We Must Be Able to Play Well Even Without Asani / Shahin Bayani: Abedzadeh Became Abedzadeh at Esteghlal

Praising Esteghlal's victory over Al-Gharafa, Shahin Bayani criticized coach Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh's decision to use the injured Yasser Asani. He stressed that the Blues' main focus should be on winning the Persian Gulf Pro League title.

According to "Varzeh Se", Esteghlal managed to defeat Qatar's Al Gharafa with a score of 2-1 in the second week of the Asian Elite League and celebrate its second consecutive victory in this competition, a valuable win for a team that has managed to get good results despite the closed transfer window and relying on young players.

Shahin Bayani, a well-known veteran of Esteghlal, while praising the performance of the Blues, believes that Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh should be more careful in managing the playing minutes of the injured players. He also talked about Esteghlal's dependence on ease, Habib Farabbasi's performance, the team's transportation needs, and Tractor's objection to indirect flight.

Bayani said about Esteghlal's victory over Al-Gharafa: "In the Asian Games, teams use foreign pieces more often. When I saw Al Gharafa's squad, I don't think there were more than three or four Qatari players in it, and the rest were quality foreigners. Esteghlal was able to defeat this team with the conditions that its transfer window is closed and half of its players are young. Yasser Asani did not play from the beginning. That's why I believe Esteghlal has done a great job."

He went on to emphasize that Esteghlal should not focus on the Asian competitions: "I expect Sohrab not to focus too much on the Asian games and to focus on the Premier League. Even if Esteghlal advances as the first team in the West Asia region, it may continue to face Korean and Japanese teams, which are very difficult to compete with. Esteghlal fans want to win the Premier League more than anything, and for that reason, the main focus of the team should be on these matches.

Referring to the decision of the technical staff to use Yaser Asani after Razzaquinia's injury, Esteghlal veteran said: "I was surprised that when Razzaquinia was injured, Sohrab used Yaser Asani because Asani's leg was not yet in ideal condition. In the second half, we saw that he was injured after a tackle. I thought the technical staff would replace him, but again it didn't happen. After that, the African left defender Al-Gharafa, who was two and a half meters tall, made another tackle on his easy leg, and Yasser could barely walk again."

Bayani continued: "I hope the injury is not serious and he can play in the Premier League games. If he misses a few league games because of this decision, I don't think this win was worth it. Esteghlal needs ease and should be careful not to lose an important piece for the next matches because of using him in inappropriate situations.

In another part of his talk, Bayani said about Yasser Asani's strong role in the attacking structure of Esteghlal: "Esteghlal is a big team and big teams should not rely on one player. Esteghlal must be able to play well and defeat its opponents without difficulty. If we are going to think about victory only with easy attendance, we will face problems in the future. Esteghlal must practice playing without him and have other ways to score goals.

Referring to the capacity of Esteghlal's young players, he added: "I hope the team's young players will reach ideal conditions as soon as possible. Players like Saeed Saharkhizan, Ismail Qolizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Eslami have good quality and should be able to play at a higher level. "If these players reach a level where they are as unstoppable as Easi, Independence will become a strong team and will no longer depend on one player to create chances and score goals."

The veteran of Esteghlal also said about Tractor Club's protest against the team's flight conditions: "I don't understand Tractor Club's protest." Mr. Zenozi has so much financial power that if necessary, he can get a private plane for his team. This is no longer a problem of Esteghlal and it is related to the tractor itself."

In evaluating the performance of Habib Far Abbasi against Al Gharafa, Bayani said: "From the past to today, from the time of the late Nasser Hejazi and even before the revolution, Esteghlal has always had great goalkeepers, goalkeepers who were at the level of the national team. Along with Nasser Hejazi, Mr. Rashidi was present and in the following years we had goalkeepers like Mehdi Rahmati, Tabatabai and Gholampour. Abedzadeh was also introduced to Iranian football in Esteghlal and then went to Persepolis.

He continued about Far Abbasi: "Habib Far Abbasi is also becoming a great goalkeeper, but he has not yet reached the level of those goalkeepers. I hope he can improve as soon as possible. However, Esteghlal needs another good goalkeeper next to him. For example, if we have a derby and Far Abbasi can't play, then the team will be in trouble, so recruiting another goalkeeper, when the transfer window opens, is more important than midnight."

Bayani also said about the details of Farabbasi's performance in the game with Al-Gharafa: "He took a few one-on-one situations well and had an acceptable performance overall, but he also had a wrong exit when the ball went out of his hand and if it wasn't for Ashurmatov, it might have turned into a goal. Such mistakes can be expensive for Esteghlal's goalkeeper. However, I hope Far Abbasi will improve and can become a goalkeeper of Esteghlal's caliber."

In the end, the veteran of Esteghlal said about the needs of this team in the mid-season transfers: "Perspolis has two first-rate players in every position, except for the left back. Due to the closed transfer window, Esteghlal has not been able to strengthen its team enough, and when the window opens, it will have to get players in several positions. First of all, Esteghlal needs a good goalkeeper next to Far Abbasi. In the central defense position, if one of the three main defenders gets injured, we don't have a suitable replacement and we have to recruit a good central defender. In addition, the team needs a striker and a forward behind the striker. These four positions are essential for Esteghlal and a quality player must be recruited in each, as the team competes in three trophies and needs more pieces to succeed in all of them. I hope this happens in the half-season."