Kahveh Zahiroleslam @ Sint-Truiden 2023-24

[Nokhodi]

You know who else was a 6'4" tall striker who started pro football late, has a great work ethic and went to a very good university?

[Medzdidz]

Thank you for that. He comes across as a confident and level headed young man.

[Medzdidz]

You know who else was a 6'4" tall striker who started pro football late, has a great work ethic and went to a very good university?

The way he describes his style of play reminds me of this same person.

[Nokhodi]

My interpretation: He probably prefers TM, but doesn't want to say it because he's a professional and wants to understandably keep all doors open.

He clearly follows TM. He may even be a lurker here.

I also appreciate that his upbringing is very similar to a lot of the North American Iranian diaspora - heavily Iranian with an emphasis on education, not sports.

[Team Melli Fan]

One of the YouTube comments makes a good point:

"he mentions the fear of being cap-tied. I think that is an indication he would prefer playing for the US. He is worried about the vibe [in Iran]"

I think he's keeping his options open to playing for either, but is worried about playing for Iran and prefers the US.

Problem is, the US is stacked in the forward position with young players, so it'll be harder to break in.

We'll see if he gets called up to the US U-23 team next month for their Olympic preparation friendly against France.

[PSGman#19]

One of the YouTube comments makes a good point:

"he mentions the fear of being cap-tied. I think that is an indication he would prefer playing for the US. He is worried about the vibe [in Iran]"

I think he's keeping his options open to playing for either, but is worried about playing for Iran and prefers the US.

Problem is, the US is stacked in the forward position with young players, so it'll be harder to break in.

We'll see if he gets called up to the US U-23 team next month for their Olympic preparation friendly against France.

Is it possible to play for the Olympic team and switch to another NT after?

[perspolis#1]

He probably prefers Team Melli but doesnt want to close any doors like Nokhodi said.

The other thing is the potential "mountain" of stuff he might need solved to play for Team Melli meaning passport, sarbazi, invite for Team Melli, registration etc.

The thing that bothers me the most is how we dont hear anything about him from domestic Iranian sources.

Do they know he exists? Does GN know? Does GN care?

Not to understate that some people in Iran may have significantly negative perceptions of Iranian diaspora from US given politics etc given we were worried about the same when Gucci, Dejagah, and Zandi were joining.

Having an Iranian-American player who loves Iran might be "harmful" to the perception people in power want to create of pitting diaspora vs domestic Iranians.


All that aside, I guarantee that the US knows he exists, knows where he plays, how he plays, and what he does. In football they are a lot of things but what they are not is lazy or unorganized.

[Medzdidz]

He needs to continue with his main target. 10 goals this season would be great in his first as a professional footballer.

I got a similar vibe as others are saying. I think he would prefer if his first call up was for a friendly. There has been a lot of negative press around our team for a long time now and some of the stories coming out from inside have not always been positive ones.

He could do with getting some advice from someone like Ghooci. It sounds though that he has a lot of solid people around him.

[Nokhodi]

He probably prefers Team Melli but doesnt want to close any doors like Nokhodi said.

The other thing is the potential "mountain" of stuff he might need solved to play for Team Melli meaning passport, sarbazi, invite for Team Melli, registration etc.

The thing that bothers me the most is how we dont hear anything about him from domestic Iranian sources.

Do they know he exists? Does GN know? Does GN care?

Not to understate that some people in Iran may have significantly negative perceptions of Iranian diaspora from US given politics etc given we were worried about the same when Gucci, Dejagah, and Zandi were joining.

Having an Iranian-American player who loves Iran might be "harmful" to the perception people in power want to create of pitting diaspora vs domestic Iranians.


All that aside, I guarantee that the US knows he exists, knows where he plays, how he plays, and what he does. In football they are a lot of things but what they are not is lazy or unorganized.

In term of passport, he's been to Iran and he has Iranian parents, so he has an Iranian passport for sure.
In terms of sarbazi, he still hasn't graduated from Yale, so he can say he is a student and delays his military service issues to at least 30 years of age.

What is more important is that GN and his team have seen him. If that happens, someone like GN has connections to push through all the paperwork at least in Iran.

Let's hope this interview gets lot of traction and views in Iranian media.

[Nokhodi]

One of the YouTube comments makes a good point:

"he mentions the fear of being cap-tied. I think that is an indication he would prefer playing for the US. He is worried about the vibe [in Iran]"

I think he's keeping his options open to playing for either, but is worried about playing for Iran and prefers the US.

Problem is, the US is stacked in the forward position with young players, so it'll be harder to break in.

We'll see if he gets called up to the US U-23 team next month for their Olympic preparation friendly against France.

Fear of being cap-tied would go both ways no?

Also what makes you think he prefers playing for the US?

Also U-23 games don't count towards senior nationality status, so he could take that cap theoretically without any issues in the future if he wanted to play for TM.

[PSGman#19]

I can understand he is playing safe, and IMO he should play hard to get IFF and GN kissing his feet.

But if he is really a TM fan, then playing for a another NT shouldn't be an option

[Pluto2000]

I can understand he is playing safe, and IMO he should play hard to get IFF and GN kissing his feet.

But if he is really a TM fan, then playing for a another NT shouldn't be an option

From our perspective its normal to think that way, but there is just too much baggage that comes with TM. Committing himself to TM also means having to deal with the negative press/political situation/and agreeing to shady practices like Basijis in TM camp following players everywhere to make sure they don't say anything wrong (like the recent Ghoddos interview). That is also aside from the fact of having to deal with sarbazi, etc. Nevertheless it was clear he has a lot of TM knowledge and is a fan of players like Nekounam so its safe to say it will be alright as long as we can get this shitty federation to reach out

[Team Melli Fan]

Is it possible to play for the Olympic team and switch to another NT after?

Yes, he can file a one-time nationality switch with FIFA, but that's what he's hesitant to do as he knows it means he's stuck with one team and one team only at that point.

Fear of being cap-tied would go both ways no?

Yes, definitely. He's probably wanting to only get called up for friendlies & Olympics for now until he gets a better idea of his potential.

He said he's planning on taking courses at Yale this summer to finish his degree, but if he gets called up for the US Olympic team, then he'll likely have to put the courses on hold.

Also what makes you think he prefers playing for the US?

Islamic Republic of Iran, and the bullshit that comes with the regime that players like Ghoddos (conscription threats, IRGC threats, voice recording, etc.) and Dejagah/Hajsafi/Shojaei/Jahanbakhsh (not playing against Israeli teams in European competitions, etc.) have had to face.
& he was born and raised in the US.
I'm not saying he doesn't want to play for Iran, I'm just saying I think it seems that he would rather play for the US but is smartly keeping both options open.

[PSGman#19]

From our perspective its normal to think that way, but there is just too much baggage that comes with TM. Committing himself to TM also means having to deal with the negative press/political situation/and agreeing to shady practices like Basijis in TM camp following players everywhere to make sure they don't say anything wrong (like the recent Ghoddos interview). That is also aside from the fact of having to deal with sarbazi, etc. Nevertheless it was clear he has a lot of TM knowledge and is a fan of players like Nekounam so its safe to say it will be alright as long as we can get this shitty federation to reach out

For a player that is genuinely a TM fan, I don't see how playing for another NT can be acceptable. It is not club you can switch or milk to earn more money or for a better career.

The other NT should only be used as a pressure tool on IFF so he can get his conditions accepted. But if playing with TM is too complicated or even impossible for non sporting reason, then logically he should let international football to focus on its club career.

[Team Melli Fan]

For a player that is genuinely a TM fan, I don't see how playing for another NT can be acceptable. It is not club you can switch or milk to earn more money or for a better career.

The other NT should only be used as a pressure tool on IFF so he can get his conditions accepted. But if playing with TM is too complicated or even impossible for non sporting reason, then logically he should let international football to focus on its club career.

Yeah that's basically what Daleho Irandust did. He had the option to represent either Sweden or Iran, the Iranian federation contacted him, and he said fuck no to the Islamic Republic of Iran. He played a few friendlies for Sweden and is only playing club football now.

Amin Nazari (brother of Omid Nazari) also had the option to play for Sweden, Iran, or the Philippines, and ended up playing only for Sweden youth and the Philippines. Alecko Eskandarian ended up only playing for the US after his dad played for Iran pre-1979, and Amir Bashti and Daniel Karbassiyoon played for US youth teams.
Behrang Safari for Sweden, Shervin Radjabali-Fardi and Dennis Eckert for Germany youth, etc.
Sara Doorsoun for Germany women, Annahita Zamanian for France women youth, Dajan Hashemi for Denmark women youth, Sydney Zandi for US women youth, etc. The list goes on

Daniel Arzani is realistically the only one who currently has an actual chance to get called up for another national team (Australia) again.

The fact that Kahveh has gone to Iran in the past goes to show that he's not in the same situation as the likes of Daleho Irandust, so playing for Iran is a possibility.