Analysis: Why We Must Have Masoud Shojaei in our Lineup

[Iranianarsenal11]

-One of the more underlying players that will surely help our chances of making it to the round of 16 is Masoud Shojaei.

-Masoud is the only remaining player with years of experience in La Liga.

-Masoud continues to display brilliance in dribbling and footballing IQ

- Masoud has been excellent in the following year with Panionios

-Masoud has been critical in big Team Melli matches.


Example: Iran-Argentina in 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6SMIUao0G4

Watch Masoud pass 3-4 Argentinian defenders with ease. (:14 second mark)


All in all, we can still advance this group, but our chances are much higher with Masoud by our side.

[shahabGAOL]

In WC 2014 he did not do anythink for Iran, we saw how bad he play against Bosnia but maybe I am wrong...

[Adesor Vafaseya]

vay vay alan Doctor Doom miyaad be khedmatet mireseh, zud in threado paak kon....!

[KeonKish]

In WC 2014 he did not do anythink for Iran, we saw how bad he play against Bosnia but maybe I am wrong...

can you literally watch the video he posted

He opened up a lot of space for us against argentina.

who do we currently have that can casually waltz through 4 argentinian players at jogging speed?

[ali alipour]

Some of you have been really exaggerating Shojaei's importance ever since he's been excluded. When both him and dejagah were available he rarely was given the start by Queiroz in the qualifiers so realistically with Ghoddos in the mix too it's really unlikely he would start a game even if he made the squad.

[KasraKhan]

Masoud's quality and IQ is higher than most TM players. We really need him. But I am not optimistic he'll make the squad, especially considering CQ hasn't invited him for several months now.

[Ghermez Agha]

We need Masoud now more than ever I was waiting to see what our group looked like but with this draw, he’s needed very badly. He is the only one who has not just played against players of this stature for years but had success against them too. I really really hope this political BS isn’t true and CQ can actually invite him.

[teammelli91]

I agree, Masoud needs to be in the final roster.

And not because he deserves it or because he’s better than the person next to him. It’s because of his years of experience and his technique.

On his good day (feeling more comfort as he did vs Argentina in 2014) Masoud can be a threat. On his bad days, he is pretty bad.

[Martin-Reza]

I agree, he is a fine player and his Spanish experience is useful.

[maniei]

Everybody chill and dont buy that bs with it being political.
He is going to be back in the next list, and for sure he is going to be at the wc.

Only in the last editions it was really important to give Ghoddos and Dejagah playing time, so that he would have been redundant anyway. Plus there was this extra benefit that the political turmoil could cool off, when he laid low.

[DR Strangemoosh]

In WC14 i was telling fans in the stadia to calm down because they were going crazy on Masoud. He wasn't running and doing defensive duties for all three games, but it was particularly obvious against Argentina because the other 9 outfield players were running their heart out. He looked like he was just strolling the whole time. His off-the-ball play and positioning were also really poor, I think it is much more obvious when you see it in the stadium than on TV/highlight reels. There were guys who were really swearing loud at him for all three games, it was actually quite uncomfortable.

Having said that, I do think he needs to go to Russia as we don't really have anyone in his specific position, he knows Spanish football, he is a good guy and helps with the team bonding and he has experience at the highest level, and it sends a message to not fuck with iranian footballers to the politicians. But I think he should only start one match if he does go, e.g. against Spain.