Dejagah: I have no intention to return to Europe

[PersianLegion]

I am dissapointed with him. I would not have been so mad if he moved when he was 30, or 31. But at his age its a shame. And his form is definitely down. Watch him in world cup, and watch him now, its truly sad.

Although I like Dejagah a lot, but I have lost my respect for him after this statement. I suggest we replace him with JB and look for a backup. CQ and IFF should consider banning all QSL forghoonaires!

[pres80]

Although I like Dejagah a lot, but I have lost my respect for him after this statement. I suggest we replace him with JB and look for a backup. CQ and IFF should consider banning all QSL forghoonaires!

Jackie-Chan-WTF.jpg

[Salar]

A few bad games and he'll be able to cash out and get kicked out, the sooner, the likelier he could have a European offer but it seems like even if that happens he will roam around the middle east unfortunately..

[Ali.Karimi79]

Beside that this is his personal choice which need to be respected, he belongs to Qatar actually.
He never was a 90 min player in his entire career. Qatar League is the best place for him. As long as he delivers for TM he can be toop jam kon in Botswana.
Also i would like to disagree that he is our best player ever. He ain't even a hair of Mahdavikias left leg.

[ashkan24]

When did this ever become a debate on where Dejagah stands in terms of quality? I'd say he's the most well rounded player we've ever had. Physically and technically. Some of the players mention in comparison are simply jokes. Daei couldn't even do 2 kick ups. Azizi is overrated, Bagheri had a great shot but mediocre at best. Mahdavikia was slightly faster than Ashkan in his early 20s but never had his vision or ball control. Karimi was technically superior but his piss poor attitude and less than average stamina and general laziness puts him well outside the top 10.

Now if the question was who has had the most positive impact in TM then the answer would be quite simple: Daei. As it stands Ashkan is the best player we've ever had, hands down. No competition.

As far as his decision to remain in Qatar I'm simply puzzled why people think that this is news. He had a tremendous season in EPL with Fulham and he had the best WC showing of all the Iranian players including a high profile match against Argentina. He was scouted by everyone. He had several EPL and Bundesliga offers but he opted to go south and cash out vis a vis arab money. Now why on earth do you think that would change after a year? He's done. He's staying over there likely till they kick him out. In fact, he has shown his true colors by this decision, and I think if he could, he would have definitely played for Qatar for the right amount of arab money.

Watch him refer to Persian Gulf as something else in a couple of years time. In fact, I'm truly sickened by him. The other Iranians don't have that many other options like Gucci, but he did and yet he chose arab money anyhow. Absolutely no integrity.

[Ali.Karimi79]

...Some of the players mention in comparison are simply jokes. Daei couldn't even do 2 kick ups. Azizi is overrated, Bagheri had a great shot but mediocre at best. Mahdavikia was slightly faster than Ashkan in his early 20s but never had his vision or ball control. Karimi was technically superior but his piss poor attitude and less than average stamina and general laziness puts him well outside the top 10.

Now if the question was who has had the most positive impact in TM then the answer would be quite simple: Daei. As it stands Ashkan is the best player we've ever had, hands down. No competition.

...

May i ask how old you are and for how long you watch TM games?

[ashkan24]

May i ask how old you are and for how long you watch TM games?

You may. I've been following TM since the '96 Asian Cup.

[Camran khan]

When did this ever become a debate on where Dejagah stands in terms of quality? I'd say he's the most well rounded player we've ever had. Physically and technically. Some of the players mention in comparison are simply jokes. Daei couldn't even do 2 kick ups. Azizi is overrated, Bagheri had a great shot but mediocre at best. Mahdavikia was slightly faster than Ashkan in his early 20s but never had his vision or ball control. Karimi was technically superior but his piss poor attitude and less than average stamina and general laziness puts him well outside the top 10.

Now if the question was who has had the most positive impact in TM then the answer would be quite simple: Daei. As it stands Ashkan is the best player we've ever had, hands down. No competition.

As far as his decision to remain in Qatar I'm simply puzzled why people think that this is news. He had a tremendous season in EPL with Fulham and he had the best WC showing of all the Iranian players including a high profile match against Argentina.

[Zamboor]

This is Ali Karimi going to qatar all over again. The support of the player split in to two sides.

[IPG]

Hopefully better players steal his place.

We don't need 28 year old Qatari league wingers at this point, if he has no intention to return to Europe, then prepare to be most likely recycled during the WCQ by younger players.

Be lazy and greedy if you want, but no place for that in TM. Gucci and Ashkan play in very "energetic" positions and we should expect them to slowly fade away from TM in no time. JB on RW, Hajsafi on LW and Azmoun up top is probably going to be the "new" starting offense in 1-2 years.

Looool are you on drugs or just generally delusional !?

He is hands down the best player we have and ONLY 28 !! And u expect him to be replaced in a year or so loool


The problem with members like you is you judge players based on where they play instead of their skills. He is not just better than but way way better than any other player we have

[BacheLot]

Ashkan bayad beraghse
az khanoomesh natarse..!

[K. Nader]

You make good points which are quite hard to challenge.

But here is my next input brother.

1. We always make fun of Qatar and ridicule them, but when one of our best players Dejagah is there we find an excuse to make it seem justifiable that he is in Qatar during his prime of his career. This guy just came from years of top flight football, had a relatively OK World Cup and out of nowhere he joins a Qatari team. If this was Masoud, most people would bash the hell out of him. While ironically, he joined a team like Las Palmas for not even half the salary he would get at his former team Osasuna. Why? Just to prove himself, work hard and keep us happy (the Iranian fans). When he really got shitty low-wages offers like from Zaragoza (64K for one season, that's almost playing for free) he opted for Qatar. He preferred Spain after all.

2. A player like Dejagah can always make decent money after he is done with football. A professional footballer like him with so many years in Bundesliga and BPL has tons of opportunites to make a career after he is done with playing football. To be a successful footballer, playing football for the sake of football is the first priority, IMO.

3. It pains me the most that a player like Dejagah is in the Qatar Stars League, who are equal to the 3rd division of Germany if you compare the total transfermarkt value of the two leagues. He can do much better but it looks like he lacks ambition and / or motivation. If I hear stories from him regularly smoking ghelyoon and hitting Burger King, I am getting more and more concerned about his future TM performances. I want the best for my players, and if we want to be the best team in Asia who likes to qualify for the next round in a World Cup, we won't get far with players like Dejagah who prefer to live the easy life.

4. Sure, it's their lives and their careers, but ask yourself the following question: Japan (one of our Asian rivals) do not even have a single player in an Arab league. If we want to be better than them, why do we keep inviting QSL players?

5. Final thing (not aimed to you but just in general): If we think legionnaires joining Arab teams at their prime is fine, we should lower our expectations for Team Melli. Doing well in a World Cup with players based from Qatar is not a good fundamental to beat decent teams like Holland, England etc.

Just my cents and I honestly believe you have good points as well. Sorry if I made some grammar mistakes, English is my third language.

I'm going to address your points based on the numbering scheme above:

1. Again, from a fan's perspective, it's not ideal that Dejagah - the player who was brought up in the most professional environment - is now in QSL. Ultimately, it's the player that dictates how well they're going to play. In Dejagah's case, he's evidently kept up his fitness and put in a fine performance against Chile. Of course it would have been ideal for Dejagah to remain in Europe where he faces top opposition weekly but for whatever reason, he chose not to. I'm sure money was a big incentive but it could also be a result of Dejagah's ability to cope. He's had a fair number of injuries in the past 2-3 years and this takes a toll on the body. As much as we love watching these players, many of them literally sacrifice their bodies to play at such a competitive level. Gabriel Batistuta was in so much pain after he retired that he asked a doctor to amputate his legs. Similarly, I was watching an interview with David Beckham and he was talking about how his body has slowed down because of the constant pain. A physical and rough player like Dejagah playing in a physical and rough league like the EPL doesn't always spell out the happiest of endings. If Qatar is where he can stay fit while being of useful service to Team Melli, so be it.

As for the Masoud example, I agree and I don't. Masoud should definitely be commended for staying in Europe for as long as he could. The problem is that Iranian fans think that the players are all 'bedehkar'. If Masoud is in Spain and performs poorly for Team Melli, he sucks. If Dejagah is in Qatar and performs poorly for Team Melli, he sucks. Just by virtue of playing in Qatar, the player must suck. In Iranian football, you essentially suck until proven good. Most people don't have the capacity to appreciate what someone like Masoud has done. Regardless of how well he plays for club or country, he will be booed by a large sector until he retires.

2. It's not impossible to make money after a playing career. After all, coaching, commentating, and management are all possibilities. However, we don't know if Dejagah has any interest to pursue those options. Ever so often, we see these Navad clips on these great Iranian players from the 70ies and 80ies who now drive taxis because they no longer have any money left. Some people have the motivation to continue (i.e. Nekounam/Golmohammadi/Mansourian/Hashemian in coaching) whereas others don't. If Dejagah falls in the latter group, then the next 4-5 years are his chance to accumulate as much wealth as possible.

3. Again, only a player can dictate how motivated/ambitious they are. The problem is that we look at our 'legionnaires' with a microscope and this is mainly due to the fact that we often don't have many legionnaires to begin with. We have to look at the bigger picture and create an environment where a transfer to Europe is looked upon positively. Haghighi, Zareei, Azmoun, Jahanbakhsh, and Ezatollahi are all a good start. We need this to become a constant in our football so that if we lose a legionnaire to injury or a transfer to a smaller league, we'll have the flexibility to pick and choose (like Japan). Iranian clubs aren't without fault either - just look at the Hazami transfer fee as an example.

4. This ties into the above point. Firstly, the Japanese are in an environment where they're encouraged to make the leap into European football. Of course, being a country where they have marketing power for European clubs also helps. Japan has nearly 20 players in Europe right now which gives them the freedom to pick and choose. Perhaps if we had 20 legionnaires, we wouldn't have to invite those playing in the QSL. At best, we normally have 5-6 legionnaires which means that the rest have to come from the IPL/QSL.

5. None of us think it's fine for them to join a Qatari club but saying 'Qatar-based players won't be invited' will not solve the issue. The players might as well stay in the IPL and make decent (but less) money there. Closing off the door to Team Melli for Qatari-based players will not necessarily motivate others to make the move to Europe. Again, a change in mentality needs to take place. Instead of big money offers to Persepolis & Esteghlal, the players should consider the Euro offers as soon as they come their way.

*Sorry for any spelling mistakes - I did not check to make revisions.

[rugs]

This is Ali Karimi going to qatar all over again. The support of the player split in to two sides.

And yet he was still voted as the most popular Iranian footballer of the past 20 years.

People are too irrational with their dislikes.

[Ali.Karimi79]

You may. I've been following TM since the '96 Asian Cup.

In that case i am utterly speechless how you talk about iranian legends like Daei, Bagheri, Azizi and Mahdavikia.
If it wasn't for them, this forum wouldn't even exist let alone Ashkan Dejagah considering playing for TM.
Just lol.

[Camran khan]

In that case i am utterly speechless how you talk about iranian legends like Daei, Bagheri, Azizi and Mahdavikia.
If it wasn't for them, this forum wouldn't even exist let alone Ashkan Dejagah considering playing for TM.
Just lol.

Mahdavikia is a legend in Hamburg, his crossing was beyond incredible! Some of his individual honours include:

Asian Young Footballer of the Year: 1997
HSV Player of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04
Asian Footballer of the Year: 2003
Chosen as the best offensive winger of the Bundesliga in the 2002–03 season by kicker
Hamburger SV Team of the Century: 2012

Now can someone tell me what Dejagah has done to be compared or according to some even better(!?) than Mahdavikia?