TM-News- Vol. 4

[Bagg10]

Amiri is like a ferrari. You just wait till the tournament starts

We're two games into the tournament, he still hasn't showed up.

[BacheLot]

Son Heung-min is back with the Korean Squad from now on as well. Will be interesting to see how much better they are with him on the field. He is having a hell of a good season.

they are playing pretty pretty decent football and just lacking a cutting edge and a good finisher..!!
could well be exactly what the doc ordered for Sk if he can translate his current club form for the national team..!?

[Bagg10]

I think Hajsafi and Cheshmi could work too, that way we would have one who's good at ball distributing and one more physical defensive player.

I would only start Cheshmi if we need height against a particular team. I think we miss Ezatollahi's height, especially on opposition goalkicks and both defensive and offensive set pieces. However, I prefer to have Hajsafi-Ebrahimi-Dejagah because they're better at keeping possession and distributing the ball.

[persiangodfather]

cheshmi will play vs iraq
we need a soldier for that game

[scuderia]

cheshmi will play vs iraq
we need a soldier for that game

Cheshmi scares me, I've only ever seen him play one good game (vs Morocco). Every other game he's been a significant liability and has even cost us some goals!

[Bagg10]

Cheshmi scares me, I've only ever seen him play one good game (vs Morocco). Every other game he's been a significant liability and has even cost us some goals!

The Turkey game comes to mind.

[persiangodfather]

Cheshmi scares me, I've only ever seen him play one good game (vs Morocco). Every other game he's been a significant liability and has even cost us some goals!

Cheshmi will be there to protect the boys

[scuderia]

The Turkey game comes to mind.

Exactly!

[Ghermez Agha]

Ravshan Iramtov of Uzbekistan has been assigned as the ref for Iran-Iraq match. http://ffiri.ir/fa/news/463/%D8%A7%D...B1%D8%A7%D9%82

music to my ears, fantastic news. he's one of the very few, maybe the only AFC ref I will never have to worry about.

[Tehranto]

Wonder what lineup CQ will use vs. Iraq.

Feel for sure Milad Mohammad will start.

[Tehranto]

Excellent Analysis
via https://twitter.com/metricastats

Tonight we have a special case for you. We want to talk about the Winners and Losers of Team Melli's new style of play.

Loser #1: Central Defenders
This should be pretty obvious. Up until this tournament, CB's were the most helped players in CQ's game plan. For most, they had to cover the spaces and fight in aerial duels.



Now, in most counter attacks, many Iranian players are already outplayed, and our central defenders have less numerical advantage, and they have to cover more empty space. This is not a good news for them, and has forced CQ to already use 4 different central defenders. Majid Hoseini had a bad first half against Yemen, and he was subbed early. Morteza and Pejman were fine in that game. Against Vietnam, Morteza looked confused and made some mistakes. Kanaani covered him and had a good game in general. And we have Rouzbeh too. This is probably CQ's hardest decision to make, as it's hard to determine which couple can get the job done. But, don't forget that against tougher teams, we will probably put some balance in our game and risk less. This can help our CB's in those games at least.

Loser #2: Ehsan HajSafi

Not only we are playing very high on the field, but we also give a lot of freedom to our right full backs. This has made life hard for Ehsan. He is forced to engage in more duels, and even run more in width of the field.



He has looked a little shaky and out of form. And at least defensively, part of it is because he is under more pressure. But, he hasn't been able to be effective in our attacks too. Makes more displaced passes than others, and his crosses are not finding the right player. What's the solution? Well maybe he grows better into our game as the tournament goes further. But since he has a card now, we will probably see Milad Mohamadi instead of him sooner or later. Will that become permanent? Only CQ knows that.

Loser #3: Vahid Amiri
Vahid has been Iran's engine in the last few years. He presses the ball so intensely, engage in so many duels, and never gives up the ball in our attacks. And don't get us wrong here. He is still very important in Iran's high pressing.



But, it seems that Vahid is a little uncomfortable in our attacks. He has struggled to find himself in our new rhythm, and makes more wrong choices than other players. He plays in a role called shuttler, and he was perfect for counter attacks and fast transitions. Since he is still crucial in our high pressing, it's very unlikely that he loses his place in the line-up. We can just hope that he grows into our play as we move forward. And don't forget, not everybody needs to become a star. Vahid's of this world always get the job done.

Winner #1: Ashkan Dejagah

Yeah it's him, man of the hour, and star of the show. Dejagah learned football in Europe, and we always felt there is more into him and we have never seen that level in Team Melli. Now, time has come for his reign to begin.



With having the ball 70% of the time, Dejagah is finally able to show his technical skills and plays with the ball like a god. He has bossed the midfield in both games and you kinda feel he never takes a wrong step. Ashkan also takes most of our set pieces, and he is a true weapon in unlocking the hard doors. But he is 33, and there are questions about his fitness levels. If he can keep this form till the end, then the only limit for Iran will be the stars.

Winner #2: Sardar Azmoun

Sardar has literally risen from the ashes. After heavy criticisms of world cup and a surprise retirement, he is back with 3 goals to prove his worth. But are we totally fair to him when we criticise his performances? Well not that much



In the world cup, team melli played so deep, and this almost always put Sardar in far distance from his team mates. It is true that he made many mistakes and lost a lot of possessions. But you can't solely blame him for that. Our style would always isolate him anyway. Look what's happening now. With team melli playing high up the field, and team mates being all over the place, Sardar is showing his true class and quality. He is always present in the combination plays and one-twos, and helping us creating chances after chances. His second goal against Vietnam is a testimony to what he is capable of doing. Two world class touches, and a neat finish with his weaker foot. Every winning team needs a star striker, and we can believe that we have it in us with Sardar Azmoun, and there is more to come

Winner #3: Saman Ghoddos

Getting the best out of Saman has been a headache for CQ since he joined Team Melli. We all know he is a player for Europe's top 5 leagues, and you can't ignore him in your squad. You should even think about building around him.



But he didn't train long enough with Iran to start in the world cup. CQ couldn't trust him in the line-up, and it was sensible. Pressing is the essence of Team Melli nowadays, and a starting player must be totally comfortable with the ideas and their execution. Saman needed more time to adapt, and maybe a better environment. The better environment is our new style of play, which just like Ashkan, allows Saman to show all his technical skills and tricks. It's one thing to put a player on the pitch, and to get the best out of him. Against Yemen, Saman was comfortable enough in the team even as a sub. This probably gave CQ a guarantee that Saman is ready to start. Against Vietnam, he unlocked the defense with his maneuvers, and created our first goal.
Brace yourselves folks, Saman is ready. This is it. We hope you enjoyed our special case. Let us also remind that players like Ebrahimi and Taremi have kept their qualities, and their performances are almost identical in both styles.

And we think this style will also help Jahanbakhsh too. Unlucky him.

[DR Strangemoosh]

Great article.

I actually thought Dejagah should retire over a year ago and CQ should let another player in, but the guy just has flat-out pedigree and he pushes himself to the max. I'm hoping he can be rotated out in the second round game so that he can come back in for the quarter final fresh.

[sarbaz]

Tehranto

Why using the term "looser" for our TM players man ????
I don't understand that.

I know what you are referring to is the new implanted system of the team but the word
looser that you wrote I don't agree with.

This is the National team we are talking about , they are all important pieces of our football team
and as far as i am concerned , are all winners.

[Tehranto]

Tehranto
Why using the term "looser" for our TM players man ????
I don't understand that.
I know what you are referring to is the new implanted system of the team but the word
looser that you wrote I don't agree with.
This is the National team we are talking about , they are all important pieces of our football team
and as far as i am concerned , are all winners.

I didn't use the term. I quoted the source, and he is using "Loser" in the sense that they are losing in this particular CQ system (i.e. not fulfilling their full potential). Every system has benefactors and those who suffer, this is no different.

It is not derogatory man, read the article. Don't throw accusations without reading it and looking at who wrote it. Clearly you didn't read it because you think I wrote it! Source is right at the top, first thing you see.

[TM4LIFE]

Great article Tehranto, really highlighted why certain players are looking in hot form right now and why some look a bit lackluster. Looking very much forward to AJ getting some playing time too, as like was mentioned he’ll be able to showcase a lot