We need to accept the realities of our domestic football !

[_Navid_]

Another year of ACL has gone by and our teams fail again to go past the final 16. I personally didn't get surprised with the losses because it has become a yearly pattern we see with some exception every 4 years. Our last championship in this tournament goes back to 24 years ago when it wasn't even professional and usually 8 teams or so participated and a team could win the whole thing with 3 wins.

Yet we have a lot of so called experts here who like to highly overrate our league and call it one of the best leagues in Asia and comparable to some European leagues! To an extent that a player who shines in MLS weekly is placed below the same players who can't even perform Arab teams!

When was the last time we send a player to the top 5 leagues?
When was the last time we went to the Olympics?
When was the last time we won the Asian cup?
How many times have we won Asia's U17 and U20 touranaments?

Our domestic clubs won't get anywhere in Asia until they become completely professional and privatized. Don't let a few good teams that play decent football in the IPL fool you.

CQ's insistence on finding and using foreign based players makes even more sense now...

[Iran_19]

No... we are still best in Asia, fcuk Arabs and their league lol

[Ghermez Agha]

Whenever these things happen we immediately exaggerate. The reason we fail in ACL is for multiple reasons, NOT because our league has weaker teams.

For starters there is very little stability among our clubs. Players and coaches come and go far more often than our competitors. Look at SS khuzestan falling apart already only a week or two after they win the championship. When they go to the ACL and fail next year that's going to be because of this. The same thing happened with Naft a year ago, they were playing great and many of their important players left.

This year our top 3 teams in the league were not in the ACL.....we had one of the worst sepahan teams if not the worst in the last 16 years, a mediocre TS that was inconsistent throughout the entire season, and a very young ZA team that did pretty well. This is due to poor management and it's been said time and time again, don't go blaming the level of the PGL because that's just not realistic.

This whole not having a player in the top 5 league is getting so old, if after watching Azmoun tear it up in Rostov this year and still question whether he can do it you gotta really be out of your mind. Taremi will also likely go this summer, let alone the future prospects in Ezzatollahi, JB, Torabi, etc.

[Nokhodi]

Lets look at it this way.
Who were our ACL tournament reps this year:
Teraktor Sazi (finished 4th in Persian Gulf Pro League)
Naft Tehran (finished 5th in Persian Gulf Pro League)
Zob Ahan (finished 6th in Persian Gulf Pro League)
Sepahan (finished 11th in Persian Gulf Pro League)
I don't think this is a talent issue, but rather it sticks to how our clubs are run. All of the above teams qualified for the tournament becasue they had good teams the season prior, but once the tournament starts their clubs have changed dramatically. Right off the bat, the teams are not prepared for the tournament.
We will always have more talent than the Persian Gulf Arab nations, but we don't utilize it properly. Our players don't really care either. For them these trips are excuses to go shopping in malls and hang around in instagram. Yes, money is good and required in life, but the elite players always want to get better before they make more money. Our coaches transfer all their nervousness to their players and staff. Its little things like this that add up and destroy our club football.
Its not because Abdulrahman can dribble, or Al-Felani has fancy shoes... its because our teams are 5-0 behind before they even get on the pitch as CQ says.
At least thank goodness that someone like CQ can mitigate and resolve alot of these shortcomings in tournament play.
Also, just a minor note - we should all call the league - the Persian Gulf Pro League (PGPL). Its no longer the IPL.

[_Navid_]

This whole not having a player in the top 5 league is getting so old, if after watching Azmoun tear it up in Rostov this year and still question whether he can do it you gotta really be out of your mind. Taremi will also likely go this summer, let alone the future prospects in Ezzatollahi, JB, Torabi, etc.

That didn't answer my question! When was the last time we transferred a player from our league to top 5 league? Don't give me Azmoun as he hasn't played a single minute in IPL.

[04041374]

Neither Tractor Sazi, nor Zob Ahan did what they performed in the group stage. I remember how Naft chocked in last year's QF or Foolad struggled against Al Sadd in 2014, when they dominated the group stage against not weaker teams. This was a shadow of their potential - maybe because of inconsistency or mental issues.

[Iran_19]

The only good thing is if our number of spots remain as it is(3.5) our 4th team(either Esteghlal or Tractor) has a good chance to earn next season CL spot. Specially if it is Esteghlal. Bad thing is Esteghlal Khuzestan will get killed next season in ACL.

[04041374]

The only good thing is if our number of spots remain as it is(3.5) our 4th team(either Esteghlal or Tractor) has a good chance to earn next season CL spot. Specially if it is Esteghlal. Bad thing is Esteghlal Khuzestan will get killed next season in ACL.

Unless Esteghlal keeps Mazloomi

[ehsan singapore]

No... we are still best in Asia, fcuk Arabs and their league lol

if we are the best why we lose to arab teams 2-0 at home?really?

[Iran_19]

if we are the best why we lose to arab teams 2-0 at home?really?

Didn't you get i was joking?

[pdot]

Privatization of IPL requires numerous changes from the government top to bottom. It won't be happening anytime soon so don't hold your breath.

[Nokhodi]

The only good thing is if our number of spots remain as it is(3.5) our 4th team(either Esteghlal or Tractor) has a good chance to earn next season CL spot. Specially if it is Esteghlal. Bad thing is Esteghlal Khuzestan will get killed next season in ACL.

Esteghlal Khuzestan will be a disaster next year. They are just like Foolad Ahvaz from 2005. They won the league, went to ACL (finished last) and then relegated from the league next season. Complete inefficiency and khar too khari.

[webmaster]

I think we deserve less spots in this competition if we want to be honest. We have too many spots that never do anything that has been proven for so many years, but UAE or Qatar do a whole lot with their limited spots while we just pave the way for them year after year.

[persianfire]

I still say IPL is one of the bests in Asia. The problem is that we have no consistent powerhouses. I think we are very similar with Japan in this regard. Needless to say Japan is a powerhouse in Asia but their teams have reached the ACL final only 2 times (2007, 08).

[Ardalan]

Man mipaziram ke lige bartare ma zaife, amma fekr nemikonam ke raftan be lige arab be bazikonhaaye ma komak mikone baraye pishraft va raftan be Europa.

Bebinid PAG che jori oft karde.