Iran putters along at home against Qatar

Iran draws with Qatar at the expense of our nerves and hair(?)

What was our chance to put some distance between ourselves and the rest of the group (except South Korea, of course) turned out to be one torturous experience and one that taxed our patience. Everything was in place for a good home victory in front of a jam-packed Azadi stadium – something that hasn’t happened  in recent years. We had an internationally renowned coach, a decent squad of players (although injuries to a few like Ghazi, and Dejagah were of concern), an exhausted Qatar fresh from their drubbing by Korea mere three days prior while our team had a rest day. We also recognized the need to get the three points off this game as it would help our campaign tremendously. 

Well, now you can imagine our utter surprise when we first saw the starting line up chosen by Quieroz. Rahmati in goal with Mahini and Pouladi sandwiching Aghili and Hosseini in the back was expected and quite sensible. But it was beyond this line that raised our suspicions and ultimately ire as Quieroz chose to go with not one, but two defensive midfielders, Nekounam and Teymourian! So this was a departure from his earlier chosen formations, months ago, which was a more adventurous 4-3-3. In front of these two were the 33 year old  Karimi in the middle with Hajsafi and Heidari on the flanks. Given the latter two’s characteristics and abilities, it was natural to wonder where the goals would come from as these two aren’t exactly known for their goal scoring ability. And seeing Ansarifard’s name didn’t provide any respite or comfort in this regard either! Ansarifard’s poor performances against the very same Qatar, especially his misses in Qatar were still fresh in our minds. What was going on? What happened to all the claims of victory and leaving the rivals behind?

Our past experience with a single forward formation hasn’t been exactly flattering. Therefore leaving Ansarifard alone up there was quite worrying. Why such defensive posture and caution?  This was a home game with a 100,000 screaming fans against  the tired legs of a freshly beaten team. We were wondering about Quieroz’s game-plans when the game started and we started aggressively, putting pressure on the opponents. However, after the first 10-15 minutes of good pressure, we slowly settled into a pattern of Qatar staying back and defending in mass with only one or sometimes, two players hovering around the midline and with us basing most of our attacks from the flanks with decent pairing of Heidari-Mahini on the right and Hajsafi-Pouladi on the left. Crosses coming with rapidity, which was fine by me, but coming from all sorts of angles and positions, mostly landing in the middle of the box, which proved to be easy for the big Qatari keeper, Qasem Burhan, to collect.

The more we played, the more it became apparent that Quieroz has relied heavily on crosses from flanks. But to whom? The aging Karimi was always a few yards behind and Ansarifard showed he is still not ready to hustle and battle for balls with well-built defenders … be it on the ground or in the air! No wonder majority of the balls were collected quite comfortably by the keeper. But aside from crosses, the only other route exploited by us was long free throws from both side. In fact it was off one such long throw which created our best opportunity to score when Nekounam volleyed slightly off-balanced and hit the bar. Apart from this, there wasn’t much to write home about. Both Karimi and Ansarifard were more or less invisible and Quieroz almost resorted to substitutions (once again, similar to our last game) acknowledging his poor starting line up.  

In this half Rahmati also saw action as the sole Qatari corner saw a dangerous header almost creeping in had it not been for a fantastic reflex save by him. However, just as his save drew much cheer, his inability to exit even for balls that landed in his 6 yard line was exposed. A weakness that has been accentuated in recent months.

The second half, sadly, was no different from the first and the series of aimless (and quite hopeless) crosses was resumed. Didn’t Quieroz speak to the boys about such crosses? Some crosses came as soon as the player had gone past the half-line as if to say “I cross, therefore I am”. Crossing just for the sake of saying “I crossed”! Bringing in the likes of Khalatbari for Hajsafi and later on, Dejagah (fresh from injury) hardly made any palpable impact as we still didn’t have enough bodies in the box meeting all these crosses.

To make matters worse, Qatari players started their usual time wasting tactics, especially their keeper who really stretched the time with his goal kicks and suddenly falling to the ground out of the blue, reeling in pain as if injured by a mortar shell! But while it is easy to point at all the unsportsman-like behavior and time wasting tactics of the Persian Gulf opponents, we have to bear the most blame for the draw as ultimately it was our defensive strategies, bad line up and formation and late substitutions that did us in. Case in point, our third substitution was done on the 90 minute mark by bringing in yet another defensive midfielder, Zareh for the invisible Ansarifard! So we have no-one to blame but ourselves and our inability to correct our mistakes during the game or at the break. Even if the referee didn’t allot a fair amount of extra time for all the time wasting and grass-rolling done.

So we finish the group’s third match-day  with 4 points in second place with Qatar right behind us equaling our points but having played an extra game. No need to press the panic button yet and we still have 6 more games ahead of us. But we could have been in a far better position had we won the game, thus putting a safe distance between us and both Qatar and Uzbekistan. In my opinion, all those issues are secondary to a more pressing item: Quieroz’s strategy in the group as well as each individual game. So far we puttered in our two opening  games. I hate to see yet another World Cup campaign get smoked just because we took it too light and easy early on in the campaign, leaving for the final stress-ridden 3 rapid-fire game scenario come June 2013. We tasted that bitterness the last time and I’m sure we don’t like to experience it again.

Shaky but fortuitous first step for Team Melli

Quieroz falters in our first game, but the referee and FIFA's insane insistence on having no technology tarnishing the beautiful game saves his & our hide.

With the start of the Asian World Cup qualifiers’ final round, Iran had to travel to Uzbekistan to face one of their main rivals in qualification to Brazil. But Iran was fortunate to face a depleted Uzbek side that saw as many  as 5 to 6 players, including stars like Maxim Shatskikh, Tursenov and Djebarov, suspended by AFC for the game. This is the kind of opportunity that knocks one’s door only once in a life-time and we all expected Quieroz to exploit this opportunity to the hilt. Well weren’t we in for a gut-kicking surprise!

The first punch to the gut was when we saw the players walk out onto the pitch and saw quite a new set of arrangement and roster set to start the game. Traktorsazi’s Ebrahimi was the biggest surprise of the day as his debut against Albania hardly encouraged anyone to think of him as a contender for the coveted starting line up. The next and an even bigger surprise was to see no recognized striker among the 11 man squad. What was Quieroz thinking? And while we were raking our heads to find the answer to the above, Pouladi’s absence just put the icing on the cake.

The 11 man team was Rahmati taking on the keeping spot with Montazeri replacing Aghili as Hosseini’s partner in front with Mahini on the right and Pejman Nouri on the left. Nekounam and Teymourian were the expected defensive midfield duo. But then came the strange and I must confess, quite irrational set of 4 players in front of this duo; Jabbari, Karimi, Hajsafi and Ebrahimi. To say this was unexpected is a major understatement. Imagine having your main qualifying opponents on the ropes due to  major suspensions. One would think this is one of those times you must grasp lady luck and squeeze the most out of it by dealing a death blow to a direct qualifying rival, and that too away from home. Apparently Mr. Carlos Quieroz didn’t think so! It seemed he is content with a nil-nil drab draw!!

The first 10-15 minutes of the game also went as expected with the depleted Uzbek team coming in very cautiously and wary of getting hit early on. But once they saw how toothless and impotent our team was, they got more bold and adventurous and started to come out and attack us in droves. Not having a forward in our  team also helped them as their defenders freely stepped up and joined with their midfielders to wrestle the center of the pitch away. It took them no time to actually overwhelm our team and dominate the middle of the park.

Well, it wasn’t only the lack of a forward in our team that facilitated that, as we had quite a few players severely under-performing. Karimi, perhaps had his age to use as excuse for coming in second best in majority of the clashes. But Ebrahimi and definitely Jabbari had no such excuses as these two faltered and bungled passes, runs and any direct clashes with their opponents. It was almost physically painful to watch such a talented line up (on paper) get owned and overwhelmed so easily and quickly by literally Uzebkistan’s reserves.

On the left flank, having two lefties, Hajsafi and Nouri, sort of made this side less vulnerable to the Uzbek attacks. But with Jabbari and Ebrahimi strolling around the park aimlessly and quite uselessly, I must add, the amount of pressure exerted on our right flank became too much to bear on the right fullback, Mahini.  The lad almost always faced at least two attacking opponents which almost always got the better of him. So when Quieroz, late in the first half, subbed Ebrahimi out for Heidari, there was relief that help and corrections will be on the way. And Heidari did help slightly bolster the right flank as he relieved some of the pressure off Mahini. But with Jabbari still aimlessly wandering around the pitch, hardly connecting with any ball, each passing second became an agonizing one for all of us as we wondered what Quieroz was doing or thinking by keeping him on the pitch. Frankly nobody would have been surprised had he taken Jabbari out at minute 20 of the first half itself. But he remained on the pitch for a scandalous amount of time; about 72 minutes … resulting in pretty much zilch!

Nekounam’s biggest contribution in the game was his long distant shot that proved too much for the Uzbek keeper, Nesterov, to handle and he spilled it in a very dangerous fashion with the ball dropping  feet away from him. But since we did not have any forwards in the line up, ready to pounce on such balls, the keeper took a few steps and calmly collected the ball with Karimi and Hajsafi as mere onlookers from distance!

Jabbari’s first and only contribution to the match was when he walked out of the pitch to make way for Khalatbari. Now, with at least one recognized forward, our team took a semblance of shape and with him busying a couple of Uzbek defenders, the amount of pressure on our midfield was reduced. However, we must not forget to credit the ever hard-running Teymourian for his relentless and tireless running to compensate for the lack of input from almost everyone in the midfield, including the captain Nekounam.

But there was much drama awaiting us as the Uzbeks attacked in waves with great pressing tactics, they finally found their way into the goal off a set piece from Geynrikh, as first their shot was mishandled by Rahmati with the ball dropping mere feet away, in front of their forward, Akhmedov, who in his haste hit the post. But the rebound ball was finely met by another attacker and the ball seemed to have crossed the line while Hosseini standing more or less inside our goal-line trying to kick it away. The ball was kicked away and eventually it was kicked farther by the garbled defense with many Uzbek players raising their arms, claiming the goal. But Nishimura, The Japanese referee, didn’t think so as his linesman did not raise his flag. Perhaps his view was obstructed by an Uzbek player blocking the view of the ball on that side. But the TV replays showed the ball indeed had crossed the line and this was a major tragedy for the deserving Uzbek team that gallantly took the match by its scruff and despite their suspensions, applied massive pressure on us.

After that extra lucky break, Quieroz finally brought in another striker, Ansarifard, for Hajsafi and finally made the team look like a real team with two strikers. And that was when for one last time lady luck smiled upon our team. During a final push by the hosts, the never-tiring Teymourian got into the thick of things with two Uzbek midfielders and came up trumps. His pass to the runner, Ansarifard was well timed and placed. But with a glance at the other flank, the most exquisite of passes from the young Ansarifard saw the ball passed to the on-rushing Khalatbari who slotted the ball first time (quite a departure from traditional Iranian strikers’ habit of over-handling the balls) into goal with mere seconds to spare.

One can only feel sad for the unlucky Uzbek team that truly deserved at least a draw. But they will come back stronger and should not be underestimated in their return tie in Tehran.

This win was unbelievable and a tremendous stroke of luck. It also spared Quieroz and Team Melli much blushes as they severely under-performed against an almost reserves side. I’m afraid we used up our  entire depository of luck for the duration of the campaign, all in one game. Quieroz may “announce” to the press he was satisfied with the team and it was all “planned”. But we know better. He has no more room nor excuse to turn up for Team Melli’s following games. Yes, he has a great resume’ filled with great teams and names. But that hardly matters when he gets the starting line up wrong and takes scandalously large amount of time to remedy his wrong picks. We face Qatar in our next game at home and that should be his best chance to put all the doubts to rest and calm all the nerves.

Highlights of the game, courtesy of PFDC-TV :  click here

Battering Bahrain, Iran finally exorcises a ghost

If the ghosts of the 2001 match in Manama were not exorcised by  the  4-2 win in the Asian Cup 2004 or the 1-0 win that sealed Iran’s qualification for the 2006 world cup, then today’s 6-0 route certainly put it to a final rest.

In 2001 Iran lost to Bahrain under extremely suspicious and strange circumstances and ended up watching Bahrain players wave not their flag since they  were already eliminated, but the flag of Saudi Arabia over their heads and rejoice as if it was them who had qualified with this win.  That memory had remained with most Iranian fans and ever since this tie had carried a certain grudge match baggage that have seen plenty of rough and rash plays, scuffles and fights and generally bad blood between the two teams.

But today, Bahrain had nobody else to blame but their usual rough (and often unsportsmanlike) tactics for the disparity the faced for nearly the entire game. A rash two-footed lunge on the feet of Teymoorian saw the Bahraini defender see the (brave) Australian referee whip out the red card. From then on, it was smooth sailing for Iran and an up-hill battle for the Bahrainis.

An early goal within the first 20 minutes also made sure the Bahrain players would not resort to their usual time wasting tactics and they were forced to open up and come forward to get the equalizer. This played right into Iran’s hands as now they were allowed to play football in a more relaxed and open atmosphere.  With some great performances from the likes of Jabbari, Teymoorian and Ghazi we exerted tremendous amount of pressure and eventually scored 3 goals and missed a few more by the halftime.

This was pretty much the same plot for the second half as Teymoorian scored the fourth goal soon. The goal that dropped the heads of the opponents and after this the Red team were only desperately waiting for the referee to blow the final whistle. But Iran was not done yet. With goals from substitutes Ansarifard and Rezaei they finished the match with half a dozen goals that made the 83,000-plus fans  in the stadium jubilant and in festive mood.

Players that impressed were Mahini, who’s been blazing a trail in recent months in both club and national team. Teymoorian, who looked tireless and full of drive and energy. Jabbari, who made Karimi’s absence not felt and Ghazi, whose role as the big, strong center forward  paid off very well. Ghazi’s duties resembled the old Daei who used his body strength and height to gain the upper hand in aerial balls, shield the ball well and feed the surging players from sides. This was a welcome addition to the usual Team Melli strategies as it brought in a British direct style of play into the team.  Flanks and the wide players ruled the day as we had cross after cross raining in on the opponent box which caused much trouble for them.

Another positive was seeing the team attempt long rangers, most of which were either on target or whizzed by very close to the posts. Not to mention the best goal of the game, a thunderous 30+ yarder from Teymoorian.

But it is the final point that brings me joy. And that is to see Team Melli not retreat and retract as soon as it scores a goal or two. Until the dying seconds of the game our lads showed hungry and went looking for more and more goals. This is what has been missing in quite a few years in Team Melli as coach after coach, in continental and international games adopt an overly cautious side that often caused the team to suffer loss of  precious points as they either exchanged wins with draws or in some cases, a defeat. But today I saw the hunger not only in the faces and movement of the players, but also in the face of the coach. And this gives me hope.

Scorers: jalal Hosseini, Mojtaba Jabbari, Hadi Aghili, Andranik Teymoorian, Karim Ansarifard and Gholamreza Rezaei.

Highlights of the game (Courtesy of PFDC-TV, www.persianfootball.com ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6RpQoOmtg&feature=player_embedded

Iran's group in 2nd stage World Cup qualifiers

Iran has been grouped with the following teams in its campaign to reach Brazil's 2014 World Cup, where the top 2 teams advance directly for the final stage:
- Qatar
- Bahrain
- Indonesia

Given the rules of advancement from this group the final stage of the Asian qualifiers, I dont see it a very difficult task. However, we must be aware of a couple of issues.

1- The away games to both Persian Gulf nations would not be without its usual characteristics and antics, even if we put aside the weather factors such as humidity and heat.

And even the away game to Indonesia is nothing to ignore as the Indonesians have proven to be quite formidable at home. Case in point their 4-3 qualification victory against Turkmenistan where more than 80,000 of its fans packed their stadium.

2- The second issue is the scheduling of the games, particularly the two games scheduled for November 2011, where we have to travel to Bahrain and play our away game on 11th of November an then traverse the whole continent to Indonesia to play them on 15th of November. Meaning 2 away games in a span of 4 days with a cross-continental journey involved.

Going by the IFF's dismal record in travel arrangements, I'd venture even if they prepare a chartered plane for the team to travel, the team would still be under tremendous strain and tough conditions for the 15th game. Factors such as humidity and travel fatigue will be compounded by shortage of recovery period between the two games.

So I would caution any fan over thinking this as an easy group where we walk over the opponents.

The complete schedule of our group games is as follows:
2 September 2011
Iran v Indonesia
Bahrain v Qatar

6 September 2011
Qatar v Iran
Indonesia v Bahrain

11 October 2011
Iran v Bahrain
Indonesia v Qatar

11 November 2011
Qatar v Indonesia
Bahrain v Iran

15 November 2011
Qatar v Bahrain
Indonesia v Iran

29 February 2012
Iran v Qatar
Bahrain v Indonesia


The overall Asian groupings:

(click to see larger view)