Tag: Sardar Azmoun

Winning start for Team Melli in World Cup qualifiers.

Team Melli defeated Hong Kong 4-0 in Azadi on Thursday evening in the first match of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers. Sardar Amoun scored two goals while Mehdi Taremi and Ramin Rezaeian scored the other two.

Despite the good margin of victory against a lowly Hong Kong ranked 150th in the world, Team Melli was far from convincing and at times even embarrassing. The two late goals in the second half added some respectability to the result but that should not hide the fact that Ghalenoei has a lot of work to do to build a respectable team for the World Cup in 3 years’ time. Although Iran is one of the favorite for the AFC Asian Cup, such performance with an aging team puts a lot of question marks on this claim.

Iran started positively and through a good assist by Mohebbi courtesy of Capt. Hajsafi’s perseverance, Azmoun cooly slotted the ball into the net in the 12th minute. Two minutes later, Azmoun struck again from a similar situation from a Mehdi Taremi pass into the box. After that, thinking that the Hong Kong floodgate has opened the players started show acting to entertain the small crowd in Azadi. This showtime act, was at times quite embarrassing to watch. Mohebbi and Taremi both went for the same ball on the 6-yard line, both going for overhead kick, resulting in Taremi’s boot whacking Mohebbi;s head with the ball nowhere to be seen.

Wrong passes, uncoordinated moves, lethargy and taking it easy marred the rest of the half for Iran. Hong Kong on the other hand managed to close the path of Team Melli player with numbers and pressing tactics.

In the second half , it was Hong Kong who were determined to score and nearly managed that. Iran’s defense held tight and managed to survive until two late goals sealed the match for the home team.

This is the 9th victory for Amir Ghalenoei, a record that would be the envy of any coach in the world. It is also Ghalenoei’s first win in an official match, however, this team and Ghalenoi himself is far from convincing. His stubbornness in using older players like Omid Ebrahimi (37 years) and Karim Ansarifard (34 years) , is a serious setback for Iran’s football and Team Melli and such pig-headed attitude will come back and haunt him.

Despite what he said yesterday in his pre-match press conference about learning from mistakes, it is doubtful that he seriously means it. This current team may beat the likes of Angola, Hong Kong, Jordan all teams ranked below Team Melli, but the real test will come soon, in fact in 5 days from now when Iran faces the much-improved Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

Man of the Match: Sardar Azmoun.

Azmoun scores his first goal for Roma.

Team Melli center forward, opened his scoring account for his club AS Roma in the Italian league this evening when Roma beat Lecce 2-1 in a thrilling encounter at Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

AS Roma were trailing their guests 0-1 with a goal scored in the 72nd minute from Almqvist. However, two minutes into injury time, a cross from Roma’s Nicola Zalewski found Sardar Azmoun who headed into the net for the equalizer.

Two minutes later, Lukaku scored the winner deep into the injury time to the delight of Roma’s fans and its beleaguered coach Jose Mourinho.

Azmoun, who is been occupying the bench for most of the season, came in as a substitute in the 72nd minute. Mourinho’s first choices forward have always been the Belgian Romelo Lukaku and the Argentine Dybala. Azmoun is number three in the pecking order.

Roma had to drop Azmoun’s name from the European competition squad in order to comply with the foreign player’s quota registration by UEFA. That has taken the chance for Team Melli forward to at least play in the Europa Cup which Roma is involved in.

AS Roma is currently in 8th place in Serie A after 11 games and 11 points behind league leaders Internazionale (Inter Milan)

Team Melli defeats Qatar by four goals.

In Amman, the final match of the four nations tournament was held with Team Melli facing their former head coach, Carlos Queiroz. A brace by the substitute defender Hossein Kananizadegan, and a goal each by Ali Jahanbakhsh, and Sardar Azmoun all in a ten-minute period in the second half assured Iran an emphatic win and another regional title.

Ghalenoei, started the match with three changes, leaving Kananizadegan, Nourollahi, and Hajsafi out of the starting lineup. Ghoddos, Milad Mohammadi, and Morteza Pouraliganji were the rep[lacements.

The first half was a scruffy affair with Iran having more opportunities, but the finishing did not complement the good moves. Qatar, true to Queiroz principles, formed a solid defense and made life difficult for the central forwards’ pair, Azmoun and Taremi who were disjointed and lacked understanding. There was hardly a pass between them. To make matters more worrying, the body language between the two was far from assuring.

In the second half, both coaches stuck to their game plan. The first real event was the injury to Pouraliganji which looked serious. He was substituted and taken out on a stretcher. Kananizadegan was a direct replacment.

With Iran having more of the possession and having better control of the midfield with Ghoddos directing the play, and Ezatoolahi improving his game despite many passing errors, it was a matter of time before Iran would score.

The first goal was scored in the 69th minute from a corner taken by Rezaeian which was powerfully headed into the net by Kanani. Four minutes later (73), a result of some fine and intricate work on the left side by Miald Mohammadi ended in a square ball into the box to the unmarked Jahanbakhsh, who slotted the ball into the net. 2-0

Two minutes after the second goal, Milad Mohammadi was again the provider from the left flank, this time he found Azmoun in the box, and the AS Roma player scored on a half-turn in minute 75.

Kananizadegan finished the scoring four minutes later for his second goal and Iran’s fourth with another far post header from another Rezaeian assist.

a four-goal blitz in ten minutes was the second-biggest win of Iran against Qatar and a big disappointment for Querioz. Despite the big margin of victory, Team Melli is still not running on all cylinders.

The defense and the midfield improved but not by much. It is always hard to criticize a team that has won by a four-goal margin, but the real test has to be in the Asian Cup when Team Melli faces the might of teams such as Japan or South Korea.

Due to the criminal bombardment of a hospital in Gazza by the Israeli regime, just a few hours before the match, over 500 casualties were reported with a large number of deaths including women and children, no ceremonies were held after the final whistle.

IRAN- QATAR: Match preview

Team Melli will meet Qatar in the final of the Four Nations International tournament in Amman Jordan. The match is scheduled to kick off at 9 PM local time and will be played right after the third-place match between Iraq and host Jordan, in Amman International Stadium.

The match will be the first time that Carlos Queiroz will be playing opposite the team that he coached for 8 years in which he became a household name but not short of controversies that he created now and then in Iran. Team Melli is now under Amir Ghalenoei who is still undefeated since the start of the year.

Much hype has been made out of the fact that Querioz will face off against Iran, a team he left with the majority of players that he picked, still active in the team. The real issue of this match is the expectations from Team Melli after the collective criticism by everyone concerned in Iranian football on the performance of the team in the last match against Jordan. A shakey defense, a lethargic display, error-prone players, and just about a non-existent midfield all combined to paint a gloomy picture of the prospects of Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup in less than three months from now.

Ghalenoei must have undergone a shock watching Jordanians dribble past his players with such ease. He certainly will not accept such a performance as he is a coach with high expectations and demands the best. Changes will be inevitable, but the fact remains that in Midfield, his choices are limited, while he still has a few cards in the defense zone.

From what we have seen from the Qatar Team, the defending AFC Asian Cup champions.is hardly anywhere near the form that brought them glory fours years back. Like Iran, they are stuck on several senior players who are aging while very few young names have emerged from their strong league. Some of these Qatar players might have lost much of their appetite and skills in the last couple of years. A win for Ghalenoei will not be a great achievement against Qatar, but more important than a victory is the overall teamwork, individual performance, and the general attitude of the team. Ghalenoei desperately needs to have the fans and media behind him and a good display against Qatar will be a good starting point.

HEAD2HEAD

H / A / NMatchesWDLGoals+ / –
HOME862019 – 4+15
AWAY1593318 – 12+6
NEUTRAL11002 – 1+1
Total24165339 – 17+22

LAST MATCH

31. Dec.2018FriendlyA2 – 1Khalifa Stadium, Doha2 – 1
* behind closed doors

Current squad scorers against Qatar

Sardar AZMOUN (2)
Mehdi TAREMI (2)
Ali JAHANBAKHSH (1)
EhsanHAJSAFI (1)

Players rating vs Jordan.

The match against Jordan, despite a 3-1 win, was far from convincing and has resulted in criticism from the media and ex-players. Ghaenoei’s players played ugly yet won against a weak and tactically naive team in Jordan.

Here are the players’ ratings:

1 –Alireza Beiranvand: confident and assured, although he has hardly put to the test thanks to the misfiring Jordanian players. He could not do much about the goal conceded as his defenders made a blunder out of a simple clearance. [7.6]


3-Ehsan Hajisafi: Worked hard and covered well when needed. However, he has lost some of his pace and agility. He was caught off-guard several times. [6.5]
23 Ramin Rezaeian: His fine work on the right flank resulted in Iran’s first goal, however, he was also a savior when he blocked a certain goalbound ball by a Jordanian forward preventing a goal. The shortfall was how easily the Jordainain dribbled past him [7.6]
4 Shojaa Khalilzadeh: Another defender who is short of pace and agility. It is undeniable that this defender gives it 100% on the pitch, but younger more agile, and stronger forwards can easily pass him. One did, in this match, but Shojaa used trickery to hold on to him and for this, he got a yellow card. [6.3]
13 Hossein Kananizadegan: He was guilty of the goal conceded along with Ezaatolahi who could not deal with a simple clearance. He got another yellow card after being dribbled by the Jordanian midfielder and resorting to shirt-pulling to prevent an attack. Not as steady and confident as seen before. Overall an acceptable but below-par performance. [6.1]


21 Ahmad Noorollahi: Hardly showed up in this match and hardly supported the front line. Whatever is holding up Noorollahi must be addressed by the coaching staff [5]
6 Saeid Ezzatolahi: by far the poorest of all the players on the pitch. He has hardly contributed to any of the goals and was lost in the midfield. He stumbled on the ball and clashed with Kananizadegan in the box to give away the goal. This is not the first time that Ezzatolahi has played such poorly The enigma is how is this player maintaining his place in the starting lineup with such poor performances. [3.5]
19 Mohammad Mohebi: Disappointing performance from a promising player. He had no contribution in any of the three goals scored and generally lacked enthusiasm and drive [5.5]

9 Mehdi Taremi: Scored and provided an assist. One cannot ask for more than that from a player of his caliber, however, he could have contributed more and scored at least one more goal. [7.9]
20 Sardar Azmoun: Scored a beautiful opener with a side foot-half volley. His one-on-one in the second half, where a player of his standard should have easily scored, was a black mark. Much better finishing and control were expected from him in that missed opportunity. [7.8]
7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh: Another player who was disappointing and a point of concern for the team. There are considerable expectations from Jahanabakhsh in the AFC Asian Cup, but so far this year, he has been a shadow of himself. Lack of confidence, hesitancy, inability to create chances for the forwards, and many more shortfalls marred his game against Jordan. Another player that needs to be analyzed and coached. [4.5]

Substitutes

Rouzbeh Cheshmi: Replaced Noorollahi in the second half and managed to slightly improve the center, but Jordan was having the best of time leaving Cheshmi to be confined. Provided a beautiful assist to Mehrdad Mohammadi for Iran’s third goal. [7.3]


Saman Ghoddos: Replaced Azmoun on minute 67′. A classy player and possibly the only one in the midfield with vision and finesse. However, His contribution was overshadowed by the Jordanian forcefully pressing Iran to look for goals. He was confined to defensive duties. [6.5]

Mehrdad Mohammadi: came in to replace the dysfunctional Jahanbakhsh. He scored with a beautiful chip in the dying minutes of the match despite lacking support from the midfield [7.8]

Morteza Pouraliganji: Not rated


Coach: Amir Ghalenoei: If the former Esteghlal and Sepahan coach looks to repeat his success at the club level, he needs to be much more aggressive in many areas. He also needs to be more adventurous. Must ensure the team plays as a group and must work on improving the defense and Midfield as they could be the source of Team Melli’s failure. His substitutions were fine and yielded results. Faced with an aging squad, Ghalenoei needs a major tactical adjustment.

SARDAR AZMOUN DESCRIBES HIS FIRST IMPRESSIONS AS ROMA’S LATEST SIGNING: “I WANT TO WIN.”

Team Melli cnter forward Sardar Azmoun is officially a new AS Roma player.

The 28-year-old – who joined the club on loan from Bayer Leverkusen with a buy option at the end of the season – gave his first interview to Roma TV after signing his new contract.

During the interview, Azmoun described the process leading to his arrival in the Italian capital and the opportunity of working with Jose Mourinho.

“I am very happy, because I am in one of the most important clubs in the world and there are no words to describe my emotions but I am very, very happy to be here.”

“I am aware that I have arrived in one of the best clubs in Europe. Once I heard that Roma were interested in me I couldn’t sleep at night. I couldn’t wait to join the team. I think there is nothing more beautiful for a player.”

“Roma have excellent players, among the best in the world, in every position. When we met in the Europa League, they played aggressively the way I liked it. I like the team, I like how they play. They are very good.”

“For me, Mourinho is the best coach in the world, I can’t wait to work with him, I will definitely learn many things and we will give everything for the team.”

“Obviously we want to win some trophies this year, my goal and dream is to do it with Roma. It has a huge fan base, among the best in Europe. An excellent staff, and an excellent squad. I want to win here.”

The story behind the Special One’s interest – Mourinho finally welcomes Azmoun at Roma

Azmoun is set to join the Giallorossi from Bayer Leverkusen. He’s been a long-time target for Mourinho who had already tried to sign the 28-year-old in 2021, during his first season at the Stadio Olimpico.

Mourinho and Roma’s interest was so evident that Azmoun’s at-the-time club Zenit jokingly warned the Special One off their striker. The Iran international eventually joined Bayer Leverkusen the following summer.

Given Zenit’s reluctance to sell Azmun in 2021, Roma eventually signed Shomurodov from Genoa but the Uzbekistan forward didn’t live up to expectations at the Stadio Olimpico scoring just six goals in 48 games and joining Spezia and Cagliari on loan.

Mou and Azmoun crossed paths this past May during a Europa League semifinal between Roma and Bayer Leverkusen when the Special One hugged the striker before his introduction from the bench in the second half.

Roma needed a new center forward this summer following Tammy Abraham’s knee injury in the last Serie A game of 2022-23. At the moment, Andrea Belotti, scorer of a brace in the first league game of 2023-24, is the only center forward available for Mourinho.

Azmoun has arrived in Rome to undergo his medical tests, and his transfer is expected to be made official soon.

The Iranian forward will join the Capital giants on an initial loan with an option to buy for €13 million.

The Giallorossi are looking to add another centre-forward to their ranks before the end of the transfer window, with Lukaku’s name cropping up in recent times.

Jose Mourinho, who has managed Lukaku at both Chelsea and Manchester United, has indicated that the Belgium international could join alongside Sardar Azmoun.

When asked about Roma’s move for Lukaku, Mourinho said on Friday: “I struggle to talk about Azmoun, let alone talk about Lukaku who is still a Chelsea player.”

AZMOUN LAND IN ROME AHEAD OF AS ROMA SWITCH

Sardar Azmoun is set to join Roma from Bayer Leverkusen.

The capital club has finalized a deal for the Iran international who is expected to join the Giallorossi on loan from Leverkusen after two underwhelming seasons in the Bundesliga.

According to Filippo Biafora of Il Tempo, Azmoun has already boarded a flight to Rome and landed in Ciampino airport at 20h00 local time.

The 28-year-old striker will undergo his medical with Roma tomorrow morning (Friday) before signing his contract with the Italian side.

Roma will have a buy option on Azmoun which will amount to around €13 million.

Roma’s transfer market escapades this season can be best described as a total slog. While certain moves happened in a flash, Roma’s hunt for a second striker to complement Andrea Belotti has hit snag after snag, and when Gian Piero Gasperini reportedly blocked Duvan Zapata’s move to Roma, it seemed like Roma might never get their striker.

Well, the hunt for a new striker is over.

Completely out of the blue, Serie A journalists started reporting this morning that instead of continuing to push for Duvan Zapata, Tiago Pinto decided to go in a different direction: signing Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun from Bayer Leverkusen and fulfilling one of José Mourinho’s original requests when he signed with Roma back in 2021.

Of course, back in 2021, Roma was unable to sign Azmoun and instead went to Eldor Shomurodov, while after his near-move to Roma, Azmoun continued with Zenit for one more season before moving to Leverkusen in the summer of 2022. Now, with both Roma and Azmoun unsatisfied with their current situations, it looks as if the Iranian Messi will truly be wearing a Roma kit.

Azmoun comes to Roma on an inexpensive loan with an option deal (what else), with that option valued at somewhere between €10 and €12 million. As opposed to the rumored Zapata deal, which Atalanta reportedly was finally going to accept this morning until Pinto decided to sign Azmoun, bringing in Azmoun on an inexpensive loan with an option likely leaves the door open for the Giallorossi to push hard for a January signing of Marcos Leonardo. A loan signing also makes Roma’s depth chart at striker seem slightly more manageable if Marcos Leonardo is signed, Belotti rediscovers his form, and Tammy Abraham returns from injury.

There are some hitches that prevent this move from being a perfect transfer, despite Roma seeming to beat out AC Milan for the striker’s signature. First is the simple matter that Azmoun is reportedly injured in the short term, with a reported return date of early September. That injury might make him feel right at home with Roma, but it doesn’t solve the immediate problems the Giallorossi are facing in terms of striker depth.

Perhaps more concerning is that Azmoun will undoubtedly be called up by the Iranian National Team for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, which takes place between January 12 and February 10 of 2024. Is it really worthwhile to bring in a striker on loan who’s unavailable right now and is almost guaranteed to be unavailable for an entire month later in the season?

This rumor seems to becoming reality incredibly fast, so expect more analysis on the Sardar Azmoun front once he’s landed in Rome. Keep an eye out on the Marcos Leonardo transfer saga as well, as reports indicate that Manchester United might be trying to swoop in on Roma’s pre-agreement with Santos. So that’s fun.

Sardar Azmoun linked to Milan move.

Sardar Azmoun is the latest striker to be linked with a move to AC Milan but as per Italian media, the interest is not that concrete. In fact, the Rossoneri remain focused on Chelsea’s Armando Broja.

Lorenzo Colombo is expected to join Monza on a season-long loan and therefore, Milan are set to bring in a striker before the window closes. Broja is their primary target, per Italian media, but Azmoun has also been linked with the club.

AC Milan are looking for a striker on the market and they have been linked with several players over the last few weeks. The latest name is Sardar Azmoun, who reportedly already has an agreement with the club.

Milan will send Lorenzo Colombo out on another loan spell for this season (Monza in pole position) and as a result, they are expected to sign a striker before the window closes. The latest player to be linked with the club is Azmoun.

The Iranian international currently plays for Bayer Leverkusen and according to BILD, he has a personal terms agreement with Milan. The latter are thus in talks with the German side over the transfer and it remains to be seen if an agreement can be reached.

Azmoun made 33 appearances for Leverkusen last season, 12 of them from the start, but found the back of the net just four times. At the age of 28, he needs to revive his career and his next destination might be Milan.

Azmoun out injured for two months

Sardar Azmoun, Team Melli and Bayer Leverkusen’s forward have just recently joined his teammates for pre-season training. Azmoun, who had suffered an injury a short while back was immediately tested for physical condition and underwent a medical examination to determine the extent of his old injury.

According to Kicker magazine, Sardar Azmoun claimed that he was injured in the left leg tendon area last week, and thus he will be out of action for 6 to 8 weeks. Kicker announced the definite absence of Azmoun in the first three matches of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, as well as the team’s first match in the DB Pokal. The striker will definitely not be able to play for a team until the middle of September, and if his treatment goes well according to plan, he will be ready for selection for the match against Bayern Munich on September 24. Azmoun struggle with this injury comes at a time that Team Melli has a full training schedule during FIFA Day in September. Iran will play Bulgaria and an African team, which is yet to be named.

The absence of Sardar Azmoun will be quite disappointing for Amir Ghalenoei who was hoping to test the duo Azmoun and Taremi against tougher opposition starting with Bulgaria in five weeks time.