Ebrahim Mirzapour

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Ebrahim Mirzapour
Personal information
Full name Ebrahim Mirzapour
Date of birth September 16, 1978 (1978-09-16) (age 29)
Place of birth    Flag of Iran Mamoolan, Lorestan, Iran
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Steel Azin
Number 1
Youth clubs
1986-1997 Behzisti Mamoolan
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1997–1998
1998-2006
2006-2007
2007-		 Fajr Khorramabad
Foolad
Esteghlal Ahvaz
Steel Azin
? (1)
4 (0)
- (0)   
National team2
2001- Flag of Iran Iran 69 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 10 May 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 08 June 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Ebrahim Mirzapour (Persian: ابراهیم میرزاپور , born September 16, 1978 in Mamoolan, Lorestan) is an Iranian football goalkeeper, currently playing for Steel Azin in the Azadegan League and the Iran national football team.

Contents

[edit] Club career

He started his professional IPL career, playing for Foolad F.C., and was a member of the team until August 2006. He also made it to the national team while playing for Foolad, immediately becoming the number one keeper for his country. One of his most memorable moments came when he scored a goal on rival goalkeeper Armenak Petrosyan, off a goal kick. He was the captain of the team which won the 2004-2005 IPL championship.He also played in AFC Champions League for Foolad. After World Cup 2006, despite rumors linking him to CD Nacional[1] and Saipa FC, he signed a one-year contract with Foolad's rival, Esteghlal Ahvaz.[2] .

He was seriously injured after only four appearances for Esteghlal Ahvaz, an injury that kept him out of play for fourteen months. He made his first appearance for his new club Steel Azin in a Hazfi Cup match against Shirin Faraz in November 2007.

[edit] International career

Ebrahim Mirzapour's introduction to the Iranian football squad certainly raised a few eyebrows in Iran when the ex-national team coach, the Croat Miroslav Blazevic preferred him to some more experienced goal keepers. Although Mirzapour started nervously, his solid performance in friendly games and against the odds made Blazevic to have enough confidence in him and install him as the fixed starter in the World Cup 2002 qualification matches. Mirzapour did not disappoint either as his towering presence and agility against the best of the competition certainly increased his popularity and his fan base. Although he was faulted in one or two occasions during the qualifying rounds, he was also credited for many saves and for preventing defeats in matches, by his solid and strong performance. Iran eventually did not make it to the 2002 World Cup, due to their 2-1 aggregate loss to the Republic of Ireland in the playoffs.

Ebrahim Mirzapour was able to keep his starting position in the national team coached by Branko Ivankovic. He was the starting goalkeeper in Iran's successful run of victories, attaining a number of clean sheets throughout the 2006 World Cup qualifying matches. Iran together with Japan were the first nations to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, where Mirzapour played in all three of Iran's matches.

Although his outstanding reflexes and agility are noted, Mirzapour has a habit of suffering from lapses in concentration and is prone to make mistakes especially on goal kicks. He played a great game in Iran's second World Cup match vs. Portugal, although they lost 2-0. After the world cup and the critisism on him, he was invited to Team Melli again for the march agains South korea in 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification match under the new coach Amir Ghalenoei.After about two years he was invited to Team melli again on May 2008 under Ali Daei.

[edit] Honurs

Foolad:

Iran's Premier Football League Winner:1 2004/05

Iran:

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Mirzapour to join Nacional FC of Portugal!. Footballmedia. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
  2. ^ (Persian) ابراهیم میرزاپور استقلالی شد. IRNA. Retrieved on 2006-08-24.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Iran squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Mirzapour • 2 Mahdavikia • 3 Bakhtiarizadeh • 4 Golmohammadi • 5 Rezaei • 6 Nekounam • 7 Zandi • 8 Karimi • 9 Hashemian • 10 Daei • 11 Khatibi • 12 Roudbarian • 13 Kaebi • 14 Teymourian • 15 Borhani • 16 Enayati • 17 Kazemian • 18 Navidkia • 19 Sadeqi • 20 Nosrati • 21 Madanchi • 22 Talebloo • 23 Shojaei • Coach: Ivanković
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