Esteghlal F.C.

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For current information on this topic, see Esteghlal F.C. 2007-08 Season

Esteghlal F.C.
Full name	Esteghlal Tehran Football Club
Nickname(s)	SS Taj
Founded	24 September 1945
Ground	Azadi Stadium Tehran, Iran (Capacity 100,000)
Chairman	Ali Fatollahzadeh
Head Coach	Amir Ghalenoei
League	Persian Gulf Cup
2007-08	Persian Gulf Cup, 13th
Home colours 　 Away colours

Esteghlal Cultural and Athletic Club (Persian: باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی استقلال ایران) is an Iranian sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Tehran. It was founded as Taj (Persian: تاج), meaning 'Crown' in Persian and renamed after Islamic Revoloution in 1979. Founded in 1945, they play in the IPL and have spent most of their history in the top tier in Iranian football. It is one of the most famous and popular football clubs in Asia. The club also has a similarly successful futsal section.
They play their home games at the 90,000 capacity Azadi Stadium in Tehran. The club's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts, shorts and socks.
Esteghlal have been Asian Champions 2 times and have also won 5 National Championship titles.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Establishment 1.2 Emerging success 1.3 1979 Islamic Revoloution 1.4 Tehran Derby 1.5 AFC Champions League 2007 2 Stadium 3 Season-by-season 4 Honours 5 Club honors 6 Statistics 6.1 Statistics in IPL 6.2 Statistics in Asian Club Championships 6.3 General statistics 7 Players 7.1 First-team squad 7.2 2008/2009 Transfers 7.3 Famous players 8 Club captains 9 Club Managers 9.1 Current management team 9.2 Former Managers 9.3 Notable managers 10 Club officials 10.1 Board of directors 10.2 Executive directors 11 Sponsorship 11.1 Shirt sponsors and manufacturers 12 Notes 13 External links 13.1 Official 13.2 Fan sites

[edit] History

[edit] Establishment

On 24 September 1945, three Iranian military officers Mirzani, Jananpour and Navab started a sports club on Ferdowsi Street, Tehran. Since the founders of the club were mostly interested in cycling, the club's original name was Docharkheh Savaran (Persian: دوچرخه سواران), meaning 'The Cyclists' in Persian. Docharkheh Savaran football club played its first official match in 1946, and in 1947 was able to win the Tehran Hazfi Cup.

[edit] Emerging success

In 1949, the club officially changed its name to Taj. The club became the second most loved team in Iran after some years, and were able to make their fans happy by winning numerous league championships, Hazfi Cups and Asian Club Championships. The club has been able to get successful results in the past couple of years and is always looked at as a contender for the league championship. In the past two years it has finished 2nd or 3rd in the league, but Amir Ghalenoei was able to get the team its first championship in the IPL in the 2005-06 season after his third and final year as the manager.

[edit] 1979 Islamic Revoloution

After 1979 Islamic Revoloution in Iran, the club was confiscated by newly established Islamic government and right now is under the control of the Physical Education Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: سازمان تربیت بدنی جمهوری اسلامی ايران), a governmental organization, and change its name to Esteghlal (Persian: استقلال), 'Independence' in Persian. Taj (Persian: تاج) means 'Crown' in Persian, and after the revolution, any sign of the previous monarchist regime was not tolerated.

[edit] Tehran Derby

The club's main rival and its opponent in the Tehran Derby is Persepolis F.C. The first derby match between the clubs took place on April 5, 1968 at Amjadieh Stadium. The Azadi Stadium is always sold out when the match takes place. Ali samereh Scored the earliest goal in Tehran derby for Esteghlal F.C. against Persepolis F.C. Since 1995, IRIFF have invited foreign referees to officiate the game to ease fan and player suspicions of referee bias. This occurred after the events of the 38th derby. In the 38th derby (January 11, 1995) Persepolis was leading in the match by a score of 2-0 until the last 10 minutes of the match. Esteghlal scored 2 goals in quick succession, including one which was a penalty. This angered the Persepolis fans and players who felt the referee was biased towards Esteghlal. Persepolis fans stormed the field, and many fights broke out on the pitch between fans and players. After this match it was decided that Iranian referees will no longer be used for the derby.

[edit] AFC Champions League 2007

Esteghlal was dropped from the 2007 edition of the Asian Champion's League after the AFC did not receive the club's player list for the tournament in time. Despite efforts by the club management to reverse the decision, AFC upheld its decision^[1] and the club's board resigned soon after.

[edit] Stadium

Main articles: Azadi Stadium

The Azadi Stadium (Persian: ورزشگاه آزادي) is a football stadium in Tehran, Iran. It is the home of Esteghlal F.C., Persepolis F.C. and Team Melli. Work on the grounds started in 1973, it was built to host the 1974 Asian Games in Iran. The football stadium is part of the much larger Azadi Sport Complex. The stadium is the largest stadium in the IPL.

Azadi Statium was renovated in 2003, reducing the capacity of the stadium to 90,000.

Originally called the Aryamehr Stadium in honor of the Mohammad Reza Pahlavi after 1979 Islamic Revoloution in Iran change its name.

In 2004 a large display was added, replacing the original scoreboard. This giant screen with a total area of about 300m² and screen area of 104m² (20m in 7.5m) is one of the biggest in the world.

[edit] Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal in various competitions.

Season	League	League Finishing Position	Hazfi Cup	Asian Cup
2001-2002	Iran Premier League	2nd	Cup
2002-2003	Iran Premier League	9th		First Round
2003-2004	Iran Premier League	2nd	Final
2004-2005	Iran Premier League	3rd
2005-2006	Iran Premier League	1st (Champions)	Quarterfinal
2006-2007	Iran Premier League	4th	1/16 Final	Disqualified
2007-2008	Iran Premier League	13th	In Progress

[edit] Honours

Esteghlal is the most successful club in Asia, having won a total of 10 trophies in Iran and a record 2 winners trophies and 2 runners-up trophies in Asian competitions (tied with. Esteghlal has also earned the distinction of being allowed to wear 2 stars on their jersey representing the fact that they have won 2 Asian Club Championships.

[edit] Club honors

• National Championships

Winners (5): 1974, 1990, 97-98, 00-01, 05-06

Runner Up (5): 1974, 91-92, 98-99, 01-02, 03-04

• Hazfi Cup: 4

Winners (4): 1977, 1996, 2000, 2002

Runner Up (3)

• Asian Club Championships: 2

Winners (2): 1970, 90-91

Runner Up (2) 1991-92, 1998-99

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Statistics in IPL

• Seasons in IPL: 7 (all)
• Best position in IPL: First (2005-06)
• Worst position in IPL: 13 (2007-08)
• Most goals scored in a season: 51 (2004-05)
• Most goals scored in a match: 4 - 0 (2 times),
• Most goals conceded in a match:4-1

[edit] Statistics in Asian Club Championships

• Most goals scored in a match:
• Most goals conceded in a match:

[edit] General statistics

• All-time top scorer: Reza Enayati with 41 goals
• Most Appearances:
• Player who has won most titles:

[edit] Players

As of December 1, 2007.

[edit] First-team squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Vahid Talebloo 2 DF Amir Hossein Sadeqi 3 DF Mehdi Amirabadi 4 DF Saeed Lotfi 5 DF Bijan Koshki 6 FW Arash Borhani 7 MF Mohammad Navazi (vice-captain) 8 MF Mojtaba Jabbari 9 FW Mohsen Bayatinia 10 MF Alireza Mansourian (captain) 11 MF Meysam Manei 12 MF Ahmad Khaziravi 13 MF Mohsen Yousefi

No. Position Player 14 GK Ashkan Namdari 16 DF Hossein Koshki 18 MF Mehrdad Pouladi 19 FW Ali Alizadeh 20 DF Pirouz Ghorbani (vice-captain) 21 FW Asghar Nadali 22 FW Hamid Shafiei 23 MF Omidreza Ravankhah 27 FW Farhad Majidi (vice-captain) 30 GK Mahyar Hassan Nejad 33 DF Pejman Montazeri

[edit] 2008/2009 Transfers

In: No. Position Player DF Ali Hamoudi (from Esteghlal Ahvaz - Free Transfer)

Out:

[edit] Famous players

1945 to 1970s Heshmat Mohajerani Nasser Hejazi Mansour Rashidi Nasrollah Abdollahi Faramarz Zelli Kambiz Jamali Biouk Jeddikar Masoud Moeini Jalal Talebi Iraj Danaeifard Ezzat Janmaleki Behtash Fariba Ali Jabbari Hassan Rowshan Hassan Nazari Andranik Eskandarian Mansour Pourheidari Gholam Vafakhah Gholam Hossein Mazloomi Parviz Ghelichkhani

1980s Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh Sadegh Varmazyar Mehdi Fonouni Zadeh Farshad Falahatzadeh Reza Hasanzadeh Shahin Bayani Reza Nalchegar Amir Ghalenoei Shahrokh Bayani Mirshad Majedi Majid Namjoo-Motlagh Masoud Ghafourihaye Asl Abdolali Changiz Samad Marfavi Abbas Sarkhab Mohsen Garousi Reza Ahadi

1990s Behzad Gholampour Hamid Babazadeh Parviz Boroumand Hadi Tabatabaei Javad Zarincheh Mohammad Nouri Mohammad Khoramgah Mehdi Pashazadeh Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh Mohammad Taghavi Mohammad Navazi Mahmoud Fekri Alireza Mansourian Sirous Dinmohammadi Dariush Yazdani Farhad Majidi Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht Alireza Akbarpour Seyed Ali Mousavi

2000s Vahid Talebloo Mehdi Rahmati Mehdi Hasheminasab Pirouz Ghorbani Amir Hossein Sadeqi Mehdi Amirabadi Hossein Kazemi Mojtaba Jabbari Farzad Majidi Siavash Akbarpour Ali Samereh Reza Enayati

[edit] Club captains

	Player	Career	Captaincy	Total caps
	Alireza Mansourian	1996 - present	2007 - present	- (-)
	Mahmoud Fekri	1991 - present	2003 - 2007	- (-)
	Javad Zarincheh	1989 - 2003	1997-2003	- (-)

[edit] Club Managers

[edit] Current management team

Position	Name
Manager	Amir Ghalenoei
First Team Coach	mahmoud Fekri
Goalkeeper Coach	Babazade
Football Academy President	Hassan Rowshan

[edit] Former Managers

Only IPL matches are counted.

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	%
Mansour Pourheidari		2000	2002	26	13	9	4	50%
Roland Koch		2002	2003	26	8	8	10	31%
Amir Ghalenoei		2003	2006	86	46	30	10	53%
Samad Marfavi		2006	2007	30	14	10	6	47%
Nasser Hejazi		Aug 2007	Nov 2007	14	5	5	4	36%
Firouz Karimi		Nov 2007	May 2008	20	6	5	9	33%
Amir Ghalenoei		2008	?

[edit] Notable managers

The following managers have all won at least one trophy when in charge of Esteghlal F.C.:

Name	Period	Trophies
Zdravko Rajkov	1969-1976	Asian Champions Cup
Mansour Pourheidari	-	Azadegan League, Asian Champions Cup
Nasser Hejazi	1996-1999	Azadegan League
Amir Ghalenoei	2003-2006	IPL

[edit] Club officials

[edit] Board of directors

President of the Physical Education Organization of IRI:

• Mohammad Ali Abadi

Executive Director:

• Ali Fatollahzadeh

Deputy Executive Director:

• TBD

Director of Football Team:

• nazary juibary

Board of Directors:

• Khosro Daneshjoo (Chairman)
• Ali Fatollahzadeh
• Mansour Pourheidari
• Mohammad Saeed Nafariye
• Hamid Reza Olian

Spokesman:
Hashem Saedi

[edit] Executive directors

Executive director	Era
Ali Fatollahzadeh	1996 - 2003
Hossein Gharib	2003 - 2006
Meghdad Najafnejad	2006 - 2007
Ali Fatollahzadeh	2007 - present

[edit] Sponsorship

• Official shirt sponsors - Shahrvand Chain Stores
• Official shirt manufacturer - Merooj
• Automobile partner -
• Technological partner - DibaIT
• Official Medical Supplier -
• Official Water - Damavand Mineral Water Co.

[edit] Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
2001-02	Daei SWE	LG
2002-03
2003-04	Jouraban	Aiwa
2004-05	Aghili	Sharp
2005-06	Abi Pooshan	SAGEM
2006-07	Merooj	MTN Irancell
2007-08		CCC
	Aghili	Shahrvand

[edit] Notes

2. Esteghlal at present season

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

• (Persian) Official club website

[edit] Fan sites

• (Persian) Abieteh - Esteghlal Fan Club website
• (Persian) Esteghlal fc - Esteghlal Fan Club website
• (Persian) Havadarha - Iran Football Fans Website
• (Persian) Abiparastan - Iran Football Fans Website
• (Persian) Esteghlaliha

Preceded by Maccabi Tel Aviv	Champions of Asia 1970	Succeeded by Maccabi Tel Aviv
Preceded by Liaoning FC	Champions of Asia 1990/91	Succeeded by Al-Hilal

Esteghlal F.C. v • d • e
The Club Players | Managers Seasons: 2007-08
Persian Gulf Cup • 2008-09 v • d • e
Aboomoslem • Bargh Shiraz • Esteghlal Ahvaz • Esteghlal • Malavan • Mes Kerman • Moghavemat Sepasi • PAS Hamedan • Paykan • Payam Mashhad • Pegah • Persepolis • Rah Ahan • Saba Battery • Saipa • Sepahan • Sepahan Novin • Zob Ahan
Persian Gulf Cup seasons
2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09
IPL seasons
2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06
Azadegan League seasons (Pre 2001)
1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01
Takht Jamshid Cup seasons (Pre 1978)
1973-74 | 1974-75 | 1975-76 | 1976-77 | 1977-78
Football in Iran v • d • e
Click     next to the name of the competition for information on current season of that event. League competitions IRIFF Cup competitions Persian Gulf Cup     Team Melli (M, W)     Hazfi Cup     Azadegan League (2 groups)     Omid U-23 Iranian Super Cup 2nd Division (2 groups) Javanan U-20 3rd Division (8 groups) Nojavanan U-17 League system List of clubs List of venues Top Scorers (All-time, Seasons)

Iranian football league champions v • d • e

8 titles : Persepolis (73-74, 75-76, 95-96, 96-97, 98-99, 99-00, 01-02, 07-08) 5 titles : Esteghlal (74-75, 89-90, 97-98, 00-01, 05-06) Pas (76-77, 77-78, 91-92, 92-93, 03-04) 3 title : Saipa (93-94, 94-95, 06-07) 1 title : Sepahan (02-03) Foolad (04-05)