No more Nekounam in TM?

[maziar95]

I remember reading a article a few months saying Nekounam will retire from TM after the Asian Cup so I hope its true because he will be too old for the next World Cup so its better to add a younger player now than later. Its a shame though, Nekounam has been one of the best and it would of been a perfect way to end his career if we had won the AC.

 

[Sly]

Totally agree with everything you said! He deserves to finish his time in TM in style and I think the game against Sweden is the perfect opportunity! He will finally break Daei's record and he will say goodbye in style! There can't be a more perfect time/game to quit!

That being said, he's the last guy remaining from our golden times with so many talents! I personally will miss not seeing him in TM for a very long time! He's been one of my most favorite players ever!

 

[Babr]

People can say whatever they want about this guy , he sure slowed down but he is true leader of this team and like second coach in field . Players all respect him and to be honest he was Ok in this tournament ,IMO he was even better than WC mainly because he play in a better league now .Hope he retire with class and on right time unless Daei ..
With his 37 goals he stand as 3rd all time best scorer of TM .That is very impressive for defensive midfielder !

 

[Bache Tehroon]

Never found myself impressed by him, though he did score some crucial goals.

Hope he retires in the Sweden game, but I highly doubt it.

 

[Bijans]

Never found myself impressed by him, though he did score some crucial goals.

Hope he retires in the Sweden game, but I highly doubt it.

Wow.. that is really something BT!!! Like Sly said he has been a GREAT player, as a Defensive midfielder your presence on the pitch is not noticed. He is a very smart player and works hard and he has been the backbone of our team for some time now.. (just look at Esteghlal once he left), that's how great he is...

I will miss him.....

 

[OSTAD POOYA]

IMHO he is one of the most consistent and dependable players that Iran has ever had. If I was to choose one or two players who gave it a %100 percent every game it would be him and Ando even though Ando has a bigger fighting spirit in terms of taking risks. Nekounam has scored many crucial goals for Iran specially against Korea and has been a true leader than you can depend on every game and gives it a %100. Its all about consistency and he has brought that to the team day on and day off. I hope he can continue to be a part of Iranian football and pass his knowledge to the younger kids. He is well respected and the likes of Azmoun speak very very highly of him which tells you of his great character.

 

[Zob Ahan]

Never found myself impressed by him, though he did score some crucial goals.

Hope he retires in the Sweden game, but I highly doubt it.

Even at his prime he was never close to Karim Bagheri. Now he is too slow and hardly ever calls for the ball as a leader does. That said there aren't that many good holding midfielders in Iran anyway.

 

[Sly]

^^Bagheri is my very most favorite player ever but you have to admit..... as Ostad Pooya says here above, there hasn't been any player as consistent as Nekounam has been! In that category I rate him even higher than Mahdavikia.

It's not easy to perform regularly well in La Liga for more than 6 years, playing 90 minutes in every game and besides getting to wear captain's armband as an Iranian! When it comes to consistency, he's the kind of a player we lack and badly need in Iran!

 

[Real Madrid]

[video=youtube;0L1V3u7962A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1V3u7962A[/video]

 

[Bache Tehroon]

Wow.. that is really something BT!!! Like Sly said he has been a GREAT player, as a Defensive midfielder your presence on the pitch is not noticed. He is a very smart player and works hard and he has been the backbone of our team for some time now.. (just look at Esteghlal once he left), that's how great he is...

I will miss him.....

Azizjan if there's one person on this forum that actually pays attention and respect to the invisible Defensive Midfielder role, it's me!

I've watched Nekounam since a very early age and consistently found him overrated compared to players like Bagheri, Estili, Teymourian, Fonoonizadeh and even Hossein Abdi. His work-rate for a defensive midfielder has always been below average, and his involvement in physical battles has almost been non-existent. He has some good vision and excellent heading abilities, otherwise, he's a very average box-to-box player who has gone through a major decline in the past 2 years.

In recent times he's been the weakest link of Team Melli and a major reason why the defensive style had to be imposed on this already talent-lacking team.

 

[Zob Ahan]

Azizjan if there's one person on this forum that actually pays attention and respect to the invisible Defensive Midfielder role, it's me!

I've watched Nekounam since a very early age and consistently found him overrated compared to players like Bagheri, Estili, Teymourian, Fonoonizadeh and even Hossein Abdi. His work-rate for a defensive midfielder has always been below average, and his involvement in physical battles has almost been non-existent. He has some good vision and excellent heading abilities, otherwise, he's a very average box-to-box player who has gone through a major decline in the past 2 years.

In recent times he's been the weakest link of Team Melli and a major reason why the defensive style had to be imposed on this already talent-lacking team.

Very well said.

 

[Babr]

Azizjan if there's one person on this forum that actually pays attention and respect to the invisible Defensive Midfielder role, it's me!

I've watched Nekounam since a very early age and consistently found him overrated compared to players like Bagheri, Estili, Teymourian, Fonoonizadeh and even Hossein Abdi. His work-rate for a defensive midfielder has always been below average, and his involvement in physical battles has almost been non-existent. He has some good vision and excellent heading abilities, otherwise, he's a very average box-to-box player who has gone through a major decline in the past 2 years.

In recent times he's been the weakest link of Team Melli and a major reason why the defensive style had to be imposed on this already talent-lacking team.

Now that is so harsh dude !Didn't expect it from some1 like you .

Don't you think there should be reason why any TM manager from Blazevic to Branko to GN to Ghotbi to Daei to CQ played this guy 90 minutes in all games . On top of playing for so many years in europe and back again this year and playing almost 90 minutes at age of 34 for his club !

In today football you don't need to have Fonounizadeh type of body in order to play defensive midfielder position dude . He plays it smart . He lost some mobility but that is normal he is no more 20 . The most smart part of his game is he always plays close to central defender during defense and push it forward when is needed . He always been a good bridge between defense and offense .
I some time criticized him as i believe when we need goal having both him and ando on field is not a very good idea and he should be replaced but comparing him to guys like Abdi even fononizadeh who had couple of good games for TM is harsh dude .

 

[Bache Tehroon]

Now that is so harsh dude !Didn't expect it from some1 like you .

Don't you think there should be reason why any TM manager from Blazevic to Branko to GN to Ghotbi to Daei to CQ played this guy 90 minutes in all games . On top of playing for so many years in europe and back again this year and playing almost 90 minutes at age of 34 for his club !

In today football you don't need to have Fonounizadeh type of body in order to play defensive midfielder position dude . He plays it smart . He lost some mobility but that is normal he is no more 20 . The most smart part of his game is he always plays close to central defender during defense and push it forward when is needed . He always been a good bridge between defense and offense .
I some time criticized him as i believe when we need goal having both him and ando on field is not a very good idea and he should be replaced but comparing him to guys like Abdi even fononizadeh who had couple of good games for TM is harsh dude .

I never said he was not the right choice for Team Melli or his club. I said he's been highly overrated and I stand by it.

His positioning used to be quite good for a while which allowed him to join the attacks on rebounds quite often. He has lost that too it seems.

I agree that he enjoys a higher IQ than the average Iranian player which made him a good fit after Bagheri, Mansourian and Estili. While he was in Team Melli, we never really tried anyone else in his position other than Ando (who has been absolutely outstanding compared to Nekounam while theoretically having the same job).

Overall he's been a big contributor to Team Melli's frustratingly slow and futile transitions from defense to attack. The guy is completely useless in counter-attacking football, which is what we play these days.

 

[Sly]

^^Soroush jan, I really disagree with you! Nekounam's game has surely declined recently but overrated compared to Teymourian, Estili and the rest you mentioned? You're being quite unfair now! I wouldn't even put them in the same category. There is a reason why Nekounam was interesting for European clubs and the rest you mentioned beside Teymourian weren't. The reason why no other midfielder was tried in TM was because Nekounam was a complete given in that position.

You must have forgotten his work rate as a defensive midfielder. When Iran won against S. Korea in AC 2004, here I repeat again what the Korean football experts said about the game: Mahdavikia and Karimi scored the goals but if we had Nekounam in our team, we would have won the game!

Beside Bagheri, I wouldn't put any other defensive midfielder even close to Nekounam. Teymourian is the closest one.

 

[aliG]

azizjan if there's one person on this forum that actually pays attention and respect to the invisible defensive midfielder role, it's me!

I've watched nekounam since a very early age and consistently found him overrated compared to players like bagheri, estili, teymourian, fonoonizadeh and even hossein abdi. His work-rate for a defensive midfielder has always been below average, and his involvement in physical battles has almost been non-existent. He has some good vision and excellent heading abilities, otherwise, he's a very average box-to-box player who has gone through a major decline in the past 2 years.

In recent times he's been the weakest link of team melli and a major reason why the defensive style had to be imposed on this already talent-lacking team.

bingo!

 

[Tehol Beddict]

I think Nekounam was the best IR player from the day he came the main man in defensive midfield until a few years ago. In his prime he was the best and most europe ready iranian player with a -comparing to iranian standards- high football IQ. In his prime i am not even sure if Bagheri was as good as him. Whats troubling about him however is his rapid decline. There is such a significant drop in performance thats actually a bit surprising. He went from being the best iranian player over several years to a close to useless figure only being lined up because CQ needs an extended arm on the field. Nekounam understands spanish like CQ and he has been backed by CQ no matter what. It really seems like CQ doesnt even ask Nekounam to get more out of himself, he just needs him to be on the field as an extended arm and as a vocal organizer. All that being said, its still a sign of weakness that the IR is not able to replace this man with all his current shortcomings in all possible departments, be it physical, stamina, attitude, willingness, running abilities...he has declined across the board and yet CQ doesnt see anyone being able to replace his presence on the field.

 

[Babr]

I never said he was not the right choice for Team Melli or his club. I said he's been highly overrated and I stand by it.

His positioning used to be quite good for a while which allowed him to join the attacks on rebounds quite often. He has lost that too it seems.

I agree that he enjoys a higher IQ than the average Iranian player which made him a good fit after Bagheri, Mansourian and Estili. While he was in Team Melli, we never really tried anyone else in his position other than Ando (who has been absolutely outstanding compared to Nekounam while theoretically having the same job).

Overall he's been a big contributor to Team Melli's frustratingly slow and futile transitions from defense to attack. The guy is completely useless in counter-attacking football, which is what we play these days.

He is not a main issue on our counter attacking system . CQ counter attacking system is base on wingers speed and involvement .I never saw wingers being at much involved in TM . He doesn't use a lot central midfielders in order to do that . let alone defensive midfielder so argument is not valid dude !

 

[Gaines]

I am not sure why what has to compare Neku to Bagheri. But if we have to:

Neku, at his prime, played in a 1st division Spanish team, and by all accounts became an influential member of that team. Bagheri did not become such a player at Arminia Bielefeld, and he never actually played any meaningful minutes at Charlton.

Bagheri was one of my favorite players. In some aspects he may have been better than Neku. But as an overall player, Neku was better and a more complete player, closer to international standards.

 

[TeamMeli]

I am not sure why what has to compare Neku to Bagheri. But if we have to:

Neku, at his prime, played in a 1st division Spanish team, and by all accounts became an influential member of that team. Bagheri did not become such a player at Arminia Bielefeld, and he never actually played any meaningful minutes at Charlton.

Bagheri was one of my favorite players. In some aspects he may have been better than Neku. But as an overall player, Neku was better and a more complete player, closer to international standards.

Well said but Bagheri did have a stint for an English team I think Charlton. Bagheri had the bigger leg he could kick it in from 40 meters watch Iran v Korea 6-2 Asian Cup but as far as complete player I would go with Nekounam and you are right he played in La Liga for a long time with Osasunra. I am going to miss two guys Javad Nekounam and Ando Temouryan.

 

[Zob Ahan]

I am not sure why what has to compare Neku to Bagheri. But if we have to:

Neku, at his prime, played in a 1st division Spanish team, and by all accounts became an influential member of that team. Bagheri did not become such a player at Arminia Bielefeld, and he never actually played any meaningful minutes at Charlton.

Bagheri was one of my favorite players. In some aspects he may have been bettyt than Neku. But as an overall player, Neku was better and a more complete player, closer to international standards.

Khatibi played in Hamburg does that make him better than Bezik, Farhad Majidi, and MAhmoud Karimi? Khatibi also played more games for TM than all 3 combined but it doesn't make him a better player. Having a good agent and being at the right place at the right time is very important as well as being ambitious.