Persian Soccer Press

Nekounam out for six months or more!

2007-08-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

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

Iran ties with China

2007-07-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Persopress- Again the Iranians had a very bad first half like the Uzbekistan game but instead this time around, two goals were scored on Iran. The Chinese started the first half with a full attacking force not even allowing Iran to attack for the first 5 minutes. Constant pressure to Iran's defense finally was effective when Nekounam fouled a Chinese player a couple of meters in front of the box. The free kick was amazingly shot to the corner of Iran's net by Chao. Roudbarian showed some late reaction and it was too late as the ball was in the back of the net after he touched the ball. Only 25 minutes later was it when a Chinese player crossed the ball and an uncovered Jiayi hammered the ball in to the corner of our net. This goal was very stoppable as Roubarian dived the right way but the ball some how managed to roll past him and into the net. The Iranians had to realize what was wrong and that Iran's 3 man offense was coming back on China's attacking plays allowing the Chinese defense to play a midfield role while attacking. Around the 40th minute, Iran started to pick up their game and started attacking in bunches. The Chinese warred out really easily and Iran's attacking when to an ongoing onslaught. Iran received a free kick in the 46'th minute when Mahdavikia was taken out behind the box. Iran took full advantage of this opportunity as Mahdavikia gave a slow pass to Zandi and Zandi crushed the ball in the corner of the net, not giving the Chinese keeper a chance. Slowly Iran started attacking more and more but the half whistle was blown and so we went to the second half. The goal at the end of the half gave Iran a lot of confidence as they saw how easily they can come back in the game. They started the half really well after they had two very surprising subs, as they brought in Mobali for Karimi and Kazemian for Kaebi. Everyone was shocked as nobody ever thought that Karimi would be brought out of the game after half time in such an important game, but it was a good sub as Mobali did very good when he came on. The way Iran attacked and defended in this half should be remembered and used for later games as Iran had a major lead in possession, attacking, and getting the ball out of our half easily with the help of Jalal Hossieni and Rahman Rezaie. Minutes of constant attacking went by when suddenly Iman Mobali passed the ball to Mahdavikia, who gave an amazing cross to Nekounam and headed it in the corner of the net to tie up the score 2-2 at the 74th minute. Iran's attacks from this point on were ineffective as they were being misused. Mobali's kicks were going to high and Enayati and Hashemian were not setting up good plays on the Left. The game ended with the score of 2-2 while players like Karimi, Enayati, Hashemian, and even Kaebi showed very disappointing. Nekounam was named the player of the match as he scored a goal and just did everything perfectly, Zandi also performed well this game and also had the chance for Man of the Match with one goal. Iran will take on Malaysia on Wednesday July, 18th 2007. To become first place in our group, Iran would have to score more than 5 goals against Malaysia to win by goal difference unless a very possible tie or defeat by Uzbekistan takes place against China.

Preview : Iran Vs China Ideas and Formations

2007-07-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Persopress- Iran will be playing a very technical and speedy game as China will be playing a very solid game like they did against Malaysia. Hopefully we can use Kaebi's speed and Karimi's technique to go past China's defense and score. Solid passing will be key in a match that China will use to overcome Iran. Iran also has a physical advantage over the Chinese as they are fairly small. How we can take this golden advantage is by giving Mahdavikia good chances to cross into the box and have a tall player like Hashemian or even Enayati to head the ball. The Chinese will most likely have a fairly good amount of fans in the stadium but I doubt that would affect us as Iran has played against teams with crowded stadiums and still won. We hope that Team Melli can overcome there ideas of revenge against the 2004 semi-finals match and just play a good and hard game to win it for the fans and people of Iran!

It has been reported by Iranian news that Iran's line-up will have two changes from the game against Uzbekistan and they will be Madanchi replacing Enayati on the left flank, and Kazemian replacing Khatibi on the right flank. If this is true then we will play with this line-up:

--------------------------Roudbarian-------------------

---Mahdavikia------Hosseini------Rezaie---------Zandi-

--------------------------Nekounam--------------------

------------------Ando----------------Karimi----------

--------Kazemian------------------------------Madanchi

---------------------------Hashemian-------------------

But it has been reported by some people, who were at the last training that was held today and they said that they talked to the players and Kaebi will start instead of Kazemian. They said that Kazemian had said that he can play really well and still be benched, and Kaebi had told them that he was excited to start again this match. If this is true, then this will be how it will look like:

--------------------------Roudbarian-------------------
--------Kaebi------Hosseini------Rezaie---------Zandi-
--------------------------Nekounam--------------------
------------------Ando-----------------Karimi----------
--------Mahdavikia-----------------------------Madanchi
---------------------------Hashemian-------------------

I think we will go with the second line-up because this will allow Ghalenoei to bring in Kazemian in the 2nd half again, and he can bring a lot of energy and get past the tired defenders.

Iran vs China game will be shown on Tapesh , Jame-Jam International ( Persian Soccer Channel) and, IRIB.

The Times for the match Iran vs China Asian Cup 2nd group stage matches are stated below:

Local Malaysia time 18.20
Tehran Time 13.50
Eastern Time 6.20
Pacific Time 3.20
London Time 11.20
Berlin / Amsterdam 12.20
Melbourne Time 20.20

Iran defeats Uzbekistan in a thrilling match

2007-07-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

Persopress-The Iranian National team today defeated strong willed Uzbekistan in a close and suspending match which ended 2-1 for Iran. After starting out very even in the 16'th minute Uzbek defender kicked the ball out of the box bouncing into Iran's 18'th meter and Rezaei headed the ball to a supposed corner but instead the ball goes too low and Roudbarian was out of the goal so the ball flew straight into the goal only for Rezaei and Roubarian to realize their mistake and mark it as an Own Goal for Iran. This Goal only made it worst for Iran as our defense had many flaws and when Iran attacked Khatibi and Enayati messed up while Zandi could not participate with Enayati. Hashemian was usually lonely in Iran's attack and Nekounam was filled with mistakes. Things only got worst as the Uzbek's had many more chances only either to be saved by superb defender Jalal Hossieni or Roubarian. The first half was a nightmare for Iran as everyone was losing hope with the way Iran was playing. Only a hint of what was to come in the Second half was when Karimi dribbled so many players but failed to shoot or give a good pass in the Uzbek penalty box. The Second Half Started and Iran started out fairly even just like the beginning of the game except only 10 minutes later Mahdavikia gave a beautiful cross from corner to Jalal Hossieni, Iran's defender and scored a header which bounced into the corner of the net. Things only got better for Iran as Team Melli started attacking with full force with beautiful plays as the Uzbek's looked tired and worn out. It showed that those physical trainings really showed off in the Second half. Iranian Captain Mehdi Mahdavkia got his tooth knocked out in the middle of the match and was checked by the medics and he was able to continue but this really shows our teams captains passion and willingness to play as it encouraged the rest of the team to play on! At around this time the Uzbek's got an amazing chance and one of their forwards got a one on one with Roubarian but Roudbairan saved the day with an amazing fall not to let the Uzbek's gain the lead. 20 minutes later in the 78'th minute Karimi brang up the ball and passed the ball off to the side to Teymourian. Teymourian saw Kazemian running on the side past the defenders so he passes a through ball to Kazemian and Kazemian shoots the ball from the side in to the net. From this point on it was fairly even, but the Uzbek's did attack the last 5 minutes of the game as Iran played a defensive game which got fairly dangerous. But Iran succeeded to come back and win the game showing its dominance and its weaknesses in its defense. Iran is now second place in its group, While China is first only because of goal difference as China beat Malaysia 5-1 in Kuala Lampur.

To watch all the Goals and Highlights of the Iran Vs Uzbekistan match go to our Latest Videos Link!

ASIAN CUP PREVIEW: IRAN

2007-07-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Persopress-Iran was put in group C with Uzbekistan, China, and Malaysia which is an average group that shouldn't be too hard to get by. Our first game is on July 11, 2007 against Uzbekistan at 18.20 Local Time, Our second is against China on July 15, 2007 at 18.20 Local Time, and our third is against Malaysia on July 18, 2007 at 20.35 local time. Iran's games are supposed to be showed on IRIB, Tapesh, and Jame-Jam International and some other International sport channels like Setanta. Arab Sport Channels like Abu-Dhabi Sport will probably show the match as well. As long as we do not underestimate our opponents it should not be that hard to get by them and our only problem should be China in the group stages unless something goes wrong. Everything seems to be going well in the trainings with no major injuries to Team Melli and the Uzbekistan match will go underway in less than 3 days!

Here our the time converts to other local times.

Different Time Zones:
18.20/20.35 Local Time
13.50/16.05 Tehran Time
14.20/16.35 Dubai Time
12.20/14.35 CET (Berlin, Amsterdam)
11.20/13.35 London Time
06.20/08.35 AM Eastern Time
05.20/07.35 AM Central Time
03.20/05.35 AM Pacific Time
20.20/22.35 Melbourne Time

Want to watch Asian Cup and Iran's matches online? Visit and Register at www.glwiz.com and watch Tapesh, Jame Jam International, or IRIB 2
(To watch matches after they are done, instead of clicking on LIVE TV, click on VOD and choose Asian cup 2007, then click Search, A list of all matches should come up, click on the match you want and watch it!

LATEST TRAINING PICTURES

Iran vs. Maldives has been cancelled

2007-07-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

Persopress- Iran vs. Maldives, which was suppose to take place on Saturday has been cancelled. Iran's coaching staff has decided to cancel the game, so there wouldn't be any risk of any key players getting injured. They think that the two friendlies they had in Iran were good enough for the players, as they have good chemistry and they don't need another friendly.

Kaebi's going to Leicester

2007-07-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

Persopress- Kaebi has signed a two year deal with Leicester City and he can't get much happier. "I have always wanted to play in Europe and Leicester have given me that opportunity". We see this as a good move since it is one step closer to moving into the big leagues for this fast and very promising Iranian player. We saw rumors that he was going to a Premier team like Wigan but Leicester was fast to get him. The Championship is a fairly good place for a player to start his football career in Europe and hopefully if Kaebi performs well he can join a premiership team in 2 years after his deal is done with Leicester. Kaebi really shows what Khuzestan has done for Iran's players bringing some of the fastest and most technical players out there. We hope he performs well in his club and shows what hes made of in Asian Cup! Check out some sweet Kaebi Highlights on our Latest Videos Page

One week away

2007-07-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

Persopress-We are one week away from our 1st game against Uzbekistan. They game will be played in Malaysia and it will start at 6:20 a.m. eastern time. We will play one more friendly and it will be against Maldives, who have improved a lot since we beat them 17-0. Many people including Andranik Teymourian think that our first game is our most important game. With the way things have been going, I think we will win the Asian Cup because in contrast with the WC, this team is very united and we are playing as a team. In my opinion, we should start out our first game with this lineup:

-----------------------------------Roudbarian-----------------------------
-------Kaabi------------Hosseini-------------Rezaei---------------Zandi--
----------------------------------Nekounam-------------------------------
--------------------Teymourian-------------------Karimi-------------------
--------Kia------------------------------------------------------Madanchi--
----------------------------------Hashemian--------------------------------

Karimi to Qatar Sports Club

2007-07-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Persopress- Karimi has finally made his decision in going to Qatar Sports Club. He has signed a 2 year deal which he receives 5 million Euro a year. The good thing with his contract is that he has a clause, which means that he can leave the club whenever he wants, meaning if he does really well in the Asian Cup and receives offers from Europe, then he has a chance to take them. We all thought that he was going to move to an Arab team, since he is "god" there and they give him a lot of money, but he had said that he will join a European team if he had good offers, but after he declined to join Monaco, we knew that he just wanted to live a comfortable life and play the soccer he loves (dribbling). Hopefully we will see the same Karimi we did in 2004, when he played with a team in Dubai.

Iran "smokes" Jamaica

2007-07-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

Persopress-Today Iran defeated Jamaica in a goal filled match which ended 8-1 for Team Melli. The Jamaicans did use many of their key players and European players so it was known as their A team. If we really wanted to say how the goals were scored it would just get plain boring. Rather well just say who scored, Nekounam scored twice , Madanchi scored twice , Hashemian , Khatibi scored twice , and finally Enayati. The match really was a more of a joke for Iran as even our B-team scored four on Jamaica in the second half, It's more of a moral booster and will help us out in the Asian Cup. Most the main Iran players played like Karimi, Mahdavikia, Hashemian, Rezaie in the first half until they were subbed out at the half but new players like Shojaie started too. We didn't see Teymourian play which caused a concern for the Iranian fans as he is one of Iran's best midfielder but there is probably a good reason he sat out today. If we were to put all the goals on the front page it would take a lot of space so instead were putting it in our Best of Iranian Players page since this game really did show the Best of Iran's players as the opponent was very weak, also have you ever seen highlights for a good Iran match, Imagine this whole game as one! Link to Video of Goals

Iran Defeats Ghana B

2007-06-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

Persopress-The Iranian side defeated Ghana with a 4-2 lead at the final whistle. Iran played a 4-3-3 formation which was something new for the Iranians. Zandi played for Vahedi as he was slightly injured and could not play in the match. The new thing though was that Zandi played defense, it was not normal for him to play this position but it seemed that he did a very good job. The Iranians scored three goals in the first 30 minutes of the match which was fairly impressive as they were actually creating beautiful plays and destroying the Ghanaian defense. Enayati score an amazing head in the 11th minute with Kazemian's assist and only minutes later Kazemian got a penalty for Iran as Nekounam netted that in the 11'th. Things were going well for Iran and only got better in the 27th when Karimi gave a nice pass from inside the box to the center of the box and Enayati had a open net and netted it with an easy shot. The score was 3-0 for Iran and everything seemed to be going well until only 5 minutes later Ghana player Kumordi scored an easy shot that really didn't seem like it wasn't going in as Talebloo just stood there watching the ball roll in. In the 48'th minute Ghana player Addo came from the side to the center and shot a slow ball to the corner to the net going through about 4 Iranian defenders and the tip of the hand of Talebloo. It was amazing that Ghana had just scored two goals and Iran was only up by one to Ghana's B team. But Aghili confirmed the win for Iran in the 50'th minute when Zandi kicked a free kick from the side of the box right into the center and Aghili was there to head the ball in to make the final score 4-2. This game was a very good game for Iran but showed that Iran defense could be cracked, but we have to keep in mind that in the second half Iran's-B team was presented to Ghana so they could also practice for the Asian Cup. We hope to see more games played like this by Iran. Video Highlights will be posted soon!
Iran's lineup: Talebloo - Mahdavikia (C), Aghili, Rezaei, Zandi (86' Asadi) - Nekounam - Teymourian (70' E. Sadeghi), Karimi (46' Nouri) - Kazemian (63' Kaabi), Enayati (82' Madanchi) - Hashemian (46' Khatibi)

Esteghlal gets new managment

2007-06-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Persopress-Famous Tehran team, Esteghlal has gotten new managment after being chosen by Ali Abadi the Owner of Esteghlal and the Head of the Sazman-Badani (Physical Department). He chose new management partially because of the many problems Esteghlal faced in the past season speciafclay not winning the IPL season our tournament. Esteghlal was also kicked out of the Asian Champions League because of lack of managmnet problems as their 23 man roster was not sent to AFC on time Ali Fatolahzadeh, Mansour Pourheidari, Khosro Daneshjoo, Mohammad Nafaryeh, and Hamidreza Alyan. This board well be in governing for the next two years hopefully bringing success to this falling team. The new coach was also named and after talks with the board and Ali Abadi it will be official that Mr. Naser Hejazi will takeover the coaching Job. We see this as a positive factor for Esteghlal as Hejazi is familiar with Esteghlal and has been known for his tactical decisions in Iran. He also used to play for former Esteghlal team Taj FC in the 60's and also played with their national team in the 70's. He also was named the second best Asian Goalkeeper in the 20'th Century.

Training in Azadi

2007-06-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

Persopress-The training session has been reduced to only one per day, which made the players very happy as they were exhausted from the past practices. Before the trainings would be both for fitness, which was in the morning and then practicing with the ball, which was held in the afternoons. But today they just had one session and it was held in Azadi, since we have a friendly game against Ghana in 2 days in that stadium. All the players reported to practice, which made everyone happy since yesterday Zandi and Karimi had been injured and had stopped practicing. The training was very good because it was raining very hard in tehran, which is good for the players because it has been said that it rains a lot in malaysia, so it's good for the players to get used to the conditions over there. The practice went very well and the player that stood out the most today was Rahmati, who made some very good saves.

Iran B beats Iraq to win WAFF Championship

2007-06-24T15:25:00.001-07:00

Persopress-Today Iran defeated Iraq in a good match that really should have ended up with a better score for Iran. 2-1 was the final score and the Iranians really showed what they're made of after scoring two goals in the matter of 20 minutes. Hossein Badamaki in the 11 minute and Beikzadeh in the 22nd gave Iran the full advantage of the game. At the 86th minute Iraqi player Saleh scored a penalty from a mistaken hand ball in the box by the Iranians. Some amazing performances were seen by Roudbarian as he saved Iran from two or three 100% goals with amazing dives and saves and Rajebzadeh who was well seen as he was running and sprinting the whole game until he was subbed out the 94th minute. The Iraqis though did have their chances in the late part of the game as Iran was down one man after Mobali was red carded for tackling a player and while leaving he kissed the Iranian flag three four times only to diss the Iraqis as the Referee ran towards him to shout at him. We as Iranian fans though did see some wrong calls and wrong cards by the Referee and really had to wonder if this guy was a quality referee or not? Whatever the case was Iran lifted the title at the end of the day and the highlights of the match are presented to you here at bottom of the post credits to IranGoals.com!

Iran 2 - 1 Iraq (WAFF Tournament)

11′ [1-0] Badamaki

22′ [2-0] Beikzadeh

86′ [2-1] Salih (P.K.)

FT’ [2-1] Match Highlights (goal not included)

6th day of training

2007-06-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Persopress-Today the 6th day of training ended with some very good news from the players and coaches. First of all it has been stated by the coaches and officials that Karimi is in top shape and is running and working out very well. While playing Karimi has also been said to have been dribbiling and running faster then all the players. He has been noticed as one of the best players in the camp. Mirzapour was also present at the camp today just to practice even though he won't be able to play in the Asian Cup or any of Iran's friendlies. The players have been training intesnly with hard runs, sprints and workouts at the academy so they seem to be a bit tire after a week of doing all this and soon they will start the ball handling and technicue drills. Sadeghi and Zare were not present today due to minor injuries as hopefully they will soon recover. Nosrati practiced with the team doctor due to his injury as well. Overall things are going well in the camp and not many injuries have been sustained for Iran. I think we really needed the running practice since as we saw in most of our games our players would tire out in the 60th minute of the game or so and this could not happen against teams like Japan or Australia. Hopefully we will se our team play well against top teams in the Asian Cup.

5th Day of Training

2007-06-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Persopress-Today was the last day that the players did their usual weight training and running (fitness) in the morning then playing in the afternoon. After this day, the practices are strictly going to be on getting the guys to play with each other and make them familiar with each other. Ghalenoei told the reporters after the training that his hopes have gone up after seeing how fit and well Rezaei has been playing. He was also delighted to have Nekounam in training for the 1st time after he left his team from Spain (Osasuna). The players started today by jogging and doing aerobic exercises on the turf field outside of the Academy, then they went inside and did some weight training. In the afternoon, they practiced crosses, taking shots on goal, and they played tennis soccer. Then they separated into teams of 10 and they worked on playing together. Some important things from today were that it has been said that Karimi and Rezaei are doing the best, while Hashemian has a little injury, which kept him out of training for today, but he is supposed to practice tomorrow. Khatibi and Kaebi are fine after having some minor injuries, but Khatibi had to stay out of the afternoon session.

Sepahan wins Iran League Cup

2007-06-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Persopress-Sepahan has won the Jame-Hafzi with a 3-0 win over fellow opponent Saba-Batri. The first leg was also won by Sepahab 1-0. Goals were scored by Mahmoud karimi(47), Ebrahim Loveynian, and Mahmoud Papi(88). This concluded all the IPL games for this season with Saipa winning the season and Sepahan the Jame-Hazfi. Both will be particpating in next years AFC Champions league unless Sepahan wins the Champions league this year in which Esteghlal Ahvaz will join Sepahan and Saipa next year too.

Iran and Iraq end game in goalless draw

2007-06-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Persopress-Iran and Iraq ended their first WAFF game this year with a 0-0 draw. Newcomer Shapourzadeh to Iran was reported as average but was involved in many Iran's chances. Iran had many chances in the first half and should have taken the lead with Shapourzadeh cross to Badamaki who volleyed it into the cross bar. Many other chances were missed by Iranians B team while Iraq kept on defending until the second half when Iraq had two good chances which were saved by Roudbarian. Iran will take on Palestine on Wednesday to play their second game in WAFF. The top two teams in each group will go to the semifinals of this Middle Eastern tournament.

4th Day of Training

2007-06-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-15T18:11:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-12T10:12:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-11T13:59:00.001-07:00

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.

TM List for Asian Cup

2007-06-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

The list for the Asian Cup games was given out by Ghalenoei today. There are 30 players picked but only 23 make it to the final squad. Each team has 7 players, incase a player gets injured during training and is not able to participate in any of the games. In my opinion, the players that need to be taken out of the list are shakouri, asadi, badamaki, E. sadeghi, Nouri, S. Zareh, K. Rahmati. There is no use in having these many midfielders when we all know that karimi, teymourina, nekounam, mahdavikia, zandi, kaebi, and nikbakht are going to be the only players that will get a chance to play. I persoanlly thinl we should play with 1 forward or play karimi as the second forward because our midfield is really strong but we only have one good striker, who is Hashemian. The players are going to all report to camp on monday to get tested and then the trainings start on tuesday. These three weeks leading up to the games are going to be very important. We dont want to pick up any injuries like the preparation for WC, but we want to play a lot and having team chemisty. These are the players that made it to the squad at this time:

Goalkeepers:Taleblou, Rahmati, Roudbarian

Defenders:Nosrati, Hosseini, Rezaei, Aghili, Sadeghi, Shakouri

Midfielders:Zandi, Morteza Asadi, Mahdavikia, Badamaki, E.Sadeghi, Mobali, Nekounam, Teymourian, Mohammad Nouri, Shojaei, Nikbakht, M. Zareh, S. Zareh, K. Rahmati, Kaebi, Karimi

Strikers:Hashemian, Enayati, Rajabzadeh, Kazemian, Khatibi

Mahdavikia To Frankfurt

2007-06-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

After 211 matches and 26 goals Mehdi Mahdavikia has officially left HSV to Eintracht Frankfurt. Mahdavikia was said to have really wanted to say at HSV but the club did not agree. Offers from Spain and Germany has been said to be offered to him but he probably felt more comftrobale staying at Germany since he has been there since 1999. We all as Iranian fans support every move that Mahdavikia makes and hope him the best of luck.

Iran thrashed by mexico

2007-06-06T14:19:00.001-07:00

What we had here was a waiting disaster. Almost none of our foreign players, 3 days of practice before the game and no certain strategy causes Iran a humiliating 4-0 lost in Mexico. No chemistry, no teamwork and no individuality at all from out players. Iran had a couple of good chances for example when Zandi shot from the right side and hit the post or when Enayati missed a 1v1 with the goalie. But overall the Mexican team used their opportunities unlike us and scored on most of them. Did Ghalenoie want to help our B-team out by sending them to play one the best teams in the world? We get one friendly and this is what we get? I don't know about you guys but for me this is stupid. I just wish this IFF could get there senses and make some better friendlies with the full AC squad next time!

Persian Soccer Press

2007-06-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Your Ultimate Persian soccer news, rumors, results and more all in one blog! Persian soccer has proud tradition and history but for now were going to start out with the most recent news in the Persian soccer world.