What is your expectation for Team Melli's performance in 2023

[DR Strangemoosh]

I was in Iran this past summer and talking to Iranians there they were actually mad about my support for TM. They were bragging about how loud they and others were celebrating with each goal that we conceded in the World Cup. They tried to explain their reasoning (inflation, poverty, lack of job security, khafaghan) which I could understand although I simply did not see its connection to TM. They concluded that if I were living in Iran then I would understand it.

That was my experience too when speaking to buddies I knew in Iran who had always been TM fanatics all their life - they were celebrating the goals conceded for this world cup. These are guys who have been obsessed about every single thing in Iran's football for decades and have lived and breathed TM

I can't speak for anyone else but for me I know i'll never be able to fully understand and feel what it was like in Iran and the depths of emotion and anger at that time. It feels easy sitting in the West and saying that you shouldn't cheer against your team when your neighbours, friends or relatives aren't getting attacked or killed, and IR thugs aren't going around the stadium physically or ferbally abusing zan zendegi azadi folk

I was numb for that entire world cup. I enjoyed 1998, 2014 and 2018 though.

[Nokhodi]

I was in Iran this past summer and talking to Iranians there they were actually mad about my support for TM. They were bragging about how loud they and others were celebrating with each goal that we conceded in the World Cup. They tried to explain their reasoning (inflation, poverty, lack of job security, khafaghan) which I could understand although I simply did not see its connection to TM. They concluded that if I were living in Iran then I would understand it.

Due to regime policies mostly, but with added barrage of crude anti-Iran propaganda, a certain class of Iran (mostly middle to middle upper class) are quite frankly mentally ill.
I don't blame them, and I may understand the points they're making, but I don't agree with them nor do I think they make any sense (when it comes to TM specifically).

I can't talk to my own relatives about TM anymore because of the environment.

[DR Strangemoosh]

Due to regime policies mostly, but with added barrage of crude anti-Iran propaganda, a certain class of Iran (mostly middle to middle upper class) are quite frankly mentally ill.
I don't blame them, and I may understand the points they're making, but I don't agree with them nor do I think they make any sense (when it comes to TM specifically).

I can't talk to my own relatives about TM anymore because of the environment.

People here didn't believe me or said I was crazy when I said that Team Melli fans in Iran are much more angry towards TM than TM junkies abroad...!

All I can speak about is myself and that I couldn't, and can't imagine what it is like to be in the shoes of people in Iran, it's easy for me to follow TM abroad but for them living through a nightmare it's different, and I won't judge them. It was a very difficult time and even now many of those old TM fans haven't returned again.... All I could do at the time was listen to them and take into account their disappointment and anger. THat's all any of us can do...

I never understood Iranians who were born or grew up in the West but attacked their own people about a football match, when everyone was so depressed

https://twitter.com/BabakGolriz/stat...13275493679104

[PSGman#19]

Did conceding 7 goals against England/USA achieve an improvement in their everybody life?

[Essi]

To be honest, I'm not having high hopes on this team. IMO, Semifinal would be a huge achievement when you look at the teams like Japan, South Korea, Saudi and Australia. And for the first time in very long time, we are once again before every game worried about or defence which never happened between 2014-2019

[Nokhodi]

People here didn't believe me or said I was crazy when I said that Team Melli fans in Iran are much more angry towards TM than TM junkies abroad...!

All I can speak about is myself and that I couldn't, and can't imagine what it is like to be in the shoes of people in Iran, it's easy for me to follow TM abroad but for them living through a nightmare it's different, and I won't judge them. It was a very difficult time and even now many of those old TM fans haven't returned again.... All I could do at the time was listen to them and take into account their disappointment and anger. THat's all any of us can do...

I never understood Iranians who were born or grew up in the West but attacked their own people about a football match, when everyone was so depressed

https://twitter.com/BabakGolriz/stat...13275493679104

I still think its a sizable minority that hates TM.
For me I completely understand if someone is indifferent to TM, particularly at that point, but to turn TM into the focal point of their hate, anger and vitriol was one of the greatest information coups by IR that I've ever seen.

Their anger was justified - but it was completely misdirected. For every 30,000 hearts on instagram posts, there are a couple dozen negative comments.

To me it takes a lot of hatred to spend all day making negative and hateful comments against every TM post on instagram for example. It's a form of negative virtue signalling.

The well has been poisoned so badly, there are people rejoicing at the death of a 23 year old girl, because she left the US to come play in Iran despite all the obstacles she would face in Iran.

Re: Babak's tweet. I can't speak for him, but he was referring to the people who were attacking fans for still paying attention to a football match.

Again, indifference I can understand, but equating anyone cheering for their TM to somehow being ok with IR crimes was always a very low blow to me.

[ferdyf]

I think there are 4 Teams, that are on a similiar level. Japan, South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
These have better chances to beat us than the rest of the asian teams. But it's more like 50/50. I think we could go to the Semi Finals

[DR Strangemoosh]

Looking at the other teams now I don't think the QF default really qualifies as "success" - it is just the general expectation

Success for me is to get to semi final. Quarter final is just par for the course, even in the context of the current situation. Sorry if its controversial.

[taha]

These games just hurt to think about

88 ac semi vs ksa
wcq 90 vs china
96 ac semi vs ksa
98 wc vs Yugoslavia
2000 ac qf vs s.k
04 ac semi vs China
2010 wcq vs ksa
14wc vs Argentina
15 ac qf vs iraq
18 wc vs Portugal
22 wc vs us

as fans we deserve this asian cup trophy

You forgot the Bahrain WC qualifier in 2001 (I think?) or was it 2005?

[oracle]

You forgot the Bahrain WC qualifier in 2001 (I think?) or was it 2005?

Yes and beating irland 1-0 same qualifications

[DR Strangemoosh]

The chains are off this time, we’ll win it..

ThE chAinZ aRe oFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[DR Strangemoosh]

HK have a good coach

Everton is very fast and all their brazilian strikers are goal threats. Plus this new Nigerian lad is a strong forward.

My concern is if they are underestimated as can sometimes happen when a lot of teams like this have suddenly brought new players that we wouldn't have seen 3-4 months ago.

I hope Ghaleneoi and coaching staff had done more homework/research into HK than my perfunctory review of their recent matches and squad (since the November game) a few weeks ago...

[DR Strangemoosh]

John Duerden: Taremi can take them all the way!

https://www.theguardian.com/football...e_iOSApp_Other

[Nokhodi]

John Duerden: Taremi can take them all the way!

https://www.theguardian.com/football...e_iOSApp_Other

We’re done for now!

[DR Strangemoosh]

93 percent of people thought we would reach this stage

Well over half thought the next match would be the final one!