What's the latest on Masoud Shojaei?

[Lorestani]

does anyone know when shojaei will return and if he is available for TM?

Tomorrow at 6.37. Queiroz told me.

[Persianking]

Please continue here:
http://www.persianfootball.com/forum...Masoud-Shojaei

[irani1378]

hopefully he is ready for TM!

[onebloodfool]

I dont care how how much people think that shohaei is a given in TMs starting 11, on the account of him playing in la liga. The guy is an absolute ball-hog that is slow physically and even slower in terms of decision making. I honestly cant remember the last time he had a decent game for team melli. It wasnt just Ac2011 he was absolutely atrocious, but majority of WCQ2010 same story (though he did score couple of nice goals). This is my opinion.
Hopefully he fully recovers and lives up to the expectations of people on this board.

Im not in favor of khalatbari though. Hajsafi is My favorite, the problem is he doesnt get nearly enough playing time. The kid is extremely talented and has a killer left foot that can deliver killer crosses. Look at how well he adapted to the left back position after given time. Just imagine what he can develop into if he is played at his natural position, which is in midfield. Just my two cents

[Afat11]

I agree with you in general, but I think that Shojaei, realistically, is a better option than Khalatbari and Rezaei. The latter two run aimlessly, while Shojaei has shown himself to not always make the best decisions. The only reason I give Shojaei some credit is his goals in clutch games. Most Iranian players crumble in the face of Saudi Arabia and South Korea, but Shojaei was able to score against them both (SK twice, once in WCQ 2010, and in the 2010 friendly). I think we should find a young stud winger like Karimi in his prime. I think if we have Gucci, Dejagah, and 1 more killer winger up front, we will easily make it to the world cup and do well. I don't think guys like Shojaei, Khalatbari, and Rezaei will cut it in front of Spain or Germany's defense. We really need to revamp our team. Personally, I think other than Hajsafi, Nekounam, Pouladi, Mahini, Dejagah and Andranik, every position on TM should change. Aghili and Hosseini don't cut it by world standards, neither do Ghazi, Ansarifard, or old-Karimi, and Rahmati just hasn't been the same for TM during the end of this recent third round qualifying.

[khodam]

I agree with you in general, but I think that Shojaei, realistically, is a better option than Khalatbari and Rezaei. The latter two run aimlessly, while Shojaei has shown himself to not always make the best decisions. The only reason I give Shojaei some credit is his goals in clutch games. Most Iranian players crumble in the face of Saudi Arabia and South Korea, but Shojaei was able to score against them both (SK twice, once in WCQ 2010, and in the 2010 friendly). I think we should find a young stud winger like Karimi in his prime. I think if we have Gucci, Dejagah, and 1 more killer winger up front, we will easily make it to the world cup and do well. I don't think guys like Shojaei, Khalatbari, and Rezaei will cut it in front of Spain or Germany's defense. We really need to revamp our team. Personally, I think other than Hajsafi, Nekounam, Pouladi, Mahini, Dejagah and Andranik, every position on TM should change. Aghili and Hosseini don't cut it by world standards, neither do Ghazi, Ansarifard, or old-Karimi, and Rahmati just hasn't been the same for TM during the end of this recent third round qualifying.

I don't like how Masoud plays in TM in a general sense. I also think his goal against Saudi was a fluke. He should be on the roster against teams which are expected to defend and defend - so he can draw a foul. When it comes to creativity I would prefer KB and pure force and finishing I take Rezaee. Yet again may be we don't need any of them if Ghoochi also joins TM.

I guess its good to have so many (half decent) choices.

[onebloodfool]

I agree with you in general, but I think that Shojaei, realistically, is a better option than Khalatbari and Rezaei. The latter two run aimlessly, while Shojaei has shown himself to not always make the best decisions. The only reason I give Shojaei some credit is his goals in clutch games. Most Iranian players crumble in the face of Saudi Arabia and South Korea, but Shojaei was able to score against them both (SK twice, once in WCQ 2010, and in the 2010 friendly). I think we should find a young stud winger like Karimi in his prime. I think if we have Gucci, Dejagah, and 1 more killer winger up front, we will easily make it to the world cup and do well. I don't think guys like Shojaei, Khalatbari, and Rezaei will cut it in front of Spain or Germany's defense. We really need to revamp our team. Personally, I think other than Hajsafi, Nekounam, Pouladi, Mahini, Dejagah and Andranik, every position on TM should change. Aghili and Hosseini don't cut it by world standards, neither do Ghazi, Ansarifard, or old-Karimi, and Rahmati just hasn't been the same for TM during the end of this recent third round qualifying.

You make a good point. I think CQ is neutral on shojaei for now, so once he fully recovers he will get a change to prove himself to CQ and convince whether or not he deserves starting position. Even though im disappointed with the way he performed for TM in the past, i remain hopeful and optimistic. I did notice improvement in his tames for osasuna, where he instead of hogging the ball, made more quick passes. Ihope he continues that trend, also in TM. So i dont wanna be tooo harsh on him.

I fully agree with pretty much everything you said. I personally dont understand why many hold khalatbari up on this pedestal. The guy is too weak for a place in the starting line-up. Imo he would be the ideal choice for a sub andcomes in against tired legs.

[Martin-Reza]

Shojaei is an excellent player. He wasn't only signed by a La Liga team, he also regularily played there under three different coaches (!), which is an undeniable sign of quality.

That some of you don't remember a decent game by him in TM isn't a sign of Shojaei underperforming in my eyes, but rather a problem of short memory or wrong expectations.

And unfortunately there again are comments like "going out and finding a young Karimi", yeah, just go and find that one, please also find a Lionel Messi. You can't just find someone just because you desperately want to and because you don't like the best option available.

Overall there would be need for some more thankfulness. Rahmati is an excellent keeper with virtually no blunder in TM ever since becoming number 1. But people complain and think he needs to stop every shot. If he did that, he'd be playing for Real Madrid and not for Esteghlal.

Our defense is good, Aghily and Hosseini do a great job, we have several splendid rightback and some acceptable leftback options. With Nekounam, Teymourian and Jabbari we have a midfield of international class, and we have some good alternatives there.

With Dejagah, Shojaei, Khalatbari and Rezaei we are very well on the wings too, plus with Afshin and Alishah some talent is already waiting.

Upfront, we have a 21-year-old 1.86m tall forward who scored 13 goals in 2009/10, 19 goals in 2010/11 and now already has 16 goals to his tally this seasons. But that seemingly is normal in Iran (??!) and therefore he's not good enough and needs to be replaced.

We have an excellent team, we simply do not have excellent assessment of that team here though .

[onebloodfool]

Shojaei is an excellent player. He wasn't only signed by a La Liga team, he also regularily played there under three different coaches (!), which is an undeniable sign of quality.

That some of you don't remember a decent game by him in TM isn't a sign of Shojaei underperforming in my eyes, but rather a problem of short memory or wrong expectations.

And unfortunately there again are comments like "going out and finding a young Karimi", yeah, just go and find that one, please also find a Lionel Messi. You can't just find someone just because you desperately want to and because you don't like the best option available.

Overall there would be need for some more thankfulness. Rahmati is an excellent keeper with virtually no blunder in TM ever since becoming number 1. But people complain and think he needs to stop every shot. If he did that, he'd be playing for Real Madrid and not for Esteghlal.

Our defense is good, Aghily and Hosseini do a great job, we have several splendid rightback and some acceptable leftback options. With Nekounam, Teymourian and Jabbari we have a midfield of international class, and we have some good alternatives there.

With Dejagah, Shojaei, Khalatbari and Rezaei we are very well on the wings too, plus with Afshin and Alishah some talent is already waiting.

Upfront, we have a 21-year-old 1.86m tall forward who scored 13 goals in 2009/10, 19 goals in 2010/11 and now already has 16 goals to his tally this seasons. But that seemingly is normal in Iran (??!) and therefore he's not good enough and needs to be replaced.

We have an excellent team, we simply do not have excellent assessment of that team her).

I dont think Shojaei is a bad player. The quality he has shown in Osasuna has not really carried over to TM. I think he has been a ball hog and more often than not ruined chances of counter attacking.
He hasnt had a good game in TM for a very long time imo.

[Afat11]

Shojaei is an excellent player. He wasn't only signed by a La Liga team, he also regularily played there under three different coaches (!), which is an undeniable sign of quality.

That some of you don't remember a decent game by him in TM isn't a sign of Shojaei underperforming in my eyes, but rather a problem of short memory or wrong expectations.

And unfortunately there again are comments like "going out and finding a young Karimi", yeah, just go and find that one, please also find a Lionel Messi. You can't just find someone just because you desperately want to and because you don't like the best option available.

Overall there would be need for some more thankfulness. Rahmati is an excellent keeper with virtually no blunder in TM ever since becoming number 1. But people complain and think he needs to stop every shot. If he did that, he'd be playing for Real Madrid and not for Esteghlal.

Our defense is good, Aghily and Hosseini do a great job, we have several splendid rightback and some acceptable leftback options. With Nekounam, Teymourian and Jabbari we have a midfield of international class, and we have some good alternatives there.

With Dejagah, Shojaei, Khalatbari and Rezaei we are very well on the wings too, plus with Afshin and Alishah some talent is already waiting.

Upfront, we have a 21-year-old 1.86m tall forward who scored 13 goals in 2009/10, 19 goals in 2010/11 and now already has 16 goals to his tally this seasons. But that seemingly is normal in Iran (??!) and therefore he's not good enough and needs to be replaced.

We have an excellent team, we simply do not have excellent assessment of that team here though .

You make some great points MR jan, but I think you are a bit less optimistic than I when it comes to the abundance of talent in Iran. I agree that Shojaei, Khalatbari, Rezaei, Ansarifard, and almost all the players you named are great by Iranian standards, and good overall, but I think we do have that young stud out their, in Iran or abroad, that is the next Karimi.
I don't think it will be easy to find him, but we should at least try some new promising options. That is for later though, after we have already qualified. I am saying these players should be replaced for the actual WC in 2014. Jabbari is a great player, but I do not include him, because I do not see him coming back until late this year. I feel that you are complacent in regarding Aghili, Hosseini, and Rahmati as TM material. They may be the best options now, but they are all very shaky (Rahmati hacking the forwards in the last two games for penalties when he used to try and block the shots is what scares me about him). Aghili and Hosseini are just not as in sync as they were when they were on Sepahan together. I feel like Hosseini does not have as good positioning as he once had, and Aghili makes too many critical mistakes.
We can withstand South Korea or Uzbekistan with this line-up, but when it comes to Italy or Spain, I don't think many of our players (other than the ones I mentioned) play the world class game that we need. I know there are Iranian players out there who have the talent and the skill, they just need to be found. I hope we can find them in the next two years.