Tag: Steven Beitashour

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

#PlayerLeagueClubCountryTeam Melli
Current
Team Melli
Former
England
Saman GhoddosPremier LeagueBrentfordEnglandYES
Ravi ShamsiNon League PremierNuneaton BoroughEngland
Pouriya AhmadiNon League Division OneGlossop North EndEngland
Spain
Amir AbedzadehSegunda DivisiónPonferradinaSpainYES
Germany
Daniel DavariRegionalligaRot-Weiss EssenGermanyYES
Fereydoon ZandiRegionalligaSt. Pauli IIGermanyYES
Ahmad JafariRegionalligaHombergGermany
Aram AbdelkarimRegionalligaStraelenGermany
Ebrahim FarahnakRegionalligaHSC HannoverGermany
Ali SandoghdarOberligaVfL OldenburgGermany
Maziar NamavizadehOberligaRöchling VölklingenGermany
Iman Saghi beRiaOberligaHastedtGermany
Netherlands
Alireza JahanbakhshEredivisieFeyenoordNetherlandsYES
Nabi HakimzadehHoofdklasseHBSNetherlands
Aria HashemiEerste KlasseBest VooruitNetherlands
Australia
Behzad AriayeeQueensland NPLMoreton Bay UnitedAustralia
Azerbaijan
Mehdi SharifiPremyer LiqaSumqay?tAzerbaijanYES
Bangladesh
Khaled ShafieiPremier LeagueBashundhara KingsBangladesh
Belgium
Milad MohammadiFirst Division AGentBelgiumYES
Ali GholizadehFirst Division ASporting CharleroiBelgiumYES
Kaveh RezaeiFirst Division AClub BruggeBelgiumYES
China PR
Morteza PouraliganjiCSLShenzhenChinaYES
Croatia
Sadegh Moharrami1. HNLDinamo ZagrebCroatiaYES
Younes Delfi1. HNLHNK GoricaCroatiaYES
Mohsen Behzadpour3. HNLLu?koCroatia
Denmark
Saeid EzatolahiSuperligaVejleDenmarkYES
Georgia
Mohammad BarzegaraslLiga 3Didube 2014Georgia
Greece
Ehsan HajsafySuper League 1AEK AthensGreeceYES
Karim AnsarifardSuper League 1AEK AthensGreeceYES
Mohammadreza AzadiSuper League 1PanaitolikosGreece
India
Iman BasafaIndian Super LeagueBengaluru FCIndia
Iraq
Milad ZandaIraqi LeagueErbilIraq
Mohammed MhamdianIraqi LeagueNaftIraq
Mehdi DaghaghelehIraqi LeagueNaft MaysanIraq
Kuwait
Ali PourDaraPremier LeagueKuwait SCKuwait
Norway
Sousha MakaniEliteserienMjøndalenNorway
Philippines
Omid NazariPFLUnited CityPhilippinesYES
Portugal
Alireza BeiranvandPrimeira LigaBoavistaPortugalYES
Jafar SalmaniPrimeira LigaPortimonensePortugalYES
Payam NiazmandPrimeira LigaPortimonensePortugalYES
Mehdi TaremiPrimeira LigaPortoPortugalYES
Ali AlipourPrimeira LigaMarítimoPortugalYES
Taha ZareeiCampeonato (4th division)VianensePortugal
Qatar
Ramin RezaeianQatar Stars LeagueAl DuhailQatarYES
Mehrdad MohammadiQatar Stars LeagueAl ArabiQatarYES
Pejman MontazeriQatar Stars LeagueAl KharitiyathQatarYES
Ali KarimiQatar Stars LeagueQatar SCQatarYES
Shojaa KhalilzadehQatar Stars LeagueAl RayyanQatarYES
Mehrdad PooladiSecond DivisionMuaitherQatarYES
Alan Hossein KarimiSecond DivisionLusail CityQatar
Russia
Sardar AzmounPremier LeagueZenitRussiaYES
Scotland
Pedram ArdalanyFootball LeagueCumbernauld ColtsScotland
Slovakia
Iman SalimiSuper LigaSere?Slovakia
Sweden
Bakhtiyar RahmaniEttanDalkurdSwedenYES
Switzerland
Shaho Maroufi1. Liga PromotionStade NyonnaisSwitzerland
Thailand
Hamed BakhtiariThai League 1SuphanburiThailand
Vafa HakhamaneshiThai League 1RatchaburiThailand
Mahan Rahmani NoubariThai League 2Nong Bua PitchayaThailand
Turkey
Mohammad NaderiSüper LigAltay Spor KulübüTurkey
Majid HosseiniSüper LigKayserisporTurkeyYES
Ebrahim AabednezhadBölgesel Amator ligSerinhisarsporTurkey
Davoud Ezat?taghBölgesel Amator ligBiga AdasporTurkey
Ukraine
Allahyar SayadmaneshPremier LeagueZoryaUkraineYES
Shahab ZahediPremier LeagueZoryaUkraine
Siavash HaghnazariPersha LigaVolynUkraine
UAE
Ahmad NoorollahiADNOC LeaugeShabab Al-AhliUAEYES
Mehdi GhaediADNOC LeaugeShabab Al-AhliUAEYES
USA
Steven BeitashourMLSColorado RapidsUSAYES
Arshia AghababazadehUSL ChampionshipAustin BoldUSA
Ramak Nikan SafiNPSLJacksonville Armada IIUSA

The forgotten men : Steven ‘Mehrdad’ Beitashour

 Carlos Queiroz was globetrotting looking for dual citizenship players or those with Iranian ancestry to pick them for Team Melli.  in his quest , he managed to find a player who was a long way from Iran. Steven’ Mehrdad ‘ Beitashour , playing for San Jose Earthquake at the time,  was one of these players attracting the attention of  the Portuguese coach.

Mehrdad Beitashour

INTERNATIONAL

A dual American-Iranian citizen, Beitashour chose to represent Iran after being approached by Queiroz, when he was called into camp for 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification. He made his debut in Iran’s 2-1 win over Thailand, coming on as a 76th minute substitute for Hossein Mahini. He made his first start and recorded his first assist for Iran in the ensuing match, again against Thailand, a 3-0 victory that ensured their qualification to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Beitashour then went on to start the next match as well, a 4-1 victory over Lebanon. Prior to committing to Iran, Beitashour had been called into one camp with the United States men’s national team, getting the call from head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in August of 201

The American-Iranian also made the squad to the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, however he was not picked to start any match nor was he used as a substitute.

From then on , Beitashour went into oblivion with Team Melli. Not selected for any matches , not that there were many and not considered for the finals of the Asian Cup 2015. Whether he will be available again to play for Iran in the future, is debatable.

So , what went wrong?

The major problem with selecting Beitashour was the logistics. Selecting a player who resides and makes his living on the other side of the world is a logistical nightmare under any circumstances. The only practical time that a player can join a squad is during major tournaments such as the World Cup , once every 4 years. Under other circumstances or during FIFA days, a trip from USA to Iran and back within 3 or 4 days is simply a nightmare.

Logistics aside, Beitashour had a very tough player and established veteran to compete with in Team Melli. AT the time, Khosro Heydari was one of the best performers in the team while Hossein Mahini was closely challenging for recognition as a fix starter. Apart from these two , several younger defenders were raring to go. Beotashour’s position was looking shaky and his value for the team beginning to be questioned.

Mehrdad Beitashour

Overall, Beitashour never really established himself in the team with the logistics problem and the tough competition around.  In total , he made 6 appearances for Team Melli half of it only as a starter. At 27 Years old, he has still a long way to go in his football career, whether any of it will be with Team Melli is another argument. At the present moment and with the Team in Australia without Beitashour , the Vancouver Whitecaps defender may find it difficult to make the Team Melli squad anytime soon before the next World Cup. Beitashour is still a quality player as he has shown with his club in the MSL where he made 27 appearances for the Canadian outfit. He was also included in the “Protected Players”  list , which indicates that his team is not willing to let him go or transfer to another club.

Whitecap Beitashour soaking up the World Cup experience

Nerves, excitement, joy hit Whitecap Steven Beitashour playing for Iran as he flies into Brazil

Whitecap Beitashour soaking up the World Cup experience

Steven Beitashour is the lone Whitecap playing in the World Cup, as the right-back is suiting up for Iran in Brazil. — 

Photograph by: SAMUEL KUBANI , AFP/Getty Images

It all hit Steven Beitashour as he was about to land in Brazil.

He looked out the airplane window and saw the host country. And whatever indescribable things one feels before a first FIFA World Cup — excitement, nerves, a sense of history, the joy and weight of the unknown — he felt it all.

“I’ll never forget that,” he said on Thursday conference call.

And since those first tingles, the Vancouver Whitecaps right-back, an Iranian-American born and raised in San Jose, Calif., has been all business, which is business as usual for Beitashour.

He hardly wanted to talk about the World Cup before he left the Whitecaps to join Iran, out of respect for the MLS club’s season and his own desire to remain in the moment.

He’s the kind of guy who apologizes in advance for clichés and then talks about taking things one day at a time.

Asked how he’ll balance a desire to enjoy this experience, to soak it in, as well as focus on the task at hand, he said: “I don’t know because it’s my first one. I don’t know if I’m having too much fun or not enough. Right now I have a job to do and I want to do it to the best of my abilities.”

But he certainly sounded light and upbeat and anxious to kick off.

First up is Nigeria on Monday (noon), a match that, at least based on FIFA rankings, represents Iran’s best hope for getting out of Group F, which looks to be a walk in the park for Argentina.

Iran is ranked 43rd, one spot ahead of Nigeria, which has a far richer World Cup history, having made the round of 16 in 1994 and 1998.

Iran’s been to three World Cups, the last being Germany in 2006, but they’ve never made it out of their group.

Their lone World Cup match victory was at least a famous one, over the U.S. at France ’98.

World Cup debutantes Bosnia-Herzegovina, ranked 21st, are favoured to finish second behind the powerful Argentines in Iran’s group, but Beitashour believes the race is wide open.

“Argentina’s the favourite. They deserve it,” he said. “The second spot out of our group is up for grabs. We’ve got three hungry teams and that’s why it’s so important, that first game, to start on the right foot.”

For Iran that means defending as a team: organized, patient, hard-working, constantly closing down space.

They had 10 shutouts in qualifying, the most of any team in Brazil.

Beitashour, brought into coach Carlos Queiroz’s side after a brief flirtation with the U.S. squad, said he doesn’t know if he’ll start in the opener.

His wife Karlie, his Iranian-born parents, Edward and Pari, his siblings and cousins, will all be there for the games. He’s expecting big support from Iranians in Brazil, too.

“All the guys on the team say, ‘You’ll be shocked to see how many Iranians show up,’” he said. “I’m excited for it.”

Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour joins the lads in Team Melli camp.

Shortly after arriving in Tehran and having a rest after a long journey from California, the San Jose Earthquake right back has joined his new teammate in the training camp of Azadi.

Beitashour was quickly surrounded by reporters and photographers as soon as they were allowed to speak to him. The Iranian-American expressed his delight at joining Team Melli and hoped that he makes a difference. He also promised that he will work on his Farsi and improve it in order to communicate well with his teammates.

Mehrdad Beitashour amongst the media.
Mehrdad Beitashour amongst the media.

Since it is certain that the regular right back of Team Melli , Khosrow Heydary is injured and cannot make it in time for the Tuesday clash, it is highly possible that Carlos Queiroz will give Steven “Mehrdad” Beitashour his first cap against Thailand. As such it will be the ideal test for both the player and the team. Bietashour had numerous assists in the MSL with San Jose Earthquakes. The fans would be looking forward for his crosses from the flanks.

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San Jose Earthquakes’ Steven Beitashour explains why he opted for Iran after USMNT cameos

October 11, 2013
MLSsoccer.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Having only established himself as a professional two years ago, Steven Beitashour still comes off as one of the San Jose Earthquakes’ young kids.

When it comes to the international stage, however, the 26-year-old right back knows his time is already beginning to run out. That’s why, when the Iranian national team came calling this time, Beitashour picked up and answered.

“I’m hoping to play at a World Cup, and [next year’s edition] is my best chance, because if I miss this one, I’ll be 31 in another four years,” Beitashour told MLSsoccer.com this week. “I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

Beitashour is the Quakes’ ultimate hometown kid – born in San Jose, a graduate of Leland High and a former ballboy for the franchise’s earlier MLS incarnation. He trained with the US national team last August and was in camp this January, but had to pull out after realizing offseason surgery failed to properly repair his sports hernia. Beitashour remained uncapped through 2013 as the Americans fought their way to the top of the CONCACAF Hexagonal.

“When I got called into the US national team, people thought, ‘Oh, that’s it, you’re settled. You’re playing for the US,’” Beitashour said. “But until you play a [binding] game, it’s not really over.”

That left the door open for Iran, which lays claim to Beitashour through his parents, who were both born there. The Iranians had been in contact with Beitashour since his emergence in 2011, when he notched seven assists in 19 league matches. The fact that Beitashour didn’t respond to their interest for so long left the impression that he was holding out to play for the US, but he claimed in the end it wasn’t a hard choice to make.

“If someone says, ‘Do you want to play for our country?’, I don’t think it’s too tough a decision,” Beitashour said. “It’s a good opportunity. Obviously, I still have to do well with it.”

While it’s common for players to face a choice between heritage and home with regards to a national-team commitment, the history between the US and Iran obviously raises the profile of Beitashour’s case – even if he doesn’t want to play a diplomatic role.

“For me, it’s all about soccer,” Beitashour said. “I don’t try to think at all on the political aspect of it. I’m just purely [concentrating] on playing soccer.”

On that front, Beitashour – who flew 17 hours to reach Tehran after the Quakes’ 1-0 victory against Colorado on Wednesday – will presumably get a look Tuesday when Iran faces Thailand in a qualifying match for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

“I know, speaking with Omid [Namazi, an assistant to Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz], they just want to take a look at me with the guys,” Beitashour said. “It’s different when you see someone on film all the time. You want to see how he reacts and plays with the guys on the team.”

Assuming that goes well, Beitashour could be back in Iranian colors next year during the World Cup, for which Team Melli have already qualified.

“It’s still far away, but the possibility of it is exciting,” Beitashour said of a potential Brazil trip. “To get these opportunities is very exciting. I just have to make sure that I continue to work hard at practice and in the gym and doing all the things off the field correctly, so that it gives me the best opportunity.”