Tag: Rahimi

Daei reveals how President Ahmadinejad sacked him!

In a controversial revelation by Ali Daei, the recently sacked Persepolis coach has said that the main reason behind his sacking as Team Melli coach was the then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The outspoken Daei said the reason for his sacking is his refusal to join Ahmadinejad re-election campaign and show his public support to the hardline President.

 Daei was sacked after one defeat against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers, his only defeat as a coach of Team Melli. Iran was going through the Presidential Election with the opposition leaders Mousavi and Karoubi gaining grounds on the incumbent President Ahmadinejad who was losing much public support as a result of poor economy.

Daei’s claim came in last night’s edition of the popular Navad program in which Ferdowsipour was discussing Persepolis recent developments, coaching and managerial changes.

As customary in such situation, it was quite difficult to believe who is telling g the truth, but what was abundantly clear in the chronic mismanagement, government interference, nepotism, political influences and back stabbing behind the scenes that is distressing football in Iran. Persepolis, like Esteghlal , is owned and financed by the government through the Ministry of Youth and Sport in Iran. Despite the continual denials that the Ministry interferes in the day-to-day running of the clubs, facts and behind the scene events tells otherwise.  

ahmadinejad daei

Another interesting aspect of the program was the number of Persepolis fans who were upset by the recent developments in the club. Despite poor results by Daei , he still has much support base amongst the fans as the polls indicated. Daei, admitting some of his shortfall ( and that is in itself quite unique) but attributed the team’s poor performance to the attempts by the hierarchy in the club and the Ministry of Sport to dislodge him from his post as early as the season start! In brief , Daei was saying that they were plotting against him and making his life difficult.

Daei in his defense, said “We lost quality players like Khalatbary , Jalal Hosseini , Mosalman and others because the management failed to agree terms with them and pay what they are worth. On top of that, quite a large number of players were not fully paid from the previous season’s contract. How would you expect the players to perform on the field?” Rahimi, the sacked CEO of Persepolis supported Daei’s claims and confirmed that the Hierarchy wanted Daei out even before the season started!

Daei has accused the present Minister of Sport , Goudarzi of sacking him and has established that he has the honor of being sacked by the President of the Country once and the Minister of Sport the next time.

Clearly , much like its neighboring countries , political interference in football is widespread and prevalent in Iran. Political events and spheres of influence seem to spreads to where popularity lies. The exception in Iran is the relatively more press freedom and transparency which allows such exposures to reach the public.   

Ali Daei is sacked as Persepolis coach. Turmoil continues!

The turmoil at the most popular team in Asia has continued after today’s announcement by the Persepolis chairman, that Ali Daei has been relieved of his duties as Persepolis head coach

Hamid Derakhshan is appointed in a caretaker capacity.

Persepolis has been embroiled in various problems on and off the field for years. The Ministry of Youth and Sport which has direct control on the club has been directing the affairs and changing many personnel after the sacking of Mohammad Rouyanian, who is now believed to be in prison awaiting a trial for corruption.

The Ex Sepahan CEO Rahimi was appointed as the new CEO of Persepolis replacing Rouyanian ,  A complete change of board members was followed and a person by the name of Siyasi was selected as Chairman.  Siyasi, translated from Farsi means political, and as it turned out , that was the only thing he was concerned with. Interestingly enough , very few of the new Persepolis board had much footballing pedigree except for watching matches on TV according to one sarcastic critic.

 The bad results on the field culminated in the sacking of Daei , however , the CEO Rahimi refused the order of the sacking originated from the chairman himself. The conflict between Chairman and CEO resulted in the departure of the latter for refusing to obey the chairman request , which Rahimi said was unlawful as it is the CEO duty to appoint or sack coaches rather than the chairman.

Persepolis financial, managerial , administrative and staff relationships issue has no end. The Ministry have made a right mess of the club by their direct interference,  poor management and control, mostly executed by Amir Khadem . The ex-freestyle wrestling champion. has been given the green light by the Minister to put the house of Persepolis in order and prepare the club for privatization.. However ,  despite the good intentions,  Khadem has failed miserably and the signs are that more turmoil are forecasted ahead.

The turmoil and failures of Persepolis is archetypical and a classic case of where Iran football seriously fails.

Poor management , political interference and incompetent personal at decision-making levels.

Currently, football in Iran is run and managed by a horde of incompetent personnel starting from FFIRI and down to the clubs.

Imagine if FFIRI instead of Kaffashian and his gang , was run by the same Iranian managers responsible for development of Iran’s Volleyball ( Mohammad Reza Davarzani ) or Basketball ( Mahmoud Mashhoun)!