Tag: Syria

3 Team Melli players leave camp after positive corona test results!

Team Melli’s first training session was held today in preparation for the friendly match against Syria.

The team is camping at at the National Football Center and the session started from 11:30 am today (Wednesday).

After the start of training, Dragan Skocic briefed the players for a few minutes, then followed by various exercises..

Team Melli is missing a few regulars this time mostly due to travel restriction due to covid19. Amir Abedzadeh was not invited to the camp due to quarantine laws on Madeira Island in Portugal , Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Saman Ghoddos due to flight restrictions from England, Morteza PouraliGanji and Sadegh Moharrami are both on the injury list while and Kaveh Rezaei has tested positive for coronavirus. Meanwhile, Mehdi Ghaedi, Aref Gholami and Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri, all three players from Esteghlal, left the camp due to  positive corona test.

This training session lasted for 70 minutes with a focus on light physical work.

The second training session will be conducted tomorrow (Thursday).

 

 

New list of Team Melli players announced

Skocis announced the list of 24 players for Team Melli. The squad will start a training camp on Tuesday in preparation for the Friendly International versus Syria on 30th March 2021. The squad will form the backbone for the FIFA World Cup  2022 Qualifiers which are to be played in Bahrain.

Goalkeepers: Alireza Biranvand – Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri – Payam Niazmand

Defenders :Seyyed Majid Hosseini – Aref Gholami- Hossein Kanani Zadegan – Jafar Salmani- – Milad Mohammadi – Mehdi Tikdari – Abolfazl Jalali – Shoja Khalizadeh

Midfielders: Omid Ebrahimi – Ehsan Hajsafi – Ali Karimi – Ahmad Nourollahi – Omid Noorafkan – Vahid Amiri- Ali Gholizadeh – Siamak Nemati

Forwards: Karim Ansarifard – Sardar Azmoun –  Mehdi Taremi – Mehdi Ghayedi – Allahyar Sayyadmanesh

 

Team melli training camp in doubt as soon as it is announced.

Team Melli will hold its first training camp under the leadership of the Croatian head coach in mid-September.

The team faces three important challenges for holding camp with the availability of players, which can overshadow the camp objectives and Team Melli preparation.

Skocic has yet to have a single training session with Team Melli since Covid19 has upset football activities worldwide. The first schedule camp for Dragan Skocic will be overshadowed by more events as FIFA has just announced the postponement of the Qualifiers from October 2020 to yet unannounced dates in 2021.

The Croatian coach will have the opportunity to face the squad for the first time. Circumstances allowing, it will help the head coach to identify the players he needs for 4 crucial and decisive matches in the qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

In this camp, the national team will have arranged two friendly matches, the first match against Uzbekistan will be held on September 9th. The national team will play another match before that, which, according to speculation and information in the Arabic-language media, will be played against either Syria or Palestine, but nothing is certain at this time.

However, two important issues have overshadowed the camp with all the player’s availabilities, which could be a problem for Skocic’s as he may not be able to hold his camp with all the players.

Corona and visa restrictions

Most of the Team Melli squad consists of professional players working outside Iran, mainly in Belgium, Portugal, Qatar, etc., and a few who are playing in Russia, England and Croatia. The hardship that faced Alireza Biranvand in his trip from Iran to Belgium is a bitter reminder, and this issue has raised concerns for most legionnaires that they may have difficulty returning back to their country of work.

Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, etc., provide a two-week quarantine for travelers to countries such as Iran to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. For this reason, Iran, like the Iraqi national team, may restrict the participation of the legionnaires to prevent any problems and difficulties for those playing in foreign leagues. The availability of foreign-based players is of course overshadowed by their availability and release by their employers. With the Leagues scheduling in Europe in such a mess, it is highly unlikely if any player is released by their clubs unless they are of now value to their squad, like Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

The AFC Champions League commitment

The AFC Champions League league will start in Qatar with four Iranian representatives competing for the coveted prize. For this reason, these four clubs will keep their players and not release them for Team Melli. Iranian clubs have never won the AFC Champions League title since its new format and are not considered as title contenders this season either, but will be always trying to upset the rivals and be at full strength.

However, in recent days there have been reports that players’ passports have been submitted to the national team’s department for friendly matches with Uzbekistan in Tashkent. Given that the players will have to rest for a few days on their return from the camp in Uzbekistan, the possibility of the players’ absence from the four teams in the camp will be strengthened or at least they will remain with the national team for a shorter period.

Hazfi Cup.

The League Organization Committee announced that it is willing to postpone the final of the “Hazfi Cup” to a later date for the sake of  Team Melli Training Camp in Uzbekistan. However, the organizer’s condition is that there should be a firm decision on the dates and confirmation from Team Melli administrators before a conclusion is made. Hazfi Cup, which is becoming a real farce in Iran’s football with chaotic and ever-changing scheduling, was to be held mid-September.

With all these problems, Team Melli may not be able to hold the camp at all and with the recent postponement announcement by FIFA in regards to the qualifiers, the Team Melli camp might also be postponed, prolonging Skocic attempt to meet Team Melli players for another few months.

Team Melli and Omid Team will set up joint Training camp.

Iran’s Team Melli and Omid Team will be setting training camps at the same time and end up playing a friendly match after the conclusion of the camp at the national teams’ Training camp in Tehran.

From 10th to the 15th of July, there will be a busy period for the national football federation teams in the training camps. The objective of this Team Melli camp includes further familiarization by Marc Wilmots with the team members.  Wilmots will be unable to call upon the foreign-based players of Team Melli and has to contend with the domestic league players.

However, in order for the Belgian coach to gain more knowledge of his players and to make changes as he deems necessary, this will be a good opportunity for him to discover further talents and proceed on his changes by allowing younger players the chance to perform.

Wilmots hopes to have a more solid idea for the team formation for the month of September and to organize a game on the official FIFA day. In the last two friendlies,  Wilmots used a mix of AFC Asian Cup and World Cup players in both the Syria and South Korean games. He is working on the team’s weaknesses, including defending, and said he was looking to fix the team gradually. Nevertheless, Wilmots said he is pleased with his team performance in the last two matches, his first at the helm of Iran, and in his recent interview, he said that he is glad that former national team coach, Carlos Queiroz.he had left a good legacy for him.

On the other ground, there will be also another national team training. Iran’s Omid Team Olympics hopefuls will set up camp at the same time sharing the facilities with the senior team.  Farhad Majidi , who has already set up a training camp in June, is looking to further improve the team for the much tougher assignment in Thailand in the qualifiers of the Olympics.

He will be focused on technical and psychological issues of the squad, which will mainly consist of previous players from the Omid team’s past camps. Majidi will continue to invite new players for the camp, especially since there will be tough competition for places and players need to show their ability to be part of the Omid Team, Majidi said.

The young head coach of the Omid team who is hoping to qualify for the Olympic Games is looking forward to the match with the senior team. Wilmots and Majidi teams will play a competitive friendly at the end of the five-day camps, which is likely to be played on No. 2 ground that has a natural grass surface.

It is also likely that Pejman Montazeri, who has just announced his retirement from international football, will be honored and appreciated by his teammates in the same camp. Montazeri played for Team Melli for about 10 years and has represented Iran in the World Cup and Asian Cup.

Speculations about Azmoun transfer to Lazio!

A few days after some websites reported that Team Melli and Zenit St. Petersburg striker Sardar Azmoun is wanted by the Italian Seria A club Lazio, no confirmation has been issued by either sides or the players himself.

Azmoun has been linked with a sensational move from Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg to Italian Serie A giants SS Lazio.

Sardar performance this season with Zenit since his January transfer from FC Rubin Kazan , was nothing but sheer excellence. He has scored 12 goals in 16 games helping Sergei Semak’s side lift the Russian Premier League title and qualifying for the UEFA Champions Leauge 2019/20.

While the striker was missing for the Team Melli two friendly games against Syria and South Korea for a slight knock, the speculations were rife about plans for his transfer to Italy.

Azmoun, who has been previously linked with the Italian club in the past seasons, has recently signed a contract with FC Zenit which would make such transfer little complicated for Lazio.

It is quite unlikely for Azmoun to leave Zenit after such a short stay.

Wilmot’s Press conference

In his pre-match press conference, the newly appointed head coach of Team Melli said: “The two friendly games are good opportunities for me to asses my players.”

Marc Wilmots, said on Wednesday prior to the game against Syria “I wish to start by mentioning two things. First, I always had a lot of respect for national customs and respect for senior players. I like to convey my condolences to one of the valued former Team Melli players, Naeem Saadavi, who lost his wife. There are things in life that are more important than football. Like family especially in Iranian society. I also congratulate you all on the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.”

“We have two friendly games in which I can test my players,” he said. “As for players’ fitness, I have to say some of the players have not played competitively since the end of the Persian Gulf League. Games against Syria and South Korea are great opportunities. Although our players are not in their ideal forms, I and the players like to play with full potential.”

Wilmots pointed out: “I am the coach who loves to have the possession of the ball, but at the same time I have always had a regular organized type of play where having the possession of the ball is to create scoring opportunities and mostly have that possession in the in the opponent’s area. I applied that style both in Belgium and Ivory Coast.”

He also explained about the mechanism of selecting players in his first Team Melli squad : “When you are new in the job and do not know a country, it’s best to refer to recent back records. So, that is how I did it until I familiarize myself and know the style of each squad member, and then I choose from them as deemed necessary. After these two games, I try to look for new players and invite potential talents to the squad. Youth should be added to Team Melli.”

Asked about the game plan and his style, Wilmots responded “It depends on the type of players we have. We do not have Saman Ghoddos and Sardar Azmoun in the team. I have to create a balanced style between defensive and offensive game plan. I do not have anything to do with what have been implemented before me and shall follow my own style. If in the last 8 years the team has concentrated on defensive style, he may want to continue to play that way, but I’m the coach who would like to play an offensive game and push the opponent’s team to the limit. We have 3 years to the next World Cup.”

 

Wilmots also said about the future plan for Iranian football during his tenure “It’s not important to for me to seek FIFA Ranking (…) but it’s important to qualify to the World Cup for the third consecutive time. We try to provide a balanced game style. Of course, that depends on the opponent as well. If you play against Brazil, you will not be able to have the possession of the ball as much. We will try to use Team Melli players in their same post that they play in their clubs. We cannot change players in three training sessions. I did this in the Belgian national team and it was successful. We will closely view and monitor Iran games.”

Team Melli will play its first game under Wilmots on Thursday 6th June In Azadi Stadium.

Welmots signs a 3 years contract in Brussels.

The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Brussels has announced that Marc Welmots has signed a contract with Iran football federation FFIRI.

According to ISNA, Welmots officially signed a three-year contract to lead Team Melli after the meeting with the head of the federation’s Mehdi Taj in Brussels today. Welmots who previously traveled to Tehran to visit the federation’s facilities, will arrive in Tehran in the coming days to start the preparing Team Melli for the two friendly international matches against Syria and South Korea.

Sheikh Ali, adviser to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Belgium, in an interview with the ISNA correspondent, confirmed the signing of the contract  “The talks were held at the embassy residence in Brussels, which resulted in the signing of the contract, but the embassy had no role whatsoever and has not participated in the negotiations. Sheikh Ali, also rejected any claims that the embassy has assured the Belgium coach of receiving his salary through the Iranian embassy account in Belgium or any other sort of payment to Welmots. He, said: “We have not had any talks on this matter which was purely between the FFIRI and the coach. This issue has nothing to do with the embassy. Consensual negotiations were conducted, and the embassy also did not give Mr. Welmots any guarantee of his salary. We, at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, provided the logistical for the FFIRI and hosting the venue of negotiation.”

“Any issue regarding the details of the contract must be referred to Mr. Mehdi Taj.”

Earlier, Belgian media reported that the talks between Taj and Welmots have stalled and suspended because of a disagreement over the residing of the Belgian coach in Tehran. Those media news spoke of the possibility of abandoning of the contract.

According to ISNA, Mehdi Taj has left Brussels  heading to Tehran at 15:00 hours.

Marc Wilmots to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday

TEHRAN – An unnamed source in the Iranian football federation FFIRI has mentioned that ex-Belgium coach Marc Wilmots will arrive in Tehran on Wednesday to finalize his deal.

FFIRI will reportedly pay the 50-year-old coach and his two Belgian assistants $1,500,000 per year.

The Iranian federation also wants former Team Melli captain Javad Nekounam to be a member of the coaching staff.

Parliament Member Mohammad Reza Tabesh has also said Wilmots will most likely pen a contract with the Iranian federation. His source of information is unverified.

The Belgian led his homeland to the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, but was sacked after that tournament in France.

Wilmots, who is also on the Scotland’s list of candidates, is set to replace Carlos Querioz in Team Melli.

He has been without a team after leaving the Ivory Coast coaching position in November 2017.

Wilmots will start his work as Iran coach in two friendly matches against Syria and South Korea, scheduled for June 6 and 11.

Omid Team will face Syria in Kish.

The Manager of the Iran U23 national team, (Omid Team) , announced the forthcoming plan for the team which includes a training camp in which the team will play  two friendly matches against the Syrian national U23 team.

in an interview with Hamid Estili published in the official website of the Football Federation, Omid Team Manager said: “The new round of Iranian U23 National Football team training begins on Dec. 15th. A day later, the squad will fly to Kish Island to play two friendly preparations matches.”

The director of the Omid team also said: “According to the schedule , the first match will be held on 18th December in Kish, we will face Syria in the first game. Syria is a powerful opponent and can be a very useful game. On December 21st, we will hold the second game in Kish also against the same team (Syria), and then we will return back to Tehran to conclude the camp.”

Estili added: “It’s very important for us to hold preparation games to compete against the best opponents possible. The coaching & technical staff has emphasized this. Fortunately, we played a very good match against Oman, and the two scheduled matches against Syria should be very useful indeed. Also, luckily, we have had good results in negotiating with some other Asian teams for more matches. The result of these will be announced in dues time after agreeing terms. The ultimate goal is to be prepared for a tough competition by playing valuable matches with different teams to prepare for the preliminary qualifiers for the Asian U23 and the Olympics. We shall achieve our objectives, God willing, with the support of the Federation. To this day, it has been excellent, which I see as prudent to mention that publicly. We are encouraged by the interest and support given to the team’s program and the backing of all parties concerned from the federation executives to the clubs.”

Team Omid (Iran U23) , which is coached by the Croat coach Zlatko Kranjcar,  is preparing for the AFC Asian Championship qualifiers and the preliminary Olympics Games football competition qualifiers.

Iran vs. Syria :Joy for the Iranians , desperation for Syrians.

Tehran:

44 Years ago in Iran’s first ever participation in the World Cup , Team Melli had to face the Syrians. Similar to the status of tomorrow’s (Tuesday) match, Iran already qualified from its group. Team Melli played against Syria in the last match of the qualifying group. Iran has already beaten Syria 1-0 in the first encounter and with the match nothing but formality, the Iranians were looking ahead to a comfortable win and a light workout.

It was far from that as AbdulGhani Tatish scored an early goal for Syria in the 11′ minute in a surprise attack and for the rest of the match, the Syrians simply parked the bus.

A repeat performance is quite possible tomorrow if the desperate Syrians score first, however, that victory in Amjadiah stadium was the first and the last for the Syrians against Iran. 

 Syria will be looking for the perfect ending to their fairytale run in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with a win over Group A winners Islamic Republic of Iran at Azadi Stadium on Tuesday to guarantee at least a play-off berth for the Qasioun Eagles.

Syria sit two points behind second-placed Korea Republic and above fourth-placed Uzbekistan on goal difference with the Koreans and the Uzbeks facing off in Tashkent in a simultaneous kick-off, meaning a win could even see the visitors claim second spot and a historic first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance.

But the Syrians will be aware of the difficulty of the task as their opponents are unbeaten so far and have yet to concede a single goal in this campaign – something that has provided Iran with huge motivation even after wrapping up their qualification with a win over Uzbekistan in June.

A scoreless draw with Korea Republic on Thursday saw Iran move to just one game away from finishing the group stage with their record still intact, although Saeid Ezatolahi’s dismissal means the midfielder is suspended for Tuesday’s encounter.

Syria’s 3-1 win over Qatar saw them leapfrog the Uzbeks into third and leaves them with a very realistic chance of finishing in the top three. With Omar Khribin and the recently recalled Omar Al Soma leading the frontline, Ayman Hakeem’s side have the firepower to trouble the stubborn Iranian defence.

[divider size=”10″ margin=”20″]

IRAN vs. SYRIA

Head2Head

Venue Matches W D L Goals + / –
H 10 4 5 1 19 – 8 +11
A 8 5 3 0 10 – 3 +7
N 6 4 2 0 7 – 2 +5
Total 24 13 10 1 36 – 13 +23