Team Melli vs Europe

[Rooyintan]

I think Team Melli needs to play more against European national opponents. Historically Team Melli has kept playing friendlies against mostly Asian Teams specially tend to play some teams quite a lot like China, Korea, Japan, Kuwait.
There are so many European teams that Team Melli has yet to play against. Which teams would you like Team Melli to play in friendly games?
The Big Guns
Czech Rep, England, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
The Middle
Albania, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Montenegro, Northern Ireland, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia
And the teams to play to give our strikers the chance to warm-up by scoring tons of goals
Andorra, Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Leichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, San Marino.
Then there are some teams that team melli hasn't played against for many decades like Turkey(last game in 1974), Bulgaria, France, Netherlands, Scotland(in 1978).

[toofan]

"the middle" and below that maybe, the "big guns" IFF have to sell their
furniture to even speak to.

[Martin-Reza]

Albania and Latvia don't belong to the list of pushovers.

I'd even say Albania probably would beat us, at least in Albania.

But they would be a good an realistic test, all the rest, the better teams, won't paly us, if we don't spend tons of money.

I'd also try to approach Austria. They will play Turkey in Euro Quali and we might be an acceptable test for that.

[maij]

"the middle" and below that maybe, the "big guns" im IFF have to sell their
furniture to even speak to.

[maij]

I was involved in arranging and negotiating a friendly match for Team melli once and know how these things work.

It is NOT difficult at all to arrange friendly matches with any team in the World. Some teams , specially non-Europeans are willing on short notice. Brazil is on such team . Team Melli can play against Brazil next month , if they wish, provided they are willing to pay.The Europeans are different.

Of course money is NOT the only issue. In my case , IFF took far too much time to decide by which time the visiting team arranged another match elsewhere.

It is fundamentally planning and management problem with IFF. European teams publish their programs one year in advance , including arranging friendly matches....the boys in Khiaban Seoul , do it week in week out and pray to God that it works. That is why their friendly roster is so chaotic and impulsive. Beside they are very tight on expenditure....too bloody tight.

[zzgloo]

While poleticaly many countries would prefer not to play against IRAN....
nevertheless,islamic Republic, has a " BACK DOOR " poletical leverage !!
What I mean,by Back Door leverage,is using Poletical means,and using Football to give a country a chance to reduce poletical tention !

For example :

1- Germany :did play against IRAN, even in IRAN, just to reduce poletical tention.

2- Brazil : wants to be in good poletical terms with IRAN.

3-Venezuela, Bolivia,Ecuador,and Brazil In South America.

4- Canada,USA, in North America.

5-Germany,Austria,Turkey,Ukrain,Bellaruse,etc,etc..I n Europe.

6-China,japan,South Korea,and 90% of Asian countries.

.................................................. .................................................

There may be a large number of countries,Islamic Republic could use the " Back Door ", poletical leverage....

[maij]

Whether we like it or not , politics will somehow affect everything including football, but I am quite positive in beleiving that the European football associations are not run like IFF or like Arab countries in which the football affairs are controlled by either government agents or ruling family members. The Europeans are much more decent in their politics and democratic in action. They also do not easily succumb to politca; pressure by the governments.

But, like Bahram said or suggested, Iran can play the political cards to its advantage as well, provided the people in IFF know what they are doing? Which I doubt

[Rooyintan]

Albania and Latvia don't belong to the list of pushovers.
I'd even say Albania probably would beat us, at least in Albania.
But they would be a good an realistic test, all the rest, the better teams, won't paly us, if we don't spend tons of money.
I'd also try to approach Austria. They will play Turkey in Euro Quali and we might be an acceptable test for that.

Alright i moved Albania and Latvia to the middle, added Faro Islands and Lithuania to the pushovers

Yeah would be nice to play Austria. Team Melli only played Austria once which was a 5-1 defeat. We have to make up for it :-)

[Nokhodi]

I was involved in arranging and negotiating a friendly match for Team melli once and know how these things work.

Majeed jan, may I ask with which team you were trying to arrange the friendly, and what the end result was?

[Rooyintan]

I would say that realistically among the big guns only Russia and possibly Switzerland would agree to a friendly. The middle teams I know for sure Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia would play against Team Melli anywhere(whether home or away), the others I would say there might be a possible agreement for a friendly would be Albania, Baltic Countries(Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). So out of these which ones would you like to see as Team Melli's FIFA Dates ?

or would you think other teams would agree to a friendly too?

[Ali Chicago]

I was involved in arranging and negotiating a friendly match for Team melli once and know how these things work.

It is NOT difficult at all to arrange friendly matches with any team in the World. Some teams , specially non-Europeans are willing on short notice. Brazil is on such team . Team Melli can play against Brazil next month , if they wish, provided they are willing to pay.The Europeans are different.

Of course money is NOT the only issue. In my case , IFF took far too much time to decide by which time the visiting team arranged another match elsewhere.

It is fundamentally planning and management problem with IFF. European teams publish their programs one year in advance , including arranging friendly matches....the boys in Khiaban Seoul , do it week in week out and pray to God that it works. That is why their friendly roster is so chaotic and impulsive. Beside they are very tight on expenditure....too bloody tight.

Agha Majid;

The whole country is being run that way, and hence we are in the predicament that we are in.

[maij]

Agha Majid;

The whole country is being run that way, and hence we are in the predicament that we are in.

No doubt on that. Petty they cannot get their house in order on such issues like planning...it is not exactly nuclear science ( which they have seemed to have excelled in )

[Rooyintan]

Prior and after the friendly in Brazil, I read in Iranian newspapers and websites that Germany, Netherlands and Spain asked for a very high fee from IRIFF to send their teams to Tehran for a friendly. Germany and Netherlands both also made excuses such as they can not guarantee security for hosting a friendly match vs Team Melli in Germany and Netherlands! Even Turkey snubbed IRIFF for a friendly!

Apparently Germany, Netherlands and France all 3 refused hosting the friendly match Team Melli vs Brazil in those three countries.

It simply shows that big guns from Europe are avoiding Team Melli due to political reasons! During the Ali Daei coaching era, Team Melli failed to find a western-European national team for friendly match, only friendly against European national team in year 2008 was vs Azerbaijan! In past two years only western-european team that played Team Melli was Iceland! others were the usual Bosnia, Macedonia and Armenia for first time!

So that makes me ask the question, would teams like Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland or Austria agree on a friendly vs Team Melli? or should IRIFF chase friendly vs the usual Eastern Europe teams or teams we never played such as Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania, etc? or ... should IRIFF go after lower ranked european teams like Andorra, Luxemburg, Lichtenstein, Faroe Islands, San Marino, Malta, etc?

or would it be realistic to accept that due to political reasons it only makes sense for Team Melli to play friendly matches vs likes of Bolivia, Venezuela, Belarus and African and Asian teams?