4th Day of Training

Persopress-Training resumed today after the players were given a rest for a day. The training started on a high note as Rahman Rezaei finally came to camp and Khatibi trained after having some injury problems. The team did some some fitness drills and also went to the academy and did some weight training as well. The players came back in the afternoon and trained with the ball, working to get to know each other and have a good chemistry. One notable thing today was that it seems like Abedzadeh is training with Taleblou individually, this might mean that he will be the starter in the AC. It was also interesting to see Abedzadeh's son right next to him too, it has been said that he works his son really hard and that his son has a lot of talent(goalkeeping).

Nosrati and Nikbakht out for Asian Cup

Persopress-It has been reported by ISNA and IPNA that both Nikbakht and Nosrati will miss the Asian Cup due to injuries. Nikbakht sustained an injury in practice and is told to rest for atleast 2 months, while Nosrati has still not recovered from the injury he picked up about 5 months ago. Nikbakht has already been replaced by Madanchi, but there havnt been any replacements called for Nosrati. This is a huge blow for Iran because both of them would have probably started. In my opinion its a bigger deal losing Nosrati as he is one of our best defenders and he is very experienced, something we definitely needed. I dont see Nikbakht not playing too much of a problem as I think Zandi is much better than him, as he plays simple soccer and doesnt make costly mistakes like Nikbakht. It looks like Hosseini will start due to Nosrati not being able to play. Hosseini has showed that he is a very promising defender, but he is very young and inexperienced.(There has been new news that Nosrati has recovered and is training with his doctor, we hope to see him play in the Asian Cup)

Iran vs. Iraq in WAFF

Tomorow is Iran's opening game in the WAFF tournament, which is held in Amman. Iran plays Iraq tomorow at 10:00 am eastern time, but it doesnt look like we will be able to see the game since IRIB will most likely be showing the Sepahan vs. Saba Batri, which is the final of Jame-Hazfi. This is going to be an interesting game as Iran is playing with their B team, which consists of players like Iman Mobali, Badamaki, Roudbarian, Sheys Rezaei, Maziar Zare, and Shahpourzadeh. I have been waiting for a really long time to see Shahpourzadeh, because according to some of my friends, who have seen him play, they say he is really good and he could be a great partner for Hashemian. I hope he does really well and is somehow allowed to join the A team for the Asian cup.

3rd day of Training

The Third day of training has finished and the Iranians have had some good training showing some elite skill. While playing soccer tennis Karimi has shown his fanstatic scissor kick and Enayati's through dribbles. The National Team also visited a gym complex to take pictures. With the pictures seen from the practice it seemed to be a very succesful one!

Sepahan to play Japans Kawasaki Frontale

Sepahan has been placed with Kawasaki Frontale, the first Japanese team to make it this far in the tournament. The Champions league has been a great success for Sepahan so far with 4 wins 1 tie and 1 loss in the group stages. The winner of this game will go on to play the winner of the Al Wahda vs Al Hilal game in the Semifinals of the Asian Champions League tournament. Here are all the quarter final matches.

QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS

QF 1 –Sepahan (Iran) X Kawasaki (Japan)

QF 2 - Seongmam (Korea Rep) x Al Karama (Syria)

QF 3 – Al Wahda (UAE) x Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

QF 4 – Urawa Reds (Japan) x Jeobuk Motors (Korea Republic)

SF 1 – QF 2 x QF 4

SF 2 – QF 1 x QF 3

IRAN vs. GHANA

It was reported on IPNA that the game that was in discussion between Iran and Ghana is now going to happen for sure. This is great news for Iran, as we are supposedly going to play Jamaica as well. It looks like Iran learned from World Cup that they need atleast 3 friendlies, so the players get to know eachother and the team chemistry improves. From the pictures seen in the camp, it looks all the players are ready and will play in these friendlies, so there isnt going to be another disaster like what happened against Mexico.

2nd day of Training

All the players were set today as they started the training outside after being tested yesterday in the academy. All the players looked very good as they were all joking together and looked like they were having a good time, but it looked like they were working hard as well. The only players that seem to be missing are Javad Nekounam and Rahman Rezaei.

1st Day of Training

All the players reported to the academy today to get tested on fitness. The academy is a great facility they have made in iran, which I had the pleasure to go to since my cousin is part of the tennis national team. This facility is only for national team players and it is very advanced with all the newest equipment. Parviz Komasi, who is the team trainer was the man in charge today. He tested everyone and after all the testing, they asked him who were the fittest players and he said that Kaebi and Teymourian were by far the fittest. This was no suprise to me as Kaebi is supposedly one of the fastest soccer players ever and Teymourian can run for ever without stopping. It was said that even though karimi looks very fit and ready, he is a little overweitght and needs to work on it to get his burst of speed he has to get by defenders.

FIFA interview with Ali Daei

Fifa.com-There is no other striker in Asia whose name is more synonymous with success than Ali Daei, the talisman of the Iranian national team over the past decade and holder of the world record for international goals.

Certainly, there are few strikers across the globe who have remained prolific for such a long period of time and still been able to find the net consistently in the twilight of their playing careers, as Daei did so superbly. The former Bayern Munich forward, who turned 38 on 29 March, scored a unmatched 109 international goals in 148 appearances, an achievement that many believe places him among the sport's all time greats such as Pele and Ferenc Puskas. Hard-working and humble, Daei also proved the perfect role model for his fellow professionals and aspiring youngsters. No wonder, therefore, that news of Daei's retirement after leading Saipa to win the Iranian Pro League (IPL) crown on 28 May hit the headlines across the world. Fittingly, the Tehran side's player-coach had scored the second goal to seal a title-clinching 2-0 victory, FIFA.com caught up with the legendary striker to reflect upon his memorable past and look ahead to his future in football. FIFA.com: Ali, not every footballer of the world can remain prolific until the age of 38, but you have proved what a dedicated player can achieve through consistent hard work for so many years. So why did you retire? Ali Daei : It was the right time to stop playing. Actually, I had thought about retiring at the most beautiful moment of my life. To be honest, I would have hung up my boots after last year's World Cup, but the decision was postponed for ten months due to something unexpected. You have had countless accolades under your belt, having won the AFC Asian Player of the Year award in 1999 and guided Iran to glory on so many occasions. What was the most memorable moment for you? The 29the of November 1997 is still my dream. We had to play Australia over two legs in a play-off for the 1998 World Cup. We drew 1-1 in the first leg in Tehran and they looked the likely team to qualify. It certainly looked that way when they were two goals up in the return leg in Melbourne. But we rallied to make it 2-2 with two late goals to return to the World Cup finals after 20 years. It was unbelievable. Every player has his ups and downs. Despite the tremendous success you have achieved, was there anything you would feel sorry about? I got injured in a group match in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, and I was consequently sidelined from the team to have an operation, which took a long time to recover from. It was a hard time for me. Seven years later we needed only to win [against Bahrain] to automatically qualify for 2002 World Cup, but we inexplicably lost. That was another really bitter pill to swallow. If we look back at your career, you started playing football later than most of your peers. How did you manage to catch up with them? Firstly it was because of God's help, and secondly I have always been hard working and determined throughout my playing career. I put strong my trust in myself. Having scored over a century of international goals, can you reveal what your scoring secrets are? Only the mothers can give birth to goalscorers. You need to be born a goalscorer. It is something about instinct but you have to improve yourself with training. And I am no exception. It is nonetheless amazing that you have kept fit and prolific with both the national team and at club level for nearly two decades. How did you manage to do that? I have disregarded many enjoyable things to focus on training and playing, and it has become part of my daily life. I love football. You successfully steered Iran to two FIFA World Cup tournaments, France 1998 and Germany 2006. However, the team failed to progress beyond the group stages on both occasions. Do you think it was due to a shortage of talent in the squad or bad luck? It was neither bad luck nor performing poorly. We should accept what our level of football is. In the group stage of France 1998, we could have won against Yugoslavia or Germany had we enjoyed a bit more fortune. But they were stronger than us, so we lost. It was simple. You guided Saipa to the league championship as player and coach, and you scored in the title-clinching 2-0 win over Mas ofKerman. Do you think this was a fitting end to your career? It is not the end point of my career. I have bigger targets to achieve. Winning the title in my first coaching experience was great, but it is far from enough. Among the countless rivals your have played against, who do you respect most? Do you have any favorite player in the world? I have respect for all. I have learned from many players and coaches how to play better. But if I had to single any player out, I would say it was the Brazilian Giovane Elber. He was Bayern Munich's main striker when I was there, and I used to love his football. In the current Iran side, who do you see as your natural successor? Every player comes in, emerges, matures and retires, like me. I was in the team for a long time but I never regarded myself as someone extraordinary. And I am not a person who will be special in the future. Many Iranian players have great talent and potential but their success depends on God's will. What are your plans for the future? And have you thought about coaching the national team one day? I have decided to stay on at Saipa as coach. I just want to concentrate on my team for now, I am not concerned about coaching Iran at the moment. That is perhaps something to think about in the future.