Nekounam out for six months or more!

Madrid - Spanish first division club Osasuna announced on Thursday morning that Javad Nekounam would be out of action for at least six months after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee. The Iranian midfielder suffered the serious injury after being on the field for just four minutes in Tuesday's pre-season Osasuna- Villarreal friendly.Nekounam had only just returned to Osasuna on Monday, after playing for Iran in the Asian Cup.Osasuna must also start the season without fellow midfielder Hugo Viana, out for at least two months after suffering a severely sprained ankle.

Persepolis beat Sanat Naft in their opening game

The IPL kicked off today with Persepolis playing their 1st game against newly promoted Sanat Naft. The game was played in Abadan, in front of a sell out crowd of 26 thousand people. This was Afshin Ghotbi's first game in charge of Persepolis, but he had said that he asked Estili to line-up the team for today's game since he isn't familiar with all the players yet. The game turned out to be very entertaining with a lot of goals. The game ended in Persepolis' way as it ended 3-2 for Persepolis. Ashoobi opened the scoring sheet after he crushed the ball into the corner after Badamaki was able to go past a defender and cross the ball inside. After Sanat Naft conceded the 1st goal, they started attacking and it paid off in the 15th minute when Arab put the ball past Vaezi after a huge mistake by Nosrati. Persepolis was able to take the lead into half time as Badamaki dribbled two players in dramatic form and he laid the ball to Khalili, who made no mistake, and placed the ball in the corner of the goal.

It seemed like Persepolis were going to add on to their margin and win in a comfortable fashion, but this was not the case as De Souza was able to put the ball past Vaezi after the ball was headed to him from a cross. Persepolis was able to keep their cool as they didn't panic and they continued to attack very nicely, and in 81st minute, Nikbakht Vahedi was able to go past the Sanat Naft defender with his tremendous speed and he chipped the ball over the goalie and into the net. Persepolis fans should be hopeful of winning the championship after this game, because they played very attractive soccer and were able to get the three points.

Iraq wins Asian Cup in dramatic fashion

Iraq won their first Asian Cup after they defeated Saudi Arabia in the finals. As everyone thought, this was going to be a very intense match up as it was between two Arabic countries. Saudi Arabia were considered the big favorites as many thought that Iraq had been lucky to get this far. But, Iraq started the game very well and kept on putting the pressure on the Saudis. Iraq played with a lot of passion as they wouldn't stopped attacking and you could feel they wanted it more than the Saudis. Iraq had many opportunities in the first half as Karrar Jassim Mohammed came very close to scoring after he had dribbled past three Saudi defenders, but the Saudi Keeper was able to punch the ball away. Saudi Arabia was finally able to get a goal scoring chance and that came after their captain, Yasser Al Qahtani dribbled past a player brilliantly but his shot was deflected after Jasim threw his body in the way.

It seemed like that Saudi Arabia was going to wake up in the second half and dominate the game, but this was not the case as Iraq continued on dominating the game. They were finally able to open the scoring sheet after Hawar Mulla Mohammed crossed the ball to the far post and Younis Mahmoud was able to put the ball into the net after Al Mosailem misread the pass and was not able to clear the ball. This goal was well deserved as they had many clear chances to score, but were denied by Al Mosailem. Younis Mahmoud had another chance to put the game away after one of the substitutes, with the fresh legs had blown past the Saudi defenders, but Younis was not able to capitalize. But at the end, Iraq defended very well and cleared all the balls near their goal. When the referee blew the whistle, the Iraqi players went wild as they had won the Asian Cup.

This was a huge victory for Iraq, as they are in a war right now, and this will allow the people of Iraq to have a day of joy. Nobody ever thought that Iraq would win the cup, but they played inspiring soccer the whole tournament as they beat Australia, Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Many of their players have also received deals from European teams after their impressing play. Iraq's most important player in this cup was Nashat Akram, as he played well every game, who would distribute the ball around the whole field. It has been said that Nashat Akram has received an offer from Sunderland. This win is a big win around the whole world, as Iraq is a country in huge trouble, and for their soccer team to come and win the Asian Cup, just says about the character of their players.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia through to final

Persopress-The Asian cup final will kick off on July 29th, 2007 with two of West Asia's best teams, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. After beating Vietnam in the Quarterfinals Iraq came up to play South Korea the favorites of the match. We had previously seen Iraq beat Australia in an impressive 3-1 win but it was surprising to see them in the Finals of this tournament. The Iraqis started the first 15 minutes of the match with a good start as they constantly attacked the Korean defense. As the Iraqis wore out we saw the Koreans step up to the plate and create one or two chances but the first half turned out even. The second half was fairly similar as both teams attacked but there were no goals and the game had to go into extra time. The problem with the Iraqi players were that they were getting amazing chances but no one was passing in the penalty box as the Iraqi players all wanted to score themselves. In Extra time Iraq had the upper hand as they had one or two amazing chances but could not convert as the Korean defense would get very lucky to tap the ball inches away from the net. The game would have to go to penalties with the game all tied up at 0-0. Both the Iraqis and Koreans scored their first 3 penalties but on the fourth, Korean Player Yeom shot a poor shot as it was tapped out by Iraqi goal keeper Sabri. Ahmed Mnajed then scored for Iraq but Kim Jung-woo’s final attempt for the Koreans hit the right post as the Iraqis gained their spot in the Asian Cup finals for the first time.

The Saudis defeated 2 time in row Asian Cup Champions Japan in the Asian Cup 2007 Semifinals. The Saudis gained the lead in the 35'th with Yasser Al-Qahtani's shot which deflected of Nakazawa leg only to go in the net. Only two minutes later Nakazawa ran passed Endo to convert in the 37th minute. Malek Maaz the man of the match netted a beautiful goal after running past Nakazawa and Yuki Abe to head Ahmed Al Bahari wonderful cross from the right. Again 5 minutes later Yuki Abe netted an acrobatic scissor kick into the back of the Saudis net. For the second time Japan had canceled out the Saudi but the draw only lasted 4 minutes as Malek Maaz scored for the second time after dribbiling in the penalty box and shooting past goalkeeper Kawaguchi to give the Saudis the lead they needed to book them a spot in the Finals. Japan had one final chance in the 75th as substitute Naotake Hanyu send a roaring shot from long range to hit the corner post and to keep the Saudis in front. The Score ended 3-2 and will give the Saudis a chance to be the first team to win 4 Asian Cup titles.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq will go at it on the 29th while Japan and South Korea will play the 3/4th place match on the 28th. Saudi Arabia will probably be seen as the favorites but there is no way any one can predict what can happen between these two teams. A win for Iraq would be their first Asian Cup Championship while for the Saudis it would be their fourth. The Japan and South Korea match will be to see who will take 3rd or 4th place thus not allowing Korea or Japan to take the first place title.

South Korea Advances to Semifinals of Asian Cup, Leaving Iran in its Wake

Iran 0-0 South Korea

(South Korea win 4-2 on Penalties)

PersoPress- South Korea’s defensive performance saw them overcome their Asian rivals Iran on a wet and rainy day in Malaysia. Iran and South Korea have met four times in the last four Asian Cups, meeting once in each tournament. The tournament in 1996 provided a 6-2 victory for Iran, with the tournament in Lebanon in 2000 giving Korea a 2-1 victory in extra time in the quarterfinals. Iran won the last meeting in 2004 in an enthralling end-to-end encounter in 2004, so many fans turned out to watch the next episode of Iran and Korea, expecting another high-scoring game. However, that was not to be.

Iran came onto the field with high expectations as favorites to win the tournament. Surprisingly, Amir Ghalenoei opted to make four changes to his squad that defeated Malaysia. However, it was his side that made the brighter start, and on the run of play maybe should have scored a couple of times in the match, had it not been for a couple of awful offside calls from referee Al Badwawi. The best chance that fell to Iran was an Ali Karimi effort that was smothered by Woon-Jae Lee in the Korean goal. A lucky bounce saw the Iranian midfielder through on goal, only to see his shot stopped by the plucky Korean. The veteran proved vital in this match, and would continue to prove his importance throughout. However, South Korea was unable to make many openings of their own, and their young team, led by Pim Verbeek, could only muster a disappointing free-kick in the opening stages. Keeper Hassan Roudbarian was left with little to do after a poor first half from both sides.

On the heavy pitch, neither team was able to sustain a flowing passing rhythm. Mistake after mistake at the start of the second half saw no side dominate, but also saw neither side give in. Rahman Rezaei, Jalal Hosseini, and Mohammad Nosrati performed heroically in the Iranian defense, cutting off any sort of danger by South Korea in open play for nearly the full 120 minutes, saving Iran from the few unsuccessful efforts the Koreans could muster in the match. Iran was able to penetrate the Korean defense with more meaningful attacks, but keeper Woon Jae-Lee and defenders Kim Jin-Kyu, Kim Sang-Sik, Kim Chi-Woo, Oh Beom-Seok, and Kang Min-Soo did their part to keep Iran out, although Iran became less and less difficult to handle as the match progressed.

Iran looked the more positive side at the beginning of the second half, having a foray or two on goal with the occasional shot here and there. Once again, however, they relied on Ali Karimi to do most of the work in the midfield, while Andranik Teymourian and Javad Nekounam were struggling to create any openings in the South Korean defense.

Despite the edge in possession and overall chances in Iran’s favor, South Korea was able to muster a threatening spell of possession in the last five minutes with a few successive free kicks that defender Jalal Hosseini did well to clear. At the end of 90 minutes, both teams cancelled each other out and left an unpredictable extra-time period looming.

The extra-time period was rather uneventful, but contained an Iranian attack that may well have changed the outcome of the game. Ali Karimi beautifully skipped by three Korean defenders with brilliant skill and left it off for Javad Nekounam, who crushed it wide of the stranded Woon Jae-Lee’s left-hand post. However it wasn’t meant to be in extra-time for Iran either, seeing that South Korea wanted to settle the match on penalties. However, one notable substitution was that goalkeeper Hassan Rodbarian came off for youngster Vahid Talebloo in the closing stages of extra-time.

In penalties, South Korea and Iran made both of their opening spot kicks, but when the Koreans scored their second, Woon Jae-Lee saved Mahdavikia’s kick, making it 2-1 to the Korean side after four kicks. However, Vahid Talebloo quickly spared Mahdavikia’s blushes with an unorthodox, but fantastic save against Kim Do-Heon. Reza Enayati made it 2-2 for Iran, before the Koreans took the lead again after another solid penalty. However, Rasoul Khatibi, the most disappointing player of the night, stepped up to keep Iran on level terms. The Iranian forward couldn’t muster any kind of threatening shot on goal all night, and it proved that his night got worse as he scuffed an effort down the middle for Woon Jae-Lee to kick-save. This left South Korea with a 3-2 lead and a chance to clinch the victory, which seemed unlikely at the start of the evening. However, a fantastic penalty by Kim Jung-Woo sent Talebloo the wrong way, thus ousting Iran for a semi-final date with Iraq.

Special thanks to: ~Kory Kianpour

Preview : Iran Vs South Korea

Persopress- For the fourth time in the last four Asian Cups Iran has to play South Korea in the quarter finals. In 1996 Iran crushed Korea 6-2 in an amazing match in which Ali Daei scored 4 goals. In 2000 Iran was defeated by the Koreans 2-1 in overtime and in 2004 Iran defeated Korea in a thrilling back to back goal match which ended 3-4 with Ali Karimi's hattrick. Now in 2007 Iran and Korea meet again to continue this very coincidental tradition and to delight every soccer fan in the world. This game is key as the winner of this match will play Iraq in the Semis which are seen as the minnows of the Asian Cup finals as the other Semifinals match will be played by Japan and the winner of the Saudi Arabia - Uzbekistan match.

Whatever Ghalenoi's tactical plan is for the Asian Cup it should be unleashed in this match as this match could cost Iran a lot. Korea is coming with a lot of new and young players unlike Iran which has a fairly average aged team. Korea's coach Pim Verbeek agrees that Iran is a better team and are the favorites but states that has young Korean team has a good chance of winning this intense game. “I think that they’re right because they are an experienced team, they have a lot of foreign-based players and so far they’ve played well. But although we may not have better players, we have a very strong team and I think we will win the game tomorrow.”

It has been announced and confirmed by many news sources that this will be the formation tommorow (3-5-2) for the Iran - South Korea match.

----------------------------Roudbarian---------------------
-----------------------------Nosrati------------------------
------------------Hosseini----------Rezaei-----------------
--------------------------Nekounam-----------------------
----------------Kia----------Ando---------Madanchi------
-----------------------------Karimi------------------------
------------------Hashemian-------Khatibi-----------------

Khatibi has replaced Enayati, Nosrati and Madanchi replace Mobali and Zandi. Fereydoon Zandi is a very good player as we saw in the China match but he has not been put in his own position and has been playing Left Back under performing of what has been expected of him. Mobali did not do so well against China and that is whiy he will be replaced by Madanchi. Kazemian will probably be used as a sub and maybe Kaebi or Mobali will also be subbed in depending on what the score is and how we are playing.

The times of the Iran vs Korea game are listed below!
Sunday 22 July 2007
18.20 Local Time
Iran vs. Korea Republic at National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

*Different Time Zones
18.20 Malaysia Time
13.50 Tehran Time
14.20 Dubai Time
12.20 CET (Berlin, Amsterdam)
11.20 London Time
06.20 AM Eastern Time
05.20 AM Central Time
03.20 AM Pacific Time
20.20 Melbourne Time

Cant watch the game on Iranian Sattelite? Watch the game online at www.glwiz.com . Register at Glwiz and watch it on Tapesh !

Iran tops the group after defeating Malaysia

Persopress- Iran went to their last game in the group stages only needing a draw to book their spot in the quarterfinal, but they wanted to become 1st in their group because they wanted to stay in Malaysia and avoid playing Saudi Arabia and winner of Japan-Australia. They went into the game wanting to score a lot because China's goal difference was better and if Iran and China had tied then, China would have had the advantage. Iran's starting line-up was the same as the line-up we used in the beginning of the 2nd half against China, except Karimi was in instead of Kazemian. It was obvious from the beginning of the game that Iran was going to attack, while Malaysia had all their players packed in their own field, and were defending with all their capabilities. At the Beginning of the game Iran had 3 clear chances, which ended up hitting the post. Hashemian hit the post twice after his shot was saved by the goalie and Enayati also hit the post after he had hit the ball past the goalie. Iran kept attacking and it finally paid off after Karimi was taken down in the box and the referee awarded Iran a penalty. Javad Nekounam picked up the ball and placed on the spot and he drilled the ball in the top right hand corner. The score was 1-0, but Iran was not convinced as they started their attack again. Malaysia's best chance in the game came right before halftime as one of their players chipped the ball and it was going over Roudbarian and into the goal, but Roudbarian made a magnificent save. The score stayed 1-0 going into the half.

Iran made one sub at the beginning of the 2nd half and it was Khatibi replacing Enayati, who didn't get too many goal scoring opportunities. Iran started out the game the same way they had been playing, attacking with full force. Karimi started to pick up his game as he played better than the previous two games. He started creating chances with his dribbling and nice passes, he almost scored after he dribbled a player in the box, but his shot was deflected. Iran made 2 more subs, as they brought in Kazemian for Mobali and Rajabzadeh for Hashemian, who didn't have a good performance at all. These subs made some impact as Kazemian with his speed created some chances. And one of them turned into a goal as he passed the ball to Teymourian, who had three defenders on him, but he faked a shot and dribbled the player and put the ball past the keeper. After this goal, Malaysia became a little hopeless, while Iran gained confidence and continued on attacking. They had another great chance after Karimi shot the ball and the goalie saved it, but the ball bounced up and it hit the post, Karimi couldn't believe it as he fell onto the ground, wondering where his luck has gone. Karimi played much better and it seems like he has gained a little confidence from his performance, but Iran's best player today was Javad Nekounam, who was rewarded the Man of the Match again. The game ended 2-0, but with the amount of chances Iran had it could have easily been 6-0. But the important thing is that Uzbekistan beat China, so Iran topped the group with 7 points in three games. Iran will play Korea in the quarterfinals in Malaysia, meaning they don't have to travel, which is definitely a positive. It seems like every time we go to the 2nd round, we have to play Korea. We have played Korea in the 2nd round in the last four Asian Cups. Hopefully, it will turn out to be the same way as it was last Asian Cup as we defeated Korea 4-3, in one of the best games in the last decade.

Quarter Finals:

1) Japan vs. Australia
2) Iraq vs. Vietnam
3)Iran vs. Korea Republic
4) Saudi Arabia vs. Uzbekistan

Preview : Iran Vs Malaysia

Persopress- The Iranian side will play group minnows Malaysia tomorrow to determine if they can come out of their group 1st place or not. Team Melli has had many rumors, problems, and successes in the past 2 days that many have been uninformed of. Iran has 5 yellow cards that could make a difference in Iran's game, Mahdavikia, Andranik, Nekounam, Rezaei and Madanchi all have been handed yellow cards and have to be cautious not to get another card against Malaysia. Team Melli fans were thinking that Ghalenoi would probably use most the subs as we do not want anyone to get injured or benched because of a red card in the quarters but it is not so. Iran will come out with full force to destroy Malaysia so we are insured a 1st place spot in our group. Becoming 1st place does not only guarantee a game with a possible Indonesia or Bahrain, and even in the Semis we will play the winner of Iraq and Vietnam, but also guarantees staying in Malaysia for the quarterfinals. Traveling would be very difficult for Iran as they have gotten used to the weather and hotel in Kuala Lampur. On the other hand if we become second we would play Saudi Arabia and if we win that game we would have player the winner of the Australia Japan game whihc would make things a lot harder for Team Melli putting besides that point that we would have to travel to different places for each game. It would be to Iran's benefit that Uzbekistan wins or ties China in case Iran is not able to score more than 5 goals against Malaysia to insure the 1st place spot.

There have been many rumors about Ali Karimi, about how mad he got since he had been subbed out at the half. The truth is he was mad and after the game he was the first one on the bus and the first one in the his hotel room not even staying with the players in the hotel lobby. Possible rumors that Karimi was even willing to come back to Tehran because of how he was treated was in the news. The whole team realized that Karimi was in a bad state and Ghalenoi decided to call on Jalali and Fazeli two close people to Karimi to talk to him about what had happened and try to calm him down. After this talk Karimi felt somewhat better and was now talking and playing with the team rather than listening to his Ipod. The game against Malaysia will be huge for Karimi as Karimi's game is built upon confidence in himself and if he can prove himself in the Malaysia game we can be sure that he will do great against the rest of our opponents.

In a press conference today Karimi was asked why he does not do dribbling and individual talent as much as before and he replied he wanted to be team player but he is willing to show his individual skills only when he has the opportunity, Ghalenoi also stated that Iran likes to play a team game but should allow individual skills to shine in our game against Malaysia.

Nosrati has been identified as an option for him to play against Malaysia as he has been injured for the Asian Cup but slowly he has come back and has trained with Team Melli but in case he is not capable of playing, Sadeghi is also available as news has came in that the rumors of him being kicked of the team was not true and he did practice with the team today. There won't be much pressure on Iran's defense as Malaysia's coach has announced they are going to play a very defensive game. “We have to expect that the Iran side will be going all out against us. Our approach will therefore have to be a defensive one tomorrow." Coach Norizan's plan is to allow the least goals so that they could leave the Asian Cup with a small amount of respect. “Everyone is expecting Iran to win, so we have to be realistic. They need a big win and so therefore we have to try and stop them doing that by limiting the number of goals they score.”
These ideas will only help Iran as we saw in the China match Iran scored two goals in the second half when China suddenly started playing a defensive game after they were up two.

So many options come for Ghalenoi that it will be hard to decide which player he can put in against Malaysia but one player that has given Ghalenoi a chance to take another look at is Mobali. After he was subbed in for Karimi in the China game he play very well. Efficient passing, nice crosses, and an amazing shot only to be deflected by the goalies hands gives Mobali the upper hand over some players in playing at tomorrow's game. Mobali does not have to be put in the game instead of Karimi since Ghalenoi will most probably play a 4 man midfield giving him the option to put Karimi and Mobali in at the same time.

Hashemian, Nekounam, Mahdavikia, and an impressive Zandi will probably play while there may be some doubts for Teymourian even though he is not suspended. Rezaie and Hosseini are as our defensive are a must as they are the top defensive players we have. We are uncertain if Kaebi will play but chances are very slim for start but he may be subbed. Kazemian's play against China was not so impressive and he may not be even played for the whole match as Iran will probably not need a speed boost in this match. Enayati on the other hand, noted by many fans as Ghalenoi's favorite from Esteghlal will probably play as a left forward again even though he not showed anything significant in any of our matches. He may though be effective in the match against Malaysia as he has known to be able to finish very well against weak teams, but if not then we hope that Ghalenoi will bench him for the rest of the Asian Cup unless Hashemian gets injured in which then Enayati can play his actual position for Team Melli. As for formations rumors have been in that Iran will play a possible 3-4-3 formation seeking a full attack against Malaysia. This will hopefully give the chance for Mahdavikia to shine as he has not been playing his best in a defensive role in which Ghalenoi has put him in.

Team Melli is due to play at 20.35 Local time on July18, 2007. The time converts are as listed:

Different Time Zones:
20.35 Local Time
16.05 Tehran Time
16.35 Dubai Time
14.35 CET (Berlin, Amsterdam)
13.35 London Time
08.35 AM Eastern Time
07.35 AM Central Time
05.35 AM Pacific Time
22.35 Melbourne Time