Tag: Vahid AMIRI

03/07/2019

Destination Turkey.

The two mighty neighbors Turkey and Iran have a heavy mutual influence on each other, due to geographical proximity, economic benefits, linguistic and ethnic relations. They were also regional rivals at some stage of history and fought each other for influence and power. In modern times, the relation has been peaceful and friendly. Football formed part of this peaceful relationship and also created a regional rivalry.

The Turkish association with European football and its membership in UEFA, has immensely benefitted its development. The Turkish national team, despite making it to the World Cup twice only in their history (1954 & 2002), was always considered to be better and stronger than Iran’s Team Melli from the early 50s. Those days, the two countries played a lot of football against each other including a regional tournament called RCD which was a three side annual tournament that also included Pakistan in the 60s.

However, like many things after the 1979 revolution, with Iran’s major change of political ideology, the two countries experienced less than a cozy relationship, football naturally suffered from this cold relation and the two countries cut off their football connection. Neither side showed any interest in playing friendlies against the other, no doubt politics playing a major role in the break of footballing relationship.

Meanwhile, Turkish football, at club level at least, was thriving. The trio, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas were as good as many first-rate European clubs. With financial clout and huge fan bases, Turkey became the focus of attention and the destination of many foreign players. For years, the Turkish clubs employed the services of European, African and Latin American footballers, those included some household names in football. However, the majority of the big name European signings were players at the twilight of their careers who were there for a last-ditch attempt to enrich their bank accounts before hanging their boots rather than seeking glory. The success of the policy of the Turkish clubs in attracting high profile aging footballers was mixed perhaps moderately successful at best.

What the Turkish club ignored was the abundance of talents on the eastern and southern borders. Iran and to a certain extent, Iraq had a wealth of young talents that were there for the taking. Since the late nineties, European clubs, particularly the German realized that as a number of the best Iranian players were employed by clubs like Bayern Munich , Hamburg, Hertha Berlin, and Arminia Bielefeld While talented Iraqi players headed south to the Persian Gulf states. At no time, the Turks endeavored to attract Iranians and Iraqis to play for their teams, although it would have been a good investment and certainly cheaper for them too.

By the beginning of the second decade of the millennium, The Turkish clubs, at last, looked at Iran. There had to be something special in that country’s football that can generate quality players for Team Melli. With shoestring budgets, Iranian clubs managed to continuously deliver talented players thus enriching Team Melli and many 0f those young players eventually heading outside Iran to play professional football. In the process, Iran has made 4 appearances in the FIFA World Cup after a break of 20 years since the initial one in 1978, but also steadily climbed in the FIFA World Ranking to approach the elites. Meanwhile, Turkey managed one appearance in 2002.

That made the Turkish clubs think hard and employ scouts to talent hunt in Iran and seek bargains and future investments from the Persians.

For the Iranians, Turkey is the perfect destination for a professional player. The culture, the climate and the proximity of the two countries make it an ideal place to play football, to develop and to make a decent living. Although the flood gates had hardly opened on the Iranians, the Turkish clubs are beginning to be shrewd as they are constantly on the lookout for talented players even as young as 18 years old. In the case of Allahyar Sayyadmanish, who was hardly a fixed player in his club Esteghlal, such investment could turn out to be a clever an astute move by Fenerbahçe. The giant Turkish club is now seeking the services of the 19 years old Iraqi forward Muhanad Ali Kadhim from Al Shorta Club.

It is a win-win situation for both sides. Iranian Players can develop well in Turkey with training facilities and passionate fans enhancing the league to become one of the best in Europe. It is certainly the right environment for aspiring young Iranian and Iraqi players.

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, is an 11th Iranian footballer in Turkey.

Naser Sadeghi (Galatasaray / Konyaspor)
Mohammad Khakpour (Vanspor)
Reza Shahroudi (Altay)
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Erzurumspor)
Mohammad Moemeni (Erzurumspor)
Hamed Kavianpour (Kayserispor)
Sajjad Şhahbazzade (Alanyaspor) ♣
Payam Sadeghian (Osmanlıspor) ♣
Vahid Amiri (Trabzonspor) ♣
Majid Hosseini (Trabzonspor) ♣

♣ currently active.

28/01/2019

Al Ain: Ahead of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 semi-final between two unbeaten giants of Asia, the-AFC.com looks at the key facts and history surrounding the eagerly-anticipated clash.

No Taremi for Team Melli

The major team news ahead of the semi-final is the enforced absence of Mehdi Taremi, who will miss Monday’s clash through suspension having collected a second yellow card against China PR.

While card trouble has cost them the Al Gharafa star, who has scored three goals in UAE 2019, the Iranians will welcome back Vahid Amiri, while Yoshinuri Muto returns from suspension for Japan.

Outstanding yellow cards were erased following the quarter-finals, meaning only a red card in Monday’s match will result in a player missing the final.

Carlos Queiroz’s Iran have become one of only three teams in history to go through their first five games at an AFC Asian Cup without conceding a goal, but the amazing record of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand goes back even further.

The Persepolis shot-stopper has represented his country in 20 competitive matches (including UAE 2019 and FIFA World Cup qualifiers and finals) and conceded only four goals, keeping a remarkable 17 clean sheets, with only Portugal, Spain and Syria finding a way past him.

Japan have claimed a piece of statistical history of their own in the UAE. Hajime Moriyasu’s side are the first ever to win five successive matches by a single-goal winning margin.

Asian powerhouses, divergent histories

The two sides are both Asian football powerhouses, having qualified for the past two FIFA World Cups – and in Japan’s case, every edition since 1998 – but the East Asians have had far more recent success on the continental stage.

While Iran are enjoying the excitement of being 90 minutes away from reaching the AFC Asian Cup final for the first time since 1976, Japan have been champions in four of the last seven editions, and three of the current squad were part of the victorious 2011 team.

Japan have only ever lost once at this stage of the competition, a 3-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2007, which was also the last time the Samurai Blue lost any AFC Asian Cup match outside of penalty shootouts.

Despite making their first appearance in the last four since 2004, Iran have not a lost a single AFC Asian Cup match inside 90 minutes this century, with three of their previous eliminations coming from the penalty spot, and the other twp – both defeats to Korea Republic – suffered in extra time.

Unfamiliar foes

Despite their permanent presence in the latter stages of both the AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifying, Japan and Iran have consistently managed to avoid each other in competition draws.

It has been over a decade since their last competitive fixture, a 2-1 Samurai Blue win in 2005, while their last AFC Asian Cup clash came back in 2004 when the two sides shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw in Group D.

Head2Heads

IRAN VS JAPAN

H / A / N	Matches	W	D	L	Goals	+ / –
H	3	1	2	0	5 – 4	1
A	3	0	1	2	2 – 4	-2
N	11	5	3	3	12 – 10	2
Total	17	6	6	5	19 – 18	1

Matches

Date	Competition	H / A / N	score	Stadium	Attendance
13.10.2015	Friendly	H	1 – 1	Azadi Stadium , Tehran	15,000
17.08.2005	World Cup Qualifier	A	1 – 2	Nissan Stadium , Yokohama	65,000
25.03.2005	World Cup Qualifier	H	2 – 1	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	120,000
28.07.2004	Asian Cup	N	0 – 0	Olympics Sport Centre , Chongqing	52,000
11.08.1999	Friendly	A	1 – 1	International Stadium, Yokohama	35,860
16.11.1997	World Cup Qualifier	N	2 – 3	Larkin Stadium-Johor Bahru	22,000
18.10.1993	World Cup Qualifier	N	2 – 1	Al Khalifa Stadium , Doha	15,000
03.11.1992	Asian Cup	A	0 – 1	Big Arch Stadium , Hiroshima	37,000
01.10.1990	Asian Games	N	1 – 0	Fengtai Sports Center-Beijing	10,000
20.01.1989	Friendly	H	2- 2	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	50,000
04.12.1988	Asian Cup	N	0 – 0	Qatar FC Stadium , Doha	4,000
22.09.1986	Asian Games	N	2 – 0	Hanbat Stadium, Daejeon	30,000
20.11.1982	Asian Games	N	0 – 1	Modeltown Stadium-New Delhi	10,000
18.12.1966	Asian Games	N	1 – 0	Tarua Football Stadium-Bangkok	20,000
11.12.1966	Asian Games	N	1 – 3	Chulalongkon University Stadium-Bangkok	10,000
08.03.1951	Asian Games	N	3 -2	Ambedkar Stadium -New Delhi	30,000
07.03.1951	Asian Games	N	0 – 0	Ambedkar Stadium – New Delhi	23,000

10/06/201710/06/2017

Team Melli on track for the Uzbekistan match

Team Melli is on course in preparation for the crucial match against Uzbekistan on Monday.

FIFA announced the name of the referees for the match. Ahmad Abu Baker Said Al Kaf from Oman will be assisted by Hamed Suleiman and Abu Baker Saleem. The fourth referee is Omar Mubarak all from the Sultanate of Oman.

The Omani referee was the fourth official in 4 matches in the recent FIFA World Cup U-20 championship 2017 in South Korea. He was not assigned any matches to referee. His last international match was in Sydney on 27th March 2017 refereeing the match between Australia and UAE which the host won 2-0.

Meanwhile, the FFIRI has encouraged the fans not to go to Azadi Stadium in matchday unless they carry a ticket on hand. The ticket sales for the match against Uzbekistan is all on-line through a dedicated website. No tickets will be sold on the match day from kiosks.

FIFA was given assurance by the FFIRI and the security authorities that strict measures and tight security will be implemented on match day following the terrorist attacks Parliament and the Ayatollah Khomeini mausoleum a few days back.

Carlos Queiroz is relying on his team’s solid defence with a perfect defensive record of not conceding a goal since the opening match, while he will be deploying a powerful offensive line up front to unsettle the Uzbek defenses. Azmoun has been in top form , while both Ansarifard and Ghoochannejad had their best ever forms playing in Europe. domestically , Mehdi Taremi has been the best Iranian forward and the league’s top scorer.

To supplement the forwards, Jahanbakhsh and Vahid Amiri will be feeding the attackers with their runs and crosses on the flanks , leaving Dejagah and Ezzatollahie to cover the middle of the field.

There are no injuries worries to report in the squad , however , Ashkan Dejagah is short of match practise and made a short appearance for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga following a long injury. Ramin Rezaeian is without a club after he was sacked from Persepolis , nevertheless the defender form was quite good against Montenegro in the recent 2-1 win.

04/06/201508/06/2015

Uzbekistan vs. Iran : Match preview

Despite a disappointing AFC Asian Cup 2015 , Mirjalal Qasimov is determined to bounce back strongly in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The friendly against Iran at Bunyodkor’s Metropolitan Stadium, Tashkent is seen as tough test against the top ranked Asian team before starting the long road in the qualifiers. A strong showing by Qasimov’s men will augur well for their first match against North Korea away in Puyong Yang.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s top priority is making it to the FIFA World Cup 2018 being held next door in Russia. Nothing short of qualification for their first ever World Cup will be satisfactory for the Uzbek who seem to have put all their resources into this project.

Uzbekistan is going through a transition where the older generation has all but disappeared and Qasimov is counting on young promising players to achieve their objective. Players like Sardor Rashidov of Bunyodkor was excellent in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 while Igor Sergeyev (Pakhtakor) and Ikrom Aliboev are awaiting their chances to shine for their country.

Qasimov still has some of the veterans on hand. Former AFC Player of the year Server Djeparov (2008 and 2011) and the tough tackling Vitaliy Denisov are still part of the squad but playing peripheral roles. Their experience is considered vital by Qasimov in their quest to make it to Russia in 2018.

7 Uzbek players make their living abroad including Fazil Musayev who had quite a successful season in Iran’s winning the league title with Sepahan Esfahan.

Iran

Iran on the other hand , is considered on of the favorites to make it to the FIFA World Cup 2018. Like Uzbekistan , this match will be a stern test and a good warm up for Carlos Queiroz who found Uzbekistan quite a tough nut to crack when they last met in the qualifiers of the last World Cup.

It is not expected that Queiroz will divert away from his solid defensive game plan. With the skeleton of the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Asian Cup team , Queiroz will continue with the same strategy minus Javad Nekounam who has retired from international football.

The most significant blow to Queiroz will be the absence of Ashkan Dejagah , one of Iran’s best players for the last few years. However , with the excellent Vahid Amiri in form and the emergence of Ehsan Hajsafy in midfield, Dejagah’s absence will be minimized.

The only real concern for Queiroz will be in the goal. Team Melli might find it tough going without a quality keeper between the posts.

Prediction

It is expected to be a tight and closed match with the most likely result being goalless or a small margin win for either sides. Entertainment value is not expected to be high.

Match details

UZBEKISTAN vs. IRAN

Venue: Bunyodkor’s Metropolitan Stadium,

City : Tashkent

date: Thursday 11th June 2015

Time: 17:30 (Tehran) 13:00 GMT

IRAN vs. UZBEKISTAN

Head to Head results

H / A / N	Matches	W	D	L	Goals	+ / –
Home	1	0	0	1	0 – 1	-1
Away	2	1	1	0	1 – 0	+1
Neutral	2	2	0	0	6 – 1	+5
Total	5	3	1	1	7 – 2	+5

Date	Comp.	H / A / N	Final score	Stadium	Attendance
14.11.2012	World Cup Qualifier	H	0 – 1	Azadi Stadium , Tehran	40,000
03.06.2012	World Cup Qualifier	A	1 – 0	JAR Stadium -Tashkent	9,000
05.09.2009	Friendly	A	0 – 0	Tashkent / Pakhtakor	9,500
11.07.2007	Asian Cup / Group C	N	2 – 1	National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur	3,000
14.12.1998	Asian Games	N	4 – 0	Suphachalasai	2,500

UZBEKISTAN Squad

# Players’ name Date of birth Football Club

Goalkeepers
1 Eldor Suyunov -1991 Nasaf
2 Akbar Turaev -1989 Bunyodkor
3 Ignatiy Nesterov- 1983 Lokomotiv

Defenders
4 Anzur Ismoilov- 1985 Changchun Yatai, China
5 Shavkat Mullajanov -1986 Lokomotiv
6 Shukhrat Muhammadiev -1989 Nasaf
7 Egor Krimets -1992 Pakhtakor
8 Islom Tuhtahodžaev -1989 Lokomotiv
9 Vitaliy Denisov -1987 Lokomotiv, Russia
10 Akmal Šorahmedov -1986 Bunyodkor
11 Farrukh Sajfiev- 1991 Nasaf

Midfielder
12 Aziz Haydarov- 1985 Al Shabab U.A.E.
13 Odil Ahmedov- 1987 -Krasnodar, Russia
14 Server Djeparov -1983 -Ulsan, Hyundai
15 Lutfulla Turaev -1988 -Lokomotiv
16 Sandzhar Tursunov- 1987 vorskla, Ukraine
17 Sardor Rashidov -1991 Bunyodkor
18 Shohrukh Gadoev- 1991 Nasaf
19 Ikrom Aliboev -1994
20 Khasanov Jasur – Locomotive 1983 Lokomotiv
21 Fazil Musayev – 1989 Sepahan, Iran

Forwards
22 Zohir Kuzibaev -1986 Mash’al
23 Nasimov Baҳodir – 1987 Padideҳ Eron
24 Igor Sergeyev -1993 Pakhtakor

26/03/201527/03/2015

Team Melli downs Chile 2-0

Team Melli Captain Javad Nekounam scored in the first half while the excellent Vahid Amiri added another goal in the second half for Team Melli to register an important morale boosting win against the team that was ranked 4 in the FIFA World Cup 2015 and the host of Copa America 2015.

The friendly match was played in NV Arena in the small town of St. Poulten , Austra in front of a small but voicferious crowd.

The match was split equally in terms of control as Iran was the better team in the first apart from the last 10 minytes of the first half , while Chile was the team which had more ball posession in the second after the introdcution of Alxis Sanchez.

Iran first goal came from on the 21st minute with a perfect corner by Ando Teymourian who found his Captain in a telepathic style , Nekounam perfectly positioned with ample space just had to slot the ball past Oscar Bravo , the Barcelona keeper.

Team Melli was the better team in the first half playing a compact game mixed with pace and energy during offensive moves. Defensive orgnization was perfect with very few balls seriously bothering Haghighi.

Ashkan Dejagah was by far the best player on the pitch giving the Chilean defenders extra headache while providing several glorious balls to his teammates. Shojaei was guilty of wasting 3 certain scoring chances. Dejagah was finding his teammates in space and dribbling past the Chileans with ease even while double-teaming him.

Alireza Haghighi had to make one save in anger during the first half but it was an important one. in the last minute of the half Haghighi denied the Chilean forward Fernandez from scoring when he parried his powerful header from close range for an excellent save.

The First half ended IRAN 1-0 CHILE

In the second , Chile was out to wipe out Iran’s lead and score a few goals ahead of their encounter with Brazil on Sunday. The Introduction of Alexis Sanchez , the Arsenal star player , made a significant difference in the pace and organization of the Chileans.

Despite the initial substantial ball possession , it was Iran that scored from a text book counter attack move when Masoud Shojaei passed the ball to his right , where Ghoochannejad raced past the half back and then sent a diagonal perfectly weighted ball to the on rushing Vahid Amiri for the Naft player to score his first goal for Team Melli and Iran’s second of the game.

After the goal , a period of sustain pressure where Chile players gave it every thing to recover , but failed to score as the highly disciplined back four were more than a match for the powerful and skilful Latin Americans. Sanchez in particular was initiating most of the attacks by Chile and skillfully feeding his teammates but to no avail.

Iran , despite the lack of ball possession in the 2nd half , were still dangerous in the counter attack. Masoud Shojae was unfortunately the weak link and he could only drag his foot around till Queiroz realized he needed to be subbed for a fresh player.

Vahid Amiri and Ashkan Dejagah continued their excellent forms through the 2nd half which saw the introduction of Karim Ansarifard in place of Ghoochannejad.

The Osasuna forward had a nightmare of a match failing to complete any pass while nearly costing his team a goal while back defending a corner.

Chile had their own chances but their finishing was not up to scratch while the Iranian defense was at its best.

Line Up

IRAN: 1 A. Haghighi ; 4 J. Hosseini , 15 P. Montazeri , 19 H. Beikzadeh , 11 V. Ghafouri , 6 J. Nekounam , 7 M. Shojaei (O. Ebrahimi 70′) , 21 A. Dejagah , 14 A. Teymourian , 13 V. Amiri (R. Rezaeian 90′) , 16 R. Ghoochannejhad (K. Ansarifard 74′)

CHILE: 1 C. Bravo ; 18 G. Jara , 5 E. Roco (G. Medel 63′) , 13 J. Cornejo , 27 E. Pulgar (C. Aránguiz 46′) , 11 M. González (C.A. Gutiérrez 46′) , 14 M. Fernández , 19 F. Orellana (A. Sanchez 46′) , 24 J. Fuenzalida ( M. Isla 62′) , 15 R. Millar (D. Pizarro 63′) , 9 E. Vargas

23/01/201523/01/2015

Iran looses the quarter finals in a thriller at Brisbane.

Team Melli lost the quarter finals match on penalty shootout against Iraq in a thrilling encounter at Brisbane Stadium.

Iran took the lead through Sardar Azamoun from a powerful header of a cross provided by Vouriya Ghafoori on minute 24. to make it 1 – 0 for Iran.

Iraq equalized on 56^th minute from Ahmed Yasin after Iran defense failed to clear and the ball hit Pouraliganji into the net. The matches ended 1-1 for extra time to be played.

The Captain of Iraq Younis Mahmoud made it 1 – 2 for his team on minute 93′ . Morteza Pouraliganji on minute 103′ scored from an Ando Teymourian corner kick to make it.2 – 2

While the match was on its final minutes, Morteza Pouraliganji who was the hero of Iran made a gross error and fouled Iraq forward for the referee to call a penalty which was dispatched by the 20 years old Iraqi defender Dhurgham Ismail (116 minute.)

And then the grand finale came when Reza Ghoochannejhad scored with one minute left to make it 3 – 3

The two players who missed penalties of Iran were Hajsafi and Vahid Amiri,

The first controversy of the match was the appointment of the whistle-happy Australian referee for the match. He was the referee of the first match of Iran in the AFC Asian Cup which Iran won 2-0 but so some crucial errors by the Australian which lead Queiroz to publicly complain about this referee. For expressing his views , AFC slapped an US$ 3000 fine on Queiroz which the Portuguese coach rejected as harsh and uncalled for.

Appointing the same referee for a crucial match was an indicative of a juvenile delinquency by the AFC and the organizers. Instead of trying to steer away from controversy , the AFC has fallen into it either by pure ignorance or by blatant intent and in an up your nose attitude towards Queiroz and Iran!

The controversial Ben Williams lasted for 42 minutes before he was on the act justifying earlier complaints against him. The referee awarded Mehrdad Pooladi a second yellow card right towards the end of the half for an innocuous challenge on Iraqi goalkeeper who made a theatrical scene and pushed Pooladi to the ground.

The feeble referee reacted to Iraqi players protests and awarded Pooladi a second yellow and then walked away. He was not aware that Pooladi was already on a yellow until the Iraqi players dragged him back to remind him.

Williams have a long sheet of controversial , poor decision-making and being conned by players. He is a poor choice for a referee at international level but being an Australian , and the tournament is in Australia, it is obvious that his sub-standard refereeing will be forgiven.

The penalty loss spells the end of Iran’s participation in the Asian Cup. It is the third time in a row that Team Melli is eliminated in the Quarter finals of the competition in extra time or penalty kicks.

30/12/2014

Alireza Mansourian pledges full support to Queiroz

Naft Tehran coach and a former Team Melli player, Alireza Mansourian pledged his full support to Team Melli and Coach Carlos Queiroz. Mansourian was present at the farewell ceremony of Team Melli to wish them well before departure to Australia.

In a short statement to the press at Team Melli camp site, Mansourian said “I came here to show my support to the boys, and Carlos Queiroz. It is my duty to do so and I sincerely wish Team Melli all the best in their difficult task in Australia. Yes, it is not an easy job by any means but the boys are well up to it.”

“Queiroz has been trying his best for the team, however the preparation was less than ideal and there is no denial in that. However some might justify the circumstances and whatever was said; we must admit that the preparation of Team Melli was well below Querioz’s expectations and definitely way below our competitors’.”

Mansourain , who has 3 players in the squad Biranvand, Amiri and Pouraliganji added “I believe that Queiroz and Team Melli in general were victims of the disputes between the Ministry of Sports and the football federation. That should not have happened but the reality was, a high tension between these two organizations resulted in Team Melli being hurt by it.”

Alireza Mansourian urged all the fans and the media to be behind Team Melli and support the team to the end.

26/12/201426/12/2014

Final list of Asian Cup squad announced

Football federation has announced the squad list of 21 players , who will be taking part in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. 2 players will be added to the list in the coming days.

Shirt Number	Player Name
3	HAJSAFY, Ehsan 25-Feb-90 25 years Sepahan Defender 60 Caps 3 Goals
4	HOSSEINI, Jalal 03-Feb-82 33 Years Al Ahli (QAT) Defender 86 Caps 6 goals
6	NEKOUNAM, Javad 06-Sep-80 35 Years Osasuna (ESP) Midfield 143 Caps 37 Goals
14	TEYMOURIAN, Andranik 06-Mar-83 32 Years Esteghlal Midfield 79 Caps 9 Goals
10	ANSARIFARD, Karim 03-Apr-90 25Years Osasuna (ESP) Forward 42 Caps 9 Goals
7	SHOJAEI, Masoud 09-Jun-84 31 Years Las Palmas (ESP) Midfield 51 Caps 5 Goals
11	GHAFOORI, Vouriya 20.Sep.87 27 years Sepahan Esfahan Defender 1 Cap
21	DEJAGAH, Ashkan 05-Jul-86 27 years Al Arabi (QAT) Midfield 14 Caps 4 Goals
16	GHOOCHANNEJAD, Reza 20-Sep-87 26 years Al Kuwait (KUW) Forward 14 Caps 11 Goals
8	POURALIGANJI, Morteza 19-Apr-92 22 years Naft Tehran Defender 0 Caps 0 Goal
18	JAHANBAKSH, Alireza 08-Oct-93 20 years NEC Nijmegen (NED) Forward 7 Caps 1 Goal
5	KHANZADEH, MohammadReza 20-Jan-92 23 years Persepolis Defender 7 Caps 1 Goal
19	BEIKZADEH, Hashim 22-Jan-84 30 years Esteghlal Defender 16 caps 1 goal
15	REZAEIAN Ramin 21-Mar-90 24 years Rah Ahan Defender 0 caps
1	HAGHIGHI, Alireza 02-May-88 26 years Sporting Covilhã (POR) Goalkeeper 6 caps
2	HEYDARI, Khosro 14-Sep-83 30 Years Esteghlal Defender 49 Caps
22	BIRANVAND, Alireza 23-Sep-91 23 Years Naft Tehran Goalkeeper 0 Caps
	QUEIROZ, Carlos 01-Mar-53 61 Years Head Coach
12	FOROUZAN, Mohsen 03-May-88 26 Years Esteghlal Goalkeeper 0 Caps
20	AZMOUN, Sardar 01-Jan-95 19 Years Rubin Kazan Forward 3 Caps 1 Goal
13	AMIRI, Vahid 02-Apr-88 26 Years Naft Tehran Midfield 0 Caps 0 Goal
23	POOLADI, Mehrdad 20-Feb-87 26 years Al Shahaniya (QAT) Defender 21 caps
17	RAFEI, Soroush 24-Apr-90 24 years Foolad Khuzestan Midfield 0 caps
9	EBRAHIMI, Omid 16-Sep-87 27 years Esteghlal Midfield 6 caps

12/12/2014

New faces in the latest Team Melli squad heading to South Africa.

The football federation announced the list of 23 players selected for Team Melli Training camp in South Africa.

There are 9 uncapped players in the list which has none except one of the legionnaires named. Most players are not able to join until the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Mid January . Sardar Azmoun will be the only player who will attend the camp as the Russian league will be in its winter break. Sajjad Shahabzadeh , the prolific Esteghlal forward who has an excellent scoring record this season, has been included and so is Iman Mobali , the Naft Tehran midfielder who is a key player for the league leader Naft Tehran.

Once again , there is no place for Mohammadreza Khalatbary , arguably , the best forward of the league this current season while Mohsen Mosalman who has just joined Esteghlal on loan from Zob Ahan has failed to make the list.

GOALKEEPERS

Rahman AHMADI (Sepahan), Alireza BIRANVAND (Naft Tehran), Mohsen FROUZAN (Esteghlal)

DEFENDERS
Hashim BEIGZADEH (Esteghlal), Morteza POURALIGANJI (Naft Tehran), AmirHossein SADEGHI (Esteghlal) , Vourya GHAFFORI (Sepahan). MohammadReza KHANZADEH (Persepolis) , Habib GORDANI (Tractorsazi) Ramin REZAEIAN (Rah Ahan), Mohammad NEJADMEHDI (Padideh Mashad)

MIDFIELD
Andranik TEYMOURIAN (Esteghlal), Omid EBRAHIMI (Esteghlal), Ehsan HAJSAFY(Sepahan), Khosrow HEYDARI (Esteghlal), Vahid AMIRI (Naft Tehran), Mohammad NOURI (Persepolis), Soroush RAFEI (Foolad Khuzestan), Iman MOBALI (Naft Tehran)

FORWARDS
Sajjad SHAHABZADEH (Esteghlal) , Sardar AZMOUN (Rubin Kazan RUS), Mehdi SHARIFI (Sepahan) , Masoud HASSANZADEH (Zob Ahan)

Esteghlal 7
Sepahan 4
Naft Tehran 4
Persepolis 2
Foolad Khuzestan 1
Padideh Mashad 1
Rah Ahan 1
Rubin Kazan 1
Tractorsazi 1
Zob Ahan 1

9 uncapped players