A Glimpse of Iranian Football Clubs | ||
A Glimpse of Iranian Football Clubs Iran has produced many talented and gifted footballers over the years, which has turned it into a footballing force, not only in the Middle East,but in all of Asia.Football in Iran dates back to the early twentieth century when oil prospectors from Britain introduced and brought the game to the Bakhtiari tribesmen in the southwest region of the country. Football developed and spread throughout the country, endearing itself to the people, and became popular in the process. This popularity helped in the establishment and founding of Iran’s own football federation in 1920, and eventually joined both FIFA and AFC in 1945 and 1958, respectively After the founding of its federation, local club competitions were held that helped in boosting the sport’s rising popularity and the formation of more clubs which came to the fore in the 1940’s and 50’s. Academies and football schools began to develop during this period, the most popular and respected was a club called Shahin. Shahin was founded in 1942 by Dr. Abbas Ekrami and this club provided a blueprint, and left a huge impression on Iranian football with its production of some of the country’s most talented players including Homayoun Behzadi and Dr. Masoud Boroumand, both considered amongst the nation’s all-time greats. Shahin, due to their wealth of talent, became the most popular club in Iran and its strongest during the 1940’s to the late 1960’s where they won a string of titles and successes. Unfortunately, the government of Iran became jealous and felt threatened by their enormous popularity amongst the people, forcing the club to close in 1966. Many of Shahin’s players were signed by clubs all over the country forming their backbone and helping them reach new heights, including Persepolis, who are now considered one of the two (the other their rivals, Esteghlal) most dominant and prestigious clubs in the country and left their mark, not only in Iran, but also continentally in Asia as well. Iran’s first ever football league was established a few years after the dissolution of Shahin in 1970. The league was played by local clubs, and lasted two seasons. The two most popular clubs in Iran, Persepolis and Esteghlal (called Taj back then), won those two championships. The league later evolved into one that includes clubs from all over the country; Iran’s first nationwide football league. The Takht Jamshid Cup, despite the inclusion of various clubs from all over the country, was still dominated by clubs from the capital, in this case, by Persepolis and the emerging Pas Tehran who won the trophy in two consecutive seasons (1976/77 and 1977/78). Just like the local league, the Takht-Jamshid Cup, didn’t last long either and was dissolved after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 which led to the dethronement of the Shah. The league and football in Iran, in general, came to a huge standstill and suffered many interruptions due to the imposed war by neighboring Iraq in the 1980’s. Clubs suffered from financial loss and instability and many changed their names, including Persepolis who became Pirouzi after the revolution, but restored the original name after a while. In 1989, a football league was established, named the Al Qods League, after the end of the Iran-Iraq war. This league lasted only a season and was duly won by Esteghlal. The next year, in 1991, the Al Qods League was renamed to the Azadegan League in celebration of the return of Iran’s prisoners of war from Iraq. In the first four seasons since it began, the usually dominant Persepolis and Esteghlal struggled and clubs like the emerging Saipa of the Alborz Province and the now dissolved Pas of Tehran impressed, winning two consecutive league titles; Pas in 1993 and Saipa in 1995. However, Persepolis and Esteghlal, slowly regained momentum and won the remaining league championships which lasted until 2001. Finally, in 2001, Iran established its first professional football league where 18 clubs from around the nation compete for the title. Iran’s second division is named after one of the nation’s earlier leagues,the Azadegan League, where 24 clubs compete. Clubs located outside the capital emerged from the shadows after the establishment of the professional league. These include Foolad, Zob Ahan and, of course- Sepahan- who’ve won the last two league titles, leading the race in the current one. They also reached the final of the Asian Champions League in 2007 where they succumbed to defeat at the hands of Japanese side Urawa Reds. Other Iranian clubs who’ve tasted continental success include Esteghlal (as Taj) in 1970 and 1996, Persepolis in 1990, and Pas Tehran in 1992. Not only have clubs in the country experienced the taste of success, but so has its national side, known as National Soccer Team. National Soccer Team The National Soccer Team have a prestigious and illustrious history in the sport especially continentally, where they won the Asian Nations Cup on three occasions in 1968, 1972 and 1976, all before the ranian Revolution of 1979. The National Team also won the continent’s own version of the Olympics - the Asian Games’ football tournament - on four occasions in 1974, 1990, 1998 and 2002. Despite all these successes, their biggest ever achievement is, arguably, qualifying for the greatest football tournament of them all, the World Cup. Iran achieved this feat on three separate occasions in 1978, 1998 and 2006. The 1998 World Cup is where National Team left its biggest impression. In a highly anticipated match with longtime political rival and adversary, United States, Iran ran away with a memorable and historic 2-1 win. The winning goal was scored by former Hamburg star and Iranian legend Mehdi Mahdavikia a goal which long lives in the memory of every Iranian and is still mtalked about to this day. Besides Mahdavikia, many Iranian players have also left an impression on the sport, domestically and continentally, over the years. These include Ali Daei, the all time top goal scorer in international football and the only player to reach and beat the 100 goal mark, Hossein Kalani who not only won the Asian Nations Cup in 1976 but also was its top scorer and best player, legendary goal keeper Nasser Hejazi who’s regarded as one of Asia’s all time best keepers, the “Maradona of Asia” Ali Karimi who was voted as the continent’s best player in 2004 due to his exploits with Iran in the 2004 Asian Nations Cup, and another former Asian Player of the Year winner in Khodadad Azizi. Iran have tried to rectify their issues by focusing on renovating and building new football infrastructure with the cooperation of FIFA, who’ve spent over $3 million on three separate projects concerning this issue. Projects, held separately in 2001, 2004, and 2008, included the building of the nation’s football association headquarters in the capital of Tehran, implementing and applying artificial turfs on their training and official pitches, as well as introducing training programs and building a national football academy to promote youth football along with improving the nation’s overall football infrastructure. On the pitch, Iran’s national side has qualified to the final stage of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers after topping their group that included Qatar and Bahrain. The National Team have the ability to pull through and sneak their way into headlining in Brazil with a talented group of players that include Ashkan Dejagah, Spainbased Javad Nekounam and Masoud Shojaei, Gholam Rezaei, ujtaba Jabari, Mohamed Nosrati among others. They’re currently ranked 52 in the world according to FIFA and are contenders to reach the finals in Brazil. Iran has a long and eventful history with plenty of success along the way; success and history that has turned and cemented them as one of the best footballing nations in Asia, and one of its most feared. Their history and the wealth of talent they possess will help them in their quest for qualification to football’s greatest stage, the World Cup, and more glory and success in future tournaments. Source: ibwm | ||
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