Iran vs. South Korea (Asian derby) | 11.6.2019

[Sly]

despite all his mistakes? seriously??

What mistakes did the guy make? He had 1 bad shot and 1 IMO good and smart shot from outside the 18 box which went wide. Otherwise I think he's very smart with good skills.
Ezzatollahi though.... he had lots of mistakes when he came in.

[inarsenewetrust]

I actually liked Haji Safi-Ebrahimi combo much more than any combination with Ezzatollahi. Much better flow of the game and not the least no stupid fouls.

well obviously not with ezatolahi at this level. He just returned from a 6month lay off and this was his second match.

In general ezatolahi is one of our best players and a certain starter. Its up to somebody else to get the spot next to him.

[Leicester City]

well obviously not with ezatolahi at this level. He just returned from a 6month lay off and this was his second match.

In general ezatolahi is one of our best players and a certain starter. Its up to somebody else to get the spot next to him.

Reza Asadi?

[inarsenewetrust]

Reza Asadi?

Asadi might not be dynamic enough. We will have to see how he develops. Ebrahimi for now is my first choice next to saeid. He has been consistently excellent for us through WC and AC, and in these latest friendlies he was great and wilmots singled him our for praise. He distributes the ball very well and his defensive positioning is spot in. Issue is he is 31 and while I can see him maintaining this level of performance for another couple years, he would likely not be at this level come WC time.

IMO, asadi and mohammad karimi could both develop into potential options. Ofc somebody completely new could pop up. Or hajsafi who will be 33/34 by next wc will just start again. Hard to say. for now tho it is between ebrahimi and hajsafi.

[Bladsville]

Was this picture taken as an apology for what happened @ 30:50?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=T-zUnDv59S4

[Ali Doust]

Asadi might not be dynamic enough. We will have to see how he develops. Ebrahimi for now is my first choice next to saeid. He has been consistently excellent for us through WC and AC, and in these latest friendlies he was great and wilmots singled him our for praise. He distributes the ball very well and his defensive positioning is spot in. Issue is he is 31 and while I can see him maintaining this level of performance for another couple years, he would likely not be at this level come WC time.

IMO, asadi and mohammad karimi could both develop into potential options. Ofc somebody completely new could pop up. Or hajsafi who will be 33/34 by next wc will just start again. Hard to say. for now tho it is between ebrahimi and hajsafi.

You forgot Omid Noorafkan who is still very young and is very versatile. His development is very key for the success of our future. We don't have many players who can play that holding midfield position.

[Under Lahaf]

You're not alone.
He's wildly inconsistent.
His defense has always been quite bad. Very late to intercept or catch attakckers. Offensively he sometimes finds space, but 2 minutes later rushes a play or runs right into traffic.
In short, he's not exceptional in any of the responsibilities he has.
I'd rather Ezatollahi (in-form) and Ebrahimi or a more defensive midfielder sit in those positions.

I say all this, yet ever TM coach from U-17 to the seniors team loves him!

Hajsafi has been at 2 world cups and 2 or 3 Asian cups. He won't get any better than what he is. If other players are injured, then it's time to bring up a player or 2 from U23 and slowly get them to replace him. I just couldn't stand watching his mistakes and trying to shoot from distance as if he is Bagheri.

[Nokhodi]

Hajsafi has been at 2 world cups and 2 or 3 Asian cups. He won't get any better than what he is. If other players are injured, then it's time to bring up a player or 2 from U23 and slowly get them to replace him. I just couldn't stand watching his mistakes and trying to shoot from distance as if he is Bagheri.

I'm with you. I just don't get why every TM coach loves him.

[Ghermez Agha]

I'm with you. I just don't get why every TM coach loves him.

at least CQ though used him as a CM/CDM which was clearly his best position IMO, as a LB he was dreadful.

[Nokhodi]

at least CQ though used him as a CM/CDM which was clearly his best position IMO, as a LB he was dreadful.

Wilmots seemed to be using him as a CM/CDM as well, and he wasn't great.
What I'm saying is, he's mostly average at his best.

[perspolis#1]

at least CQ though used him as a CM/CDM which was clearly his best position IMO, as a LB he was dreadful.

True but CQ also played Hajsafi at LB vs Portugal and Hajsafi couldn't stop the goal that brought our eventual downfall.

Coaches like Hajsafi because hes not a one trick pony and can be played in multiple positions. Coaches love those players. Joshua Kimmich/David Alaba are adored for the same reason.

[OFFSIDE_1]

You're not alone.
He's wildly inconsistent.
His defense has always been quite bad. Very late to intercept or catch attakckers. Offensively he sometimes finds space, but 2 minutes later rushes a play or runs right into traffic.
In short, he's not exceptional in any of the responsibilities he has.
I'd rather Ezatollahi (in-form) and Ebrahimi or a more defensive midfielder sit in those positions.

I say all this, yet ever TM coach from U-17 to the seniors team loves him!

Hajsafi is what you call a utility player. Can play multiple positions, is not the best at any one given role, but can do an acceptable job regardless of what is asked of him. Every team needs a versatile player like him

[NYCTeamMelli]

The dirty Queiroz bashing by IRIB agents, Misaghi and Sianaki was so ugly to hear. They keep bashing TM under Queiroz and defending the so called'' Beautiful football'', unless i was dreaming i watched only 15 to 20 minutes of decent football by TM today. Not targeting Wilmots, because he didn't have enough to implement his work and friendly matches result doesn't matter anyway but it wasn't for Beiranvand result could have been much different!
Terrible game by Rezaeian, Milad was also so so, and Ezzatollahi is not game ready yet. Any way this team will change from now on and is time to find a play maker if the plan is to play attacking football. Hajsafi as CAM is waste of spot!!

btw, i didn't get JB sub, thought he was having a decent game.

I read (source: this site's article on JB's year at Brighton; article was posted earlier today) that Jahanbakhsh had asked to be taken out at half time because he was not feeling well.

[NYCTeamMelli]

A little off topic but I have much love for Korean culture: from their spicy style wings, to kimchi (spicy preferred), to their overall politeness. S. Korean women tend to be tall, attractive with high cheek bones too. Two of my best friends growing up in high school were Koreans, straight from S. Korea: very good guys. So what I'm essentially saying is: you got yourself here a loyal forum friend for life, my Korean friend, nmssis.

[NYCTeamMelli]

I saw this. Our player looks like a stallion, while Son looks like he's wearing a sports bra.

Lol, a very fashionable one at that.