Tag: Sardar Azmoun

Burnley dealt transfer blow as striker target joins Bayer Leverkusen

Burnley’s hopes of landing striker Sardar Azmoun are over after the 27-year-old agreed to a deal with German side Bayer Leverkusen.

The Zenit St Petersburg star is out of contract in the summer and Burnley’were keen on the hotshot and made a bid, believed to be around £8million. While the Russian club were prepared to deal at that price other suitors, including Juventus and Lyon, meant the player was prepared to weigh up his options.

And he has now signed for Leverkusen, penning a contract until 2027.

Iranian international Azmoun has scored 10 times in 21 games this season.

Burnley is struggling at the foot of the Premier League table this season with many games in hand due to Covid. They have also sold their best striker to Newcastle. The chances of surviving relegation is quite thin. On the other hand, Bayer Leverkusen is enjoying a successful season in the German top flight. With 20 games played, the club is ranked 3rd in the table behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and a place in the next season UEFA Champions League seems to be well within reach of the club.

 

Sardar Azmoun signed by Bayern Leverkusen in the summer

Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed the signing of Sardar Azmoun from the summer of 2022, with the Iranian international joining from Zenit St. Petersburg on a five-year contract.

Azmoun, a 27-year-old forward with an eye for goals and assists, will compete for a place in Leverkusen’s starting attack with Patrik Schick and Lucas Alario when he makes his move to Bundesliga football in the summer.

“[It is] a step from the best club in Russia to one of the best leagues in Europe,” he told the Bundesliga club’s website.

“Bayer Leverkusen have a really great squad. I’ve been keeping an eye on the club for a long time and am impressed by the team’s style of play. It’s incredibly exciting for me soon to be able to play in the Bundesliga. And I’m convinced I’ll make the team even better with my footballing ability.”

Capped 60 times by Iran, an impressive 39 goals for his country compliments his selection for the World Cup in 2018 and two Asian Cup squads in 2015 and 2019.

As well as being the youngest Iranian to score in a UEFA Champions League game, he is also the Iranian record-holder for the most goals scored in the competition with six goals.

He has spent his professional career entirely in the Russian top flight with two spells each at Rubin Kazan and Rostov preceding his transfer to Zenit in 2019.

In St. Petersburg, he has found the net 62 times in 104 appearances across all competitions. He was named Russia’s Footballer of the Year for 2021 and his impressive goal stats have continued into this season, in which he has scored 10 goals in 21 games – including two strikes in the Champions League.

“We’re delighted to have completed this transfer,” said Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes.

“Sardar Azmoun has been one of Russian football’s top goalscorers for several years. He’s been champion three years in a row there with Zenit, regularly played in the Champions League, and shown himself to be of international class at the highest level. Our attack gains extra quality with him. Sardar will make our attack even more unpredictable and powerful.”

Managing director for sport, Rudi Völler added: “He’s very quick, good in the air and has a good sense for space. But he’s not just a goalscorer. Sardar Azmoun also sets up a lot of goals and is an outstanding fit for the Werkself as a player who combines well with others.”

 Olympique Lyonne , French League 1 side has reached an agreement with Zenit Saint Petersburg striker Sardar Azmoun for a transfer this winter. But it remains to convince the Russian club to let go of its striker six months before the end of his contract.

The news carried by the French publication lequipe, but none of the stakeholders, including the player himself, confirmed the deal.

Lyon have been seeking Azmoun for some time, but it seems that this might be the closest and most serious attempt to recruit Team Melli striker.

The 26-year-old, who is manager Peter Bosz’s priority for January, almost joined over the summer before his club was unable to organize a replacement in time. Les Gones have now resumed discussions with the forward ahead of a potential January move, and have now reached an agreement with him.

The contract would consist of a four and a half year deal, while Azmoun’s brother and mother were reportedly in France this week to look at houses, L’Équipe wrote.

Nevertheless, Zenit poses once again an obstacle to the deal going over the line, although this winter will be their last chance to obtain a transfer fee – expected to be around €3m, despite the Iran international’s €25m valuation last year.

Group A: IR Iran tighten grip with victory over Syria

the-afc.com    – 16.Nov.2021

Amman: A dominant display from the Islamic Republic of Iran at the King Abdullah II Stadium saw them cruise past Syria 3-0 on Matchday Six of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar on Tuesday.
Team Melli went into the game off the back of a five-match unbeaten run, and they cemented their place at the top of Group A with a fifth win in their last six, moving up to 16 points, while Syria was rooted to the foot of the group without a win and remained there after the game.

A touch away from creating a goalscoring opportunity, Syria watched on as Omar Al Soma’s attempted through pass at the edge of the opponent’s box was intercepted and turned into the quickest of counterattacks with Vahid Amiri supplying an exquisite overhead pass for Sardar Azmoun, who broke through between the Syrian center-backs and kept his composure to slot home the opener for IR Iran in the 33rd minute.

Both Amiri and Al Soma were involved in the build-up to another attempt nine minutes later. This time the Iranian winger attempted a cross on from the left with Syria’s number 9 blocking his path and Al Soma’s misfortune continued as he was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box, leading to the visitors being awarded a penalty that Ehsan Hajsafi (pictured below) duly converted to make it 2-0.

A quick Syrian response saw the Qasioun Eagles come within millimeters of instantly halving the deficit as Mahmoud Al Mawas showed nifty feet to trick two Iranian defenders and rifle from just outside the box, but he watched in agony as his effort beat goalkeeper Amir Abedzadeh only to cannon off the underside of the crossbar and out.

Ahmad Nourollahi nearly found the back of the net for the second game in a row as he attempted his luck in back-to-back shots just after the 70th minute, but the Shabab Al Ahli midfielder was denied on both occasions by the fingertips of Syrian goalkeeper Khalid Al Haji who made flying saves.

Gholizadeh went from provider to scorer, doing so in style with his last touch of the ball before being replaced by Mehdi Ghayedi in the final minute of the match.

The RSC Charleroi winger beat the offside trap and went on to waltz his way past three Syrian defenders before calmly placing the ball into the bottom corner to confirm the Iranian victory with a third goal.

Iran continues their campaign at home against Iraq at the end of January while Syria’s chase of a first win sees them traveling to third-placed United Arab Emirates next.

A comfortable win for Iran keeps them at top of the table.

Team Melli defeated Syria 3 -0 in Amman in the first match of Group A’s return legs of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers. The goals were scored by Saradar Azmoun (33’),  Ehsan Hajsafi (42’)(P), and Ali Gholizadeh (89’).

With this win Iran consolidates its position at the top of the table with 16 points, opening a 10 points gap with the team in the third position UAE. Korea Rep. beat Iraq 3-0 in Doha to remain second with 14 points.

This match saw a much-improved performance from the Lebanon game 5 days ago. The changes that Skocic had to make on the lineup were sensible and effective. Beiranvand was given an off day in goal, while his deputy Abedzadeh was a very competent replacement despite not being really tested. His Aerial ball control was immaculate, but his ball distribution was quite impressive.

The midfield was more effective and distributed the ball efficiently feeding Azmoun and the flanks.  In defense, the introduction of Omid Nourafakan was satisfactory, while Sadegh Moharrami had a sterling performance.

Ahmad Nourallahi was one of Iran’s best players and it is pity that he was not on the scoresheet after several fine shoots especially near the ends of the match which the Syrian keeper remarkably saved.

Azmoun scored the opener with a marvelous assist from Vahid Amiri. Azmoun immaculate ball control, his escape from two Syrian markers, and the finishing touch was world-class.   Azmoun however, could have easily ended this match with a hat trick missing two golden opportunities in the second half.

Hajsafi made a start after some time with Team Melli, however, he has not lost any of his quality and scored well from the penalty.

The third goal by Gholizadeh was Messi-like. The Chareloi midfielder received the ball on the left and bamboozled four Syrian players before slotting the ball into the net. It was a great goal and one for the purists.

This was one of the matches that Team Melli won in performance and result. Players were disciplined and hardly made mistakes of judgment. It also helped that the Syrians came to play football and that made the match competitive and entertaining. However, the difference in class was evident from the start.

Although there were many candidates for MVP including Azmoun, Nourollahi, GHolizadeh, and Moharrami, The star of the match was Vahid Amiri. Not only did he provide a classy assist to Azmoun, his energy, runs on the flank, control of the ball, passing accuracy, and general attitude in the game were exemplary.

Syria Match review: The most challenging is the enemy within

Team Melli players under Dragan Skocic, will be meeting Syria tomorrow with all eyes on the three points and widening the gap at the top of the table of Group A of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers.

While on-field, this match like the rest of them in this group, is far from a forgone conclusion despite the fact that Syria is at the bottom of the table. It is going to be the same story for Team Melli. The object is to translate the superiority of the team into goals while keeping the defense tight.

However, the biggest battle for Team Melli seems to be occurring outside of the field of play and the enemy within. There seems to be an agenda to undermine the coach, Skocic. That enemy within, people working behind the curtains, have a systematic means of ruining the squad to serve their own interests. The target is Dragan Skocic.

The Croat has been criticized left, right, and center by many so-called Iranian football personalities who are perhaps blinded by self-interest or serving some agenda. These people conveniently ignore facts and figures such as playing 12 games, winning 11, and drawing 1 under the resume of Skocic, while denying the Croat coach any credit, by attributing the team’s immaculate results to individual players’ performance !!

Their objective is to force FFIRI to replace Skocic with one of their own.

Even a personality like Ali Daei, who is a living legend, has been dragged into this battle, In defense of Skocic-Taremi , Ali Daei who has been out of work in football since he left Saipa in 2019, took a side and supported Taremi but he also made some statements against Skocic which was indeed in poor taste and not appropriate for the character of Daei. Many other ex-footballers went on similar rhetorics.

Whether FFIRI will succumb to pressure to replace Skocic at some stage, is another tale for another day but suffice to say that the Croat has held his heads high, performed marvelously for Team Melli, and put Iran on the brink of qualification to the World Cup with a few games to spare.

On the field, Syria with a few key players missing will hardly deviate from their usual game plan. Tight defenses, pressure of opposition players, and hope of a goal on counterattacks. Heaven forbids if the Syrians score, as the repeat of the Lebanese Black Art of time-wasting, cheating, and faking injury, will be the tale of the day.

With Jahanbakhsh missing, Skocic will have several options available. He has Hajsafy, Torabi, and Sarlak as replacements. Last time out, Ghoddos was used from the start but it was a disappointing performance from the Brentford midfield player alongside Azmoun. Ansarifard or Rezaei are two options for Skocic while Ghoddos , if used again, would be operating behind the two strikers.

Goalkeeping was far from assuring against Lebanon. It will not be a great surprise if Beiranvand is benched and either Abedzadeh or Niazmand start instead.

The defense was solid and Vahid Amiri excelled in his left-back role.

Under the circumstances, Syria’s job to improve their record against Iran looks like a mammoth task, But football is a strange game, and surprises can happen. Skocic, however, is a Wiley coach and has prepared well for worst-case scenario.

Late strikes secure Iran victory against Lebanon

Group A: Late strikes secure IR Iran victory against Lebanon

Saida: Stoppage time goals from Sardar Azmoun and Ahmad Nourollahi saved the Islamic Republic of Iran at Saida International Stadium on Thursday as Dragan Skocic’s side claimed a dramatic 2-1 win over Lebanon in Group A of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar 2022.
Azmoun showed his predatory instincts once again for his country as he cancelled out Soony Saad’s opportunistic first half opener before Nourollahi smashed home a low drive to earn the visitors all three points as the qualification campaign for Qatar 2022 reaches the halfway stage.
It was a remarkable escape for the five-time FIFA World Cup qualifiers, who remain on top of Group A as a result of win that broke the hearts of a Lebanese side that looked set to hold on for a historic victory.
The Iranians move on to 13 points and stay two clear of Korea Republic at the summit of Group A while Lebanon remain on five points from the first five games of the campaign.  The result, though, was a cruel blow for Ivan Hasek’s side, who put on a disciplined defensive performance that frustrated their visitors until deep into injury time.
IR Iran started the game on the front foot and seemed set to dominate when, with less than four minutes on the clock, Alireza Jahanbakhsh saw his shot was deflected wide for a corner after Vahid Amiri had danced through the Lebanese defence.

Goalkeeper Mostafa Matar had to be alert in the 28th minute when the Lebanese midfield stood off Jahanbakhsh as the PSV Eindhoven winger drove into the home half before unleashing a long-range effort that was tipped over the bar.

In the 37th minute, however, the hosts took an unlikely lead. Hasek’s side had made few incursions into the Iranian half but a cross from wide on the right touchline by Abbas Asi caught out a defence that expected the ball to sail out of play.
Instead, the strong wind from behind the Iranian goal held the ball up and Saad, the only player alert to the situation, controlled with a deft first touch before clipping a neat finish over a startled Alireza Beiranvand.
The Lebanese almost doubled the lead 10 minutes into the second half when Beiranvand’s mishit clearance fell at the feet of Mohamad Haidar, but his attempt was deflected wide for the home side’s first corner of the game.
That was a rare sight of goal for a Lebanese side that started to drop deeper as the second period wore on.
Azmoun looked set to equalise as the half approached the midway point only for Matar to push the Zenit St Petersburg man’s right-foot shot over the bar while Ali Gholizadeh squandered another opening 12 minutes from time.
Azmoun, though, finally broke through in the first minute of added time with a trademark finish from inside the area as the pressure finally paid off and, four minutes later, Nourollahi smashed his drive home from the edge of the area to cap a remarkable comeback for Skocic’s team.

A dramatic win for Team Melli against Black Artists Lebanon.

Team Melli bagged all the 3 points after being behind since the first half when Lebanon scored a freak goal by Soony Saad (37′). Two last minutes goals in injury time of the match by Sardar Azmoun (90+1′) and Ahmad Nourollahi (90+5′) settled the match for Iran and maintained its lead on the top of the table at the halfway stage of FIFA World Cup Qatar 200 qualifiers of Group A.

While Team Melli started the match positively despite the bad conditions of the field and the grass which was more suitable for grazing than playing a decent football match, that superiority in possession and passing was thwarted time after time by the Lebanese solid defense.

As expected, Lebanon defended en mass and was quite disciplined in the back, breaking most of the Iranian attacks and protecting their goalkeeper well. Iran had 10 corner kicks in the first half but could not create any threat on Lebanon keeper Mostafa Matar who was quite dominant on the aerial balls.

From the first attack by Lebanon on the 37th minute, a right flank cross which seemed to be going out but somehow pushed by the wind within the field of play deceived Beiranvand who was raising his hand and watching the linesman instead of the ball that was floating right above him. The ball landed inside the box and in the front of the advancing Lebanon forward Soony Saad who cleverly controlled and wrong-footed Beiranvand with a shoot up the roof of the goal.

It was a schoolboy error by Beiranvand who had nothing to do all that time. While two other defenders close to Saad were at fault as there were also caught napping.

The first half ended 1-0 to the home team. Starting the second half Iran continued its assault on the Lebanese, who at times were packing the box with 10 players. In desperation and looking for the equalizer, much of the shoots were missing the target or hitting the Lebanese defensive wall. Only Sardar Azmoun’s terrific volley managed to penetrate that wall for Mostafa Matar to make an excellent save.

Lebanon’s famous black art was at its best in the second half, grass rolling, simulation, and with every contact. falling on the ground, even when the referee whistled a foul against them.  Skocic had to act to strengthen the offensive capabilities while withdrawing Saman Ghoddos and Ezatollahi who were both disappointing in the middle of the park. Milad Mohammadi and Sayyadmanesh were the replacements but their contributions made little impact.

While the match was in the first minute of the injury time, Azmoun received a ball in the box reflected from a Lebanese defender, with skill and mastery, he slotted the ball into the net to score the equalizer. The host team was gutted after what they thought will be a famous win, however, Team Melii was not finished. In the remaining minutes of the 5 extra, the onslaught was total, until Ahmad Nourallhi got the winner at the last touch of the match.

It was a deserved win against a stubborn, well-disciplined defensive team. The quality of the teams, however, was clear and it told at the end.

LAST WORD

There is no denying that Lebanon has the right to choose any tactics or styles that suit the player and the coach. Obviously, they realized their limitation and capabilities and opted to build walls around their keeper.

Defensive tactics, while not particularly attractive to many fans, are legitimate and are part and parcel of football.

However, Lebanon and many other countries of the region, have gone beyond defensive tactics football and encroaches into the boundary of Black Art where gamesmanship trickery, deception, and simulation have replaced decency, honesty, and genuine hard work. Their Dark Art of time-wasting, faking injuries, grass rolling, and cheating was obvious for all who watched this match. To turn a match into ugliness and a farce, all that is needed is a sucker referee like today (Abdulrahman Al Jassim). The Qatari referee blatantly failed to observe how the Lebanese are acting and restoring to delaying tactics by faking an injury. There was plenty of such unlawful gamesmanship that the referee simply, In fact, he aided and abated this Ugly football by stopping the match for every tackle that the Lebanese players dropped on the floor!!!

It is quite surprising that very few talks about the Dark Art in Asian football. The media in South Korea briefly touched on the subject for the Lebanese to cry foul and claim discrimination.

There has to be a campaign against it. FIFA is responsible and should act as it did against the Egyptian team in the 1990 World Cup by introducing the law that prevented Keepers from handling the ball back from their players.

Something has to be publicized about Lebanon and the dark art of football.

a team like Lebanon does not deserve to be in the World Cup, using such Dark Art, spoiling the taste of the beautiful game at its most important event. They give the beautiful game of football

Lebanon-Iran : WC qualifiers preview

Team Melli will meet Lebanon in Sidon to consolidate its position at the top of the table in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifiers. This is the final round before the midway stage of the robin format as the qualifiers will resume against Syria 5 days later.

While Iran topping the table is not much of a surprise, Lebanon’s third-place ranking is certainly is as the Lebanese team started the qualifiers as the lowest ranking team in the group. However,  Lebanon picked up their first victory in the group last time out after a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win against Syria, with a quickfire brace from Mohamad Kdouh and a decisive strike from Soony Saad securing all three points. Lebanon lost narrowly to South Korea while picking up a draw against Iraq.

The Cedars will be looking to continue the momentum but face tough outings against Iran and the UAE in the week ahead. Having played all four of their games away from home so far, though, Ivan Hasek’s side will be eager to take advantage of home comforts in five of their next six matches. Lebanese FA effort to open the gates for the fans at home has failed to materialize as the match against Team Melli will be played without spectators.

Lebanon’s game plan is quite simple. The brute defense even with 8 or 9 players, frustrate the opposition and pray for a counterattack opportunity. Lebanon is a hardly ambitious forward-going team, as they only managed to score in one of the four matches only. Their intensity is in the physical strength of their players and good defensive discipline regime.Torabi against Syria

 For Team Melli, it will be the same as what has transpired so far under Dragan Skocic, except for the absence of Mehdi Taremi. With three wins and a draw against the Koreans, Team Melli will be fighting hard to get the fourth win in Lebanon. There is going to be a minimum of changes in the team lineup with the goalkeeper and defense pretty much unchanged. Where the Team Needs improvement is in the middle of the field as the last matches showed that this area is lacking creativity, enterprise, and a schemer amongst other things. Saman Ghoddos is surprisingly being ignored while he is the one player that can split defenses with his passing and clever positioning. There is no carrier of the ball from the heart of the midfield, a player who can beat one or two markers inside to provide a killer pass for  Azmoun and co. Most penetrations come from the flanks. As such, Skocic’s game plan is quite predictable and can be easily read by the opposition coaches.

Team Melli needs variety in the offensive part, changing of guards, some players’ positions, and tactical variation will do the team a world of good. The inclusion of the Captain and star of Omid team, Yasin Salmani in the squad is one promising move. The exciting 19 years old Sepahan midfielder might just claim a place in the lineup and make his international debut. It will be a gallant move by Skocic and could silence many of his critics.

With an opposing team that can frustrate you and presses hard on the ball carrier, it is important for the Team Melli players to keep their composure, especially with Lebanon resorting to simulation, time-wasting, and many other tricks to frustrate the Team Melli players.

FIFA RANKING

November 2021

IRAN LEBANON
World Ranking 22 92
Points 1545 1250
Asia Ranking 1 15
Highest Ever Ranking 22 81
Lowest Ever Ranking 122 161
Average Rank 44 122

PAST 5 GAMES  – IRAN

15/06/21 WQA Iran 1 – 0 Iraq
S. Azmoun 35′
02/09/21 WQA Iran 1 – 0 Syria
07/09/21 WQA Iraq 0 – 3 Iran
69′ M. Taremi
07/10/21 WQA UAE 0 – 1 Iran
70′ M. Taremi
12/10/21 WQA Iran 1 – 1 Korea Republic
0 – 1
1 – 1

PAST 5 GAMES  – LEBANON

3/06/21 ARC Lebanon 1 – 0 Djibouti
02/09/21 WQA UAE 0 – 0 Lebanon
07/09/21 WQA Korea Republic 1 – 0 Lebanon
07/10/21 WQA Iraq 0 – 0 Lebanon
12/10/21 WQA Syria 2 – 3 Lebanon
1 – 0
1 – 1
1 – 2
1 – 3
53′ Soony Saad
2 – 3

Head2Head

In 25 years of competition, Lebanon managed to score two goals only while Team Melli has a handsome 27 against the Lebanese.

The only win for Lebanon came in a World Cup Qualifier.

Venue Matches W D L Goals + / –
Home 4 4 0 0 14 – 0 +14
Away 5 3 1 1 11 – 2 +9
Neutral 1 1 0 0 2 – 0 +2
Total 10 8 1 1 27 – 2 +25

Date Comp. Venue Final score Result Stadium Attendance
19.11.2013 Asian Cup Qualifier A 4 – 1 W Sports City, Beirut xxx
11.06.2013 World Cup Qualifier H 4 – 0 W Azadi Stadium, Tehran 91,300
06.02.2013 Asian Cup Qualifier / Group B H 5 – 0 W Azadi Stadium, Tehran 19,733
11.09.2012 World Cup Qualifier A 0 – 1 L Camille Chamoun Sports City, Beirut 10,000
17.06.2004 WAFF / WAFF H 4 – 0 W Azadi Stadium, Tehran 40,000
28.11.2003 Asian Cup Qualifier H 1 – 0 W Azadi Stadium, Tehran 20,000
19.11.2003 Asian Cup Qualifier A 3 – 0 W Madina Al Riyadhiya, Beirut 5,000
03.09.2002 WAFF / Group 1 N 2 – 0 W Al Abbassyin  Stadium, Damascus 2000
12.10.2000 Asian Cup / Group A A 4 – 0 W Sports City, Beirut 52,418
13.11.1996 Friendly / Friendly A 0 – 0 D Beirut 50,000

TEAM MELLI COACHING REVIEW

Team Melli is enjoying the view from the top in Group A of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying rounds. A statistical analysis rather than a scientific one gives Team Melli a 68% chance of qualifying to Qatar as the table stands now. With just one match short of halfway, that is a high percentage and a source of confidence for the fans in the team looking ahead for a historical milestone, the third consecutive qualification to the World Cup finals.

However, there is as always, a lot of room for development as all is not well. The focus of this article is on the coaching and the vital role the whole staff played in these results.

To start with and to make things clear, anyone who discredits the coach and places the success of the team purely on the individual players or other factors is either ignorant or has a grudge against the coach, and by God, there are a lot of them in Iran.

When the name of the new Team Melli coach was announced, many people asked, “Dragan who?”. The fans and critics should not be blamed because the reality was that Skocic was not a household name, and his CV contained the name of uninspiring Persian Gulf league clubs only. Not exactly on the same level of coaching Manchester United, Portugal National Team, South Africa, and even UAE which Carlos Queiroz had. Even the doomed Marc Wilmots had a much better CV.

So, the pessimism of the fans could be justified, and the doubters started growing in numbers as some mainstream Iranian media looked like it was on a mission to subconsciously destroy the Croatian Dragan Skočić. Reminiscing about the glorious days of Carlos Queiroz while finding faults in Skočić tactics or players selection, to the extent of making up stories. The fact that the Portuguese coach did not achieve any championships or titles and failed to win the AFC Asian Cup twice, seemed not to matter!

Others, in the minority, had a different idea and believed anything is better than Marc Wilmots, which in reality, made sense as Belgian has to go on record as one of the worst coaches who sat on the bench of Team Melli.

But Dragan Skočić proved his doubter wrong. He prevailed and did not give up against his domestic opponents winning one match after another, breaking records in the process, and having a high chance of qualifying to the World Cup while we have not reached even the halfway stage.

Football is not exactly rocket science. It is popular because it is such a simple game to play and understand (although offside rules and when a handball is a handball is still confusing millions of people across the World).

As such errors by players and coaches are easily recognized especially in these days of technological advances. So, although the coach and his assistances, know them inside out of the team, the capabilities of his player, physical condition, and most importantly the emotional and the psychological status of his players which always remains out of view for the fans, the team mistakes in many areas can be singled out by expertise and critics.

Provided there is no ill intent, the criticism of a coach can benefit him.  Dragan Skočić, who undoubtedly and unequivocally has done a marvelous job since his appointment, can really gain pointers and benefits from the view outside the box.

Here we will only mention three areas of concern with the way Skocic manages the team

Game Plan: Predictable, lacks diversity, and seems like an open book to the opposing coach. Team Melli is heavily suffering in the midfield that has no imagination and low effectiveness. With a lack of pace, which is no fault of the coach, he does need to offer a solution which is not doing right now. Players like Azmoun and Taremi need services to be effective and they are not getting it. When a player in the caliber of Saman Ghoddos is available but warming the bench, one must question the coach’s reading of the game.

In modern football, it is the midfield where battles are won and lost. The tactics of the world’s leading teams are fundamentally midfield dependent, Skocic chose otherwise. It is his call of course and his selection of game plan, but it is clear that ignoring the midfield might become a  risky matter especially against the pressing teams.

Perhaps Taremi, Azmoun, and Jahanbakhsh in one line forward is not the right strategy for Team Melli. He needs to experiment with one forward and pack the midfield with players using the flanks with pace and ball crossing skills. Never mind the ego of these superstars, the interest of the Team is above the interest of the individuals.

 Many past coaches on Team Meli had some obsession of playing a certain limited number of players, hardly changing the squad or the starting lineup. it seems Skocic is joining that league. It is not an effective mindset and detrimental to the team and the capable players sitting on the bench waiting for a possibly 30-second cameo show.

Substitutions: This is where many coaches excel or fail. While Skocic has made a few effective substitutions, he is guilty of not utilizing his expensive and experience players. And what is this with minute 90+5 substitutions that he is been using? Such substitution is an utter waste of time, bordering idiocy. In fact, many coaches do that for no logical reason and the rest have the herd mentality and simply imitate. A player needs at least 15 minutes to be effective, anything less than that is just a game of luck nothing more.

Preparations & Readiness: It is quite embarrassing for Team Melli to go into an official match with absolute minimum preparation. There is where the character of the Team Melli coach needs to stand out and prevail. If the lack of international friendly matches is due to Skocic, then he needs to rectify his way and start planning and programming for FIFA days like a professional. If the fault is because of Azizi Khadem and his bureaucrats in FFIRI, then Skocic needs to impose himself and strongly demand proper perpetration for the National Team with international friendly matches as a priority. Skocic cannot afford to do trial game plans and tactical changes in competition match as it may turn out costly. Every respectable team in the world arranges friendlies, Iran is becoming the odd exception and frankly a disgrace. it is worrying by all accounts.