Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has now been in charge of Team Melli for eleven months, there is therefore certain expectations from Mr Ghalenoei to deliver the goods in terms of team performance; one would expect to see a degree of consistency and game plan in Team Melli after nearly one year of being in charge.

Iran got off to a bad start in this match and conceded a messy goal after only 2 minutes, 25 minutes later it was 2-0 to Mexico and that’s how the first half ended.  Iran made an effort to attack Mexico in the second half but their efforts were limited to long range shots, Fereydoon Zandi who was dropped by Ghalenoei after world cup 2006 was back in the squad and came close to scoring in the second half, his long range effort hit Mexico’s cross bar and that was as close as Iran came to scoring.  Mexico upped the tempo late in the game almost at will and scored two late goals to seal Iran’s fait with a 4-0 win.  It appeared as though Mexico were allowing Iran to play a bit in the second and testing ideas before sealing the game with two more goals.

The friendly against Mexico was the first real challenge Ghalenoei has faced as Team Melli head coach, he has so far taken pleasure from beating weak sides such as Taiwan and Syria, Ghalenoei has used such results to justify his ability and suitability as Team Melli head coach whilst the reality is that Iran are playing a far inferior football than they were under the previous coach Branko Ivankovic (and Ivankovic was not exactly a top coach).  This judgement is not made based on the 4-0 score-line against Mexico but for the way Iran have played in the last eleven months; Iran did not have a game plan and failed to respond to Mexico’s change of tactics during the match.  Iran were disorganised and lacked discipline; 4 Iranian players were booked including the captain Nekunam, Kazemian was then sent off for a second yellow card offence, the number of irrational and dangerous tackles made by Iranian players in what was supposed to be a friendly match was amusing and embarrassing!  The players were under pressure and doing their best without proper coaching or guidance, it was hardly surprising that they failed.

Mr Ghalenoei heavily criticised his predecessor Ivankovic after Iran’s 3-1 defeat to Mexico in the world cup last year, striker Gholamreza Enayati who did not get the chance to play in the world cup under Ivankovic claimed ‘even his dead body could have scored against Mexico’.  In the friendly match against Mexico on June 2^nd Mr Ghalenoei learnt the difference between playing Taiwan that he claimed were a strong side and playing against a real strong side such as Mexico.  Striker Enayati started the match against Mexico this time round and missed a golden opportunity to score in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, Enayati was taken off after 38 minutes.  Iran’s goalkeeper Rahmati had a very poor game and was partly responsible for the number of goals conceded, it must be said that Iran’s defence hardly gave the keeper the protection he needed.

 

Iran will kick-off their Asian Cup final campaign on July 11^th against Uzbekistan followed by China 4 days later before playing Malaysia on July 18^th.  Playing in the manner Iran are I have doubts on Iran getting past the first round stage of Asian Cup 2007, in the absence of professional coaching and competent management Iran will be  heavily relying on individual players such as Hashemian and Mahdavikia to get the job done on the day.  Iran certainly have quality amongst their individual players, should Iran qualify for the knock-out stages of Asian Cup finals they are likely to meet either South Korea or Saudi Arabia in the quarter finals.

 

The following was Iran