the Shojaei Dilemma...

[faraz]

where is this guy???

in the one game when we can really use him to open up the NK defense, he displays a totally relaxed, uninterested performance...for a player who really works his ass off in La Liga games, I was shocked to see how static he was, almost with a 'holier than though' attitude.

how do you motivate a player like him to show up to these big games is beyond me...

i would have probably subbed him out right at half-time and brought in Khalatbari + Ma'adanchi for Karimi, moving Khalatbari in the middle and Ma'adanchi to the left wing, just to make a statement that NO spot in TM is a gauranteed spot. it seems that is the only thing that works with this guy...

another sub-par performance by Masoud with the Iranian jersey on...

[police in helicopter]

He had exactly the same uninterested an relaxed attitude vs Real Madrid an it was Osasuna's most important match of the season.

[Martin-Reza]

I also think if we had a tired player, it was him. He had the longest season, his first with real European football, and joined very late. Got injured in training as well.

And in first half he was the only one looking able to break through the defense and score. Unfortunately he didn't and then I think he ran out of steam in second half.

[Kasra.]

It seems his dad went back to Iran. (in 90 he said a big part of his motivation was cuz his dad went to Spain)

[faraz]

It seems his dad went back to Iran. (in 90 he said a big part of his motivation was cuz his dad went to Spain)

baba, mageh bacheh doe salesheh??

he needs his dad to be there for motivation??

he's a god damn professional footballer playing at the highest levels possible...i just can't believe he couldn't push himself to do something convincing against his petty, overweight marker (number 2 for NK)...

MR...tiredness may have had something to do with it...but that begs the question, why put him on the field then? is it one of those things where you just HAVE TO b/c it's him? probably eh

[maij]

All the threats in the first half came from Masoud and I guess that was it , as far as his contribution went !!!

His moaning and complaining got him a yellow card and he was on the verge of a second yelow , but bless the Chinese referee....

Shojaei is the continuation of the Iranian phonomena of over-hyped players... He is really threatening to be another Karimi , all over again. Runs ,plays and excels whenever he feels like , and if he does not feel like it he will have an off day....And if a coach dares to keep him out of the line up , all he does is blabs his mouth or better still leaves the fans and mobs to take his case and bombard the poor coach with profanity!!!!

Like I said.....This is very normal Iranian way of doing things ...nothing new , nothing out of the ordinary.

Where else in the world you have a player who publically declares that eh is NOT INTERESTED IN TEAM MELLI and wants to focus on his club , yet he is selected (Mabe forced to) plays the full 90 minutes , gets tired , strolls in the pitch , and then gets selected again for the next match ?
.......ONLY in IRAN...

No worries Faraz Jan......there is more to come.

[maij]

I also think if we had a tired player, it was him. He had the longest season, his first with real European football, and joined very late. Got injured in training as well.

And in first half he was the only one looking able to break through the defense and score. Unfortunately he didn't and then I think he ran out of steam in second half.

The question that begs ....Why play a tired player....or let us make it simpler , why play him the full 90 miutes ??? What kind of coaching strategy is this that we commoners cannot comprehend ???

[Martin-Reza]

He is someone who can make things happen. Maybe Ghotbi had a feeling he would pull off something still. Also don't forget there are other issues, like having 5-6 players who are somewhat strong in the air.

I don't know, I am not Ghotbi's spokesman. I would have reacted differently, but that is not really a sign for a coach being wrong .

Maybe the strength in the air is the reason why Ghotbi hesitated to bring on small Khalatbari. The moment Hash and Khalili were off, we lost such a player, and Shojaei is one of those being able to defend corners as well.

We don't know about or forget numerous issues. I wonder how many people here have thought about positioning of the players during corners much for example. How many in the box, how many at the posts, how many at the box and how many for counters for defending corners for example.

[maij]

MR Jan...... I am not going to argue the tactical or technical aspects... I am simply putting a basic question ....... Even a Tarazan cannot perform well , when tired .......So , WHY USE a tired / fatigued player the full 90 minutes , knowing that a human being ( and even machinary for that matter) cannot perform well when tired ?????

[St_Mark]

He repeatedly said he know Korean teams vert well... may be true or not , but base on his last two games, he does not know Iranian players...
Should he stay and not win game against S Korea (even if Iran does not make it) that will probably be his last important coaching job in Iran, short of applying as an analyst for Marfavi.
His team played worse than Daei’s against N Korea.. worse than GN’s game against China .
I pray he win both games

[KasraKhan]

I think we are all being a bit harsh on Masoud.

I agree he wasnt at his best, but as Martin said, most of our dangerous scenes still came through his feet.

His lazy, lax attidude is simply the type of player he is. We have to accept it and play him, or just bench him all together.

For a playmaker like him, he has a much more diffucult job than say a Pejman Nouri. All Nouri has to do is pass the ball to his nearest teammate, while Shojaei on the other hand, must take risks and try to create for the team. The burden of our attack is on his shoulders, and his dribbles may not work every single time, but all we need is for his dribbles to work one time.

[Doctor DOOM]

Faraz jan, the way I see it there is NO dilemma around shojaei.

the lad hasnt improved.
he cant shoot.
he cant defend
he cant run fast.
his heading isnt good either
neither are his crosses good enough
all he does is dribble and foul others!

now, some ppl close their eyes and just go by "he plays in spain" as if that automatically transforms him into a messi.
but at the same time the same ppl refuse to WATCH HIM PLAY and see how useless he operates at TM !

in osasuna, due to a limited squad and useless strikers, camacho is forced to use him up there and his usual contributions are getting fouls. fine.
but just becoz a coach is forced to use him in a limited squad in a very weak team, does not mean we shd close our eyes and not use the intelligence god has given us.
coz then, we'd see he really isnt what some of ur make him out to be!
at least not yet.

the only concession I can give to my ham-mahalli is that he may be preserving his legs for his club.


so for me, personally, there is no dilemma.
right now, we have many midfielders better than him like khalatbari, zandi, mobaali, and karimi ( even a tired one ). and I wouldnt put him in my starting line up at all.

[yashar_fasihnia]

shojaei has always been the same...
even before he went to spain, he was like this, both in IPL and UAE league..

[toofan]

even though he didnt perform his best in left flank, i think he might have done
better than karimi behind hashemian.Zandi might have been ideal to start againts
Nkorea as we seen how madanchi hasnt done his best recently, bring in khalatbary for zandi in 2nd half, or just go for a lil risk and start khalatbary.

[Amin_]

Shojaei had a very long and hard season, his first in Europe. He joined the team very late and also got slightly injured.

It was so damn obvious he was tired. I wouldn't question his motivation though.

It is not all Shojaei's fault. Masoud was used on the left and right midfield in Osasuna and didn't do well. Camacho, being a knowledgeable coach, understood that that is NOT the right spot to use Shojaei. When he moved him more upfront as a supporting striker, we saw that his game improved a lot!

How our coaches have not learnt from this and still use Masoud as a LM/RM is beyond me!

Shojaei is not the player to make runs down the flank and come up with crosses. He usually holds on to the ball, tries to dribble and moves inwards! That is not the way to make use of a left winger in a 4-2-3-1 sysyem!

Qotbi miserably failed in:
- Making the same mistakes Daei made by using Shoajei at the wrong spot in that formation.
- Keeping him on the field for so long even though it was obvious that he was tired and not in the game at all!


When you use players like Shojaei, either make use of them the right way, or do not start them at all!! I'm sure Qotbi knows that Masoud isn't the perfect player to play on the wings, but of course he dealt with the dilemma of having a legionaire in his team and kinda feeling obligated to start him, no matter how tired the player is and despite playing him on a spot he has shown not to prefer.