Iran national under-23 football team
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2014) |
| Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
| Nickname(s) | Team Omid (Team Hope) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | FFIRI | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Head coach | Nelo Vingada | ||
| Captain | Mohsen Mosalman | ||
| Home stadium | Azadi Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | IRN | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Iran U-23 2 - 0 South Korea U-23  (Tehran, Iran; January 5, 1980) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Iran U-23 10 - 0 Afghanistan U-23  (Busan, South Korea; September 28, 2002) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Iran U-23 2 - 6 Japan U-23  (Tehran, Iran; February 9, 2001) | |||
| Asian Games (Since 2002) | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2002) | ||
| Best result | Winners 2002 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asian Games | ||
 |
Busan 2002 | Team |
 |
Doha 2006 | Team |
Iran national under-23 football team, also known as Iran U-23 or Iran Olympic Team; represents Iran in international football competitions in Olympic Games, Asian Games and AFC U-22 Asian Cup, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Iran Football Federation.
History
The winner of the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games, the team was prepared to defend its championship title at the football tournament of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Despite a suspension by FIFA, preventing Iran to enter any international football competition,[1] the Iran under-23 team was given special permission to participate in the Asian Games,[2] where they won the bronze medal.
Formation
The team is considered to be the feeder team for the Iran national football team. It is for players aged 23 and less, however 3 senior players can also be selected to play. Also in existence are national teams for under-20s, under-17s and under-15s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, hence it is possible for one to play for the U-23s, senior side and then again for the U-23s, as players such as Andranik Teymourian have done so. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and for another at the senior level, providing the player is eligible. An example is Ashkan Dejagah, who played for German national youth teams from 2001 until 2009, in which he won the 2009 Euro U-21s with, before playing for Iran.
Players
Current squad
The following players have been called up for the 2014 Asian Games.[3]
Match date: 18 September 2014
Opposition: N/A ( 2014 Asian Games)
Caps and goals correct as of: 18 September 2014
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Hojjat Sedghi | 7 February 1993 | 2 | 0 | Mes Kerman
| ||
| 12 | GK | Mohammadreza Akhbari | 15 February 1993 | 1 | 0 | Saipa
| ||
| 20 | GK | Mohammad Nasseri | 18 April 1993 | 0 | 0 | Gostaresh Foolad
| ||
| 2 | DF | Yousef Vakia | 30 September 1993 | 3 | 0 | Foolad
| ||
| 3 | DF | Shahriar Shirvand | 21 March 1991 | 9 | 0 | Tractor Sazi
| ||
| 4 | DF | Mohammad Daneshgar | 20 January 1993 | 1 | 0 | Fajr Sepasi
| ||
| 5 | DF | Mohammadreza Khanzadeh | 11 May 1991 | 11 | 2 | Persepolis
| ||
| 7 | DF | Roozbeh Cheshmi | 24 June 1993 | 2 | 0 | Saba Qom
| ||
| 13 | DF | Hossein Kanaani | 23 March 1994 | 1 | 0 | Malavan
| ||
| 16 | DF | Vahid Heydarieh | 2 January 1993 | 2 | 0 | Paykan
| ||
| 6 | MF | Morteza Pouraliganji | 19 April 1992 | 14 | 2 | Naft Tehran
| ||
| 8 | MF | Ali Karimi | 11 February 1994 | 2 | 0 | Sepahan
| ||
| 10 | MF | Mohsen Mosalman | 27 January 1991 | 19 | 3 | Zob Ahan
| ||
| 11 | MF | Yaghoub Karimi | 31 August 1991 | 16 | 6 | Esteghlal
| ||
| 14 | MF | Mehdi Mehdipour | 18 February 1994 | 2 | 1 | Rah Ahan
| ||
| 15 | MF | Farshid Esmaeili | 23 February 1994 | 3 | 0 | Fajr Sepasi
| ||
| 18 | MF | Arash Rezavand | 5 October 1993 | 2 | 1 | Naft Tehran
| ||
| 19 | MF | Ehsan Pahlevan | 25 July 1993 | 3 | 0 | Zob Ahan
| ||
| 9 | FW | Kaveh Rezaei | 5 April 1992 | 18 | 10 | Saipa
| ||
| 17 | FW | Mehdi Sharifi | 16 August 1992 | 2 | 0 | Sepahan
| ||
Recent call-ups
The following players were called up in the last 12 months.
Schedule and results
Win Draw Loss
Managers
Iraj Soleimani (1980–1982)- Mahmoud Yavari (1982–1984)
- Iraj Soleimani (1984–1992)
- Hassan Habibi (1992–1994)
Enver Hadžiabdić (1994) (temp)
Hans-Jürgen Gede (1994–1995)- Hassan Habibi (1995)
- Ebrahim Ghasempour (1997–1999)
- Egon Coordes (1999)
- Mehdi Monajati (1999–2002)
Branko Ivanković (2002–2003)- Mohammad Mayeli Kohan (2003–2004)
- Hossein Faraki (2004) (temp)
Renê Simões (2005–2006)- Vinko Begović (2006–2007)
- Nenad Nikolić (2007–2008)
- Gholam Hossein Peyrovani (2009–2010)
- Human Afazeli (2010–2011)
- Ali Reza Mansourian (2011–2014)
Nelo Vingada (2014–present)
Current management team
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Nelo Vingada
|
| Assistant coach | Arnaldo Carvalho
|
| Assistant coach | Masoud Moghim
|
| Goalkeeping coach | Alireza Delikhoun
|
| Fitness coach | Aria Ghasemi
|
| Analyzer | Saeid Ellahioly Hassan Asghari
|
| Doctor | Parham Khanlari
|
| Sporting director | Human Afazeli
|
| Team manager | Mohammad Khakpour
|
Honours
Gold Medal (1): 2002
Bronze Medal (1): 2006- 4th place (1): 2010
†U-23 teams were favoured by AFC and the IOC since 2002 Asian Games. The Senior team competed in the games before 2002.
Friendly Tournaments
- Semi-finalists in
1999 Dunhill Cup - 1st place in
2002 Asian Games - 1st place in 2006 VTV-T&T Cup (Spring Cup)
- 3rd place in
2008 Turkmenistan President's Cup - 1st place in 2010 Velayat Cup
- 2nd place in 2010 Ho Chi Minh City Cup
- 1st place in
2013 International Friendship Youth Tournament
Tournament record
Olympic Games record
| Olympic Games finals | Olympic Games qualifications | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | Squad | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | |
 1992 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 6 | |
 1996 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | |
 2000 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
 2004 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 9 | |
 2008 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | |
 2012 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
 2016 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 0/5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 59 | 32 | |
- Prior to the 1992 Olympic Games campaign, the senior national team played in qualification.
AFC U-22 Championship
| AFC U-22 finals | AFC U-22 qualification | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | Squad | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | |
 2013 |
Group stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | |
| Total | 1/1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | |
Asian Games record
- Prior to 2002 Asian Games, the senior national team participated in the tournament.
| Year | Round | PLD | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busan 2002 |
Champions | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
 Doha 2006 |
Third place | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 |
| Guangzhou 2010 |
4th place | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 |
| Incheon 2014 |
Group Stage | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Total | 1 titles | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 21 |
Asian Games squads
Wild card players
- Busan 2002
- Ali Daei (33)
- Ebrahim Mirzapour (24)
- Yahya Golmohammadi (31)
- Doha 2006
- Hassan Roudbarian (28)
- Arash Borhani (24)
- Jalal Hosseini (24)
Guangzhou 2010
- Mehdi Rahmati (27)
- Gholamreza Rezaei (26)
- Jalal Hosseini (28)
- Prior to 2002 Asian Games, the senior national team participated in the tournament.
Notes
- ^ "FIFA suspends Iran Football Federation". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
- ^ "FIFA President announces temporary lifting of Iran ban". the-AFC.com. Retrieved 2006-11-27. [dead link]
- ^ khabaronline.ir
See also
- Iran national football team
- Iran national under-20 football team
- Iran national under-17 football team
External links
- Official Website of IR Iran Football Federation
- Interview With Iran U-23 Coach Rene Simoes
- http://www.football3.ir
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