POST-MATCH DISCUSSION | vs. Bahrain - Asian Cup 2015

[MR.S]

The anti Iran Ref tried to kill Hajsafi. But then Hajsafi hushed the ref and Haghighi killed a Bahraini player.

Best players: Hajsafi, Ghafouri, Pourangali, Haghighi, Dejagha

Still cant understand how Shojai get to be in the starting 11, For me he was invisible as usual except a few moments here and there. We would have won with 5-0 if we had JB from the start. Poor guy only gets 20 minutes at best and everybody who have played football know the first 10 minutes you usually catch up with the adrenaline and the first breath, that leaves him with 10 minutes in the end of the game where everybody is tired. It should be the other way around, JB from the start, Hajsafi or Dejagha in on Shojai's position and then sub in Shojai in the last 20 minutes where he can dribble past tired defenders.

[SinaBahali]

POST-MATCH DISCUSSION | vs. Bahrain - Asian Cup 2015

Did I miss something? Shojaei was our weakest player....(imo?)

[Karimi 8]

I can't choose a best player, here is my take on our performance. As a team we played well overall. We started off slow, the first 15 minutes was very dangerous for us, and we kind of stopped pushing as hard in last 15 minutes. Overall good improvement since Korea friendly and Iraq friendly. this Bahrain team went for the win and it was a exciting match.

Notes on players:

Haghighi - This guy is so confident it is admirable! Great save, and a nice hit too, doesn't take shit from anyone!

Pouladi - He was good at defending, but had a few too many give aways and too many "bezan ziresh" passes

Pouraliganji - For a second cap this guy was great! CQ must see somethign special in him to replace sadeghi! Good job! He escaped his markers off corner kicks really well too!

Hosseini - Was solid as usual but needs to work on his headers ! He is suppoused to he our target man for headers right now

Ghafouri - He is so fast! He was really pushing forward, but Dejagah was not linking well enough with him. However, he was beat kind of easily on 3 occasions i think, his positioning was a bit off, but still great performance (ghafouri > Heydari)

Nekounam - Played a decent game a few good long balls, he does more off the ball than on it so he went a bit unnoticed for me

Teymourain - Somehow he is never out of form for tournements! He is coming back into his usual self, fairly good game by him he covered a lot of distance and hustled

Dejagah - He was leading the attack, first half everything was coming from the right side. He needs to link better with ghafouri, and more importantly STOP with hte unnessecary dribbles! it seems like when he plays against weaker teams he really wants to take everyone on 1 on 1, he held the ball way too long on many occasions. He also gassed at 75th minute

Masoud - some good through balls, a few mistakes, but most importantly a goal! damesh garm he looked so happy! He played a lot better htan usual today, decent game

Hajsafi - What a goal! He is a solid player both defensively and offensively he fits perfectly into CQ's formation. Seems like his right foot was more accurate than his left today tho He was voted MVP well done to him

Reza - Today wasn't really his game. We played more of a corssing game and he as out muscled, I wanted Azmoun earlier for him

Subs:

Jahanbakhsh - was expecting him ot be explosive based on my expectations, he played an okay game for the time he was on

Azmon - Not a great game, but wasn't on too long so not fair to judge

Rafeiei - N/A

for the second half, we were not good in transitions going to counter attacking. Most of our attack semeed to lead from Dejagah this game. Overall it was a team performance, and it was a good one! I think our team will develop as we progress through hte competition. great job everyone a win is great, especially against Bahrain

[OFFSIDE_1]

Did I miss something? Shojaei was our weakest player....(imo?)

you didn't miss anything, but someone else did

[perspolis#1]

did you notice how our boys were walking towards the end of the game ...fitness seems to be an issue!

I noticed it, but it looked like it was voluntary. We shut the game down, knew bahrain wasnt going to score, so it looked as though TM wasnt trying. I had the same thought you did but on each counter you saw our players run up to help out(Ghafouri, Dejagah, Hajsafi namely)
Hopefully we dont peak too soon and pace ourselves. Its a long tournament. Pouraliganji is a great find by CQ . We could use him for the technical teams and Sadeghi for the taller/setpiece teams

[aryanirani]

Cant believe Dejagah is rated highest he started the match good but then had soo many bad crosses/ losing the ball etc.. I didnt think he was himself he looked pissed off at something

[ehsan singapore]

did you notice how our boys were walking towards the end of the game ...fitness seems to be an issue!

i dont think is fitness, they just knew they will win

[Team Melli Fan]

Decent game overall. Bahrain aren't a good test, we'll be truly tested against tougher opponents.

Things we need to work on:
-ground passes instead of hoofing the ball in the air
-running into open space & showing for the ball within proximity

[Kiarash]

Everyone did well today but I want to mention Masoud Shojaei one more time. He had a decent game and he crowns his performance with a goal, I am very happy for him. I love seeing the Masoud critics in absolute silence right now. Give credit when it's due. Hopefully Team Melli will bring back where the cup belongs.

His good points during the game:
-Great pass to Dejagah which lead to a straight 1 vs 1 with the Bahraini GK
-Drawing lots of fouls causing FK's for Iran
-Being active all over the field (for those who say Masoud is slow)
-His goal

[teammelli91]

Obviously Dejagah stood out as the best player. But my vote goes to Vouria Ghafouri.

He played with such confidence and composure. He was great in both attack and defense. Not to mention the connection he had with Ashkan. He is one hell of a player. Heydari knows now that his job is very difficult against the likes of Ghafouri. Not to mention there's Ramin Rezaeian involved in that mix now.

I'm really proud of Pouraliganji. He definitely stepped up to the plate with Pejman out of the tournament.

Haghighi looks as if he's going to be sitting in that chair for a long time to come.

Carlos shouting at the end should be a big realization for all those Keyrosh hating Team Melli fans to keep quiet. When was the last time you saw a domestic coach shout at his players to not lose focus when his players were leading the opposition 2-0? When? Exactly. We should all be happy that Carlos is our coach.

All those idiots who said Carlos didn't watch league matches and only followed Perspolis and Esteghlal. Where the hell are they now? What do they have to say about Naft Tehran's star Morteza Pouraliganji? How about Vouria Ghafouri and Soroush Rafiei, or Ramin Rezaeian and Vahid Amiri? Are these Esteghlal Perspolis players? Again, we should be thankful to have a coach like Carlos under this shit regime.

Team Melli is swimming against the waves, They are fighting against everything and everyone who wants to hold them back. But they keep fighting, with their hearts and souls.

[onebloodfool]

I am very happy for the win but an extra bit happy for massoud Shojaei because today he made everyone realize why he is in TM.. Jahanbakhsh with all his talent needs to learn what it is to wear the jersey. If you noticed Nekounam pulled him by his hand to come back and defend. I was so happy to see what kind of a captain we have that he physically pushes young players to hustle. Overall an expected win but nowadays no team is easy to beat and today bahrain showed just that. congrats everyone.

@webmaster
I think that was wrong approach and a bit disrespectful of Nekounam. It would have been better if he had just said to him to come defend or maybe even yell, but to grab him by the hand is a tad patronizing.

[teammelli91]

The road is bumpy ahead guys! But the future looks bright!

[Afat11]

Everyone did well today but I want to mention Masoud Shojaei one more time. He had a decent game and he crowns his performance with a goal, I am very happy for him. I love seeing the Masoud critics in absolute silence right now. Give credit when it's due. Hopefully Team Melli will bring back where the cup belongs.
His good points during the game:
-Great pass to Dejagah which lead to a straight 1 vs 1 with the Bahraini GK
-Drawing lots of fouls causing FK's for Iran
-Being active all over the field (for those who say Masoud is slow)
-His goal

Sorry Kiarash, but I think Hajsafi was the one to give the pass to Dejagah. Him and Masoud look alike, but the commentators said many times it was Hajsafi.

I agree though that Shojaei played well. I have always said that Shojaei's quality lies in his game against open opponents. When we play in WCQ, all the teams play packed defense, since the qualification is such a marathon.

Here, Bahrain was actually attacking a lot instead of packing the box to get the tie. Shojaei was able to run in that free space and draw a lot of fouls.

Not a great game overall, but it's Shojaei doing what he is supposed to do.

I reaaaaally hope he will be sat against Qatar though. Qatar is going to pack the box for sure. We need youth and speed and to play them the way UAE played them tonight. Tonights team was slow up front and in transition.

[Ali.Karimi79]

No need for a poll in my opinion.
Whole team did good. Masoud definately played better than in his recent gazillion TM games. Happy for him and us that he scored.
Still a LOT OF SPACE for improvement. That wanna be dribble made our whatsapp group to explode


What buggers me most are the subs along with the tactics.
Why the F you sub in two gems like JB and Azmoun just to switch into "park the bus"modus?

Either start them from the beginning and then sub in Masoud and Hajsafi if you stick to this tactic or tell the TM to keep on pressing with these two hungry young players ffs.
What a waste that was.

IF one players needs to mentioned i think its Ghafouri

[Kiarash]

Sorry Kiarash, but I think Hajsafi was the one to give the pass to Dejagah. Him and Masoud look alike, but the commentators said many times it was Hajsafi.

I agree though that Shojaei played well. I have always said that Shojaei's quality lies in his game against open opponents. When we play in WCQ, all the teams play packed defense, since the qualification is such a marathon.

Here, Bahrain was actually attacking a lot instead of packing the box to get the tie. Shojaei was able to run in that free space and draw a lot of fouls.

Not a great game overall, but it's Shojaei doing what he is supposed to do.

I reaaaaally hope he will be sat against Qatar though. Qatar is going to pack the box for sure. We need youth and speed and to play them the way UAE played them tonight. Tonights team was slow up front and in transition.

It's hard to argue against the fact he scored the 2-0. He simply delivered.