Iranian young talent Sardar Azmoun probably can make a sensational return to Rubin Kazan, after spending 2 seasons and a half to FC Rostov. According to Russian sports newspaper Sport-Express, the 22-years-old forward has already passed medical tests at Rubin training camp in Austria, so the transfer could be announced soon.
Sardar Azmoun
Azmoun joined for the first time Rubin Kazan in 2013 and soon became regular in the line-up under Kurban Berdyev: when in 2015 the Turkmen coach moved to FC Rostov, the youngster followed him on loan, helping his new team to avoid relegation. The season after FC Rostov nearly won Russian Premier League, ending second on table, just two points from winner CSKA.
Last season Azmoun was Apple of Discord between both Russian clubs since Rubin claimed that the player had to return from loan, whereas FC Rostov declared there was a buy-out clause in the contract. On 26 January 2017 FIFA ruled in favour of Rostov, waiting for a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (actually expected on summer 2017). However Azmoun played successfully 2016-17 UEFA Champions League: on playoffs he scored against Anderlecht and Ajax; then on group stage he striked both European giants Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
With one match remaining (Mashinsazi Tabriz v Saipa Alborz deferred on 8 January 2017) to complete Week 15 of Persian Gulf Pro League- that means half of the season – and after Hazfi Cup quarter-finals, head coach Carlos Queiroz named 24 players for Iran training camp in United Arab Emitares. It is not yet clear if Team Melli will face Morocco in a friendly originally scheduled for 6 January 2017.
The Portuguese coach did not invite Iranian footballers that play abroad (better known as Legionnaires), except for Milad Mohammadi who plays in Russian club Terek Grozny.
Notable names are: Zob Ahan offensive pair Pahlevan & Tabrizi; penalty specialist Iranpourian; unexpected top scorer Sasan Ansari (who scored 12 goals in 10 appearences for Foolad Khuzestan). Below the current list.
Let’s see the results of the 7th week of Persian Gulf Pro League 1395/96, that took place before Team Melli clashes against Uzbekistan and South Korea in order to qualify to 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The battle between Tractorsazi Tabriz and Persepolis Tehran for the leadership of the tournament continues: both team won their matches, but Tractor have a better goal difference thanks to the best attack of the league (12 goal scored, 4 conceded).
Amir Ghalenoei’s boys defeated 3:0 FC Mashhad with a successful penalty by Iranpourian, followed by Hatami’s and late Kiani’s goals; Siahjamegan attempted dangerously twice to beat Akhbari, who saved at 80′ and one minute later with the help of the crossbar.
A double by Mehdi Taremi allowed Persepolis to conquer 3 points away, after Sepahan have equalized with Ehsan Hajsafi: so Isfahanis lost two positions in the league table.
40-years-old Gholam Reza Enayati proved once again to have determination more than many other youngsters: the all-time Persian Gulf Pro League top scorer headed successfully the ball crossed from the left by Ahmad Hassanzadeh, in order to collect Saba Qom first victory; Saipa efforts were denied by rival goalkeeper Hamed Lak (who saved at 66′ a powerful kick by Siamak Kouroshi) and by the crossbar, where ended Ali Gholizadeh last-minute rocket.
Paykan were leading 0-2 thanks to a double by Nigerian forward Godwin Mensha, but coach Sirous Pourmousavi spurred Esteghlal Khuzestan: the defending champions found the equalizer in the injury time with a nice dribbling and shot by Hassan Beit Saeid, and a ball accidentally deflected by Levon Hayrapetyan; it seemed to end with a tie, but Amir Hossein Sadeghi scored Paykan winner just before the final whistle.
Gostaresh Foolad have not yet succeded in scoring, despite some good occasion inspired by playmaker Daryoush Shojaeian: Foolad Khuzestan veteran goalkeeper Vahid Talebloo saved shots by Naghizadeh and Khalegifar, freezing the goalless result.
The 7th week of the season welcomed the first victory to Esteghlal Tehran, too: Blues thanked their supporters at Azadi stadium beating 2-1 Zob Ahan Isfahan. Alireza Mansourian allowed again Bakhtyar Rahmani in the line-up, after being sidelined during the Tehran derby: before halftime the Iranian Kurdish midfielder won a penalty kick, converted by Omid Ebrahimi. In the opening of the second half Ali Ghorbani headed on goal a cross from the right by Vouria Ghafouri. Isfahanis reaction came soon with Mohammad Nejad Mehdi‘s header, deflected to corner by Mehdi Rahmati; then Morteza Tabrizi scored for Zob Ahan, after another Rahmati’s save on Jerry Bengtson’s attempt.
Incredible tie gained by Padideh Mashhad at home: in the first half Mohammad Shadkam sent the ball past Shahab Gordan after five minutes, then Mohammad Reza Pourmohammad scored with a free kick the second goal for Sanat Naft Abadan, whereas Padideh hit the crossbar after a place kick. At 77′ Mashhadi coach Mohammad Reza Mohajeri replaced defender Fariborz Gerami with 22-years-old striker Mohammad Ali Mardani who scored in less than a minute! Coach Nader Dastneshan’s guys attacked one more time so that Shadkam beat Gordan once again with an accidental assist by Karim Ahmadi. Padideh were losing 1-3 when referee Khorshidi conceded a penalty, missed by Younes Shakeri that sent the ball over the crossbar. In 5 minutes injury time, Mashhadis secured one point thanks to Mohammad Reza Nassehi’s hit and Mardani second goal.
The last game of the week was won by Naft Tehran, so that climbed on third place of the Persian Gulf Pro League defeating 2-1 Mashinsazi Tabriz: guests missed the opportunity to take the advantage as a ball retrieved by superb Andranik Teymourian was launched to Mehrdad Bayrami, whose shot was deflected by Naft goalkeeper Milad Farahani. At 15′ Iman Mob’Ali corner kick assisted the successful header by Amir Arsalan Motahari; Ali Daei’s club was dangerous as Mohammad Ghazi rocket ended out, and then defender Hamed Pakdel prevented another goal after umpteenth corner kick for Naft. In the opening of the second half Ali Daei claimed a penalty beacause of a contact between Motahari and Georgian back Kakhaber Kakashvili. Few minutes later the referee Ahmad Salehi declared offside a goal scored by Edson Henrique, assisted by Teymourian’s free kick: the Brazilian defender made a heavy defensive mistake and Ghazi beat easily Spanish goalkeeper Manu Fernandez. Ali Daei became enraged at 87′ as mr. Salehi conceded a controversial penalty due to a contrast between Saman Nariman Jahan and Milad Fakhreddini: Payam Sadeghian converted to goal without problem just before final whistle.
Padideh Mashhad 3-3 Sanat Naft Abadan [WATCH goals & highlights] Goals: 6′ and 84′ Mohammad Shadkam (SAN), 33′ Mohammad Reza Pourmohammad (SAN), 77′ and 93′ Mohammad Ali Mardani (PAD), 90′ Mohammad Reza Nassehi (PAD) Bookings: 93′ Mohammad Ali Mardani (PAD) Referee: Ashkan Khorshidi
Week 7 of Persian Gulf Pro League has just ended, so Iran Team Melli head coach Carlos Queiroz named 17 players for a training camp in Armenia, in order to face Uzbekistan (6 Oct) and South Korea (11 Oct) in FIFA World Cup qualifying games.
The Portuguese coach did not invite Iranian footballers that play abroad – better known as Legionnaires – since they will join the National squad after their league matches.
The most awaited match of the week of course was Shahravard, the Tehran derby, refereed by Alireza Faghani: without injured Vahid Amiri, Persepolis shared one point with arch-rivals Esteghlal [read the full report]. Tractorsazi took advantage of the tie, reaching the Reds at top of the table, thanks to their successful trip at Zob Ahan home: Sina Ashouri scored the winner few minutes after Lebanese midfielder Ali Hamam had equalized.
A late goal by Mohammadreza Khanzadeh prevented a home defeat for FC MashhadSiahjamegan, denying what could be Saba Qom first win of the season. Mehdi Torabi is the new leader of Saipa, skilled in scoring vital goals in the final minutes (as in the previous game): the 22-years-old midfielder responded to Chimba leading goal for Gostaresh Foolad: the Brazilian striker is the only player to score among his squad. Sepahan beat away Mashinsazi, climbing standings and becoming 3rd: Isfahanis risked a late equalizer, after Ehsan Hajsafi missed a penalty at 86′, and two minutes later Saman Nariman Jahan hit the right goalpost.
With a goalless draw against Paykan at Shohada Stadium, Naft Tehran lose one position in the ranking. Esteghlal Khuzestan showed once more a very offensive attitude, taking the advantage against Sanat Naft, but again they could not end a match with a clean sheet, proving to be the most weak defence of the tournament.
In the last game of the week a penalty scored by Sasan Ansari helped Foolad Khuzestan to defeat Padideh and to leave the bottom. Persian Gulf Pro League 1395/96 identifies her champions best candidate in Tractorsazi and Persepolis, since both clubs are still unbeaten after 6 weeks. On the other side, Esteghlal Tehran proved to be ready to face high level opponents: Mansourian’s squad has improved despite a bad start, and maybe new arrival Leandro Padovani will make better the Blues defence.
No one scored in 83rd Shahravard, the Tehran derby, in week 6 of Persian Gulf Pro League 1395/96. Alireza Faghani was appointed as referee, thanks to his international experience: he refereed 2015 Asian Cup final and men’s Olympic football final at Rio 2016. A victory could be vital for both teams, but for completely different reasons. Persepolis wanted to strenghten their top leading after the last-week tie with Tractorsazi, the latter only two points under Branko Ivankovic’s club; instead, third-bottom Esteghlal searched for their first win in this difficult season, and coach Ali Reza Mansourian knew that a defeat meant a goodbye.
No surprises in the start lining ups, except for Blues as Bakhtyar Rahmani was benched; Reds squad was without injured Vahid Amiri, while Ramin Rezaeian watched the game from the bench since he has come back recently following a short spell in Turkey.
Few hours before the match, it was reported a rumour from Persepolis players, who said that Esteghlal hired a wizard in order to win the Shahravard. Obviously on bleachers hooligans have started to provoke each other already previous the kick-off.
Special guest Carlos Queiroz, who watched the match with his technical staff of Iran Team Melli.
Persepolis had a good start, attacking immediately with Mosalman and Alipour, causing their opponents to foul: after only 12 minutes Omid Ebrahimi received a yellow card due to his foul on Ahmadzadeh. Six minutes later a dangerous right-footed shot by Mehdi Taremi was rejected by Mkoyan shoulder: the Aghaye Gol (top scorer) of the last season at 23′ threatened again his rivals and was fouled by Farshid Bagheri just outside of Esteghlal penalty area; the following free kick ended on Blues defenders. When Farshid Esmaeili fell down after a touch by Mosalman, Mansourian became angry, protesting beside the pitch. But again Taremi conquered a free kick, this time from 65 feet (20 metres): Omid Alishah direct shot found the opponents wall.
The mood difference of the two coaches was clear: Mansourian continuously calling his guys; Branko queitly watching the game.
With 5 minutes before half time, Vouria Ghafouri woke up and dribbled two Reds on the right of Persepolis penalty area, however there was no teammate to benefit from his pass; Esteghlal advanced one more time with Ebrahimi, tackled by Kamyabinia, but Faghani said to keep continuing to play.
In the opening of 2nd half Kaveh Rezaei scared Ghermez-ha fans, as he attempted twice to score in front of Beiranvand, since the goalkeeper has lost the ball after the first save. Esteghlal returned determined from the break, with Ghafouri and Khosro Heydari incursions on the right side, in order to cross for Rezaei: at 54′ S. Jalal Hosseini headed away, at 56′ Jaber Ansari did not succeed in a bicycle kick.
After one hour of game, Alishah found Taremi, whose header finished over the crossbar. A few later Mosalman passed a golden ball to the Bushehr-born forward, who shot from the right but Mehdi Rahmati deflected the ball. Branko replaced injured Mohammad Ansari with Oleksiy Polyanskyi, and the Reds attempted again to score by head (Ahmadzadeh) and left-foot (Alipour) with no accuracy.
On the other side, Farshid Bagheri crossed for Rezaei, who wasted another opportunity heading out on the left. With ten minutes remaining, Mansourian subbed in Ali Ghorbani instead of Jaber Ansari (under expectation performance): both teams became nervous seeking for the winning goal, and a smoke screen appeared from bleachers. Alishah was hit by a bottle lauched from hooligans, before he could kick from the corner, and was replaced by Nourollahi.
In the injury time Polyanskyi scored, burning Azadi stadium, but Faghani estinguished the flames because Ukrainan player was caught offside.
Persepolis Tehran FC
Persepolis (3-5-2)
1 Beiranvand; 4 S. J. Hosseini, 15 M. Ansari (69′ #22 Polyanskyi), 13 Mahini; 18 Rabi Khah, 11 Kamyabinia, 77 Mosalman, 10 Ahmadzadeh, 3 Alishah (90+1′ #8 Nourollahi); 70 Alipour (85′ #80 Pryyomov), 9 Taremi Head coach Branko Ivankovic
Esteghlal Tehran FC
Esteghlal (3-4-3)
1 Rahmati; 33 M. Hosseini, 3 Robson, 15 Mkoyan; 21 Ghafouri, 6 Ebrahimi, 14 F. Bagheri, 88 Esmaeili (90+2′ #74 Haghdoust); 2 Heydari, 11 J. Ansari (81′ #17 A. Ghorbani), 9 K. Rezaei Head coach Ali Reza Mansourian
Bookings: 12′ Ebrahimi (EST), 21′ Alipour (PER), 68′ F. Bagheri (EST), 77′ Kamal Kamyabinia, 88′ Heydari (EST)
Persian Gulf Pro League 1395/96 comes back, after a 28-days break: in the meanwhile Team Melli played two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, beating 2-0 Qatar and drawing without goals in China. Week 5 was full of ties, except for the games scheduled on Friday both ended with victories.
FC Mashhad surprised home supporters at Bonyan Diesel stadium and obtained 3 points. In the first half Luciano “Chimba” Pereira tried twice to beat Nasseri, but goalkeeper was very responsive to Brazilian shot and header. Gostaresh Foolad were again dangerous with Khalatbari and Magno Batista, but their efforts were not rewarded: Ayoub Kalantari sent a long pass to Seifollahi, who scored a lob goal in the injury time.
The match between Oil clubs (in Farsi “naft” means oil) was won by Ali Daei’s guys, although guest team goalkeeper Hassan Houri made many spectacular saves on Naft Tehran attacks: the Abadani captain could not prevent home advantage when a perfect free kick by Iman Mob’Ali assisted Croatian defender Igor Prahic’s header. Sanat Naft Abadan equalized with Hakim Nassari, who exploited a defensive mistake; but Mohammad Ghazi scored a very nice goal, rotating 270° ahead of three opponents and shooting low.
Dangerous atmosphere in Tabriz, on the pitch and on the bleachers: after the final whistle, Tractorsazi hooligans launched rocks and bottles on Persepolis players and staff: on 24 August Tabrizi hooligans did the same during a friendly game with Paykan, then suspended. A delegate from Iranian Football Federation pressed charges against head of Tractor supporters, and home team coach Amir Ghalenoei argued with a soldier. About the match. Persepolis avoided the defeat, especially thanks to goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who saved Iranpourian header (7′) and twice Soroush Rafiei‘s attempts (33′ header, 69’ close shot). On the other side Mehdi Taremi missed the opportunity to score a heavy goal when at 5′ he ran past Mohammadi and Akhbari, but a tackle by Shafiei blocked his attempt. With this goalless draw, Persepolis and Tractorsazi remain – respectively – on top and 2nd.
Sepahan were not able to win against Paykan, risking a home defeat, even though hitting twice the crossbar: with Malian defender Moussa Coulibaly after 15 minutes of game, and Alimohammadi at 55′. Paykan coach Majid Jalali should be proud about his captain, Mohammad Sadegh Barani, who stole the ball and assisted Siamak Nemati’s left-footed goal, and then was himself close to score. In the second half Abdollah Veisi chose Hossein Papi to replace Fazeli, and the winger thanked his coach scoring six minutes later with a powerful shot.
One point shared by Padideh and Esteghlal Khuzestan as both clubs did not score. Best attempts came by Mashhadi team: after a corner kick, at 34′ captain Reza Nasehi quickly sent the ball on the right goalpost; at 56′ Moein Abbasian‘s left-footed free kick hit the crossbar.
Morteza Tabrizi is in good shape, after taking part in Team Melli training camp in Italy: the 25-years-old attacking midfielder scored Zob Ahan leading just before halftime. Short after squads came back to the pitch, Divsalar received his second yellow card, leaving 10-men Saba Qom; but Samad Marfavi added a forward, subbing in Karim Eslami instead of Abtahi. Zob Ahan goalkeeper Mazaheri had to face a new offensive tactic, and saved a close header by Hassanzadeh at 73′: two minutes later he could not prevent his equalizer, dribbling Nejad Mehdi and Mohammadzadeh.
Four goals, two scored by each side, one point shared by Foolad Khuzestan and Saipa Karaj. Very good performance by Alessandro Felipe Oltramari, who maintained a clean sheet until he got injured, with Saipa leading thanks to Hosseinzadeh’s goal. The Brazilian goalie was replaced by Fallahzadeh, that made vital saves despite a double by Abdollah Nasseri: the second goal at 92′ seemed to end the match, but referee Salehi had ordered 9-minutes injury time! Five minutes later youngster Mehdi Torabi (born 1994) took the ball on the right, dribbling two Foolad defenders, and his shot secured the draw at Ghadir stadium.
On Sunday the last match of the week 5 was played at Azadi Stadium. Esteghlal Tehran took the advantage after seven minutes: Khosro Heydari from the right crossed for Kaveh Rezaei, whose first header was deflected by Manu Fernandez on the post, and the forward headed the ball into the net. The Spanish goalkeeper saved two lob shots, both attempted by Farshid Esmaeili. Mashinsazi frightened the Blues at 35′, because of Payam Sadeghian‘s shot from outside the penalty area, that was rejected by the right goalpost. Even if Esteghlal were continuously attacking with Ghafouri and Heydari, they did not succeed, and Kakhaber Kakashvili assisted Saman Nariman Jahan’s header, that beat Rahmati. A late attempt by Jaber Ansari was saved again by Manu, securing the 1-1 result. Esteghlal have not yet won any game in this season, and the next week will be the last chance for Alireza Mansourian: chairman Reza Eftekhari claimed “After Tehran derby [against Persepolis] we will take a decision about the coach“.
Hassan Beit Saeid (ESK)
Mohammad Ghazi (NAF)
Iman Mob’Ali (NAF)
Abdollah Nasseri (FKH)
Mehdi Torabi (SAI)
Rahim Zahivi (ESK)
3
3
3
3
3
3 (2 pen.)
Morteza Aghakhan (PAY)
Vahid Amiri (PER)
Farid Behzadi Karimi (SEP)
Mohammad Iranpourian (TRA)
Eder “Edinho” Luciano (TRA)
Saman Nariman Jahan (MTA)
Mehdi Rajabzadeh (ZOB)
Kaveh Rezaei (EST)
2
2
2 (1 pen.)
2
2
2
2
2
42 players
1
Top cards
Hamed Pakdel (MTA)
2 red card 2 yellow cards
Hamid Reza Divsalar (MTA)
1 red card 3 yellow cards
Alireza Naghizadeh (GOF)
1 red card 3 yellow cards
Mohsen Yousefi (PAD)
1 red card
Kakhaber Kakashvili (MTA)
3 yellow cards
Farshad Ahmadzadeh (PER)
2 yellow cards
Hossein Baghlani (SAN)
2 yellow cards
Mohammad Amin Darvishi (GOF)
2 yellow cards
Meysam Doraghi (ESK)
2 yellow cards
Karim Eslami (SAB)
2 yellow cards
Kamal Kamyabinia (PER)
2 yellow cards
Abdollah Karami (FKH)
2 yellow cards
Luciano “Chimba” Pereira (GOF)
2 yellow cards
Hadi Mohammadi (TRA)
2 yellow cards
Siamak Nemati (PAY)
2 yellow cards
Alessandro Felipe Oltramari (SAI)
2 yellow cards
Milad Pakparvar (FKH)
2 yellow cards
FIXTURES WEEK 6
Thursday 15 September 2016
FC Mashhad – Saba Qom
Saipa – Gostaresh Foolad Tabriz
Zob Ahan Isfahan – Tractorsazi Tabriz
Paykan Qods – Naft Tehran
Sanat Naft Abadan – Esteghlal Khuzestan
Mashinsazi Tabriz – Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Isfahan
Friday 16 September 2016
Persepolis Tehran – Esteghlal Tehran
Foolad Khuzestan – Padideh Mashhad
Very interesting the 4rd week of Persian Gulf Pro League 1395/96, scheduled before a 28-day break in order to train Team Melli for the upcoming qualifiers against Qatar and China. All the matches were played on 11 August, except for FC Mashhad v Foolad Khuzestan scheduled the day after. Carlos Queiroz – head coach of National football team of Iran – issued the list of call-ups before the last game.
The Tabrizi derby was won by Tractorsazi thanks to a double of defender Mohammad Iranpourian, and the red card received at 43′ by rival defender Hamed Pakdel, who had just came back after a suspension; this is the first defeat for neo-promoted Mashinsazi captained by Andranik Teymourian: now Amir Ghalenoei’s guys have the best goal difference (+4). Behnam Berzaei scored a vital goal preventing Esteghlal Tehran losing against Paykan: it is not certain that Ali Reza Mansourian will seat on the Blues bench in case he will not win the next game, maybe he can benefit from the tournement break. Finally Gostaresh Foolad scored their first goal of the season with Luciano “Chimba” Pereira against Zob Ahan: in the second half, Yahya Golmohammadi – back after club suspension – subbed in Morteza Tabrizi, whose header assisted Honduran striker Jerry Bengtson to equilize. Another 1-1 draw was between Saipa and Padideh, so that both clubs are in the middle of the league standings. Again victorious Sanat Naft beating with a goal by Mohammad Shadkam Sepahan, despite the return of Ehsan Hajsafi in the Isfahani side. After three weeks without scoring, Mehdi Taremi sent the ball in the net helping Persepolis to beat Saba and remain on the top with 10 points. Great game in Ahvaz as defending champions Esteghlal Khuzestan tied 2-2 with Ali Daei’s Naft Tehran: guest team took the advantage with Iman Mob’Ali, but Sirous Pourmousavi’s boys performed a come back with Ashour and Beit Saeid, before Ghazi scored with ten minutes remaining. In the last game FC Mashhad – still commonly known as Siahjamegan – were winning with a goal by 20-year-old defender Payam Malekian, but at 87′ a ball handled by Hamid Reza Ali-Asgari inspired a penalty that Ayoub Vali scored twice, because the referee ordered him to repeat, and the match ended 1-1.
Persian Gulf Pro League will restart on 9 September after Team Mellitraining camp in Italy and FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers against Qatar and China.
Hassan Beit Saeid (ESK)
Iman Mob’Ali (NAF)
Rahim Zahivi (ESK)
3
3
3 (2 pen.)
Morteza Aghakhan (PAY)
Vahid Amiri (PER)
Farid Behzadi Karimi (SEP)
Mohammad Ghazi (NAF)
Mohammad Iranpourian (TRA)
Eder “Edinho” Luciano (TRA)
Mehdi Rajabzadeh (ZOB)
Mehdi Torabi (SAI)
2
2
2 (1 pen.)
2
2
2
2
2
37 players
1
Top cards
Hamed Pakdel (MTA)
2 red card 2 yellow cards
Alireza Naghizadeh (GOF)
1 red card 3 yellow cards
Mohsen Yousefi (PAD)
1 red card
Farshad Ahmadzadeh (PER)
2 yellow cards
Hossein Baghlani (SAN)
2 yellow cards
Mohammad Amin Darvishi (GOF)
2 yellow cards
Meysam Doraghi (ESK)
2 yellow cards
Karim Eslami (SAB)
2 yellow cards
Kakhaber Kakashvili (MTA)
2 yellow cards
Abdollah Karami (FKH)
2 yellow cards
Luciano “Chimba” Pereira (GOF)
2 yellow cards
Alessandro Felipe Oltramari (SAI)
2 yellow cards
FIXTURES WEEK 5
Friday 9 September 2016
Gostaresh Foolad Tabriz – FC Mashhad
Naft Tehran – Sanat Naft Abadan
21 goals scored in the 3rd week of Persian Gulf Pro League 1395/96, only one tie between Saba Qom and Mashinsazi: Spanish goalkeeper Manu conceded one goal at his debut before Jalal Rafkhaei scored on penalty with ten minutes remaining. Zob Ahan found the first victory of this season beating away Foolad Khuzestan 0-2: on the Isfahani bench was sitting S. Mojtaba Hosseini instead of the head coach Yahya Golmohammadi, the latter suspended by his team due to disciplinary matters. Good news for Ali Daei, since Naft Tehran beat 3-0 Padideh thanks to a double by veteran Iman Mob’Ali and the third goal by Mohammad Ghazi. A very nervous match between FC Mashhad and Saipa, where the players did not hide their legs and the referee Ali Safaei showed 6 yellow cards: Saipa eventually won 2-0. Incredible defeat suffered at Azadi Stadium by Esteghlal Tehran, although they were winning 1-0 until 86′ when Reza Norouzi equilized for Sanat Naft, and few minutes later his teammate Baghlani scored on penalty: Ali Reza Mansourian has to take responsibility after collecting 1 point in 3 weeks. Persepolis giants won against Gostaresh Foolad with a goal by Vahid Amiri: to say the truth it seemed more a cross than an attempt, but it was enough to surprise Fernando de Jesus Ribeiro; now Branko Ivankovic selection is on the top of the league. Sepahan did not disappoint home fans and defeated 3-1 Esteghlal Khuzestan: Rahim Zahivi scored on penalty the only goal of the guest team, becoming the top scorer of the tournement. In the last match of this week, Tractorsazi collected a 3-1 victory at home: in five minutes the host scored twice and Paykan got the ball into the net with Sadeghi; Iraqi midfielder Karrar Jassim secured the win with his first goal of the season.
Vahid Amiri (PER)
Farid Behzadi Karimi (SEP)
Hassan Beit Saeid (ESK)
Eder “Edinho” Luciano (TRA)
Iman Mob’Ali (NAF)
Mehdi Rajabzadeh (ZOB)
Mehdi Torabi (SAI)
2
2 (1 pen.)
2
2
2
2
2
29 players
1
Top cards
Hamed Pakdel (MTA)
1 red card 2 yellow cards
Farshad Ahmadzadeh (PER)
2 yellow cards
Hossein Baghlani (SAN)
2 yellow cards
Meysam Doraghi (ESK)
2 yellow cards
Karim Eslami (SAB)
2 yellow cards
Luciano “Chimba” Pereira (GOS)
2 yellow cards
Alessandro Felipe Oltramari (SAI)
2 yellow cards
FIXTURES WEEK 4
Thursday 11 August 2016
Mashinsazi Tabriz – Tractorsazi Tabriz
Sanat Naft Abadan – Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Isfahan
Paykan Qods – Esteghlal Tehran
Zob Ahan Isfahan – Gostaresh Foolad Tabriz
Saipa Karaj – Padideh Mashhad
Persepolis Tehran – Saba Qom
Esteghlal Khuzestan – Naft Tehran
Friday 12 August 2016
FC Mashhad – Foolad Khuzestan
In the 2nd week of Persian Gulf Pro League 1395/96 we find a record by Hamed Pakdel, sent off by referee Mohsen Torki after collecting 2 yellow card in only one minute! Two derbies were played, in Mashhad and in Tabriz, and both ended with tie. All teams that were defeated in the 1st week obtained points: Sepahan defeated away Naft Tehran with a penalty by Farid Behzadi Karimi; Zob Ahan and Saipa shared one point; Foolad Khuzestan were close to win at Persepolis home, but Vahid Amiri equilized 5 minutes after Abdollah Nasseri’s goal. Esteghlal Khuzestan defending champions won 2-1 against Esteghlal Tehran, thanks to a double scored by Hassan Beit Saeid: the Khuzestani striker is the top scorer with his teammate Rahim Zahivi. Goalless draw between Sanat Naft and Tractorsazi, while Paykan and Saba tied 1-1 (both goals on penalties).
Saman Javadi - سامان جوادی 