Qatari Attack on Javad Nekounam / Tractor Coach's Protest Makes News

Critical remarks by Javad Nekounam about Tractor's hosting conditions in the match against Al-Shamal drew reaction and surprise from experts on Qatar's Al Kass network.

The fight between Tractor and Shamal in the second week of the group stage of the Asian Elite League ended with a goalless draw.

Javad Nekonam, the head coach of Tractor, protests that his team cannot be the host. In the press conference after and before the game, he objected to the hosting conditions and said: I will announce my objection once again. If these conditions continue, I have told the club officials that we will participate in next season's competitions with the Omid team and go to the field only to play games. The Football Federation does not care about our team; It's not as if we represent Iran's football. The events that happen in football are influential in determining the results. Unfortunately, we do not have a sponsor, and if the next flight is the same, we will come with Team Omid. Players cannot afford such trips. Either we have to play in the Iranian league or here. No team in Iran can afford such a trip. The situation is not compatible with the principles of fair play. The Asian Football Confederation should plan so that the teams can prepare for the matches with better conditions. If we were the host today in our own house, I say with strength and confidence that we would have won.

Alkas Qatar network's sports program reacted to these words of Nekonam and expressed surprise.

One of the experts of this program said: The Iranian club itself has chosen Oman. They could have chosen another country. It is true that the representative of Iran gets tired, but they have to deal with these conditions. Anyway, this is the situation that happened.

Another expert said: The Iranian head coach had some strange words. He said that his team cannot win any game under these conditions. It is true that the situation is difficult, but these words are strange. The head coach must be realistic. Anyway, this is the situation that has happened and he has to adapt himself and his team to this situation. As a coach, you have to accept these conditions and deal with them, but as a head coach, making excuses and saying that under these conditions we lose in every game is a strange behavior of an Iranian head coach. With these words, he gives the excuse of failure to his players and team.

Qataris are satisfied with getting a point equal to the tractor

Qatar's Al-Rai newspaper wrote under the headline "One point against Tractor was an important point for Shamal": The match between Shamal and Iran's Tractor teams, which was held yesterday at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, the capital of Oman, ended with a score of 0-0. The match was accompanied by counterattacks between the two teams, but Al Shamal created more chances to score and get three points. With this result, Shamal increased his points to two and Tractor also won his first point in this period of the Asian Elite League.

The first half without serious situations

Al-Rai further wrote: Shamal started the game offensively and had a relative advantage in possession of the ball and design of attacks. This team was trying to get close to the opponent's goal from the very first minutes and control the flow of the match. On the other hand, Traktor relied more on counterattacks, but this team's attacks in the first half did not pose much danger to the opponent's goal. Finally, the two teams went to the locker room in a situation where neither had managed to score. At the beginning of the second half, the speed of the game increased and both teams tried harder to open the opponent's goal. The most important situation of the match occurred in the 58th minute; where Mohammad Naderi threatened the Shamal goal with a powerful shot, but Babker Cisse, the goalkeeper of this team, blocked the ball with a spectacular reaction and prevented Tractor from scoring. Shamal also came close to scoring in the 68th minute. Mohammad Ali bin Ramadan entered the tractor penalty area with a quick move, but the defenders of the Iranian team intervened in time and sent the ball to the corner. Two minutes later, Michel Trematini created another opportunity for Shamal to score, but the Tractor goalkeeper blocked the ball once again to prevent his team from opening the goal. In the final minutes, Shamal increased its pressure and was looking for a winning goal with consecutive attacks, but the cohesion of Tractor's defense line and the proper performance of this team's goalkeeper did not allow the result to change. Thus, the match ended in a goalless draw.

Head coach Al Shamal: I am satisfied with the performance and the result

David Brats, the Spanish head coach of Shamal, expressed his satisfaction with the performance of his players and the result after the match.

He said: "This match was held against a big and strong team with high-level players, but we were able to close the opponent's main attack routes and present a good show." The players played with high spirits and gave their all despite the heat.

Referring to the missed opportunities of his team, the head coach of Al-Shamal added that this team could have used its limited opportunities better, but overall he is satisfied with the performance of the players and the result of the match.

Brats said about his team's upcoming match against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, which is scheduled to be held on October 27: "It will undoubtedly be a difficult match." We are trying to maintain the same quality that we showed in the first two games and to perform even better.

In the end, he emphasized that participation in the Asian Elite League is very important for Shamal, because this team is participating in this competition for the first time and despite the high strength of the opponents, it is looking to advance to the next stage.