This was just so embarrassing (Korea-Iran)

[Shantaram]

I am embarrassed that the coach lacks tactical competence, I would do a better job with TM than this shit. This just showed how weak our group actually is and when SK are in form they will beat our ass easily

[somebuffguy]

This thread is such an overreaction.

If yesterday was such an embarrassment, then we should be expecting mass suicide in Italy today. Perhaps Australia, Mexico and Canada too.

We lost one game in a successful qualification campaign with only half of our A team, and it was played away at a rival's home who hadn't beaten us in over a decade.

Cool. Lets get better, focus on the big picture and move forward.

Get your common sense out of here man. This is a BS only zone

[peiman92]

I am not embarrassed, and I don't think TM should be either. Yes, we didn't play well, and were the worse team on the day.

Aberomon raft. Well Branko also managed to lose 2-0 to South Korea. Maybe they talked before the game? Let's not forget they are hamvatans.

Skocic: "Hi Branko! Do you have any advice on how to not repeat your 2-0 disaster vs Korea in 2005?"

Branko: "Hmm... Well i suggest you do not start with more than 1 left back!"

Skocic: "Oh i see.. Thanks a lot!" Starts 4 left backs vs Korea

[somebuffguy]

better to have a tough game today to reveal our weakpoints than it is to see them for the first time in the first match of the WC. With JB and Taremi and ezzatolahhi, the score would not have been 2-0, so I wouldn't be too embarrassed about the result.

The most important takeway from th is match is that we have 3 or 4 players which are question marks, and one or 2 that should be crossed off the list. Gholami and Hajsafi are those 2 players who should be gone. Gholami, even if he was playing out of position left his man open so many times. The second goal was completely on him. He showed nothing on either end of the field. Hajsafi is outright useless, even as a utility player.

Mohammadi is a one dimensional player. He has speed and can cover alot of ground and even if he leaves a player open, he makes up for it through his speed and recovers. He is a good defender . On attacks, however, he's a black hole. I have never seen this player go up the sideline and at least deliver a decent cross. It seems he has no foot strength.

Gholizadeh should not start, period. He would be effective in the 2nd half playing against a tired defense given his explosiveness. Abedzadeh to me is a question mark. He is small compared to most of the top Goalkeepers of the world. A GK needs to have a presence in goal, and every time I see him, he seems to be one of the smallest players and it is scary to see him on set plays against top teams. Whether Beiro is in shape or not, at least you felt he had control of the aerial game due to his size. And ofcourse the mistake Abedzadeh made against Korea was inexcusable. Either he's too cocky, or he was overpowered. I hope that was his cocky side.

As for our coaching staff, I hope we retire this stupid 4-3-2-1 formation. Sardar Azmoun surrounded with 4 defenders will not give you results especially when you lack a creative playmaking midfielder.

I'd love to see more of Allahyar to be honest. That one-two with Sardar was gorgeous. Too bad it didn't result in a goal but it seemed like they had an intuition for what the other one was doing.

[Omid177]

better to have a tough game today to reveal our weakpoints than it is to see them for the first time in the first match of the WC. With JB and Taremi and ezzatolahhi, the score would not have been 2-0, so I wouldn't be too embarrassed about the result.

The most important takeway from th is match is that we have 3 or 4 players which are question marks, and one or 2 that should be crossed off the list. Gholami and Hajsafi are those 2 players who should be gone. Gholami, even if he was playing out of position left his man open so many times. The second goal was completely on him. He showed nothing on either end of the field. Hajsafi is outright useless, even as a utility player.

Mohammadi is a one dimensional player. He has speed and can cover alot of ground and even if he leaves a player open, he makes up for it through his speed and recovers. He is a good defender . On attacks, however, he's a black hole. I have never seen this player go up the sideline and at least deliver a decent cross. It seems he has no foot strength.

Gholizadeh should not start, period. He would be effective in the 2nd half playing against a tired defense given his explosiveness. Abedzadeh to me is a question mark. He is small compared to most of the top Goalkeepers of the world. A GK needs to have a presence in goal, and every time I see him, he seems to be one of the smallest players and it is scary to see him on set plays against top teams. Whether Beiro is in shape or not, at least you felt he had control of the aerial game due to his size. And ofcourse the mistake Abedzadeh made against Korea was inexcusable. Either he's too cocky, or he was overpowered. I hope that was his cocky side.

As for our coaching staff, I hope we retire this stupid 4-3-2-1 formation. Sardar Azmoun surrounded with 4 defenders will not give you results especially when you lack a creative playmaking midfielder.

THIS!

[Preezy]

It should be a national crime to play Noorafkan in the national team

I warned of his defensive incompetence before and was called a hater by members because Iran won 0-3 vs Iraq.

Members said that instead of being happy with the result, I'm finding reasons to hate. It's a joke to me because I provided evidence to my claims and informed that the point is to prevent potential disasters.

You should always try to improve your team no matter how big of a win you had.

There you go. A disaster occurred vs a stronger opponent with two goals conceded for the very reasons I warned about.

I've had enough of this player, and it's time to get serious about this. My blood boils when I see his defending.

Here is the YouTube link for the two minute highlight of the game vs Korea:

youtube.com/
watch?v=CTnShqfp1Xo



First incident

Watch min 09:39 of the game. The Korean forward makes an accelerating run in to the box. Noorafkan is right next to him and has to mark him.

But look at this monkey. He submissively let's the guy pass him as if he tells him "Oh, sorry sir, my bad, go ahead", and proceeds to allow the guy to run past him.

Keep in mind that this is the beginning of the game. He isn't exhausted.

THIS shows you that he was completely aware of that guys presence because they ran into each other.

BUT LOOK AT HIS FOCUS. He completely stares at Son who's about to cross.

After the cross... HE STILL STARES AT SON, NOT EVEN THE BALL OR HIS MAN. He doesn't even mark his man and gives him yards of space. But how do you CONTINUE staring at Son seconds after the cross has happened?

But even Hosseini was unacceptable at that moment. He even looked back and saw the unmarked Korean defender and he goes into a squat position when the cross occurs as if the ball is the danger instead of understanding that the Korean player in the box is the threat. He has no eyes on the Korean defender either.

My blood boils.



Noorafkan is responsible for both conceded goals

Look at both the goals Iran conceded. Noorafkan had a decisive role in both of them.

When Son scored with a long shot, Noorafkan stops running right before the shot and gives up. He doesn't even attempt to mark his man when he is right next to him. Of course other players are to be blamed as well, but the point is, he consistently makes horrendous decisions.

The second goal, look at Noorafkan's positioning. He doesn't even cover his man. IT WAS HIS MAN TO COVER. He was right next to him. He stares at the ball and allows this player to score freely.



Noorafkan doesn't care about defending

You cannot tell me that you have passion to play for your national team with such performances. I'd refuse to tolerate this if I was the coach.

It's clear that Noorafkan doesn't feel like defending. He doesn't care. He just wants to dribble and create scoring chances. This is a childish mindset.

I would ban him from the national team.

If anyone disagrees then you need to open your eyes and watch the replay before calling me a hater again.

[Ghermez Agha]

Very well said preezy I have said the same about noorafkan as well….his man marking is even worse than Hajsafi. We have tons of film to show for it after Skocic had played him there 3-4 times and still he cannot realize he is a huge liability as an LB. He even struggles against Syria FFS how can anyone expect him to hold his own against SK or any other WC team? It’s crazy…..I was shocked to see more people blaming gholami more than noorafkan.

[Preezy]

Very well said preezy I have said the same about noorafkan as well….his man marking is even worse than Hajsafi. We have tons of film to show for it after Skocic had played him there 3-4 times and still he cannot realize he is a huge liability as an LB. He even struggles against Syria FFS how can anyone expect him to hold his own against SK or any other WC team? It’s crazy…..I was shocked to see more people blaming gholami more than noorafkan.

Speaking of Hajsafi… At the 09:39 incident. Hajsafi was the main witness to Noorafkans defending and behavior.

As the captain, veteran, experienced leader of the team, Hajsafi has to confront Noorafkan here and tell him to get his act right.

But instead of being a true captain, Hajsafi just tolerates this loosbazi and only cares about a goalkick being awarded, since he points to the goalkick spot while looking at the ref.


Thank you for being open minded Ghermez Agha.

My point has nothing to do with ego. It’s not even opinion-based. It is the objective truth which needs to be confronted for the sake of the team.

Millions of Iranians tune in to find joy from watching Iran play. For many, it is one of the only moments of hapiness.

Then Noorafkan has the audacity to perform this way with his nonchalant behavior.

He is a disgrace. Shame on him.

[Ghermez Agha]

Speaking of Hajsafi… At the 09:39 incident. Hajsafi was the main witness to Noorafkans defending and behavior.

As the captain, veteran, experienced leader of the team, Hajsafi has to confront Noorafkan here and tell him to get his act right.

But instead of being a true captain, Hajsafi just tolerates this loosbazi and only cares about a goalkick being awarded, since he points to the goalkick spot while looking at the ref.


Thank you for being open minded Ghermez Agha.

My point has nothing to do with ego. It’s not even opinion-based. It is the objective truth which needs to be confronted for the sake of the team.

Millions of Iranians tune in to find joy from watching Iran play. For many, it is one of the only moments of hapiness.

Then Noorafkan has the audacity to perform this way with his nonchalant behavior.

He is a disgrace. Shame on him.

Agreed again….it pains me to say it but there is no other word to describe Hajsafi’s captain abilities as anything other than disgraceful. He is often the first one running and complaining to the refs instead of gathering his team and getting them to focus on the game. It’s a real shame whenever he wears the armband he is not the least bit deserving of it and has been nothing but disgraceful IMO.

[Preezy]

Agreed again….it pains me to say it but there is no other word to describe Hajsafi’s captain abilities as anything other than disgraceful. He is often the first one running and complaining to the refs instead of gathering his team and getting them to focus on the game. It’s a real shame whenever he wears the armband he is not the least bit deserving of it and has been nothing but disgraceful IMO.

Exactly. Shame on both of them.

Where is the blood, sweat and tears?

Where is the pride?

Ban them.

[taremiscores]

It should be a national crime to play Noorafkan in the national team

I warned of his defensive incompetence before and was called a hater by members because Iran won 0-3 vs Iraq.

Agree. And he starts every game under Skocic. Skocic thinks that by using him in multiple positions (LB, CB, DM) and starting him every game regardless - he can trick us into thinking that he is building someone up. Problem is, Omid is not deserving.

He is just not good and he is over physical because he is compensating by getting beat by his man or doesn't know how to get out of close-quarter encounters (give a clean outlet pass etc.)

[Preezy]

Agree. And he starts every game under Skocic. Skocic thinks that by using him in multiple positions (LB, CB, DM) and starting him every game regardless - he can trick us into thinking that he is building someone up. Problem is, Omid is not deserving.

He is just not good and he is over physical because he is compensating by getting beat by his man or doesn't know how to get out of close-quarter encounters (give a clean outlet pass etc.)

The unacceptable factor is that this isn't club football where you have no depth and have to play with the same players until the transfer window opens.

Skocic could replace every single player at the next international break, but even with these abysmal players and their well-documented performances he keeps calling them up and playing them.

[taremiscores]

The unacceptable factor is that this isn't club football where you have no depth and have to play with the same players until the transfer window opens.
Skocic could replace every single player at the next international break, but even with these abysmal players and their well-documented performances he keeps calling them up and playing them.

Yup.

He also loves slotting in multiple LBs (i.e. Omid Noorafkan, Milad Mohammadi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Jafar Salmai) to play different positions that they are not suited for - they don't play it at the club level. So why would you throw them out there in a position they don't know and are not comfortable with at the national team level? It's just insanity.

[Preezy]

Yup.
He also loves slotting in multiple LBs (i.e. Omid Noorafkan, Milad Mohammadi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Jafar Salmai) to play different positions that they are not suited for - they don't play it at the club level. So why would you throw them out there in a position they don't know and are not comfortable with at the national team level? It's just insanity.

My issue is that he doesn't seem to learn anything from these footages.

He has so much footage to study and use to his benefit but he doesn't seem to be capable.

Everyone wants upcoming friendlies for Iran. However, what's the point of friendlies if you don't take anything with you from the game?

What do we learn with a coach who's incapable?

He repeats the same mistakes without acknowledging them.

Not even Guardiola could guide Noorafkan because that behaviour is individual and on the player himself to a 100%.

However, it is completely Skocic who is responsible for this loss because he had records of Noorafkan's previous games and he still let him play which resulted in this consequence.

To support the Guardiola reference, watch the second goal again. Noorafkan's man is next to him. He is standing still. And still, Noorafkan doesn't cover him. Instead he allows him space to receive the ball. He even distances himself from him to cover the goal line like a goalkeeper instead of marking him. I'm not making this up guys.

I mean, it's not even about being outplayed like how Taremi slithers his way through the defence like a snake and outsmarts them where they lose sight of his positioning. We are talking about Noorafkan standing still with his man unmarked right next to him.

As you can see, I can go on and on about his defending and behaviour all day and night. It's endless. All the things I said on my long post above, and still there is more and more to mention about him as you can see.



Also, a perfect example of what you just said about Skocic playing players out of position and repeating it without learning from it, is Gholami.

He played Gholami in the same way you mentioned and the disaster followed.

[ParthianDE]

Talking about players that should be dropped.

I just rewatched the highlights. Regarding Hajsafi:

Everyone mentioned that he didn't pass to Gholizadeh. But even leading up to that it was poor!

When he got the ball, instead of cutting in with a clear path to the goal, he goes parallel to the goal taking two more touches. There was such a wide opening and he would have been one to one with the goalie!

And then after he messed up his great chance to move into a great shotting position, instead of salvaging the situation (due to his his poor touches and wrong direction) instead of passing to Gholizadeh, he makes his really poorly executed and poorly placed shot against his own momentum from way to far from the goal. I mean the kind of shot he tried could only work when your much closer to goal, because you won't get a lot of power on such a cut back shot against your own momentum. I mean that's basic athletics. You don't even need to be a football player to understand that. What the heck was he thinking? Was he even thinking?