The upcoming IRAN - SAUDI game

[Martin-Reza]

My God, stop nagging all the time.

First of all Daei didn't want to use anymore ACL players (Nouri, who also is slightly injured I think) and obviously had promised to sub out all ACL players after 45 mins, so he had to come up with sth experimental.

And to be honest, Gholamnejad was much better than Jamshidian anyway . If your buddy Akbarpour could shoot, he would have assisted the 2-0.

[Doctor DOOM]

After the Kenya game:

Just becoz you “LIKE” a player that doesn’t automatically make him a capable performer! Neither does that make him a player who can play “ANY” post you keep him at !!!
So what’s the point in bringing G-nejad as the offensive mid ( subbed in for jamshidian )??
Absolutely useless subbing! all he can show for his appearance was ONE SINGLE forward pass and nothing else!!!

mashalah be een entekhaab!
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central defense showed they don’t have too many problems facing physical teams. It’s against pace that they fall short!


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I'm actually impressed w akbarpoor's running and hustling.
although he wasnt very good in creating opportunities for himself ( since the trademark for daei's teams is "screw playmakers" , so forwards have to do it on their own!!!!!! ), but he really hustled and bothered the kenyans on the ball and helped in the defense.

[maij]

Honestly , if Daei keeps succumbing to pressure to select players according to some criteria set by the IFF , to maintain his position , then he will lose quite a bit of respect I have for him as a professional.

This is absloutely ridiculous.

Karimi's invitation to Team Melli is a farce. He has declared umpteen times to the point that he used to get upset when asked , that he will NOT play for Team Melli and there are better and younger players who deserve the call...

NOW , suddenly all those younger and better players and by grace of God allmighty , have dissapeared and he is ready to play ...... AND WHAT BETTER PROVE OF HIS FORM , than a first half display against REAL MADRID ( Sorry.... I meant AL SHARJAH CLUB)..

AND >>>>>trust the hypocriates to sound the alarm , becuase Agha Ali Daei was not very diplomatic in his approach .....

[maij]

if today's SS game was any indication of the kind of game we will see against the saudis, it is more than obvious that the only threat to us...is us.

I hope Daei watched the match closely, and particularly noticed how Saudi teams in general are not behind in Asia when it comes to attacking creativity and skill. hence, sitting back and inviting them forward after a marginal lead may not be a useful tactic if we end up scoring a goal.

how many times are we going to learn that our defense is not capable of soaking up pressure? how many more times are we going to pull back in fear, as if we are playing brazil, in our home stadium against arguably level or weaker opponents? it's a shameful display of football and we are far too skilled to have to succumb to it. let's even forget 'display of football' - has this tactic EVER paid off for us? Have we ever been able to sit back on a lead and completely shut off a team?

look at manchester united, playing the top team in the Serie A. Did they stop at 1-0? did they stop at 2-0? they kept possession mostly in the OPPONENTS third of the field.

look at liverpool, who relentlessly attacked, giving Madrid zero hope. now imagine if 'pool and manu sat back, inviting the likes of ibra, higuain and a bunch of others forward, constantly aiming balls into the box. the chances of one of those going in somehow is quite high...

when will we learn that playing in fear through destructive, defensive and 'bezan zeeresh' football will only harm us??

why are we so scared and what are we scared of??

when will we learn?? i pray we learn in time for the saudi match, or else I have a strong feeling we'll see another heartbreaking 1-1 draw.

Great post..... Needless to say , I agree entirely.


To me , and that is entirely a personal preference , the best form of defense is attack... I loathe this tactic of sitting on a slender lead although sometime circumstances dictate such.

I don't have enough confidence in the defenses to sustain continuous attacks by the opponents, and as mentioned , their "Hail Mary" clearances usually end up coming back to them in a few seconds...

So , provided that we have a midfiled that does not tire and physically condition thensleves well , I beleive that TM should not sit on a slender lead scenario ....


The only thing that I slightly differ with you Agha Faraz , is the "Fear Factor"...I think TM should be afraid , concerned or cautious ( or words to similar effects!). This is Saudi Arabia , we are talking about . NEVER...EVER...undersetimate them....

[Doctor DOOM]

[Doctor DOOM]

It's a dangerous game what Daei's playing here.
He is putting way too much emphasis on "ghaza o ghadar", fate or luck.
and on too many fronts as well!

aside from relying on rahmati's EXTRA-ordinary ( emphasis on "extra" ) saves in each and every game which separates us from some heavy defeats, he is also putting too much in store of luck up front also.

given the team's lack of coordination and much tactical quality, he seems to rely on the opponents' mistakes or set pieces to score goals.
a look at our last WCQ's plus some preliminary round games we see many of our goals are either off dead ball situations ( by itself not a bad idea. but as the SOLE tactic to score? uh uh! ) or off grand mistakes by the opponents' defenders! either their keeper misses the ball or the defender misses it or ... .

not one of our goals have been scored becoz we FORCED it or showed a combination move or strategy ... except perhaps jabbari's cross to kia's header against N Korea.

so I think it is safe to say daei's team plays a PASSIVE game, waiting for loop holes and mistakes to do its damage. again, nothing wrong with this as long as we show OTHER ideas and tactics alongside this. But we dont! and that's why we've become a passive, reactionary team rather than a team that's PRO-ACTIVE and CREATIVE by forcing our moves onto the opponents and scoring goals through OUR brilliance and ideas, rather than their errors.


His latest omission of Karimi and jabbari ( I'm not even gonna bring up mobaali ) is along such lines and underlines this passivity even more.
this shows the team will ONCE AGAIN lack creativity and pro-active measures to MAKE A GOAL BY ourselves!

I dont know what daei has against technically gifted players like karimi, jabbari, mobaali, ... , but it is NOT healthy for the team.


lets say he doesnt like karimi in TM.
ok. fine.
screw karimi.
but WHO is going to be the playmaker in ur team?
is your team going to have a playmaker AT ALL?

or are we to rely on chance and luck and fortunes on both ends, to save us from conceding multiple goals and also smile a couple of times on us up front with opponents' errors ?

why cant we be a proactive team who CARVES OUR OWN FORTUNE and MAKE our own plays and CREATE our own chances?

[Doctor DOOM]

Totally correct, faraz.

afterall a large majority of ppl still believe in the saying" The best defense is a good offense".
which will keep the opponents' defenders, fullbacks, def-mids, ... at bay and bothered about your attackers. hence, they wont have time to add to their offensive players, therefore increasing the pressure on ur defense.

now, if a team has suspect defense and defensive strategy, it is even more important to make sure there is no undue pressure on ur defenders. by any means possible. even if it means you become a bit more gutsy and courageous in crucial games.

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on recent TM call ups:

Now, I dont know what daei's trying to pull here. is this just a roster for the 2 test games? if so, it has certain flaws in calling many players whom you are NOT going to use, while keeping some of those whom you ARE going to use away from the team practice/training, and therefore, DENYING the chances for coordination and cohesion between those who WILL play against saudi.

or :

Kiafan jan, this is not just for Kenya friendly, this is the list for following games:
1- Kenya
2- Senegal
3- Kuwait
4- Saudi Arabia

اسامي تيم ملي فوتبال اعلام شد؛
مهدوي كيا،شيث رضايي و معدنچي دعوت شدند
باز هم خبري از علي كريمي نيست
خبرگزاري دانشجويان ايران - تهران
سرويس: ورزشي - فوتبال
اسامي بازيكنان تيم ملي فوتبال ايران براي سه بازي تداركاتي وهمچنين ديدار برابر تيم ملي عربستان اعلام شد.
به گزارش خبرگزاري دانشجويان ايران (ايسنا)، علي دايي سرمربي تيم ملي ايران 27 بازيكن را براي بازي تداركاتي مقابل تيم هاي كنيا،كويت و سنگال وهمچنين ديدار مقابل تيم ملي عربستان در روز هشتم فروردين 88 از سري رقابت هاي راهيابي به جام جهاني 2010 آفريقاي جنوبي به اردوي تيم ملي فراخواند كه اسامي اين بازيكنان بدين شرح است:سيد مهدي رحمتي،وحيد طالب لو،محمد محمدي،هادي عقيلي،محسن بنگر،سيدجلال حسيني، شيث رضايي، حسين كعبي، خسرو حيدري، علي حمودي، حسن اشجاري، ستار زارع، مازيار زارع، جواد نكونام، حسين كاظمي، مسعود شجاعي، محمد نوري، محمدرضا خلعتبري، مهرزاد معدنچي، احسان حاج صفي، مهدي مهدوي كيا، احمد جمشيديان، مجيد غلام نژاد، وحيدهاشميان،سياوش اكبرپور،غلامرضا رضايي و جلال رافخايي.
اين بازيكنان بايد ساعت 12 ظهر فردا (پنجشنبه) خود را در آكادمي فوتبال به كادر فني تيم ملي معرفي كنند.با وجود برخي گمانه زني ها نام علي كريمي در ميان دعوت شدگان به تيم ملي وجود ندارد.

SOURCE: ISNA

if this is the final roster for the 2 test games AS WELL AS KSA game, then he has committed a humongous f**k-up in his selections, once again. leaving out the legionnaires, he still have not called karimi ( a key player that we'd need ), jabbari ( far more effective than shojaei or nouri ), and I'd even add khalili ( who by that time would be in a better shape than last week ).

basically, whichever excuse the staff comes forth with, will have quite a few holes in it that opens them to a lot of criticism ( many of which are justified ).

( is there a third explanation ? )


on the roster:
I think many of the "new" guys ( like hamoudi, rafkhahi, ...) would be struck off . But what really gets me is how he still trusts utterly USELESS players like zareh ( who will be there in the final roster. but really. what the hell has he done in the past 6 months or more, that favors him over many others in the league ? what ? ) and even rezaei ( who hasnt really done anything worth mentioning in the past 2-3 months ), but khalili , who may be an answer to our problems up front isnt !! and no borhani ( but that brainless akbarpoor is there !!) !! it reeks of stupidity!

how lower caliber OM players like khalatbari, nouri and shojaei are there, but superior players like jabbari and karimi arent!

and going by the past experience, calling up hajsafi, madanchi heydari, .. are just an eye-wash to please the critics. come game time, I'm afraid we'd see the faces of g-nejad and khalatbari and ... much BEFORE seeing these others!

so what is he trying to do?
persist, persist and persist ... no matter what?
even at the cost of denying us the 3 points? ... just to prove you stand by your initial words/decisions ( which by themselves are open to question ) ??
lajbaazi ta kay?

[RaginG Inferno]

I must agree with your statements, Faraz.

[faraz]

if today's SS game was any indication of the kind of game we will see against the saudis, it is more than obvious that the only threat to us...is us.

I hope Daei watched the match closely, and particularly noticed how Saudi teams in general are not behind in Asia when it comes to attacking creativity and skill. hence, sitting back and inviting them forward after a marginal lead may not be a useful tactic if we end up scoring a goal.

how many times are we going to learn that our defense is not capable of soaking up pressure? how many more times are we going to pull back in fear, as if we are playing brazil, in our home stadium against arguably level or weaker opponents? it's a shameful display of football and we are far too skilled to have to succumb to it. let's even forget 'display of football' - has this tactic EVER paid off for us? Have we ever been able to sit back on a lead and completely shut off a team?

look at manchester united, playing the top team in the Serie A. Did they stop at 1-0? did they stop at 2-0? they kept possession mostly in the OPPONENTS third of the field.

look at liverpool, who relentlessly attacked, giving Madrid zero hope. now imagine if 'pool and manu sat back, inviting the likes of ibra, higuain and a bunch of others forward, constantly aiming balls into the box. the chances of one of those going in somehow is quite high...

when will we learn that playing in fear through destructive, defensive and 'bezan zeeresh' football will only harm us??

why are we so scared and what are we scared of??

when will we learn?? i pray we learn in time for the saudi match, or else I have a strong feeling we'll see another heartbreaking 1-1 draw.

[Doctor DOOM]

I think Navidkia's exclusion has much to do with his inability to keep and maintain fitness for a long period. he is highly injury-prone and just recently he's come back from his 7347653th injury.

But once he and asghari came in, sepahan became a more adventurous and positive team.

Hopefully if he keeps his fitness till ksa or even the latter games, daei will be compelled to use him.
like him, there are a few other players who are more deserving than some of the present players in TM's stable 22 man squads.
if only .....

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