2 out of 4 getting out (1st time on a foreign continent) last time with minnows Italy and France failing to advance out of their group. With stronger representation (no NK) there might be a slightly higher chance next WC. Why the hell not.
Most likely. Newbie coming to Iran forum to troll the Japanese. He doesn't even know how to troll! Anyway, although not entirely WC14 comment, but Perspolis' game gave me some hope as well!! Karimi was truly a genius in that game.
Am I the only person here that want Karimi to retire from TM? I dont imagine him lasting all the way to WC2014 as he will be 35-36 when the World Cup comes around, so I judge it mostly from a long term thing. To be honest I think he is of limited use to us now when we have players like Jabbari, albeit he is currently struggling with an injury, Mohammad Nouri and Ando (more of a Gattuso type player but still formidable as AM). Hell, Karimi is not really much of an AM anymore as he has taken a much more defensive approach to his game. Even on that front I would question if there is really any room for Ali Karimi in Team Melli. Thoughts?
I think if he can stay away from hashieh he can still be very good for 30-40 minutes in the second half when we are struggling to open the opposing team's defense he can still make it happen, again, granted he stays focused and accepts that new role as a new challenge. In certain situations, having him and Khalatbari (both) coming off the bench can add a lot of attacking prowess.
I agree, he should retire, if a player won't be used in 2014 they shouldn't really be in TM right now. I think he has more of a leadership role than anything else right now.
At this age, he is still schooling vast majority of players in Asia (let alone Iran!) Agree that he hasn't got the stamina and him accepting that could be an issue but a mix of Denizli putting that into his head and the respect they all have for CQ should hopefully make it easier. I think both as a leader (with considerably more international experience than any of the others being mentioned) and an impact player he still has a role to play in Brazil.
All good points. Personally Im the biggest Karimi fan (as evident by my avatar hehe). Hopefully he can keep up and make us proud, and prove me severely wrong. Anyway only 2 months left gents!!!!! First match against Uzbekistan away is one of the absolute key-matches where we need a good result. How sweet a victory would be, but its going to be very difficult. Are any of you going to Iran to watch a game in Azadi? If you arent living there already that is. I was thinking of going, to watch Iran-South Korea in Azadi on Oct 16, but it depends on school. In any case I cant wait!! Already having butterflies in the stomach. At this stage I visit PFDC (even the forums) and Bigsoccer every day. I cant believe how much of a time-consuming (!) influence TM has on my life lol
Shojaei has resumed light training in his club Osasuna. Him making an appearance for TM in June is too optimistic, but I hope at least he will free of injuries when we face South Korea in October. The question is who would he replace in our current line-up. Im guessing he'd either be played as an AM or maybe even a left winger. I have to admit I am not a great fan of the way Shojaei has performed in TM previously but Im glad he is back so he can prove me wrong, and he will get his chance show his skills to CQ. Btw this forum is way too quiet lol I really hope it will get more lively around here, once the action in June starts!
Shojaie is a precision player it seems. Not very active, yet he shows up in great places, and makes great plays. Looking forward to his return, since depth is always a good thing.
Depth is great, especially since Jabbari is quite injury prone and both Shojai and Ando are coming back from injuries that sidelined them for quite some time. Given the wealth of midfielders available, only danger is whether the selected starting 11 will have enough time to gel with one another. As for quiet forum, give it time! When the world cup buzz hits, the place will be absolutely packed! Especially since someone will probably try to recruit from other places for the inevitable war of words with Koreans!
Iran won Mozambique 3-0. Should have ended at least 6-0, as we missed some pretty good chances, one of which was open goal from less than à meter. Norouzi blew it, he was bad not only because of that miss but also because he is too passive. Lazy players have no business in TM. He just lightly jogged right from the get go (same in Jordan match) unlike Ghazi that really hussled and pressured their defence. If Keirosh does not invite him ever again, i Will fully understand. Main positives from the match: Mahini, Reza Haghighi and Payam Sadeghian. Seriously, i dont know what much else Hosseini Mahini can do to convince he deserves to be in the starting 11. Then again it wasnt the most formidable team Iran faced, but Mahini has had à positive impact in almost every game.
Dejagah's injury could potentially last 2 months according to sources posted on PFDC. I think we have to assume he will miss the games in June.
Iran will part for Turkey tomorrow for a 10-12 day camp. ACL players will join couple of days later as the last ACL match is 23 May. Friendly with Albania the 27th in Istanbul. Furthermore the WCQ squad for our two matches the 3rd and 12th June against Uzbekistan and Qatar respectively, has been announced. http://www.persianfootball.com/live...announced&catid=13:team-melli-news&Itemid=175
No real surprises, except for Nazari getting a call up (and perhaps more surprisingly, Gucci not getting it).
One benefit of missing Dejagah is that Korea won't be able to see him in action before we play them. Hopefully we get Gucci by then too so that's two surprises they won't be ready for.
I'm not so sure it really matters, everything is in flux right now. KNT needs to get their house in order.