A pretty good away game from Zob Ahan. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have things to worry about. The away goal is worth its weight in gold. And in some patches they showed great ball skills and attacking flair and their trade-mark combination play. But lets not forget this was an away game to Korea and a Korean club with 2 champions league trophies and should not be taken lightly.
I have a few pointsto make.
1- First and foremost is the traditional Krean style of football should have been known and predicted by Ebrahimzadeh ( a verycapable coach). The Koreans with alarming frequency kept on raining dangerous crosses on our box and their goal was also the result of this. Had they been a little more lucky or precise, we’d have come out of the game losers, which would havebeen a heart break for Iranian fans.
I believe Ebrahimzadeh has to device a plan for either preventing the crosses at their source, which is their flanks. Or make sure his defenders win most of the duels and aerial balls. Almost everytime the Koreans crossed I skipped a heart beat as I saw again and again Suwon’stall strikers (especially their Macedonian Stevo) get the better of ourdefenders … the defenders who are very capable ones in domestic competition.
Mahini on the left and Hosseini on theright tried their best and put their hearts out. And in some occasions early onin the game, managed to deal with the Korean wingers. But as the game wore on, they became more vulnerable. Perhaps because Zob Ahan’s right and left midfielders didn’t cover spaces enough to help out. This should be looked into also.
But leaving out the crosses, Both Hosseini and Mahini defended well. So the only cause for alarm is they ought to closethe spaces on the flanks better and should be helped by their midfielders.
At the same time, they showed great skills in intercepting and energy running up and down the flank and helping out in our attacks.
2- I just cant help wonder what if Ahmadi was immediately subbed for another player as soon as he got hurt. Perhaps leaving the team one man short – especially in the crucial position of defensive midfielder - made it more vulnerable. Because if you notice, the goal scorer surged in from the middle of the field, occupied the space left open between our defenders who were marking their man. This is usually the duty of the def-mid to cover such runners. And with Ahmadi out, this happened!
But my assumptions are all in hindsight andafter seeing what occurred.
3- Hadadifar’s place was sorely missed. Yes, we saw Zob’s players combining well and displaying flair going forward. But I still think with a mastermind in the middle Zob Ahan would be even more lethal. Hopefully he’ll get back in shape for the return leg two weeks from today (asit’s been said he’ll be out for 3 weeks). Here’s me crossing my fingers.
4- We still have the advantage and the upper hand. Thereturn leg is a home game for us, with a precious away goal. Even a goal-less draw would see us through. I only hope Mr. Ebrahimzadeh figures his counter-tactics to the Koreans’ crossing.
5- Hawar Mola Mohamad came to Iran with a lot of hoopla and fan-fare. Yet, I was never impressed with him as esteghlal. And in Zob Ahan, as the supposed replacement to the star forward, Khalatbari, he iseven less impressive. He was quite disappointing and in majority of the game he was invisible! Absolutely unacceptable for such an expensive player.
My question is why should our clubs pay this much money for such low quality players and performances? Don’t we have enough Afshins and AliAsgaris and Ebrahimis and … in Iran? Ver VERY disappointing.
I have a few pointsto make.
1- First and foremost is the traditional Krean style of football should have been known and predicted by Ebrahimzadeh ( a verycapable coach). The Koreans with alarming frequency kept on raining dangerous crosses on our box and their goal was also the result of this. Had they been a little more lucky or precise, we’d have come out of the game losers, which would havebeen a heart break for Iranian fans.
I believe Ebrahimzadeh has to device a plan for either preventing the crosses at their source, which is their flanks. Or make sure his defenders win most of the duels and aerial balls. Almost everytime the Koreans crossed I skipped a heart beat as I saw again and again Suwon’stall strikers (especially their Macedonian Stevo) get the better of ourdefenders … the defenders who are very capable ones in domestic competition.
Mahini on the left and Hosseini on theright tried their best and put their hearts out. And in some occasions early onin the game, managed to deal with the Korean wingers. But as the game wore on, they became more vulnerable. Perhaps because Zob Ahan’s right and left midfielders didn’t cover spaces enough to help out. This should be looked into also.
But leaving out the crosses, Both Hosseini and Mahini defended well. So the only cause for alarm is they ought to closethe spaces on the flanks better and should be helped by their midfielders.
At the same time, they showed great skills in intercepting and energy running up and down the flank and helping out in our attacks.
2- I just cant help wonder what if Ahmadi was immediately subbed for another player as soon as he got hurt. Perhaps leaving the team one man short – especially in the crucial position of defensive midfielder - made it more vulnerable. Because if you notice, the goal scorer surged in from the middle of the field, occupied the space left open between our defenders who were marking their man. This is usually the duty of the def-mid to cover such runners. And with Ahmadi out, this happened!
But my assumptions are all in hindsight andafter seeing what occurred.
3- Hadadifar’s place was sorely missed. Yes, we saw Zob’s players combining well and displaying flair going forward. But I still think with a mastermind in the middle Zob Ahan would be even more lethal. Hopefully he’ll get back in shape for the return leg two weeks from today (asit’s been said he’ll be out for 3 weeks). Here’s me crossing my fingers.
4- We still have the advantage and the upper hand. Thereturn leg is a home game for us, with a precious away goal. Even a goal-less draw would see us through. I only hope Mr. Ebrahimzadeh figures his counter-tactics to the Koreans’ crossing.
5- Hawar Mola Mohamad came to Iran with a lot of hoopla and fan-fare. Yet, I was never impressed with him as esteghlal. And in Zob Ahan, as the supposed replacement to the star forward, Khalatbari, he iseven less impressive. He was quite disappointing and in majority of the game he was invisible! Absolutely unacceptable for such an expensive player.
My question is why should our clubs pay this much money for such low quality players and performances? Don’t we have enough Afshins and AliAsgaris and Ebrahimis and … in Iran? Ver VERY disappointing.
He was not doing as well in his recent team melli matches. I am not sure if it is good for him to be in the Qatari league right now which apparently has not even started yet. Zob really relied on Khalatabri for a lot of creative field work and playmaking or tactical rescues. He particularly matched up well with Castro and Haddadifar in the gameplan. To answer your question at the end, I think it is a lack of self-respect and also misbelief on the domestic players' abilities. I get the impression just by reading the members' posts here in the football forums; it is a cultural problem and will inevitably take time to correct.
Comment