Korea - Iran game

[Doctor DOOM]

A very quick and cryptic summary, for the time being.
more discussion ensues later


1- As a neutral observer, one has to feel sorry for the Koreans. As they were the better team on the pitch.
not their usual fluent team, but still better than Iran.

If any team deserved the 3 points, it would have been the Koreans.

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2- Having said that, this game could have gone any bloody direction we could have imagined.
It could have easily been a 3-0 thrashing by the Koreans, had Fekri's screw up resulted in a goal, and that magnificent bicycle kick that scraped the post
and went out, had been a few inches inside !

or it could have been an amazing 2-1 win for Iran, had Karimi been on target.

and a lot of other possibilities in between.


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3- TM's performance in the first half was nothing to write home about, and was just marginally ( only marginally ) better than the syria game.
But when we went on the offensive, we played better and showed much promise.

I think ( as I have always said ) Iran's teams are more comfortable playing attacking football than defensive.
and the second half and the chances created by TM proves this.
TM's second half performance , most probably due to a more open and attacking strategy, showed a palpable improvement from the syria game.
and if GN adopts this style against syria, ... well, lads, we dont have much to worry about.

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4- VH showed "persistence pays".
a major lesson to be learnt by the likes of Majidi, who as soon as dispossesed, give up and dont follow on.

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5- Nekounam when compared to the rest of TM, played better than the rest.
So I hope his stint at europe has energized him and motivated him to improve and progress.

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6- oh boy, oh boy oh boy.
Niki and madanchi, as usual were the WORST players on this pitch and in a radius of 1274 Km's around the stadium !

one idiot ( madanchi ) instead of passing , when having the ball on our 18 yard line, tries to dribble and goes for "la'ee" !!!
moron !
the other idiot ( niki ) does the same just outside our 18 another time.
and these screw ups continue!

I wonder how many games these two have to f**k up so GN would replace these two bungling fools !!!

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7- having rested the likes of Enayati, Khatibi, Sadeghi, Kazemian, Kaabi, Kazemi, .... I think GN means to use most of these guys, along with our legioners, against syria.

and after the second half display, if the long trip doesnt tax the players too much, I think we have a great chance of winning the syrians.
especially since the draw at korea will have a motivating and energizing effect on the whole team.

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8- If Korea plays the same way against us in Tehran, I believe we can kill them off over there.

But somehow, I dont think the Korea we'll see in Tehran would be as inexperienced.
for example, I doubt the regular korean keeper, Lee Won Jae would have come out so much and conceded this goal.



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should the result blind us to the sub-standard display of football?
hell no.
but as soheil jan said, we must look at the trend.
and while this game TM didnt impress me , given the circumstances and compared to the syria game, I think it is headed in the right direction.

however, we must see this trend continue at syria ... despite the long trip and arab atmosphere ( you know what all it entails ) and ... .

[yashar_fasihnia]

agree with u more or less on everything.

however, i just wanna comment on ur 8th point, even if korea plays like they did today against us in azadi, i dont think iran will kill them.

on the contrary, i think iran will start defending again (like against japan in azadi) and we might even screw up a good victory.

but anywayz, khoda ro shokr in bazi be kheyr gozasht. next, damascus is our destination and victory is our target (to avoid any possible IFS and ELSES for the last day!)

[yashar_fasihnia]

anywayz, here is my summary...

overall, i was happy with TM performance.
for me, ball possession really doesnt matter.

in the first half, both teams played at the same level, except that korea had 1free kick which they scored from!
we handled korea on their own turf very well, that too in the first half which is difficult because korea was the host and iran had to adapt to 66,000 koreas cheering korea the whole time.

in the second half, korea created chances but so did iran. again, korea had more ball possession but i dont care as long as we created a good amount of chances as well. missing those chances is different, they are based on indiviual players, but creating those chances is mostly a combination of individuals which eventually form a team.
although quite a number of players very poor including teymourian and kia, overall, i was happy with the result. frankly speaking, i didnt expect us to handle the koreans with our defense so well in the first half and with our offense in the second half and iran and korea are both powerhouses in asia. so its something totally normal that both teams create chances.

i think it was a good performance by iran. however, there are lot of small things that TM coaches should focus on.
1)speed of the game. our counter attacks are too slow.
2)out fitness and stamina. the koreans clearly were better than us in stamina
3)marking the opponents. how many times does iran have to concede from wrong markings of players?? i mean, korea had just 1 or maximum 2 tall players, and they score from a free kick! we had the taller players, we had the better "headzan" players, yet they score by a header from a freekick!
4)our passing has become weaker than before. its hard for the players now to play 1 touch quick passing games. and if they do, most of the times, they are wrong passes!
5)how to develop a game from defense. everytime our defenders got the ball, they would take a long pass to hashemian so that he would head it to somebody else and 90% of the time, this plan failed. we need to start building our attacks from defense, just like we need to start defending right from our attack line!

[Doctor DOOM]

yashar jan, on point #8:

somehow I doubt we'd play so defensively in tehran.

by that time GN has had enough time with the team and if he has all his players ( legioners included ) available to him, I am almost sure he will go for the kill from the first minute.

I am ready to wager on this one, in fact.


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I also agree on the shameful handling of the korean goal.
I mean with tall guys and jumpers like rahman, nosrati, nekounam, niki, even fekri or ... the korean rose above his mark ( who was it ? ) by at least a whole head, and scored !!
come oooooonnnn !!!!

[maij]

For me , there was nothing and I mean absloutely nothing to rave about except for one momentry scene of absloute brilliance by Vahid Hashemian.......the way he scored the goal , underlies one fact ....and that is that his type is rare in Iran......

[Vahshi]

For me , there was nothing and I mean absloutely nothing to rave about except for one momentry scene of absloute brilliance by Vahid Hashemian.......the way he scored the goal , underlies one fact ....and that is that his type is rare in Iran......

As far as strikers go, his type is indeed rare in Asia.

[The-Red]

good observations,,,,I agree, to sum it up we must say that we played a bad football game and we should thank God for this one point.
I have doubts in Ghalenoe's future with the team, we for sure need a coach for the asian cup, if we make it

[KasraKhan]

A few points

1) Our defense, for the most part, was solid. The Koreans had most of the possesion but barely created any chances thanks to our solid defense. Fekri was good in my eyes, he is a rock back there. I like this new look of the defense, much better than our defense in the WC.

2) Our center midfield, with the combination of Ando and Javad, was very strong. Ando and Javad ate up any ball that was loose. It was our wings, especially our left wing, that was weak. How many more chances is Ghalenoi going to give the Madanchi/Nikbaht combination until he realizes it simply is NOT going to work. Ando was the best player on our team I think. His hustle and determiniation is unmatched. Imagine if Karimi had Ando's determiniation, heart, and will, Karimi would be the best player in the world.

3) This is rare, but Kia was not his best today. I hope he can rebound and perform well agaisnt Syria. But he gave up many balls in dangerous areas.

4) Mirzapour was solid, he came out confidently, and he had a few key saves

5) We can not keep possesion. Compare our game, to Korea's. We simply can not keep the ball under our control. I dont know why Rahman does this, but everytime he has the ball in the defensive line, even when NOT under pressure, he sends a long ball 50 meters up the pitch. This is a WASTE of possession. Fekri did this a few times also. It never works, and all it does is give up possesion. Both defenders have to know that they have 2 very skilled ball distrubutors in Ando and Javad in front of them, so they should use them.

[KasraKhan]

6) Karimi. Hmm...what to say about Karimi. I think whenver he has the ball, most of the time, something good happens. But the thing is, he doesnt get the ball too much. Either our players dont look for him enough, or he doesnt look for the ball. If I was GN, I would tell the players to pass the ball to Karimi everytime. He is our playmaker. He had 2 very good scenes when it reminded of how skilled this guy is. In the 1st half when he easily lost the Korean defender then shot the ball wide with his left, and in the 2nd half, when he dribbled 2 defenders and gave a beautiful pass to Vahid in space, then Vahid could not find Majidi and gave a back pass to Ando and Ando kicked it way over the bar.

[BehzadB]

For me , there was nothing and I mean absloutely nothing to rave about except for one momentry scene of absloute brilliance by Vahid Hashemian.......the way he scored the goal , underlies one fact ....and that is that his type is rare in Iran......

Absolutly Right.

What a move that was. on the 93 minute of the game, runing after a ball that had no hope, and boom. An Opportunistic, wolf like move. Reminded me of the old Daie.

about the game;

haven't seen the first half. (but I have read that I didn't miss much )

1. It'a about time GN and the rest of the coaching staff and Mahdavikia himself, to realize that it's best for TM's future (and present) that Kia moves to the RT back spot, like he is in hamburg.

This would give us a proven defense man on the right side and in turn someone like Kaabi/Kazemian can be used in front of him. This will give either one of those two younger players chance to use their speed offensivley and do it with an experienced Kia behind them, watching them and tutoruing them. We all know offense starts with a defender. I think this move will go a long way to prolong Kia's career at TM and help develope a couple of younger players offensively. I thik this move can make our right side strong again, like the days of young kia.

2. The left side. When is GN going to be brave enough to drop Niki alltogether. this guys has no place on TM. He can not make the simplest passes, and is playing with a permanently injured knee, and .. so many other things wrong with him. I just don't know what GN sees in this player.

3. Nosrati Is NOT the left side's solution. Baring injuries, he is our central defender for many years to come. he will be wasted on the left side.

4. Ok, let me get this straight. We have Golmamad retire so Fekri can take his place? These two guys, Fekri and Niki, are our WEAKEST links.

5. Nekounam and Taimourian, They can play destructive football, really well. But when it comes to doing something with the ball when they get it, they have a lot of improving to do.

6. What's the deal with the jerseys.

[faraz]

well, i just saw the game...and what an awful game it was...funny...when we lost to Korea 2-0, the football we played was loads better...and now, we played worse and tied...football works in mysterious ways...

a) i absolutely agree on the left-side that Behzad jan has already mentioned...absolutely nothing going on there, and Nikbakht is obviously not suited as a left wing back

b) karimi is not getting the ball to his feet as often as he should...he is the playmaker of the team and barely got 6 touches on the ball...mind you, when he did, he did well...albeit, he should have definitely used his experience to score an open net goal, even though the bounces are somewhat difficult to anticipate

c) i felt the patience we once had in our build-up is completely non-existant and either fekri or nekounam just blast the ball toward the opposition's net hoping for some luck, otherwise, we easily lose possession of the ball

d) not only has ghalenoie made the left-side worse with the nikbakht-ma'adanchi combo, but our right side too is incomplete without kaebi (sorry behzad jan, i know how u feel about this one) and mahdavikia is way too bogged down in defense to contribute anything positively in attack...by the way, i'd still rather have kaebi as right back because a winger must have one key attribute that kaebi simply does not possess, and that's good technique when it comes to crossing the ball...kaebi's crosses don't bend, curve or reach anyones head...it seems they're randomly put into the box hoping for someone to reach the end of it...meanwhile, with kia, he has speed , technique, and the best crossing ability of the team...

e) i hope it became obvious that using ONE attacker is completely ineffective and gives the opposition time at the back to formulate some sort of plan of attack. that korean defence was no good at all, especially once they were pressured, they became like our team and kicked the ball into no man's land...however with one attacker, they were free to pass the ball around as if it's a training session

f) in terms of players, hashemian is pure genius, and majid's post sums everything up quite nicely. i also thought nosrati was brilliant, as well as mirzapour...his reflexes are surely better than taleblou's...however, he still looked shaky when the ball was in the air in the box...let's face it, he's the best we have

g) i couldn't be happier that teymourian has moved to bolton, b/c maybe they'll teach the guy that putting the ball ON NET is more important than BLASTING IT into nowhere...he needs to ease up on the shot power, and put more gas on the accuracy...otherwise, he showed a decent performance, along with nekounam and karimi...acceptable anyways

in conclusion, our team showed absolutely NO chemistry...NO co-ordination, and very little in terms of positive movements...we should thank god for that wonder goal, and hope for the best against syria

[Ali Chicago]

I read the analysis and tried really hard to don't post anything for couple of days to let things really sink in. But I need to post before the next game so here it is.

Don't do this full time, so just list them (maybe in the wrong order). Take what you can/want from my two cents.


Negative attiude of Fans and gloom and doom
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I still hear a wave of negative impression about team Melli's performance, I would like to share my opinion. Let's have more faith in the level of Iranian soccer next time (at least in Asia). That gloom and doom and all the talk we gonna get killed in Seoul was so WRONG. How many 3-1 and we gonna get slammed I read in PFDC threads?
Our goal against korea was an accident, I am the first one to admit, yet, Korea didn't show anything either. So, please no predication of routing of Iranian team in Korea. I promise you TM is going to kill this Korean team in Azadi.
Many guys on PFDC totally under estimate Iranian soccer at the Asian level at least. They only see the shortcomings of our clubs, IFF, lack of professionalism etc. etc. Our clubs are run like crap, IFF isn't 1/10 of Korean/Japaneese Football Federation. But heck all that playing goal kochick in every corner of Iran, create players that US youth soccer, Korean and Japanees organiztion (despite better league and millions of dollars and more professional staff at the coaching helm) still crave for.
We have a wealth of soccer talent in Iran because soccer in Iran second to Brazil is played in every god damn corner. No where else (to my knowledge) people are so much into soccer. This (wide spread interest to soccer) is our strength let's trust ourselves.

Don't overestimate your opponent
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This Korean team didnt' have much at least it show nothing on Sat game, I mean nothing. Iran had many more quality chances than Koreans' did and Iran didn't play well. Ando screwd up one, Karimi missed one as well. If it wasn't for the lack of dare in our team to finish them off, Iran could have come with a vicotry in Seoul. Korea had one opportunities on our goal (Scissor kick by the Korean forward). Korea's goal was the result of our poor defending and a fluke header. Nothing to attribute to Korean's offense.

Once again, it is proven that quality of indivdual koran players are lower than ours. Except that right winger on their team and to a lesser degree the tall guy who scored the gaol (left winger) rest of them had nothing to offer but running their ass off. Korea beside the goal that bicyckle kick which was an individual acrobatic move by the Korea player (showed nothing else). No vision, no creativity. A robotic football which totally void any imgination and ability in the offensive third. No wonder FIFA ranks tham 4th or 5th in Asia.
Those who think having forign coaches and organization is the the magic bullet, better watch the game again. Those who thought Ghotbi and Verbik and his team gonna route Iran in Seoul, better watch the game again. Where all that talk went?


Comparing apples (TM) and oranges (European Soccer Leagues)
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People criticize tm performance and don't realize the emotional pressure that TM (all natioal teams for that matter) is under. Players can't practice with each other much, so some degree of lack of coordination is totally expected. We watch European and South American (club) soccer and comapre Iranian natioal or Asian soccer against that. That is the wrong comparison.
In a club coach has the players for years and can do certain tactical stuff for a long time. With international nature of soccer these days, aTM can't do that stuff. There is a huge difference between the club soccer Vs. National team. Even most WC games weren't that pretty, cooridnated as watching Vigan athletic Vs. NewCastle (for me atleast). On top of that after watching EPL or Bundesliga then watch Asian games and no matter what it looks like child play.
Bottom line, let's realize we are watching a lower level (Asian) soccer and adjust our expectations.

GN performance
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I think GN did well as far as coaching and subs concerned. I specially liked to see the TM came back from the devastating goal on 45th minute and fought back (not like WC). It wasn't pretty but they fought back and eventually tured the game around.

Also, our team showed good stamina, we run step by step next to Koreans and out ran them. This time it was our team that out paced koreans in the stamina department. This to some degree is the result of the work of Komasi and GN and company. Good job guys.

Bringing Majidi in to and moving Karimi to left mid were good moves. I totally applaude his move to go after the Koreans by addition of second forward Vs (bringing an extra def mid like Kazemi) to prevent koreans from scoring more. This is where I prefer GN and likes of him and (being less conservative) despite lower level of tactical soccer knowledge) Vs. defensive minded coaches like Branko.
I know, I know you say, GN was under pressure and he had to do this. But compare GN and Branko in this one aspect. A coach (like Branko) in WC the second game against Portugal still had a total defensive game plan despite knowing we will be eliminated from WC and even being 1-0 down against portugal didn't change anything and still Iran defended with 8-9 players.

I was hoping to see Akbarpoor earlier though and maybe he was a better sub compared to Majidi. But maybe it was Majidi's experience in this stage that gave him the edge. Logically makes sense. But Majidi put a lot of pressure on Korean defenders by chansing them as soon as they got the ball. That is one thing probably most people overlook when watchign the game, the amount of running a forward does to open up in space and be on the right spot. Majidi was present. Even for the ball that Hashemain didn't pass the ball to him and tried to dribble through and could not and did a pass back to Ando and his terrible shot (Majidi was about 10 yards from Hashemian). Excellent positioning.

Team's performance
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Our team played well defensively. They were just scared (which to some degree I appreciate with all the media circus and all) and 4-5-1 formation of Iran didn't allow any meaningful support for Hashemain. As soon as we started to pressure the Koreans game changed.
I liked Fekri. Despite that one misjudging the ball (but hey we are human after all), he played well. Even on that ball, after not clearing the ball, he played smart to not make the first move and Korean kicked the ball over the net.
I liked Fekri, Hashemian, Nosrati and Karimi. I have a hunch Karimi will mount a huge come back and even earn a great spot on B Munich again. They way he was chasing Koreans in the second half reminded me of West Asian games in Lebenoan when he owned opponeents.

Mirza, Rezai, Ando, NekoNam were average.
Nikki, Madanchi, Mahdavi Kia were poor. I can't undrestand how come Madanchi is so brillinat in club games and no factor (if not a hole) in TM!!!!!?

I really liked the composure that Nosrati and Fekri displayed. Specially for Fekri being the first official game for the TM after long long years. I truly liked Fekri for his performance without any color or club affiliation.

I think/hope this game will be the resurrection of Karimi. I loved the way he chased Korean players in the second half. There was that ummf again in Karimi. I read in IRIB that Magath criticized him as well, I think Karimi gonna show all of them wrong and comes to his senses and wakes up from Hybernation.


Team's weakness
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Many of you mentioned quite a few good point, about transition game, lack of play making from Def and other valid points, so I won't repeat them.
This team still suffers from the same desease that killed it in WC. Lack of confidence and inferiority complex. If they start to beleive in themselves and throw away the shackles of ultra conservatisem, they have great great potentials.

PFDC front page Editorial by Mansoor
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Here I would like to comment on Editorial by Mansoor on PFDC front page. Mansoor, is free to express himself and I guess Mansoor's editorial is the official position of the PFDCas well, but that editorial is really biased. Trying to glorfiy Branko and his era. I think it wasn't fair. I post a seperate posting after talking to Mansoor to make sure there is no misundrestanding.
I just say one more thing. I never thought players that Branko choose (besides Dai) were subpar. It was the strategy and attitude that Branko had that killed our team. So same playere under a different system and different strategy will shine. A leader expects excellence while being realistic about teams abilities, I am not sure this was Branko's philosephy.

[Doctor DOOM]

well, it is just sad ... in a funny way ( tragically comic ) to see ppl still clinging onto a desperate hope to see branko back at TM and Iran !!

as if what he did to us at the WC was not enough !!!!

[faraz]

well, it is just sad ... in a funny way ( tragically comic ) to see ppl still clinging onto a desperate hope to see branko back at TM and Iran !!
as if what he did to us at the WC was not enough !!!!

it's not so much about hoping that he'll come back...i don't think any of us truly wish for that...

it's more so realizing that maybe his decisions were not so off-par, as well as perhaps we have reached our limitation as a team and can't progress further than what we have already accomplished...

struggling in asia is definitely not where we were with Branko, that's for sure...and let's not twist facts or anything, ghalenioe pretty much did what branko did in the last 30 minutes of them match...4 back, kaebi, 2 strikers...classic 4-4-2...let's give credit where it's due now...

[Doctor DOOM]

it's not so much about hoping that he'll come back...i don't think any of us truly wish for that...
it's more so realizing that maybe his decisions were not so off-par, as well as perhaps we have reached our limitation as a team and can't progress further than what we have already accomplished...

very dangerous attitude to have.
It's this kind of thinking that bars and impedes progress, as we push the idea of not being able to go higher into our psyche !

I say we are certainly capable of doing far better than what we've seen.
and that's the truth.

struggling in asia is definitely not where we were with Branko, that's for sure......

I dont think GN is "struggling in asia" either.
what do you call struggle?
1-1 with syria?
heh!
how about 1-0 loss to jordan in tehran ?

if the draw in GN's debut is to be deemed "struggling" ... then the loss at azadi ( after a great many undefeated games ) after so many months ( count Ciro's tenure also ) of being at the helm of the team shd be taken as an outright DISASTER and CATASTROPHE !
do I hear you call it that ?