Is Team Melli in trouble?

Injuries to Ali Karimi and Vahid Hashemian have highlighted a point that many of us Team Melli fans have been trying to hammer into the stubborn head of the Iranian Football Federation’s football brains.

You can not take your starting eleven for granted!

It is of course fine to have a solid starting eleven and stick with them, but we all know that the number of football injuries in a World Cup came are higher than an average year because players get much less resting time.

Branko does not have any established backups for Karimi and Hashemian because he has not been paying much attention to his bench. If Hashemian fails to get fit for the World Cup, Branko is stuck with Daei, and seldom used Arash Borhani. Borhani may be able to step up and shine in Germany, but who will back them up?

There is talent in Iran but it is untapped. Branko missed a number of opportunities to give younger players some time with the first squad through last year, but he chose to keep Daei in for almost every minute of every friendly and used Borhani only to replace Hashemian when the second team came on the field.

In Karimi’s situation, he is too much of a talent to easily replace, but right now Branko does not even have a distant second on the bench. A few domestic players, who could have stepped in, have not been tried.

Then there is the loss of form issue. Take the case of Ferydoon Zandi for example. The Kaiserslautern midfielder has not been getting much playing time. He is clearly not going to be on top of his game come June. Again Branko does not have a real alternative.

All in all, unless Branko’s first eleven are fit and in top shape Team Melli is going to have a very uninspiring stay in Germany.