Javad Nekounam
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| Javad Nekounam |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Javad Nekounam | |
| Date of birth | September 7, 1980 | |
| Place of birth | Ray, Iran | |
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | CA Osasuna |
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| Number | 25 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Saipa | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1998-2005 2005-2006 2006 2006- |
Pas F.C. Al Wahda Sharjah FC CA Osasuna |
(42) 11 (3) ? (5) 26 (2) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2000- |  Iran |
89 (20) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Javad Nekounam (Persian: جواد نکونام, born September 7, 1980 in Ray, Iran) is an Iranian football player who currently plays for CA Osasuna in La Liga and the Iran national football team. He usually plays in the defensive midfielder position. He is best known for his passing ability, ball distribution, and powerful long range shots, often from outside the 18-yard box.
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[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career
Having played for Pas F.C. for several years and played in AFC Champions League for PAS, in 2005 Javad Nekounam signed a 5 month contract to play for Al Wahda in the UAE for $1M.[1] In January 2006 he joined another UAE club, Sharjah FC, although some European clubs such as Kaiserslautern and Tottenham Hotspur had shown interest in him.
[edit] CA Osasuna
After his performance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup many clubs in Europe were in the running to sign him, but in the end La Liga side CA Osasuna signed Nekounam on a two-year contract.[2] The contract can be extended one more year with the player and club's agreement. Nekounam also has a €5 million minimum release-fee clause on his contract. He is the first Iranian player to be signed by a La Liga club. Nekounam was mainly targeted by Hertha BSC Berlin of the German Bundesliga and Lyon of Ligue 1 but he chose to go to Spain instead.
On February 22, 2007, Nekounam scored a vital goal in the last 20 seconds of extra time in the UEFA Cup match against Bordeaux, helping Osasuna move to the round of 16. He was selected as Osasuna's player of the year by the club fans in the 06/07 season, which was one of the reasons he decided to stay with the club despite having offers from other La liga teams.[citation needed]. To cap off an extraordinary season, Javad was also put into La Liga's "revelation squad", and UEFA's squad of the year.
In August 14th 2007, he suffered an ACL rupture in his right knee, and after undergoing a successful surgery in Augsburg, Germany, he will be out of action at least 6 months. His number 24 was given to new signing Jaroslav Plasil, as he recovered from his injury.
On November 24, 2007 Osasuna showed faith in Nekounam signing a contract extension on his existing contract that was set to end on June 30, 2008. Nekounam's new contract will keep him at Osasuna until June 30, 2011. The contract has a €5M buy out clause for the first two seasons and €2.5M for the last season.[3]On February 2008, Nekounam made his first training appearance since the injury. Incidentally, a week later, Swiss midfielder Xavier Margairaz (teammate and also a central midfielder) suffered a similar injury, and will be out of action for a period that could amount to one year.
On April,27 Nekounam made his long waited Apperance after coming back from injury for Osasuna againts Valencia Coming on in the 70th min. However the Game ended in a 3-0 loss to the hands of Valencia
[edit] International career
Nekounam received his first callup to the Iranian national team in May 2000. He became a starter for the national side during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers and, already a key midfield element, played in two of Iran's games during World Cup 2006 in Germany, being suspended for the final group game against Angola, after his second yellow card, against Portugal. He won the 2002 Asian Games and 2004 West Asian Football Federation Championship.He also played in 2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship and 2004 Asian Cup and 2007 Asian Cup and he has been called up for 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying.
As of July 2007, he has 87 caps with Iran and has scored 19 goals for Team Melli.
[edit] Club career statistics
Last update: 20 May 2008
| Season | Team | Country | Division | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98/99 | Pas | Iran |
1 | 23 | 2 |
| 99/00 | Pas | Iran |
1 | 24 | 5 |
| 00/01 | Pas | Iran |
1 | 21 | 5 |
| 01/02 | Pas | Iran |
1 | ?? | 4 |
| 02/03 | Pas | Iran |
1 | ?? | 7 |
| 03/04 | Pas | Iran |
1 | ?? | 10 |
| 04/05 | Pas | Iran |
1 | ?? | 9 |
| 05/06 | Al-Wahda |  United Arab Emirates |
1 | 11 | 3 |
| 05/06 | Al-Sharjah | United Arab Emirates |
1 | ?? | 5 |
| 06/07 | Osasuna |  Spain |
1 | 24 | 2 |
| 07/08 | Osasuna | Spain |
1 | 2 | 0 |
[edit] Honurs
Iran's Premier Football League:1 2003/04
Iran:
- AFC/OFC Cup Challenge:1
- 2003
- Asian Games:1
- 2002
[edit] Notes
- ^ Nekounam states Euro ambition. SkySports.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ Osasuna sign Javad Nekounam. PersianFootball. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
- ^ Javad Nekounam renueva su contrato hasta 2011. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
[edit] External links
- Javad Nekounam at TeamMelli.com
- RSSSF archive of Javad Nekounam's international appearnces and goals
- (Spanish) Javad's profile on Official Website of C.A. Osasuna
- Nekounam states Euro ambition - Article from Sky Sports
- Javad Nekounam - Osasuna's New Star - Article from Goal.com
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