Esteghlal F.C.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2023) |
Full name | Esteghlal Football Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Blue Giant of Asia Blue Army Blue Lions Two Star Club S S | ||
Founded | 26 September 1945 as Docharkheh Savaran Football Club | ||
Ground | Azadi Stadium | ||
Capacity | 78,116[1] | ||
Owner | Esteghlal of Iran Athletic and Cultural Company (PGPIC: 85.54% and Shareholders: 14.46% - IFB: ESLP1) | ||
President | Ali Khatir | ||
Head coach | Javad Nekounam | ||
League | Persian Gulf Pro League | ||
2022–23 | Persian Gulf Pro League, 3rd | ||
Website | Club website | ||
| |||
Active departments of Esteghlal F.C. | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Closed departments of Esteghlal F.C. | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Esteghlal Football Club (
After the
History
1945–69: early years, The Crown
On 20 September 1945, some young athletes and students including a 23-year-old military officer Parviz Khosravani (first manager of the club), Asghar Navaab (Bicycle Mechanic), Enayat Jananpour (National Sports Organisation staff member), Mirzaee (carpenter) and Khashaaei (bank guard) established 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 1945. Esteghlal football club played its first official match in 1946.
In the first year, the 1946 season, they stood in second place of
From the beginning Taj or Docharkeh Savaran competed in the Tehran Local League, which at the time was the highest ranked league in Iran. On 6 March 1950, Taj played its first official game in
Taj won seven first titles in the 1950s and 1960s; 1949–1950, 1951–1952, 1957–1958 and the three consecutive championships in 1959–1960, 1960–1961 and 1961–1962 (in the following years Taj added its first titles from the
Taj also won four
Tehran old derby was a sensitive match which played between TAJ and Shahin in mid century, until 1967.
1970–78: champion of Asia and Iran
The 1970 Asian Club Championship was the 3rd edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Seven clubs from seven countries competed in the tournament. The tournament was held in Tehran, Iran in April. The clubs were split in two groups and the group winners and runners-up advanced to semi-finals.
Taj defeated
This year had another honour for TAJ, the first Iranian national league title: 1970–71 Local League under management of Rajkov. TAJ defeated PAS 2–1 in final match. TAJ have reached to third place of 1971 Asian Club Championship, a year after the first Asian Cup of club. They were defeated ROK Army of Korea 3–2 in Third place match.
Esteghlal stood at second place in the 1973–74 league, with only two points less than Persepolis.
1979–2001: revolution and post-revolution
After the 1979
During the 1980s, Esteghlal won the Tehran Football League twice. The 1989–90 season was a memorable one for Esteghlal. The club finished 1st in Group B of the Qods League and advanced to the semi-finals. Esteghlal defeated Malavan 4–0 on aggregate to advance to the final against the rival: Persepolis. Esteghlal defeated Persepolis 2–1 to win the Qods League. In the following season, Esteghlal made it to the final of the Hazfi Cup only to lose to Malavan on penalties.
1990–91 Esteghlal won the Asian Club Championship for the 2nd time defeating Chinese club
2001–present: Iran Pro League Era
2001 marked the first year of the newly founded
In July 2003,
In 2006 after the departure of Amir Ghalenoi, his assistant and youth team coach
The new era started for Esteghlal. Ghalenoi had no trouble leading Esteghlal to a league victory in his
The
After Esteghlal's defeat to
In June 2019, Italian coach Andrea Stramaccioni was appointed as Esteghlal's coach, but he later left the club in December 2019 due to financial insolvency.[7]
Crest and symbols and estate
Unveiled in 1946, Docharkhehsavaran's first crest featured a blue cyclist cycling. In 1950 following change of club's name the crest changed to two interlocking rings on both sides of Pahlavi crown.
Before the revolution, the Taj sports complex had 5 sports clubs in Tehran and 66 clubs in the cities. Taj also had clubs in Turkey (under the name of Tajspor club) and Qatar. Taj clubs in Tehran include Taj Central Palace on Baharestan Street, Pele Sports Club on Nizam Abad Street, Taj Women's Club on Los Angeles Street (now Hijab), Taj Tennis Club on Pahlavi Street (now Veli Asr) and Reza Pahlavi club was in Naziabad. Taj also had two sports stores in Tehran on Shahreza and Baharestan streets. With the Iranian revolution and on 28th of February, the Taj Central Palace and other places belonging to the Taj Club were taken over by the Revolutionary Committees.
The sports facilities were given to the Physical Training Organization and the administrative facilities or other services such as the sports store of the club were handed over to organizations such as the Islamic Propaganda Organization. Esteghlal Club's efforts to reclaim these places have not been successful so far.
Colours
Esteghlal wore blue shirts from the beginning with white or blue shorts and socks. The second colour of the club is white.
Historical kits
Historical kits of Esteghlal | ||
---|---|---|
1945
The First Kit (was founded in 1945) |
Rivalries
Tehran derby
The club's biggest rival and its opponent in the
In 1995,
Supporters
Esteghlal is based in Tehran.
Esteghlal in Iran has the most non-Iranian fans in the country, and according to statistics, this country has 39 million fans in Iran itself.[citation needed]
Grounds
Esteghlal's home stadium is Azadi (Persian: ورزشگاه آزادی), a football stadium in Tehran, Iran. The stadium's former name was Aryamehr Stadium which was changed after the Iranian Revolution. Prior to the construction of Azadi, Esteghlal used to play their games at Amjadieh Stadium.
Players
Current squad
- See also: 2023–24 Esteghlal F.C. season
- As of 16 February 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
- U21 = Under 21 year player. U23 = Under 23 year player. INJ = Out of main squad due to injury.
Other players on the contract
- As of 6 February 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Reserve team
Note: These players are on the team list. They also participate in team training and are under the contracts. Mostly they are not on the list of 18 players.
- As of 31 January 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Club captains
Esteghlal captains since 1990.
# | Name | Captaincy |
---|---|---|
1
|
Shahin Bayani | 1990–1992 |
2
|
Amir Ghalenoei | 1992–1997 |
3
|
Javad Zarincheh | 1997–2000 |
4
|
Mehdi Pashazadeh | 2000–2003 |
5
|
Mahmoud Fekri | 2003–2007 |
6
|
Alireza Mansourian | 2007–2008 |
7
|
Farhad Majidi | 2008–2013 |
8
|
Mehdi Rahmati | 2013–2014 2015–2019 |
9
|
Amir Hossein Sadeghi | 2014–2015 |
10
|
Reza Enayati | 2015 |
11
|
Voria Ghafouri | 2019–2022 |
12
|
Hossein Hosseini | 2022– |
Personnel
Club managers
Current technical staff
Position | Name |
---|---|
Head coach | Javad Nekounam |
Assistant coach | Hamidreza Rajabi |
Mehdi Hasheminasab | |
Kianoush Rahmati | |
Mohammad Navazi | |
Goalkeeper coach | Behzad Gholampour |
Fitness Trainer | Josu Sesma |
Physical Therapist | Andoni Sesma |
Team manager | Ali Samereh |
Analyzer | Ali Sheikholeslami |
Academy manager | Asghar Hajiloo |
U23 manager | Siavash Akbarpour |
U19 manager | Ali Saghaian |
U16 manager | Ayub Asgharkhani |
U14 manager | Hossein Sadr Mohammadi |
Notable managers
Only managers who have won official trophies are listed.
Key
Name | Official Trophies | |
---|---|---|
Domestic | ||
IPL | Iranian league | |
HC | Hazfi Cup
| |
ISC | Iranian Super Cup | |
ICC | Iran championship cup
| |
TPL | Tehran Province League | |
THC | Tehran Hazfi Cup | |
TSC | Tehran Super Cup | |
Continental | ||
ACL | AFC Champions League |
Name | Nat. | Period | Official Trophies | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Domestic | Continental | |||||||||
IPL | HC | ISC | ICC | TPL | THC | TSC | ACL | ||||
Ali Danaeifard | 1946–1953 1954–1967 1968–1970 1976 |
13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Mansour Pourheidari | 1979 1981 1983–1984 1985–1986 1986–1988 1989–1992 1995–1996 2000–2002 2003 |
8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Zdravko Rajkov | 1969–1971 1971–1976 |
5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Amir Ghalenoei | 2003–2006 2008–2009 2012–2015 |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Vladimir Đekić | 1976–1979 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Reza Naalchegar | 1994 1994 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Nasser Hejazi | 1996–1999 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Parviz Mazloumi | 2010–2012 2015–2016 |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Winfried Schäfer | 2017–2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Farhad Majidi | 2019–2020 2021–2022 |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Ricardo Sá Pinto | 2022–2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chairmen
Current management board
Chairman | Ali Khatir |
---|---|
Board president | Mahdi Afzali |
Other board members | Ali Agha-Mohammadi Mahdi Heydarzadeh Farshid Samiei |
Notable Chairmen
Chairman | Tenure |
---|---|
Enayatollah Atashi (acting) | April 1979 – May 1979 |
Nader Faryadshiran | June 1985 – September 1985 |
Ali Agha-Mohammadi | June 1989 – September 1989 |
Ali Fathollahzadeh | 28 October 1996 – 20 May 2003,[11] 30 April 2007 – 17 September 2008, 9 June 2010 – 17 May 2014,[12][13] 26 February 2020 – 20 March 2020 |
Amir Reza Vaezi-Ashtiani | 20 September 2008 – 31 May 2010 |
Mostafa Ajorlu | 24 September 2021 – 15 October 2022 |
Honours
Esteghlal has won 38 official championship titles in provincial, national and continental cups.[14][15]
Esteghlal F.C. official honours[16][17][18] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons | ||
Domestic | National | ||||
League | 9 | ||||
Hazfi Cup
|
7* | ||||
Super Cup | 1 | 2022 | |||
Championship Cup
|
1 | 1957
| |||
Provincial (High Level) | Tehran League | 13 | 1949–50, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–1971, 1972–73, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1991–92 | ||
Tehran Hazfi Cup | 4 | 1946–47, 1950–51, 1958–59, 1960–61 | |||
Tehran Super Cup | 1* | 1994 | |||
Continental | AFC Champions League | 2** | 1990–91
|
- record
- * shared record
- ** Iran record and Asia's 4th place
Domestic
League
- Winners (10):
- Runners-up (10):
Cups
- Hazfi Cup(shared record)
- Winners (7):
- Runners-up (7): 2020–21, 2022–2023
Provincial (High Level)
- Tehran League (record)
- Winners (13): 1949–50, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–1971, 1972–73, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1991–92
- Runners-up (7): 1946–47, 1951–52, 1958–59, 1969–70, 1982–83, 1989–90, 1990–91
- Tehran Hazfi Cup
- Winners (4): 1946–47, 1950–51, 1958–59, 1960–61
- Runners-up (3): 1945–46, 1957–58, 1969–70
- Tehran Super Cup (shared record)
- Winners (1): 1994
Continental
- AFC Champions League (Iran record)
- Winners (2): 1990–91
- Runners-up (2): 1998–99
- Third place (3):
Doubles and Treble
Esteghlal has achieved the Double on 5 occasions in its history:
- Iran League and Tehran League
- 1957–58 Season
- 1970–71 Season
- Tehran League and Tehran Hazfi Cup
- 1958–59 Season
- 1960–61 Season
- AFC Champions League and Tehran League
- 1990–91 Season
Esteghlal has achieved the Treble on 1 occasions in its history:
- AFC Champions League and Iran League and Tehran League
- 1970–71 Season
Minor Tournaments
International
- DCM Trophy
- Winners (4): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1989[20]
- Bordoloi Trophy
- Winners (1): 1989[21]
- Qatar Independence Cup
- Winners (1): 1991
- Turkmenistan President's Cup
- Winners (1): [citation needed]
- Caspian International Cup
- Winners (1): 1998
Statistics and records
Official Matches
- Most goals scored in a match:
- 18 – 0 (1 time) (Iran record)
- 13 – 0 (1 time)
- 13 – 1 (1 time)
- 11 – 0 (2 time)
- 11 – 1 (1 time)
- 10 – 0 (4 time)
- 10 – 1 (1 time)
- Player with a most goal in a single match:
- Ali Jabbari with 5 goals (3 time)
- Reza Enayati with 5 goals
- Arash Borhani with 5 goals
Statistics in IPL
- Seasons in IPL: 22 (all) (record)
- Best position in 2021-22)
- Worst position in 2007–08)
- Most Points scored in a season: 68 (2021-22) (record)
- Fewest losses in a season: 0 Loss (2021-22) (record)
- Most goals scored in a season: 70 (2008–09) (record)
- Most goals scored in a match:
- 13_1 (1 time) Record*[23]
- 7 – 1 (1 time)
- 6 – 0 (1 time)
- 6 – 1 (1 time)
- 6 – 2 (1 time)
- 5 – 0 (5 time)
- Most goals conceded in a match: 4 – 1 (3 times)
- Player with a most goal in a single match: Reza Enayati with 5 goals
Statistics in ACC/ACL/ACWC
- Most goals scored in a match:
- 8 – 0 (1 time)
- 7 – 0 (1 time)
- Most appearance in AFC Champions League Final (4times) Iran Record*
- Player with the most goals in a single match:
- Farhad Majidi with 4 goals
- Ali Jabariwith 3 goals
- Farhad Majidi with 3 goals
- Ali Latifi with 3 goals
- Mame Thiam with 3 goals
Statistics in Hazfi Cup
- Most goals scored in a match:
- 13 – 0 (1 time)
- 10 – 1 (1 time)
- 9 – 0 (1 time)
- 8 – 1 (2 time)
- Most goals conceded in a match: 0 – 3 (1 time)
- Player with the most goals in a single match:
- Arash Borhani with 5 goals
- Alireza Akbarpour with 4 goals
- Adel Hardani with 4 goals
- Dariush Yazdabi
- Mehdi Seyed-Salehi with 4 goals
Season-by-season
Esteghlal Women's Football Club
Esteghlal was the first club in Iran that established a team for women's football. To reach this goal the club has made some Camps for training players.[24][25]
The first attempts to launch women's football in Iran began in the late 1960s. In 1969, with the increase in the number of women interested in football in Iran, the Football Federation sent several women to FIFA training courses. During the trip, Iranian coaches were able to watch matches of Asian women's soccer teams such as South Korea, India and Singapore, held at the venue. Iranian football authorities then decided to form women's soccer teams at the club level. Esteghlal F.C. (TAJ) was the first Iranian club to establish a women's soccer training class and set up its own women's team.
The women's team which competed in the Kowsar Women Football League was dissolved in 2016 due to financial issues.
References
- ^ a b "22". varzesh3.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "1000 points". Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ +1000 points
- ^ "+1000 points". Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ "در تهران | ورزش 11" [Esteghlal the Iranian Crown]. www.varzesh11.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "۱۳۸۳ هفته نامه کیهان ورزشی شماره ۲۵۲۳ فروردین". kayhan.ir. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "Andrea Stramaccioni cancels contract with Esteghlal". Tehran Times. 8 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "Azadi Sport Complex [www.AzadiSportComplex.com]". Azadisportcomplex.com. 3 April 2001. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "Stadium List :: 100 000+ Stadiums". World Stadiums. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "دکتر گودرزی:ورزشگاه آزادی تا پایان مردادماه آماده می شود". msy.gov.ir. 22 May 2016. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ^ "علي فتحاللهزاده: شرمنده هواداران شدم، استعفا دادم فقط 45 درصد از برنامههايم تحقق يافت هيچگاه حمايتها با خواستهها مطابقت نداشت". ایسنا (in Persian). 21 May 2003. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "فتح الله زاده سرپرست باشگاه استقلال شد". خبرگزاری مهر | اخبار ایران و جهان | Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 9 June 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "خدا را شکر افشارزاده مدیرعاملی را قبول کرد/ میخواهم یکسال استراحت کنم". خبرگزاری مهر | اخبار ایران و جهان | Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 17 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "دربارهٔ باشگاه". fcesteghlal. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
- ^ "تاریخچه استقلال". esteghlaljavan. 25 December 2017. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017.
- ^ "The best clubs of Asia". rsssf. 21 December 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018.
- ^ "افتخارات و جامهای استقلال ایران در طول تاریخ/سایت رسمی باشگاه استقلال ایران". fcesteghlal. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020.
- ^ "Iran - List of Tehran Hazfi Cup Winners". Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ Mulcahy, Enda. "Asian Club Competitions 1970". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Raunak, Majumdar (31 May 2019). "The DCM Trophy- Oldest Indian Tournament with International Exposure". chaseyoursport.com. Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ Arunava, Chaudhuri. "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Bordoloi Trophy". indianfootball.de. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "استقلال،ذرت کاران را در هم کوبید". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "استقلال،ذرت کاران را۱۳ -۰ در هم کوبید". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "تاریخچه فوتبال زنان در ایران". farhangestanefootball.ir. 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "فوتبال زنان ایران؛ آغاز، فراموشی و احیای دوباره". iranwire.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
External links
- Official website
- Esteghlal F.C. on Instagram
- Media related to Esteghlal FC at Wikimedia Commons