Iran - Maldives

[maij]

I think the least of CQ's problems is the midfield and defense. It is the forwards that he needs to shuffle slightly.

With Ansarifard and Khalatbary , it seems to be a perfect combination. All that is required is for the former to convert his chances into goals. I still feel he is a bit nervous and needs some confidence building.

I still think that Mojtaba Jabbari ( whenever he is fit and physically ready) is the best play-maker and passer in Iran right now.

[Kaiser Amir]

But here's a thought: take out one player from the second half (khalatbari) and then review the second half and you'll see we didnt really improve from the first half by that much.
the team felt more urgent becoz of khalatbari's high octane performance and they got into it , albeit very late (in my opinion, around min 78-80 onwards).

but if we take khalatbari out, what we'd have been left with?

and why shd it take one player to re-energize a whole team? what if in a game no player steps up to take this role? what if everybody merely maintains the same levels of the 1st half?

this is very worrying that we need a catalyst. we shd work on this

Doctor DOOM Jan,

I think you're a bit harsh on Team Melli.
Take out Messi from Barcelona and what are you left with?
It certainly won't be the same tiki-taka WITHOUT Messi.

And, if Barcelona (and countless other teams!) can rely heavily on one player, then I don't mind Team Melli being the same.


We have to accept our level.
Iran is not Brazil.
We don't have 10 Khalatbaris in Iran. Just one.
Of course, his presence or absence will be greatly felt.
Again, this is Iran we're talking about.

[Keano]

TM had 2 totally different displays in each half, first half rather a dismal and lackluster at best, while in the second half it got much improved, we saw a much more fluid football with some smooth and less faulty passing and teamwork. This is promising, game by game we see a minor improvement in all areas of our team, I believe it's just a matter of time before this whole team gets more harmonized and starts performing as a team, I believe in Mr. CQ and I trust in a matter of less than a year he will form up a solid and consistent team!

Karimi's contribution in the second half was just fantastic, his amazing through passes and some of his runs were a reminder of Karimi 2004, including his beautiful header, he fights for the ball, passes beautifully, crosses fantastically and still can pull some refreshing dribbling. Khosro Haydari's runs, especially in the first half were quite impressive and entertaining, he displayed some of his good old form once again, to me he was one of the best players on the pitch, if not the best indeed. Karim Ansarifard need to gain some confidence in big matches, particularly with TM, I am suspecting this is why he avoided joining big teams like Esteghlal and Perspolis (Lack of confidence in before a large and fierce crowd in the stadiums). Khalatbari, man what can I say? I am so pissed to see him leave Zobahan for a Qatari club, but again it's his prerogative to choose his next clubs. Hadi Noroozi gott ago, I don't understand what's it about him for so many coaches to fancy him, Reza Noroozi should have been with TM instead!Daghighi was CQ's golden sub I suppose as a few minutes after coming on the pitch he scored a goal (Thanks to the beautiful pass by Ansarifard).

Our offense is the main shortcoming of TM, it needs some extra care and attention!

All in all a decent win, we could have scored a lot more, had it not been for the good form of Maldives' GK who saved many great scoring opportunities!

On a side note, this Maldives team I saw today was by far the most annoying and disgraceful team I have ever seen TM play against, at least the Persian Gulf team would use such lame time wasting tactics while being a few goals up, however this Maldives team, did the sloppy replica of these Arab teams while being 3-4 goals down!

Nevertheless I consider this win as satisfactory for the time being, sure a lot of room for much improvement, but for now we should not complain much!

[Kaiser Amir]

I think the least of CQ's problems is the midfield and defense.

I don't know maij Jan.
What I saw from our so called "defence" today was very alarming.

It was shaky.
It was sloppy.
And it gave Maldives, a village-level team, two golden scoring opportunities.
One in the first half, one in the second.

If Maldives creates two clean-cut chances in your backyard, then, in my opinion, that is food for thought...


And remember, today, Maldives had one striker, surrounded constantly by at least three iranian defenders.

What amazes me, not just in Team Melli, but in all levels of iranian football is the following scenario, I've seen time and again:

- The opponent has one forward.
- This forward is guarded by three, four iranian defenders.
- The forward's team-mates just hoof the ball upfield.
- The forward is allowed time and space to follow the ball, control it, advance with it, hold it up for another team-mate, before passing it to him, creating a dangerous opportunity on our goal.

And, again, all this while he is being chased / guarded by three, four iranian defenders.

I hope Queiroz can improve the defensive organization of Team Melli because I didn't like what I saw today.

[Doctor DOOM]

1- to K-Amir:
perhaps I didnt explain my point well.
Martin was saying the 2nd half was "quite satisfying"
I was talking about a team that was lethargic and slow, almost looked bored except one player who was full of running and created a hefty number of chances and interesting moments that cloud over the rest of the team's mediocre performance.
so if you took out khalatbari's performance from the second half, you are left with the very slow, confused and lethargic team of the first half .... until the last 10 minutes (with intro of ghazi and daghighi - both of whom showed hungry and driven enough to prove themselves)

I am not making a general point. it was about how khalatbari's performance provided a cover for the rest of the slow players, in 2nd half (pretty much like how a scoreline provides a cover for a poor performance of a team)

secondly, if we're talking about barca, I'd say a barca without messi is not as weak as a barca without Xavi
I believe we got the answer on who is more vital to barca's success; xavi or messi, in copa amerika games. we saw how effective messi is without xavi's vision and passing supremacy


although I agree with your assessment of our defense.
could it be that they took the tie too lightly or werent focused? still allowing these chances and allowing to get pressed so high up, near our box was almost shocking to see


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

2- therefore I cant agree with keanu's "two different halves BY THE TEAM" I think aside from khalatbari, the rest kept their slow pace of the 1st half.

on karimi - yes, he dribbled and feigned and dummied a whole bunch of players a whole bunch of times.
but seeing how he did it and what the opponents did or were like, I am not sure he'd be able to do half of this against a team like ksa or korea or ... .

and it is those games that will eventually decide our fate. we must bear in mind the quality of opposition we faced today and will in later stages.

[Kaiser Amir]

on karimi - yes, he dribbled and feigned and dummied a whole bunch of players a whole bunch of times.
but seeing how he did it and what the opponents did or were like, I am not sure he'd be able to do half of this against a team like ksa or korea or ... .

and it is those games that will eventually decide our fate. we must bear in mind the quality of opposition we faced today and will in later stages.

Spot on about Karimi.
I hope he'll prove both of us wrong against quality opposition.
But, in my opinion, Karimi is finished.

[maij]

Doctor DOOM Jan,

I think you're a bit harsh on Team Melli.
Take out Messi from Barcelona and what are you left with?
It certainly won't be the same tiki-taka WITHOUT Messi.

And, if Barcelona (and countless other teams!) can rely heavily on one player, then I don't mind Team Melli being the same.


We have to accept our level.
Iran is not Brazil.
We don't have 10 Khalatbaris in Iran. Just one.
Of course, his presence or absence will be greatly felt.
Again, this is Iran we're talking about.

I was not referring to the quality of the defense , Amir jan, but the selection choices.

As we all know by now , this defense can crumble anytime , although truthfully , the results has not been too bad in the last couple of years with the same team. I meant that he has no problem of choice. What he has now is the best that is available in the league and who carry Iranian passports. It does not mean that they are they best defenders in Asia. I really cannot see anyone better than the ones that are already selected.

[Doctor DOOM]

^ and continuing on majid's line of thought, I think (HOPE, actually) once we get the league under way and CQ monitors it for a few months, we may see some correction tweaks in the roster, line ups and maybe even tactics & formation. (I mean come ooonnn. you cant say ignoring F. Talebi but picking nosrati has nothing to do with "names")

maybe then, he wont feel compelled to use the "names" to establish himself and secure his place among fans. maybe then, he may yet get around to what we expect from him, which is what he promised; rejuvenation and an overhaul of our football.


again, I must say I HOPE, coz it could go in any direction. we know there WILL be forces (mostly behind the scenes, but also the media and its pressures are nothing to ignore ) that will attempt to sway him. it all depends on his resolve and ability to resist all that.

[Martin-Reza]

if the venezuela game is not canceled, I think I may be in Iran in august to go check it out in azadi.
anyone can confirm the date?

edit: I'm just watching them play the 3rd-4th spot against peru, and they look really good going forward

They wer awesome in semis when they were about to eliminate Paraguay, but were denied by the woodwork several times and lost out in pks.

Game was scheduled for FIFA matchday August 10, however, I am not sure if the game actually is still on as it is not in the FIFA calendar of upcoming matches anymore and suddenly Venezuela is scheduled to meet El Salvador in Washington DC on August 7 and Honduras in Fort Lauderdale on August 10 .

But I am sure we will have a friendly on that day, the only chance to have one before the next round of WCQ.

[maij]

^ and continuing on majid's line of thought, I think (HOPE, actually) once we get the league under way and CQ monitors it for a few months, we may see some correction tweaks in the roster, line ups and maybe even tactics & formation. (I mean come ooonnn. you cant say ignoring fatemi but picking nosrati has nothing to do with "names")

maybe then, he wont feel compelled to use the "names" to establish himself and secure his place among fans. maybe then, he may yet get around to what we expect from him, which is what he promised; rejuvenation and an overhaul of our football.


again, I must say I HOPE, coz it could go in any direction. we know there WILL be forces (mostly behind the scenes, but also the media and its pressures are nothing to ignore ) that will attempt to sway him. it all depends on his resolve and ability to resist all that.

I guess we all know that CQ was given a list of TM players and he had very little choice. How could he , while he only watched one Team Melli game against Russia?


Like you rightly said , Doc., the start of the league will give CQ a real chance to pick his own. From track record , he has no issues with benching famous players and using spring chickens (..). I do hope that CQ flies around the country and does not limit his exposure to Azadi stadium or Tehran. He should follow Frank O'Farrell footstep in the mid to late seventies.

We can't assume that there will be no better players with our own limited knowledge based on select football matches, but CQ will have a great chance and if he uses a good cadre of scouts , it would even be better.

[Babak agha]

I didn't see the first half but I think you guys are a bit too harsh on Karimi.

Yes he is not the "old" Karimi, but you have to be a unrealistic moron to expect that....

We have to compare the Karimi of now to the rest of midfielders, and what I saw yesterday during the second half were these:

He ran more than the other midfielders, he joined the attack and went back all the to our own 16 to defend. And not just once or twice. Which other player did that?

DD praises Khalatbari here (rightfully so), but who provided Khalatbari with the through passes to set him free, from all parts of the field? Karimi was giving Sneijder like pin-point long-passes from midfield, while under "pressure", providing khalatbari the opportunity to escape the defenders. Which other midfielder had more thant 2-3 good opportunity creating passes?

He was actually the only player who crossed the ball, like a footballer should. Not even Heydari could cross one or two good balls. his corsses where either too short or too long/soft. The only dangerous crosses in the 16 were from Karimi.

Karimi (with the exception of Khalatbari), was the only player who could dribble more than one player at the same time. and not only dribbling fr the sake of dribbling like other Iranians do, but actually having a reason to dribble and knowing wat he wants to do after his dribble.....

Now you guys want to take all of that away from TM and replace him with......what exactly?

[BacheLot]

I didn't see the first half but I think you guys are a bit too harsh on Karimi.

Yes he is not the "old" Karimi, but you have to be a unrealistic moron to expect that....

We have to compare the Karimi of now to the rest of midfielders, and what I saw yesterday during the second half were these:

He ran more than the other midfielders, he joined the attack and went back all the to our own 16 to defend. And not just once or twice. Which other player did that?

DD praises Khalatbari here (rightfully so), but who provided Khalatbari with the through passes to set him free, from all parts of the field? Karimi was giving Sneijder like pin-point long-passes from midfield, while under "pressure", providing khalatbari the opportunity to escape the defenders. Which other midfielder had more thant 2-3 good opportunity creating passes?

He was actually the only player who crossed the ball, like a footballer should. Not even Heydari could cross one or two good balls. his corsses where either too short or too long/soft. The only dangerous crosses in the 16 were from Karimi.

Karimi (with the exception of Khalatbari), was the only player who could dribble more than one player at the same time. and not only dribbling fr the sake of dribbling like other Iranians do, but actually having a reason to dribble and knowing wat he wants to do after his dribble.....

Now you guys want to take all of that away from TM and replace him with......what exactly?

SPOT ON..! EVERY SINGLE POINT MADE HERE..!
even in the 1st half that saw he was the overall main enforcer of our offense..! I lost count of how many gold chances were created by him directly or indirectly by placing well weighted and placed passes to both of our wingers..! I dare say, combined, he had a hand in over 80% of our chances in the maldive's box..!

sometimes i just cant help it but question the intent of some of some karimi basher's or wonder where the hell they get such high expectations or just flat out question their overall knowledge of the game ..!

PS
apparently the Maldives coach after game commented that Karimi should play for Man U..!!

[maij]

sometimes i just cant help it but question the intent of some of some karimi basher's or wonder where the hell they get such high expectations or just flat out question their overall knowledge of the game ..!

Wowo..woww...Easy now .

If you think that Karimi is the next best thing to sliced bread , the future of Iran's football , the savior of Team Melli or even the World Beater , then nooshi joonat....no need for this basher stuff

apparently the Maldives coach after game commented that Karimi should play for Man U..!!

Well, if he was any good of a coach , he wouldn't be coaching Maldives island , would he now?

[Babak agha]

Wowo..woww...Easy now .

If you think that Karimi is the next best thing to sliced bread , the future of Iran's football , the savior of Team Melli or even the World Beater , then nooshi joonat....no need for this basher stuff

Well, if he was any good of a coach , he wouldn't be coaching Maldives island , would he now?

The point with Karimi is exactly the opposite: he actually is a proof of how bad the standard/level of Iranian football is. A lazy player that actually never was fully fit or had a top professional condition, an always out of breath player who heavily relys on his talents instead of improving his skills, an old over the hill player who never actually had much respect nor love for the game, has been one of the best players of TM for the past decade. The level of Iranian football and it's player is so poor that (besides Daei ) every coach Iran has had, had to select and start him, even a world class coach who (shouldn't) doesn't care about his name or status. While Bering so poor of a player like people on this website describe him, he still is a fix starter and plays for 90 min.

Doesn't that say something about the status of Iranian football in general?


Ps: regarding you comment about the Maldive's coach:

1. If that would be the logic, are Daei, Mansoorian & Ghotbi better/more qualified coaches, since they were at helm of TM? Are Maradona and Batista world class coaches since they coached Argantina? Is Co Adriaanse a bad coach as he was Qatar's Olympic football team's coach recently?

2. Are you, being one of the more vocal people using the argument "he is a professional coach so everything he says is right, and since you are not everything you say must be wrong", really saying that you can assess a player better than a Natioanl team's head coach, and we should consider your argument? If so then welcome to the club (which DD chairs btw )

[BacheLot]

Wowo..woww...Easy now .
If you think that Karimi is the next best thing to sliced bread , the future of Iran's football , the savior of Team Melli or even the World Beater , then nooshi joonat....no need for this basher stuff
Well, if he was any good of a coach , he wouldn't be coaching Maldives island , would he now?

well to be fair i was more frustrated with seemingly ever-constant Karimi, BS negative remarks made in the live game thread and other threads on football forum than the few made by you elite folks in this thread..!! and to see you lot here, over-rating the shitt out of an average performance by Khalatbari, just because he ran like a mad man, 100mph , often around himself and squandered a handful great scoring opportunities by ultra selfishly holing on to the ball for way to long or taking weak attempts at scoring many of which at a time where there were many others in the box in better position to finish off those chances..!
football is not all about who runs the most and fastest, otherwise folks like Ando and Madanchi, Rezaei woulda been super stars in asia..!
oddly i found your earlier post(below) as the fairest and most logical yet critical of karimi's last game performance..!

I am not convinced with Ali Karimi ( as a starter) , Karimi played a much better 2nd half , but he is still short of stamina and physical condition is not at peak. Karimi is still a sharp thinker , and a player with vision, so he is still a good asset. He just needs to get in shape.

and you bet you, that i firmly believe that AK is the Best and by far and away the MOST SKILLED overall footballer to ever adorn the TM uniform..!! at least since 98, that ive been following TM..! Yea there were some who had a great shot, were great finishers, passers, defenders, dribblers..etc..! But none, NONE has ever compiled together as many Fine Football Skills as AK....!
In fact the only reasons he hasnt become a worldwide phenomenon in football already is described in details in babak's post below..!! I still take a half fit, old Karimi over any other AM in Iran today..!!
I am just so glad that we finally have a coach who's judgment is not clouded by unrelated hate for AK and recognizes the man's immense footballing quality and finally taking full advantage of it ..!