Tag: Sardar Azmoun

Lyon deal for Sardar Azmoun collapses.

As reported by RMC Sport and Foot Mercato, Ligue 1 side Lyon’s attempted deal for Iranian international striker Sardar Azmoun has collapsed, as Zenit St Petersburg have decided that they do not have time to find an adequate replacement.

Sporting Director Juninho now has little to no hope about a u-turn in talks for manager Peter Bosz’s number one target in the striker position.

As a result, on Monday morning OL began to accelerate conversations to sign 27-year-old French striker Gaëtan Laborde from Montpellier – Director of Football Vincent Ponsot has been in direct contact with the relevant parties this morning.

MHSC are open to selling should an acceptable proposal come in, with MHSC seeking around €20m. West Ham United, Rennes, and Sevilla all remain interested in the ex-Bordeaux man with just hours remaining during this transfer window.

List of Team Melli Players vs. Syria and Iraq

The Football Federation website published the names of the 27 players invited to the Team Melli camp by the coaching staff.  The training camp is already active with the Europen players starting to arrive in Tehran to join the domestic players. The list is as follows:

Goalkeepers

Alireza Biranvand, Amir Abedzadeh, Payam Niazmand.

Defenders

Shoja Khalilzadeh, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan, Milad Mohammadi , Omid Nourafkan, Sadegh Moharremi, Jafar Salmani, Saleh Hardani, Siavash Yazdani, Aref Aghasi, Milad Sarlak.

Midfield

Ahmad Noorollahi, Mohammad Karimi, Yasin Salmani, Zubair Niknafs, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Saeed Ezatollahi, Vahid Amiri, Saman Ghoddos, Mehdi Torabi , Ali Gholizadeh.

Forwards

Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Ghaedi, Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.

 

Team Melli’s next match is on Thursday September 2nd against Syria in Azadi Stadium. It will be the opener of round 3 of FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifiers

Iran vs. Syria : Technical analysis.

Team Melli has two crucial games against Syria at home then away match against Iraq in Doha, in which the full six points will propel Iran to a commanding lead in this group.

Although none of the matches will be a forgone conclusion as even the weakest team of the group, Lebanon can spring one or two surprises, it is important for Iran to start on a winning note.

As witnessed in the second part of the qualifiers in round 2, Team Melli was excellent in terms of results getting the maximum points. On the field, performance was not too shabby either with some excellent display of skills by the individual players. Skocic and his coaching team strategy for concluding the matches were admirable. Taking into account the harsh climate, the psychological pressure from depriving the team of playing its home games at home thus giving an unfair advantage to the opposition in form of the Bahrain Team, in General, the team was quite well and achieved the objective with full marks.

What was ignored by the press and media in Iran was that playing the four matches in Bahrain in a round-robin format, had a great advantage for Team Melli as well as the obvious disadvantages. This squad had hardly enough time to train with the full team players available to Dragan Skocic. In Bahrain, it was a perfect opportunity for continuity, consistency, and tactical work while training on a daily basis.

In round three of the qualifiers, the picture is different. No doubt Skocic will stick to the successful formula in which it brought maximum points last time. Emphasis on players shifting the ball from attack to defense and vice versa flawlessly.  Pressing high against teams with counter-attacks strategy and ensuring solid defense with cover from the midfield.

 

Skocic Game Plan

 In general, the system that Skocic deployed for these games was 2-4-4, which in some matches was transferred to a diamond. Or it was the 1-4-1-4 system that forced Taremi to play as a pseudo-striker behind Azmoun. The coaching staff used Taremi and Azmoun at the same time enabling the duo to put pressure on the opposing players and forcing the opposing coaches to have his midfielders cover the Iranian two forwards.

Perhaps the presence of both Azmoun and Taremi, was considered a point of criticism against Skocic by some, but a clever coach can complement the two if the right and effective plan is used. It is a misconception that you have two top attackers, and you should not use them at the same time. One of the advantages of the 2-4-4 system is that it can help the team in the spaces and, of course, put the players in a situation where they first maintain the result and then think about scoring the winning goal.

Improvements

Given that we know that Syria and Iraq are fighters and like Iran, they stick to the physical style of the games, Skocic has to choose a way that can cover these characteristics. Unfortunately, Team Melli has a persistent problem in the defense. The defenders do not put playmaking on the agenda and often resort to direct play and long aimless balls.

Team Melli needs to improve the transition from attack to defense with the focus on improving the mental switch to react quickly and recover to defend.

The coaching staff needs to address the role of each player when the team loses the ball, and the opponents get possession with intent to quick counter. Syria and Iraq have their eyes on the counterattack, that is why Team Melli players must act quickly in transition and changing the mode from attack to defense.

One area of concern with Iranian players in general and it is not specific to Team Melli is the psychology and mental strength/agility of the players. Unfortunately, Iranian are quite emotional people and at the time when the brain must be engaged much more than the heart, they become vulnerable.

Players get easily frustrated and easily intimidated too by tricky oppositions. Time and again, Iranian players have lost concentration and opportunities which lead to negative results. Understandably, Skocic is limited in what he can do in short spells with the players, nevertheless, it must be recognized and addressed at all times with the players.

It is hoped that with the integration of the legionnaires, this side of Iran’s weakness is improved and even eliminated soon.

Syrian style

The Syrians played more with its three coaches with three defenders. It was 2-3-3 in attack and 2-3-3 in defense. The full-backs were added to the three central defenders during the defense and also played a role in the attack. The dominant style of play in Syria was to cross from the wings so that the team’s target striker could use them. This plays well for Team Melli as the aerial prowess of the defenders is quite good in Khalizadeh and Kanani.

In general, Syria is a team that does not have complicated tactics as its football is based on strength and hard work. The players of this team try to defend sparsely on their own ground, even with a new coach. Another thing that was visible was that they were trying not to be crowded in front of their own goal and to keep the opposing team in the middle third of the field. This caused more powerful teams to target the space behind the Syrian defenders in many games and create many opportunities.

Syria is not the kind of a team that is able to dictate the game to Iran. However, underestimating the Syrians is a big mistake. The Iranian flanks must be quite active in sending the balls to Azmoun and Taremi, however, too much emphasis on such tactics makes Iran predictable, and also solutions can be provided by the opposition. Penetration from the center and quick one-two, the type that Amount-Taremi used in Bahrain, can easily split the Syrian defenses.

The counter-attacks are their main weapon offensively. In Mahmoud Al-Mawas they have a classical pacy forward that needs special attention With the half-backs of Team Melli venturing forward, during the transition to defense, Al-Mawas needs special handling else he could be a serious threat.

There is a great chance that Syria will park the bus in Azadi on Thursday. The onus is on Skocic to use a variety of tactics to break such defense. Also, emphasis on Team Melli players not to get frustrated.

L’ÉQUIPE claims Azmoun has signed with Lyon!

Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) leaders have a signed contractual agreement with the Iranian striker, Sardar Azmoun who wants to join Peter Bosz’s team. The two clubs are very close to agreeing on the transfer fee of € 15 million, excluding bonuses.

The French sports publication L’ Equipe has published the news last night claiming the transfer of Azmoun. The article is translated below:

Failing to be able to count on André Onana, Peter Bosz the head coach of French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais will perhaps see his second priority of the summer arrive in the coming few days. The Dutch Coach is absolutely keen to recruit Sardar Azmoun, the Zenit St. Petersburg striker, as L’Equipe revealed on August 9. He also had talked to the Iranian international on the phone several times this summer to convince him to join OL. And the 25-year-old, whom Bosz already wanted to recruit for Leverkusen, was convinced.

With one year left to the end of his contract in Russia, Azmoun has rejected all offers to extend with Zenit, which forces the club to sell him before September 1 and the end of the transfer window if the club wishes to draw a transfer fee from the deal. Zenit will first have to find a replacement OL is trying to take advantage of this and has been negotiating hard for weeks on this issue. The Russian club leaders initially demanded 25 M €, a sum inaccessible for the finances of Lyon. But Vincent Ponsot, OL’s football director, is in the process of securing an agreement around a transfer fee estimated to be around € 15 million, excluding bonuses.

The player has agreed to personal terms for several days with OL for a long-term contract, probably for five years. His arrival nevertheless remains complex to finalize because Zenit has set a condition for the transfer: the Russian club must first find a replacement for Azmoun. The leaders, who primarily targeted Matheus Cunha of Hertha Berlin (finally at Atlético de Madrid), are now trying to convince Carlos Vinicius (Benfica), but are also looking at Andrea Belotti (Torino) and Gaëtan Laborde (Montpellier).

If Zenit manages to find a replacement solution this weekend, Azmoun could pass his medical examination on Monday, according to his entourage, on the eve of the closing of the transfer window, before joining his national team squad. The Iranian (55 caps, 37 goals) would come to occupy the place of Jean Lucas, sold to Monaco this summer.

Italian media: Roma loses Azmoun to Bayer Leverkusen!

According to some Italian media, Azmoun is heading towards the Bundesliga. The Team Melli central forward who opened his scoring this season with a goal this weekend is the center of much speculation about his immediate future. The player himself is tight-lipped so is the Russian club, but that does not prevent daily news about his possible transfer out of Zenit.

footballItalia.net has published the following report today:

Roma are expected to miss out on Zenit St Petersburg center-forward Sardar Azmoun, as Bayer Leverkusen are closing on a deal.

The Giallorossi and Germans were both interested in the 26-year-old Iran international.

His contract with Zenit is due to expire in June 2022 and he seems ready to move on for a new experience.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, Roma are not going to pursue Azmoun, as he has already pledged his future to Bayer Leverkusen. The Bundesliga outfit still needs to agree terms with Zenit, who are asking for circa €20m.

However, they are expected to whittle it down and probably get closer to that fee than Roma was prepared to pay.

Azmoun has 34 goals in just 52 senior caps for Iran, playing his club football for Rubin Kazan, Rostov and since February 2019 at Zenit.

He found the net 19 times in 29 competitive games for Zenit St Petersburg last season, as well as setting up six goals for his teammates.

List of Iranian Players playing abroad (Legionnaires).

With a couple of marquee players of Team Melli changing clubs at the start of 2021/22 season, it seems like a good idea to check who is who and where are the Iranian footballer playing abroad make their living.

This season’s most prominent transfer was of Alireza Jahanbakhsh who was recruited by Feyenoord Rotterdam and mark his return to the Eredivisie. The other Alireza, Beiranvand moved from Belgium to Portugal where he joined Boavista in the first division to add to the remarkable number of Iranian players in Portugal.

One of the most surprising moves was that of Payam Niazmand, who left Esfahan to join Portimonense in Portugal who already have Ali Alipour in their squad.

The list includes some interesting names too like Bakhtiyar Rahmani who is now playing in Sweden for FF Dalkurd a club in the second division of Sweden SuperEttan. Also included is Steven Beitashour who plays for Colorado Rapids in MSL. The Iranian American who was picked by Carlos Queiroz before World Cup 2014 appeared briefly for Team Melli.  An honorary mention must also go to Mehrdadi Pooladi who is still playing football in the Second Division of Qatar Star League. Pooladi never returned to Iran after the AFC Asian Cup 2015 over a dispute of his military service.

This is by far the most complete list of Iranian players playing abroad. If you have any updates or names that we have omitted, please do send your suggestions to the Chief Editor for inclusion.

The list indicates that 20 players who are on the current selection lists of Team Melli are playing abroad. On the other hand, 11 players who have been former Team Melli players are playing abroad now.

Iranian Legionnaires

#PlayerLeagueClubCountryTeam Melli
Current
Team Melli
Former
England
Saman GhoddosPremier LeagueBrentfordEnglandYES
Ravi ShamsiNon League PremierNuneaton BoroughEngland
Pouriya AhmadiNon League Division OneGlossop North EndEngland
Spain
Amir AbedzadehSegunda DivisiónPonferradinaSpainYES
Germany
Daniel DavariRegionalligaRot-Weiss EssenGermanyYES
Fereydoon ZandiRegionalligaSt. Pauli IIGermanyYES
Ahmad JafariRegionalligaHombergGermany
Aram AbdelkarimRegionalligaStraelenGermany
Ebrahim FarahnakRegionalligaHSC HannoverGermany
Ali SandoghdarOberligaVfL OldenburgGermany
Maziar NamavizadehOberligaRöchling VölklingenGermany
Iman Saghi beRiaOberligaHastedtGermany
Netherlands
Alireza JahanbakhshEredivisieFeyenoordNetherlandsYES
Nabi HakimzadehHoofdklasseHBSNetherlands
Aria HashemiEerste KlasseBest VooruitNetherlands
Australia
Behzad AriayeeQueensland NPLMoreton Bay UnitedAustralia
Azerbaijan
Mehdi SharifiPremyer LiqaSumqay?tAzerbaijanYES
Bangladesh
Khaled ShafieiPremier LeagueBashundhara KingsBangladesh
Belgium
Milad MohammadiFirst Division AGentBelgiumYES
Ali GholizadehFirst Division ASporting CharleroiBelgiumYES
Kaveh RezaeiFirst Division AClub BruggeBelgiumYES
China PR
Morteza PouraliganjiCSLShenzhenChinaYES
Croatia
Sadegh Moharrami1. HNLDinamo ZagrebCroatiaYES
Younes Delfi1. HNLHNK GoricaCroatiaYES
Mohsen Behzadpour3. HNLLu?koCroatia
Denmark
Saeid EzatolahiSuperligaVejleDenmarkYES
Georgia
Mohammad BarzegaraslLiga 3Didube 2014Georgia
Greece
Ehsan HajsafySuper League 1AEK AthensGreeceYES
Karim AnsarifardSuper League 1AEK AthensGreeceYES
Mohammadreza AzadiSuper League 1PanaitolikosGreece
India
Iman BasafaIndian Super LeagueBengaluru FCIndia
Iraq
Milad ZandaIraqi LeagueErbilIraq
Mohammed MhamdianIraqi LeagueNaftIraq
Mehdi DaghaghelehIraqi LeagueNaft MaysanIraq
Kuwait
Ali PourDaraPremier LeagueKuwait SCKuwait
Norway
Sousha MakaniEliteserienMjøndalenNorway
Philippines
Omid NazariPFLUnited CityPhilippinesYES
Portugal
Alireza BeiranvandPrimeira LigaBoavistaPortugalYES
Jafar SalmaniPrimeira LigaPortimonensePortugalYES
Payam NiazmandPrimeira LigaPortimonensePortugalYES
Mehdi TaremiPrimeira LigaPortoPortugalYES
Ali AlipourPrimeira LigaMarítimoPortugalYES
Taha ZareeiCampeonato (4th division)VianensePortugal
Qatar
Ramin RezaeianQatar Stars LeagueAl DuhailQatarYES
Mehrdad MohammadiQatar Stars LeagueAl ArabiQatarYES
Pejman MontazeriQatar Stars LeagueAl KharitiyathQatarYES
Ali KarimiQatar Stars LeagueQatar SCQatarYES
Shojaa KhalilzadehQatar Stars LeagueAl RayyanQatarYES
Mehrdad PooladiSecond DivisionMuaitherQatarYES
Alan Hossein KarimiSecond DivisionLusail CityQatar
Russia
Sardar AzmounPremier LeagueZenitRussiaYES
Scotland
Pedram ArdalanyFootball LeagueCumbernauld ColtsScotland
Slovakia
Iman SalimiSuper LigaSere?Slovakia
Sweden
Bakhtiyar RahmaniEttanDalkurdSwedenYES
Switzerland
Shaho Maroufi1. Liga PromotionStade NyonnaisSwitzerland
Thailand
Hamed BakhtiariThai League 1SuphanburiThailand
Vafa HakhamaneshiThai League 1RatchaburiThailand
Mahan Rahmani NoubariThai League 2Nong Bua PitchayaThailand
Turkey
Mohammad NaderiSüper LigAltay Spor KulübüTurkey
Majid HosseiniSüper LigKayserisporTurkeyYES
Ebrahim AabednezhadBölgesel Amator ligSerinhisarsporTurkey
Davoud Ezat?taghBölgesel Amator ligBiga AdasporTurkey
Ukraine
Allahyar SayadmaneshPremier LeagueZoryaUkraineYES
Shahab ZahediPremier LeagueZoryaUkraine
Siavash HaghnazariPersha LigaVolynUkraine
UAE
Ahmad NoorollahiADNOC LeaugeShabab Al-AhliUAEYES
Mehdi GhaediADNOC LeaugeShabab Al-AhliUAEYES
USA
Steven BeitashourMLSColorado RapidsUSAYES
Arshia AghababazadehUSL ChampionshipAustin BoldUSA
Ramak Nikan SafiNPSLJacksonville Armada IIUSA

Azmoun scores a cheeky goal for Zenit to lift the super cup.

Sardar Azmoun scored a cheeky goal to open his scoring for the new season in his club Zenit St. Petersburg win over Lokomotiv Moscow to help his club lift the Russian Super Cup.

The match between Zenit St. Petersburg and Lokomotiv Moscow ended 3-0 for the Russian League Titleholder.

In the 56th minute of the match played on Saturday in Kaliningrad Stadium, the opener of the Russian Premier League season, Azmoun received a perfect long pass from the Brazilian midfielder Malcom. Azmoun easily dribbled past the on-rushing defender and virtually walked the ball all the way past the goal line after beating the fully stretched Lokomotiv keeper with a shimmy. The Team Melli center forward goal was a continuation of where he left off last season.

After the goal, the second of the night for Zenit, Azmoun was substituted for a well-earned rest.