How good Team Melli really is?

June 4th, 2006 | By: Afshin Afshar | 1 Comment »

My fellow football enthusiast and Team Melli fan Kaveh Mahjoob tries to bring euphoric Team Melli fans, such as myself, back to earth by reminding us that good performances in three friendly matches does not make a successful World Cup campaign.

In his article, he points out that although the team has its strengths, there are still some real problems, and he suggests a number of steps that may help eliminate them.

Tags: Angola, Iran, Iranian Football Federation, IRIFF, Mexico, Portugal, Team Melli

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Comments

By Hafiz Qayib | June 4th, 2006 at 9:15 am

What a great analysis, Kaveh! I can’t agree more: it is insightful and well argued. Good points are all made out.

On “bad news”: I downloaded the game against Bosnia and watched attetntively, espcially the painful first 20 minutes when Iran conceded two goals.

Granted, Iran were a little off-balance, and mental concentration was not there, and I felt “we will win anyway” confidence in the midfield (not with captain Daei, though, who was 100% committed from the start), and what not,

but there were some horrendous lapses, sloppiness, bad passing,
especially for Nosrati, Golmohammadi and Nekunam in front of him. Not only the back-line was very unconvicing against the likes of Barbarez and Misimovic (not the best attack force in the world),
ball-winning in the defensive midfield was also very bad: a few balls won were lost on bad passes or slow tempo. Btw, despite all his good work upfiled, Maadanchi as a ball-winner was also substandard.

Even more valuable than your analysis were your suggestions how to fix the problems. I think your idea of the back four is creative and deserves thorough consideration.

I know it may sound crazy, but since you know and gained some trust of Ivankovic (you interviewed him twice, you say), why don’y you make sure he reads your article. Even if he does not follow your advice, it would be a nice change from the type of stuff he has been reading about the team in the last months.

Posted from Azerbaijan