maij
01-13-2007, 08:21 AM
Team Melli concluded the visit to UAE with a 2-0 win against the host in Abu Dhabi Al Nehayan stadium on Friday , 12th January 2007. This un-schedule match was hastily arranged by the hosts as the final preparation for the upcoming Gulf Football tournament beginning on Wednesday. Bruno Mitsu specifically requested the match against Iran while turning down all request for friendly test matches against the other Persian Gulf countries currently camping in UAE for the same tournament.
To conceal the UAE from the prying eyes of the opponents, Mitsu demanded that the TV cameras to be absent for this match. Strangely enough , the UAE team played two matches in the challenge Cup last week which was televised. However , lack of TV coverage was well compensated by the attendance of both Iranian and local fans , which was high in numbers and remarkable in a country where despite the huge official backing , the scarcity of crowds at stadiums remains a disconcerting factor.
Hoards of local UAE supporters flocked into the stadium for the match, while the vociferous Team Melli supports, mostly members of the ever present Iranians expatriates in Emirates , some traveling from as far as Dubai & Sharjah , made themselves heard with their colorful gestures and chants.
The full strength UAE side was determined to stamp its authority on the Team Melli playing without the European based players and some other major players. The host was hoping for an early break and midfield superiority. However, the Iranian defense which was masterfully marshaled by Mohammed Nosrati , ensure very little breathing space for the hosts and with some good movements originating from deep positions , managed to threaten Majed Nasser , the UAE goalkeeper. It was only 6 minutes into the match when the goalkeeper committed a foul on Enayati which resulted in both a penalty and a yellow card. Enayti took the penalty kick but Nasser saved it and with it , his owns blushes.
The penalty save wounded the host up and a nice ball by AbdulRahim Jumma was cleverly intercepted by Roudbarion on 10th minute. Another ball from Adel Abdulaziz hit Roudbarians woodwork , before Iran once again took over the control of the match and was content with defending the pressure exerted by the host midfield. No significant threat was experienced , and several Team Melli counter-attacks tested the UAE defense to the limit. Rasoul Khatibi’s introduction after Hadi Shakori was injured early in the match , created threatening moves and prevented the UAE defenders from advancing too far fearing Khatibi’s quick reaction and pace.
Nikbakht , Enayati and Mobali moves unsettled the defenses of UAE but the keeper did well to thwart the Iranian offenses.
In the dying minutes of the half , another foul was committed in the UAE penalty area, this time by defender Basheer Saeed. Rasoul Khatibi took the spot kick this time round and scored. 1-0 for Iran and shortly after the goal the half ended.
The second half started with the customary substitution and changes in such matches. Despite the changes in the personnel , the tactics and match rhythm remained the same with Iranians being content with the one goal margin and ensure superiority in the midfield hence they took the control of the match. UAE tried to match the guests finesse and strength by forcing plays on the flank , but most of their moves were controlled by the strong Iranian defense and those balls that managed to get into the penalty area , were masterfully handled by the solid and confident Roudbarian in the goal.
The host were clearly targeting most of their balls to the talented Ismael Mattar , who was visibly frustrated by his inability to break the Iranian defenses. He conveniently fell in the box to claim a penalty, but the referee waved play on. Ismael Mattar frustrations eventually lead to a yellow card for rough play and un-sportsmanship conduct.
Towards the end of the match, the physical contacts increased and the match was threatening to boil. The local referee showed 7 players the yellow card in order to control tempers.
While the game was in its last seconds, the debutant Ebrahim Sadeghi managed to sneak in and slot the ball home after a nice through ball by Enayati. 2-0 for Iran and the match was over for Amir Ghalenoei to maintain his impressive unbeaten run since taking over the helm after last summer’s World Cup.
Tactically speaking, Team Melli displayed a solid defense against a relatively strong Asian opponent. While both the goalkeeper and the defenders, supported by the midfielders, demonstrated their strength in depth, the offensive line was far from perfect. Both the forwards, Khatibi and Enayati have difficulty in the final touches and play with a notable gap between them. Lack of air superiority, a virtue that has always distinguished Iranian forwards and ensured a fine number of goals, means that goals would be hard to come by especially playing against tight defenses such as the Japan, Saudi Arabia & Korea defensive systems. Hashemian quality is definitely a must in the major tournaments.
Despite the friendly nature of the game, Team Melli still suffers from some indiscipline or lack of self-control. Many silly fouls and un-necessary tackles are committed that could easily result into sending off. Slapdash behaviors and tendency to commit over-zealous fouls must be curbed by the team management to ensure that the team’s fortunes and hope of the millions of fans is not threatened by irresponsible behavior such as experienced in Asian Cup 2004 in China.
Detail
UAE - Iran 0:2 (0:1)
Date: 12.Jan.2007
Stadium/Venue: Al Nehayan Stadium - Abu Dhabi
Spectators: 9,000
Goals
KHATIBI Rasoul (IRN)(+26'p) ; SADEGHI Ebrahim (IRN) (90+2')
UAE:
NASSER Majid (GK) ; ABDULAZIZ Adel ; ABDULRAHMAN Rashid ; SAEED Bashir (82' QASSIM Mohammed) ; MASOOD Fahad ; DARWISH Khalid (81’ ALKAAS Saeed ) ; JUMAA Abdulrahim ; KHAMIS Salim ; SAEED Hilal (46' EBRAHIM Hasan Ali ) ; OMAR Mohammed (46' SAAD Salim ) ; MATTAR Ismael
Coach : MITSU Bruno
IRAN:
ROUDBARIAN Hassan (GK) ;NOSRATI Mohammad ; AGHILI Hadi ; GHORBANI Piruz ; SHAKORI Hadi (26' KHATIBI Rasoul ) ; VAHEDI-NIKBAKHT Ali Reza ; MOBALI Eman (74' SADEGHI Ebrahim) ; KAZEMI Hossein (76' RAHMATI Kianoush) ; BADAMAKI Hossein (73' NOURI Pejman) ; ENAYATI Gholamreza ; RAJABZADEH Mehdi
Coach :GHALENOEI Amir
Referees (all from UAE)
Referee: OMAR Mohammed
Assistant Referee 1:YAQOUB Ahmed
Assistant Referee 2: AL MARZOUQI Saleh
Fourth Official: ABDULLA Hassan
To conceal the UAE from the prying eyes of the opponents, Mitsu demanded that the TV cameras to be absent for this match. Strangely enough , the UAE team played two matches in the challenge Cup last week which was televised. However , lack of TV coverage was well compensated by the attendance of both Iranian and local fans , which was high in numbers and remarkable in a country where despite the huge official backing , the scarcity of crowds at stadiums remains a disconcerting factor.
Hoards of local UAE supporters flocked into the stadium for the match, while the vociferous Team Melli supports, mostly members of the ever present Iranians expatriates in Emirates , some traveling from as far as Dubai & Sharjah , made themselves heard with their colorful gestures and chants.
The full strength UAE side was determined to stamp its authority on the Team Melli playing without the European based players and some other major players. The host was hoping for an early break and midfield superiority. However, the Iranian defense which was masterfully marshaled by Mohammed Nosrati , ensure very little breathing space for the hosts and with some good movements originating from deep positions , managed to threaten Majed Nasser , the UAE goalkeeper. It was only 6 minutes into the match when the goalkeeper committed a foul on Enayati which resulted in both a penalty and a yellow card. Enayti took the penalty kick but Nasser saved it and with it , his owns blushes.
The penalty save wounded the host up and a nice ball by AbdulRahim Jumma was cleverly intercepted by Roudbarion on 10th minute. Another ball from Adel Abdulaziz hit Roudbarians woodwork , before Iran once again took over the control of the match and was content with defending the pressure exerted by the host midfield. No significant threat was experienced , and several Team Melli counter-attacks tested the UAE defense to the limit. Rasoul Khatibi’s introduction after Hadi Shakori was injured early in the match , created threatening moves and prevented the UAE defenders from advancing too far fearing Khatibi’s quick reaction and pace.
Nikbakht , Enayati and Mobali moves unsettled the defenses of UAE but the keeper did well to thwart the Iranian offenses.
In the dying minutes of the half , another foul was committed in the UAE penalty area, this time by defender Basheer Saeed. Rasoul Khatibi took the spot kick this time round and scored. 1-0 for Iran and shortly after the goal the half ended.
The second half started with the customary substitution and changes in such matches. Despite the changes in the personnel , the tactics and match rhythm remained the same with Iranians being content with the one goal margin and ensure superiority in the midfield hence they took the control of the match. UAE tried to match the guests finesse and strength by forcing plays on the flank , but most of their moves were controlled by the strong Iranian defense and those balls that managed to get into the penalty area , were masterfully handled by the solid and confident Roudbarian in the goal.
The host were clearly targeting most of their balls to the talented Ismael Mattar , who was visibly frustrated by his inability to break the Iranian defenses. He conveniently fell in the box to claim a penalty, but the referee waved play on. Ismael Mattar frustrations eventually lead to a yellow card for rough play and un-sportsmanship conduct.
Towards the end of the match, the physical contacts increased and the match was threatening to boil. The local referee showed 7 players the yellow card in order to control tempers.
While the game was in its last seconds, the debutant Ebrahim Sadeghi managed to sneak in and slot the ball home after a nice through ball by Enayati. 2-0 for Iran and the match was over for Amir Ghalenoei to maintain his impressive unbeaten run since taking over the helm after last summer’s World Cup.
Tactically speaking, Team Melli displayed a solid defense against a relatively strong Asian opponent. While both the goalkeeper and the defenders, supported by the midfielders, demonstrated their strength in depth, the offensive line was far from perfect. Both the forwards, Khatibi and Enayati have difficulty in the final touches and play with a notable gap between them. Lack of air superiority, a virtue that has always distinguished Iranian forwards and ensured a fine number of goals, means that goals would be hard to come by especially playing against tight defenses such as the Japan, Saudi Arabia & Korea defensive systems. Hashemian quality is definitely a must in the major tournaments.
Despite the friendly nature of the game, Team Melli still suffers from some indiscipline or lack of self-control. Many silly fouls and un-necessary tackles are committed that could easily result into sending off. Slapdash behaviors and tendency to commit over-zealous fouls must be curbed by the team management to ensure that the team’s fortunes and hope of the millions of fans is not threatened by irresponsible behavior such as experienced in Asian Cup 2004 in China.
Detail
UAE - Iran 0:2 (0:1)
Date: 12.Jan.2007
Stadium/Venue: Al Nehayan Stadium - Abu Dhabi
Spectators: 9,000
Goals
KHATIBI Rasoul (IRN)(+26'p) ; SADEGHI Ebrahim (IRN) (90+2')
UAE:
NASSER Majid (GK) ; ABDULAZIZ Adel ; ABDULRAHMAN Rashid ; SAEED Bashir (82' QASSIM Mohammed) ; MASOOD Fahad ; DARWISH Khalid (81’ ALKAAS Saeed ) ; JUMAA Abdulrahim ; KHAMIS Salim ; SAEED Hilal (46' EBRAHIM Hasan Ali ) ; OMAR Mohammed (46' SAAD Salim ) ; MATTAR Ismael
Coach : MITSU Bruno
IRAN:
ROUDBARIAN Hassan (GK) ;NOSRATI Mohammad ; AGHILI Hadi ; GHORBANI Piruz ; SHAKORI Hadi (26' KHATIBI Rasoul ) ; VAHEDI-NIKBAKHT Ali Reza ; MOBALI Eman (74' SADEGHI Ebrahim) ; KAZEMI Hossein (76' RAHMATI Kianoush) ; BADAMAKI Hossein (73' NOURI Pejman) ; ENAYATI Gholamreza ; RAJABZADEH Mehdi
Coach :GHALENOEI Amir
Referees (all from UAE)
Referee: OMAR Mohammed
Assistant Referee 1:YAQOUB Ahmed
Assistant Referee 2: AL MARZOUQI Saleh
Fourth Official: ABDULLA Hassan