Alireza Beiranvand @ Royal Antwerp FC | 2020-2021

[Iranianarsenal11]

What's the consensus? Do we think he took over and Butez will be the backup from now on?

I'm not sure if Leko is ready to switch completely, but it's clear Beiranvand is the superior keeper in terms of talent and skill

That being said, it would be biased to say that Butez is a bad keeper, because he's honestly pretty solid. He saved their ass a few times in the beginning of the season

Most of the blame goes to PP management for delaying his transfer honestly. And it was kind of foolish for Antwerp to sign two starting caliber goal keepers. Butez wasn't really needed...

[mahestan]

I'm not sure if Leko is ready to switch completely, but it's clear Beiranvand is the superior keeper in terms of talent and skill

That being said, it would be biased to say that Butez is a bad keeper, because he's honestly pretty solid. He saved their ass a few times in the beginning of the season

Most of the blame goes to PP management for delaying his transfer honestly. And it was kind of foolish for Antwerp to sign two starting caliber goal keepers. Butez wasn't really needed...

I agree with your sentiment that most of the blame goes to PP management. If they had let Beiro leave sooner, before the COVID shutdowns took effect, he would've be in this predicament.

[Nokhodi]

Some of you guys are just ruthless.

He made one mistake after not having played for months against the best team in England right now and made several wonderful saves.
Yes, the free kick save theoretically could have been saved, but he did well just to get a hand on it.

He's the most talented player in TM (along with Taremi) and he will go far if he doesn't get too emotional and he can avoid mafia teams.

[ParsaV]

Just finished watching a replay of the first half, my main takeaways:

1. He seemed nervous in the first 10 mins (shaky on the corner + strange goal kick);
2. He has improved his game with his feets quite a lot (in comparison to what I have seen in TM). This helped Antwerp quite a lot in trying to keep playing football under the high pressure of the Spurs.
3. He needs to work on his corner exits. His timing is off and he shows no confidence in his exit. This is probably due to a lack of match fitness, but will probably be crucial if he wants to become the main goalkeeper.
4. Great goalkeeping on the line. Unbeatable in 1 on 1’s.

[diz]

What a performance. He did everything humanly possible against a superior team. FFS, he even defended with his balls!

[mahestan]

What a performance. He did everything humanly possible against a superior team. FFS, he even defended with his balls!

Sacrificed the family jewels. Talk about going above and beyond.

[diz]

The Spurs had 10 (TEN!) shots on goal. Beira defended like a lion. And the two goals were due to poor defending by his teammates and luck, respectively.

[Ab-Gosht]

antwerp did the right thing signing Ali but man oh man they paid almost 4m euro for fee + salary to sit him on bench that is insane

[Futbaldoost]

Hey guys, he is Ali Beiro. Not Beira.

Go Beiro!

Sangarbaaneh beemaanand, Alireza Berianvand!
سنگربانِ بی مانند، علیرضا بیرانوند

[inarsenewetrust]

I was reading another belgian article, found these fan comments under. Nearly all Very positive.

"Beiranvand is better than Butez. You can already see that. More dominant, more present, more experience. Also radiates more the Antwerp DNA. If I were Leko, I would continue with him now."

"One on one and based on reflexes, Beiranvand is really good. Playing football and on high balls, there are some work points. Butez is okay playing football, but has also dropped a few stitches. The Jean is quite strong on high balls. Difficult choice, what will depend on the type of match we play to determine who will be in the goal."

"I thought he was very good, and for his first performance chapeau. I think a lack of competition rhythm is the basis. You can only play one😉"

"His sliders (sic) were at the beginning of the match, then he played flawlessly.
His great long and especially focused throws will still yield goals.
Butez may start to get worried."

"Good first impression. Do it after X months without a match and then European against Tottenham ...
Good!"

"Still found him very present. Strong debut in difficult circumstances."

n the first 10 minutes I really thought it was a disastrous goalkeeper.
Afterwards he recovered with some strong 1 on 1 situations.

It is a pity that after a brilliant save on that free kick, the ball ended up straight into the feet of Vinicius via the post.


"In the first 10 minutes I really thought it was a disastrous goalkeeper.
Afterwards he recovered with some strong 1 on 1 situations."

"It is a pity that after a brilliant save on that free kick, the ball ended up straight into the feet of Vinicius via the post."

"What is unfortunate is that there was no Antwerp defender in the area. Of course these were with their back to goal. Lesson for the future. At Butez that ball went directly in, not only at Butez of course, but at 90% of the goalkeepers.
"


"I would put the Beire. Butez has already done a few half or whole camels, but also got some nice balls. So changeable.
Would put him on edge. I miss some charisma at Butez."

https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nieuws/2020-12-11/alireza-beiranvand-een-opmerkelijk-debuut-van-de-iraanse-held?version=2

[pajamNL]

Huge article in Belgium newspaper "Gazet van Antwerpen" , i used Google translate to post it here.

Link to original article ; https://www.gva.be/cnt/dmf20201211_96631673

enjoy!



The striking debut of Antwerp goalkeeper Beiranvand through the eyes of Ratko Svilar



Surprise on the Tottenham - Antwerp competition magazine: Alireza Beiranvand. Despite the two goals against, the long-awaited debut of the Iranian goalkeeper was very much appreciated and especially with his unorthodox style and distant throw-outs, he stood out. A new cult hero in the making? Ratko Svilar, himself a former goalkeeper and trainer of the Great Old, is curious. "Strongly cut, but let's not exaggerate with those far casting."

758 / 5000
Vertaalresultaten
“I already knew Beiranvand a bit before the match against Tottenham. I knew he was a good goalkeeper and he showed that yesterday, ”said Svilar.

Apart from the strong goalkeeping work, the topic of conversation was his gun from a right arm: thrown up to seventy meters! But Svilar doesn't necessarily share in the enthusiasm. “I understand that those distant casts sometimes look spectacular, but it is quite exaggerated with how important they really are. What would you rather have: a goalkeeper who can throw that far or a goalkeeper who does not let any balls in? ”, Svilar asks the question. "That goes without saying. During a match, a goalkeeper should also not throw out every two minutes. In the first place he has to prevent goals. ”



That didn't work perfectly on Thursday evening. At the first goal, Beiranvand had an answer to Bale's dipping free kick, but not to Vinicius's rebound. Not much later Lo Celso scored the 2-0 final score. “Whether he could have prevented the two goals? (thinks) No, I don't think so. ”

Two first keepers

Now that both Beiranvand and Butez have shown themselves on the big stage, Antwerp faces a potential dilemma. Who will be in goal from now on, starting with Sunday's top match against Club Brugge? Leko spoke at his last press chat about "two first keepers", but did not want to reveal too much further. Who would prefer Svilar?

"Hard to say. I have seen Butez before, for Beiranvand it was only his first official match yesterday. That is far too little to be able to give a well-considered opinion. The only thing I can say now: they are both very strong goalkeepers and I like to see them both busy in the goal of Antwerp. ”



“But that choice is up to the trainer. When I was at the helm of Antwerp, nobody had to come and say to me: "You have to line up that or that player". You shouldn't even try. I don't expect anything less from Ivan Leko, ”says Svilar.

“Besides, it's not just about what the goalkeeper can do with a ball. It is equally important how strong he is mentally and how he interacts with the rest of the team. Leko is the one who works with them on a daily basis and so he can best judge those other qualities. That is something I cannot determine from the outside. ”

Whoever is on target on Sunday, Svilar will again be attentively in front of his television. “I wish Antwerp the best. In my time we always said: "play every match as if it were against Anderlecht". Nowadays in Belgium that is more like Club Brugge. If the players can fully recharge for another top match, with the qualities they have, Antwerp can win from any team. Nobody will get it for free at the Bosuil. ”



Online phenomenon

On Thursday, something else became clear: Beiranvand is making the Great Old boom on social media. Iran's number one is immensely popular in its home country and brings a large following, one that has been begging for its debut for months, by the way. It is reminiscent of the South African madness around Percy Tau or the support for the Japanese in the Jupiler Pro League.

To give you an idea: today Beiranvand himself posted a photo of his debut match on Instagram and that resulted in more than 400,000 likes in a few hours. He has no less than three million followers. By way of comparison: Antwerp just passed the milestone of 75,000 followers and is therefore even one of the top in Belgian football.

[instagram]CIp9EMwM2Hm[/instagram]

A selection of the reactions on Twitter:

[Roozbeh-G2006]

He is a larger than life character.
He has this amazing humble background that is so inspirational to so many poor kids who will no doubt be encouraged and have hopes when they get to know him.
He is a natural superstar and carry that stardom well.
He aspires to be world's best.
He has so many qualities.
He can only get better and better.
He is our Alireza Beiranvand.

[milad_b]

Bebin be koja resdidim ke Beiro ba Butez moghayese mikonand! Why are you guys even debating this? Who the F is butez? How many world cup has he played in? What was the biggest team he played against !

Ali Beiro "Yek saro gardan" bala tareh. Please stop this comparison .

[Essi]

علیرضا بیرانوند: مورینیو گفت تو گلر فوق*العاده*ای هستی

دروازه*بان تیم ملی فوتبال ایران در مورد دیدارش با مورینیو به خبرورزشی گفت: بعد از بازی وقتی در تونل بودیم او مشغول مصاحبه بود و وقتی مرا دید کلی از من تعریف کرد و گفت تو گلر بااستعداد و فوق*العاده*ای هستی.

خبرورزشی/ لژیونرها؛ بعد از بازی دو تیم تاتنهام و آنتورپ بلژیک با علیرضا بیرانوند تماس گرفتیم تا با او در خصوص درخشش مقابل تاتنهام حرف بزنیم. علیرضا در این تماس در خصوص تقابل با مورینیو و گرفتن سلفی با آقای خاص گفت: «مورینیو مربی بسیار بزرگی است و کلی جام و افتخار دارد. بعد از بازی وقتی در تونل بودیم او مشغول مصاحبه بود و وقتی مرا دید کلی از من تعریف کرد و گفت تو گلر بااستعداد و فوق*العاده*ای هستی. برایت آرزوی موفقیت می*کنم. خودم خیلی انتظار چنین چیزی را نداشتم ولی به هرحال تعریف*های مورینیو از من خیلی باعث افتخار است و از این بابت خوشحالم. هرچند دوست داشتم در اولین بازی*ام برای آنتورپ برنده شوم ولی خب این اتفاق نیفتاد.»

[Under Lahaf]

Does anyone know whether Iranian community in Belgium is there for Beiranvand to learn the language and get more comfortable with his new life? made any friends etc?

Of course if anyone knows we don't have to get into details and should respect his right to privacy but it would be great to know how he is doing outside of the game