Tag: Mehrdad Pooladi

19/07/202120/07/2021

List of Iranian Players playing abroad (Legionnaires).

With a couple of marquee players of Team Melli changing clubs at the start of 2021/22 season, it seems like a good idea to check who is who and where are the Iranian footballer playing abroad make their living.

This season’s most prominent transfer was of Alireza Jahanbakhsh who was recruited by Feyenoord Rotterdam and mark his return to the Eredivisie. The other Alireza, Beiranvand moved from Belgium to Portugal where he joined Boavista in the first division to add to the remarkable number of Iranian players in Portugal.

One of the most surprising moves was that of Payam Niazmand, who left Esfahan to join Portimonense in Portugal who already have Ali Alipour in their squad.

The list includes some interesting names too like Bakhtiyar Rahmani who is now playing in Sweden for FF Dalkurd a club in the second division of Sweden SuperEttan. Also included is Steven Beitashour who plays for Colorado Rapids in MSL. The Iranian American who was picked by Carlos Queiroz before World Cup 2014 appeared briefly for Team Melli. An honorary mention must also go to Mehrdadi Pooladi who is still playing football in the Second Division of Qatar Star League. Pooladi never returned to Iran after the AFC Asian Cup 2015 over a dispute of his military service.

This is by far the most complete list of Iranian players playing abroad. If you have any updates or names that we have omitted, please do send your suggestions to the Chief Editor for inclusion.

The list indicates that 20 players who are on the current selection lists of Team Melli are playing abroad. On the other hand, 11 players who have been former Team Melli players are playing abroad now.

Iranian Legionnaires

Player	League	Club	Country	Team Melli Current	Team Melli Former
England
Saman Ghoddos	Premier League	Brentford	England	YES
Ravi Shamsi	Non League Premier	Nuneaton Borough	England
Pouriya Ahmadi	Non League Division One	Glossop North End	England
Spain
Amir Abedzadeh	Segunda División	Ponferradina	Spain	YES
Germany
Daniel Davari	Regionalliga	Rot-Weiss Essen	Germany		YES
Fereydoon Zandi	Regionalliga	St. Pauli II	Germany		YES
Ahmad Jafari	Regionalliga	Homberg	Germany
Aram Abdelkarim	Regionalliga	Straelen	Germany
Ebrahim Farahnak	Regionalliga	HSC Hannover	Germany
Ali Sandoghdar	Oberliga	VfL Oldenburg	Germany
Maziar Namavizadeh	Oberliga	Röchling Völklingen	Germany
Iman Saghi beRia	Oberliga	Hastedt	Germany
Netherlands
Alireza Jahanbakhsh	Eredivisie	Feyenoord	Netherlands	YES
Nabi Hakimzadeh	Hoofdklasse	HBS	Netherlands
Aria Hashemi	Eerste Klasse	Best Vooruit	Netherlands
Australia
Behzad Ariayee	Queensland NPL	Moreton Bay United	Australia
Azerbaijan
Mehdi Sharifi	Premyer Liqa	Sumqay?t	Azerbaijan		YES
Bangladesh
Khaled Shafiei	Premier League	Bashundhara Kings	Bangladesh
Belgium
Milad Mohammadi	First Division A	Gent	Belgium	YES
Ali Gholizadeh	First Division A	Sporting Charleroi	Belgium	YES
Kaveh Rezaei	First Division A	Club Brugge	Belgium	YES
China PR
Morteza Pouraliganji	CSL	Shenzhen	China	YES
Croatia
Sadegh Moharrami	1. HNL	Dinamo Zagreb	Croatia	YES
Younes Delfi	1. HNL	HNK Gorica	Croatia		YES
Mohsen Behzadpour	3. HNL	Lu?ko	Croatia
Denmark
Saeid Ezatolahi	Superliga	Vejle	Denmark	YES
Georgia
Mohammad Barzegarasl	Liga 3	Didube 2014	Georgia

Greece
Ehsan Hajsafy	Super League 1	AEK Athens	Greece	YES
Karim Ansarifard	Super League 1	AEK Athens	Greece	YES
Mohammadreza Azadi	Super League 1	Panaitolikos	Greece
India
Iman Basafa	Indian Super League	Bengaluru FC	India
Iraq
Milad Zanda	Iraqi League	Erbil	Iraq
Mohammed Mhamdian	Iraqi League	Naft	Iraq
Mehdi Daghagheleh	Iraqi League	Naft Maysan	Iraq
Kuwait
Ali PourDara	Premier League	Kuwait SC	Kuwait
Norway
Sousha Makani	Eliteserien	Mjøndalen	Norway
Philippines
Omid Nazari	PFL	United City	Philippines		YES
Portugal
Alireza Beiranvand	Primeira Liga	Boavista	Portugal	YES
Jafar Salmani	Primeira Liga	Portimonense	Portugal	YES
Payam Niazmand	Primeira Liga	Portimonense	Portugal	YES
Mehdi Taremi	Primeira Liga	Porto	Portugal	YES
Ali Alipour	Primeira Liga	Marítimo	Portugal		YES
Taha Zareei	Campeonato (4th division)	Vianense	Portugal
Qatar
Ramin Rezaeian	Qatar Stars League	Al Duhail	Qatar		YES
Mehrdad Mohammadi	Qatar Stars League	Al Arabi	Qatar	YES
Pejman Montazeri	Qatar Stars League	Al Kharitiyath	Qatar		YES
Ali Karimi	Qatar Stars League	Qatar SC	Qatar	YES
Shojaa Khalilzadeh	Qatar Stars League	Al Rayyan	Qatar	YES
Mehrdad Pooladi	Second Division	Muaither	Qatar		YES
Alan Hossein Karimi	Second Division	Lusail City	Qatar
Russia
Sardar Azmoun	Premier League	Zenit	Russia	YES
Scotland
Pedram Ardalany	Football League	Cumbernauld Colts	Scotland
Slovakia
Iman Salimi	Super Liga	Sere?	Slovakia
Sweden
Bakhtiyar Rahmani	Ettan	Dalkurd	Sweden		YES
Switzerland
Shaho Maroufi	1. Liga Promotion	Stade Nyonnais	Switzerland
Thailand
Hamed Bakhtiari	Thai League 1	Suphanburi	Thailand
Vafa Hakhamaneshi	Thai League 1	Ratchaburi	Thailand
Mahan Rahmani Noubari	Thai League 2	Nong Bua Pitchaya	Thailand
Turkey
Mohammad Naderi	Süper Lig	Altay Spor Kulübü	Turkey
Majid Hosseini	Süper Lig	Kayserispor	Turkey	YES
Ebrahim Aabednezhad	Bölgesel Amator lig	Serinhisarspor	Turkey
Davoud Ezat?tagh	Bölgesel Amator lig	Biga Adaspor	Turkey
Ukraine
Allahyar Sayadmanesh	Premier League	Zorya	Ukraine	YES
Shahab Zahedi	Premier League	Zorya	Ukraine
Siavash Haghnazari	Persha Liga	Volyn	Ukraine
UAE
Ahmad Noorollahi	ADNOC Leauge	Shabab Al-Ahli	UAE	YES
Mehdi Ghaedi	ADNOC Leauge	Shabab Al-Ahli	UAE	YES
USA
Steven Beitashour	MLS	Colorado Rapids	USA		YES
Arshia Aghababazadeh	USL Championship	Austin Bold	USA
Ramak Nikan Safi	NPSL	Jacksonville Armada II	USA

04/09/2017

End of the road for Jalal Hosseini

The Persepolis central defender, a veteran of 108 games for Team Melli and 8 goals will be appearing for the last time against Syria.

Seyyed Jalal Hosseini , who has been a fixed player for his club Persepolis winning the league title last season, has not featured in Carlos Queiroz’s team this year although he was included in the squads for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

At 35 , Jalal Hosseini is obviously not as versatile and quick as he used to be years back. He has formed a strong partnership with Pejman Montazeri in Team Melli for the last few years , but his loss of pace , his temperemnt and certain lack of self-control has reduced his chances of appearing for Team Melli and relegated in the pecking order for defenders by Queiroz.

In essence, Carlos Queiroz is a great believer in youth energy and for the six years he has been at the helm of Team Melli , the Portuguese coach has introduced many new players while he easily dispensed with the service of the most senior member of Team Melli without affecting the overall performances or result of the team. In Hosseini’s case, the performance of his club teammate Mohammad Ansari was quite assuring and hence he seems to be the perfect replacement for the aging Hosseini.

Like Mehdi Rahmati, Hadi Aghili, Andranik Teymourian, Khosrow Heydari, Mohammadreza Khalatbari, Mehrdad Pooladi , AmirHossein Sadeghi, Mojtaba Jabbari , Gholamreza Rezaei , Mohammad Nouri, and Mohammad Nosrati before him, the Persepolis defender is bidding farewell after a fine 10 years career with Team Melli which included participation in the FIFA World Cup 2014 and three AFC Asian Cups 2007, 2011 and 2015.

23/07/2016

Ben Williams is to retire.

Jai Bednall

news.com.au@jaibednall

IMAGINE spending more than two decades at the very top of your field, and then when you retire, witnessing widespread celebration you were finally quitting.

That’s life as a football referee and the reality veteran Australian whistleblower Ben Williams faced today after announcing Tuesday night’s International Champions Cup match between Juventus and Tottenham at the MCG would be his last match in Australia.

“After 22 years on the national panels and 12 years as a FIFA referee it feels like the right time to hang up the whistle,” Williams said. “I’m looking forward to spending time with my increased family and giving back to them for all the love and support they afforded me throughout my career.”

The referee who cruelly and unfairly red carded Mehrdad Pooladi in the quarter-final match against Iraq , is perhaps the most hated of all the referees by Iranian fans throughout the history. Not Only this dismissal was unjust to the player, it meant that the team had to play the rest of the match and extra time with one player short. Williams fell a victim of Iraqi goalkeeper play acting and was too naive at the scene. No Iranian will be missing this referee for sure. Good riddance is quite appropriate for a man that has gave a whole nation a hardship.

It’s some resume, but do you think it meant anything to A-League followers on Twitter? Of course not.

Australian betting company sportsbet.com.au — who are always attempting to find the lighter side of moments like this — were particularly savage.

One of their tweets — which included a gif of fans applauding the news — even prompted former ASADA boss Richard Ings to respond: “Why are people so unkind?”

But the betting gurus weren’t the only ones taking shots. This is how Twitter reacted.

Enjoy his tweet

David Schulze @davschulze

Is Ben Williams guide dog also retiring or will he be given to one of the other refs #mvfc

24/08/2015

Team Melli unable to use players under Military Service.

The Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran has written to the concerned departments declaring that all those players who have found to be guilty of fraud by the courts for holding fake military release certificates , will not be allowed to join Team Melli or Omid teams. The ban is valid until the completion of their service.

Team Melli will be playing against Guam at home then India away. Carlos Queiroz will be unable to select those players although in real terms , none are fixed players in the team. The players are Arash Afshin , Bakhtiyar Rahmani , Shoja’a Khalilzadeh , Hossein Mahini and Soroush Rafei. In addition , Mehrdad Pooladi who is currently out of the country , is also put on the black list and cannot play for Team Melli.

The communique from the armed forces did not specifically mention those other players who have not cheated and are currently serving their mandatory military service as required by the law. Such players are normally banned from leaving the country while serving but dispensation has been issued before on request from the FFIRI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Team Melli will start a short training camp next Thursday in Azadi Sports Complex in preparation for the match on 3rd September against Guam in Azadi and on the 8th in Mumbai against India.

07/06/2015

Team Melli is further depleted !

A depleted Team Melli will be flying to Tashkent on Tuesday 11:00 am missing 7 players. The latest additions, is one of the most experienced players, Seyed Jalal Hosseini and Foolad young starlet , Soroush Rafei. The pair is facing administration issues preventing them from leaving Iran.

As reported earlier in teammelli.com , Hosseini is facing tax evasion charges due to the non-payment of taxes while he was playing with Persepolis. Hosseini learned of his dilemma when he returned to Iran after the end of the QSL season where he was playing with Al Ahli in Qatar. Hosseini is adamant that according to his contract , Persepolis was supposed to pay for his income taxes , something they never did.

Soroush Rafei is faced with the military service which in Iran means the person is not allowed to leave the country until the completion of his duty. However, there are exemptions based on admissible evidences. Queiroz personally took Rafei’s issue to task but it appears that his efforts were fruitless.

Although the decision on both are not final with another 30 odd hours remaining to the flight , it is hardly unlikely that the matter will be resolved. Hosseini’s absence will be a real blow to Team Melli already missing Amir Hossein Sadeghi in the central defense and Mehrdad Pooladi. Montazeri will most probably be paired with young Pouraliganji in the central defense while Ghafoori , Heydari or Beikzadeh will be occupying the defensive flanks.

The list of the absentees on the trip to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is as follows:

Ashkan Dejagah (Injury)
Alireza Jahanbakhsh (injury)
Ghassim Haddadifar (Fatigue)
Jalal Hosseini (Taxation)
Karim Ansarifard (Form)
Mehrdad Pooladi (Military Service)
Soroush Rafei (Military Service)

16/04/2015

Pooladi and Shojaei relegated in QSL.

Al Shahaniya club lost its final match in the Qatar Star League QSL against Al Ahli and were relegated to the second division. Al Shahaniya which has two Team Melli players Mehrdad Pooladi and Masoud Shojaei in their squad , were just promoted last season. The two Iranian players started with the team from the beginning of the season , but their efforts were fruitless and could not help keep the newly promoted team in top flight for more than one season.

Al Shahaniya finished in 13th position with 20 points 7 points ahead of the bottom team Al Shamal which is also relegated along with Al Shahaniya.

Al Ahli which is coached by the ex-Sepahan coach Zlatko Kranjcar and has Jalal Hosseini and Mojtaba Jabbari playing for them finished the season at 5th place. Hosseini and played Pooladi played the full match for their respective teams , while Masoud Shojaei was introduced as a substitute from the second half. Jabbari is currently injured.

Al Wakrah which has Reza Ghoochanejad in their squad , just missed on relegation by beating Al Gharafa 2-1 in the final round of the QSL a result that ensured their survival. Al Wakrah finished with 23 point at 12 place just above the relegated Al Shahaniya. Ghoochanejad made a cameo appearance for Al Wakra when he replaced Ahmad Koheyl Substituted in the final 5 minutes of the game.

QSL title was won by Lekhwiya for the fourth time in their history.

29/12/201429/12/2014

Pooladi & Rafei cleared to join Team Melli squad.

Mehrdad Pooladi , Team Melli’s left back currently playing for Al Shahniya club in Qatar and Soroush Rafei the young Foolad Khuzestan player have been granted permission by the armed forces to join Team Melli squad.

After a series of disappointing turns of events and depressing news around Team Melli in its preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2015, this has to be the brightest news of them all. With the absence of Pejman Montazeri who misses the tournament due to injury, Pooladi’s inclusion in Queiroz squad is quite vital. Mehrdad Pooladi was the best player in Team Melli 3 matches in the World Cup according to FIFA technical analysis. His National Service problem prevented him from being selected for duty for Team Melli.

Most of the credit for the inclusion of Pooladi and Rafei must go to the Head coach Carlos Querioz whose personal efforts and demands, including a straightforward and serious discussion with the Minister of Youth & Sport has yielded result. The latter writing to the Armed Forces and requesting the release of the two players for national duty as football players.

The two persons who should have done the most to release Team Melli players, Kaffashian and Mohammad Nabi were quite passive about the issue and maintained a stance where they kept declaring that they are abiding by the law, without making any efforts to challenge or request any alternative options from the authorities to seek the two players release.

Although Soroush Rafei is a rookie and is not expected to play a major role in the Asian Cup in Australia, his inclusion is vital for the long term planning of Carlos Queiroz future Team Melli build up.

Team Melli is supposed to fly to Australia via Dubai this evening for the last part of the ir training camp which includes a friendly match against Iraq in Sydney.

28/12/201429/12/2014

Why is playing for your National Team NOT a national duty!

It is really hard to think of why many Iranian athletes/sportsmen , who by playing for the national teams, thus serving their country, giving their best to raise the tri colored flag , fight for honors , respect and victory of the motherland and in the process could be exposed to injuries that could life threatening or permanently handicapped, why are these Iranian athletes/sportsmen are not categorized as serving the nations and even worse, prevented from joining their teams that needs them ??

Hamid Sourian – The living legend of Iran’s wrestling

The same person that is wanted in Australia to defend the national honors of Iran in the Asian Cup is considered an outlaw if he does not join the military service and work in a remote village teaching some kids how to run or write. Surely , if the person is talented enough , he must be utilized and serve the country in his filed and specialty rather than wasting him. This is the fundamental of proper Human Resource Management.

The question that begs itself for the Iranian government and lawmakers is, what is the meaning of National Service and why representing the country is NOT considered national service although the media is always ready to hype the players and the fans by pointing to the patriotic duty of football players and other athletes as servant or soldiers of the country when talking part in competitions abroad?!

Iran’s Behdad Salimi (R) and his with compatriot Sajjad Anoushiravani celebrate winning medals at London Olympics games

There is quite a bit of contradiction in the philosophy of the system of National Service. In the World Cup, Mehrdad Pooladi is a hero who is serving his nation, but a few months later, he is a villain and a deserter for trying to do the same in Australia without doing the military service!

Granted, there are laws in Iran governing the military or national service which has to be respected. The question though if these laws are truly reflecting the concept of national service, especially when talking about peace time. These laws need to be amended, serving one’s country cannot only be in the Military field, it could be in the scientific, agricultural, sport and many other fields. The Military should NOT have the exclusive monopoly on people. Law makers need to seriously address this area. National service must re-defined from the archaic system inherited from the days of the pre-revolution era.

As it is , there are many instances where a person can be granted exemption from national service in Iran, why not add sporting duty while representing the country, to that long list?

15/12/2014

Masoud Shojaei scores a rare hat trick.

Doha

Masoud Shojaei , playing for Al Shahaniya in Qatar Star League QSL scored a rare career hat trick to help his team defeat the 10 man Al Sadd and current league leader 3 – 1.

Team Melli winger Shojaei who was unable to find a Spanish club after his last club Las Palmas did not renew his contract following a poor season, eventually ended up in Qatar with the newly promoted team from the second division. Up to Sunday’s match against Al Sadd, Shojaei has managed to score one goal only in 12 matches. He has now 4 goals in total.

Masoud Shojaei has been one of the weaker performers in Team Melli matches. However; despite his lackluster displays , Shojaei has always been favored by Queiroz who has a much higher regards and respect for players who play outside Iran, especially Europe. Shojaei has been booed regularly at Azadi when playing for Team Melli due to his marginal form. His lack of goals in Al Shahaniya has prompted the lowly team to look for an alternative striker from North Africa and Brazil to join the team in the January window. It is not known if this hat trick has changed the AL Shahaniya managements’ mind.

Masoud Shojaei seemed to have a found new lease of life just about the right time for himself and Team Melli with about a month to go for the AFC Asian Cup 2015. Shojaei’s compatriot Mehrdad Pooladi , currently not able to play for Iran , is also playing for the QSL team. Al Shahaniya is still near the bottom of the league and in danger of a quick return to the second division of Qatar league after one season only in top flight. Al Shahaniya has 12 points from 14 matches in the 13th position of the 14 team league.

24/11/201424/11/2014

Pooladi is suspended in Iran

Mehrdad Pooladi has been suspended by the football league as a result of a ruling by the Government organization for employments.

The ruling has been issued because Pooladi has failed to produce a genuine “Certificate of Release from Military Service.” When the Al Shahaniya player was summoned by the authorities either to produce different documents or proceed on the mandatory 2 years military service, Pooladi , however , failed to show up. At some stage , his continuous failure to turn up might end up quite costly if he is labeled as a deserter.

As such, Pooladi being suspended from football activities in Iran , he will not be selected for Team Melli and as of now , it is pretty certain that the best performing Iranian player in the FIFA World Cup 2014 will be missing from the roster for the AFC Asian Cup 2015.

The ruling does not affect Pooladi’s playing outside of Iran and it is not binding for his Qatari club.