http://www.worldcupblog.org/asia/ World Cup South Africa 2010 en-us World Cup Blog http://australia.worldcupblog.org/1/olywhos.html http://australia.worldcupblog.org/1/olywhos.html Rayed Mamun Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:11:20 -0500 Graham Arnold has once again shown his ineptness when it comes to coaching Australian football teams. This time he has decided to pick a controversial Olyroos squad for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. It's not about who he picked, but who he didn't pick. He's left out Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite. If these boys are fit and playing well for the next few years they will be the next Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka of Australian football, so it is baffling as to why Arnold has left them out. He gave two reasons why they were left out. The first was http://iran.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-blog/asia-group-5/iran-go-on-top-but-with-some-help-from-kuwait.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-blog/asia-group-5/iran-go-on-top-but-with-some-help-from-kuwait.html Afshin Afshar Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:15:06 -0500 On Saturday something close to miracle happened for all the Iran fans. Going into the fourth round of the Asia World Cup Qualifying Group 5 Team Melli was in third place with three points trailing UAE and Syria that had five points each.   Well, it all changed in one round; TM defeated UAE, and the bottom dwellers Kuwait defeated Syria on Sunday. So now Iran is sitting pretty on top of the group with UAE and Syria trailing still with five points each, but now they are looking back nervously to find Kuwait breathing down their necks with four points.   Oh, http://iran.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-blog/asia-group-5/do-or-die-time-for-iran.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-blog/asia-group-5/do-or-die-time-for-iran.html Afshin Afshar Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:43:17 -0500   It does not look good! No sir, it doesn’t! Team Melli has not been defeated in its first three qualifying matches; that is the good part, but it has not had a single victory either! That translates into three ties, three points, a third place in Asian qualifying group 5.   The latest draw was against UAE at home. The team played better than it did in its first two games, but not by much and it was certainly enough.   They are now in the brink of elimination and the only guaranteed way to get a pass is to win the next three http://iran.worldcupblog.org/futsal/633.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/futsal/633.html Afshin Afshar Sun, 18 May 2008 23:40:25 -0500 How fast can you say “The Kings of Asia”?! Well that is exactly what Iran’s national Futsal team deservedly feels like they are. Iran defeated Thailand in the final game of the Asian Futsal Championship to win their ninth title in ten attempts. If the Kings had to pick a King amongst them to be the King of Kings, it would certainly be the 32 year-old star striker Vahid Shamsaee. Although in a moment of sincere humbleness, when he was receiving the tournaments’ best player award, he made a point of emphasizing  the importance of retiring skipper Mohammadreza Heidarian to the http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/afshin-ghotbis-perspolis-delivers-in-dramatic-style.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/afshin-ghotbis-perspolis-delivers-in-dramatic-style.html Afshin Afshar Sun, 18 May 2008 22:52:51 -0500 He was an outsider, did not speak the language as fluently, wan not familiar with the culture and people that he had left behind more than 30 years ago, but he wanted the challenge; the challenge to take on all the odds and prove that he was ready for the primetime. Afshin Ghotbi achieved the goal that he set for himself from the first day he took the job at Perspolis FC. The forty something Iranian-American had no idea that he was stepping into a snake pit that has devoured more experience coaches throughout its history. At times he so puzzled http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/for-perspolis-and-sepahan-it-all-comes-down-to-the-last-match.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/for-perspolis-and-sepahan-it-all-comes-down-to-the-last-match.html Afshin Afshar Sat, 17 May 2008 00:37:42 -0500 Tomorrow, in the last day of the 2007-08 Iranian Professional League, it will all come down to one match; the match between leaders Sepahan FC of Isfahan, and Perspolis FC of Tehran. Only two points separate these two teams and the winner will earn the 2007-08 crown. This match has grabbed the attention of most Iranias, football fans or not, and that is all because of Afshin Ghotbi, the Perspolis coach. The 40 something years old Ghotbi is an Iranian-American who returned to his country of birth after 30 long years to coach one of the two most popular teams in Iran. http://iran.worldcupblog.org/1/626.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/1/626.html Afshin Afshar Sat, 17 May 2008 00:02:56 -0500 Iran defeated Japan in the semi-finals of the Asian Futsal Championship to earn the opportunity to win an unprecedented 9th Asian Fustal crown. Iran won the Championship seven times in a row since its inception in 1999, but then was dethroned by an inspired Japanese team in 2006. However, the following year, they got their revenge by defeating the Japanese team 4-1 in the final to get back on top. This year, the two adversaries met in the semi-finals and Iran overcame the challengers by a narrow margin to win 1-0. The outcome of the match was in doubt until the final http://iran.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-blog/fifa-shoots.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-blog/fifa-shoots.html Afshin Afshar Sat, 10 May 2008 18:54:21 -0500 I have no idea what the folks at FIFA have been smoking, but man they must have been in some “Purple Haze” when they suggested that the EPL should take a lesson from the Iranian Football Federation! Yes, you read me right! That is exactly what they suggested! As a diehard Iranian football fan, I’d be the first to tell you that our football federation has been out to lunch for many successive administrations; and worst yet, the bill has been charged to us the fans! For me to read this nonsense is yet another proof that people in FIFA are either completely out http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/split-results-for-the-iranian-clubs-in-asia.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/split-results-for-the-iranian-clubs-in-asia.html Afshin Afshar Fri, 09 May 2008 21:04:41 -0500 It was mixed day for us in Asia. Last year’s runner-ups Sepahan bowed out after a 2-1 defeat in Syria, but the unfashionable Saipa managed to go through after defeating Kuwait Sports Club in Karaj, Iran. Too bad for Sepahan. They have been Iran’s most successful club during the last half dozen years or so; however, they were unlucky to lose form, not to mention their almost entire coaching staff, half way through the season just when the AFC Champions League group stage began. Not all is lost, however. They are still in the hunt for the Iranian League and Cup http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/620.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/620.html Afshin Afshar Wed, 07 May 2008 05:47:38 -0500 Midfielder Anderanik Teimourian who made a name for himself during Iran’s disastrous World Cup campaign in Germany is leaving his EPL club Bolton Wanderers at the end of the season. Ando, as he is known by Team Melli fans, is one of the nicer guys who has put the TM colors on in recent years. Too bad things did not work for him there, but I think he is good enough to land somewhere in one of the European top leagues. The fast pace of the EPL does not make it a good choice for Iranian players who are used to playing a http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/618.html http://iran.worldcupblog.org/ipl-news/618.html Afshin Afshar Tue, 06 May 2008 21:00:22 -0500 Towards the end of his playing career Saipa and Team Melli coach Ali Daei gained a reputation for sticking around too long and refusing to retire. As a coach he is quickly making a reputation for himself as a complainer! Almost in every single game that his club side Saipa have lost he has blamed the referees, the pitch, the weather, you name it! But while Saipa has been struggling at home, they have been shinning in AFC Champions League Group B where they are leading the pack by three points. Daei did not pass the opportunity to “complain” about his team’s