Asian Football

[juventino_italiano]

[RomaShield27]

[juventino_italiano]

[RomaShield27]

Sorry you're right, it was, it was.

[Bagg10]

Finally: Carlos Queiroz Signs With Iran

Written by Martin Reza Babry
Monday, 04 April 2011 09:28

PFDC - TEHRAN, It has been a lenghty soap opera, but Monday morning Portugese top coach Carlos Queiroz arrived in Tehran and signed a deal to coach Iran's national team for 3.5 years.

Persianfootball.com already confirmed the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) and the former Real Madrid boss being close to reaching an agreement on February 1, however, long and tough negotiations followed, which finally broke down exactly two weeks later with Queiroz citing "personal reasons" for backing out of the deal in last second.

However, the IFF and especially international committee director Abbas Torabian showed persistency, which payed off today, as the deal - reportedly worth six million dollars - was finally completed today at 11am.

Queiroz will bring two assistant coaches with him.

Queiroz, who is known as longtime assistant of tender Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, was dismissed as Portugal headcoach after a disappointing start into the Euro 2012 qualification in 2010.

Earlier that year, Queiroz had led Portugal to the knockout stage unbeaten from a group with Brazil, Ivory Coast and DPR Korea before eliminated by later World Champions Spain after a 1-0 defeat.

It had already been Queiroz's second spell as Portugal boss after 1991-1993.

The far-travelled physical education degree holder also coached many club teams such as Sporting Lisbon, the NY Metro Stars or Nagoya Grampus Eight as well as the national teams of the UAE and South Africa.

Iran are without a coach since being eliminated in quarterfinals of Asian Cup on January 22 and Afshin Ghotbi's departure to Shimizu S-Pulse.

http://www.persianfootball.com/live/ind ... mid=100018

[Messinterista]

Yeh, I heard about this and instantly thought of you Bagg. How are you taking it?

[Bagg10]

I'm suprised we pulled it off. He was the best option available to us. I mean, other big names were Sven, and Maradona, but I think Quieroz is a better option than both of those guys. I just hope politics don't get in the way of him coaching, and devolping our program.

[Bagg10]

Karimi Debut In Legendary Schalke Win

Written by Martin Reza Babry
Tuesday, 05 April 2011 21:07

PFDC - MILAN, Schalke 04 scored a memorable 5-2 away victory over Inter Milan in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday evening.

Stankovic had brought Inter in front with a sensational volley from the middle line in the first minute of the game, however, Schalke canceled out the goal through defender Matip.

Milito restored the lead 11 minutes before the break, but Edu levelled the scoreline again just six minutes later.

Evergreen Raul scored his 61st Champions League goal eight minutes after the restart, before Ranioccha's owngoal and Chivu's red card sealed Inter's destiny.

Edu's second of the day put the icing on the cake.

Ali Karimi finally debuted for Schalke, coming on as 87th minute substitute for Raul, however, the Iranian playmaker's contribution in the overall six minutes until the final whistle of course was minimal.

Karimi, who played with the number 16 because the number 10 shirt he actually had been awarded had already been worn by Rakitic in Champions League this season, overall had five ball contacts, completed all of his passes and committed one foul.

Schalke will host Inter in the second leg next Wednesday after entertaining Vfl Wolfsburg and ex-coach Felix Magath in Bundesliga on Saturday.

http://www.persianfootball.com/live/ind ... Itemid=177

[Messinterista]

[Bagg10]

Portugal managed to get out of the group of death and lose 1-0 to the eventual winners without any real targetmen up top. I'm not saying the guy is a world beater, but he's better than any domestic options we have, and there aren't many big names the "Islamic Rep. of Iran" could attract to come coach their national team.

[Messinterista]

True. I'd rather Sven though.

[Bagg10]

I'm not sure all the fornicating would go down well in Iran.

[Messinterista]

That is probably what went against him. You know, with all the pimping.

[Bagg10]

Feasible Task For Iran In World Cup Qualification

Written by Martin Reza Babry
Saturday, 30 July 2011 19:59

PFDC - RIO DE JANEIRO, Iran will have to finish among the top two teams in group E of Asian World Cup qualification round 3 with Qatar, Bahrain and Indonesia in order to qualify for the final stage of qualification.

Top seed Iran avoided the strongest teams from each pot, such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq or North Korea, however, still got a challenging group with two strong Persian Gulf rivals alongside Indonesia in the draw held in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.

Good news could be a possible elimination of North Korea in a tough group C, which would improve Iran's seeding for the final round, should the seeding procedure be based on the last qualification's final results instead of FIFA ranking like today.

Bad news, however, was the draw for the WCQ playoff games, where it was determined that the fifth team of the AFC qualification will have to face a South American team, whereas the fourth CONCACAF team will face the winner for Ocenania's competition.

Iran's campaign will kick off on September 2. The top two of each group will advance to the final round where the top two teams of two groups of five teams will directly qualify for World Cup. The two third placed teams of the final round will fight for the right to face the fifth team of South America for a final World Cup ticket.

Below come the Asian qualification groups.

Group A
China
Jordan
Iraq
Singapore

Group B
Korea Republic
Kuwait
UAE
Lebanon

Group C
Japan
Uzbekistan
Syria
KoreaDPR

Group D
Australia
Saudi Arabia
Oman
Thailand

Group E
Iran
Qatar
Bahrain
Indonesia

http://www.persianfootball.com/live/ind ... Itemid=175

[Messinterista]

Iran and Australia to go through with relative ease...

[Bagg10]

Yeah, the next round is the one that really counts. I just hope North Korea go out this round.

[Messinterista]

Japan and Uzbekistan will dispose of them. What new with Bin Hammam. Will he take down Sepp?

[Bagg10]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 19420.html

[Bagg10]

Iran Starts World Cup Ambitions With 3-0 Victory

Written by Ramin Ahmadzadeh

Friday, 02 September 2011 21:38

PFDC – TEHRAN, Osasuna superstar Javad Nekounam (53’, 72’) with a brace and former FC Fulham midfielder Andranik Teymourian (87’) helped the Iranian football national team to celebrate a never endangered 3-0 victory over Indonesia in Iran’s 2014 FIFA World Cup third qualifying round opener in Tehran on Friday.

Queiroz’ men appeared in an expected 4-3-3 formation. Teraktorsazi left-back Ehsan Hajsafi and Esteghlal’s endurance runner Andranik Teymourian have been replaced by Mehrdad Pouladi and Ghasem Hadadifar.

Saipa Karaj striker Karim Ansarifard was sidelined due to a yellow card suspension which he had received in the previous qualifying round against the Maldives.

As expected, Iran dominated the match against Indonesia. Nekounam (24’, 35’), Hadadifar (27’) and Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (31’) were close to score the go-ahead goal for a strongly playing Team Melli.

Iran was clearly ruling the midfield area but both winger Gh. Rezaei and Khalatbari very often failed to break through the Indonesian wall or were prevented by the guest's goalkeeper Markus.

It took 53 minutes for almost 70,000 spectators at the Tehran Azadi Stadium until all die-hard fans of Team Melli could vent their emotions as Osasuna star and Iran captain Javad Nekounam scored the lead for Iran with a nice header from close range after a brilliant cross by Khosrow Heydari.

Former Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz reacted on Iran’s rather weak play behaviour between the midfield and the offensive section and subbed in Teymourian for a pale Hadadifar.

The very same Teymourian played a brilliant cross to Nekounam who again netted the ball into the Indonesian goal with a strong header (72’).

Mahini initiated the third goal of the Iranian national team after an ingenious one-two between him and Teymourian who just needed to put the ball into the net.

Hajsafi also had a good chance to increase Iran’s score against a weak opponent three minutes into extra-time. His shot was saved by Markus who undeniably was the best Indonesian on the field today.

Later this evening, Bahrain and Qatar shared points as the Qataris held Bahrain in a goalless qualifyer in Manama. Qatar’s next qualifying match will be against Iran in Doha on next Tuesday.


IRAN – INDONESIA 3-0 (0-0)
2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifyer
Azadi Stadium, Tehran


Goals:
1-0, 2-0 Javad Nekounam (53’/assist by Heydari, 72’/assist by Teymourian)
3-0 Andranik Teymourian (87’/assist by Mahini)



IRAN: Rahmati – Heydari, Aghili, Hosseini, Pouladi – Hadadifar (70' Teymourian), Ali Karimi, Nekounam – GH. Rezaei (62’ Mahini), Majidi, Khalatbari (63’ Hajsafi)





http://www.persianfootball.com/live/ind ... Itemid=175

[Bagg10]

Favourites sweat as underdogs impress
(FIFA.com) Friday 2 September 2011

The opening matchday of Asia's third qualifying round for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ sent shockwaves across the continent, with favourites struggling to prove their credentials while underdogs stated their intention to mount a serious challenge.

The biggest surprises came from West Asia, where Jordan pulled off a 2-0 stunner in Iraq and Oman held Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw at home. Japan, Asia's highest-ranked team, were fortunate to edge past Korea DPR with an injury-time effort while both Australia and China PR had to battle from behind to defeat Thailand and Singapore 2-1 respectively.

Uzbekistan proved little better, claiming a single-goal win over Tajikistan. Only Korea Republic won comfortably, firing six unanswered goals past Lebanon for the night's biggest margin of victory, while Iran ran out 3-0 victors over Indonesia. Join FIFA.com as we review the most tense and thrilling moments of the opening day.

The game
Korea Republic 6-0 Lebanon
Park Chu Young 7, 45+1, 67; Ji Dong-Won 66, 85; Kim Jung-Woo 82

Coach Cho Kwang-Rae's Taeguk Warriors put their 3-0 friendly loss to Japan in the build-up behind them as they ran riot against Lebanon in Goyang. Their English-based striking duo proved the driving force as they crushed the visitors, with Arsenal's new signing Park Chu-Young completing a hat-trick while Sunderland striker Ji Dong-Won was also on target twice.

The former opened the scoring on seven minutes before heading home on the stroke of the half-time to double the lead. The visitors hit back after the interval but their hopes of a comeback were shattered when Ji made it 3-0 on 66 minutes, before Park went on to grab his third a minute later. After Kim Jung-Woo made it five by tapping home from close range, Ji rounded off their wonderful night five minutes from time. Despite the emphatic win, they must beware of their next opponents Kuwait, who inflicted a 3-2 defeat on hosts United Arab Emirates.

The surprise
Iraq 0-2 Jordan
Hasan Mahmoud 43, Abdullah Deed 47

Al Wahdat duo Hasan Mahmoud and Abdullah Deed scored either side of the half-time as Jordan stunned Iraq 2-0 for a spirited opening victory. Zico's hosts side may have enjoyed the home support at Arbil, but it was Adnan Hamad's visitors that had the better of the opening half. And the Jordanians' offensive efforts paid dividends before the break, when midfielder Mahmoud latched onto a cross to break the deadlock.

Desperate to chase the equaliser, the Iraqis rallied back after the restart, only to be caught out again. Deeb, a constant threat in front of the Iraqi goal, got his head on a fine cross to crash the upright, but the 24-year-old striker Deed was the first to pounce on the rebound, beating two defenders to slot home. The result not only put Jordan on top in Group A on goal difference above China, but also sent a warning for the East Asians ahead of their meeting in Amman four days from now.

The other attractions
The opening matchday began in tense fashion with its earliest fixture, Australia surviving a 14th-minute scare by Teerasil Dangda to claim a narrow win at home. Capitalising on a Jakkraphan Kewprom cross, the Thai forward gave the visitors an unlikely early lead by slotting past Mark Schwarzer, only for Josh Kennedy to cancel out on the hour-mark. The Socceroos piled on the pressure after that, but the Thais held on. With only four minutes left, forward tender Alex Brosque eased the hosts' worries as the second-half substitute clinched the winner.

Group A seeds China PR snatched a carbon-copy victory at home over a resilient Singapore as their new Spanish boss Jose Antonio Camacho got his tenure off to a winning start. Veteran playmaker Zheng Zhi proved the difference as he had a hand in their two goals. Sent on as a substitute in the second half, he cancelled out Aleksandar Duric’s first-half opener via the penalty spot on 69 minutes, before starting a move which was completed by Yu Hai four minutes later.

Group C proved one of the toughest of all, as both Japan and Uzbekistan sparred their blushes late. In doing so, the former owed thanks to 23-year-old Vitesse Arnhem full-back Michihiro Yasuda, whose last-gasp effort undid Korea DPR. The latter, for their part, dispatched neighbouring Tajikistan with attacking veteran Maksim Shatskikh scoring the only goal 18 minutes from time.

Elsewhere, Javad Nekonam bagged a brace as Group E seeds Iran saw off Indonesia 3-0 to top the section. In their next outing, Carlos Queiroz's winning side will travel to Doha to challenge Qatar, who shared the spoils with Bahrain in a goalless draw in Manama.

The player
Inheriting the captain’s armband from Park Ji-Sung who retired from international football after January’s AFC Asian Cup, Park Chu-Young underlined his qualities as the true heir to the Manchester United playmaker by inspiring his side to a big victory.

The stat
41 - The age of Singapore’s evergreen forward Duric, a ripe old age for such a fresh competitor.

What they said
“Generally our team played hard and well as we won the opener. When Singapore took the lead, our players did their best to respond, including hitting the woodwork twice. It was the never-say-die spirit and our great effort that carried us through,” China PR coach Jose Antonio Camacho.

Asia's third qualifying round, matchday 1 results
2 September
Group A: China PR 2-1 Singapore, Iraq 0-2 Jordan
Group B: Korea Republic 6-0 Lebanon, United Arab Emirates 2-3 Kuwait
Group C: Japan 1-0 Korea DPR, Tajikistan 0-1 Uzbekistan
Group D: Australia 2-1 Thailand, Oman 0-0 Saudi Arabia
Group E: Iran 3-0 Indonesia, Bahrain 0-0 Qatar

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminar ... index.html