Female Iranian athletes continue to face obstacles from their own government and...

"On Friday, a Bahraini FIFA official banned the Iranian women's national soccer team from playing against Jordan in the second round of the qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympic Games in the Jordanian capital city, Amman."

They forfeited their games and were eliminated without even the touching the ball.  How fair is that?


Here's the link to this informative piece discussing the situation.

Nasser Hejazi (1949-2011)

 
What a way to start the week.  Nasser Hejazi was not only the best goalkeeper in the history of Iranian football, he was a true gentleman.  Always well mannered, yet determined and serious.  My first memory of Hejazi was at the 78 World Cup when he was furious after an own goal in the Scotland game and how he finished the Peru game despite being visibly injured.  Our goal was conquered eight times during the WC, but to Hejazi's credit four goals were penalty kicks and one was an own goal.  Here's a video of Mr. Majid Varess' interview with Nasser Hejazi at the 1980 Asian Nations Cup in Kuwait.  Rest in peace Ghahreman.  Roohet shad.



 

Going all the way

So Team Melli seemingly cruises to the quarter-final round of the 2011 Asian Nations Cup. After conceding an early goal to Iraq, our boys have not allowed a goal and have won all of their round robin matches – the only team to have achieved either feat. The next game against South Korea will be a classic, as it is considered by many to be the continent’s biggest rivalry dating back to 1970’s. This will be the fifth consecutive quarter-final game between the two giants in Asian Nations Cup with each winning two games – Iran in 1996 and 2004, South Korea in 2000 and 2007. Team Melli lost a heartbreaker in penalty kicks in 2007.

So in short not only this game is going to be a nail biter, it is perhaps the toughest hurdle in Team Melli’s quest to capture the continental cup. Other than South Korea, of the seven remaining teams only Japan and Australia pose a worrisome threat, both of which have been cited as the preferable choice for a quarter-final match by our Team Melli players. Our boys rather play the South Koreans in the final. I agree, but that is not to be. As it stands, it is Team Melli against South Korea 19:25 local time this Saturday.

But for now imagine this: Team Melli not only beats South Korea, but wins the next two games and becomes the continental champ for the first time since 1976! This is very probable, as we are quickly becoming one of the favorites by football pundits. Most Iranians today (at least 75% of them) were not even born in 1976 or are too young to remember. They are at least two generations removed. This is the continent’s biggest prize that has eluded us for 35 years.

What will happen if we win? Will the Iranians flood the streets in masses to celebrate? Will the government be able to claim the championship as its own? Will it want to do that? What will the security forces do? Will they crack down hard or join the celebrating crowds? We may find out around 9 P.M. on Saturday, January 29.

So I say to the Iranian nation that our players are individuals first and then the soul of our nation. They never have or will belong to any government. They are part of each and every single of us. So go out to the streets and celebrate. What will happen if we all go out like we did in 1997 after qualifying for World Cup 98? DON’T CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. But for now don’t forget to cheer for Team Melli this Saturday.

Disclaimer: I am in no position to advocate for mass celebrations. My main concern is the safety of the people. With this note, I am just pondering.

Today is the big game!

Okay so we've lost our first two games at the basketball world championships in Turkey, and we still have the U.S. to play. OUCH!!! But later today, we may just win our first game ever at our first world championship tourney ever. Tunisia is ranked much lower than us and recently placed third in Africa's continental championship tourney.

Come on boys. Let's do it. Beat Tunisia. GO IRAN!!!

Iran - USA Game Shirt

Get the Iran-USA game shirt here. Iran national basketball team will play USA, September 1, 2010. Any predictions? This t-shirt may help.

The buzzing continues...

...at least for me. A month ago today, a new World Cup champ was crowned -- Spain. For a month, South Africa shined. So did Africa. All five South American teams made it to round of 16. Three made it to 1/4 finals and one became a semifinalist. But it wasn't one of the usual suspects. It was Uruguay. It would have been Ghana in the semis, but... Europe won its first WC away from its home continent. And we had a brand new champion. Did I mention SPAIN already?!

Majid Varess is back!!!

So here's the story. I wake up late this morning at 4:45 AM (missing the first half of Iran-North Korea game) and switch to Tapesh. All of the sudden I hear this warm and familiar voice that I haven't heard in years. I'm thinking: it can't be him, but the guy is using the same metaphors and his reporting style has not changed a bit. Then the other reporter refers to him as Aghaye Varess!!! No way. Majid Varess has not reported a game in over 26-27 years. It made my Saturday morning. Finally after the game I see his face on the screen. He hasn't changed much. He actually looks good. I quickly snapped a picture with my phone.

It brought back a lot of sweet memories. Hope to see him more often on TV.

Iran's women volleyball team participating in Asian championships

They are in a group with Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Australia. Iran is ranked 84th in the world. Their biggest challenge will be beating the 36th-ranked Australia. Vietnam is ranked 73d and Sri Lanka 84th. Rankings are current as of January 2009.

These women are Iran's lionesses. Take a look at this picture. Could you imagine playing a whole game like this?

http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=858474

Iranian Americans have a player in the NBA finishing his first season

First ever NBA player from Iran.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123906169774395129.html

AFC holds women's refrees course in Iran

The course will run April 21-24 in provincial capital of Qazvin, 165 km (100 mi) northwest of Tehran.

http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewarticle.jsp_168624803.html