Persepolis and Daei defend their trophy

Finally Persepolis claimed the Hazfi trophy and the much sought-after ticket to Asia. But the story of the day was Ali Daei’s vindication as the coach who was beleaguered throughout the season (this is not saying he didn’t commit any mistakes himself) and by successfully defending his last year’s cup-winning championship he becomes the first coach to have done so in Iran’s Hazfi competition. This only increases his stance in the club and subsequently, reduces the power and influence of Habib Kashani who apparently became Daei’s antagonist in the club and was an outright critic of him as the season came to a close.


The game itself wasn’t much to talk about and certainly didn’t reproduce the bombastic excitement of the first leg in Azadi. Malavan, much like the first leg, came out very aggressive and attacked Persepolis’ goalmouth in waves. And Persepolis was lucky not to concede on a couple of occasions while Oladi was found mere centimeters short of connecting with the ball to tap in a goal. However, Oladi did score an early goal and kept Anzali-chis’ hopes up for the rest of the match. The second half was even less exciting and both teams went through the motions, peppered with some time wasting done by Persepolis’ keeper, Haghighi.

The post game celebrations, as is the tradition in Iran, was as chaotic and embarrassing as ever with rush of fans and media personnel onto the pitch which usually adds to the commotion and often ends in damaging or breaking of the trophies! I long for the day we see a semblance of a decent trophy ceremony in Iran!

I guess on a favorable note for Daei, Kashani resigned from his post of "temporary" care-taker of the club, which should pave the way for Daei's continued work at Persepolis the following season. But hey, this is Iran and just about anything is possible.

So, Persepolis joins its arch rivals Sepahan, Esteghlal and Zob-Ahan as Iran’s representatives in 2011’s Asian Champions League. Justice done? I leave that to the fans to decide for themselves. But given the current news in transfer market and customary “aid” by Iran’s physical education dept., I still have hope that these 4 teams would be able representatives of our football in Asia.

Persepolis has one hand on the cup

The first leg of the cup final between two traditional powerhouses, Persepolis and Malavan was a cracker of a game and saw plenty of goals and action that lived up to its cup-final billing. Malavan, the guest team came out of the locker room already running and raring to go and took the game to Persepolis. In fact they were clearly the better team in the first half while the stadium was packed with over 65,000 red fans. Oladi, Nozhati and Nouri were in spectacular form and were ably supported by the silky skills of the young Mosalman. They were paid in gold for their gutsy attacking football in scoring the first goal. But having a man sent off late in the half must have thrown the wrench in Poorgholami, Malavan’s coach’s strategy. However, they were given a respite as a former Malavan star, Mazyar Zareh scoffed the penalty and the home team, under tremendous pressure, went into the rest period a goal behind.

The start of the second half provided a vindication Persepolis efforts and they equalized with only 2 minutes into the half. Then Mohamad Nouri’s deft control and shot saw the now 70,000+ fans in the stadium erupt and literally brought the house down with the best goal of the match in my opinion. But that wasn’t the end of the action as Malavan stepped up their game and eventually equalized through a well placed header by the ever impressive Nozhati … not exactly the tallest player on the pitch, by the way.

A man up, and needing at least a couple of extra goals to take to the very difficult away game to Anzali and I was surprised at how Ali Daei stuck to his 4-2-3-1 formation, no matter what. Although Nowroozi and later, Mohamad Nouri’s penalty saved Daei’s blushes, at the time when Malavan saw a second man get the dreaded red card (and deservedly so too). So the first leg ends with a 4-2 score-line and a 9-man Malavan team and promise of more action in Anzali. I was highly impressed with Pejman Nouri and especially Oladi who were a constant thorn in the side of the reds and never allowed their defense line to breath easy. Even when Malavan was a man short.

But at this juncture, I really wonder just what it takes to force Daei to change his system and formation from the lone forward line up. He has shown to be quite adamant about this formation no matter if his team is up or behind, no matter in a home game or an away one, no matter if he is a man down or two men up! This reminds me of one of the most frustrating Team Melli games in recent years when we played the Saudis at Azadi stadium and he stuck to the lone forward formula even after we conceded the equalizer after Shoajei’s goal. And true to form, we still played with a single forward even when we went a goal behind!

Aside from my vehement opposition to the 4-2-3-1 system that I believe does not suit our football and football players, I must question Mr. Daei about the need for variation and flexibility in tactics and formation that is warranted when facing a variety of occasions, circumstances and needs for a game of football. I mean ‘one solution for all problems’ is hardly supportable. Perhaps Daei needs to work on his flexibility as he matures as a great coach.

IPL's top coaches and stars of the season

As we finish the football season in Iran, with Persepolis taking on Malavan for the Hazfi cup and the rights to represent Iran in Asian Club Championship, a look back at some of the success stories of the season may seem fitting.

The top coaches of the year for me are Ebrahimzadeh of Zob-Ahan, Majid Jalali of Foolad and Ghalenoei of Sepahan. Mansour Ebrahimzadeh has shown to be quite a capable manager whose quiet and unassuming style is a breath of fresh air in a football that thrives on controversy. His insistence on team-work and team oriented tactics is another major accolade. Leading a team that in comparison with some of the more flashy clubs in Iran, is frankly lacking in “famous stars”, he managed to bring out the more tactical facets of football to the fore which has made his team into a tremendous force to reckon with inside Iran as well as in Asia. However, it is worrying to see rumors of his departure or transfer of a couple of key players (like Khalatbari, one of Iran’s best currently) due to financial constraints in the club! Let us hope this ends well and the financial woes are swiftly dealt with as Zob-Ahan enters the Asian Champions league’s quarter finals.

Zob's captain, Ghasem Hadadifard, in my opinion, has been a total revelation this year, as he flaunted great skills in passing as well as shooting from range. But most of all it was his vision and ability to spot runs and spaces in the opponents' defense that makes him one of the top playmakers and leaders on the pitch in Iran at the moment.






Majid Jalali has made a name for himself as a thinking and methodical coach, backed by a reliable system and the belief in player development and introduction of fresh talent. This year was no exception as his team, Foolad Khuzestan, displayed some of the pleasing performances in the league and eventually capturing the title of the most attacking team with most goals scored (56 goals) as well as introduction of Reza Nowroozi as the league’s top scorer with 24 goals, breaking the old record of 21 goals set by Reza Enayati. With great emphasis on youth and energy, Foolad became a force in the later stages of the season, climbing to the 6th place behind star-studded teams that also enjoyed massive popular regional support like the two Tehrani teams of Persepolis and Esteghlal, Esfahan’s Sepahan and Zob-Ahan and Tabriz’s Tracktorsazi. So capturing the 6th rank with a very young team is no easy task. But they also reached the semifinals of the Hazfi cup and perhaps may feel undone by refereeing mistakes that denied them a well-deserved penalty against Persepolis. But that does not lessen any of their valiant efforts during the season.

The season saw Foolad introduce yet another batch of young talent to Iranian football in the form of the young, exciting Arash Afshin who attracted many admirers with his explosive style in our Olympics team and then Team Melli. Bakhtiar Rahmani, a capable midfielder who has taken his rightful place in our Olympic team. And lets not forget the revitalized Reza Nowroozi who was discarded from Steel-Azin but was transformed into the lethal striker who, aside from his pace, could threaten the opponent from outside the box as well as in close spaces.





What can be said with Sepahan capturing its second IPL trophy in a row under management of Ghalenoei with the help of a crop of best talent available in Iran? Sepahan could easily rival our national team. Hell, with a couple of changes, it IS our national team. So given the sheer amount of star power at his disposal, it would have been a tragic failure had they not won the league. However, one must give credit when due. The Steel-Azin experiment showed us merely packing your team with famous stars does not guarantee success and Ghalenoei deserves the credit for managing the egos of his stars and molding them into a very tight unit that really shone in the Asian Champions league by advancing to the quarter finals with hardly breaking into sweat.

Mehdi Rahmati needs no introduction as he has been showing magnificent performances for the national team as well as his club in domestic and international matches. So it is beyond any doubt that he was one of the most influential players in Sepahan. However there are rumors of his leaving the club which must certainly be a cause for worry for Sepahan who face even tougher challenges in Asia in their quest for the Asian trophy. What's even more distressing is that with Rahmati's departure, it is expected that another defense stalwart, Jalal Hosseini may follow him to the new club! This is enough to cause sleepless nights for any coach.





Ali Daei can still salvage some glory from this season if his Persepolis manages to defeat a gutsy and resilient Malavan team and win the Hazfi cup. This would be a much needed vindication of him after a season of much turmoil and internal strife that would cripple just about any club. The win would be a fitting reply to all his accusers and critics who fairly and unfairly attacked him throughout the season. But only he knows what is in store for him the next season. Would he stay in Persepolis or will he switch to another club. Tracktorsazi of Tabriz, among a couple of other clubs like Saipa, was rumored to be pursuing his services.

This season, Perspolis, in Alireza Aliasgar had a tremendously talented player who could play almost in every position in the field. But it was when moving forward and attacking the opponents' defense and goal that really made him flourish and a household name in our football. With great pace and ball handling skills he holds much promise for the future.







All in all, a very interesting season for Iranian football and with two representatives in Asian Champions League quarterfinals, we may yet have a great year ahead.