Mayeli Kohan is the most misunderstood man in Iranian football.

[Paradigm]

After the AC '04 there was a brief period of unity in the Iranian football when Daie was injured and Branko managed to bring back Hashemian and even invite Azizi for the must-win game versus Qatar. We had to win away in Jordan and again in Doha so the Arab brotherhood could not once again arrange things in such a way that one of the their teams make it through to the WC instead of Iran. However the national squad we had then was much bolstered by the addition of Hash, Azizi, Borhani, and an in-form Nikbakht (absent for AC '04) who scored the crucial goal in Amman and then saluted the king with his left hand! (This clip should belong to teammelli.com archives).

Jordan was actually very strong then, do you recall Japan almost losing to them in AC '04 quarter finals on the PKs? In any event I can argue Daie must have played a big part in creating divisions and influencing Branko's and even Ciro's selection of the squad. Recall Azizi being left out since 2001 and Hash refusing to play for TM for several years objecting to being benched because Daie had to play every game for 90 minutes? Then there was Foolad winning the IPL in 2005; there was a game that Summer vs Saba, for the super cup winner, when Mobali softly tackles Daie and after that him and his friend Kazemian are both dropped from the TM roster?

Throughout the IPL seasons in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 Daie had several incidents involving other teams and their fans (I recall him slapping a Malavan player on the pitch!) Then it was Daie having friction with Karimi which started just before the WC and sidelined our key playmaker (Karimi) from functioning in that tournament. The problem was so deep that Karimi refused to play even once under Daie as the coach. Daie as head coach also did not invite Zandi and Ando, two important elements of the recent team, again I can guess due to the closeness of these players to Karimi going back to WC 2006. So all in all, Daie post-2004 has been a destructive figure for the Iranian football. Such a shame for a great forward we had. Chances are if Branko was left to his own he would have done a much better job in that last year.

Sorry this was off-track as far as an MK-thread, but I just wanted to talk about some very related issues around the TM at the same time period. Mainly the fact that we were united back then is noteworthy as an important factor why TM managed to pull through. Nowadays I somehow keep thinking about that period, quite frequently.

^ sorry farshid jan.
1- I agree his squad was a very good one.
and much like everyone else, I was disappointed by no qualifying. and I do hold him partially responsible. but if you all remember IFF suspended all omid games and camps for about 8 months and restarted the camp only 2 weeks left to the Olympic Q's !!!!
I clearly remember this delay when all our rivals were playing friendlies , we were sitting on our arses !!!
2- I agree, in the beginning branko did much for us, but by 2005 his attitude changed and it was like a totally NEW person in charge with all the wrong ideas and attitude! and the rest is history

[yashar_fasihnia]

actually farshid jan, karimi, zandi and ando were all invited to TM under Daei and even played for TM.

remember zandi scored for us against UAE in UAE itself?
remember ando came in as a sub and made a pass to jabbari who then set up khalili who scored against syria if im not mistaken..
and remember karimi played against kuwait i think under Daei, the game nikbakht scored a bicycle kick and we were up 2-0 in the first 5 minutes but then ended up drawing 2-2...

and i also wanna add that not only jordan was a very strong team in that time and almost knocked out japan, the eventual champions of asian cup, but also, the game we lost at azadi, our shots on target had reached double figures but the ball still wouldnt go in and their GK, amir shafei was having a worldclass day (very similar to how hadi taba tabaei single handedly stood against an entire danish team in copenhagen or how roudbarian saved every shot against iraq in WAFF with TM B under mazloomi). and then one of their very few counter attacks in the dying minutes when almost all TM players had moved upfront to score on a corner kick in the dying minutes resulted a goal for them.
it was totally against the run of play, and anyone who watched that match wouldnt expect iran to lose or even draw that game! it was one of exceptions of football...

mayelli kohan's olympic squad was the best we ever had and he failed miserably. the same team that had become champions a year ago under branko in busan! no other olympic squad or olympic coach of ours had this luxury and advantage which mayelli kohan had.

while mayelli kohan deserves a lot of credit for introducing young talents to our football and giving play time to 17 and 18 year olds, he is in nowhere close to the other TM coaches we have had and its not just cos he is hezbollahi, otherwise GN and daei also are extremely religious, or atleast depict that image.

the simple fact is that mayelli kohan has achieved nothing in all these years, no matter which team he went to, no matter how long he stayed there, no matter wat squad he got, no matter when he went there and if he was showing any signs of improvement, he wouldnt have stayed for a short period of time with each of those teams! all the other coaches did something atleast with their teams!

end of story!

[Martin-Reza]

Then it was Daie having friction with Karimi which started just before the WC and sidelined our key playmaker (Karimi) from functioning in that tournament. The problem was so deep that Karimi refused to play even once under Daie as the coach. Daie as head coach also did not invite Zandi and Ando, two important elements of the recent team, again I can guess due to the closeness of these players to Karimi going back to WC 2006. So all in all, Daie post-2004 has been a destructive figure for the Iranian football. Such a shame for a great forward we had. Chances are if Branko was left to his own he would have done a much better job in that last year.

It is amazing that you seriously believe this. This is pure speculation and it's really going absurd ways.

Karimi's problems in 2006 were with Branko, not with Daei. If it hadn't been for intermedation by Human and Dadkan, Branko would have dropped Karimi for his behaviour in the preperation camps, and I agree that would have been justified after Karimi undermined the authority of the coach repeatedly. I have never heard before that Ando or Zandi were part of the Karimi-gang. You really should be more careful with speculations and not simply write down any possibility you can imagine.

[Hajagha]

I think there is little doubt about Mayelikohan ability in pure coaching without using his beard and attitude toward the players. If you still think that Mayelikohan is comparable with Daei in regards of football management, we live in two different worlds and can not connect with each other's logic.

One more thing about using statistic to compare two coaches, Daei's era was the weakest Iranian Team in decades with almost no talent to rely on, his best player is Nekonam as defensive mid, just imagine it. In the other hands, Branko had Karimi/Kia/Hashemian and at the beginning Daei himself. Ciro had, Daei, Kia, bagheri, Karimi, Khakpour, Abedzadeh....Mayelikohan, had, Azizi, Daei, Bagheri, Kia, Manourian, …

Do you want me to continue on this?