Tag: Vahid Hashemian

Team Melli Head Coach

Queiroz’S cryptic message!

Carlos Queiroz has sent a cryptic message to the Iranian football community, with a motive that is far from prudent and borders a malicious act!

In a message published on the official FFIRI website, Queiroz praised coaches such Amir Ghalenoei, Javad Nekounam and Mehdi Mahdavikia.

In his message, he said “Football is a game were people have different opinions, and we , the football family, learn that in this game, whether we agree or disapprove on some points, we still have respect for each other. I always admire the courage and valor of my fellow professionals when they rise up and fight for the principles and values that protect the interests of football. For example: Ali Parvin, Ali Daei, Amir Ghalenoei, Winfred Shaefar, Javad Nekounam, Yahya Golmohammadi, Hossein Kalani, Mehdi Mahdavi Kia and Vahid Hashemian. If there is a name in this list of “high courage and personality” that I have missed, accept my apology.

There is very little doubt in any one close to the affairs of Iranian football that this is another dig by Queiroz against his nemesis Branko Ivankovic. However, the timing of this message seems to be strange, especially when Queiroz and his squad are less than a month from the AFC Asian Cup. Queiroz has always demanded peace and tranquil atmosphere during his preparations with Team Melli but such message is not exactly what he preaches, and clearly intended to score a point in his long running dispute with the Croat coach of Persepolis.

Persepolis club with its influence and popularity is fundamental in the support and success of Team Melli. With its massive fan base and supporters across Iran and beyond, the majority of whom have clearly sided with their coach and shouted slogans against Queiroz, this message and exclusion of Branko Ibankovic name from the list of dedicated servant of Iranian football, is ill-timed.

The Croat coach who has served as assistant coach to Miroslav “Ćiro” Blažević and then  head coach of Team Melli twice, taking Iran to the World Cup in 2006, winning the Asian Games Gold medal and winning third place in Asian Cup 2004 in China, he remains one of the most decorated coaches of Team melli. Branko Ivankoivic is undoubtedly a candidate of any such list

Is Jahanbakhsh the next one that generates AZ millions?

With a hat-trick in his most recent game against Vitesse, Alireza Jahanbakhsh (24) not only took a giant step to the top scorer title. The Iranian is increasingly launching itself as one of the hottest transfer objects of the premier league this summer.

By Nik Kok

That is also the view of technical director Max Huiberts of AZ. In Alkmaar, the telephone does not ring for his star, but the list of foreign scouts that attends matches of the proud cup finalist rises almost every home gamel. “I would prefer Alireza to stay with us for a very long time,” says Huiberts, as does trainer John van den Brom, who voiced that desire shortly after the game against Vitesse. “I hope we can still enjoy him for a long time to enjoy.”

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If I were an interested club, I would also do business before the World Cup

Max Huiberts

But at AZ they also know well that scoring wingers like Jahanbakhsh are extremely popular. “A good winger in the league scores, in my opinion , between eight to twelve goals in a season and delivers about as many assists. Alireza is already at eighteen goals. That is really unprecedented. More than Lozano, for example, but also more than the wingers of Ajax. ”

Anyone who wants to do business at AZ next summer does not have to argue in Alkmaar that an AZ player should cost less than that of a traditional top club. If you argue that way I would say that it should be more, because here at AZ he is already able to score more than the players of those clubs. “

Who knows, there is a transfer à la Vincent Janssen ahead of Jahanbakhsh. He transfered from AZ to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2016 for more than twenty million euros. Janssen failed in London but Huiberts suspects that a transfer from Jahanbakhsh will not play any part. “Even if you had to ask those foreign clubs. Of course, I do not know exactly how they think. And I honestly do not worry too much about that. Alireza has a contract with us until the summer of 2020. “

Next summer

What may also play a part later are the performances of Jahanbakhsh at the World Cup next summer. He plays with his country Iran against, among others, Iniesta and Ronaldo. Iran is a with Spain and Portugal (and Morocco) and knows that he will be watched by the whole world in the coming summer. ” If I was an interested club, I would also do business before the World Cup “, says Huiberts with a smile.

The category of clubs that will be attractive for Jahanbakhsh will not be scared for its non-EU salary. In recent months he hinted to prefer the Bundesliga, where many of his countrymen caused a furore. It was because of Ali Daei and Vahid Hashemian that the little Jahanbakhsh once started playing football. The club that later will give him a footballer in return will be loved in the players group and adapts quickly. “Alireza comes from a completely different culture, but he has proven that he can keep his position in Europe”, says Huiberts, “But do not be fooled, he is no longer that likeable boy in the field. Her is there to win.”

Glorious days for Iranian strikers in Europe.

Team Melli strikers in Europe, are rewriting the history and reaching feats that their predecessors did not manage or was unthinkable. 

Reza Ghoochannejad, Sardar Azmoun , Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Karim Ansarifard the four players who happened to be all playing up front in their teams have done Iran’s football pride by consistently scoring goals in the most competitive of leagues.

Reza “Gucci” Ghoochannejad , who had a torrid couple of season in the lower English League and Persian Gulf countries, gradually found his form after transferring  to SC Heereneveen in the Eredivisie. Gucci scored his 14th goal of the season yesterday in a 3-0 win against Roda JC Kerkrade .

Sardar Azmoun, the golden boy of Iran has scored 7 goals for his team in various competitions, including 4 goals in one season of the UEFA Champions League. He is the only the second Iranian player to score in this competition after Ali Daei who scored 6 goals in two seasons for Hertha Berlin in the UEFA Champions League.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh who has been playing professional in the Eredivisie for 4 seasons now although he is only 23, has enjoyed a good run with his club AZ Alkaamar. He has already doubled his tally from last season scoring 6 goals so far for the Dutch club.

Karim Ansarifard whose football career was seriously being undermined while warming the bench at segunda Division Osasuna in Spain, made it good after transferring to the Greek league. With Panionios he scored 14 goals in one a half season before being grabbed by the league leader Olympiakos Piraeus in the winter transfer window. Karim already opened his account with Olympiakos by scoring a brace in UEFA Europa league against Turkish side Osmanlispor.

.It has never been so good for Iranian players in European leagues. Household names such as Ali  Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi , Vahid Hashemian, Karim Bagheri and host of other Iranian players played in Europe especially after that famous FIFA 1998 World Cup. However, despite the relative success , it is definitely not comparable to the success that the current group is enjoying in Europe despite Team Melli lack of success or achievement.

 

Mayeli-Kohan is sentenced to 4 months in Jail.

 

The saga of Iranian coaches misdemeanors and adventures continues unabated , this time off the field.

Former Team Melli coach, Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan has been sentenced to 4 months in prison and 100,000 tomans fine following a guilty verdict in a Tehran court. The plaintiff was none other than Persepolis coach Ali Daei who accused Mayeli-Kohan of slander, defamation, insult and smear campaign. These two have a history of differences and conflicts going back to 1997 when Mayeli-Kohan was the coach of Team Melli and Ali Daei was the striker.

daei-profile

Following some arguments & disagreement  between them, Mayeli-Kohan decided to kick Ali Daei out of Team Melli in a crucial period during the qualification rounds of the 1998 World Cup.  That decision created a lot of controversy and debate as Ali Daei was the marquee player of the team. Mayeli-Kohan critics were increasing in numbers and quite vocal in the media. Following the loss to Qatar in Doha, Mayeli-Kohan himself was sacked as the coach of Team Melli. Daei was immediately restored back to the team and the rest is history. Since that period, Mayeli-Kohan has become a sworn enemy of Daei, whom he privately accused to be behind a campaign to dislodge him from Team Melli. Mayeli-Kohan  took every opportunity to attack the current Persepolis coach in public without chewing his words, accusing him of corruption , profiteering , and abusing his position.

This verdict by a judge in a Tehran court comes out as a shock for the football community.  Coaches and players are notorious for slander accusation in the media, which in reality thrives on such news. Tales, accusations, threats to reveal it all , claims and all sort of allegations are quite common in Iranian football that is suffering from one of the worst periods on and off the field. The millions of dollars of tax-payers money that are earned by footballers and coaches, is not reciprocated by good results , performance  and behavior.

A verdict such as this is probably a good thing that should scare a few of them to keep their opinions to themselves and refrain from accusations without proper evidence.

Mayeli-Kohan can appeal the sentence or buy out his jail period. Failure to do that, the controversial Mayeli-Kohan will end up being incarcerated.   Nader Faryad-Shiran , Mayeli-Kohan protégé and longtime associate , who was also named in the same case was given a 91 days jail sentence suspended for one year.

Iranian domestic coaches have been exclusively making the headlines in the last few weeks and all for the wrong reasons.  The controversial issues and news surrounding the Iranian football coaches can fill a few books and leave no space for other news , if meticulously reported.

hashemian2 Yesterday , Ghalenoei managed to infuriate many reports and the media plus the refereeing community with his disparaging comments, while Vahid Hashemian, who is not even a fully qualified coach yet but attending a coaching course in Germany, accused the football establishment in Iran of corruption and nepotism when it comes to selecting coaches for their teams.   Hashemian said that “capabilities and credits of a coach does not matter in Iran, it is his connection that works for him and gets him lucrative contracts that he probably does not deserve.” 

References:

Kayeli-Kohan statement after the verdict in Farsi