Haghighi or Beiranvand?

[Kian Persepolis]

Ezzatolah Pourghaz is Iran's next best goalkeeper xD

[persian8iran]

Ezzatolah Pourghaz is Iran's next best goalkeeper xD

Agree !
Akbari too young, Davari had two mistakes against Guinea, Haghighi is not regular, Beiranvand received a red card in the last game
seriously, I think Iran has excellent goalkeeper this time, should play with the most playing time and in better form.

[Ali.Karimi79]

I stick to Beiran(-damagh)vand lol.

That red card was just bad luck. Poor guy h ad nothing to do for more than 70 (!) minutes and HAD TO COME OUT in that moment. It was just bad luck.
I feel sorry for him. I stil rate him higher than Haghighi and the rest.

[Tehranto]

I choose Haghighi cause we can showcase a good looking Iranian guy and make all the foreign women seek us out

But - I think I rate Beira a bit higher than Haghighi.

[Sly]

I stick to Beiran(-damagh)vand lol.
That red card was just bad luck. Poor guy h ad nothing to do for more than 70 (!) minutes and HAD TO COME OUT in that moment. It was just bad luck.
I feel sorry for him. I stil rate him higher than Haghighi and the rest.

The guy makes a mistake like that when we are 6-0 up! To me that's a mistake based on lack of experience. He's not and should not be our number 1 keeper!

[Ali.Karimi79]

The guy makes a mistake like that when we are 6-0 up! To me that's a mistake based on lack of experience. He's not and should not be our number 1 keeper!

That wasn't a mistake in my books. We always complain why our goalies stock to the line. It was absolutely legit to come out as a goali. I agree the collide was avoidable and maybe lack of experience but that's what all our others goalie lack too anyways.

[Martin-Reza]

Beiranvand deserved a chance. He didn't use it. Now back to Haghighi. If he continues to be insecure Beiranvand or another goalie deserves another chance.

[Z Joon]

Haghighi or Beiranvand?

That wasn't a mistake in my books. We always complain why our goalies stock to the line. It was absolutely legit to come out as a goali. I agree the collide was avoidable and maybe lack of experience but that's what all our others goalie lack too anyways.

Thank you. Hopefully Beiranvand stays in goal or Akhbari plays for couple of games

[Kavian]

Being selected as #1 keeper (or a forward or a defensman for that matter) at the national level, is not always about possessing the best technical skills. There are other factors equally as important when the game is played at a higher level.

Us as fans don't alwasy see those factors when deciding who should be the #1 selection. We are just not close to the players and don't know them at personal level to make that final call.

CQ is one of the rare coaches we have had for our national team who truly understands team dynamics and is a great judge of footballer characters. Something most Iranian coaches don't either know much about or don't practice well. They always give in to the popularity of the players and the pressure that fans exert when selection final 11.

CQ knows very well Haghighi is not the most perfect keeper in the world (which I don't think there is one anyway). He probably knows Rahmati might even be better technically speaking. But he is making his #1 selection because he recognizes other factors.

Many of you remember Abedzadeh. He was one of the greatest keepers in our football history, perhaps not all because of his technical abilities, as he also had his fair share of mistakes, but because he was smart, used his head, and had a strong presense on the field. He was an inspiration, a strong leader, and a source of energy for the other 10 players. You all agree with me that the favorable results we got in the games with Australia and US back in 1987/88 were to a large degree as a result of his non-technical abilities.

What TM needs is all of what Abedzadeh had and CQ is looking for exactly that. Something Sosha or Bieravand or Rahmati don't bring.

Haghighi did not fill the news during WC2015 for no reason. And he was not even the best of the keepers in that tournament.

[Nariman]

Come on people, let's be honest here: We will never be happy with our GK, Iranians don’t seem to have a clue what it means to be a GK. We overanalyze every scene and focus on every little mistake. I am 100% even with Manuel Neuer between our posts we wouldn’t be satisfied! Mirzapour, Roudbarian, Rahmati, Ahmadi, Davari, Haghighi....all of them were criticized and it's only a matter of time until likes of Beirandvand, Akhbari & the rest join the list.

The hatred towards Haghighi is nothing new. He has been labeled as talentless, soosool and overrated already in the past, yet owned everyone by moving to Europe. We always tend to talk about discipline, attitude and spirit - we always want "soldiers" - but it’s rather a shame we quickly forget who our soldiers are. In the last years no other Iranian keeper on the entire world fought so much for his spot as Alireza Haghighi did and it was only CQ that supported him. Moving to Russia, being completely alone, different country/culture, a league unfamiliar for Iranian footballers, and additionally being bashed by his countermen men back at home - the situation was quite difficult, it would take another post to describe what he went through. At any given day Haghighi could return to IPL or join Seyed Ashkan Dejagah to earn money in the gutter league; however he is still waiting for his chance and prefers to stay until the very end of his contract. Wouldn’t be too bad to appreciate this and show some respect for this fighter for once, he deserves to be trusted during bad times.

It’s true that currently Haghighi is out of form and nobody can deny that. What we just have to realize is that the issue is not about quality; the problem is that he simply lacks playing time - this is what makes him perform like that. Rubin Kazan was willing to sign a 4years contract and Haghighi also played in the Portuguese league, while an international coach like CQ believed in him from day 1 - so I have no comment regarding those who doubt Haghighi' skills. This is just typical Iranian attitude - when a player does not perform he is shit, nobody cares if the player maybe is just out of form or has other problems. No he is shit and was always shit, but after a good performance he becomes good...

I like Beirandvand and lately I have been impressed by Akhbari as well. There is absolutely no disagreement about their skills & potential, but with all due respect these guys have proven nothing when it comes to play under pressure. Haghighi at the same age already was a much more proven keeper than these 2. Remember Makani after couple of good performance with Foolad? People demanded him as our #1, but we saw what happened when he started to play under real pressure in Perspolis. These two still have a to go a very long way before people start to portray them as our new #1, but that being said - with Haghighi not in form and Beirandvand suspended I actually wouldn’t mind to see Akhbari vs. India, although he probably won’t touch the ball anyway.

[littlepersia17]

Haghighi or Beiranvand?

Akhbari is actually a really good shot stopper. He makes some world class saves.

His save against Rah Ahan was Neuer-esque.

Tadeu should give this guy a go. IMO he has better qualities than most european keepers that are playing in The top clubs. If ter Stegen can get to Barcelona, than this guy should at least get a chance in Europe.