Team Melli squad (March 2016)

[Ghermez Agha]

Instead of complaining about player X or Y's inclusion every time a list is released, accept it and move on. CQ knows what he is doing; he knows exactly when he needs to replace older players with younger ones. In the last 1.5 years, we've seen the following regulars retire or get cut from Team Melli in favour of younger players.

Retired/Cut Players: Ahmadi (35) | Nekounam (35) | Sadeghi (34) | Beikzadeh (32) | Heydari (32) | Hadadifar (32) | Nouri (33) | Alenemeh (33)

Replaced By: Beiranvand (23) | Mohammadi (22) | Ezatolahi (19) | Kanaani (21) | Pouraliganji (22) | Torabi (21) | Azmoun (21) | Taremi (23) | Rezaeian (25)

So as far as age and youth injection is concerned, it should be the last of our problems. This has already become one of the youngest Team Melli sides in many years.

As mentioned we currently have 4 'old-timers' left: Hosseini (34) | Montazeri (32) | Teymourian (33) | Masoud (31)

My personal feeling for the World Cup (if we qualify) is that Montazeri and Teymourian will still be part of the team. Montazeri will start alongside a younger CB while Teymourian will sit on the bench. Dejagah will replace Shojaei as our senior CAM while the likes of Rafiei & Rahmani will be invited. Hosseini's inclusion and degree of involvement depends on form. If he is still performing as well in two years, then why not have him in the team (even as a very reliable bench player).

Mashalla the voice of reason has spoken

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

Dejagah is a fail-safe option for now. Going forward, the expectation is that Jahanbakhsh will be running the show on the right wing and Hajsafi will be running the show on the left. Amiri and Dejagah will be the back-ups, respectively. Torabi's biggest advantage is that he's young, technical, and completely committed to CQ's ideology. He's the type of player that will run up and down the field so long as CQ asks him to. Taremi is still up in the air; the next round will be indicative of whether he's a crucial piece going forward or just another manifestation of Gholamreza Rezaei (who also had a good record against lower & middle ranked Asian teams).


Sarbaze-Vatan: I'm sure Jahanbakhsh can play the role but it would certainly be a peg down from his caliber in the RW position. Given the suspensions & injuries, I anticipate the following line-up in the final two matches:

------------------Azmoun------------------
Hajsafi-----------Torabi-----Jahanbakhsh
---------Ebraimi---------Ezatolahi---------
Mohammadi-Montazeri-Hosseini-Ghafouri

Just note that there may be some changes since CQ may want to use these games to experiment.

I really enjoyed reading the bolded parts. The bolded parts are almost everyone's opinion.

Who do you think is the best option for goalkeeper position? I am not fan of Haghighi and Makani. Beiranvand was on the bench for most games of this season. Akhbari is good but still needs improvement. He was impressive against Perspolis. Mazaheri is fine too but he was completely a benched player before joining Zob ahan.

I am more fan of Vahid Amiri than Hajisafi as left winger.

Here is the best line up to start the next round IMO:

4-2-3-1

Akhbari

Ghafouri, Montazeri, Hosseini, Mohammadi

Ezatollahi, Teymourian

Torabi, Dejagah, Jahanbakhsh

Azmoun

However there is no guarantee to have that line up for every single match of the next round due to injury, suspension, lack of form, etc. For example, we did not have Dejagah for last three games of WCQ 2014 and we do not have Teymourian for our March matches. So we must have alternate for every position. DM and CAM are my biggest worry here especially CAM. I am not sure how good Torabi is for CAM but hope you are right here.

[kia]

What is CQ's beef with Ali Karimi?

[Z Joon]

Has anyone noticed that Ando has been crossed off? Surprised no one mentioned it.

[Malavani]

Has anyone noticed that Ando has been crossed off? Surprised no one mentioned it.

isn't he injured?

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

I know we won't likely see it, since CQ prefers defensive tactics, and I don't know if CQ has enough faith in Ezatollahi yet due to his age to leave him as a lone DM, but since we're playing India in Tehran, I'd love to see a formation with one defensive midfielder. A 4-1-4-1 could work well for TM. Something like:

-----------------Azmoun-----------------
Hajsafi--Torabi--Dejagah--Jahanbakhsh
----------------Ezatollahi-----------------
Mohammadi-Kanaani-Hosseini-Ghafouri

Dejagah is suspended against India after getting a yellow card against Guam in last match. We need to use another CAM in this game.

[Z Joon]

isn't he injured?

You're right he also didn't play the last Saipa game

[Z Joon]

I really enjoyed reading the bolded parts. The bolded parts are almost everyone's opinion.

Who do you think is the best option for goalkeeper position? I am not fan of Haghighi and Makani. Beiranvand was on the bench for most games of this season. Akhbari is good but still needs improvement. He was impressive against Perspolis. Mazaheri is fine too but he was completely a benched player before joining Zob ahan.

I am more fan of Vahid Amiri than Hajisafi as left winger.

Here is the best line up to start the next round IMO:

4-2-3-1

Akhbari

Ghafouri, Hosseini, Montazeri, Mohammadi

Ezatollahi, Teymourian

Torabi, Dejagah, Jahanbakhsh

Azmoun

However there is no guarantee to have that line up for every single match of the next round due to injury, suspension, lack of form, etc. For example, we did not have Dejagah for last three games of WCQ 2014 and we do not have Teymourian for our March matches. So we must have alternate for every position. DM and CAM are my biggest worry here especially CAM. I am not sure how good Torabi is for CAM but hope you are right here.

Ando is not good enough to be a starter anymore I'd say, Omid Ebrahimi is currently the best Iranian central midfielder and will most likely be the regular starter from now on (along with Ezzatollahi probably as they've been great together the last matches)

[Ghermez Agha]

Ando is not good enough to be a starter anymore I'd say, Omid Ebrahimi is currently the best Iranian central midfielder and will most likely be the regular starter from now on (along with Ezzatollahi probably as they've been great together the last matches)

Ando is far more valuable to the team than just about every player on the roster....his experience, leadership, and precision is unmatched by anyone.

Also comparing him to Ebrahimi is unfair....Ebrahimi has been inconsistent for TM his last few matches were pretty good but before that he was pretty up and down. I know Ando's fitness hasn't been good but he has actually gotten into much better shape over the last few months or so which was his major problem recently. He's been the most vital player for TM (arguably) over the last 10 years for TM it would be beyond silly to drop him and it definitely will not happen either.

[Sarbaze-Vatan]

Ando is not good enough to be a starter anymore I'd say, Omid Ebrahimi is currently the best Iranian central midfielder and will most likely be the regular starter from now on (along with Ezzatollahi probably as they've been great together the last matches)

Regard Ando, his performance in last a few Saipa matches was okay. IMO we need him in the team at least until the end of WCQ 2018. After that I would not mind to replace him with a younger player.

[ehsan singapore]

Regard Ando, his performance in last a few Saipa matches was okay. IMO we need him in the team at least until the end of WCQ 2018. After that I would not mind to replace him with a younger player.

true we can use him till then, saeid ezatollahi and another play can replace him

[Damavand]

Is Kaveh Rezai injured ?? I thought he would be invited.

[saeed_noro]

All in all good list, i personally just miss and dissapointed that players like khalatbari are nobody anymore. i liked him so much, and he is a gifted player, bu becoming older. despite this, also his temperament is a reason for his "off-kardan" but he did not reach/get what he deserves in my eyes.


another point, if you remember rah ahan vs. esteghal, rah ahan had many good players, combinations and i wonder why they were so deep in the table, they played great, they had few good players. same for esteghlal ahvaz, it is a pitter that they only have one player there, i think there are more good players in this team.

looking for the derby esteghlal ahvaz vs. esteghlal soon, after the national games...

[Team Melli Fan]

Good list, hoping to see Shahin Saghebi in the next one and Teymourian when he's healed. Maybe Beitashour, Rahmani, and Rafiei too. Alex Samizadeh is a rising star also.

[persepolisfan]

Good list overall. If Iran could get its shit together and fix this sarbazi issue, we would be in a far better position. Rafiei and rahmani could help us out in the long run