Time really flies away. Sometimes 4 months seem like 1.
It's almost 4 months since that devastating game against Mexico. But relax, I'm not posting this in order to bring back bad memories. It's merely a discussion for the more sophisticated elite of the ISP forums.
Branko left 3 months ago. Since then, many of us have been sceptical about the things going on regarding our football.
For instance, when Ghalenoi was appointed, I thought it would mean the end for Iranian football. I saw TM being filled with Esteghlali players. Now don't get me wrong, even though I sympathize other teams, it wasn't the fact that the players were from Esteghlal, but that our national team had turned into a club team. If our club teams would have been strong in the first place, I wouldn't have bothered. But we haven't really been successful the latest years in the AFC Champions League (except for PAS' campaign 2 seasons ago).
Is there anything to positive about? Well, I'm worried, I can't deny that.
When Teymourian was transferred to Bolton I saw a great opportunity for him to improve, just as Javad Nekounam has improved in Spain lately. I think it's great beacuse Javad had started to stagnate in his development after our qualification for the World Cup in June of 2005. Now all of a sudden he's back on track, and I'm very happy for it. Also Vahid hashemian has started to score some goals again, and his goal against South Korea once again confirmed the fact that he is one of our best strikers. We must be patient with him, as he is also one of very few true gentlemen in today's football!
In the menatime, some other players who also have a big impact on our national team have started to perform poorly. I'm talking about Mahdavikia and Karimi. To be honest with you I haven't seen all their games, but I've been following news, articles and even highlight clips from here and there.
I don't know if Ghalenoi is the right man to fit these players into our national team. I don't see what he could to to have them more integrated in our team.
Rahman Rezaei's move from Messina to Livorno has only done him good. Great to see him in pictures beside Kaka and other international superstars. He's a keyplayer in our defence!
Finally, I must praise Ghalenoi for one move though. I don't wish to say that Mirzapour is a great goalkeeper now. But the way I see it, he has improved ever since Ghalenoi showed him that he isn't guaranteed a spot like during Branko's reign. What we saw in the South Korea game was a solid performance, and hopefully we will see more solid performances from one of 2 weak links in our team (the other one used to be the left back position).
I don't know how long Ghalenoi will stay as our headcoach, but I hope it won't be too long. I hope we'll have a new coach for the upcoming WC2010 qualifications. And hopefully by then, we'll have a stable left back, an 90 minutes/week performing Teymourian in Bolton and a happy Ali Karimi in harmony with the rest of the team and staff. And of course, a Mehdi mahdavikia in the form of his life.
It's almost 4 months since that devastating game against Mexico. But relax, I'm not posting this in order to bring back bad memories. It's merely a discussion for the more sophisticated elite of the ISP forums.
Branko left 3 months ago. Since then, many of us have been sceptical about the things going on regarding our football.
For instance, when Ghalenoi was appointed, I thought it would mean the end for Iranian football. I saw TM being filled with Esteghlali players. Now don't get me wrong, even though I sympathize other teams, it wasn't the fact that the players were from Esteghlal, but that our national team had turned into a club team. If our club teams would have been strong in the first place, I wouldn't have bothered. But we haven't really been successful the latest years in the AFC Champions League (except for PAS' campaign 2 seasons ago).
Is there anything to positive about? Well, I'm worried, I can't deny that.
When Teymourian was transferred to Bolton I saw a great opportunity for him to improve, just as Javad Nekounam has improved in Spain lately. I think it's great beacuse Javad had started to stagnate in his development after our qualification for the World Cup in June of 2005. Now all of a sudden he's back on track, and I'm very happy for it. Also Vahid hashemian has started to score some goals again, and his goal against South Korea once again confirmed the fact that he is one of our best strikers. We must be patient with him, as he is also one of very few true gentlemen in today's football!
In the menatime, some other players who also have a big impact on our national team have started to perform poorly. I'm talking about Mahdavikia and Karimi. To be honest with you I haven't seen all their games, but I've been following news, articles and even highlight clips from here and there.
I don't know if Ghalenoi is the right man to fit these players into our national team. I don't see what he could to to have them more integrated in our team.
Rahman Rezaei's move from Messina to Livorno has only done him good. Great to see him in pictures beside Kaka and other international superstars. He's a keyplayer in our defence!
Finally, I must praise Ghalenoi for one move though. I don't wish to say that Mirzapour is a great goalkeeper now. But the way I see it, he has improved ever since Ghalenoi showed him that he isn't guaranteed a spot like during Branko's reign. What we saw in the South Korea game was a solid performance, and hopefully we will see more solid performances from one of 2 weak links in our team (the other one used to be the left back position).
I don't know how long Ghalenoi will stay as our headcoach, but I hope it won't be too long. I hope we'll have a new coach for the upcoming WC2010 qualifications. And hopefully by then, we'll have a stable left back, an 90 minutes/week performing Teymourian in Bolton and a happy Ali Karimi in harmony with the rest of the team and staff. And of course, a Mehdi mahdavikia in the form of his life.
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