Mehrdad Pouladi

[Arash_Naeni]

What a fantastic World Cup he is having, he has blossomed under Queiroz's reign. He was Queiroz's nr1 before his injury and was truly making the position his until he got that long injury lay-off. There really was question marks over his ability to return to that form again in time for Brazil, he even looked a bit out of shape in the preparation games and if it wasn't for Beikzadeh's injury he would have probably been second choice. I said several times that Pouladi before his injury was playing some fantastic football for TM and the LB position wasn't really an issue when he was playing. And his return to peak form really shows that we might finally have that LB that we have been looking for since i don't even remember. Its been years and years since we have had a half decent LB. We have gone through Sattar Zareh, Badaavi, Madanchi, Zandi, Nikbakht, Nosrati without any luck..

Before the World Cup there was 3 positions we all knew we were going to be not only unresolved on but maybe even worried about, GK, LB & CAM. I knew if Pouladi returned to 100% he would be a clear nr1, and like i mentioned his form in the preparation games were a bit worrying. But he has really been exceptional! His defensive duties are carried out in a top notch matter and you can tell his confidence is extremely high, otherwise he wouldn't attempt and successfully dribble Messi & Higuain in the middle of the pitch beautifully the way he did. :--biggrin

Also, because the emphasis has been so much on defending Pouladi has not had the chance to show his attacking qualities, because he has good speed, good contribution in attack and great crosses in his artillery.

Before the World Cup he was named as one of the most unknown names out of all the players in the World Cup, i doubt he will remain unknown following his performances against Nigeria & Argentina.

Mehrdad is 27 now (far from old thankfully), and will be 31 come Russia 2018. I think that his performances in this World Cup could/should spark some interest from Europe. The question is whether or not he has the right agent/motivation to choose Europe over a move to UAE or Qatar where he will go to waste.

 

[Sly]

He's been fantastic but so have more or less all our players!

He's 27 so he's not that young anymore. Unfortunately he wont be progressing much more in his career! I could understand him if he went for money to UAE or Qatar instead of Europe! Hajsafi though...he doesn't have any excuse!

 

[Arash_Naeni]

He's been fantastic but so has more or less all our players!

He's 27 so he's not that young anymore. Unfortunately he wont be progressing much more in his career! I could understand him if he went for money to UAE or Qatar instead of Europe! Hajsafi though...he doesn't have any excuse!

Hajsafi, if he makes the right decisions in his career to continue his development (he won't improve any more then what he is right now by staying in Iran) can go on to not only be our future captain, but also smash the record for most caps. 64 games already at the age of 24, its all up to him.

He's won and achieved everything that there is to win in Iran, he needs to be hungry for more and go to Europe. Personally, i think Russian League would be a good fit for Hajsafi, wouldn't mind seeing more Iranians in the Russian league.

Ansarifard is another player that needs to leave Iran and move to Europe after Brazil, otherwise add his name to the list of wasted talents..

 

[Bache Tehroon]

While there's no doubt Pouladi has been a great defender in this tournament, I think there's a good bit of exaggeration when it comes to his abilities.

In the compact football that Iran plays, it's almost impossible for defenders not to shine. Even if they concede 2 goals every game, they are bound to clear a good number of balls, win many tackles and look fairly good in the air. That's the nature of compact defensive football. It gives defenders a long lasting spotlight. Pouladi has made the most of it so far.

The guy is 27 and as far as attacking abilities go, he's been an average to above-average IPL player. He's not the kind of left-back that can cover the entire field. Beikzadeh has him beat in that department hands down.

He should go for the most money and milk this streak of performances as much as he can. Iran will probably not make it to 2018 anyway (based on our history).

 

[mashdi]

Arash , get yourself ready for Legionnaires Thread 2014-2015. it's gonna be a busy one. from Swiss to Holland , from England to Russia and perhaps a bit of Germany and Spain as well.

 

[Arash_Naeni]

While there's no doubt Pouladi has been a great defender in this tournament, I think there's a good bit of exaggeration when it comes to his abilities.

In the compact football that Iran plays, it's almost impossible for defenders not to shine. Even if they concede 2 goals every game, they are bound to clear a good number of balls, win many tackles and look fairly good in the air. That's the nature of compact defensive football. It gives defenders a long lasting spotlight. Pouladi has made the most of it so far.

The guy is 27 and as far as attacking abilities go, he's been an average to above-average IPL player. He's not the kind of left-back that can cover the entire field. Beikzadeh has him beat in that department hands down.

He should go for the most money and milk this streak of performances as much as he can. Iran will probably not make it to 2018 anyway (based on our history).

I don't agree, i think there is a clear difference between great collective defending and great individual defending. Montazeri & Pouladi sure, they have both been a part of a great collective defending, but they have individually also done exceptionally well. Mehrdad Pouladi not only kept Musa out of the game against Nigeria but he did well on one vs one situations against Argentina, one of which was his great clean tackle inside the box not allowing Messi to get past. There is a difference between doing your collective job as a defender then achieving match winning clearances. (specially the one in the back post against Nigeria to stop Ameobi from a 100% tap in), we have seen some rather weak defending in this world cup. No matter how good the team defends, a individual mistake can cost the collective team. Individually Pouladi has been fantastic.

And so has Montazeri, he is a very slow defender in terms of pace, yet his decision making and anticipation in his tackles in the 2 games has been on the dot. He has even managed to show himself in the attacking half, like we saw in the second half against Argentina and he nearly provided 2 assists with 2 great crosses.

Anyways, without going in to debating, you should remember to separate individual and tactical performance. I am giving credit to Mehrdad Pouladi's individual performances in this world cup, not the collective defending or the tactical aspect of our defending.

 

[Arash_Naeni]

Arash , get yourself ready for Legionnaires Thread 2014-2015. it's gonna be a busy one. from Swiss to Holland , from England to Russia and perhaps a bit of Germany and Spain as well.

Extremely disappointing to see Las Palmas missing out on La Liga promotion right on the brink by conceding in the 90th minute! I was looking forward to seeing Shojaei back in La Liga, i hope he stays with them anyways.

 

[mashdi]

Extremely disappointing to see Las Palmas missing out on La Liga promotion right on the brink by conceding in the 90th minute! I was looking forward to seeing Shojaei back in La Liga, i hope he stays with them anyways.

Well , as you know Shojaee had a one year contract with Las Palmas and it has expired. i would think that he will be welcomed back by Las Palmas as the club officials have praised him as a key player in their real good season. and Gran Canaria is a beautiful island to live in and play football. and that's a good option.i also think that Shojaee may consider a LaLiga team next season. he seems to have recovered from his injuries well and done very well in TM training camps.

 

[Mehran(ISP)]

Perspolis had the lowest goal scored against them in Iran, and in Asia. I'm not a big reds fan but Pouladi had a great deal to do with it. Iran conceded the least goals during the WC qualification and it's the number one defense in the WC right now. Pouladi saved two goals against Nigeria; one on the line and the other the tackle. I hope he moves to a big club as he's great talent.

 

[biAzar]

Perspolis had the lowest goal scored against them in Iran, and in Asia. I'm not a big reds fan but Pouladi had a great deal to do with it. Iran conceded the least goals during the WC qualification and it's the number one defense in the WC right now. Pouladi saved two goals against Nigeria; one on the line and the other the tackle. I hope he moves to a big club as he's great talent.

You know that Pouladi did not play for perspolise much last season. He has been on recovery mode for a long time.

Regardless, beyond expectation performance by pouladi. Considering his age and injury history, I would find a GOOD European offer unlikely. But you never know.

 

[Zob Ahan]

Montazeri & Pooladi are the 2 that have surprised me the most. Montazeri showed that he can cross the ball too unlike 90% of our domestic players. Funny thing is Khalilian (Sepahan"s mgr) went to Brazil to sign up Pooladi but I think he will have foreign offers.

 

[Babr]

Montazeri & Pooladi are the 2 that have surprised me the most. Montazeri showed that he can cross the ball too unlike 90% of our domestic players. Funny thing is Khalilian (Sepahan"s mgr) went to Brazil to sign up Pooladi but I think he will have foreign offers.

i was very impressed with Montazeri and his great cross abilities . This guy can play i different position . remind me a bit of Yahya . He can play in central and right D and defensive Midfielder even ( played some games in SS in this position)

again as i said wished he and seyed jalal were 25 or 26 . these guys are in their early 30 and moving to europe will be kind of out of question

 

[Sly]

Love this video and song that somebody posted in the other thread:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152516071149920

I'm very proud of these guys who didn't really start to cheer after the game was finished, because of an unexpected result and the fantastic game they played against Argentina! They just acted very professionally going off the field!

In the very last scene, it seems like Pouladi has the biggest "boghz" going into the arms of Davari and this other guy while trying to hide his face between them when he can't stand holding his tears anymore. or is it just my imagination??