AFC Champions League 2015

[irani8perspolis]

I don't want to get too far ahead, because we still have two tough games, but isn't it utterly STUPID that Naft and PP are very likely to face each other in the next round, if they make it?! And they will definitely be playing each other if they advance to the semis?!

in my opinion that is good, then 100% we will have a rep in the semis

[Mr.Click]

Congrats to all red fans.
This comment in footbalitarin was funny:
الان تماشا گر های تراختور ریختن تو خیابون داران شادی میکنن ,یکی شایعه راه انداخته که تراختور ال هلال رو برده

[hzv]

very bad result for naft imo. unwritten rules of football tell me that naft will be eliminated away in saudi. in a home and away elimination round you simply can not miss such opportunities,naft should have at the very least scored another goal. it is beyond me how a speedy player like motahari is not able to convert an incredible pass by beiranvand, he didnt even shoot. i would save the trash talking and celebrating until after our next games are done as these results are quite slim and marginal and can evaporate into thin air quickly away in saudi. i fully expect the refs to be saudied as well.

[xerexes]

We started our professional league 10 years before the Koreans and 20 years before the Japanese, but after four decades of waste and mismanagement we've reached a point where we're happy that after two of our teams got knocked out in the first round as usual, we still have two teams in the second round taking one-goal leads to the away game... Yes, I love the fact that Naft dominated a good Saudi team, but we're still only talking about the round of 16, with the sad possibility that both our teams may still get knocked out in the away leg.

Some of the people happy that two out of our four clubs made the second round of the ACL were the same people who didn't think it was good enough that we made the second round of Asian Cup and got eliminated with ten men after penalties! Some of those who think just half our clubs making it past the ACL first round is impressive weren't nearly as impressed when we almost beat Argentina at the World Cup in front of thousands of its fans!

Naft is currently my favorite team in Iran right after Zob Ahan and both clubs have good modernizing coaches, but Naft dominating Al-Ahli in the home leg of the ACL second round still doesn't erase the fact that our clubs get routinely eliminated in this tournament or make up for the fact that the club that has finished top two in our league for the last three years has also failed to advance out of the ACL group stage three times in a row.

Those of us who point these things out aren't trying to put down our players or our league as some emotionally suggest. We're simply making sure that perspective isn't lost amidst all the sentimentality. Our football has suffered and stagnated under IR for almost 40 years now, and in today's football, talent by itself can't compensate for mismanagement and lack of funding. If it could, we would have qualified to the World Cup more than just three times in seven tries since the revolution. If it could, our best teams would make the final of ACL more than just once a decade. With improvements in management and infrastructure unlikely or very slow in coming, our best shot at maximizing at least some of our talent is by having a top notch coach. This is why many of us (including 88% of fans inside the country) have been so adamantly in support of CQ. And this is why we bring up our track record in ACL when some banned troll acts like we embarrassed ourselves by not advancing to the second round in the World Cup.

[rugs]

We started our professional league 10 years before the Koreans and 20 years before the Japanese, but after four decades of waste and mismanagement we've reached a point where we're happy that after two of our teams got knocked out in the first round as usual, we still have two teams in the second round taking one-goal leads to the away game... Yes, I love the fact that Naft dominated a good Saudi team, but we're still only talking about the round of 16, with the sad possibility that both our teams may still get knocked out in the away leg.

Some of the people happy that two out of our four clubs made the second round of the ACL were the same people who didn't think it was good enough that we made the second round of Asian Cup and got eliminated with ten men after penalties! Some of those who think just half our clubs making it past the ACL first round is impressive weren't nearly as impressed when we almost beat Argentina at the World Cup in front of thousands of its fans!

Naft is currently my favorite team in Iran right after Zob Ahan and both clubs have good modernizing coaches, but Naft dominating Al-Ahli in the home leg of the ACL second round still doesn't erase the fact that our clubs get routinely eliminated in this tournament or make up for the fact that the club that has finished top two in our league for the last three years has also failed to advance out of the ACL group stage three times in a row.

Those of us who point these things out aren't trying to put down our players or our league as some emotionally suggest. We're simply making sure that perspective isn't lost amidst all the sentimentality. Our football has suffered and stagnated under IR for almost 40 years now, and in today's football, talent by itself can't compensate for mismanagement and lack of funding. If it could, we would have qualified to the World Cup more than just three times in seven tries since the revolution. If it could, our best teams would make the final of ACL more than just once a decade. With improvements in management and infrastructure unlikely or very slow in coming, our best shot at maximizing at least some of our talent is by having a top notch coach. This is why many of us (including 88% of fans inside the country) have been so adamantly in support of CQ. And this is why we bring up our track record in ACL when some banned troll acts like we embarrassed ourselves by not advancing to the second round in the World Cup.

I'm kind of surprised too. I mean, if you've followed the ACL in the past 10-15 years, this is nothing new. Our teams have always made it this far. Even Saipa, PP and Mes Kerman have made it this far and they're are usually pretty bad teams. Twice we have two Iranian teams face each other in the round of 16!

I'll never forget when PAS was winning 3-0 against Al-Ain, Borhani was tearing them up, when Al-Ain came back and scored 3 and tied the game, thus eliminating PAS. That was in the quarter finals.

[Shahin]

I think frankly, the biggest obstacle hindering the progress of our football, at this moment, is the lack of adequate training facility. The more I watch Iranian clubs, the more it becomes evident to me how much our players suffer from not being able to practice on a proper football field. Even Naft who are being celebrated for fluid ball movement at times struggle to pass the ball on the the ground. They just don't trust the pitch because they are not used to a practice field that is perfectly level. Until these shortcomings are addressed, I don't really see a way for our clubs to prosper and for our players to grow. A standard training facility is an absolute necessity in modern football.

[Doctor DOOM]

Whether we like to admit or not, significant success in the international arena, clubs, from any Asian nation and not iranian ones only, relies on the quality of the foreign players in the team. If you don't have imports who are decisive, then chances are high that your club wont get too far in the continental competition. If you see Arabs or others go farther than our clubs is certainly and most definitely not because their domestic players are better. But because their foreign players play a decisive role in their games and these players carry these clubs deep into knockout stages.

Hypothetically speaking, Take out all foreign players from Asian clubs and you'll see a whole new set of clubs making the longer runs into the ACL. the thing is iranian clubs can't afford top quality imports and those mediocre ones that find their way into IPL, are hardly worth mentioning.

Can't help it. We just don't have that kind of money available to our clubs. And what little money is there, it is wasted on middlemen and spurious agents pushing garbage players !!

[xerexes]

Good foreign players is only one part of it. In many cases they also have better coaches. Another big factor is the top Japanese, Korean and Persian Gulf teams not only have their own stadiums but also the kinds of pitches and facilities we don't even have for our national team.

[Kavian]

I think both Perspolis and Naft played decent games against their tough opponents.

Naft played a fresh style of football with reasonable fluidity and quickness that you don't normally see from Iranian teams. Naft reminded of the Zob Ahan of a few years ago minus the solid defense and better finishing.

Both Al Ahli and Al Hilal are very professional teams and have good base of local and foreign players. The return games are not going to be easy games. but the advantage is our sides with a win and more importantly no goal conceded at home, which could well be the deciding factor at the end of the day.

[NFL]

Some of the people happy that two out of our four clubs made the second round of the ACL were the same people who didn't think it was good enough that we made the second round of Asian Cup and got eliminated with ten men after penalties! Some of those who think just half our clubs making it past the ACL first round is impressive weren't nearly as impressed when we almost beat Argentina at the World Cup in front of thousands of its fans!

that is a very valid point.

[NFL]

better pitches, better coaches, better players, better stadiums, or better what ever you want to call it, they are all very important parts of the big picture.
but, until the men in charge of the country make the decision to leave pro football to the hands of private owners there will not be any significant improvement of Iranian football. this is not just an IR thing. It was the same before 1979. then, the military controlled most of football, now sepah does. same shit, different outfits.

[xerexes]

better pitches, better coaches, better players, better stadiums, or better what ever you want to call it, they are all very important parts of the big picture.
but, until the men in charge of the country make the decision to leave pro football to the hands of private owners there will not be any significant improvement of Iranian football. this is not just an IR thing. It was the same before 1979. then, the military controlled most of football, now sepah does. same shit, different outfits.

It's definitely true that private ownership is the best way to go. But things weren't nearly as bad prior to the revolution. There was some private ownership (Perspolis for example was owned by Ali Abdoh) and the aspects controlled by the government were far better managed. As I said before, we started a professional football league in the early 1970s, a decade before the Koreans and twenty years before the Japanese. Add to that the youth programs, funding, facilities... there is no question we had a far better football system before the revolution.

[persian_victory]

I think both Perspolis and Naft played decent games against their tough opponents.

Naft played a fresh style of football with reasonable fluidity and quickness that you don't normally see from Iranian teams. Naft reminded of the Zob Ahan of a few years ago minus the solid defense and better finishing.

Both Al Ahli and Al Hilal are very professional teams and have good base of local and foreign players. The return games are not going to be easy games. but the advantage is our sides with a win and more importantly no goal conceded at home, which could well be the deciding factor at the end of the day.

I hope that Persepolis and Naft won't give in in the second leg.

[teammelli91]

I wish Biroozi and Naft Taheran success in the return leg. Ya salam!

Halva Halva!

[persianpopinjay]

^^BIROOZI
Haha dude it'd be 'halwa halwa' wouldn't it??