For the first time in Iran’s football history, no player from Persepolis has been selected for Team, Melli squad participating in a major championship or tournament.
Persepolis is arguably the most popular team in Iran and has the biggest fan base in all of Asia. After the success of the revolution in 1979, the club was nationalized and taken over by the government. The idea was to return the club back to private ownership after the cleansing and rectification of the club. 36 years later, and after packs of promises from several Presidents, including the football mad, Mahmoud AhmadiNejad, nothing has changed. During this current government, Persepolis affairs have taken a sharp turn to the worse.
Years of mismanagement including financial irregularities have resulted in a huge buildup of debts with hundreds of footballers and athletes not receiving their wages. Suppliers have also faced the same fate and experienced nonpayment of bills for services rendered or goods supplied , although practically speaking , the club is a government entity. Tens and some say, hundreds of legal cases are lying in the courts of law in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran claiming unpaid bills by Persepolis. The current CEO Siyasi is in jail for undisclosed reasons.
Several management changes in the recent years have failed to improve the conditions and the financial health of the popular club. Naturally, off the field conditions deterioration has caught up with the players and coaches of the team resulting in some of the poorest performances in the proud club’s history. The decline of the team also saw a marked decline in match attendances in Azadi.
The warning bills about the demise of the club have been ringing for the last few years. The government does not seem to be willing to pay the huge debts left by the unscrupulous past managers and CEO’s and considering shutting down the club for good if no feasible buyers who is politically acceptable to the regime, comes forward to bail out the ailing club.
Persepolis is currently in the 8th position in the League table with 17 matches played. The Club has qualified for the Asian Champions league courtesy of Ali Daei success in giving Persepolis one of its highest ranking in the past few years last season. Daei was sacked early this season and replaced by Hamid Derakhshan. An ex-Persepolis player and coach himself, Derakhshan has failed to leave his mark at the club and he is in serious trouble himself and could end up being sacked soon.