Javad Nekounam has decided to retire from international football and bid farewell to team Melli.
After the friendly international against Sweden in Friends Arena on Tuesday , Nekounam informed the media that it was his final match. The ex-Pas Tehran player first featured in Team Melli in 2000. and has played a record 154 games (Ranked 1st) scoring 39 goals (Ranked 3rd) for Team Melli
Javad Nekounam was overwhelmed by the fans in Friends Arena and extend his sincere appreciation and thanks to all those who came to support Team Melli against Sweden.
Nekounam will still be playing for the Spanish Segunda Division side, Osasuna a club where Team Melli Captain had played for on two occasions and became a local hero for the Basque team fans.
TeamMelli.com wishes to express its gratitude and appreciation for a player who served Team Melli for over 14 years with dedication and total commitment. We wish him well in his club career and expect to see him back at Team Melli at other capacities.
JAVAD NEKOUNAM CAREER
COMPETETIONS :
AFC Asian Cup : 5 tournaments (2000, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015) Played 17 matches scored 4 goals.
FIFA World Cup : 2 tournaments (2006, 2014 ) Played 5 matches.
MATCHES :
| Season | Openin. | Subst. | Goals | Yellows | Reds |
| 2000 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2004 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 2005 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2007 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2010 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 141 | 13 | 39 | 25 | 1 |
| By season | In opening squad | Substituted in | Goals | Yellow cards | Red cards | |||||