PERSPOLIS - Fan Thread | News, Photos...

[NFL]

I have a feeling this next game against SS KH is going to be a very entertaining game. SS Khuzestan has nothing to lose and has the players and the coach to play the role of a spoiler. Our boys and coaches better take this game very seriously, and I have feeling they will.

[Nokhodi]

Like almost every Iranian footballer.

We shouldn't criticise foreigners for it, when we're one of the worst in that department (homesickness).

Like most footballers. Again I don't care where they're from. They're weak excuses.

[pres80]

Holy crap I just saw Narimanjahan warming up, I completely forgot that guy even played for PP, does he get any playing time at all!?!?!

[04041374]

Holy crap I just saw Narimanjahan warming up, I completely forgot that guy even played for PP, does he get any playing time at all!?!?!

He gets subbed in occasionally, but started in the last game.

[04041374]

After the ministry of Sports refused to financially support PP and SS, Taheri asked the fans to donate money to the club to pay their debts. They even announced their account informations.
Perspolis owes millions of dollars to foreign players and coaches, who went to FIFA.

Even AK8, who is not fund of IR managers, supported this decision and donated 250 euros.

Don't get how IR can throw their money to other countries, but is not ready to stock the budget of their own teams. The clubs barely get any incomes from ticket sales and broadcasting rights.

[Karimi 8]

Holy crap I just saw Narimanjahan warming up, I completely forgot that guy even played for PP, does he get any playing time at all!?!?!

I always forget as well lol

[irani8perspolis]

Taremi's finishing is getting better and he is returning to his old level. He had 3 chances to score and buried 1 (which is good). His production the last few games have been very good and he has been very involved, he is top scorer of the league now, and as far as I am concerned, he has shut up all the haters. I am 100% sure HE WILL CONTINUE to improve, he is still 24 and hopefully this is just the start of him.

[04041374]

Seyed Jalal extended his contract until 2018

http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1401965...A9%D8%B1%D8%AF

[Nokhodi]

After the ministry of Sports refused to financially support PP and SS, Taheri asked the fans to donate money to the club to pay their debts. They even announced their account informations.
Perspolis owes millions of dollars to foreign players and coaches, who went to FIFA.

Even AK8, who is not fund of IR managers, supported this decision and donated 250 euros.

Don't get how IR can throw their money to other countries, but is not ready to stock the budget of their own teams. The clubs barely get any incomes from ticket sales and broadcasting rights.

That's just sad. And to think we are probably Asia's best supported club in terms of fans.

[04041374]

[aenima_8]

Interview with Branko:

"We talked with Branko Ivanovic, coach of Persepolis Tehran

Branko Ivanković is the Croatian coach of Persepolis Tehran . So, when the opportunity to meet him came, we seized it. We spent two hours with the coach who only knew one club as a player and made a name for himself in both the Balkans and the Gulf, A great traveler who runs straight with his club Persepolis Tehran towards the title in the Iranian championship ...

Hi Branko, my first question is about your playing career ...
I started my playing career in a small town Varaždin. I played in the Yugoslav League for 13 seasons. I started when I was 17 and I stopped around 30 years to become the coach.

You only stayed in one club, it's very rare these days. How do you explain the fact that you have spent your entire career in the same club without changing? Have you refused club offers to do your whole career in one club?
At that time, when I was young and playing football in the former Yugoslavia, players could not leave the country until they were 28 years old. Not before. Many players have signed 2/3 contracts with the same club. I received offers to change but I preferred to go to university. While playing football, I studied at the Faculty of Physiotherapy and I also studied to become a coach. At that time there was no European license, each country had its own examinations. It was the highest level of education. I had the opportunity to improve and see how it was in the national team.

There we come to the national team and the 1998 World Cup. The Balkans are still in crisis, there is war and Croatia has been independent for a few years. Croatia has done something incredible if you consider that a few years ago there was nothing.
Thuram never marks to the training and against us it marks twice. To come back to this story, I first became the assistant to the national coach. Part of our country has known war, and was still at war when I became an assistant. At that time, in 1993, I believe, FIFA and UEFA allowed us to join the football family. And we started in 1994. Our first game was against Spain in Valencia and we beat them 2-0. It was the first time we met at the airport. Mr Blažević and I started to create a team for the Euro 96 and we qualified for the first time for such a competition in 1996. We beat the Italians in Palermo, for example, and we were at the top of the ranking. We knew that we had great potential with U20 champions like Prosinečki, Šuker, Bokšić, Stimać, Bilić, they played in big clubs, Milan, Juventus, Real, Marseille. We had a lot of good players playing outside of Croatia. We had a good story, many players were world champions in Chile. Prosinecki was the best in the championship. And of course, we knew we had good potential. In this competition, we beat Denmark, just in the quarterfinals we lose 2-1.

Is Blažević a mentor for you?
He is older than me, he is famous, he worked in Nantes. When he became the Zagreb coach and the national team, he called me to assist him while I was in Varteks. Our philosophies are similar. We found ourselves quickly. We stayed for seven years at the head of the Croatian selection and when he had the opportunity to come to Iran, he invited me to join him to discover something new. I accepted because I had never had the opportunity to discover anything other than Croatia. I then stayed for three years. This is not exactly a mentor because we work together at the same time, but it's very interesting to work with someone else, see his mentality, his way of working. We can learn. It was a great experience for me, He has a lot of experience in life and football. He has Travelled a lot. It's something you can not learn in a book. It was a big plus for me.

You mentioned Dinamo Zagreb, you stayed two seasons and then you came back, what happened?
We won the title and were on a series of 28 wins in a row. We nearly reached Benfica's record of 29 victories but we lost in my city against my club. We lost 2-3. We beat Ajax de Stam and achieved good results on the international stage. In the second season, I had an altercation with the director of Dinamo Zagreb, Mamić, and I left the team. In the middle of the winter season we played futsal, we lost a game against Hajduk and there he went into the locker room and banged the players when I was not there, because I was busy with the press. I heard after what he said and the next morning I resigned. The team of course won the league but six months later, Mamić called me back. On my return, There was a dispute between Mamić and me about a player I wanted to put on the bench because it was not good enough. He said to me: "We want to sell it so he has to play." Mamić did many things for Dinamo Zagreb. He put us in excellent conditions for training. If I needed chasubles or equipment, we had it. I can not complain about him for that. He had a vision for the club that may be different from that of the coach. Modrić was sold 20 million in Tottenham, Mandzukic 9 million, Corluka 15 million in City, Eduardo 15 million in Arsenal. He sold a lot of players for a lot of money! This is the main cash flow! TV rights are low. Here in Iran the national market is 80 million, the same in Germany, so there may be marketing, but in Croatia,

You then left for China before the current hype. How was it at that time?
I was champion the year I arrived. 13 points ahead of the second. At that time, they started their professional league by buying foreign players. At that time, basketball was the most popular sport because of Yao Ming. Today some sponsors want to show the president that they want to invest in football. They want to put football in schools, it's a great idea. Today, they lack clubs. They have only 50 professional clubs. I was in the Shandong area, there were 80 or even 90 million inhabitants and there were only 3 clubs in the first division and 1 or 2 in the second division. They did not have a pyramid system, they do not have enough clubs. Shandong had the best academy for ping-pong and football but that's not enough. Today, Something happens but they do not have the tradition yet. In Croatia, you start in the street. We spend our time in the street and we play with our friends, we learn like that. It trains the best players. Today, it becomes more and more complicated. There are fewer and fewer creators, number 10. We have industrial players. There is no more Zidane, creators like him.

Very few Iranian players have gone to Europe. When you were in China, did you try to take Croatian talents?
I tried but it's not easy. At the time, China did not pay as much as it does today. Here they want to pay 100 or 200,000 dollars a player, of course it's a nice sum but for the good players they do not come for that money. The good players, they go to China or the Emirates at 30 years.

The first players left Iran to go to Germany: Ali Daei, Mahdavikia, Azizi, Bagheri, etc. They joined the Bundesliga because they had a chance to make money. There was no money here and a lot in Europe. Today there is not so much money in Europe, yes some clubs may very well pay their players but it is a minority, for example someone who earns 400 / 500,000 euros net per year in France, Is a good player. Some clubs pay a lot but few can. In Italy: Juventus, Napoli, Milan, Inter, Roma they can pay, the rest is struggling to line up. Now, there is the rule of three non-EU players that limits the number of foreigners and if they buy players, they want to pay it cheap to resell it expensive. Here in Iran, a good player can win 400. 000 dollars then it is not necessarily interesting for him to leave. In Germany, a player who earns a gross million is 500,000 euros per year. Not very interesting. Some clubs belong to the state (mainly to the provinces) and some clubs are private, but there are few clubs. Everyone is looking for sponsors, everyone is looking for a solution to have more money, it's not easy. The price of oil has fallen lately, it's a bit of a crisis here.

What can you tell us about Sardar Azmoun (which we presented through the eye of the recruiter)?
I have watched him as a national coach and he is now in Rostov in Russia. He is a player with great potential. It can be at the level of Ali Daei. He has to work but he can do it. He is a player who can have a very good career.

In Iran, there are several foreign coaches: Carlos Queiroz, Bart Caubergh (interviewed on footballski, ed.), Etc. Why this trend?
The Iranians are very polite, they love foreigners and respect those who can help their country. I have never had a problem here. In France, you had how many foreign coaches up to Emery or Jardim? Same in Italy or Germany, it is not easy for foreign coaches. There is always friction between local and foreign coaches. But being a stranger also means not being tied to a clan or being there because of our connections and parachuting. So here it can be easier but it also requires good results.

How do you compare fervor and derby here and in Croatia?
Many people in Europe think that here the league is weak and wild. We're a long way off. The league is serious and there are many good players. A Spanish player was in training today but he did not level. Those who think it will be easy for them here are mistaken. The level here is better than in Croatia for example. The derby is impressive, it is the level of Barcelona vs Real. It's one thing to love your club, it's another thing to dedicate your life to the club, thinking about your club for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That's how they're here. Here, it's more important to win the derby than to become a champion. The atmosphere is similar, the big difference is that there is no violence here. People are respectful. Before, you could not go to Zagreb with a Split car, Here there is no problem. People come one night before the game from all over Iran and there is no problem. It's more polite here.

FIFA has just changed the rules for the 2026 World Cup, what do you think?
The majority of clubs and coaches are not happy. The clubs pay the players. If you pay a million player, you want to use it for your club! My personal opinion is that there are too many teams. The optimum is 32 teams. It is not possible today to end up with Malaysia or Thailand at the World Cup. It takes time to be level! When there are too many teams, there is less interest. We want to see stars, they are the ones who create the competition. When there are too many players you do not know, it attracts less. San Marino, is it interesting that in the general public to see San Marino? Everything is business today, they already have a lot of games in the season, but then we add more. This adds to the risk of injury.

Kebab or Cevapci?
Cevapci!

Rakija, or Arak?
Rakija!"

https://footballski.fr/on-a-discute-...epolis-teheran

[FF187]

Loved the two last questions :-D

[irani8perspolis]

Branko said level of Iranian league is above Croatia. I wonder what the PGPL haters will say...

[inarsenewetrust]

Branko said level of Iranian league is above Croatia. I wonder what the PGPL haters will say...

I mean surely you see why he would say that even if its not true lol. But as to the idea itself idk if thats true or not. I dont watch enough in detail of either league (not sure any of us do)

[Nariman]

Fucking tired of this shit. When will we finally get out of our pink bubble and accept the reality??? Winning the league made us completely blind, so much that we refused to focus on our weaknesses and fix them before the ACL starts. Don’t get fooled by the stats in the league - our defense has been very shaky for a long time now and the derby was the perfect final warning! Yet no changes were done, nothing to fix this issue - which is now hunting us badly in Asia and destroying our image even more.

5 goals conceded in 3 matches. Branko saying we are in the Group of Death is nothing but total BS. This is the weakest Al Hilal I have ever seen. Al Wahda is a damn joke, a team that we should easily crush by 3 or 4 goals without conceding. And also Al Rayyan is fully beatable - we actually were the better team, but sucked at finishing and defending.

What makes me furious is not the loss. What makes me furious is that I know exactly that Branko is too stubborn and stupid to make any changes. This was not the first warning. He ignored the other ones and he will ignore this one - until it’s too late. The best we can hope for is that we somehow advance and reach the nonsense ACL break - but even then I bet Branko won’t be able to fix the defense.

I know most of you will attack me for that, but from now on we should really look for another coach to bring in at the end of the season. Don’t get me wrong: Branko is a good coach - for the league - actually the best one of PGL. I appreciate everything he has done and he did a fantastic work to build this team up and get us out of the hole. But the thing with Branko is he brings the team to a certain level, but is unable to reach the next one!! And that’s what we actually need in order to be successful in ACL - reach the next level!

- Branko is too stubborn for that. He refuses to accept any criticism and rather prefers to make no changes than to accept his mistakes! His arrogance and false confidence has even affected the team to the point even our players at times become too "sure" about themselves and lose focus on the field.

- Branko always has a good PLAN A. However once Plan A doesn’t work out, he absolutely has zero skills to come up with a PLAN B! His Plan B at best is only based on luck and individual skills, rather than tactic or strategy. He is one dimensional and too comfortable remaining on one certain level of play, instead of improving and reaching higher standards.

- Branko's player selection and substitution often are one big catastrophe:
I lost count how many times he refused to bring in fresh legs and waited too long until it was too late anyway. Today it took him 85 minutes to do so and I personally never laughed so much at a substitution when he took our Rafie for Ansari. Or when he took out Rezaeian in the derby - while we actually needed 2 goals and Rezaeian is one of the most important key players. There are plently examples of Branko’s horrible substitutions and failed attempts to change the flow of the game. He once even failed against a second division team FFS.

- His decision to reject Jalal Hosseini (FOR NO REASON) probably cost us the championship last year. Instead he trusted Noormohammadi or Babak Hatami, who especially fucked it up against Naft Tehran, the most crucial loss. These days its Rabikhah or Ahmazadeh being useless in defense...and Branko as usual being too blind to see they won’t cut it.

- Ansari or Bengtson are just some valuable players we lost - or promising youngsters like Kamandani or Zahedi.
The winter break, with the expectation of Rafie, was gone to waste. We lost 2 great forces that were part of the skeleton of the team - Alishah & Nourhollahi - due to sarbazi shit. Branko did nothing to work on the defense. We still have no back up for Kamyabinia! Every time he is suspended or injured we will be doomed. Shahab Karimi just doesn’t have the time to prove himself. Why sign NarimanJahan when he is only being used for the last 5 minutes at best...We had to go for a proven DM and CB. We had to quickly find a good solution for our defense in order to not get exposed in ACL like now. Did Branko really believe this shitty defense doesn’t need to be fixed and it will be enough? Yeah enough for the league maybe, but not for the ACL!

- I feel bad for Ramin Rezaeian who has been treated so badly by Branko. First he kept him on the bench, despite Rezaein being in top form and shining with TM against stronger international teams. He actually preferred someone like Rabikhah - he just didn’t want to accept the fact that he was wrong. His interviews about this issue were disgusting - so blind and arrogant, trying to make it look like the team is doing good enough and there is no place for Rezaeien at this moment. This turned out to be shit once Rezaein got few minutes he was assisting and scoring goals - playing so good that Branko had no chance but at least use him as a RW. The whole time RR was quite and didn’t complain - I don’t believe the recent story and I believe Branko was just waiting for another little opportunity...being too harsh on him despite RR saving his ass couple of times. RR is one of the reasons why the gap between Teraktor is so comfortable with us almost having won the league already.

- Right now the only foreign player we have is our 2nd GK. I think as a Club team it’s dumb not to use your foreign spots properly to bring in some quality. Why is Branko not capable of brining in one good foreigner? I still don’t know what the hell happened with those from Ukraine - why the hell did we even sign them?

Overall Branko his one shady character. His arrogance and stubbornness is slowly making me hate him more and more - I don’t give a fuck how many times he is going to win the league. A team like Perspolis needs to set higher standards. And beside all that Branko's heart is not fully with Perspolis anyway - his ultimate goal is to reach TM, by doing his best to attack CQ and weaken his team, hoping for bad results, while Branko fools naive Perspolis fans with some useless League championships.

Again, Branko was the perfect coach to bring us back on track and did a formidable job. However he and the team reached a limit and from now on I do not believe Branko is the man capable of passing this limit to improve (for international success), due to the reasons I explained. It's better for TM & Perspolis to let him go...


___


This defense needs some serious changes FFS:
- Ansari was shining and unexpectedly became the best LB of the league last season, why the hell did we suddenly have to change his position for no reason?

- Ahmadzadeh as LB and Mahini as CB (or once even as DM) are the two biggest jokes of the year. I am staring to wonder if Ahmadzadeh is paying his way up? Or what kind of service he is doing to pleasure Branko... even when Rezaeian totally proved Branko wrong and there was no way for Branko to ignore him anymore - he still was not willing to get Ahmadzadeh out of the starting line up - instead he used him as LB! This is even worse than Aliasgari as RB back then...I am willing to bet Branko would even use Ahmadzadeh as Goalkeeper, anything just to have him on the field for reasons nobody knows.

- That being said. 3 players of TM's defense are Perspolisi - Beiranvand, Rezaeian & Hosseini. Queiroz managed to build up the best defense of Asia with them, which just goes to show that it's Branko's overall system that sucks.


___

We have 3 matches left, 2 of them in Azadi. This is why I believe we will still make it, as our players have the skills to overcome our weakness FOR NOW. This loss will motivate them for a short term and the fans will hopefully fill the stadium. The big gap with Teraktor also makes us concentrate on ACL more, since there is less to worry. I actually don't expect any real reaction from Branko, pretty sure he won't change much - so we can just hope our team has a good day.