Tag: Persepolis

Mohammad Mohebbi to Santa Clara

The flight of Iranian players to pastures new continues. This time, Sepahan and Team Melli midfielder Mohammad Mohebbi has joined the Portuguese first division team, Santa Clara in a swap deal. The Azores-based club has swapped their current Iranian asset, Shahriyar Moghanlo for Mohammad Mohebbi.

The Azores logo had already officially announced the deal, with the Iranian player, declaring that the two parties had agreed to a contract valid for the next three seasons, that is, until 2024.

Also, according to the statement issued by Santa Clara, the other Iranian involved in this deal, Shahryar Muganlo – the striker who, in the first half of last season, played in 13 matches for the island’s team, and scored a goal – will be transferred to the old Mohebbi team, Sepahan Esfahan. There does not seem to be any cash involved in this deal as it seems as a straight swap between the two clubs with Sepahan getting Moghanlo who was on loan to Persepolis last season.

Mohebbi is a versatile player who can fill the role of a forward upfront, midfield, or winger and such versatility will surely satisfy the Azurian coach. In the past two seasons, Mohebbiscored with Sepahan nine goals in 41 matches.

Upon his arrival in the Azores, Mohamed Mohebbi expressed his joy on the occasion of signing for the islanders. “I am very happy being here and looking forward to playing in a  European League. I will do my best to leave my mark on Santa Clara,” said the Iranian, in comments carried by communication channels in the Azores.

Recently Kanaanizadegan, Nourollahi, Ghaedi, Hajsafy, and Naderi have all left their Iranian clubs to play abroad.

Mehdi Ghaedi is heading to Dubai.

According to the Abu Dhabi Sports Network, Mehdi Ghaedi, Esteghlal, and Team Melli forward has signed with Shabab Al-Ahli club of Dubai.

While there is a lack of official and definite confirmation, it seems that Abu Dhabi Sports Network reported TV show “Al Share Al Riyadhi” which previously broke the news of Ahmad Nourollahi’s transfer, has come up with yet another exclusive this time with the breaking of the news of Ghaedi joining Shabab Al-Ahli.

Esteghlal CEO Ahmad Madadi had traveled to the UAE a few days ago for final negotiations with Shabab Al-Ahli officials, but some Emirati media outlets had reported that Esteghlal’s condition for selling Ghaedi was his availability for the Quarter Final match of AFC Champions League game against Al-Hilal, after which Ghadei will be released to Shabab Al-Ahli.

It is said that Esteghlal Club will receive more than $ 2 million by selling Ghaedi. Previously, Persepolis midfielder Ahmad Nourollahi had joined Shabab Al-Ahli.

Shabab Al-Ahli is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE and plays in  ADNOC Pro League. UAE’s premier division. In 2017, the Dubai CSC and Al Shabab merged within Al Ahli FC making Shabab Al Ahli FC. This club has a long track record of acquiring the services of Iranian players from the 70’s. Players such as Hassan Nazari, Hassan Rowshan, Ali Karimi, Javad Kazemian, Milad Meydavoudi, and Mehrzad Madanchi have played for Al-Ahli.

The club belongs to Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Emirates of Dubai, and is practically run by his children.

Team Melli complexion is changing rapidly.

After the transfer of Sepahan’s and Team Melli Captain Ehsan Hajsafi to AEK Athens, Iran has just five players playing in the domestic Persian Gulf league. That puts Iran among the group of countries whose majority of the national team players play abroad. These countries, including World Cup holder France and FIFA Top ranking team Belgium, have only a few footballers that are based at home.

With the conclusion of the 2020/21 season of the Persian Gulf League in which Persepolis won the title for the fifth time in a row, 3 significant transfers were confirmed. Hossein Kanani from Al Ahli of Qatar from Persepolis, Payam Niazmand to Portimonense of Portugal, and Ehsan Hajsafi to AEK Greece from Sepahan, the last 23-man squad of Team Melli home-based players reduced to five only,

Vahid Amiri,  Milad Sarlak, Ahmad Nourollahi, Mehdi Torabi (all Persepolis), and Mehdi Ghaedi (Esteghlal) are the only players present in the World Cup qualifiers who are based in Iran. As for the latter player, Mehdi Ghaedi, his suitors have increased since his brilliant performance in AFC Champions League. Farhad Majidi announced a while ago, that he will not stop Ghaedi from seeking his fortunes in other pastures to improve his standard, which means the possible transfer of the best current talent in Iranian football to a foreign club.

The full list of Team Melli with 19 players

Team Melli legionnaires also include the following players who were not part of the squad for the return legs of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, who could be possibly invited to the next stage of qualifiers. These 6 players are as follow

In total 25 (83%) players are legionnaires out of 30

It is quite possible that under these circumstances, Iran will probably not have any players from domestic league playing for the country in the national team for several years to come, and there will be no trace of the old superiority and total control of Team Melli squad by the to poles of Iran football, Esteghlal, and Persepolis.

Several years ago, at the time of the decline of the domestic leagues of France and Belgium, all the players of these two powerful national teams were players working outside the domestic leagues. It seems that no player from the Belgian league was in the Red Devils’ starting line-up at Euro 2020 this year, and that was the case in France before the re-emergence of Paris Saint-Germain in France as one of the top teams in Europe.

The standard of Iran’s domestic league has fallen quite badly in the last few years due to several factors. Total government hegemony on clubs, chronic incompetent management, nepotism, poor coaching, politics, lack of resources, favoritism, corruption, and exceptional indiscipline have all resulted in a league that is relegated in the AFC Asian ranking to mid tables.

Iranian clubs have never won the AFC Champions League and the last time a club from Iran won a trophy was back in 1990/91 when Esteghlal won the Asian Club Championship, the predecessor of Champions League.

Amir Abedzadeh joins SD Ponferradina

Iranian international goalkeeper Amir Abedzadeh (Tehran, Iran, 1993) joined the Spanish second division club s SD Ponferradina. The new Blue and White goalkeeper transferred from the Primeira Liga de Portugal club CS Marítimo, with whom he has been keeping goal. 

Abedzadeh began his professional career in Orange County SC in the United States. After that experience, in 2012 he joined Persepolis FC, one of the main clubs in his country. After two campaigns, he experienced a new stage in Iran in the ranks of Rah Ahan FC.

In 2016 he began a long cycle in Portuguese football, which he arrived at to join FC Barreirense. After a campaign in this club, CS Marítimo de Funchal opened the doors to him of the highest category in Portugal. His prominence was growing and in the last two seasons, he has played as a regular starter.

In addition to his club experience, he is also a full international with Iran and was part of his country’s squad for the 2018 World Cup.

Beiranvand signs for the Portuguese side Boavista

Boavista is about to reinforce its goalkeeping with the signing of the Iranian international goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in a deal that involves a loan with a purchase option, according to Maisfutebol .

The 28-year-old player, Iran’s regular first-team player, left Antwerp’s camp this Wednesday to travel to Portugal until the end of the week.

Beiranvand was the goalkeeper who defended Iran’s colors at the 2018 World Cup and who saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo, in the match between Iran and Portugal in the group stage of the competition, in Russia.

Last season, Beiranvand played 12 games for Antwerp, in his first season with the Belgian club.

In his native country, Alireza Beiranvand represented Naft Tehran from 2011 to 2016, having then moved to Persepolis, from 2016 to 2020, in a club where she played with Mehdi Taremi, current FC Porto forward. He has 44 games for the national team.

The player’s manager shared a photo this evening on social media with the signing of a contract with Boavista.

Fariba warns against the government influence in FFIRI election.

In an interview with Mehr, Behtash Fariba referred to the upcoming elections of the Football Federation FFIRI and said: “The members of the Football Federation Assembly should elect a person as president who is independent, competent and capable of instigating changes in the federation.”

The former Team Melli and Esteghlal player further noted: “The next president of the Iranian football federation will have many problems and must be able to overcome these problems.”

He added: “Assembly members must choose the right person for football. As a footballer, I ask those who are in fact our representatives in the Assembly to steer football in the right direction with a proper choice in order to progress and develop. Rest assured that a good outcome will be achieved if the government does not interfere in the elections.”

Fariba, who has also played for   Pas club, continued in an interview with Mehr news: “I do not believe that the Ministry of Sports will remain idle and not interfere in the elections, I wish it would not interfere. I wish the government would not influence the proceedings of the election and running of football affair, but it is wishful thinking. Despite their public stance that  they (the government) would remain neutral and would not interfere, do not believe it.“

The Iranian football veteran pointed out ” Be rest assured that the Ministry of Sports has its own agenda and preferred candidate(s) and all efforts will be made to get their own candidate to win the presidency of the federation. This is modus operandi of the ministry that has a solid track record of appointing chairmen and board members of Esteghlal and Persepolis in order to manage and control these two most popular clubs of the nation and beyond.  The chaos and poor management style of the appointees of the Ministry are vividly visible to all. Now, do you think that the Ministry of Sports will neglect to exert influence in a place like the Football Federation? highly unlikely, in my opinion”

Mohammad Ali Karimi , is one of the candidates and has the broad support of footballers. His nominated deputy is another Iranian legend, Mehdi Mahdavikia.

Ali Ansarian passes away. Another Covid19 victim.

Coronavirus took away another Iranian footballer.

The former Persepolis and Esteghlal defender, Ali Ansarian has died today  Wednesday in Tehran at the age of 43 due to contracting coronavirus and subsequent serious health complications.

Ansarian, who has previously played for Fajr Sepasi, Persepolis, Saipa, Esteghlal Tehran, Estil Azin , Esteghlal Ahvaz, Gostarish Foolad,  Shahrdari Tabriz, and Shahin Bushehr contracted the virus a couple of weeks ago. His health deteriorated rapidly and all efforts to save him were lost on Wednesday after he succumbed to the illness.

Kavianpour

Ansarian, who was taken to the hospital about two weeks ago, was being monitored with a ventilator due to his deteriorating condition. There were even reports of his condition improving in the past few days, but his condition worsened in the past two days.

The football veteran has also been active in the field of media and cinema in the past years and has acted in movies and TV series while appearing in several TV shows.

It was only last week that Iran’s football lost a footballing hero in Mehrdad Minavand due to a Coronavirus.

 Team Melli dot com extends its condolences to the Ansarian family and the football community for this loss, May God bless his soul

Mehrdad Minvand Former Team Melli player passes away

Mehrdad Minavand, a former player of Team Melli and Persepolis club, died at Laleh Hospital in Tehran due to coronary heart disease. The Iranian football veteran was hospitalized in Laleh Hospital on the 21st of January. He went to artificial sleep for six days at the diagnosis of the medical staff and underwent surgery. But the efforts of the medical staff to bring Mr. Minavand back to life were unsuccessful. Ali Ansarian, another former Team Melli & Persepolis player who has also played for Esteghlal, was admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of Farhikhtegan Hospital in Tehran on the same day.

Ansarian, along with the late Mehrdad Minavand, participated in a special program on the Persepolis Club television network on the 11th of January, commenting on the 94th derby between Esteghlal & Persepolis.

Mehrdad Minavand was one of the most important contemporary players of Persepolis after Hadi Nowruzi, who has passed away at a young age. Nader Bagheri, Kazem Seyed Alikhani, Homayoun Behzadi, and Jafar Kashani, veterans of Persepolis Club, have died last year. But all of them were veterans and over 6 decades old. The death of Mehrdad Minavand, at the age of 45, evoked the first shock he gave to Iranian football. Minavand hanged his boots at the relatively early age of 31. None of the players in Minavand’s team in Persepolis or in the national team hung their shoes at that age. He joined Persepolis in 1996 and played 108 times for the reds in two separate spells. Ali Parvin had called Mehrdad Minavand “the best successor” to Mojtaba Moharremi in the left wing of Iranian football in 1996.

Minavand was invited to Team Melli by Mayeli-Kohan and made his debut against Turkmenistan on 25th Nov 1996. He played in 69 games scoring 4 goals in the process. His last match was in 2003.
Mehrdad Minavand’s first national goal against Thailand. The Iranian national team’s equalizer in the Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait was scored by Mehrdad Minavand and his accurate cross ended in Ali Daei scoring. At the end of the twentieth century, the Asian Football Confederation selected this goal as one of the five most beautiful goals scored by a header in the history of the Asian Cup. Mehrdad Minavand was highly valued by the coaches of national teams due to his accurate crosses with his left foot and useful play on the left side of the defensive line. He was one of the most prominent players of the Iranian national team in two tournaments, the AFC Asian Cup 1996 in the UAE and the 1998 World Cup in France. Minavand considered the loss of a one-on-one goal against Ivica Crawley, the famous Yugoslav national team goalkeeper at the 1998 World Cup, to be one of the greatest regrets of his sporting life. However, Minavand’s brilliance in the games against the United States and Germany led him to European football.

Minavand is the first Iranian player to play in the Champions League when he was in Strum Graz, this is before the likes of Ali Daei, Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdabikia and Karim Bagheri, all of whom were his teammates in the 1998 World Cup.

Ali Karimi Joins Al Duhail

 Ali Karimi, Team Melli, and former Esteghlal midfielder who was transferred to the Qatar Star League side, Qatar Sports Club at the beginning of the season, has moved on to Al Duhail. in the winter transfers on loan.

After former Persepolis midfielder Bashar Rasan joined Al-Qatar, the club’s officials removed Ali Karimi from the list and transferred him to Al-Duhail. Al-Duhail team is led by French “Sabri Lamoushi”. Previously, Ramin Rezaeian, Team Melli defender played half a season for Al-Duhail, but he was included in the surplus list and went to Al-Siliyah. Karimi replaces Rezaian in Al-Duhail, with whom he will play in the Club World Cup.

Shojaa Khalilzadeh to sign for Al Rayyan in Doha

Shojaa Khalilzadeh, Persepolis, and Team Melli central defender has turned up in the Qatari capital Doha to sign a contract with Al Rayyan club. According to Al Arab daily newspaper, Al Rayyan has already concluded the negotiation with the Iranian defender and just awaiting the signatures on the contract.

According to sources, after accepting the conditions of a contract renewal with Khalilzadeh, Persepolis is now dealing with the news of his departure from Iran to sign a contract with Al Rayyan of Qatar Star League. The news caused the club to send a letter to the Qatar Football Federation and Al Rayyan Club regarding the legality of any contract between Khalilzadeh and any Qatari club.

Khalilzadeh, whose contract with Persepolis runs for another season, unilaterally terminated his contract with Persepolis due to the club’s breach of payment clauses. It seems that Persepolis has not paid the player, which is a very common practice in Iran’s football, and hence the player is legally allowed to cancel that contract.

Recently recalled to Team Melli after a seven years gap, the Persepolis defender was supposed to sign his contract extension and amendments at 10:30 AM on Wednesday at the club premises. However, Khalizadeh was upset by some contradictory behaviors of the club’s managers and left for Qatar.

Before traveling to Qatar, Khalilzadeh was contacted by Yahya Golmohammadi, the head coach of the team, Attempts to reach him was futile, because Persepolis defender mobile was turned off. However, Khalilzadeh, after leaving for Qatar, sent a message to Yahya Golmohammadi informing him of his intention to leave the team while wishing him personally and Persepolis’s success in the final of the Asian Champions League.

The message shocked the Reds’ coach, but Golmohammadi has decided not to react to it for the time being.

Khalilzadeh has left Persepolis while there is no news of his official agreement with Qatar’s Al Rayyan Club. However, it is possible that his contract will be signed today, given the player’s presence in Qatar.