Classy Barca

What made this year's UEFA champions league final a magnificent occasion in world football?

Was it the grand occasion of two of the biggest clubs in the world meeting in one of the biggest football venues?
Was it the pleasing display of total football by Barcelona?
Was it the mesmerizing mastery of the ball by Messi?
Was it the pomp and weight of the quality shown in the midfield by Xavi and Iniesta?
Was it the comfortable ease with which Barcelona brushed United aside?
Was it Xavi's exquisite passing and feeding of his team mates?
Was it watching Messi nutmeg nearly each and every United player and his cousin at least once?
Was it Sir Alex's nervous clenching and unclenching of his fists as he helplessly watched his players chase shadows due to Barca's fluid passing and constant movement?
Was it defeating the pride of England, in England, in front of thousands of rabid English fans (not to mention rubbing it in on the biased and often cocky British media and football experts)?

Although each one of the above would provide ample reason for a football fan to stand in ovation and salute the celebration of football, the football that we all deserve to see, but what provided the classiest moment on that Saturday evening was the pure class of first Xavi who offered the captain’s arm band to Puyol, who in turn wrapped the band around the arms of Eric Abidal, the player who was diagnosed with liver cancer a mere 4 months back. The player who fought back the dreaded “C” and defeated it and found enough reserves within his mortal shell to get back to training and eventually be able to strut his skills on the football pitch of the most watched club football game in history. The absolute class of captain Puyol for showing us why he is the heart of the club and why Barcelona is far more than just a football club. It was only fitting for Abidal to be the player who lifts the champions league trophy to immortalize the club's never say die spirit and the quest for perfection. The player who faced the greatest test of human spirit head on and defeated it in style.

"Barcelona - Manchester United" weekend bash

With the two spirited victories by Iranian clubs at Asian champions league, I'm expecting a hat trick of joy when Barcelona defeats Manchester United in London this weekend. One thing is for sure, though. Unlike the series of El Classico's we witnessed when under Jose Mourinho Real Madrid resorted to some shameful negative football (a total waste of potential if you ask me, given the sheer number of skilled stars at their disposal), I seriously doubt Sir Alex would lower himself and his team to that level.

I expect a very spirited and hard fought match between two of the most popular clubs in the world. And may the best team (Barca, of course) wins.

Zob Ahan, a class above Asia

Zob Ahan’s game had everything a Hollywood blockbuster needs; Drama, fast paced action, flair & trickery, tears and even one deadly missile. But what stands out the most in this game for me is how truly elegant and classy they performed as a team. Today Zob Ahan could have been a team playing in a top European league vying for honors.

I don’t know if I should start with their fluid passing, positional plays, constant movement that confounded the Saudi team, their intelligence or the sheer amount of flair and skills displayed by many of its players, with Khalatbari at the top of the heap.

Khalatbari was an unstoppable dynamo who ran riot throughout the match and Al-Nassr simply did not have a response to his runs, dribbles, passes. Some friends in PFDC compared him with a certain Lionel Messi. Today, I think this comparison was not beyond imagination. Yes, he was THAT GOOD. Oh, and by the way, he had 2 magnificent assists that resulted in a 2-0 scoreline with hardly 5 minutes into the game.

The first goal saw him weave through a crowd of Saudi defenders as if they were sticks rooted in the ground, supplying Ghazi with a deft pass. And Ghazi picked up where Khalatbari dropped off and he, in turn, scrambled the defenders even more and slotted the goal by the hapless goal keeper.

Khalatbari, then, supplied the corner through which Igor Castro scored an easy header and the first of his brace. From this moment on, Zob Ahan was in control of match and except a few minutes in the middle of the second half, they never relinquished this control till the final whistle.

But the drama was just starting in a match that saw the Al Nassr coach forced to make substitutions in 32nd minute and then by 45th minute, desperately trying to wrestle some control of the ball and make a headway. However it was not so as the Iranian midfield maestro, Hadadifard, produced one of his signature through passes that fed Castro who shot past the keeper to score his second and put Zob Ahan 3-0.

This had a feeling of a rout from the beginning of the game and things were moving according to the script. So much that even the opponent’s lone goal didn’t really faze the Isfahani team and they stuck to their coach, Ebrahimzadeh’s plans which saw the best goal of the Asian Champions League as their fourth. A long range cruise missile by Shahin Kheiri, zeroing in on the crumbling Saudi goal keeper which finally broke the opponents’ resistance … not to mention make the keeper weep!
In a game that saw Zob Ahan score 4 goals and fail to score at least another 4-5 goals, we also must give credit to a defender, Ahmadi, who saved at least 3 one-on-ones with impeccably timed tackles.



All in all, this was a magnificent display of prowess by a team that has made intelligent and team oriented football its trade mark and sits on top of the Asian clubs’ ranking in the world (fifa). While Sepahan’s game yesterday provided great satisfaction for the Iranian fans, Zob’s game was an absolute joy to watch. Thank you Mr.’s Ebrahimzadeh & Saleh for preparing a team that oozes class and intelligence. Thank you very much.

Sepahan sweeps Bunyadkor aside on its way to quarterfinals

Asian Champions League, Pre-quarter final stage. This year Isfahan has established itself as the football capital of Iran with two great teams, Sepahan and Zob-Ahan representing Iran in Asia. What makes this year's edition more exciting for us football fans is this year we have two strong candidates who can vie for the trophy and go toe to toe with the best of Asia.

However, Sepahan and Zob-Ahan's similarities end here. While Sepahan is a team jam-packed with super-stars and highly skilled individuals each of whom is a household name, Zob Ahan represents a collective and tight unit of players who have created a team in its truest sense. More on Zob Ahan tomorrow as they face the Saudi team Al-Nasr. But today, Sepahan literally steamrolled over the Uzbeks team Bunyadkor who are no slouches themselves. A team that made a lot of noise and a name for itself a few years ago in Asia by hiring one of the world's top coaches Scolari and a roster that included a few South American stars, one Rivaldo at the top of the list.

But history and record books were of no help to the Uzbek team as Sepahan played a fast attacking game in the first half that is seldom seen in Iranian clubs in Asia. Sepahan players did whatever they wanted to do and surged in wave after wave, threatening the opponents' goal at whim.

However, Ibrahim Toure's immature and careless attitude finally caused some concern among the Isfahani team by receiving a red card at minute 56, therefore forcing Sepahan to play the next 35+ minutes one man short. And true to form, there were a couple of humps and wobbles on the way with the Uzbeki team taking advantage of their extra man and for minutes applied tremendous pressure on Sepahan's back line. However sepahan's third goal sealed the game and after Aghili's penalty it was just a matter of controlling the game and running down the clock.

I am extremely happy to see Sepahan perform at such high levels against some tough Asian opponents and this year may finally be the year we see an Iranian club lifting the coveted trophy after a gap of nearly 20 years. Sepahan has shown they have the right tools to make this dream come true and I dare say they are among the favorites and it would take a major obstacle to keep them away from the trophy. Will they remain professional until the last minute of the final game or lose their nerves like Zob Ahan in last year's edition?

A new day

With a new day and a new chapter for Iranian national team, known as "Team Melli" all Iranian fans' eyes will be glued to the new roster and how Iran's new coach, one Carlos Queiroz starts his campaign in Iran. Queiroz, who has had stints in Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal's youth and seniors' national team, is reputed to have a keen eye in spotting and scouting young talent, introducing now-established stars like a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruis Costa and Luis Figo.



At the outset the Portuguese coach has called up a larger pool of players out of which he will be selecting his final 23 man squad for the upcoming official games. He has decided to reveal his picks of Persepolis, Sepahan and Zob-Ahan, due to participating in Asian Champions League and Iran’s Hazfi cup, at a later date.

Esteghlal Tehran - Sadeghi, Montazeri, Jabbari, Borhani, Mobali
Traktor Sazi Tabriz - Teymourian, Ebrahimi, Nosrati, Mohammadi
Mes Kerman - Dehnavi, Seifi, Pouladi
Steel Azin - Gholami, Zeneiedpour
Shahrdari Tabriz - Daghighi, Baou
Rahahan - Roudbarian, Abdi
Foolad Khuzestan - R. Noroozi, Hamoudi
Malavan Anzali - Noori, Oladi
Saipa Karaj - Abbas Rezaei
Sanat Naft Abadan - Arab
Shahin Bushehr - Karami
Peykan Ghazvin - Mirzapour
And we see the return of one of the most popular players in recent history; Ali Karimi.

With the expected call ups from the 3 aforementioned teams, we can consider CQ has a very hard task of choosing his final roster from this pool of players.