Professionalism!

[purple_haze]

One thing kept going through my mind almost during the whole match between Sepahan and Urawa. This IMO was the decisive factor, seperating the winner from the loser of this game. If you look at it deeper and more philosophically it probably boils down to more of a cultural thing.
Urawa won, not because Sepahan played bad or because they were so great, they won because they were more professional!
Their whole culture is based on unity and team work. They understand the meaning and importance of it. They have been brought up learning the value of working together and being humble. Even their fans are part of this whole unit going towards a single goal. Even they, being from the same culture play their part. They were not better individually. They were not spectacular, but they were simply what we Iranians are not and only pretend to be. They were professional.

On the other hand we have us iranians. Coming from a culture that almost only values individualism. We have this old saying "Yek Dast seda nadare" but that's just words that a very few of us truly understand and practice.
The biggest part of our society wants to shine individually. We have a bunch of "Setarehaye Kaghazi" (Paper stars) that go their own way, sometimes at the cost of the whole unit they should be serving. But I guess they can't be totally blamed since that's the way they are brought up.

Culturally,we probably are, if not the most, at least one of the most disorganized people on the face of this planet. When it comes to management, we fail 9 of 10 times.

We have a league called pro-league, yet you have to grab a microscope to find the tiniest track of professionalism in it.
From teams lacking facilities and proper pitches to players and coaches attitude.
We have coaches like Firooz Karimi in charge of educating a lot of our players and although he may be good technically, what kind of a role model is a person who is disloyal and has no respect for legal contracts, makes a mockery of the whole football system and gets away with it?

We have a none existent football federation who still after more than a year doesn't know it's head and instead of trying to maintain laws and trying to inject some professionalism into our league, they mess it up even more by giving special treatment to a team under the name of national interest, postponing way more games of that team that are legally allowed by professional standards, so that team can focus on winning the ACL.

This is what we call "Doostie khale kherseh"! The morons in charge think they were doing Sepahan a favor by doing this, but in reality they are not!
What Sepahan lacked, like all the iranian teams was professionalism and had they been competing in a professional environment, they would have stood much better chance to win the whole thing.
Now, like many times before, our short term planning (if you can call it planning) has backfired and once again we stand empty handed, having hurt our foundation, the league, in the process as well.

[Doctor DOOM]

^ extremely intelligent post.
absolutely agree.

[The-Red]

thinking about the same thing,,,even after the first leg...it was obvious that they are a more professional team, rather than being a much better team, which I originally thought they were.

[Kaveh]

unfortunately this is a fact.

[Libertine]

agree

if you noticed when sepahan got the ball into good areas how long they hesisated before trying a shot or cross

by the time they had decided what they were going to do with the ball the oppurtunity had gone and the urawa players were back behind the ball

every time sepahan got into good areas they wasted there chances by beeing greedy or indecisive with the final ball, it allowed urawa to get 8 or 9 players behind the ball

sepahan didnt put one good cross in today, considering we had the height advantage , i didnt think bringing on Papi did us any favours either

clearly man for man sepahan had better players techicaly and physically

but as you say profesionally the japanese have been tought the western way and are controlled disiplined and decisive!

[khabalood]

Having a strong coach who could implement a proper team strategy would have done wonders. Too often it was evident that Sepahan was simply playing individualistic until a player got in trouble only then, they would be forced to pass. As a result of which Urawa was able to do an outstanding job of keeping Sepahan out of their box.

[Libertine]

a lot of it is to do with iranian culture though

bonancic has tried his hardest it takes time to get rid off bad habits

ghotbi has done well will pp too, pp players play as a team, all there goals have come from passing and cross from the flanks, as well as overall good team work

[yashar_fasihnia]

i agree as well. most of our problems in football is due to lack of professionalism rather than anything else. the only aspect of professionalism our league has followed since the azadegan league is having the jersey numbers in english
we still have poor pitches, poor facilities, breaking of laws, meddling of politicians, and a lot of assholes running the media!
we have had some better coaches and players entering our country but still, very limited.

but i just wanted to point out one more thing, our defense yesterday, inspite of being one of the strongest in IPL was still weaker than the japanese defense. this has always been a problem with TM as well. our defense has never been as strong as our midfield and attack line. individually, our defenders might be better but our defense line and the whole concept of defending is weak in iran which again reflects our poor team works as a whole!

if u guys remember the home game, the goal urawa scored was due to the lack of pressurizing that japanese guy on time and giving him enough time to take a goot shot at a good angle. i dont remember which player from sepahan it was, but i think he was a midfielder which shows that that our defensive problems is not only limited to our defenders but to our team as a whole.

it seems as if we have problems with defense from the roots.
u know, its something like a good university student who never really understood and learnt the multiplication tables and hence, for his entire life, he will have problems in his studies.

it appears to me as if, none of our coaches are able to implement the defensive tactics properly or atleast, not to our players.

on the other hand, the goals they scored was equally professional as well, specially their first goal yesterday. give that chance to our forwards, even hashemian, and ask them to score and im pretty sure they will wont 9 out of 10 times!
their second goal was a beautiful back pass by the chest from that washington guy which our players hardly do. if it was an iranian player, he would stop the ball for himself to his own feet, try turning around his defender and then if he still couldnt do it and assuming he still had the ball, he would then look for other options like passing it back but by that time, their defense would have covered the other forward as well and hence opportunity wasted...AGAIN!

its these small things which always come and bite us in the back at the end.

[maij]

First of all , this post of Purple Haze is of an extreme importance and I wish people see beyond the tactics of Sepahan , who played , what game plan , what coach !!!!!!! These ideas do not matter in the big picture and the subject matter....The issue is professionalism.

Thank you, Agha Purple Haze for pointing out an issue that has marred the natural progression of football in Iran and still remains a huge stumbling block.

If Japan has one or two star players such as Nakamura , Iran has a dozen. If Japan has a few potential young prospects , Iran has a truck load. If Japan can attract 60,000 fans for a final match in ACL , Perspolis & Esteghlal can fill Azadi week in week out ! If Japan have one or two players in European leagues , Iran has and has a dozen.


But ...what is stopping Iran winning accolades and trophies ! What is the reason that Iran's youth have not won a title since pre-revolution years (over 30 years) and at senior level another 30 years????

The answer lies professionalism , organization & attitudes. I have no doubt that this is the biggest reason or at least right near the top of the reasons that Iran football fans have been deprived from the ultimate dream and that is winning championships.

Even if Sepahan has won , it would have been one of those oddballs that occur in football once every blue moon ( like Greece winning the European championships) , the root of the problems are still there and I can't see that it will disappear any time soon.

The only hope , at least from intelligent fans side , is to highlight the issues , be critical of such issues and demand improvement. It is a mighty task, but i believe that one should not accept shortcoming in the system and the fans should be more vocal instead of wasting everyone's time by useless chants such as " Folan folan Sarvare Foln Folan 'eh "..........

[purple_haze]

Thanks you Majid jan and the rest.

...and the fans should be more vocal instead of wasting everyone's time by useless chants such as " Folan folan Sarvare Foln Folan 'eh "..........

Exactly, it's extremely ridiculous to hear those annoying chants when of the 2 sides isn't even present and worse, soemtimes during TM games. I mean for god's sake grow up! It seems this korkori thing is more interesting than the football itself for a huge portion of the fans, but yet again, unfortunately this is deeply rooted in the culture. It's the way we, unfortunately are. The saying "Empty cans rattle most" or as we say in iran "Table too khali" is what we are living examples of. We waste our times talking big, making fuss over insignificant matters while the opportunities pass us by.
They say action speaks louder than words, but we're usually busy with words most of the time and only talk big about the actions, instead of actually doing something and when we as usual miss the chance, we start making all sorts of excuses to cover our own deficiencies. It's never our fault but somebody elses! And this yet again is a typical characteristic of us iranians!
The fans having grown up in such a culture do not realize that they too have a responsibility and play a part in the success of the teams they support, specially when present in the stadium. I mean what's the use of filling up a stadium when you don't use the enormous potential energy and convert that into something that your team can take advantage of? You may as well sit home and watch from the TV if you're just gonna sit there like a statue and watch the game, only with the exception of the occasional noise for a goal chance, swearing at the ref or these pointless "folani sarvare folani"!!!

This unprofessional behaviour is so evident in our players and coaches behaviour that it makes you wonder if we ever are going to get anywhere.

Look at Karimi, a living example of a huge talent going to waste because of the lack of professional mentality. The guy has supposedly been a pro footballer for about 7+ years but never with the right attitude and mentality to really materialise on his god given gift. Add a lot of our other exports to that list.

Ofcourse there are exceptions too, like Daei, Mahdavikia and even Hashemian. Players with lesser (in daei's case much lesser) natural born talent who have had the right, pro mentality and attitude, have worked hard and fought to gain what they have gained instead of being lazy and expect it to be handed to them on a silver plate!

[RaginG Inferno]

I agree that Iranian football is lacking in professionalism. Indeed, I have started many threads on this topic, but I don't believe it is a cultural issue.

Our nation's football has no 'saheb', no owner. There is, consequently, a lack of direction. There is no concerted, concentrated and consistent effort on the part of Iranian football. Everyone is off doing their own thing, in an uncoordinated fashion.

Iran has tremendous potential. We can be a top 10 footballing nation in the world, I have no doubt. But whether we will do so, well, that's another issue altogether. It's difficult, but possible.

Realistically, we need a saviour in the form of a competent head of the IFF. Although Dadkan had his faults, he was an essentially positive force(in comparison). The subsequent appointments have been ill-contrived.

[Doctor DOOM]

there is one more factor that impedes our betterment and progress ... or in other words, realizing our true potential :
the calibre of our butt-holes !
traditionally we are bone lazy and want the easy way out of everything. we generally dont like to work hard and be systematic. we arent organized neither are we ready to recognize it and do something about it !

[maij]

Our nation's football has no 'saheb', no owner. There is, consequently, a lack of direction. There is no concerted, concentrated and consistent effort on the part of Iranian football. Everyone is off doing their own thing, in an uncoordinated fashion.

I am not sure about this statement. Are you saying that ONE PERSON is required to save football in Iran ? ???? The only one that has such power is GOD.

NO......... to improve any system , you need collective efforts. In a company , no CEO can turn a huge loss into a profitable operation over-night profit. In football , there is no precedent in the history , that a single person and whatever post , has overturned a nation fortune. I doubt that there will be ever any case like that. ..... and it it ever happens, I will buy you a drink and apologize to you.

IT IS a cultural issue. Fans , players , administrators , media , coaches and the rest , have to upgrade their mentalities in order to progress. I have attended many many matches in Iran at club and international levels , and I tell you for sure that anyone who tells you that Iran has the best fans in the world ....is simply a lying....not even an exaggeration , but a lie.

Media : Anyone who can produce a "hashiye" news is a winner , not the one who produces the best analysis of the game!

Fans : One of the most "Charand" fans I have seen. Profanity is rife.....knowledge of football is disgrace ... loyalty to Perspolis & Esteghlal ten times more than Team Melli.

Players : Lack of professional attitude on and off the field. The minute they feel they are famous , they think they are the next Maradona or Beckenbauer !

Federation & clubs: Chaotic scheduling , poor management , lack of ethics , disrespect to contracts and many other shortcomings.

Coaches: again , lack of professional mentality. Many selections of players are based on loyalty rather than ability and skills.

Anyway , if you really look closely , you certainly will find that this is related to culture and people's behavior and mentality.

Don't get me wrong , not all the people are bad , on the other side of the fence there are some very good professionals and progressive persons in all those fields , but they are in the minority. Iran will progress if more people think professionally and behave ethically.

[maij]

BTW: I might sound pessimistic , but there is always hope that things will improve to the better.

Exposure to the outside world , the immense power of media and communication , the tremendous progress of the neighbors creating a challenging atmosphere , support by AFC and FIFA and quite a few issues that makes me hopeful that progress in coming....even at a slow pace.

[RaginG Inferno]

I am not sure about this statement. Are you saying that ONE PERSON is required to save football in Iran ? ???? The only one that has such power is GOD.

NO......... to improve any system , you need collective efforts. In a company , no CEO can turn a huge loss into a profitable operation over-night profit. In football , there is no precedent in the history , that a single person and whatever post , has overturned a nation fortune. I doubt that there will be ever any case like that. ..... and it it ever happens, I will buy you a drink and apologize to you.

IT IS a cultural issue. Fans , players , administrators , media , coaches and the rest , have to upgrade their mentalities in order to progress. I have attended many many matches in Iran at club and international levels , and I tell you for sure that anyone who tells you that Iran has the best fans in the world ....is simply a lying....not even an exaggeration , but a lie.

Media : Anyone who can produce a "hashiye" news is a winner , not the one who produces the best analysis of the game!

Fans : One of the most "Charand" fans I have seen. Profanity is rife.....knowledge of football is disgrace ... loyalty to Perspolis & Esteghlal ten times more than Team Melli.

Players : Lack of professional attitude on and off the field. The minute they feel they are famous , they think they are the next Maradona or Beckenbauer !

Federation & clubs: Chaotic scheduling , poor management , lack of ethics , disrespect to contracts and many other shortcomings.

Coaches: again , lack of professional mentality. Many selections of players are based on loyalty rather than ability and skills.

Anyway , if you really look closely , you certainly will find that this is related to culture and people's behavior and mentality.

Don't get me wrong , not all the people are bad , on the other side of the fence there are some very good professionals and progressive persons in all those fields , but they are in the minority. Iran will progress if more people think professionally and behave ethically.

Sorry maij agha, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough.

With the existing system of the IFF, we have a situation where one individual reigns supreme. This is the IFF head(ie. Dadkan) and his committee/board.

Your analogy would be correct if our system allowed for collective effort. Unfortunately, only a select group determine the direction of Iranian football, and at the head of this group is usually the IFF head.

This is why I firmly believe that to make any progress, we must hope a competent head of IFF is elected or appointed. This is a good start. As you pointed out, the way to true professionalism is when a competent head breaks the traditional monopoly of a select few on our football and increases accountability and transparency. The result is what you have described: a collective effort. However, every effort needs consistency, direction and leadership. This must come from the IFF head. True progress and an incompetent football federation are irreconcileable.

Sure, a competent IFF will not change our football fortunes, but it certainly is a necessary precondition for it.

You mention that a single peson has never changed the fortunes of our football. I respectfully disagree. Compare the time of Dadkan's reign to now. Although undoubtedly problematic, Daadkan's reign was heaven compared to the appointments now, where we have no national team coach, no IFF and no friendlies. Certainly, the inappropriate appointment(I use that term because it wasn't a real election) of the numerous heads of IFF must take blame for this.