Miserable day at ACL for Iranian clubs

Only in Iran do we see a team win both home and away games and still get eliminated. 

Yes, it is true. Sepahan, despite winning the return leg 2-1 has been eliminated. It was just in form with the rest of the day (unless one is a Volleyball fan who would have been delighted with the semifinal victory over South Korea) as we saw Zob-Ahan throw away an excellent chance of advancing from the tie with some lackluster and overly cautious performance in the second half and the extra time.

 

Zob-Ahan’s coach, Mr. Ebrahimzadeh failed to heed all the danger signs of the away leg as the Korean club Samsung Bluewings continued to use the flanks and create chance after chance until they scored their equalizing goal (after Ghazi had put Zob ahead, earlier) which seemed to pump most of Zob’s fight out of them. 

But the biggest blow came not from the opponent’s team, but from the referee who, during a Korean set piece, in the melee in our box somehow saw something that even the TV replays from various angles failed to show. Zob’s Ahmadi was red carded and the team left with 10 men. The resultant penalty was slotted and it was literally mission for the 10-man Zob-Ahan who now had to score 2 goals in the remaining 18 or so minutes!

 

I believe Hadadifar’s absence in the middle of the park, controlling and directing the play for Zob Ahan was really a big blow for them and they looked weak in creating opportunities for their forwards.

 

Sepahan was not to be left behind, although they did make a great match out of it. They started very brightly as they scored a goal within the first minute of the game through Emad Reza’s well placed shot from range and doubled their tally by 12^th minute by Ashjari’s long ranger from the middle leaving the Qatari team and their fans jittery and busy biting their nail for most of the match. Halfway through the game, Talebi scored a goal which was correctly called offside, Seyed_Salehi had a great header cleared on the line by the acrobatic Al-Sadd keeper,  and Emad Reza was fouled just outside the box which was wrongfully ignored by the Japanese referee.  

Thus was the story until that infernal and eternal law of football came to play; "if you dont score and make use of your opportunities, be sure that you will concede". Despite dominating the game and possession, creating several dangerous chances, Sepahan conceded a goal near the end of the game which deflated their players and much like their compatriots, Zob-Ahan, stared down the line with little hope of scoring 2 goals in a very short period. But Al-Sadd's coach, the Argentine Fossati's reaction after scoring their only goal of the two leg tie was quite pitiable. Pumping his hands in the air and running around pointing to their club supporters, one would have thought they have beaten Barcelona by 4 goals in the World Club tournament ... and not merely for the single goal in the game that they still lost and made the totaly tally of "scored goals" 3-1 ... had it not been for the foolish mismanagement of Sepahan's officials. It was quite the peculiar reaction of a losing coach indeed.

Thus was the miserable day of Sepahan and Zob-Ahan in their bid to make an all-Iranian semifinal ... which turned out to be a non-Iranian one eventually.

Sepahan in dire straits in Asian Champions League

When will our football officials, be they in the IFF or the clubs realize the desperate need for keeping up with the times and especially the need for a capable set of individuals who are competent in a foreign language and know their way around the internet and official sites like AFC or FIFA. I’m referring to the shameful and tragic elimination of our Omid team qualifiers where they simply forgot or didn’t bother to check the suspension/eligibility list of players prior to their game and foolishly turned a precious away 1-0 win in Iraq to a disgraceful 3-0 loss which resulted in the disheartened and defeated display in Tehran in the return game. We thought with that disgrace our officials would have woken up and made sure such nonsense would never happen again. Enter Sepahan’s quarterfinal game in the Asian Champions League against Qatar’s Al-Sadd and they include Rahman Ahmadi as their keeper (transferred in from Persepolis at the end of last season). They notch up a satisfactory 1-0 home win that gives them a slight upper hand in the tie. But as soon as the game was over, the Qatari officials lodge a complaint to the AFC regarding Ahmadi’s ineligibility due to the two yellow cards he received while he was playing for Persepolis, last season in the very same competition!


Sepahan may yet get away with it as the AFC officials in their list of suspended and ineligible players of the game did not include Ahmadi’s name (Not the first time we see AFC drops the ball and prove to us it is a far cry away from its European and American counterparts). But it still doesn’t take away from the fact that despite the Omid team fiasco, we have not learned our lessons and we continue to swim in the sea of ignorance and unprofessionalism. No matter how high the salaries and contracts are in our football! We only “pretend” to have a professional set up and league with such absurd amounts of money changing hands. Underneath that fast-fading superficial luster, we are as amateurish as they come!

Ps. – Speaking of ACL, we cant not make a note of Zob-Ahan’s precious away point from South Korea. With Zob-Ahan keeping a toehold on the tie with a precious away goal, and if Sepahan gets lucky and puts the blame on the AFC for its negligence in the matter of suspension list, our chances of having an all Iranian semifinal, and thereby, a Finalist (second time for both Esfahani clubs) is still very much alive.

Zob Ahan dodges the bullet?

Looks like after much tumult and speculations, Mansour Ebrahimzadeh has decided to stay put in Zob Ahan and finish his assault on the Asian Champions League. Along with this news, it is reported that most of the roster of the club have decided to extend their contracts with the club, which should keep the structure of the team more or less intact. This is a welcome news which comes at a time that Zob Ahan sees two of its key players, Khalatbari and Talebi leave the club.

I believe with a few key purchases in the transfer season, the club can fill the vacant slots well and continue their impressive campaign in Asia, maintaining the high quality we have come to expect from them in recent years.


Meanwhile, the one man they will find hard to replace is Ebrahimzadeh's talented young assistant, Majid Saleh, who will be seen head coaching another IPL club, Saipa. I believe Mr. Saleh belongs to the few promising young up and coming coaches, the likes of which, unfortunately, we dont have many!

Zob Ahan in total disarray

First it was the news of departure of Khalatbari to a Qatari club, Al-Gharafa, which was bad enough for both Zob Ahan’s ambitions to do one better than last year’s runner-up rank, but to Khalatbari’s own footballing career as hardly any player improves – or even manages to maintain form – once they make the move to the Persian Gulf leagues, and now, there is even more devastating rumors of Ghasem Hadadifard’s move to Qatar’s league!!

The midfield maestro displayed such levels of skills, vision and performance that forced the newly appointed national team coach Queiroz to immediately call him up. But it doesn’t stop with Hadadifard as now, there is talk of Sepahan’s lynch-pin in defense, Hadi Aghili joining yet another Qatari club! Is Qatar trying to emulate what UAE’s league did to our stars?

But a move to the Persian Gulf leagues is nearly a kiss of death as it has been for many other Iranian stars who have been lured away with the promise of money, but in the bargain, wasted years of productivity. Is this a similar fate facing these great players? It would be an utter shame to see a repeat of what happened to the likes of Iman Mobaali, Javad Kazemian and … etc. It has taken great effort on the part of Oladi, Mobaali and Kazemian to claw back to an acceptable level of performance after joining the Iranian clubs. I despair to think the same thing happen to Khalatbari, Hadadifard and Aghili.

But the most depressing aspect of these transfers is what happens to Zob Ahan and their Asian aspirations. It seems the whole club is in such devastating turmoil that it is finding hard to retain any of its key players. Aside from the above mentioned players, another defensive strong-man, Farshid Talebi may be moving to Saipa and with Gordan’s rumors I fear by the time Zob Ahan steps onto the quarterfinals pitch, we shall be seeing a very different team lacking one of its main keys to its recent years’ success; consistency and stability in its roster. Indeed it would be a very sad day to see Zob Ahan’s promising campaign come to a halt due to some ridiculously horrendous management.

At the same time one cannot stay quiet on AFC’s bizarre scheduling of the Asian champions league since it heavily favors those of the East Asian leagues and clashes with the West Asian leagues’ time-tables. Little wonder in recent editions, east Asian teams have been more successful as they come into the tournament fresh and with a stable roster till the end of the games, while the West Asian leagues are going through the second halves of their seasons and with the end of the season team transfers and roster changes, have to continue the tournament often with new teams.
But don’t get me started on the AFC and its peculiar management of football in Asia!

No rest for the weary of Iran

Amidst internal turmoil and personnel shuffles in both Esfahani teams, Iran's two representatives have been paired against two tough opponents for their upcoming Asian champions league quarter-final clash, a daunting task under normal circumstances.

Sepahan is slated to face the Qatari team Alsadd. And they step into this crucial game not knowing who will be their coach and most probably having lost some of their key players such as Ebrahim Toure, Jalal Hosseini and Iran (and probably Asia’s) best goalkeeper, Mehdi Rahmati. Coach Amir Ghalenoei has expressed his disappointment in leaving the club due to failure in negotiations over his salary and contract fee. Although this has not been confirmed by the club management, but all signs point to a change at the helm for the club which couldnt have come at a more crucial period what with the club making a very strong case to win the coveted Asian champions league trophy.

While the yellow camp in Esfahan mulls over its next possible coach, the green camp of Zob-Ahan faces nothing short of disaster as there have been rumors of departure of Mansour Ebrahimzadeh, their capable coach as well as some of the more prominent players like goal tender Shahab Gordan and the little big man, Mohamad-Reza Khalatbari! Considering their quarterfinal clash is against a very competent South Korean Samsung Blue-wings, fans of the club are experiencing some very nervous and stressful times that should last till the end of Iran’s transfer window.

Ironically, after talk of Ghalenoei’s departure from Sepahan, some pundits have disclosed Sepahan’s management may be going after Ebrahimzadeh as a viable replacement. Although other names have been thrown into the bowl as well, such as Luka Bonacic (former Sepahan coach who went as far as Asian champions league final 2 years back) and Perspolis’ Ali Daei.

Those in the know blame the government and its role in reducing the allotted budget for industrial teams that has forced these clubs to have a long look at their yearly budget and affordability of such high profile and imminently successful coaches and players. But this couldn’t have come at a worse time as this year, given the performances of these two teams, really held much promise for the Iranian fans to actually dare imagine seeing an Iranian club lifting the coveted Asian trophy after a more than 20 years gap.

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.

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.