Editorial: We don't need new forwards.

[zzgloo]

We Do Need A Center Forward !!

I also initiated the thread,"An Idea for Center forward ", and also did not want to start another one....but, I have no plan to negate Raging-inferno's statement, as they make sence in general.....
We need center forward, and we need it badly....
the role of a center forward is :

1-score Goal.
2-to be an "island", or " Aircraft carrier ", or a distributing center,in the heart of the enemy camp.
3-occupy the defenders,and free other forwards.
4-help defense, on deiferent occations, specialy corners.
5-Break off-side traps.
6-out muscle defenders.

although,midfield needs to feed the forward line, but, center forward, must be the agent for the midfield to carry its plans...
We had no body,since ali daie,and hashemian appears to be lost all alone.
The currant situation, with all untested prospects,is just pethetic.
We need this position much more than a better goalkeeper, or a left back....we need it so badly,that we can not wait for another talent show up some time in future......we need it so badly, that we need to artificialy make one, or trasplant ..which I suggested,( Nikbakht )......
Ali daie scored 107 or so goals,in last 10 years or so !! ( which translates to so many wins).......would we have been as successful without him?..and would our other forwards had as much chances without him on the field ?

[Doctor DOOM]

since rage jan brought up the korea game, one thing has to be said about the game.

I know we all love that game, mainly becoz of the exciting reversals in fortune, the number of goals scored and the fact that we scored more of them. we also love it becoz that was one tournament ( and game) where karimi justified all the hype about him.

but let us also remember we had flaws in that same game that have gone unnoticed due to the celebratory score-line.

everytime we wanted, we surged ahead and scored. but what happened after that? we took our feet off the pedal, lost the midfield to the koreans, allowed them to pressurize us and eventually score.
when we shd have merely SLOWED DOWN the speed of the game by possession football and short, safe passing and patient movement, we gave up, retreated back and allowed them to attack us.
so while we celebrate the result, we shd also recognize the result doesnt exactly reflect all periods of the game for us, so I question the use of "emphatic victory" in the original post. coz judging by how the match went on, another 10 minutes and the koreans would have equalized ! ( and another 10-15 minutes, we would have scored again. and so on .... )

on possession football.
being a barca fan I must admit my love for a nice string of passing between players from all parts of the pitch. and I have always longed to see such play in TM.
but as pretty possession football seems, it needs the most basic criteria of all sports: running and movement.
without enough running and movement, there can be no possession football.
the players have to constantly find spaces and move into them, thus availing their mates of an option to pass to.
stationary football loses the ball immediately, becoz the opponent can charge you, mark you and dispossess you easily.

in recent TM's we dont have enough movement almost everywhere! be it forward line, midfield or defense.
I can think of very few ppl who actually keep moving and finding spaces. kia may be one. VH sometimes does that. I've seen enayati do that. kaabi uses his quick feet to do that. but that's it. I cant recount anyone else doing so.

madanchi isnt intelligent enough to do so, despite his pace!
karimi is way too lazy to be bothered with such trivial things !
ando uses his quick feet for interception and disruption of opponents more than freeing himself for mates.
niki ? do we have to talk about him?
nekunam? not sure but I dont think he's as nimble as he shd be but he has had on and off days.

these are more or less the usual suspects for a TM line up in a game.

in fact this lack of movement is why sometimes players seem to be taking time to decide ... whereas they are actually trying to see who frees himself and dont find many runners or ppl moving into spaces. hence the delays in passing, and labels of "being slow decision makers" !

[RaginG Inferno]

I also watched Australia v Qatar. I was profoundly impressed by Australia's possession play, they really dictated the game; the ball was their personal property!

I've watched Australia over many years, and I must say they are, currently, a superior team to us.

[Mansoor]

Good read. Thanks.

[RaginG Inferno]

In a football team, every position, every player has a job to do, a role to play. For example, a defensive midfielder needs to assist with the defence when they are pressed, or break up fast counters and provide the link between defence and midfield. Additionally, with the other midfielders and defenders, they need to hold and control possession. Refer to the Iran v South Korea game AC2004, where Iran's dictation of possession play led to a classy and emphatic victory. Note that this was one of Iran's best games in the last half-decade.


In football, one cannot expect an essential part of the team to be lacklustre or faulty, without an effect on the other positions. In Iran's case, with the notable absence of Javad Nekounam and the lack of a competent coach, Team Melli's defence and midfield is encountering immense difficulties keeping possession. Consequently, Iran is unable to build up plays and opportunities, for the playmakers to pass the ball around, find the uncovered angle and make the crucial pass leading to goal scoring opportunities. But how is this relevant to our inability to score?


The rather innocuous(ironically!) role of a forward is to put the ball in the back of the net. However, the opportunities to do so should be provided by the midfield. As I have explained, our inability to keep possession denies the midfield of having the angles to create these opportunities. If one analyzes Iran vs Syria, the problem was actually that the forwards were missing easy opportunities. No, the greatest concern was that these opportunities were largely absent. Whose role, primarily, is it to create opportunities? The midfield (Of course, in the modern game, the role of each position increasingly is overlapping due to the maturing athletic prowess of footballists).


Traditionally, we have relied on an Ali Daei, Khodadad Azizi(remember Iran v Australia?) or Vahid Hashemian(Iran v South Korea ACQ, Iran v Qatar WCQ) to produce a moment of magic to salvage some pride for Iran. Now, Iran cannot rely on a killer finisher to carry the team on his shoulders. Chants of Ali Daei's name reverberating around Azadi stadium against Syria suggest fans are slowly beginning to grasp this reality. Consequently, this finally means that Iran's midfield and defence line need to take some responsibility, and keep possession, which, in turn, will lead to more goal scoring opportunities...and be taken to their logical conclusion in the form of goals.


Now, how can Iran play a possession game? To create this footballing culture for the national team is a complicated task which needs to be developed at youth level. But, on a short term basis, a coach like Javier Clemente can develop this capability within a team. That is the IFF's domain.
__________________