Esteghlal F.C.

Esteghlal FC
استقلال تهران
	File:Esteghlal Tehran FC Logo.png
Full name	Esteghlal Tehran Football Club
Nickname(s)	تاج (Crown) ; اس اس (Es-Es)
Founded	September 24, 1945
Ground	Azadi Stadium; Tehran, Iran
Capacity	100,000
Chairman	Ali Fathollahzadeh
Head Coach	Parviz Mazloumi
League	Persian Gulf Cup
2010-11	Persian Gulf Cup, 2nd
Website	http://www.fcesteghlal.ir/
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

Esteghlal Cultural and Athletic Club (Template:Lang-fa) is an Iranian sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Tehran. It was founded as Taj (Template:Lang-fa), meaning 'Crown' in Persian and renamed after the Islamic Revoloution in 1979. Founded in 1945, they play in the IPL and have spent almost all of their history in the top tier in Iranian football; they spent one season in Iran's second division in 1993-1994. The club also had a similarly successful futsal section.
They play their home games at the 100,000 capacity Azadi Stadium in Tehran, and their average home attendance in the past 5 years is 25,000. The club's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts, shorts and socks.
Esteghlal have been Asian Champions for 2 times and have also won 6 National Championship titles. Esteghlal together with Al-Hilal Riadh of Saudi Arabia are the second most successful clubs in Asian Champion's League, after Pohang Steelers of South Korea, with 2 champions titles and 2 runner up.

History

Establishment

On 26 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 (Template:Lang-fa), 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.

Emerging success

Taj Tehran after winning the Asian Champion Club Tournament in 1970

In 1949, the club officially changed its name to Taj. The club became the most beloved team in Iran after some years, and won numerous league championships, Hazfi Cups and Asian Club Championships. The club has been successful in recent years and is always a contender for the league championship. In the past few years it has finished 2nd or 3rd in the league, and 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.

1979 Revolution

After the 1979 Islamic Revoloution in Iran, the club was confiscated by the newly established Islamic government and put under the control of the Physical Education Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran (Template:Lang-fa), a governmental organization, and change its name to Esteghlal (Template:Lang-fa), 'Independence' in Persian. Taj (Template:Lang-fa) means 'Crown' in Persian; after the revolution, any sign of the previous monarchist regime was not tolerated.

Tehran Derby

Main articles: Tehran Derby

Nasser Hejazi, Legendary goalkeeper of Esteghlal

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. Today, all derbies and home matches occur at the 100,000 capacity Azadi Stadium which is invariably sold out for the derby . Ali Samereh scored the earliest goal in Tehran derby for Esteghlal F.C. against Persepolis F.C. which came less than a minute into the game. In 1995, IRIFF began to invite foreign referees to officiate the derby 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 (There was speculation about Esteghlal bribing the referee and the officials). Persepolis fans stormed the field, and fights broke out on the pitch between fans and players. Following this match it was decided that Iranian referees would no longer be used for the derby. After 13 years of foreign referees, the second leg of the 2008-09 season Derby saw an Iranian once again refereeing the game. The game ended a draw with goals coming from Mojtaba Jabari and Maziar Zare.

Over the years, Esteghlal has 24 wins and Persepolis has won 17 derbies.

AFC Champions League

Esteghlal is one of the most successful clubs in Asian Champion's League with 2 champions titles and 2 runner up finishes, tied with Al-Hilal Riadh Saudi Arabia. .

ACL 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 ^[2] and the club's board resigned soon after.

Stadium

Main articles: Azadi Stadium

File:Esteghlal-azadisport-complex.jpeg

Esteghlal-Bargh match,The last week of 5th IPL at the Azadi Stadium, Azadi Stadium holds over 120,000 Esteghlali fans in this match

Esteghlal's home stadium is The Azadi (Template:Lang-fa), a football stadium in Tehran, Iran. The Stadium's former name was Aryamehr Stadium but was changed after the Iranian Revolution. The stadium has an official capacity of 100,000 but has been filled over capacity on numerous occasions, for example when it faces rivals Persepolis F.C. in the Tehran Derby or in several AFC Champions League matches. Prior to the construction of Azadi, Esteghlal used to play their games at Amjadieh Stadium.

Players

See also: Esteghlal F.C. season 2011-12

First-team squad

As of 4 January 2012.^[3]^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	IRN	Mehdi Rahmati
2	DF	IRN	Khosro Heydari
3	DF	IRN	Mehdi Amirabadi (vice captain)
4	DF	IRN	Hamid Azizzadeh
5	DF	IRN	Hanif Omranzadeh
6	MF	IRN	Kianoush Rahmati
8	MF	IRN	Mojtaba Jabbari (captain)
9	FW	IRN	Arash Borhani
10	FW	IRN	Milad Meydavoudi
11	MF	IRN	Mohsen Yousefi
12	DF	TRI	Jlloyd Samuel
14	MF	IRN	Andranik Teymourian


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	MF	CMR	Jacques Elong Elong
16	DF	IRN	Meysam Hosseini
20	FW	FRA	Goran Jerković
21	GK	IRN	Mehrdad Hosseini
22	GK	IRN	Hadi Zarrin Saed
29	MF	IRN	Tohid Gholami
31	DF	IRN	Javad Shirzad
32	MF	IRN	Ferydoon Zandi
33	DF	IRN	Pejman Montazeri
37	FW	IRN	Esmaeil Sharifat
40	DF	IRN	Ali Hamoudi
—	MF	IRN	Hossein Alavi
—	GK	IRN	Mehdi Eslami

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers, winter 2011–12.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
7	FW	IRN	Farhad Majidi (to Al-Gharafa)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
25	FW	IRN	Mojtaba Mahboub (to Mes Sarcheshmeh)

Notable players

For all former Esteghlal players with a Wikipedia article see Category:Esteghlal F.C. players.

World Cup Players

Club captains

File:Farhad majidi 2.jpg

Farhad Majidi

Name	Career in Esteghlal	Captaincy
Reza Adelkhani	1972-1975	1973-1975
Hassan Rowshan	1969-1978 1984-1988	1975-1978
Nasser Hejazi	1967-1977 1980-1986	1980-1986
Amir Ghalenoei^[5]	1989–1996	1990–1996
Javad Zarincheh^[6]	1986–2001	1997–2001
Mehdi Pashazadeh^[7]	1997–1998 2000–2003	2001–2003
Mahmoud Fekri^[8]	1992–1993 1995–2007	2003–2007
Alireza Mansourian^[9]	1995–1997 2003–2008	2007–2008
Farhad Majidi	1997–1999 2000–2001 2007–2012	2008–2012
Mojtaba Jabbari	2005–	2012–

Club Managers

Notable managers

Only managers who have won at least one trophy are mentioned.

Name	Period	Trophies
		Domestic			International
		IPL	HC	AL	ACL
Zdravko Rajkov	1969-76	0	0	2	1
Mansour Pourheidari	1979-83 1995-96 2000-02	0	2	2	1
Nasser Hejazi	1996-99	0	0	1	0
Amir Ghalenoei	2003-06 2008-09	2	2	0	0

IPL Managers

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
Name	Nat	From	To	P	W	D	L	%
Mansour Pourheidari		February 2000	July 2002	26	13	9	4	50%
Roland Koch^[10]		July 2002	July 2003	26	8	8	10	31%
Amir Ghalenoei^[11]^[12]^[13]		July 2003	July 2006	86	46	30	10	53%
Samad Marfavi^[14]		July 2006	Aug 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	30%
Amir Ghalenoei^[15]		May 2008	May 2009	34	19	9	6	56%
Samad Marfavi^[16]		May 2009	May 2010	34	16	11	7	47%
Parviz Mazloomi		June 2010	Present	51	29	14	8	80%

Current management team

File:Parviz Mazlooomi.jpg

Parviz Mazlooomi

Position	Name
Head Coach	Parviz Mazloomi
Assistant Coach	Michael Henke
First Team Coach	Behtash Fariba
First Team Coach	Attila Hejazi
Goalkeeper Coach	Hossein Torabpour
Goalkeeper Coach	Parviz Broumand
Fitness Train	Mohammadreza Molaei
Football Academy President	Heshmat Mohajerani
Technical adviser	Morteza Mohasses
Doctor	Kaveh Sotoudeh
Physiotherapist	Akbar Rezaei
Psychologist	Abbas Montazeri
Analyzer	Mehdi Arjanginia
Analyzer	Shahrokh Bayani
Technical Manager	Mansour Pourheidari
Media Officer	Mohammad Hayrani

Technical Committee

Name
Hassan Rowshan
Alireza Mansourian
Javad Ghorab
Asghar Hajilou

Chairmen

Chairman	Tenure
Parviz Khosravani	September 1945-June 1960
Parviz Sheikhan	June 1960-February 1979
Ali Abdullahi Nourozi	May 1979-May 1983
Kazem Oliaei	January 1988-May 1996
Ali Fathollahzadeh	May 1996-May 2003
Hossein Gharib	June 2003-July 2005
Kazem Oliaei	July 2005-December 2005
Hossein Gharib	December 2005-September 2006
Meghdad Najafnejad	September 2006-May 2007
Ali Fathollahzadeh	May 2007-September 2008
Amir Reza Vaezi Ashtiani	September 2008-May 2010
Ali Nazari Juybari	May 2010-June 2010
Ali Fathollahzadeh	June 2010–present

Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal in various competitions since 1945.

Season	League	Pos.	Hazfi Cup	ACL
1945-46	Tehran Provincial League	2nd	Not held	Not held
1946-47	Tehran Provincial League	5th
1947-48	Tehran Provincial League	?
1948-49	Tehran Provincial League	1st
1949-50	_	Not held
1950-51	Tehran Provincial League	2nd
1951-52	Tehran Provincial League	5th
1952-53	Tehran Provincial League	3rd
1953-54	Tehran Provincial League	4th
1954-55	_	Not held
1955-56	Tehran Provincial League	1st
1956-57	Tehran Provincial League	2nd
1957-58	Tehran Provincial League	1st
1958-59	Tehran Provincial League	?
1959-60	Tehran Provincial League	1st
1960-61	Tehran Provincial League	3rd
1961-62	Tehran Provincial League	1st
1962-63	Iran Local League	4th
1963-64	Iran Local League	2nd
1964-65	Tehran Provincial League	3rd
1965-66	Tehran Provincial League	3rd
1966-67	_	Not held
1967-68	Iran Local League	5th
1968-69	Iran Local League	4th
1969-70	_	Not held
1970-71	Iran Local League	1st		Cup
1971-72	Iran Local League	4th		3
1972-73	_	Not held		Did not qualify
1973-74	Takht Jamshid Cup	2nd
1974-75	Takht Jamshid Cup	1st
1975-76	Takht Jamshid Cup	4th	1/8 Final
1976-77	Takht Jamshid Cup	4th	Cup
1977-78	Takht Jamshid Cup	4th	Not held
1978-79	Takht Jamshid Cup	did not finish
1979-80	1979 Shahid Espandi Cup	6th
1980-81	Tehran Provincial League	4th
1981-82	Tehran Provincial League	2nd
1982-83	Tehran Provincial League	1st
1983-84	Tehran Provincial League	did not finish
1984-85	Tehran Provincial League	1st
1985-86	Tehran Provincial League	3rd
1986-87	Tehran Provincial League	3rd	1/8 Final
1987-88	Tehran Provincial League	2nd	1/16 Final
1988-89	17th of Shahrivar league	4th	1/8 Final
1989-90	Qods League	1st	Final
1990-91	_	Not held	1/8 Final	Cup
1991-92	Azadegan League	2nd	Not held	Final
1992-93	Azadegan League	3rd	Not held	Did not qualify
1993-94	2nd Division	2nd
1994-95	Azadegan League	2nd
1995-96	Azadegan League	3rd	Cup
1996-97	Azadegan League	6th		Semifinal
1997-98	Azadegan League	1st	Not held	Did not qualify
1998-99	Azadegan League	2nd	Final	Final
1999-00	Azadegan League	2nd	Cup	Second round
2000-01	Azadegan League	1st	Semifinal	3
2001-02	Iran Pro League	2nd	Cup	Semifinal
2002-03	Iran Pro League	9th		First round
2003-04	Iran Pro League	2nd	Final	Did not qualify
2004-05	Iran Pro League	3rd
2005-06	Iran Pro League	1st	Quarterfinal
2006-07	Iran Pro League	4th	1/16 Final	Disqualified
2007-08	Iran Pro League	13th	Cup	Did not qualify
2008-09	Iran Pro League	1st	1/16 Final	First round
2009-10	Iran Pro League	3rd	1/8 Final	Round of 16
2010-11	Iran Pro League	2nd	Semifinal	First round

Achievements

National

Iranian Football League

Winners (7): 1970–71, 1974-75, 1989-90, 1997-98, 2000-01, 2005-06, 2008-09

Runners-Up (8): 1973-74, 1998-99, 1991-92, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2010-11

Iran 2nd Division:

Winners (1): 1993-94

Hazfi Cup:

Winners (5): , 1977, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2008

Runners-Up (2): 1999, 2004

Tehran provincial league:

Winner (7): 1948-49, 1955-56, 1957-58, 1959-69, 1961-62, 1982-83,1984-85

Runners-Up (5): 1945-46, 1950-51, 1956-57, 1981-82, 1987-88

Continental

Asian Club Championships:

Winners (2): 1970, 1991

Runner Up (2): 1992, 1999

Unofficial titles

Turkmenistan President's Cup:

Winners (1): 1998

Statistics and records

Sponsorship

Official shirt sponsors -
Official shirt manufacturer - Uhlsport
Official Water - Damavand Mineral Water

IPL Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
2001-02	Daei SWE	LG
2002-03	Daei SWE	LG
2003-04	Jouraban	Aiwa
2004-05	Aghili	Sharp
2005-06	Abi Pooshan	SAGEM
2006-07	Merooj	MTN Irancell
2007-08	Merooj	CCC
2007-08	Aghili	Shahrvand Chain Stores
2008-09	Uhlsport	Iran Mobile Market
2009-10		Iran Mobile Market
2010-11		City Bank
2011-12		City Bank

Notes

External links

Achievements
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
Preceded by Foolad	Iran Pro League 2005-2006	Succeeded by Saipa
Preceded by Persepolis	Iran Pro League 2008-2009	Succeeded by Sepahan

Template:AFC Champions League {{IPL}} may refer to:

{{Persian Gulf Pro League}} - Iran Pro League
{{Indian Premier League}} - Indian Premier League
{{Irish Premier League}} - Irish Premier League

This is an unused template to list other templates associated with a similar title or shortcut.
If an internal transclusion led you here, you may wish to change it to point directly to the intended page.

{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.

[1] ttp://www.azadisportcomplex.com/place.asp

[2] "AFC uphold Esteghlal disqualification". AFC. Retrieved 2007-02-26.

[3] Persian League- Latest Iran League News - Iran Football News - Iran Sport News - Esteghlal

[4] Goal.com: لیست نهایی استقلال

[5] Hamshahri

[6] Iran Newspaper

[7] Iran Newspaper

[8] Hamshahri

[9] Hamshahri

[10] ttp://www.iplstats.com/website02-03/tableoverall.htm

[11] ttp://www.iplstats.com/website03-04/tableoverall.htm

[12] ttp://www.iplstats.com/website04-05/tableoverall.htm

[13] ttp://www.iplstats.com/website05-06/tableoverall.htm

[14] ttp://www.iplstats.com/website06-07/tableoverall.htm

[15] ttp://www.iplstats.com/website08-09/tableoverall.htm

[16] ttp://www.iplstats.com/website09-10/tableoverall.htm

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v t e Esteghlal Football Club
Players Managers Chairmen Honours Academy In Asian Competitions Records and statistics Current season
History	History Seasons Contribution to Iran national teams Taj organization
Home Stadiums	Azadi (1974–present) Amjadieh (1945–1990) Takhti (2002–2003)
Training ground	Deyhim Marghobkar Enghelab
Other facilities	Nasser Hejazi Camp Emam Reza
Players	100+ appearances Players' category Non Iranian players Goalscorers
Other teams	Esteghlal B Women's Football Futsal Bastekball: Men, Women Volleyball: Men, Women Wrestling Track and field
Youth teams	Under 21s Under 19s Under 17s Under 15s
Related teams	Esteghlal Ahvaz Taj Abadan Taj Masjed Soleyman Taj Nowshahr Taj Shiraz Taj Rasht
Media	Taj Varzeshi Esteghlaljavan Esteghlal F.C. TV
Suppoters	Esteghlal F.C. Supporters Blue Girl
Rivalries	League record by opponent Tehran Derby (List of matches) Sepahan rivalry
Popular Culture	Blue Triangle Esteghlalish Blue Blue as Colour of the Sky
Category:Esteghlal F.C. Commons:Esteghlal F.C. Portal:Association football

v t e Hazfi Cup
Seasons	1976 1977–78 1978–1985 1986 1987 1988–89 1989–1990 1990–91 1991–92 1992–1993 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–1998 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2021 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Final	2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Winning managers

v t e Football in Iran
League competitions	Persian Gulf Pro League Azadegan League League 2 League 3 Provincial Leagues Ardabil Provincial League Bushehr Province League East Azarbaijan Province League Gilan Province League Golestan Province League Khuzestan Premier League Tehran Province League Kowsar league (women's) Futsal Beach soccer
Cup competitions	Hazfi Cup Super Cup
Defunct competitions	Takht Jamshid Cup
National teams	Men's B-team Women's M U-23 M U-20 W U-20 M U-17 W U-17 M Futsal W Futsal M U-20 Futsal M Beach
Lists and categories	League system Champions List of clubs List of venues Managers List of managers League winners Cup winners football award winners List of highest payments Top goalscorers all-time by season Clubs in the AFC Champions League
Records List of clubs List of venues International players Men Women

v t e Iranian football league champions
16 titles	Persepolis 1971–72, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24
9 titles	Esteghlal 1970–71, 1974–75, 1989–90, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2021–22
5 titles	Pas Tehran 1976–77, 1977–78, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2003–04 Sepahan 2002–03, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15
3 titles	Saipa 1993–94, 1994–95, 2006–07
2 titles	Foolad 2004–05, 2013–14
1 title	Esteghlal Khuzestan 2015–16