Taxi Driver interview

[Assasin]

Interview: Rene Simoes, Iran U-23 Coach Iranian Under-23 coach Renê Simões is leading his team in several friendly matches in Brazil this month.

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Reports stated that Iran U23 defeated Santos in the team's first match, after which Kaveh Mahjoob was able to enjoy a quick chat with Simões thanks to www.lastkick.com.
Mahjoob: Mr. Simões, congratulations on defeating FC Santos. How was the match?
Simões: The victory was against Potuguesa, not Santos as was printed in Iran. Portuguesa is in the first division in Sao Paulo, the most important state league in Brazil.
However, it is a club in the second division of the national league. The second division in Brazil is made up of 20 teams, much like the first and third divisions. Every year, four teams go up and down these divisions. Ten years ago the first division had 66 teams, so all divisions have good teams, some even former national champions.
Mahjoob: Thanks for the clarification. What are the main goals of this camp?
Simões: The aim of this camp is responsibility. Each player has to feel responsible for what the team and his teammates do on and off the field.
I have observed that they worry very little about the results, leaving that task exclusively to the coach. This is the wrong idea, because worrying about the result is everyone's task. Great teams try to "read" the game and correct mistakes on the field.
Mahjoob: Were you satisfied with the performance of Iran U23 against Potuguesa?
Simões: The team played badly in the first half. The team was slow and lacked vision of the future, so we allowed the opponent to get the ball and only then started to defend. By vision of the future what I mean is anticipating what the opponent can do and trying to stop it from happening.
We are playing against the players who are not starting in their teams or who only played a little on the previous day. Here the Brazilian championship is in action every Wednesday or Thursday and Saturday or Sunday. So the players who do not play those days play the next day against our team. They are players of very good skills.
Our second half was very good. We substituted a few players, gave the ball more speed and reduced our gaps on the field.
Mahjoob: Who were the starters in this match?
Simões: The team started with Mehdi Arzani, Shic Rezai, Jalal Houseeini, Jalal Akbari. On the midfield Esmaeel Gharavi, Mohamad Noori, Behshad and Hosro, and foward Madanchi e Gholamim.
In the second half Arzani substituted Shic Rezai, Saeed Charchoee substituted Jalal Akbari, Yousefi substituted Behshad, and Ehsan substituted Gholamim.
Mahjoob: Which other teams will you be playing while in Brazil?
Simões: The next games will be good tests for us. We will face Sao Paulo, world champion and current leader in the national championship, and then Palmeiras and Santos, all excellent teams. The players who will play against us have been or will be starters for the next games.
Kaveh Mahjoob
kavehmahjoob@hotmail

[Assasin]

Taxi Driver again

Rene Simoes: I Cannot Believe It!

IranSportsPress- The Iranian Under 23 team was due to leave Tehran on November 26 (5 Azar) to participate in the Asian Games in Doha, however, due to the international suspension of Iranian football, the team cannot play in the upcoming matches.
Ali K. Translated Exclusively for IranSportsPress.com
In discussion with ISNA, Rene Simoes stated: I will give my all until the moment that the federation officially announces that we are not going.

Two nights ago, the Under 23 team defeated Bahrain in a friendly, even though the news of Iran's suspension had a negative effect on the performance of the team. Simoes said: The news of the suspension was announced to the players before the match. I told the players to go and play their own game because at the last moment everything may change. Nonetheless, the team did not play like one of my teams and they did not perform the way I expected.

He further stated: They only played well in the first 15 minutes of the second half, however, it is only natural that the players did not give their best performance considering the news they received.

Simoes, while criticizing the organization of Iranian football, said: Maybe the things I say will not be to some peoples' liking, however, the truth is that Iranian football lacks organization and planning. If you name any country, I can tell you their plans until March-April (Farvardin) of next year, however you will not be able to tell me what the plans are for Iranian football over the same period.

Simoes finally told ISNA: We have worked hard for over one year and I cannot believe that the team is not going to Qatar. The news of Iran's suspension has shocked everyone.

[Assasin]

Drivaa

INTERVIEW: Rene Simoes tells Kaveh Mahjoob about his experience in Iran
Posted By Afshin Afshar On 15th January 2007 @ 06:00 In Last Kick, Iran, Kaveh Mahjoob | 18 Comments
1/14/2007
Kaveh Mahjoob, lastkick.com


Rene Simos is back to Brazil where home is. Weeks after the Asian Games when his team took a Bronze medal and played below expectations, he is tackling more important life challenges by providing emotional and parental support for his ill child.
He is still philosophical about football and his time in Iran. He is also still very much wanted by the Iranian football authorities.

Simoes’s time in Iran is an unfinished story. It is “a journey” that was not complete and “a dream” that was not fulfilled. Unlike the norm in Iranian football, Simoes was brought over to do fundamental work. He brought his assistants, was given control over several youth national teams and generally received warm words of encouragements from everyone with a football title until the Asian Games. Like the norm in Iranian football, he faced mismanagement, broken promises and as he would say it, misinformation about who was qualified to be invited to the team. Not that he tries to shy away from the responsibility. Simoes is the first one to remind all that the bucks stopped with him for his team’s performance.
For this article, I spoke to Rene Simoes twice on January 4th and 12th. We had talked several times before. As always, he was confident, friendly, spoke well and talked as he was missing his team and players in Iran. This time, he was also baffled and expressed resentment on why he was misled, outright lied to, by names and faces that are supposed to be trusted in the Iranian football.
Kaveh – How do you spend your days these days?
Siomoes – I spend my time with family, read and play football.
Kaveh – Are you in the market to find a new coaching assignment in Brazil or elsewhere?
Simoes – No. My time is for my family. I spend it with my daughter. FIFA has invited me to attend a panel on women’s football in Zurich on February 3rd. It is a 3 day event. (Note: Simoes led Brazil women’s football team to the second place finish of the 2004 Olympics. I was invited by a team in Greece to coach for them but I gave the same answer as I have to the Iranian federation.
Kaveh – Are you still pursued by the Iranian football authorities?
Simoes – Very much so. My contract expired on 12/31/2006. I spoke to Mr. Kafashian (the head of Iranian Olympics) just recently. Even Iranian Football Federation (IFF) has contacted me. Just this past week, a member of the “Committee of Six” that was appointed by FIFA to monitor changes to IFF process and its constitution called me. They want me to go back and lead the team for the Olympic qualifier campaign. I simply can’t go back.
I feel a great honor that Iran’s Olympic Committee and IFF would want me to return.. A coach has to have 100% commitment with his time and leadership. Until my daughter’s condition improves, I can’t provide such commitment.
Kaveh – Any changes to your daughter’s condition?
Simoes – Doctors are trying new treatments but it will take a bit of time to see results.
Kaveh –Did you make any suggestion to Iranian football authorities regarding the Olympic qualifications?
Simoes – Yes. I recommended that Iran should camp in England or Scotland and play against teams from that region. Australia’s style of play matches’ UK style of football and the team would need to test itself against such opponents..
Kaveh – Let’s revisit the Asian Games. You know that Iranian fans and media were not satisfied with the results and style of play your team exhibited.
Simpoes – Look, that was our “third” team. I had to put three rosters together. In each case, we practiced and prepared and as we got comfortable with each other, there were a few surprises.
First, I wanted to take Nekunam, Taymourian and Shojai. I was told I couldn’t.
Then, I invested on Madanchi, Sivash (Akbarpoor), Yousefi and Mehdi (Rahmati). We then found out they were over 23 very late. We prepared with these key players and then I didn’t have them. In Doha, I really didn’t know some of my new players.
Kaveh – I understand the problem with getting European based players. What puzzles me is why you insist that you didn’t know about over aged players until very late. How could you have not known about Madanchi, Akbarpoor and Rahmati’s ages?
Simoes – It is the job of the federation to tell me who is eligible to be invited and who is not. A while back, Mr. Yavari told me that Madanchi and Akbarpoor (both forwards) were not eligible to play for U23.
Kaveh – Then why did you invite them and took them to Brazil?
Simoes – One day, a few months ago, Mr. Ghalenoi (Iran’s current national team head coach) invited me to a meeting. In that meeting, he showed me a list and asked me why I had not invited Madanchi and Akbarpoor to the U23 team. He told me that they were eligible and encouraged me to invite those players.
I explained to him what I was told about their ages.
Ghalenoi assured me that was not the case.
Then we got their passports and set them up to go to Brazil. For these two and Rahmati (goalkeeper), date of births showed 1983 which meant they were all eligible. We went to Brazil, worked with these guys as my three starters and returned. Then days before leaving, I was told they were over aged.
Kaveh – Let me get this right. IFF never told you that those players were over 23 when you were preparing the team and traveled to Brazil. Amir Ghalenoi was the one who told you they were eligible.
Simoes – Correct. In fact, Ghalenoi joked with me later that I should be thankful to him for getting me such good players (the three players mentioned above) for the U23 team. I don’t understand why they did this to our team. Here is another thing. You know how I found out my three players were over 23?
I learned that from a newspaper. A newspaper printed the news and that is how I was told.
Kaveh – So you had new players for the third time. But still, the team didn’t play good football.
Simoes – I take responsibility for how we performed. We wanted to go to semifinals and we did. I should have switched some players in earlier games and against Qatar. That was my job. I did the substitutions late and for the Korean match. But this team had not played as a team for a long time. We were forced to keep switching the roster. As a result, the team’s chemistry was missing.
Kaveh – Iranian fans love Brazilian style of football. It is the fluid and attacking game with a fast ball movement, creating dangerous opportunities that make the game fun to watch. Your team didn’t exhibit that style. Didn’t that bother you?
Simoes – Sure it bothered me. I didn’t like the style we played either. We couldn’t convert our chances. At times, we had two forwards against a goalkeeper and we still did not score. But again, we didn’t have the chemistry due to all the reasons I explained and had to deal with FIFA suspension just four days before the tournament. Again, I take responsibility for what happened but it is not that simple.
I wanted my player to reach for the paradise but to get to paradise you must first die.
Kaveh – What did you like about your time with the Iranian football?
Simoes – Talents and players. Technically, Iranians are very good.
Kaveh – What was it about the Iranian football did you not like?
Simoes – The administration and organization part. I even wrote a letter about this lack of organization to IFF.
In a letter to IFF, Simoes criticized the lack of organization and the absence of technical committee in Iran’s football. He wrote:
“Creation of clear job roles: Who is the technical director of the Federation? I never saw one or understood why one was never implemented no matter how many times I asked for this explanation. Coaches, in order to do their jobs, must find an organized structure that has professionals in the right roles and who clearly understand their functions. The technical director is responsible for all the planning, philosophy, choice of coaches, integration among teams of different categories, game calendars, contact with the federations of other countries, etc. The general manager is another vital role and responsible for the choice of all managers, establishing norms for selection of players, communicating with the clubs whose players were selected, checking documents, consulting guidelines and rules, planning the trips, hotels, menus, visas, equipment orders, etc. These are only some of the vital roles, but our project clearly labeled the duties of each staff member.”
Rene Simoes is still an optimist. He is an optimist both about

[OJ]

Re: Taxi Driver interview

Well there is some drama here in Canada regarding Mr.Simoes and The CSA. It seems the CSA appointed him TD and mens national coach however the board of Directors did not approved the contract.

[Assasin]

Re: Taxi Driver interview

Canada would be foolish not to go for Rene. He could wake that country up and they have a little money to get the best out of him.