Many analysts at national and international levels are talking about our Team Melli newly found/established character. For many of us this is nothing new of course yet I think it now has newly found dimensions and has gained international credibility/praise. I have attached a very interesting round-table below where Hashemi-Moghadam makes amazing predictions and talks about the character of the team. He was in the stadium during the friendly agains Algeria and he says that in the first five minutes Iran fended off incredible pressure by the Algerians and then within ten minutes we scored twice. I am interested to know your thoughts. Here are mine:
1- The character of TM is not just 'park the bus'. It varies in how TM defends and how quickly it moves the ball to score. Even though the game plan had the same character for each one of our WC games, it had interesting variations. For example, TM defended with six players in front of Spain in the first half yet it continued to look for ways to score. Of course those efforts intensified after the accidental goal by Diego Costa yet we did not concede even when we were applying pressure. Against Morocco or Portugal, the character was the same but our attempts to find a way to goal were more numerous and started earlier. Most important point: CQ is always looking for a way to win. He never sends the guys out there telling them that our goal is to tie.
2- There is an element of creating frustration on the other side that could create panic for us when we watch the game yet it is actually part of the plan (to a great extent). It sounds like the direction from QC is: Let them attack in the first 15 minutes and let them think that they have the upper hand yet do everything to stop them from scoring. This way we give them false hope and then disappointment and frustration will start to settle on their side and that's when we look to shock them. We only need one good opportunity to score and that's generally enough. Of course this has happened many times in the past yet now it is a working rather well-oiled machine. In our first real chance against Morocco after 20 minutes of panic on my part in the stands
, if Sardar had not tripped (he kind of recovered and almost scored) or JB's shot was more balanced (he almost scored too if it wasn't for the amazing save from the Moroccan keeper) we would have been up 1-0. Same with the game against Portugal with Sardar's great pass into the box and JB's great run we would have scored if JB had started his run a second or two earlier OR Karim's side-netting a great shot. Key point: creating frustration on the opponent's side is a crucial element of our game plan.
3- Not every team can do what TM does every game with near perfection. It's an art and it has its interesting variations. We could only get better with faster midfielders, quick ball movement and more versatile wingers and strikers so that we could gain from our counter attacks. Look what Belgium did when they relied on counter-attacking against Japan and Brazil and even England in the third place game. Of course we don't have the same level of talent but with more European signings and actual play-time we could get close. Key point: perfecting the system is difficult, it takes time and requires the right talent.
4- This is where preparation will make a big difference. Games against Tunisia and Algeria where absolutely critical to our win against Morocco (watch the first ten minutes of the clip below and note Hashemi-Moghadam's remarks}). What would have been if we had the friendly game against Greece? I think it would have been significant considering how close we came to winning the group. Key point and lesson learned: we need credible friendlies and great camps to prepare for AC 2019 to further develop our system and win it all.
GO TM!
1- The character of TM is not just 'park the bus'. It varies in how TM defends and how quickly it moves the ball to score. Even though the game plan had the same character for each one of our WC games, it had interesting variations. For example, TM defended with six players in front of Spain in the first half yet it continued to look for ways to score. Of course those efforts intensified after the accidental goal by Diego Costa yet we did not concede even when we were applying pressure. Against Morocco or Portugal, the character was the same but our attempts to find a way to goal were more numerous and started earlier. Most important point: CQ is always looking for a way to win. He never sends the guys out there telling them that our goal is to tie.
2- There is an element of creating frustration on the other side that could create panic for us when we watch the game yet it is actually part of the plan (to a great extent). It sounds like the direction from QC is: Let them attack in the first 15 minutes and let them think that they have the upper hand yet do everything to stop them from scoring. This way we give them false hope and then disappointment and frustration will start to settle on their side and that's when we look to shock them. We only need one good opportunity to score and that's generally enough. Of course this has happened many times in the past yet now it is a working rather well-oiled machine. In our first real chance against Morocco after 20 minutes of panic on my part in the stands
, if Sardar had not tripped (he kind of recovered and almost scored) or JB's shot was more balanced (he almost scored too if it wasn't for the amazing save from the Moroccan keeper) we would have been up 1-0. Same with the game against Portugal with Sardar's great pass into the box and JB's great run we would have scored if JB had started his run a second or two earlier OR Karim's side-netting a great shot. Key point: creating frustration on the opponent's side is a crucial element of our game plan.3- Not every team can do what TM does every game with near perfection. It's an art and it has its interesting variations. We could only get better with faster midfielders, quick ball movement and more versatile wingers and strikers so that we could gain from our counter attacks. Look what Belgium did when they relied on counter-attacking against Japan and Brazil and even England in the third place game. Of course we don't have the same level of talent but with more European signings and actual play-time we could get close. Key point: perfecting the system is difficult, it takes time and requires the right talent.
4- This is where preparation will make a big difference. Games against Tunisia and Algeria where absolutely critical to our win against Morocco (watch the first ten minutes of the clip below and note Hashemi-Moghadam's remarks}). What would have been if we had the friendly game against Greece? I think it would have been significant considering how close we came to winning the group. Key point and lesson learned: we need credible friendlies and great camps to prepare for AC 2019 to further develop our system and win it all.
GO TM!
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