What is your expectation for Team Melli's performance in 2023

[DR Strangemoosh]

Well done to the 25% of the forum who guessed the semi final correctly.

The fact as we surely must know by now is that our players are uniquely emotional and fragile and just not built for this kind of thing. 45 years of IR haven't helped the mental state of successive generations and the pressure they feel. At this stage of the tournament almost any situation brings out the tears and the emotions.

Queiroz brought one of the best sports psychology orientated performance specialists for the last Asian Cup and the players still crumbled in the semi final

We won't see a trophy with IR in power.

"The chAinzZZZ are OFffAFF" you say???

The chains are IR, fella.

[DR Strangemoosh]

Only just over a third of forum members thought we would reach this stage.

Ghalenoei has done enough to secure the job until 2026.

I think he deserves Bobby Sands Burger black card and a small statue at this stage.

Really impressive given all the contexts of the match.

Situations for Ghaleneoi and rewards imho:

- Group stage exit: Can't see this happening. Sacked
- Round of 16: V.unlikely. Sacked
- Quarter Final (Par): Contract extension until final round of world cup qualifying then re-assess
- Semi Final: Contract extension to cover World Cup 2026 and review after that. Bobby Sands burger black card (unlimited), small statue
- Runner-up: Contract extension for WC26. Immunity for one non-serious crime, Nayeb black card, personal doctor, larger statue outside stadium
- Winner: Extension to WC30, immunity for one crime, Nayeb black card, personal doctor, personal chargriller, large statue inside stadium,

[DR Strangemoosh]

93 percent of people thought we would reach this stage

Well over half thought the next match would be the final one!

[Nokhodi]

John Duerden: Taremi can take them all the way!

https://www.theguardian.com/football...e_iOSApp_Other

We’re done for now!

[DR Strangemoosh]

John Duerden: Taremi can take them all the way!

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/jan/27/asian-cup-drama-ready-to-ramp-up-in-last-16-after-wild-emotional-groups?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[DR Strangemoosh]

HK have a good coach

Everton is very fast and all their brazilian strikers are goal threats. Plus this new Nigerian lad is a strong forward.

My concern is if they are underestimated as can sometimes happen when a lot of teams like this have suddenly brought new players that we wouldn't have seen 3-4 months ago.

I hope Ghaleneoi and coaching staff had done more homework/research into HK than my perfunctory review of their recent matches and squad (since the November game) a few weeks ago...

[DR Strangemoosh]

The chains are off this time, we’ll win it..

ThE chAinZ aRe oFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[oracle]

You forgot the Bahrain WC qualifier in 2001 (I think?) or was it 2005?

Yes and beating irland 1-0 same qualifications

[taha]

These games just hurt to think about

88 ac semi vs ksa
wcq 90 vs china
96 ac semi vs ksa
98 wc vs Yugoslavia
2000 ac qf vs s.k
04 ac semi vs China
2010 wcq vs ksa
14wc vs Argentina
15 ac qf vs iraq
18 wc vs Portugal
22 wc vs us

as fans we deserve this asian cup trophy

You forgot the Bahrain WC qualifier in 2001 (I think?) or was it 2005?

[DR Strangemoosh]

Looking at the other teams now I don't think the QF default really qualifies as "success" - it is just the general expectation

Success for me is to get to semi final. Quarter final is just par for the course, even in the context of the current situation. Sorry if its controversial.

[ferdyf]

I think there are 4 Teams, that are on a similiar level. Japan, South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
These have better chances to beat us than the rest of the asian teams. But it's more like 50/50. I think we could go to the Semi Finals

[Nokhodi]

People here didn't believe me or said I was crazy when I said that Team Melli fans in Iran are much more angry towards TM than TM junkies abroad...!

All I can speak about is myself and that I couldn't, and can't imagine what it is like to be in the shoes of people in Iran, it's easy for me to follow TM abroad but for them living through a nightmare it's different, and I won't judge them. It was a very difficult time and even now many of those old TM fans haven't returned again.... All I could do at the time was listen to them and take into account their disappointment and anger. THat's all any of us can do...

I never understood Iranians who were born or grew up in the West but attacked their own people about a football match, when everyone was so depressed

https://twitter.com/BabakGolriz/stat...13275493679104

I still think its a sizable minority that hates TM.
For me I completely understand if someone is indifferent to TM, particularly at that point, but to turn TM into the focal point of their hate, anger and vitriol was one of the greatest information coups by IR that I've ever seen.

Their anger was justified - but it was completely misdirected. For every 30,000 hearts on instagram posts, there are a couple dozen negative comments.

To me it takes a lot of hatred to spend all day making negative and hateful comments against every TM post on instagram for example. It's a form of negative virtue signalling.

The well has been poisoned so badly, there are people rejoicing at the death of a 23 year old girl, because she left the US to come play in Iran despite all the obstacles she would face in Iran.

Re: Babak's tweet. I can't speak for him, but he was referring to the people who were attacking fans for still paying attention to a football match.

Again, indifference I can understand, but equating anyone cheering for their TM to somehow being ok with IR crimes was always a very low blow to me.

[Essi]

To be honest, I'm not having high hopes on this team. IMO, Semifinal would be a huge achievement when you look at the teams like Japan, South Korea, Saudi and Australia. And for the first time in very long time, we are once again before every game worried about or defence which never happened between 2014-2019

[PSGman#19]

Did conceding 7 goals against England/USA achieve an improvement in their everybody life?

[DR Strangemoosh]

Due to regime policies mostly, but with added barrage of crude anti-Iran propaganda, a certain class of Iran (mostly middle to middle upper class) are quite frankly mentally ill.
I don't blame them, and I may understand the points they're making, but I don't agree with them nor do I think they make any sense (when it comes to TM specifically).

I can't talk to my own relatives about TM anymore because of the environment.

People here didn't believe me or said I was crazy when I said that Team Melli fans in Iran are much more angry towards TM than TM junkies abroad...!

All I can speak about is myself and that I couldn't, and can't imagine what it is like to be in the shoes of people in Iran, it's easy for me to follow TM abroad but for them living through a nightmare it's different, and I won't judge them. It was a very difficult time and even now many of those old TM fans haven't returned again.... All I could do at the time was listen to them and take into account their disappointment and anger. THat's all any of us can do...

I never understood Iranians who were born or grew up in the West but attacked their own people about a football match, when everyone was so depressed

https://twitter.com/BabakGolriz/stat...13275493679104