Who should replace Carlos Quiros, if he is gone for good.

[O-ZoNe]

The notion of CQ not bringing us silverware is absurd. The only major tournaments that the senior team participates in are the WC and the Asian Cup. With regard to the World Cup, it would be ludicrous to think that any of the Asian teams will get a medal ranking. On the basis of WC performance accolades, most pundits ranked Iran as the best Asian team in both 2014 and 2018 (despite Japans R16 progression). Furthermore, he was the first coach to guide us to back-to-back World Cups (and first in our qualifying groups). I just find the contrast in attitudes hilarious; between 2007 - 2011, not only did we resign to the fact that we had become a tier 2 Asian side, we'd often try to defend ourselves by saying we have a corrupt government, federation, etc (as opposed to countries like South Korea, Australia, and Japan). Now that we have tasted an extended run of success, we seem to be entitled to everything.

Furthermore, on basis of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, it's beyond unfair to blame CQ for the result. I'm not someone that runs around blaming the ref after every match but the 2004 SF against China and 2015 QF against Australia are perhaps two of the biggest robberies I've witnessed in our football.

Don't get me started on the one WAFF tournament we participated in. Even if we won that clown show of a Mickey Mouse tournament, critics would be saying that we didn't bring CQ to win WAFF.

Surely you must agree that Asia's #1 team should win AC...after all they didn't become #1 overnight. Clearly TM is favourites to win AC. Don't start with injuries as almost all Asian teams will be without key players. This if TM does not win AC I believe CQ needs to go. Enough waiting, enough excuses. $2+ million dollars is not chump change and needs to have some return!

Sent from my Google device using Tapatalk

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

Surely you must agree that Asia's #1 team should win AC...after all they didn't become #1 overnight. Clearly TM is favourites to win AC. Don't start with injuries as almost all Asian teams will be without key players. This if TM does not win AC I believe CQ needs to go. Enough waiting, enough excuses. $2+ million dollars is not chump change and needs to have some return!

Sent from my Google device using Tapatalk

I agree with you. In the World Cup, our style of play was complete defending with occasional counter counterattack. Because of that, CQ did not use any of our creative players such as Torabi, Gholizadeh, Ghafouri, Kaveh Rezaei, Ghoddos, etc. and used players like Taremi and Ansarifard in the winger position instead of our creative wingers because the players like Taremi, Ansarifard, etc. were physical, aggressive and they were willing to run a lot and participate in defending but they had no creativity and technique to change the result. This style may be good for short term but not in the long run if you want to improve. Using Taremi and Ansarifard in winger/second striker position unbalanced the offensive part of our team. For second striker, you should use a player who has creativity and good technique. Examples are Khodadad Azizi, Ali Karimi, Gholizadeh, Ghoddos, Torabi, etc. If we do not win the AC, I think we need a new decent foreign coach with fresh and new ideas. Currently Gerardo Martino and Paul Le Guen are available.

[Roxanaz80]

Persiangodfather, I totally agree with you. I liken Queiroz' accomplishments to the success of a hardworking and creative teacher who's been given the task of cultivating educational development among underachieving or disadvantaged but talented children. To do so, he starts out by instilling confidence in his students, doing what it takes to motivate them to continue learning. But because of years of mismanagement, neglect and lack of adequate resources he has a difficult task ahead. He's also continuously pressured by the authorities in charge, the fans and the media to quickly deliver positive results, meaning, make the kids as competitive as those in top echelon schools. Yet, because of financial, developmental and bureaucratic restraints, his success cannot be interpreted or judged in such concrete terms. In other words, his work needs to be evaluated within the scope of the limitations and difficulties he has inherited; he must therefore be judged in terms of development within the ability level he's working with, not in terms of rapid progression to loftier heights.

This is exactly what Queiroz has done with Iranian soccer, and he's had tremendous success doing so. I hope people start realizing that, over the years, the positive he's achieved far outweighs the negative he's engendered, and that IFF somehow finds a way to extend his contract for another four years. That will also depend on the team's performance in the Asian Cup. If the team brings home the trophy, there will be far more pressure to keep Queiroz at the helm. I hope that turns out to be the case. Unfortunately, I read a report last night stating that he's already reached financial agreement with the Colombian Soccer Federation. Hope he ends up staying in Iran.

Magus Orbicular, continue to shed light...


CQ is methodic, he's not into cutting corners, building from the ground up.
He also has a phd in how to deal with pedarsoostehs.

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

The notion of CQ not bringing us silverware is absurd. The only major tournaments that the senior team participates in are the WC and the Asian Cup. With regard to the World Cup, it would be ludicrous to think that any of the Asian teams will get a medal ranking.

I agree.

On the basis of WC performance accolades, most pundits ranked Iran as the best Asian team in both 2014 and 2018 (despite Japans R16 progression).

What? Do not fool yourself. Despite two good games against Nigeria and Argentina, we were ranked one of the worst World Cup 2014 teams. We were ranked 28. It was an disappointing World Cup for Asia.

In WC 2018, Japan scored 6 goals from open play but we scored none. then you say we were better than Japan? In terms of performance, we were ranked 4th or 5th Asian side not in terms of result obviously. For example, here is a comment from one of world football fans who thought we had an disappointing WC (http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/afc...018.2084579/):

Another disappointing performance and results on the world stage. Unlike the above 3 teams, they finished the WC without a proper win. They were outplayed by Morocco who has no history at the WC and African Cup and rarely threatened the two declining and unimpressive European powers. They played cowardly football against giants and won nothing. This is the difference between them and Japan/Korea. I warned their weak scoring record at the WCQ before. Only 10 goals in 10 games. 1 goal per game against Asian oppositions. That's why they failed to score a proper goal this time. Iran's only goals were an own goal and a penalty from non-existent handball. In Iran's last 3 World Cups, they have only been in the lead for a total of 1 minute. Pathetic. I'm afraid that they will never make it to the round of 16 in my life time. They tried 5 times and all failed. Hard luck and good luck next time.

Furthermore, he was the first coach to guide us to back-to-back World Cups (and first in our qualifying groups). I just find the contrast in attitudes hilarious; between 2007 - 2011, not only did we resign to the fact that we had become a tier 2 Asian side, we'd often try to defend ourselves by saying we have a corrupt government, federation, etc (as opposed to countries like South Korea, Australia, and Japan). Now that we have tasted an extended run of success, we seem to be entitled to everything.

1st Bolded Part: I agree and give him credit for qualifying us to the WC 2014 as group winner. However I think any coach would have qualified us to the WC 2018 because we were in a weak qualifying group. For example, both South Korea and Iran were lucky to avoid KSA. In WCQs 2002, we got 4 points against KSA with Blazevic but KSA got full 18 points against Bahrain, Iraq, and Thailand. As a result they qualified over us because we dropped points against Thailand and Bahrain. In WCQs 2018, KSA got full 12 points against Iraq and Thailand which meant we had to get full 12 points against Iraq and Thailand in order to have equal points with them if we were in other group. Japan was even better than KSA. So fortunately we and Korea were in the weaker qualifying group.

2nd bolded part: Extended run of success? In terms of consistency and results, I can be agree with you. In terms of achievement, I disagree. We did not achieve anything special. We failed to reach R16 in the WC and also failed in the AC.

Furthermore, on basis of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, it's beyond unfair to blame CQ for the result. I'm not someone that runs around blaming the ref after every match but the 2004 SF against China and 2015 QF against Australia are perhaps two of the biggest robberies I've witnessed in our football.

Why? Pouladi faked his military exemption card and the nation was against taking him to the AC but CQ insisted to take him to the AC. For AC 2015, CQ should be blamed first. You cannot blame only referee. Why should not you blame Haghighi who was terrible in that match? Do you remember Qatar vs Japan match in AC 2011? In that match, Qatar was ahead 2-1 with an offside goal then the referee gave an undeserved red card to one of Japan players but Japan with 10 men scored 2 goals and won the game 3-2. CQ is the first person who should be blamed for AC 2015.

Don't get me started on the one WAFF tournament we participated in. Even if we won that clown show of a Mickey Mouse tournament, critics would be saying that we didn't bring CQ to win WAFF.

WAFF is a Micky Mouse tournament and I am glad that we do not participate in this tournament anymore. So I agree with you here.

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

Last year Khodadad Azizi said in one of his interviews that some fans support CQ all the time not because of CQ. They support him because they are scared to see the likes of Daei, Ghalenoei, Mayeli Kohan, Ghotbi, etc. in the national team again and in his opinion those fans are betraying Iran football. Note that he swore that he is not against foreign coach and even prefer big foreign coach for the national team. His main point was that CQ did not fulfill his expectations. http://www.jamnews.com/detail/News/462974

[Tehranto]

Last year Khodadad Azizi said in one of his interviews that some fans support CQ all the time not because of CQ. They support him because they are scared to see the likes of Daei, Ghalenoei, Mayeli Kohan, Ghotbi, etc. in the national team again and in his opinion those fans are betraying Iran football. Note that he swore that he is not against foreign coach and even prefer big foreign coach for the national team. His main point was that CQ did not fulfill his expectations. http://www.jamnews.com/detail/News/462974

KA was a great player, but has a simple mind.

[Frank Ocean]

The question really is who would be willing to consider manage Iran right now.
We can forget the likes of Mourinho or Conte.
There are a bunch of "maybe" candidates like Montella or Mihajlovic who are still young and have shown potential.
Leonardo Jardim...that would be amazing for our youth development he really knows how to work with youngstars

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

The question really is who would be willing to consider manage Iran right now.
We can forget the likes of Mourinho or Conte.
There are a bunch of "maybe" candidates like Montella or Mihajlovic who are still young and have shown potential.
Leonardo Jardim...that would be amazing for our youth development he really knows how to work with youngstars

Many decent foreign coaches are currently available such as Gerardo Martino, Klinsman, Paul Le Guen, Laurent Blanc, Roberto Donadoni, etc.

[OFFSIDE_1]

Sanctions, political unrest, football federation run by corrupt people and no guarantees of receiving your paycheck. To get any quality coach, we will have to overpay.

[AIrani]

Some of the coaches mentioned will NOT survive in Iran.

Our players should not get into any conflict and control their emotions/attitude. They are playing at world stage not at home.

Iran is under illegal sanctions which violate international laws. FIFA is corrupt. AFC is Corrupt. IFF is corrupt. The fans must become active and consider paying the head coach's salary. This will shut up IFF and rally Iranian public behind the coach. If the majority of our fans are not happy with the coach, then they should not pay his salary. This is an option we have.

Iranian football is better than many other countries in West Asia and the years mentioned against China and Iraq, Iran should have advanced. Replay of events are proof that AFC is corrupt.

The role of fans are very important. We should emphasize this.

[K. Nader]

Surely you must agree that Asia's #1 team should win AC...after all they didn't become #1 overnight. Clearly TM is favourites to win AC. Don't start with injuries as almost all Asian teams will be without key players. This if TM does not win AC I believe CQ needs to go. Enough waiting, enough excuses. $2+ million dollars is not chump change and needs to have some return!

Sent from my Google device using Tapatalk

1. I'm not the type to use injuries as an excuse. I think Ezatolahi is going to be missed but I don't think it's going to make or break our campaign. We managed to hold Morocco goalless without him, and we should ideally be able to replicate that type of display against the best Asian sides. As for the other injuries, I have a feeling that both Jahanbakhsh and Gholizadeh will be fit and ready to feature by the end of the group stages. I'm also not the type to reflect after a tournament and say things like 'if only we had this player or that player (e.g. Khalatbari or Karimi in 2014). Again, I think that's counterproductive.

2. Being Asia’s top ranked team does not oblige us to winning the tournament. I certainly think we are one of the favourites and believe that this team is a further improvement to the already talented 2015 squad. Ideally, we should make our deepest run since 2004. That said, the disparity between us and Japan, Korea, and Australia is not the same as the disparity between us and Vietnam. In competitive matches, it can swing either way. Korea came into 2004 with a squad filled with 2002 veterans and lost in the QF to us. Australia entered the 2007 edition having made the R16 of the 2006 WC (having lost to Italy due to a 90th minute penalty). From what I’ve seen in the friendlies, we have a good game plan but our finishing has been atrocious. CQ’s job is to generate tactics that will maximize our chances of winning; if our strikers waste their given chances, there’s nothing he can do.

3. This is where you and I have a major difference of opinion. If you’re only judging CQ based on results, one way of looking at it is: “he’s not won us the Asian Cup or taken us to the R16 of the WC, and as such, he is a failure”. Alternatively, I like to look at it as a process that extends beyond just the results. Looking at the results alone, I see a consistency that’s not been there before as well as a distinct footballing style that is unique to Iran. 2004-2006 was made fun by the individual brilliance of some of our players but I saw very little tactics in there. Consistency does not guarantee us a victory in the Asian Cup but I believe that by being consistent, we will eventually win the tournament. Beyond the games themselves, CQ off-the-field work will yield fantastic long-term benefits in my opinion. One was his cooperation with Taj on suggestion to improve the league (one example being reducing teams from 18 to 16). Another was his strong focus on fitness; a lot of the methods he used when he arrived in 2011 have become commonplace in the league in 2018. The creation of PEC is worth its weight in gold. Under normal circumstances, a coach should not have to demand for years on end for such a facility to be built but I'm glad CQ was able to help accomplish this through his persistence. Even more importantly, CQ took what was an aging squad and has has assembled a team that won't even peak until 2022. Needless to say, should he leave, he has eased the job of the subsequent coach by assembling a young team with a lot of international experience under their belt.

[tiesto]

Mourinho???

[K. Nader]

I agree.

What? Do not fool yourself. Despite two good games against Nigeria and Argentina, we were ranked one of the worst World Cup 2014 teams. We were ranked 28. It was an disappointing World Cup for Asia.

In WC 2018, Japan scored 6 goals from open play but we scored none. then you say we were better than Japan? In terms of performance, we were ranked 4th or 5th Asian side not in terms of result obviously. For example, here is a comment from one of world football fans who thought we had an disappointing WC (http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/afc...018.2084579/):

Another disappointing performance and results on the world stage. Unlike the above 3 teams, they finished the WC without a proper win. They were outplayed by Morocco who has no history at the WC and African Cup and rarely threatened the two declining and unimpressive European powers. They played cowardly football against giants and won nothing. This is the difference between them and Japan/Korea. I warned their weak scoring record at the WCQ before. Only 10 goals in 10 games. 1 goal per game against Asian oppositions. That's why they failed to score a proper goal this time. Iran's only goals were an own goal and a penalty from non-existent handball. In Iran's last 3 World Cups, they have only been in the lead for a total of 1 minute. Pathetic. I'm afraid that they will never make it to the round of 16 in my life time. They tried 5 times and all failed. Hard luck and good luck next time.

1st Bolded Part: I agree and give him credit for qualifying us to the WC 2014 as group winner. However I think any coach would have qualified us to the WC 2018 because we were in a weak qualifying group. For example, both South Korea and Iran were lucky to avoid KSA. In WCQs 2002, we got 4 points against KSA with Blazevic but KSA got full 18 points against Bahrain, Iraq, and Thailand. As a result they qualified over us because we dropped points against Thailand and Bahrain. In WCQs 2018, KSA got full 12 points against Iraq and Thailand which meant we had to get full 12 points against Iraq and Thailand in order to have equal points with them if we were in other group. Japan was even better than KSA. So fortunately we and Korea were in the weaker qualifying group.

2nd bolded part: Extended run of success? In terms of consistency and results, I can be agree with you. In terms of achievement, I disagree. We did not achieve anything special. We failed to reach R16 in the WC and also failed in the AC.

Why? Pouladi faked his military exemption card and the nation was against taking him to the AC but CQ insisted to take him to the AC. For AC 2015, CQ should be blamed first. You cannot blame only referee. Why should not you blame Haghighi who was terrible in that match? Do you remember Qatar vs Japan match in AC 2011? In that match, Qatar was ahead 2-1 with an offside goal then the referee gave an undeserved red card to one of Japan players but Japan with 10 men scored 2 goals and won the game 3-2. CQ is the first person who should be blamed for AC 2015.

WAFF is a Micky Mouse tournament and I am glad that we do not participate in this tournament anymore. So I agree with you here.

With regard to the performance, I am not talking about the ranking but rather about the quality. Well known international pundits have heaped praise on Team Melli over the last two WCs (particularly 2018). Neither WC was particularly pretty but we played with incredible grit and got the world's attention. There's no point arguing about this since we're going to hold our separate views.

As for World Cup qualifying, I don't believe that there's ever an easy or difficult group. Our history in WC qualification has shown than any team is capable of shaving points off us if necessary or putting us on the brink of elimination (Bahrain in 2002, Jordan in 2006, UAE in 2010, Lebanon & Uzbekistan in 2014). We've not had the luxury of qualifying consistently for the last 8-9 World Cups like South Korea have and the last 6 like Japan. Small errors are enough to ruin a campaign and they often have ruined many campaigns for us. Under CQ, especially during the 2018 WCQ, I believe these issues have been marginalized and will continue to be so should he stay until 2022. When you look at a footballing powerhouse, you expect to see some level of general dominance at all levels. What our senior team manages to accomplish is quite incredible when you consider the sorry state of the youth teams. Our Olympic Team has not qualified for the Olympics since the revolution and has been embarrassed in the last two Asian Games. Our U20 team has qualified for only 2 of the last U20 World Cups, and our U17 team has qualified for only 4 of the last U17 World Cups. The expectation that we are supposed to compete at the highest level globally is a bit far-fetched when the youth teams that are essentially the feeders into the national team cannot even compete regionally in Asia.

With regard to Pouladi, CQ made a serious push for Pouladi's inclusion because he was one of the finest players in our team during the 2014 World Cup. The government did not want him in the team I'm sure most fans were happy with his inclusion. Considering that the LB alternative at the time was Haj Safi, people were more than ecstatic to get Pouladi back for the tournament. I don't see the relevance to the Japan - Qatar match. When a team is down to 10 men and trailing, there have been cases where they indeed do come back and win. Statistically, this is not the case. The performance itself was actually quite admirable since we played with 10 men for 80 minutes and came back twice to take the game into penalties. I don't necessarily like Branko but I wouldn't place blame on Branko for what happened in 2004 as I wouldn't place blame on CQ for what happened. Even the Aussie pundits who are more familiar with Ben Williams than us believe that he had an agenda against us:

[forzatm]

I agree.
What? Do not fool yourself. Despite two good games against Nigeria and Argentina, we were ranked one of the worst World Cup 2014 teams. We were ranked 28. It was an disappointing World Cup for Asia.
In WC 2018, Japan scored 6 goals from open play but we scored none. then you say we were better than Japan? In terms of performance, we were ranked 4th or 5th Asian side not in terms of result obviously. For example, here is a comment from one of world football fans who thought we had an disappointing WC (http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/afc...018.2084579/):
Another disappointing performance and results on the world stage. Unlike the above 3 teams, they finished the WC without a proper win. They were outplayed by Morocco who has no history at the WC and African Cup and rarely threatened the two declining and unimpressive European powers. They played cowardly football against giants and won nothing. This is the difference between them and Japan/Korea. I warned their weak scoring record at the WCQ before. Only 10 goals in 10 games. 1 goal per game against Asian oppositions. That's why they failed to score a proper goal this time. Iran's only goals were an own goal and a penalty from non-existent handball. In Iran's last 3 World Cups, they have only been in the lead for a total of 1 minute. Pathetic. I'm afraid that they will never make it to the round of 16 in my life time. They tried 5 times and all failed. Hard luck and good luck next time.

We always struggle to score from open play at the WC. In 2006 our 2 goals were from corners. In 2014 we scored one from open play but it happned after a corner. One thing I noticed on other forums is that there were strong haters of our playing style.

Why? Pouladi faked his military exemption card and the nation was against taking him to the AC but CQ insisted to take him to the AC. For AC 2015, CQ should be blamed first. You cannot blame only referee. Why should not you blame Haghighi who was terrible in that match? Do you remember Qatar vs Japan match in AC 2011? In that match, Qatar was ahead 2-1 with an offside goal then the referee gave an undeserved red card to one of Japan players but Japan with 10 men scored 2 goals and won the game 3-2. CQ is the first person who should be blamed for AC 2015.

It was really disgusting even from a neutral standpoint. I remember Japan got a red card from nowhere in the first half of the semi-final in 2004 too. They managed to win, though. It's not like we are the only team in Asia who gets unfair decisions. Asian referees do suck and poor refereeing in Asia is common. We shouldn't use it as an excuse.