Where is Maij???

[Hajagha]

Good to see you here, however I was getting updated through LinkedIn and I knew that you are around, sound and safe.

Cheers,

[Keano]

Maij jaan,

I am truly very happy to see you back, and especially to know that you are actually doing fine and not encountering serious problems, well thanks God for that and hope to see your usual great and insightful posts once again.

In regards to TM and Iran's football although I do agree with all you said, but we are true fans and true fans would never turn their back on their teams, just like moms and dads would always support their children no matter what the circumstances may be. Great and legendary teams such as Italy, France etc failed to even advance from their group stages, I bet you anything that their football fans went through a much bigger magnitude of depression than we did, and I doubt they'll back out of supporting their teams. The French were crowned the Kings of 1998 WC, however 4 years later they became the biggest flop of WC 2002 by failing to advance from their group stage, however yet again in 2006 they managed to pull it off and reached the final match against Italy and if it wasn't for Zidane's childish behavior they could have even won that match!

Anyway super glad to see you around once again!

Yours truly,
Keano

[Ali Chicago]

WB Agha Majid.

[zzgloo]

Hi Guys….. I am still alive and kicking.

Thank you for asking, and special thanks goes to Keano , a true class act.

In the last few months , between being involved on professional and domestic fronts with major ventures to keep me busy for long time and various trips abroad , I found much less time to surf the net as I used to do before. Of course I have not abandoned my passion for football and neither my affection for PFDC although certain developments have relegated the latter into a less significant priority in the schemes of things.

However, I must admit that with the status of Iran’s football, which has been a major source of my disillusionment for some time , my desire to actively follow and engage in discussions has waned considerably. I am going through a major loss of interest to a level which I have not experienced for decades. After 2006 , I witnessed football in Iran head down south and decline.

The catalyst was that bitter defeat in the final of the WAFF against Kuwait.

I am not going into the details of why one defeat has negatively affected me suffice to say that the breaking point was coming and that poor result highlighted and confirmed to me at least , how chaotic , unruly , disordered and amateurish this football is. Kuwait, which is not even in the top 4 teams in the Persian Gulf , had a B team in that match against Iran’s full team (give or take) yet they managed to beat Team Melli who are claiming to be a contender for the Asian title!!

This loss was heart breaking to me and I just had to ask myself, how much heart ache, setback, disappointment and discontent one should tolerate in supporting a team? What am I ? Am I a loser to support losers? How much ridicule one can endure? Then came the match against Brazil.

It is NOT like me to miss an opportunity to watch such a lifetime experience, one hour flying and I would be in Abu Dhabi , but NOT with this team and this coach. I had bad vibes and did not have the urge to witness a humiliation so I did not go.

Well, it was NOT exactly a humiliation but it would have been a major waste of money and time for me. As if the match was between boys versus men although Brazil was a very experimental team full of young ones. Team Melli had no guts and no soul in that match, needless to mention some major other technical and tactical shortcomings. I still remember the Team Melli that played but lost against the great teams of the football world, but lost with grace and pride intact. NOT this team Melli.

I treated myself to watching Argentina vs. Brazil in Khalifa stadium , Doha , Qatar. I have witnessed the greatest player on earth, little Leo Messi score a goal against Brazil. The atmosphere , the facilities , the fans , the excitement , the class of that evening and that match, is the type of experience and feelings that any passionate football supporters yearns for and those things are precise ones that I have missing for a long time. The little Argentinian compensated for the lack of pleasure and joy that I have been yearning for in my support for Team Melli , bar the lack of pride and patriotic feeling. No team can replace Team Melli in that department.


In short …I guess I owe you guys some explanation for my sudden withdrawal . I will be around, however , less frequently ….Cheers and enjoy.

Welcome back.....

I do not think, there is any one here in PFDC, that writes in " Better English " than you do......
You obviously, do this often in official capacities.....,......
You use a , better grammer, better vocabulary,Better spelling,and more of a business official language,and narration.........and as it appears,you may even think in English.........
I can only do that with Farsi,.....and franckly ,I have never taken English that seriously ,and developed my mind with farsi Litreture.....which is a more limited language !!
God Bless.

[Paradigm]

however yet again in 2006 they managed to pull it off and reached the final match against Italy and if it wasn't for Zidane's childish behavior they could have even won that match!

Keano I don't know, you need to see a player as his or her sum total of attributes. Zidane's technique and leadership was the reason for France's success in 1998 and 2006. When he could not play in 2002, they were just terrible. However Zidane did have a tendency to snap and I believe it was not the first time he had a conflict with another player on the field. The Italy of 2006 totally deserved to win the title. The refs handed a forgiveable penalty to Zidane like in the previous rounds, but Italy equalized properly. Ironically his send off did not prevent a PK shoot-out which the Italians did not wish to lead the match into. Germany in my opinion, had they reached the final, would have handled France better than the Italians did; harkening back to the observed trend that certain teams keep losing to others (Argentina to Germany, Germany to Italy and Spain, Brazil to France, England to Argentina, France to Germany, Holland to Russia, etc.)

[maij]

Maij jaan,

I am truly very happy to see you back, and especially to know that you are actually doing fine and not encountering serious problems, well thanks God for that and hope to see your usual great and insightful posts once again.

In regards to TM and Iran's football although I do agree with all you said, but we are true fans and true fans would never turn their back on their teams, just like moms and dads would always support their children no matter what the circumstances may be. Great and legendary teams such as Italy, France etc failed to even advance from their group stages, I bet you anything that their football fans went through a much bigger magnitude of depression than we did, and I doubt they'll back out of supporting their teams. The French were crowned the Kings of 1998 WC, however 4 years later they became the biggest flop of WC 2002 by failing to advance from their group stage, however yet again in 2006 they managed to pull it off and reached the final match against Italy and if it wasn't for Zidane's childish behavior they could have even won that match!

Anyway super glad to see you around once again!

Yours truly,
Keano

Keano Jan.

I doubt that I will abandon supporting Team Melli , but I cannot put myself through emotional torture by supporting a bunch of losers. Team Melli will never die , but this current bunch of players and coaches playing under the name of Team melli are simply NOT worthy of unequivocal , unconditional and total support. After all these players should reciprocate the support of the fans and perform accordingly. They are failing to impress and failing to respond to the feelings of millions (see my post Football Javab nadad)

Also , every person has a tolerance limit , expectation level and bursting level. I am approaching the latter, so I better be careful

Personally , I cant accept ridicule and poor inexcusable performances by the current Team Melli.




Bahram jan . agha ma ra ziyad bala bordid Chakartam.... Sharmandeh..
I wish I was as good in Farsi.

[Keano]

Hey folks,

Haven't seen Maij in almost a year. He used to at least come around and post along during TM matches, or once in a while to cheer for Esteghlal Anybody heard from him lately? His presence is surely missed over at PFDC!

[Paradigm]

Hey folks,

Haven't seen Maij in almost a year. He used to at least come around and post along during TM matches, or once in a while to cheer for Esteghlal Anybody heard from him lately? His presence is surely missed over at PFDC!

The last time I remember seeing him was before the June's WCQ matches.
It is quite strange for him not to have written anything on here since.

[Nokhodi]

Majeed agha, wherever you are I hope all is well. You're always missed on this forum.

[zzgloo]

May be we should ask our Moderators.....they have his e.mail address and phone number..in Bahrain.

[leviathan]

I don't know where he is either......I tried to look for team meli forum and could not find it ...(to see if he had posted there)


here is a link to Team Meli forum Under PFDC.

http://www.persianfootball.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?6-Team-Melli-Forum

[St_Mark]

His Teammelli is up and berooz


Queiroz reveals how poorly he thinks of Iran’s football in an interview!

Posted by: Majeed Panahi October 28, 2013 in News

Queiroz uttered some harsh words about Iran’s football to a compatriot journalist. Antonio Magalhaes , the chief editor of Record-xl website of Portugal, interviewed Carlos Queiroz while in Tehran attending the match between Team Melli and Thailand.Queiroz seemed to reverse much of what he normally addresses the local fans through Iranian media. He reserved his cruelest of the words for Iranian footballers calling them “Professionals “only when it comes to money they earn. It is not very unusual for foreign coaches to say one thing at home to satisfy the home fans while abroad, there is a change of tone and perhaps closer to reality as they are addressing different clientele. However, some of Queiroz descriptions about Iran were quite crude and some downright inaccurate perhaps bordering insult to some sensitive about such issues. His claim that Iran is isolated in football world by sanctions lacks accuracy. Queiroz blames the sanctions for Team Melli’s inability to play “meaningful” friendly games. In a nutshell, that statement is far from declaring the full truth. It is that bankrupt football federations fault , which incidentally spends a large chunk of its limited resources on the wages of Queiroz and his team of assistants and advisers, that is the main obstacle in failing to arrange friendlies. Playing big teams requires spending money. Iran played both Brazil and Russia in the UAE , however the expenses were both taken care of by sponsors. Clearly , it is not matter of those imaginary sanctions that Queiroz is talking about , which is preventing Iran from getting the friendlies thy want. The kitty is empty.The two Portuguese keep talking about the effects of sanctions on Iran. In reality and matter of facts, Iran has been ever present in every regional, continental and international event they qualified for or invited to, not only in football but the rest of the sports. They played Russia and Brazil as well in friendly matches.While a person is entitled to his opinion, there is also some moral and ethical obligation to respect the country and the people of that country and it is here that Queiroz has come short. We do agree with some of his assessments, but disagree on its intensity and the exaggeration level of it. Whether Queiroz is trying to send a signal or not is debatable, what we have no doubt about is that Queiroz does not think much of Iranian football, the players, the league and the administration. He lacks conviction in Iran’s football only highlighting the negatives while brazenly ignoring the achievement of this pride nation in football that is known to the whole world. Achievements such as qualification to the world cup on 4 different occasions with much less resources, winning 3 Asian Cup titles, which are at the top of the pyramid of successes, not to mention other championships titles and victories.Queiroz words was in sharp contrast to the NBC interview with Dan Gasper , Team Melli goalkeeping coach , which was published here.

....
...Excerpts from the interview:Do you think that the qualification to the FIFA World Cup with Iran was your greatest achievement in your career?The difficulty of this task is compounded if you consider two intersecting lines. If, at any point of the lines cross, it shows the difficulty of the task, however, since our last gasp qualification, we can say that this is one of the most difficult tasks of my career.Can you elaborate on that statement?If you want consider the subtle differences in technical and tactical skills or other football matters, one needs to compare Asian football with other parts of the world. In Asia, when you consider the vast distances between countries, logistical problems, accommodation, playing fields, time of practices etc., it becomes a complicated and complex matterIs the Iranian Federation capable of resolving this complexity?No. The problem is due to the large size of the continent. Today you play South Korea and 4 days later you have to play in Lebanon! All these plans are out of our controlTell us about the peculiar situation of Iran against the sanctions?

our major problems, is finding suitable teams to play against.

The issues are quite complicated. Compared to Japan, Australia and Korea, the infrastructure of Iran is weak and inferior. The professionalism is lacking. The mentality is lagging behind. The difference in standards of football of Iran to international football is quite large. Do not forget that one of our major problems, is finding suitable teams to play against. Under the circumstances , it is was impossible to do so. We still have problems finding teams to play against for friendly preparation matches. That in itself will make it difficult for Iran in Brazil. Iran never passed the group stages in the World Cup before . My objective is to do that this time.How are you planning to achieve this goal ?Using imagination, relaxation, mind-control and creating an atmosphere that makes it possible to train the players to the level of their rivals and make them think on the same level. Considering these limitations, should they should expect much from you?Expectations are usually the same in every country. Level of expectations is always higher than the reality and investments put into the football. There is always a great gap between the expectations of the fans and the reality, except in Iran the gap between these two is even greater than other countries. Their demands are even higher.

Their players and coaches don’t realize how weak they are

Is there a big gap between the level of Iran and the rest of the word?Certainly so. Since Iran’s football had little contact from the rest of the world (…) they don’t seem to realize the gap between themselves and the rest of the world. Therefore in many angles, they seem to be adrift from reality. Their players and coaches don’t realize how weak they are in technical , tactical , physical and psychological conditioning. I was in Asia (UAE) 15 years ago and from then until now , I hardly seen any progress in these countries football standards. The gap between Asia and Europe has not reduced at all and remains the same wide gap. Only Japan has managed to slightly develop and approach European and Latin American level. On your path to the qualifications for the World Cup , you have faced numerous problems , but the end result was sweet.Yes, we have faced much problems and the conditions were complicated. In Europe , Portugal and France they faced the same sort of problems. Only Latin America was different as they played in one group and there is always a chance for recovery in the next matches. Of course you need to be resilient, flexible and adapt to changes. In here there is not much of that going on.This is where fear comes after defeat.We have lost a match that we should never have against Lebanon. However, we forgot that this team has already beaten South Korea. We said that this loss is not the end of the world.In respect to the international sanctions, are you worried about your presence in the World Cup?Of course when it happened, I felt a bit of doubt in my confidence. But something important happened. The President of the republic came to visit the players and promised that everything will be sorted out.!

their footballers are called “professionals” here, but I am working with amateurs!

Do you think it is a miracle that Iran qualified for the World Cup?In football there is no such thing as miracle. It was a very difficult task. We have achieved this by using a majority of home-based players who earned a lot of money and have no other profession but football. Just because they earn huge amount of money they call them “professional” here. Therefore I was really working with an amateur team calling themselves “professionals”. Logically, we should have no chance to qualify , but we did our work properly and managed to improve the team and climb from ranked no 5 in Asia to be number 2.With such conditions prevailing, don’t you think that you should prepare the Iranians for failure?No, that is not my duty. My job is to prepare a team, and lead it to the right path. We need to identify a goal. Iran never passed the group stages and that is our objective. Although qualifying from the group stages is extremely difficult, we are aiming for that.Is qualifying to the next round possible?Yes, this is possible but it depends on two factors, one a good draw and second planning and executing a strong preparation program for the team. If we can execute a program without deliberation on the FIFA day , we can do it. But if we stick to FIFA day, then we will be making a big mistake.What do you mean about the FIFA Day mistake?I mean this program is prepared for teams such as Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany and Iran. FIFA allows 15 days release for the players before the World Cup. Do you think Iran will reach the standards of these teams in 15 days ? If Iran wants to progress then we need to have our own program and then we can talk rest of the business.

Against Thailand, the whole of the first half was spent for players to know each other

What is the rest of the business?I have proposed training preparation plans for the team and warned the federation about the risks of ignoring the program. We can’t simply play a competitive match in Asian Cup qualifiers after 4 months of complete inactivity. In the match against Thailand, the whole of the first half was spent for players to know each other!Would you be happy to be in the same group with Portugal?It will be nice to be grouped with the likes of Portugal, France, Brazil or Argentina. As soon as our problems are sorted out, we can face them and compete with them. Frankly though, I prefer to face other less strong teams. If we are to play against Portugal or France, it will be an honor for Iran. This is one of the advantages and privileges of the World Cup, playing against famous teams. We need to proceed with bravery to Brazil.

[Nokhodi]

Even though it says Majeed Panahi it is not similar to his writing style. Its also alot more critical and biting than Majeed's style.

[St_Mark]

Even though it says Majeed Panahi it is not similar to his writing style. Its also alot more critical and biting than Majeed's style.

Check out his page.

Majeed (FIFA)

Captain Ma jeed Last entry on his Facebook is October 7

[K. Nader]

His Teammelli is up and berooz


Queiroz reveals how poorly he thinks of Iran’s football in an interview!

Posted by: Majeed Panahi October 28, 2013 in News

Queiroz uttered some harsh words about Iran’s football to a compatriot journalist. Antonio Magalhaes , the chief editor of Record-xl website of Portugal, interviewed Carlos Queiroz while in Tehran attending the match between Team Melli and Thailand.Queiroz seemed to reverse much of what he normally addresses the local fans through Iranian media. He reserved his cruelest of the words for Iranian footballers calling them “Professionals “only when it comes to money they earn. It is not very unusual for foreign coaches to say one thing at home to satisfy the home fans while abroad, there is a change of tone and perhaps closer to reality as they are addressing different clientele. However, some of Queiroz descriptions about Iran were quite crude and some downright inaccurate perhaps bordering insult to some sensitive about such issues. His claim that Iran is isolated in football world by sanctions lacks accuracy. Queiroz blames the sanctions for Team Melli’s inability to play “meaningful” friendly games. In a nutshell, that statement is far from declaring the full truth. It is that bankrupt football federations fault , which incidentally spends a large chunk of its limited resources on the wages of Queiroz and his team of assistants and advisers, that is the main obstacle in failing to arrange friendlies. Playing big teams requires spending money. Iran played both Brazil and Russia in the UAE , however the expenses were both taken care of by sponsors. Clearly , it is not matter of those imaginary sanctions that Queiroz is talking about , which is preventing Iran from getting the friendlies thy want. The kitty is empty.The two Portuguese keep talking about the effects of sanctions on Iran. In reality and matter of facts, Iran has been ever present in every regional, continental and international event they qualified for or invited to, not only in football but the rest of the sports. They played Russia and Brazil as well in friendly matches.While a person is entitled to his opinion, there is also some moral and ethical obligation to respect the country and the people of that country and it is here that Queiroz has come short. We do agree with some of his assessments, but disagree on its intensity and the exaggeration level of it. Whether Queiroz is trying to send a signal or not is debatable, what we have no doubt about is that Queiroz does not think much of Iranian football, the players, the league and the administration. He lacks conviction in Iran’s football only highlighting the negatives while brazenly ignoring the achievement of this pride nation in football that is known to the whole world. Achievements such as qualification to the world cup on 4 different occasions with much less resources, winning 3 Asian Cup titles, which are at the top of the pyramid of successes, not to mention other championships titles and victories.Queiroz words was in sharp contrast to the NBC interview with Dan Gasper , Team Melli goalkeeping coach , which was published here.

....
...Excerpts from the interview:Do you think that the qualification to the FIFA World Cup with Iran was your greatest achievement in your career?The difficulty of this task is compounded if you consider two intersecting lines. If, at any point of the lines cross, it shows the difficulty of the task, however, since our last gasp qualification, we can say that this is one of the most difficult tasks of my career.Can you elaborate on that statement?If you want consider the subtle differences in technical and tactical skills or other football matters, one needs to compare Asian football with other parts of the world. In Asia, when you consider the vast distances between countries, logistical problems, accommodation, playing fields, time of practices etc., it becomes a complicated and complex matterIs the Iranian Federation capable of resolving this complexity?No. The problem is due to the large size of the continent. Today you play South Korea and 4 days later you have to play in Lebanon! All these plans are out of our controlTell us about the peculiar situation of Iran against the sanctions?

our major problems, is finding suitable teams to play against.

The issues are quite complicated. Compared to Japan, Australia and Korea, the infrastructure of Iran is weak and inferior. The professionalism is lacking. The mentality is lagging behind. The difference in standards of football of Iran to international football is quite large. Do not forget that one of our major problems, is finding suitable teams to play against. Under the circumstances , it is was impossible to do so. We still have problems finding teams to play against for friendly preparation matches. That in itself will make it difficult for Iran in Brazil. Iran never passed the group stages in the World Cup before . My objective is to do that this time.How are you planning to achieve this goal ?Using imagination, relaxation, mind-control and creating an atmosphere that makes it possible to train the players to the level of their rivals and make them think on the same level. Considering these limitations, should they should expect much from you?Expectations are usually the same in every country. Level of expectations is always higher than the reality and investments put into the football. There is always a great gap between the expectations of the fans and the reality, except in Iran the gap between these two is even greater than other countries. Their demands are even higher.

Their players and coaches don’t realize how weak they are

Is there a big gap between the level of Iran and the rest of the word?Certainly so. Since Iran’s football had little contact from the rest of the world (…) they don’t seem to realize the gap between themselves and the rest of the world. Therefore in many angles, they seem to be adrift from reality. Their players and coaches don’t realize how weak they are in technical , tactical , physical and psychological conditioning. I was in Asia (UAE) 15 years ago and from then until now , I hardly seen any progress in these countries football standards. The gap between Asia and Europe has not reduced at all and remains the same wide gap. Only Japan has managed to slightly develop and approach European and Latin American level. On your path to the qualifications for the World Cup , you have faced numerous problems , but the end result was sweet.Yes, we have faced much problems and the conditions were complicated. In Europe , Portugal and France they faced the same sort of problems. Only Latin America was different as they played in one group and there is always a chance for recovery in the next matches. Of course you need to be resilient, flexible and adapt to changes. In here there is not much of that going on.This is where fear comes after defeat.We have lost a match that we should never have against Lebanon. However, we forgot that this team has already beaten South Korea. We said that this loss is not the end of the world.In respect to the international sanctions, are you worried about your presence in the World Cup?Of course when it happened, I felt a bit of doubt in my confidence. But something important happened. The President of the republic came to visit the players and promised that everything will be sorted out.!

their footballers are called “professionals” here, but I am working with amateurs!

Do you think it is a miracle that Iran qualified for the World Cup?In football there is no such thing as miracle. It was a very difficult task. We have achieved this by using a majority of home-based players who earned a lot of money and have no other profession but football. Just because they earn huge amount of money they call them “professional” here. Therefore I was really working with an amateur team calling themselves “professionals”. Logically, we should have no chance to qualify , but we did our work properly and managed to improve the team and climb from ranked no 5 in Asia to be number 2.With such conditions prevailing, don’t you think that you should prepare the Iranians for failure?No, that is not my duty. My job is to prepare a team, and lead it to the right path. We need to identify a goal. Iran never passed the group stages and that is our objective. Although qualifying from the group stages is extremely difficult, we are aiming for that.Is qualifying to the next round possible?Yes, this is possible but it depends on two factors, one a good draw and second planning and executing a strong preparation program for the team. If we can execute a program without deliberation on the FIFA day , we can do it. But if we stick to FIFA day, then we will be making a big mistake.What do you mean about the FIFA Day mistake?I mean this program is prepared for teams such as Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany and Iran. FIFA allows 15 days release for the players before the World Cup. Do you think Iran will reach the standards of these teams in 15 days ? If Iran wants to progress then we need to have our own program and then we can talk rest of the business.

Against Thailand, the whole of the first half was spent for players to know each other

What is the rest of the business?I have proposed training preparation plans for the team and warned the federation about the risks of ignoring the program. We can’t simply play a competitive match in Asian Cup qualifiers after 4 months of complete inactivity. In the match against Thailand, the whole of the first half was spent for players to know each other!Would you be happy to be in the same group with Portugal?It will be nice to be grouped with the likes of Portugal, France, Brazil or Argentina. As soon as our problems are sorted out, we can face them and compete with them. Frankly though, I prefer to face other less strong teams. If we are to play against Portugal or France, it will be an honor for Iran. This is one of the advantages and privileges of the World Cup, playing against famous teams. We need to proceed with bravery to Brazil.

If CQ said this, then he's right on the money. I'd like to bold certain parts but I really can't disagree with any of it. The infrastructure is lacking, the federation is both incompetent and corrupt, the fan expectation is absurdly high, and the players are (for the most part) amateurs who prioritize money above all else.

Just look at these very forums. Six months ago, we were all doubting our chances of making it to the World Cup and criticizing the crop of players and the coach. Five months after qualifications, we makes polls asking members if this is the best WC-bound team we've had (to which many people actually responded 'yes').

The league itself is a disaster with poor planning, poor infrastructure, low attendance, corruption, incompetent management, zero revenue, and most importantly, low quality football.

Many of the young prospects will continue to go to waste and enter our clown league where they'll eventually fade to obscurity. Our only hope lies in sending more youth players like Jahanbakhsh and Azmoun to Europe and have them develop to their full potential. At least then we'll be able to field a semi-decent national team (despite the plethora of short-comings).