Ali Daie - Back to Branko

[Ali Chicago]

GN's problem was he lost his guts when he shd have kept it: AC07 games.
he suddenly got cautious and reverted to BRANKO's favorite line up, players, tactics, .... !!!
added to our crumbling state of scoring goals, you'd know you're in trouble !

I totally agree with this. I mean he had some technical tactical mistakes (Now looking in the hindsight), but all of those were results of him becoming coservative and rely on the Branko's era team.

Reality is the 98 TM team generation is coming to end. Players who Blaz and Branko introudced to the TM (Rezai, Mirzapoor, Kaabi, Kameli, Badavi, Alavi) somehow are not performing. New Blood is needed for the TM. Had GN trusted his instict (not that it is an easy decision when you are the TM head coach), outcome would have been different.

[Doctor DOOM]

majid jan, my answers are in color

also, kindly add ali's comments in the post above to mine, on this matter.
I share the exact sentiments.

Forget about IFF for the sake of argument. What was your expectation?

To see TM play 3 GOOD games, show its true potential and fight hard.
to see them cease this RARE opportunity and not behave it's just another game.
to see the BEST we had on offer take to the pitch and then proceed to tear their arses for each and every ball as if there's no tomorrow. which means they give it their ALL.
but neither the BEST we had took to the pitch ( half of them were lazy, complacent, pampered fellows. another sect were out of form. and NONE were physically fit) nor were they led properly !!!




But did it occur to you that they are aware of the limitations surrounding the Iranian football culture and they can very little to change it ?


I am sure you are aware of the various limitations and lacks in countries like Nigeria of 94, T&T of 06, turkey of 02, senegal or 02, algeria of 82, cameroon of 90, .... etc.
and yet, the same deficient and football-wise inferior countries have created HISTORY and tales that even now ppl speak of.
didnt they have many limitations as well?
based on what did they have the courage to stand up to the likes of argentina, france, germany, england, Italy, .... and not only defy the odds, sometimes even BEAT them ???
simple, my friend:
THEY CEASED THE DAY.
they took hold of their opportunities and extracted the most out of it.
they didnt play it safe or according to the unwritten script or logic or norm.



I don't share that point of view. We lost against Mexico , YES , but played badly, NO.

Are you happy with what we displayed after minutes 55-60 ? the horrible lack of physical conditioning doesnt bother you ?


What makes you think that many of those you suggested was not practiced , but most importantly what makes you think that deploying those suggestion would have made a difference?


to make it short I'll say the signs were there all along more than a year before the games. you know it too.
signs such as :
- we didnt have anyone to work on the fitness of the players. and this showed in many games before the WC.
- need I go over the same crap of branko's preference on a handful of players and ignoring the need for alternatives ?
- setting of complacency was crystal clear for a loooong long time.
- loss of motivation among the frings players and those on the bench was clear as well.
- avoidance and running away from any kind of situation that may expose the MANY problem areas that have been neglected/ignored/denied ( I still remember human repeating branko's garbage about TM not having ANY problem with its defense and left wing !!! ).
and many more issues.



GN have changed his line up several times , but it failed to produce the results. I admit that using the likes of Khatibi was a mistake but this is easily said no after the event.

GN's problem was he lost his guts when he shd have kept it: AC07 games.
he suddenly got cautious and reverted to BRANKO's favorite line up, players, tactics, .... !!!
added to our crumbling state of scoring goals, you'd know you're in trouble !

but to be truthful, while I blame branko for many things, the MAJORITY of the blame falls not on any farangi fellow. it falls right on DADKAN's worthless shoulders who HAD the power to do something about it and didnt.

ironic to see he was a football player himself ! which makes his inaction even more criminal.
when simple fans notice so many issues that reared their heads more than a year before the games and were either ignored or denied by the staff, one would expect the head of the fed'n to exercise more intelligence and wisdom ! hah ! big fat f*cking chance !

branko, at best was a good assistant coach. I take ciro's words for it.
but he was NOT good at MAKING the decisions and laying down policies.
good assistant coaches are those who CARRY OUT the decisions and policies of the head coach. they dont shoulder the responsibility and dont have to. coz they always have the cushion and safety net of the HEAD coach.
put these guys in difficult situations and many dont make it through. branko was one such fellow.

[Ali Chicago]

Majid Jaan;

Thanks for the dialogue. It seems we are saying the same thing and it is like that movie lost in traslation.

Two points:

On Wynalda and TM performacen in WC 2006I never say Eric Wynalda is a expert in Iranian football, but when one is good footballer and watches a game, he can comment on it. I watched T&T as a matter of fact I had no idea where the country is. But when I saw was the tenacity, desire and determination. Based on the fact that where the country was in the football standing, I came to the conclusion that their performance in the WC was over achievement.
Iran is a three times Asian champion, and a power house in Asia, based on that and the fact that Iran plays even more or less even ground with Saudie, Japan, Korea Austraila, people develope certain level of expectation from Asian standareds (particualary Iran). In other words how Aussie, Japaneese, Koreans and Saudies did ( I am not talking about points, I am talking how they played). One team might play great but still loose the game on individual player mistake or brilliant finishiing of the other team or bad ref call.

I never expected Iran to beat Mexico or Portugal, I expecetd Iran to loose. However If Iran played the way it played against Mexico in the first half for the whole game and then same performance against Portugal I would have labeled that as a success. Regardless even if we lost 3-0 both games.

Against Angola I expected a much better convincing performance from Iran. That was a pure disappointment. I hope that at least explains why I beleive our performance in the wc 2006 was subpar. I went throught this to death with Yashar and all of this sounds like a deja vu.


Summary of my position toward Mr. Daie's coaching in the TMAs for Daie, I have no ill feeling toward him and I am not naive to make him a pure evil or an angel.

1. My concern is very simple, his selection process as more evidence comes out (see the video link I posted earlier) seems to be very flawed and was based on other factors ( at least the routine process of asking for the long term and short term program wasn't followed). Based on what Mr. Daie said, his first meeting with Kafasheeyan was about management job in the TM and he flatly rejected it. They never asked him for a long term or short term program for the TM. Which means he was never even considered in the first place). Since asking for a long term and short term and success and failuer criteria from a coach prospect is a very routine process. Even I went through that in my high school and youth coaching (application process).This will aggreviate the whole suspicion that right or wrong exists around Daie.
2. Another issue is the fact that Mr. Daie has a "baggage" with him right or wrong, just or unjust. If team is successful all will be kiss and hug and everything will be under the bridge.
3. God forbid if the team isn't successful, I beleive the hasheeyeh will be magnified by a factor 100 if team goes through a touch patch.
4. I never claimed I know how Daie will perform in th TM. Who the hell I am to claim that? As I said, I will give Mr. Daie at least 6 months to judge his performance and see how he faces problems and solves them.

The above four points summarizes my position toward Mr. Daie's coaching in the TM. Do you agree or disagree with this these points?

[maij]

no. I didnt expect us to win either mexico or portugal at the time of draws.
but setting the bar so low as to merely qualify ahead of bahrain and n korea is simply ridiculous.

Forget about IFF for the sake of argument. What was your expectation?

Remember that apart from the Asian Games medals , where B team qualify (or U23) Iran's last success was winning the Asian Cup in 1976 (38 years ago) at senior level , and no youth or junior level trophies since the pre-revolution. Our best moment of fame was that we had several players playing , mostly bench-warming, European clubs.
Why is it that suddenly we think that we deserve better?

we ( and I mean the officials and IFF ppl and all those with power in our football circle ) never showed or behaved to want more. we maintained that as long as we qualify, it is mission accomplished !
and that relieved any sense of adventure or commitment or urgency or ... call it whatever, from TM staff and coaches. and .... the rest is history.

Well I don't know about that , Peyman Jan, I can't speak for those officials although I can't say/read for certain that they were satisfied by purely qualifying.

But did it occur to you that they are aware of the limitations surrounding the Iranian football culture and they can very little to change it ?

which brought us to the actual WC games and mexico's weak performance made the sense of lost opportunity even more painful. that was a chance game we could have once in a blue moon, to play a world class team on their OFF day, given what we had and could have had, had we been PREPARED sensibly !

I don't share that point of view. We lost against Mexico , YES , but played badly, NO.

as for this upcoming one:
I still maintain if we keep Daei, we are in a way foregoing our true potential.
under a good foreign coach ( even a good B tier one ) we can not only qualify, if luck favors us in the draw, we can make something out of the WC games also. we still have some pretty good players and certainly the time to build a strong team. we know we have the talent pool to get it right.
but we need a good coach. and I'm afraid Daei's capabilities are not enough to create that team for us.

even if we finish the last stage of qualifications with him.

You could be right , and you could be wrong....how can one argue on such basis. On IFs and BUTs , I can give a string of statements which I can never prove. If we get Arsene Wenger , I promise you we can win the World Cup in 2014!

we shd inject a sense of adventure into the team.
good teams play the WC once every 4 years. teams like Iran arent even ensured of this once-in-4-years. so the chance we get, we must extract the absolute MOST out of it.

I quite agree with that. It is a demand of many fans from what I have seen. I just hope that it is realistic expectation and I really hope that Daei senses that his team needs this touch of adventure , without leaving his back exposed.

I am aware of all our shortcomings and lacks.
but I'm aware of our talent also.
and this potential that you ask is the TRUE POTENTIAL that .... let me put it this way:
imagine it's WC06 and we are facing that particular mexcio.
but our team ( including the staff ) was PREPARED.
1- which means the coach had enough brains to have the team ready PHYSICALLY. much like GN's AC07, which was under far worse climatic conditions in malaysia.

2- which means the coach had a team that did NOT over-rely on just a handful of players for almost 2 years. and could easily replace the fixed ones with the tried and tested alternatives who did have game time under the belt and did have time to settle into the team.

3- a good coach could easily either inject motivation & remove complacency among the "favorite" handful or at the most, replace them early , a year before the campaign, to make a homogenous but effective team.

4- which means the coach was intelligent enough to not attempt to change the NATURE of our team, for 3 years , trying to transform it from an attacking minded team to a defensive, cautious one ... and end up with a team that was neither defensively sound AND a team that had lost its teeth and had forgotten its own attacking character !

5- which means the coach would have enough spine to CEASE THE DAY & opportunity and ambitious enough to recognize THIS IS THE DAY I AND MY TEAM MAKE OUR MARK in the world . no matter if we lose, we will stand proud of our performance after 90 minutes.


and some other similar points.
notice none of the above points are impossible. they all could have been achieved with a little hard work. and yes, in spite of our lacks.
for this, we wouldnt need state of the art facilities to have a motivated and hungry skillful midfielder. or a grand infrastructure to have a more GK able to kick the ball. or magnificent foundation to get a balanced team. or to have inspired players who would put their ALL into those 3 games, even if they come off the pitch bleeding.

branko was at BEST a mediocre man with LOW ambition and self-serving, self-preserving character who got satisfied too soon, with too little. hence treated & approached the 3 WC games just like a domestic league game !



I pose a question to you and the rest of brothers here:
what would you think of TM's first 50-55 minutes against mexico?
we all liked it, coz even inspite of the wrong formation and using an inactive daei and ... TM pushed the mexicans to the limit and actually did have quite a few chances to score more goals.
now, my Q is this:
what would you say if we could merely tweak the history by:

1- having the team play with that intensity for 90 minutes, rather than 50-60 minutes.
would it be impossible? definitely not. AC07 is a clear indication of what our physical potential was. 120 minutes against korea while even in the second half of extra time our lads were running amok ... IN THAT STIFLING CLIMATE !

2- having used a two man forward line up with the second fellow someone who did see trust in him, was given time to settle w the team, prepared well. impossible? I say thee nay.

3- having a GK who could actually KICK the ball. impossible? never.

4- having a coach who KNEW how to combat a change in formation or tactic by the opponent's coach. impossible? never.

5- ....
you get my drift, I hope.
small tweaks. that's all.

What makes you think that many of those you suggested was not practiced , but most importantly what makes you think that deploying those suggestion would have made a difference?

My take on Asian Cup 07 is as this.

1- Major shortcomings from the players.
2- Sense of complacency from the whole team.
3- Horrible individual defensive errors.
4- A bunch of disgruntled players (mostly on the bench)
5- A futile offense with target men who did not deliver.

GN have changed his line up several times , but it failed to produce the results. I admit that using the likes of Khatibi was a mistake but this is easily said no after the event.

[maij]

I am sure Eric Wynalda as a player who played in the WC is more knowledgable than you and I and Hadi who claimed Iran's peroformance was ok. If you want I can find out his current football activities as well for you. I am sure Eric is very much involoved with coaching or management of soccer in USA. Don't forget the level of soccer in US (at least based on their team standing in FIFA, isn't something to take for granted anymore, with a lot of their player play (really play not warm benches) in European leagues).

I don't want to know what Wynalda knows about football, my questions is very specific. What makes him an expert in Iranian football?
Being a football coach in USA does not qualify him to be an expert in Thai , Saudi or Iranian football.

Furthermore, why you only mention Wynalda and not the FIFA writing that numerous time has mentioned Iran's peroformance in the WC was below par!!! Of course you and I and eveyrone else has his own opinion and it si fine but there is a reality out there beyond what Ali, Majid or Hadi beleive in and can be measured based on points, chances created by our team, ball possesion. In all aspects our team was miserable. Lots of Branko fans ( I wanted to say worshipers, but that tends to bring about problmes (two bans before)), attributes that to Karimi misbahaving and all. But the mere fact of the team under Branko getting to that point (players misbehaving) is a confession to Branko's failure. I have no pedar ***hteghi with Branko. But I judge his performance.

There is two sides to the argument, expectations and reality. As a passionate TM supporter , I dream of the day that the FIFA world cup is paraded in Azadi square. As a realist , I know that driving a Skoda or even my Mercedes Benz S class in the Formula one Grand prix , will not give me much hope of winning the title.

Blame it on Branko if you wish , but that is hiding behind the facts in my opinion. No doubt that the future Failure of Team Melli will be attributed to Daei like they did to Ghalenoei ...and the stereotype will go on.

In brief , I think Iran did as well as it could in the World Cup.

People who demand better , and that is a view that I share as well , should point to the right direction and rather than put all the blame on an individual shoulder , they should question the system.

Our team was very lucky Kaabi didn't get kicked out in the portugal game. The way he was desperately trying to stop Figo and Rondaldo with even Karate kicks.

I am sure you remembet T&T Trinidad and Tobago. Even the way Angola defened against Portugual. It isn't just about the points. It is about the way we played. Iran's team in the second half of the Mexico game and even worst the portugual game was 11 players defneding their own half. It was embaressing for me as an Iranian. But everybody has his own opinion. And now you can consider yourself ENLIGHTENED .

On the contrast , I am not enlightened at all , Ali Jan.
You see, arguments such as , If Kaebi did that , or Karmi played there instead of here , if Barnko used this.....is nothing more than unproven speculative views. It does not hold any weight.

I was in a section containing no less than 4 to 5 thousand Mexican fans in Nurenburg (Thank you FIFA for putting me there!) hours before start of the match and I struck a good conversation with a few fans sitting with me (Mexicans & Mexicans Americans) and after the match , one of them who was pretty much up to speed with football affairs said after our final handshake ..."You gave us a good scare"

"You gave us a good scare" that is a point of view as well . Now , where do we stand with your statement that you were ashamed of this football played by Team Melli? You certainly have the right to feel whatever your instincts tells you and have your own criterion , but what I believe on the contrast , is that I do not usually measure performances on the day of the match. There is much more to it than that.

A country such as Saudi Arabia , with millions and billions of dollars investment in football , should expect more from their teams , Iran has a long way to go. We all know the shortcomings but shy from spelling them out and preferring to have the easy way out....blame Ghalenoei , Barnko , Daei , Dadkan .........not to mention "Abbas Tokhmi"

In everywhere there is the so called networking. But only in Iran there are more qualified people in football who aren't maktabi aren't even considered and sitting at home. Agha majid please read what I worte. Why Hassan Habbibi has no role in Iranian football. Why Mohajerani has no role?

Every where there is networkking but only in Iran and few other countries Aliabadi openly or implicitly runs the show and make or breaks kings!!!

Thank you very much Ali Jan...thank you.

What did I say about the system? If you have a dysfunctional system , a system that has priorities other than football , where ideology is put above other important issues , how on earth you expect a team to qualify comfortably to the World Cup and start beating the hell out of Portugal and Mexico?

PS: In my personnel opinion , both Mohajerani and Habibi are from the old school and although I think that should be used in consultancy basis , I don't think it is a good idea to use them in major roles.

ASsuming I agree with everything you said during his playing days, what does that have to do with his coaching abilities. His team won the championship mostly on the basis of a dismal performance at the last half of the season by SS. Team was established by Laurant and he left at teh begining and Daie took over. This season his team is in the lower end of the table (the team that Daie set up not Laurant). I am not that unfair to deny Daie' contribution to the Saipa's championship last year, but there were mitigating facotors (Laurant initial work, SS totally screwing up in the latter part of the second half of the season) as well. This year Daie's performance as a coach hasn't been stellar to say the least. So based on what criteria one can select him as a head coach for the TM is beyond my comprehension. But all of that doesn't matter now, that he is the coach, and despite having all these suspect circumstance, Mr. Daie will have my full support since he is coaching IRAN's TM.

One can find faults and criticism in the prophets as well , but where does this put us? I don't have enough expertise to decide whether Saipa's championship was due to Laurent or not , so excuse me for not commenting on a subject that I have little background on , but then again you would say that , wouldn't you?

I never claimed that Daei is the God gift of coaching to Iran, in fact I am as surprised as many others. The difference is that I am not too quick to shoot the man .... yeah , he could very well fail, but what does that achieve as far as we are concerned ? Makes us happy that the Iranian coaches are incompetent and for ever we should be looking west for help??? We might as well do what Qatar does and stat naturalizing a few Brazilians and Africans because Iranian players are not up to scratch ....

I never said anything like that Turkish thing. So don't put me and him in the same boat.

Not at all Ali Agha , you are a different class.

You keep confusing Daie as a player with a coach. I gave you examples of Vogts and Beckenbauer who were great players but at best good coaches and please read the above paragraph again about Dai'e coaching ability. While he needs time and chacnes, at least right now, his selection wasn't based on a very solid coaching performance.
I don't think Daie is Evil, If I was I wasnt' afraid to say it. He is extermely smart and he knows how to play the system and shame on us that our system is so ****ed up that being played so easily. But Daie isn't an angle either. On that note, I said what I had to say about Daie and since I promisedd I won't say anythign bad about him at least for the 6 months, I won't continue this debate. You and I obviously see things differently.

Again mark my words, I said I support Daie despite my reservations about him, since he is the tm coach now.

I also said if TM wins the first couple of games everythign going to be fine. However if team doesn't play well then you will see what kind of Hasheeyeh will be created around the TM due to Mr. Daie being the coach. Hopefully, TM will win the first couple of games and we don't have to deal with that latter case of Hasheeyeh.

Several times I have mentioned that I have very little idea about Daei's relatively new coaching career , so , why do you say that I am confused about him as a players or as a coach. How many comments did you see from me on how Daei is planning the tactics ??

NO...I reserve my comments on Daei when I ACTUALLY see him operate.

Again , hashiya are created by people with ill intent. Possibilities of failure is a reality with any coach , let alone a freshman like Daei. Failure is broadly judged rather than on a series of a few matches. If he is not good enough , then he should leave and get on with his career elsewhere He is a smart guy as you admitted and he will realize before us when it is time to quit.

[Adesor Vafaseya]

farahani is dead on with his remarks.
absolutely correct


but w regards to his appointment, increasingly I tend to agree with the idea of daei being the last minute COMPROMISE candidate between aliabadi ( pushing for GN ) and kafashian ( pushing for ghtobi ).

... hehe , and Ironically and most reluctantly, I tend to go with alabadi's choice which was better SUITED than the other 2, AT THE MOMENT & PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES !!!

Same thoughts here with me..... This is the only logical way to explain it.

[Doctor DOOM]

farahani is dead on with his remarks.
absolutely correct


but w regards to his appointment, increasingly I tend to agree with the idea of daei being the last minute COMPROMISE candidate between aliabadi ( pushing for GN ) and kafashian ( pushing for ghtobi ).

... hehe , and Ironically and most reluctantly, I tend to go with alabadi's choice which was better SUITED than the other 2, AT THE MOMENT & PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES !!!

[Ali Chicago]

I am not here to defend the Iranian government or the regime , but in general , such things as promoting people within the circle , is not an exclusive Iranian tradition, it happens around the globe.
The claiming that Daei is there because of his closeness to the government , while not crediting his achievements is a pure twisting of facts and convenient tool to discredit the man...........
Hmmmmmmm..... Why do I feel there is some fishy tale here ???



........




......

Majid Jaan;

Please watch this video, this is Ali Daie talking about how he got the TM head coaching job. This is not my speculation and extrapolation. You tell me if this is the right way to select a TM cocah.

Please watch the video it is less than3 minutes. You see he got elected based on two short meetings with Kafasheeyn, even without giving any program to the IFF. This is outragous!!! If this is not based on connection, I don't knwo what it is . Mr. Daie even claims he will still work with Saipa as well. I hope he will be succesful against all odds for the TM sake, but this is the wrong way of doing things.

Kheshteh aval ghar nahad memar kaj
Ta sooraya meeravad deevar Kaj.

This is not to bash Daie. I take god as my witness, this video is a shame to IFF, our sport organization and Iranian Islamic Repulbic government.

I coached in the US in high school and Club level (youth) in US and planning to coach again if time allows. For coaching youth, I go through more rigorous process than this!!!!!!

http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=505

[Ali Chicago]

Not quite related to this but this is what Safai Farahani thinks about Daie becoming the head coach. I am not saying everything that he says is one of the comandments but whether we agree to disagree with Mr. Farahani, we know he is a smart and pricipaled man.


انتخاب "دايي" براي تيم ملي اشتباه بود
بدخواهان زيادي منتظر كوچك*ترين لغزش دايي*اند
نبايد يك اسطوره را اين*گونه قرباني سوء مديريت*ها كرد سرويس: ورزشي - فوتبال
1386/12/15
03-05-2008
12:39:21
8612-08033: كد خبر
خبرگزاري دانشجويان ايران - تهران
سرويس: ورزشي - فوتبال
رييس اسبق فدراسيون فوتبال ايران، انتخاب علي دايي به عنوان سرمربي جديد تيم ملي را به دليل زود هنگام خواندن حضورش در اين پست؛ اشتباه خواند و تاكيد كرد كه نبايد مسوولان فوتبال كشور براي سرپوش گذاشتن به ايرادات مديريتي و اجرايي خود اسطوره*ها را اين*گونه بسوزانند.
محسن صفايي فراهاني در گفت*وگو با خبرنگار ورزشي خبرگزاري دانشجويان ايران (ايسنا)، اظهار كرد: پيش از اين بارها اعلام كردم كه اعتقادم براي فوتبال ملي، حضور يك سرمربي قدرتمند خارجي است. اكنون نيز معتقدم تحت هر شرايطي حضور يك مربي خارجي صاحب نام مي*تواند به فوتبال ايران كمك كند. قطعا اگر از يك مربي بزرگ استفاده مي*كرديم شرايط فوتبال ملي و حتي باشگاهي ايران تحت تاثير اين انتخاب تغيير مي*كرد.
وي افزود: اين يك اعتقاد و ايده*ي ذاتي است كه هميشه و در تمام شرايط مديريتي*ام در فوتبال و يا خارج از آن به آن اعتقاد داشته*ام. در شرايطي كه گزينه*هاي داخلي براي فوتبال ايران مطرح شد، معتقد بودم كه اين انتخاب فارغ از هر اسم يا عنواني مي*تواند روند رو به رشد فوتبال ايران را به تاخير بيندازد.
صفايي فراهاني با اشاره به انتخاب علي دايي به عنوان سرمربي جديد تيم ملي فوتبال ايران گفت: علي دايي اسطوره و پيشينه*ي فوتبال ايران است. پس از چهل سال فوتبال توانسته*ايم يك اسطوره به نام "علي دايي" را به جهانيان معرفي كنيم. نبايد در اين ميان به گونه*اي رفتار شود كه از اين اسطوره استفاده نكرده، او را بسوزانيم.
وي گفت: *دايي افتخار ايران و آسياست. او بايد در يك شرايط بهتر و مناسب*تر هدايت تيم ملي ايران را بر عهده مي*گرفت. معتقدم حضور فعلي دايي در راس كادر فني تيم ملي يك اشتباه است و اين اشتباه را نيز مديراني مرتكب شده*اند كه به دليل ضعف*هاي خود خواهان سرپوش گذاشتن بر روي آن هستند.
رييس اسبق فدراسيون فوتبال افزود: علي دايي مي*تواند كمك موثري براي فوتبال ايران باشد، معتقدم فدراسيون فوتبال پيش از انتخاب دايي به عنوان سرمربي تيم ملي، بايد وي را براي مدتي به يكي از مطرح*ترين تيم*هاي خارجي اعزام مي*كرد تا او در كنار بزرگ*ترين مربيان فوتبال دنيا تجربيات خود را افزايش مي*داد.
وي افزود: دايي هميشه نشان داده كه مستعد و با تجربه عمل مي*كند. او در حال حاضر نيز داراي تجربيات گران*بهايي در عرصه بازي*گري و مربي*گري است. در زماني كه در فدراسيون فوتبال حضور داشتم او را آدمي منضبط و كاردان يافتم. او فوتباليستي است كه زير بار هر حرفي نمي رود و طبيعي است كه اين رفتار نيز در جامعه كنوني ما طرفدار چنداني ندارد و قطعا بدخواهان زيادي منتظر كوچك*ترين لغزش دايي هستند.
صفايي فراهاني گفت: نبايد شرايط را به گونه*اي فراهم مي*كرديم تا لغزش احتمالي دايي در آينده، تيم ملي و او را به حاشيه براند. دايي اسطوره*ي فوتبال ايران است و شكستن اين اسطوره*ها در هر مقطع زماني؛ دانسته يا نادانسته طبعات فراواني براي فوتبال ايران و حتي آسيا به همراه خواهد داشت. خيلي*ها از دايي خوششان نمي*آيد و قطعا اين روند آسيب پذيري شرايط آينده فوتبال ملي و شخص علي دايي را بيشتر خواهد كرد.
صفايي فراهاني اظهار كرد: به هر حال آنچه كه نبايد اتفاق مي*آفتاد، رخ داده است. در حال حاضر بايد تنها با سرمربي جديد تيم ملي همكاري كنيم تا در آينده تاسف* نخوريم. سازمان تربيت بدني و فدراسيون فوتبال بايد تمام تلاش خود را براي كمك و موفقيت به علي دايي و تيم ملي انجام دهند.
وي با رد هر گونه تاثيرگذاري در انتخاب "دايي" يا هر گزينه*ي ديگري براي سرمربي*گري تيم ملي گفت: شخصا پس از پايان فعاليت كميته*ي انتقالي هيچ تماسي با مسوولان فدراسيون فوتبال نداشته*ام و آنها نيز كمتر به سراغ من آمدند و حتي در جريان تصميم*گيري*ها و برنامه*هاي آنان نيز نبوده*ام.
صفايي فراهاني در پايان به علي دايي توصيه كرد كه در هدايت تيم ملي از بهترين و نام*آورترين مربيان خارجي استفاده كند.

[Doctor DOOM]

btw, having read ali's reply, I was reminded of yet another damage done by branko.
which is leaving the team with no morale and self confidence! and such teams tend to under-perform especially in tough games.

apart from ruining the morale of the bench and fringe players by never showing an iota of trust in them, no matter how terrbly his favorite handful of players did, the whole team was affected by his gutless attitude and philosophy.

such teams never reach their own potential, let alone out-do themselves !!!

exactly opposite of teams that out-did themselves like T & T or Ivory coast or ... of this dition of WC. and countless other examples of minnows and no-hopers doing the unthinkable : standing up to the big guns and sometimes actually bringing them down to their knees.
we all know very many examples of this feat.

[Ali Chicago]

For the record, I posted this in the main forum. If anyone care to read it, that I tried to explain my opinion.

http://www.persianfootball.com/forums/showthread.php?p=944211#post944211

Ali Jan , since when did Eric Wynalda suddenly become an expert in Iran's football ??? What does he know of Iran's football to consider his comments as an expert opinion with credibility ??? Or are you assuming that he is on ABC America automatically elevates him to an expert level?

.

I am sure Eric Wynalda as a player who played in the WC is more knowledgable than you and I and Hadi who claimed Iran's peroformance was ok. If you want I can find out his current football activities as well for you. I am sure Eric is very much involoved with coaching or management of soccer in USA. Don't forget the level of soccer in US (at least based on their team standing in FIFA, isn't something to take for granted anymore, with a lot of their player play (really play not warm benches) in European leagues).
Furthermore, why you only mention Wynalda and not the FIFA writing that numerous time has mentioned Iran's peroformance in the WC was below par!!! Of course you and I and eveyrone else has his own opinion and it si fine but there is a reality out there beyond what Ali, Majid or Hadi beleive in and can be measured based on points, chances created by our team, ball possesion. In all aspects our team was miserable. Lots of Branko fans ( I wanted to say worshipers, but that tends to bring about problmes (two bans before)), attributes that to Karimi misbahaving and all. But the mere fact of the team under Branko getting to that point (players misbehaving) is a confession to Branko's failure. I have no pedar ***hteghi with Branko. But I judge his performance.

Our team was very lucky Kaabi didn't get kicked out in the portugal game. The way he was desperately trying to stop Figo and Rondaldo with even Karate kicks.

So enlighten us...... What was the rightful place for Iran in WC2006 and qualify it please.

.

I am sure you remembet T&T Trinidad and Tobago. Even the way Angola defened against Portugual. It isn't just about the points. It is about the way we played. Iran's team in the second half of the Mexico game and even worst the portugual game was 11 players defneding their own half. It was embaressing for me as an Iranian. But everybody has his own opinion. And now you can consider yourself ENLIGHTENED .

I am not here to defend the Iranian government or the regime , but in general , such things as promoting people within the circle , is not an exclusive Iranian tradition, it happens around the globe.
The claiming that Daei is there because of his closeness to the government , while not crediting his achievements is a pure twisting of facts and convenient tool to discredit the man.

The fact that he is the World record holder of goalscoring , the fact he played over a century of matches for Team Melli , the fact that he played for major European/German clubs, the fact that he worked with exceptionally professional coaches , the fact the managed to win a league championship with Saipa ...... All those are irrelevant facts for selection as a coach , but the assumption that he gained the respect of the hierarchy of the Islamic republic is the reason for his selection......

Hmmmmmmm..... Why do I feel there is some fishy tale here ???
.

In everywhere there is the so called networking. But only in Iran there are more qualified people in football who aren't maktabi aren't even considered and sitting at home. Agha majid please read what I worte. Why Hassan Habbibi has no role in Iranian football. Why Mohajerani has no role?

Every where there is networkking but only in Iran and few other countries Aliabadi openly or implicitly runs the show and make or breaks kings!!!

If this refers to Daei , then he has earned the Hero status hands down, by merit , acheivments, dedication , hard work and the passion for his country that is exmplary and he did not acheive that by sitting behind a keyboard with a fast internet connection either.
Attempts to discredit Daei will hardly stop mostly from people who have issues with him since his playing days based on the ridiculous notion that he has imposed himself on Team Melli roster or those @Parvinist@ that still despise him for standing against their Soltan aka the all mighty .
I have yet to see some constructive criticism from neutrals to convince me that the man is an evil .

But if you have a nation where their so-called educated and qualified professional pass comments such as "IFF is looking for a Turkish translator to assist Daei in Team Melli " you can much measure the level of mediocrity , hatred and contempt they carry in their inner heart for those public figures who have made the grade.

Luckily though, these people are in the minority.

ASsuming I agree with everything you said during his playing days, what does that have to do with his coaching abilities. His team won the championship mostly on the basis of a dismal performance at the last half of the season by SS. Team was established by Laurant and he left at teh begining and Daie took over. This season his team is in the lower end of the table (the team that Daie set up not Laurant). I am not that unfair to deny Daie' contribution to the Saipa's championship last year, but there were mitigating facotors (Laurant initial work, SS totally screwing up in the latter part of the second half of the season) as well. This year Daie's performance as a coach hasn't been stellar to say the least. So based on what criteria one can select him as a head coach for the TM is beyond my comprehension. But all of that doesn't matter now, that he is the coach, and despite having all these suspect circumstance, Mr. Daie will have my full support since he is coaching IRAN's TM.

I never said anything like that Turkish thing. So don't put me and him in the same boat. You keep confusing Daie as a player with a coach. I gave you examples of Vogts and Beckenbauer who were great players but at best good coaches and please read the above paragraph again about Dai'e coaching ability. While he needs time and chacnes, at least right now, his selection wasn't based on a very solid coaching performance.
I don't think Daie is Evil, If I was I wasnt' afraid to say it. He is extermely smart and he knows how to play the system and shame on us that our system is so ****ed up that being played so easily. But Daie isn't an angle either. On that note, I said what I had to say about Daie and since I promisedd I won't say anythign bad about him at least for the 6 months, I won't continue this debate. You and I obviously see things differently.

Again mark my words, I said I support Daie despite my reservations about him, since he is the tm coach now.

I also said if TM wins the first couple of games everythign going to be fine. However if team doesn't play well then you will see what kind of Hasheeyeh will be created around the TM due to Mr. Daie being the coach. Hopefully, TM will win the first couple of games and we don't have to deal with that latter case of Hasheeyeh.

[Ali Chicago]

Ali Jan , since when did Eric Wynalda suddenly become an expert in Iran's football ??? What does he know of Iran's football to consider his comments as an expert opinion with credibility ??? Or are you assuming that he is on ABC America automatically elevates him to an expert level?

.

I am sure Eric Wynalda as a player who played in the WC is more knowledgable that you and I and Hadi who claimed Iran's peroformance was a success. Furthermore, why you only mention only Wynalda and not the FIFA writing that numerous time has mentioned Iran's peroformance in the WC was below par!!! Of course you and I and eveyrone else has his own opinion and it si fine but there is a reality out there beyond what Ali, Majid or Hadi beleive in and can be measured based on points, chances created by our team, ball possesion.

Our team was very lucky Kaabi didn't get kicked out in the portugal game. The way he was desperately trying to stop Figo and Rondaldo with even Karate kicks.

So enlighten us...... What was the rightful place for Iran in WC2006 and qualify it please.

.

I am sure you remembet T&T Triniddada and Tobago. Even the way Angola defened against Portugual. It isn't just about the points. It is about the way we played. Iran's team in the second half of the Mexico game and even worst the portugual game was 11 players defneding their own half. It was embaressing for me as an Iranian. But everybody has his own opinion. And now you are ENLIGHTENED.

I am not here to defend the Iranian government or the regime , but in general , such things as promoting people within the circle , is not an exclusive Iranian tradition, it happens around the globe.
The claiming that Daei is there because of his closeness to the government , while not crediting his achievements is a pure twisting of facts and convenient tool to discredit the man.

The fact that he is the World record holder of goalscoring , the fact he played over a century of matches for Team Melli , the fact that he played for major European/German clubs, the fact that he worked with exceptionally professional coaches , the fact the managed to win a league championship with Saipa ...... All those are irrelevant facts for selection as a coach , but the assumption that he gained the respect of the hierarchy of the Islamic republic is the reason for his selection......

Hmmmmmmm..... Why do I feel there is some fishy tale here ???
.

In everywhere there is the so called networking. But only in Iran there are more qualified people in football who aren't maktabi aren't even considered and sitting at home. Agha majid please read what I worte. Why Hassan Habbibi has no role in Iranian football. Why Mohajerani has no role?

Every where there is networkking but only in Iran and few other countries Aliabadi openly or implicitly runs the show and make or breaks kings!!!

If this refers to Daei , then he has earned the Hero status hands down, by merit , acheivments, dedication , hard work and the passion for his country that is exmplary and he did not acheive that by sitting behind a keyboard with a fast internet connection either.
Attempts to discredit Daei will hardly stop mostly from people who have issues with him since his playing days based on the ridiculous notion that he has imposed himself on Team Melli roster or those @Parvinist@ that still despise him for standing against their Soltan aka the all mighty .
I have yet to see some constructive criticism from neutrals to convince me that the man is an evil .

But if you have a nation where their so-called educated and qualified professional pass comments such as "IFF is looking for a Turkish translator to assist Daei in Team Melli " you can much measure the level of mediocrity , hatred and contempt they carry in their inner heart for those public figures who have made the grade.

Luckily though, these people are in the minority.

I never said anything like that Turkish thing. So don't put me and him in the same boat. You keep confusing Daie as a player with a coach. I gave you examples of Vogts and Beckenbauer who were great players but at best good coaches.
I don't think Daie is Evil, If I was I wasnt' afraid to say it. He is extermely smart and he knows how to play the system and shame on us that our system is so ****ed up that being played so easily. But Daie isn't an angle either. On that note, I said what I had to say about Daie and since I promisedd I won't say anythign bad about him at least for the 6 months, I won't continue this debate. You and I obviously see things differently.

Again mark my words, I said I support Daie despite my reservations about him since he is the tm coach now.

I also said if TM wins the first couple of games everythign going to be fine. However if team doesn't play well then you will see what kind of Hasheeyeh will be created aroudn the TM due to Mr. Daie being the coach. Hopefully, TM will win the first couple of games and we don't have to deal with that latter case of Hasheeyeh.

[khabalood]

Bringing Daie back has nothing to do with Branko. I have a hard time, to see how these two issues are interconnected.

I agree, because there is no connection. How anyone could confuse shir Ali Daei for Bran***lav Ivankovic is beyond me. Now having researched this topic extensively and I can concluded that they are two separate individuals and that Ali Daei will not transform into Bran***lav Ivankovic. Furthermore, no member of tm is Bran***lav Ivankovic either. Believe me friends, I would be the first to let everyone know any of them were. Thank God none of them are.

[Doctor DOOM]

Doc.


Potential: So , I assume that you think that Iran in 2006 should have qualified for the next round beating the likes of Mexico and Portugal and perhaps making it to the Semi-finals....... On what basis ? What has Iran shown in World football in the last 30 years to even think that Team Melli deserves a place amongst the elites????

no. I didnt expect us to win either mexico or portugal at the time of draws.
but setting the bar so low as to merely qualify ahead of bahrain and n korea is simply ridiculous.

we ( and I mean the officials and IFF ppl and all those with power in our football circle ) never showed or behaved to want more. we maintained that as long as we qualify, it is mission accomplished !
and that relieved any sense of adventure or commitment or urgency or ... call it whatever, from TM staff and coaches. and .... the rest is history.

which brought us to the actual WC games and mexico's weak performance made the sense of lost opportunity even more painful. that was a chance game we could have once in a blue moon, to play a world class team on their OFF day, given what we had and could have had, had we been PREPARED sensibly !


as for this upcoming one:
I still maintain if we keep Daei, we are in a way foregoing our true potential.
under a good foreign coach ( even a good B tier one ) we can not only qualify, if luck favors us in the draw, we can make something out of the WC games also. we still have some pretty good players and certainly the time to build a strong team. we know we have the talent pool to get it right.
but we need a good coach. and I'm afraid Daei's capabilities are not enough to create that team for us.
even if we finish the last stage of qualifications with him.

we shd inject a sense of adventure into the team.
good teams play the WC once every 4 years. teams like Iran arent even ensured of this once-in-4-years. so the chance we get, we must extract the absolute MOST out of it.
which means, just playing, hoping for a couple of points here and there will never serve us. a week down the line, our team will be forgotten and no one would even remember Iran took part in a WC !!!
personally, that is a major let down and failure for me.
we must adopt a strategy to say once we play our 3 games there, we must blow everyone's expectation out the window.
even if we lose, let us lose with our heads held up high, with all guns blazing.

let the rest of the world say Iran lost, but boy did they make the teams X, Y or Z SUFFER to get the points.

but this is ME. and since you asked what"I" think shd be the aim.


===============


I am aware of all our shortcomings and lacks.
but I'm aware of our talent also.
and this potential that you ask is the TRUE POTENTIAL that .... let me put it this way:
imagine it's WC06 and we are facing that particular mexcio.
but our team ( including the staff ) was PREPARED.
1- which means the coach had enough brains to have the team ready PHYSICALLY. much like GN's AC07, which was under far worse climatic conditions in malaysia.

2- which means the coach had a team that did NOT over-rely on just a handful of players for almost 2 years. and could easily replace the fixed ones with the tried and tested alternatives who did have game time under the belt and did have time to settle into the team.

3- a good coach could easily either inject motivation & remove complacency among the "favorite" handful or at the most, replace them early , a year before the campaign, to make a homogenous but effective team.

4- which means the coach was intelligent enough to not attempt to change the NATURE of our team, for 3 years , trying to transform it from an attacking minded team to a defensive, cautious one ... and end up with a team that was neither defensively sound AND a team that had lost its teeth and had forgotten its own attacking character !

5- which means the coach would have enough spine to CEASE THE DAY & opportunity and ambitious enough to recognize THIS IS THE DAY I AND MY TEAM MAKE OUR MARK in the world . no matter if we lose, we will stand proud of our performance after 90 minutes.


and some other similar points.
notice none of the above points are impossible. they all could have been achieved with a little hard work. and yes, in spite of our lacks.
for this, we wouldnt need state of the art facilities to have a motivated and hungry skillful midfielder. or a grand infrastructure to have a more GK able to kick the ball. or magnificent foundation to get a balanced team. or to have inspired players who would put their ALL into those 3 games, even if they come off the pitch bleeding.

branko was at BEST a mediocre man with LOW ambition and self-serving, self-preserving character who got satisfied too soon, with too little. hence treated & approached the 3 WC games just like a domestic league game !



I pose a question to you and the rest of brothers here:
what would you think of TM's first 50-55 minutes against mexico?
we all liked it, coz even inspite of the wrong formation and using an inactive daei and ... TM pushed the mexicans to the limit and actually did have quite a few chances to score more goals.
now, my Q is this:
what would you say if we could merely tweak the history by:

1- having the team play with that intensity for 90 minutes, rather than 50-60 minutes.
would it be impossible? definitely not. AC07 is a clear indication of what our physical potential was. 120 minutes against korea while even in the second half of extra time our lads were running amok ... IN THAT STIFLING CLIMATE !

2- having used a two man forward line up with the second fellow someone who did see trust in him, was given time to settle w the team, prepared well. impossible? I say thee nay.

3- having a GK who could actually KICK the ball. impossible? never.

4- having a coach who KNEW how to combat a change in formation or tactic by the opponent's coach. impossible? never.

5- ....
you get my drift, I hope.
small tweaks. that's all.

[Doctor DOOM]

good Q :

what are we supposed to have expected , from Branko, an previouse assistant to a third rate coach ?.

answer : NOTHING.
we shd have expected NOTHING from that coach.
which means that coach shd have NOT been our coach sitting on our bench at the WC.
when we saw all those warning signals a year or more, before the games, we shd have taken notice and heeded them.

once the race starts, we cant expect a peykan to beat a BMW.