Rahman Rezaei

Rahman Rezaei
	File:Rezaee.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Rahman Rezaei
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre Back
Team information
Current team	A.S. Livorno Calcio;
Number	18
	‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 March 2007

Rahman Rezaei (Template:PerB, born February 20, 1975 in Isfahan, Iran) is an Iranian football player who plays for A.S. Livorno in the Serie A and the Iran national football team. He usually plays in the centre back position.

Club career

He originally was discovered by Iranian manager, Nasser Hejazi. Rezaei played for F.C. Zob Ahan in his hometown for three seasons. After impressive performances for the club and the national team, he was transferred to Perugia and then to Messina.

Rahman Rezaei is currently the most successful Asian defender in Europe. He had been F.C. Messina's most consistently used player in their 2004-05 mid-table finish, which was a surprise considering Messina's then recently-promoted status following decades in lower divisions. After steadily playing for his club for three seasons, at the end of August 2006 Rezaei signed with another Serie A club, A.S. Livorno.

He has won numerous plaudits in Italy and has been dubbed "The Flying Carpet". In addition, his fans in Messina have named him the "Secretary of Defense". In January 2006, he acquired Italian citizenship through his marriage to an Italian-Iranian woman.

Club career statistics

Last update: 12 March 2007

Season	Team	Country	Division	Apps	Goals
98/99	Zob Ahan	Iran	1	??	??
99/00	Zob Ahan	Iran	1	??	??
00/01	Zob Ahan	Iran	1	??	2
01/02	Perugia	Italy	1	25	2
02/03	Perugia	Italy	1	13	3
03/04	Messina	Italy	2	37	2
04/05	Messina	Italy	1	36	0
05/06	Messina	Italy	1	34	0
06/07	A.S. Livorno	Italy	1	16	1

International career

Rahman Rezaei made his first appearance for Iran in July 2001 against Bosnia. He has been the most consistent defender for the team ever since.

In European football, Rahman Rezaei is considered a solid defender well inclined to launch devastating counter attacks. However his role is different in the Iranian national football team, where he is a straight defensive centre back. He was formerly a forward, but has proved to be an indispensable defensive stalwart for an Iranian side considered top-heavy in attacking players.

He was among the key players for Iran in World Cup 2006, but he did not perform as well as everyone had hoped. He received some criticism following a couple mistakes which led to goals being scored against the team.

On April 6, 2007 Rezaei stated he will retire from international football after the 2007 Asian Cup.^[1]

Notes

^ "Rahman Rezaei: I will retire from TM after Asian Cup". isna.ir. Retrieved 2007-04-06.

External links

Template:AS Livorno squad

[1] "Rahman Rezaei: I will retire from TM after Asian Cup". isna.ir. Retrieved 2007-04-06.

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