Al Ahli of Qatar on a one year deal and expected to be in Doha for his medical soon.

After the breakdown of negotiation with his current club , Persepolis , Hosseini , who was out of contract , decided to seek his fortune abroad and join another Iranian player , Mojtaba Jabbari in al Ahli.It seems that the current Persepolis CEO was not willing to honor the promises given to Hosseini by the ex CEO Mohammad Rouyanian in terms of financial settlements and  arrears in wages payments. The current CEO , Rahimi also refused to accept Hosseini’s latest wage demands which he deemed to be unreasonable.

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Al Ahli of Qatar had Fereydoon Zandi on its roster , before the German Born Iranian suffered a horrendous career threatening injury.  Al Ahli  just announced recently that their ex-Iranian midfielder has retired from football after will be leaving the club. There are talks that Zandi might rejoin the club as a coach.

Last season , was one of the best in a decade of this once top Qatari club. After suffering relegation and languishing in the lower leagues for years, Al Ahli gained promotion the season before last under the shrewd coaching of Milan Macala. Al Ahli reached the semi-finals of the cup last season and finished the league  in a comfortable 6th position in the 14 teams professional league.

Several other Qatari clubs are seeking to recruit Iranian players. Most of the Team Melli players who are available for transfer have been contacted by Qatari clubs agents. So, far , Hosseini is the only deal that has been announced 

 

Qatar coach “Iran is quite strong and a team with a global reputation.”


The Algerian coach of Qatar National Football team , Djamel Belmadi said that we have to accept the result of the draw that placed Qatar to face of Iran, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.”

In an interview with Al Kass TV ,  a Qatari sport network broadcasting from Doha,  he added “At this level you should accept the results and the draws. We must be ready for all situations.”

In his assessment of the teams that will compete with Qatar in Group C ,  Belmadi added “The Iranian national team is quite strong and a team with a global reputation beyond the region. UAE team is stubborn and went through an successful evolution recently, while the Bahraini team should always be respected … generally speaking, it will be difficult and a tough group”.

The 38 years old  Belmadi admitted that the national team did not perform well in the West Asia Cup despite winning the title, but said that “we will have enough time to get ready for the competition and to perform up to expectation  in the AFC Asian Cup 2015.”

He continued “We will have a preparatory camp and we have a good opportunity to prepare well. We are entering a different competition in the Asian Cup, unlike West Asian (WAFF) competition. In Australia, we will be facing the best and we must prepare for that and be at our best.”

“Our hopes and our aspirations are legitimate, as we have what it takes at this level of competition.”

“With our resources and standard, it is our legitimate ambitions to go far in the competition and do well but despite this ambition, we also need to remain realistic.”

He continued “We have to aspire to be better and start looking beyond mere participation by challenging the title.”

The Algerian coach of Qatar made a tour of Australia to inspect stadiums and sports facilities in order to familiarize himself with the quality of the facilities, “That tour shall result in a more efficient preparatory program that can enhance our team chances in the tournament and enable us to perform with all of our strength.”

“I have a long list of candidates for the national team. I will choose players from league matches and the Gulf Cup.” With regard to the final list that will be chosen to represent Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 , Bulmadhi explained “ it is still too early, but initially we will invite players who are already in the current squad.”

He added “There are a lot of players who can be with the team, but in the end there are league matches and the Gulf Cup competition which will allow us to truly appraise the potentials and the level of the players.”

 Djamel Belmadi has been appointed as the head coach of Qatar football Team two weeks ago. He played as a professional in several European clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Cannes, Celta Vigo, Manchester City, before heading to the Persian Gulf to play for Al-Ittihad and Al-Kharitiyath in Qatar. He had a 2 year spell with Southampton in the Championship between 2007–2009 before hanging his boots with Valenciennes.

He is a young coach who started with Kharitiyath and Qatar B team. His selection as a head coach has raised a few eyebrows in Qatar who normally look at high profile experienced coaches. The Qatar FA , like mny of the Arab states of Persian Gulf , are notorious for sacking coaches.

 Djamel Belmad is the 13th coach of Qatar since years 2000 , making it an average of 1 coach every year.