Gholami is not nothing special.
Arash Afshin is a rough diamond.
Speed,, good first touch, 2 footed, good size, good shots (lacks accuracy).
Needs experience and improve his decision making as he is still very much an IPL style player.
I doubt he will get any playing time in AC but hopefully, he will have an important role for the Omid team in 2011.
Arash Afshin is a rough diamond.
Speed,, good first touch, 2 footed, good size, good shots (lacks accuracy).
Needs experience and improve his decision making as he is still very much an IPL style player.
I doubt he will get any playing time in AC but hopefully, he will have an important role for the Omid team in 2011.
Gholami reminds me of Khalili in some ways (although he's shown better form in TM). Both spent most of their careers as decent/average strikers, then had one great season around 27-28. They jury is still out on whether he'll still be a major player a year from now.
The future of our attack, at least for the 2014 WCQ, are Ansarifard and quite possibly Afshin.
The future of our attack, at least for the 2014 WCQ, are Ansarifard and quite possibly Afshin.
In any case, once the QF rolls around, if we are to have any hopes of winning this cup- and I'm not very optimistic -we're going to have to put 9 men behind the ball, count on Rahmati having the tournament of his life, look to strike on counters and set pieces, and exploit Ansarifard's ability to create goals out of nothing (see his second against S.Korea in the Asian Games or his first against N.Korea yesterday).
Otherwise, we have too few ideas upfront and too many lapses in the back to get passed South Korea, Japan and Australia. Especially against the first two, if we try to play a wide open game, they'll rip our defense to shreds.
Otherwise, we have too few ideas upfront and too many lapses in the back to get passed South Korea, Japan and Australia. Especially against the first two, if we try to play a wide open game, they'll rip our defense to shreds.
Another young talent that made the Asian Cup team (I think we'll see him for sure vs. UAE, and hopefully shows success and couple of goals). Beautiful pass by Ansarifard in the first goal. Seems to be another cool finisher.
[video=youtube;BUZFttDucck]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUZFttDucck[/video]
[video=youtube;BUZFttDucck]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUZFttDucck[/video]
^ Arash Afshin this year scored 4 goals in one IPL match, as well. Well, we also have Kaveh Rezai - who is even touted to be better than these two - and Payam Sadeghian, who is an Ali Karimi type of player (hopefully with less attitude 
)
[video=youtube;BzCNaiLDDnY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzCNaiLDDnY[/video]
[video=youtube;B_UYjg3G5fw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_UYjg3G5fw[/video]
)[video=youtube;BzCNaiLDDnY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzCNaiLDDnY[/video]
[video=youtube;B_UYjg3G5fw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_UYjg3G5fw[/video]
Overall, i think there is talent out there. Talent enough to compete at the Asian level. I saw the u16 in the WC last year and i was impressed. Our current players are mostly around the 27/28 age mark which will give our youngsters a few years to mature before they pick up the mantle.
My main worry is the management of the team. you can have great players but if you have a crap manager all that talent will go down the tube. However a good manager can turn mediocre players into a good unit. So lets get a good manager after Ghotbi and give him a few years to mould a good team - well its my wish
My main worry is the management of the team. you can have great players but if you have a crap manager all that talent will go down the tube. However a good manager can turn mediocre players into a good unit. So lets get a good manager after Ghotbi and give him a few years to mould a good team - well its my wish
Whilst, our players won't be too old for the WCQ as they run through from this year until 2013, so effectively the same squad will be used, with some tweaks. People also argue that the best age for a tournament team is 28-29. However, this is Iran, not Italy or somewhere like that, were experience off-sets other frailties.
Will be interesting to see if someone like Afshin is given a chance against the UAE.
Ghotbi has said that changes will be made for that game.
Will be interesting to see if someone like Afshin is given a chance against the UAE.
Ghotbi has said that changes will be made for that game.
Afshin looked like has potential. Reminds me a lot of Matt Derbyshire, who most of you would not know. He was a young player at Blackburn, who moved on to Olympiakos, and Birmingham. As much as he ran, and hassled defenders and had decent pace, and quick to shoot, you always felt he wasnt a natural goal scorer. I havent seen much of Afshin, but his technique in shooting does tell me that about him.
Its integral he gets the right coaching and development right now. He isnt a teenager.
I think we should appeal his red card, which was a joke.
All in all, some of the fringe players proved that they can step in, unlike previous years.
Mahdi and I were discussing things during the game and whilst this may not be Iran's best team, the quality difference in the sqaud (between the players) is at the level that practically any one player can replace another without weakening us except possibly in goal as Rahmati is a class away from the others.
I'm impressed with how Ghotbi has created a squad harmony and am looking forward to Korea. Unfortunately everytime we look forward to something with TM, they let us down.
Hadadifar deserves a mention.
Most of all though, Mohammad Nouri, who MUST start the next game next to Ando and Nekounam.
Its integral he gets the right coaching and development right now. He isnt a teenager.
I think we should appeal his red card, which was a joke.
All in all, some of the fringe players proved that they can step in, unlike previous years.
Mahdi and I were discussing things during the game and whilst this may not be Iran's best team, the quality difference in the sqaud (between the players) is at the level that practically any one player can replace another without weakening us except possibly in goal as Rahmati is a class away from the others.
I'm impressed with how Ghotbi has created a squad harmony and am looking forward to Korea. Unfortunately everytime we look forward to something with TM, they let us down.
Hadadifar deserves a mention.
Most of all though, Mohammad Nouri, who MUST start the next game next to Ando and Nekounam.
As I said earlier in this tread,
a closer look at Irans football will show you that we have much more depth and are more even all over the park rather than having a couple of guys who can play in Bayern and a couple who cant play in Bundesliga 2.
Afshin is rough diamond but still, in good IPL manner, mixes great 2 foot dribbles with simple technical mistakes.
This is when individual coaching plays an important role but iPL teams do not work in that way, having tailor made training programs for each player.
Central defence is still an issue and one of the main reason Iran played good against UAE was that Aghily was not there to hand over possession to the opposition.
There are still some fine players left behind, Kaabis speed is missed. Zanidpour is probably the most dynamic player in the league.
But I am happy that Hadadifar has finally being discovered, next to Jabbari, the best passer iv e seen in Iran in the last 10 years.
I would rather see Hadadifar next to Nekou and Ando instead of M.Nouri.
a closer look at Irans football will show you that we have much more depth and are more even all over the park rather than having a couple of guys who can play in Bayern and a couple who cant play in Bundesliga 2.
Afshin is rough diamond but still, in good IPL manner, mixes great 2 foot dribbles with simple technical mistakes.
This is when individual coaching plays an important role but iPL teams do not work in that way, having tailor made training programs for each player.
Central defence is still an issue and one of the main reason Iran played good against UAE was that Aghily was not there to hand over possession to the opposition.
There are still some fine players left behind, Kaabis speed is missed. Zanidpour is probably the most dynamic player in the league.
But I am happy that Hadadifar has finally being discovered, next to Jabbari, the best passer iv e seen in Iran in the last 10 years.
I would rather see Hadadifar next to Nekou and Ando instead of M.Nouri.
Afshin actually reminded me of Ali Mousavi. Lanky runner with long uneven strides, with deceptive speed and somewhat clumsy in his shooting and passing. He really has to rein in his impulsive style of play and become a more controlled physical threat. I'd like to see him take advantage of his height and improve his shooting. He certainly appears to be a good mordekhor but I do hope he fares better than Mousavi. However, if he can put it all together, I think he has more upside than Ansarifard actually.