Persepolis F.C.

Persepolis Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال پرسپولیس, Persian pronunciation: [peɾsˈpoliːs]) is an Iranian football club based in Tehran. Persepolis F.C. is the football club of the multisport Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club.^[1]

Persepolis has won the most Iranian championships of any club^[5][6] and they contest the Tehran derby with arch rivals Esteghlal, a match that is always closely followed.^[1] According to the AFC, Persepolis is the most popular football club in Asia. Only Dalian Shide and Al-Hilal have similar support in Asia.^[7][8][9][3]

History

Shahin F.C. (1942–1967)

Shahin was established in 1942 by Dr. Abbas Ekrami, a teacher.

Ekrami founded the club with help of some young students under the motto

Shahin produced many talented players like Parviz Dehdari, Masoud Boroumand, Homayoun Behzadi, Jafar Kashani, Hossein Kalani, Hamid Shirzadegan, and many more that played for Team Melli. These talents made Shahin popular in the 1960s but its very popularity was viewed as a threat by the Iran Football Federation and the Keihan Varzeshi newspaper (Iran's most important sports publication at the time).^[11] The conflict between them became worse and on 9 July 1967, two days after Shahin's 3–0 win against Tehranjavan F.C. , the Iran Sports Organization declared Shahin F.C. as dissolved.^[11] League attendance dropped and other clubs including Pas, Rah Ahan, and Oghab tried to sign Shahin players.

Establishment early years (1963–1969)

Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club was established in 1963 by Ali Abdo.^[1] Abdo had come to Iran from the United States and was a championship boxer.^[1]

Persepolis F.C. started the 1968 season with Parviz Dehdari as manager.^[1] Despite the efforts to sign and disperse Shahin players to various clubs, Parviz Dehdari and Masoud Boroumand transferred the popularity of Shahin to Persepolis F.C. by taking most Shahin Players to join Persepolis.^[1] The team was initially quite weak, and participated in the 2nd division of the country. The best player on the team then was Mahmoud Khordbin.

The club, using four Shahin players, had a friendly match with Jam Abadan, a respected team at the time. After the match the remainder of the Shahin players joined Persepolis. That year no league competition was held, as many teams had been dissolved, so a 44-team tournament was held, and Persepolis, along with Pas, Taj, and Oghab finished top of the group.

The next year they represented as the first Iranian club in the Asian Champion Club Tournament held in Thailand, but they were not successful and were eliminated in the group stage.^[1]

Takht Jamshid Cup (1969–1979)

In 1962, the Iran Universal automobile factory was opened.^[12] In 1969, The boss of the factory, Mahmoud Khayami, who was also the owner of a football team, was a big fan of Shahin. Khayami, who wanted to improve his football team, entered into negotiations with Persepolis and was able to get all the former Shahin players except Aziz Asli and Mahmoud Khordbin to join his new team, Paykan Tehran F.C. Paykan won the championship that year, but the new players moved back to Persepolis at the end of the season.

In 1971, Persepolis won its first ever championship in the Iranian League.^[1] Persepolis had an impressive season with 13 wins and 1 draw, in 14 weeks. In 1972, Abdo announced Persepolis as the first professional football club in Iran. The club did not enter the domestic league and only played against foreign clubs, and a few months later it became amateur again. Next year the Takht Jamshid Cup was established. Persepolis was won the inaugural Takht Jamshid Cup in 1973 and won it again in 1975.^[13] Persepolis is the most successful club in the Takht Jamshid Cup league, clinching two championship titles and finishing three times as runner-up.^[14]

Success under tough conditions (1979–1990)

When the Iranian Revolution took place in 1979, Abdo returned to United States. Although Persepolis won the Espandi Cup, the club fell apart and many of the old players did not return.^[15]

The club's property was sequestered by The Oppressed and Veterans Foundation (Persian: بنیاد مستضعفان و جانبازان) and the club placed under the responsibility of The Physical Education Department (Persian: سازمان تربیت بدنی) of Iran.^[15]

In 1981, the Physical Education Department declared that name of the club would change, but club officials, players, and fans opposed the move. ^[16] The team didn't appear in the match against Homa in the Tehran league as a protest against the Physical Education Department. They lost the match 3–0 by defauly and Homa became champion.^[16] In 1986, The club was taken over by the Oppressed and Veterans Foundation and renamed Azadi ("freedom", Persian: آزادی).^[16] Players declared that they wouldn't play for the club if the name change went through.^[16] After a brief period the Foundation did not want the club any more, and it was taken over by the Physical Education Department again. On 16 February 1987, the Physical Education Department renamed the club Pirouzi ("victory", Persian: پیروزی) with players' agreement,^[16] although fans still call the team by its original name, Persepolis.^[16]

In 1980s the club only played in the Tehran League and various elimination tournaments. Persepolis was successful during this time and maintained its popularity, winning the Tehran League five seasons in a row. During all that time, Ali Parvin served as player-manager.

Revitalization (1990–2001)

The 1990s were a dream decade for the team, with four league championships, two Hazfi Cups, dozens of great players, and renewed support. At one point more than six Persepolis players were starters on Iran's national team.^[1]

The team won the national championship in the 1995–96 season. At one point in that season they were 10 points behind Firouz Karimi's Bahman F.C.. They came back and finished first, six points ahead of the league runner-up. They won the league again the next season, again finishing ahead of the runner up by six points. They were stopped by the Korean side Pohang Steelers in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions' Cup. Persepolis finished third, defeating Iraq's Al-Zawraa in the third place match.

The next season they showed good form again, but due to their commitments in the Asian Champions' Cup and the large number of national team players they had, they withdrew from the league. The poor scheduling and mismanagement of both the I.R.I.F.F. and AFC officials led to this unprofessional event. This prevented Persepolis from possibly winning a third consecutive league championship. Persepolis did not have much luck in the Asian Champion's cup either, as they were once again stopped in the semi-finals, this time by Chinese club, Dalian Wanda. They lost the third place match as well to Al-Hilal.

The 1996–97 and 1997–98 Persepolis teams are considered by many to be among the greatest Iranian clubs to ever play. National team players and future superstars such as Ahmadreza Abedzadeh, Khodadad Azizi, Karim Bagheri, Ali Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Mehrdad Minavand, Ali Karimi and many more were among the players who played for the club in those years.

After the World Cup 1998, several of Persepolis' best players were transferred to European clubs, but Persepolis was able to keep a talented squad. Future national team members Ali Karimi and Hamed Kavianpour would join the team at this time. They won the 1998–99 championship as well as the Hazfi Cup that season. They also won the 1999–2000 league championship, finishing third again in the Asian Champions Cup. This would be their last championship in the Azadegan League era.

Most of Persepolis' championships at the time were won while Ali Parvin was the manager, and Amirali Abedini was the chairman.

IPL era (2001 – present)

Persepolis entered the newly established IPL looking to dominate once again, but near the end of the season they were in a very close race with their rival Esteghlal. Esteghlal led the league by two points going into the final day of the regular season. Esteghlal's loss to Malavan and Persepolis' 1–0 win against Fajr Sepasi in their last games of the season gave Persepolis a one point lead and another championship. Their 2001–02 season championship made them the first-ever IPL champions.^[1]

The 2002–03 season proved to be extremely difficult and Persepolis finished third, never managing to come close to the eventual winners, Sepahan. They also fell apart in the newly created AFC Champions League, failing to advance out of the group stage.

When Akbar Ghamkhar took over as club chairman, he made several changes in an effort to improve the team. He made public the amount of player and staff salaries, severely angering Parvin, the highest paid player on the team. Ghamkhar hired coach Vinko Begović, and entered into contracts with several prominent players. Persepolis started off very well in the 2003–04 season but things deteriorated. Begovic left the team and German manager Rainer Zobel was bought in. Parvin was brought back, taking the position of technical director. The club finished fifth in the standings in the 2004–05 season.

Ghamkhar was replaced with Hojatollah Khatib. He decided to bring back Parvin. The club experienced major financial problems as some of the spending decisions made in previous years had overextended the club. Persepolis finished the 2005–06 season in ninth place, the lowest it had ever placed. Parvin left the club in February 2006, vowing to never return to Persepolis, after a 4–2 loss to Fajr Sepasi in Azadi Stadium. After the game, the fans began cursing at Ali Parvin and the players.

Khatib resigned as chairman and Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard was elected to the post by the club council. Arie Haan was brought in as the new manager,^[17][18] helping the team make it to the 2005–06 Hazfi Cup final, but he was fired by the club just before the 2006–07 season began. Turkish manager Mustafa Denizli signed with the team on 17 August 2006.^[19][20] With the final cup match being his first one as the club's manager, Denizli was not able to help the club win the Hazfi Cup in 2006, a cup that the team needed to gain entry into the Asian Champion's League and to receive financial benefits by doing so.

The club did not win the Hazfi Cup the next year either, losing to Sepahan in the semifinals in June 2007. The club finished third in the IPL 2006–07, and Denizli left the club after Ansarifard resigned as chairman in June 2007.

Emperor epoch

Habib Kashani became the club chairman in June 2007 and selected Afshin Ghotbi as head coach of Persepolis for the 2007–08 season.^[21] Ghotbi Promised to lead Persepolis to the IPL championship^[22] and started the IPL with a 3–2 win over Sanat Naft. Persepolis was undefeated until the 17th round, where they sufered a 2–1 loss to Sepahan.^[23] On 9 January 2008, the disciplinary committee of the Iranian Football Federation announced because of a serious injury to a security soldier by the Sepahan fans, Sepahan would be charged with a five-point deduction. This was later reduced to three points. Persepolis was also docked six points by FIFA because of unpaid wages to a number of former players.^[24] This placed Persepolis behind Sepahan in the standings.^[25] Near the end of the season Sheys Rezaei and Mohammad Reza Mamani were expelled by the team after both players showed poor behavior towards club players, coaches, and management as well as other non-football-related issues.^[26] Habib Kashani and Mahmoud Khordbin both suffered heart attacks.^[27] Persepolis cut Sepahan's seven-point lead to two points by the last game of the season.

In the last week, Persepolis defeated Sepahan when Sepehr Heidari scored a 90+6th minute goal in front of over 110,000 fans in Azadi Stadium to give Persepolis its second championship in the IPL and a berth in the Asian Champions League.^[28][29] In the 2007–2008 Golden Ball award ceremony Persepolis, Afshin Ghotbi, and Mohsen Khalili won the Team, Manager, and Player of the year titles.^[30][31]

Ghotbi's contract expired at the end of the season and he decided to leave the club.^[32][33] His assistant, Hamid Estili, was very close to management but, Kashani and other club officials resigned because of conflicts between them and the Iran Physical Education Department.^[34][35] Dariush Mostafavi was selected as club chairman.^[36] Mostafavi promised to bring Ghotbi back. Negotiations were successful, and on 4 July 2008, Ghotbi signed a two-year contract with Persepolis.^[37][38] Ghotbi had many problems with Mostafavi and resigned on 19 November 2008. When talking to the popular Iranian show 90, Ghotbi showed tears before leaving Persepolis and the fans that loved him who had given him the nickname Emperor.^[39]

However, Ghotbi left the team in mid-season after a series of losses and eventually became head coach of the Iranian National Team. ^[40]

Anthem

The table below shows the anthem that is sung at Persepolis home matches. In the championship ceremony of the 2007–2008 season, captain Karim Bagheri took a microphone and sang the anthem accompanied by the fans.^[41]

Colours and crest

Persepolis was named after the historical landmark, Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid Empire.^[1]The club logo incorporates elements from the location.

The first design of Persepolis' crest used the Faravahar, an ancient Persian and Zoroastrian symbol. The Faravahar is a man with falcon wings, each with three feathers. Faravahar looks toward and rises its hand toward Ahura Mazda. This version of the crest only used in early years. After that there was not a crest on the shirt until the 1980s. In the middle of the 1980s the design of the crest changed. This version had two bull heads attached to one body as seen on a column at Apadana. The bull points to a cup. Olympic rings are seen under the cup. The bull is the symbol of productivity in ancient Persia beliefs and Persian Literature and the cup on the top of the column represents the championship. This version was a more detailed version of the current crest. In the 1990s the crest changed again and became more stylized; the Olympic rings were dropped and the cup became more explicit. This version used until 2004; the current crest is simpler still. The Olympic rings return to the crest and the bull of past versions is turned into Homa, another mythological creature and symbol used in the architecture of Persepolis.

One of Persepolis' nicknames is Sorkhpoushan ("The Reds", Persian: سرخپوشان), stemming from their traditional kit, which is predominantly red.^[1] From the foundation of the club, the common home kit includes a red shirt, red (in some seasons black or white) shorts, and red socks. White and black colours are also seen in the kit. In the early 1970s the shorts were black; white shorts were used in the late 1970s, and red shorts became predominant in the 1980s.

In the 2006–2007 season, fans saw the team wear red and white striped shirts. The away kit of the club is commonly with a white background.

Stadium and facilities

When Persepolis F.C. was created, the sport club already had a number of buildings such as gymnasiums, swimming pools, and bowling alleys in the Bowling Abdo Complex. The faciliyy is in the north of Tehran and was renamed Shahid Chamran Bowling after the revolution.^[1] There was initially no stadium for the football team. Ali Abdo bought some land in the Ekbatan area of Tehran and constructed a stadium there.^[42] At the time it was known as Apadana stadium. Persepolis played only one game at the stadium^[42] due to poor organization of the seating and a lack of co-operation with other Iranian clubs.^[42] Persepolis only used the stadium as a training ground.^[42]

Around the time of the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979, Abdo had to sell much of the club's property to keep the club functioning due to its poor financial situation and the overall neglect of sport during the eighties in Iran. Abdo sold Apadana Stadium to Rah Ahan F.C. For 200,000 Tomans in 1974.^[42] Apadana Stadium is now called Rah Ahan Stadium. Bowling Abdo burnt down and Abdo returned to the United States. Club properties were confiscated by The Oppressed and Veterans Foundation (Bonyad Mostazafan, Persian: بنیاد مستضعفان و جانبازان).

Before the construction of Azadi Stadium in 1971, Persepolis played its matches at Amjadieh (Shahid Shiroudi) Stadium. They have played almost all of their home games at Azadi Stadium, except for the 2002–03 season, when they played all but two of their home matches at Tehran's Takhti Stadium while renovations were taking place at Azadi.^[43]

In mid 2006 Persepolis considered buying Shahre Ghods Stadium,^[44] but the deal fell through due to Persepolis' poor financial situation and the long distance between the city center and the stadium.^[45] The only property the club currently has is its club headquarters, built on land given to the club by the IRIFF.^[1]

The youth clubs of Persepolis train and play their matches at Derafshifar Stadium.^[46] In July 2008 the club used Karegaran Stadium for first-team training.^[47]

Supporters and rivalries

Persepolis is one of the highest supported teams in Iranian football. It is said in unofficial counts that the club has over 30 million fans.^[48][49] The club is based in Tehran and is popular in all parts of country. Persepolis also has a fan base in Afghanistan^[50] and Persian Gulf countries.^[51]

Famous fans

Rivalries

Persepolis is one side of Iran's most important football match which is called The Sorkhabi derby.^[1] The rivalry between Persepolis and Esteghlal was derived from the previous significant derby between Shahin and Taj.

After the departure of Shahin players to Persepolis, the club became too popular and its arch-rival Taj (meaning "crown" in Persian) was the royal team supported by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza. As the two biggest and most successful clubs in Iran, nowadays the rivalry continues on an annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the championship. In each transfer season, both clubs try to attract rival team players.

Another Persepolis rival is Sepahan, the club based in Esfahan.^[1] Both clubs were dependent upon Shahin; one hired most of the Shahin players in its early years and the other was the branch of Shahin F.C. in Esfahan. The rivalry renewed in the early 2000s, when Esfahan rose in Iran football. Sepahan and Zob Ahan became strong, replacing Tehran popular teams in the 2002–2003 season. Both of Iran's important football competitions, IPL and the Hazfi Cup, were won by Esfahan teams that season. Persepolis also had a derby against the now dissolved club, Pas Tehran.

Players

First-team squad

See also: Persepolis F.C. season 2011–12

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2011–12.
For more on the reserve and academy squads, see Persepolis Reserves and Academy.

Notable players

For notable players see List of Persepolis F.C. players.
For details on former players see Category:Persepolis F.C. players.

Club captains

Managers

Notable managers

The table below shows Persepolis managers that have won noteworthy titles or had a great impact on the team. For a more detailed and chronological list of Persepolis managers from 1964 onwards with their trophies, see List of Persepolis F.C. managers.

IPL managers

Only IPL matches are counted.

Last updated 2 December 2011.

Achievements

National titles

• Iranian Football League (Record)^{[73][74][75][76][77][3]}

Winners (9): 1971–72 1973–74, 1975–76, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99,1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08

Runners-Up (7): 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01

• Hazfi Cup (Record)

Winners (5): 1987–88, 1990–91, 1998–99, 2009–10, 2010–11

Runners-Up (1): 2005–06

• Espandi Cup

Winner: 1979

• Tehran provincial league

Winners (6): 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988,1989,1990

Runners-Up (3): 1981, 1983,1991

• Tehran Super Cup

Winner : 1992

• Tehran Hazfi Cup

Winners (3): 1979, 1982, 1987

Runners-Up : 1981

Asian titles

• Asian Cup Winners Cup

Winner: 1991*

Runner-Up: 1993

(* First ever winners)

Unofficial titles

• Vahdat International Cup

Winner: 1981

• Sharjah Friendship Cup

Winner: 1995

• Al-Nasr International Tournament

Runner-Up: 2009

• Velayat International Cup

Winner: 2011

Honours

• IFFHS continental Clubs of the 20th century : 4th Place

• Iranian Team of the year

2007–08

• Best Team Month Football Asia

February 1998

Individual honours

Asian Young Footballer of the Year

The following player have won the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award while playing for Persepolis:

• 1997 – Mehdi Mahdavikia

IFFHS' World's Best Goal Scorers of the Year

The following players were worlds best International Goalscorer (national + Club) while playing for Persepolis:

• 1996 – Ali Daei (22 goals)
• 2004 – Ali Daei (17 goals)
• 1997 – Karim Bagheri Second (20 goals)

Asian Footballer of the Year

The following players have won the Asian Footballer of the Year award after playing for Persepolis:

• 1999 – Ali Daei
• 2003 – Mehdi Mahdavikia
• 2004 – Ali Karimi

The following players were in contention for the Asian Footballer of the Year while playing for Persepolis:

• 1990 – Farshad Pious Runner-up
• 1996 – Ali Daei Runner-up
• 1997 – Khodadad Azizi Runner-up
• 1997 – Karim Bagheri Second Runner-up

Iran World Cup captains

The following players were captains of the Iranian National team at the World Cup while playing for Persepolis:

• 1978 – Ali Parvin
• 1998 – Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh

The following players were captains of the Iranian National team at the World Cup after playing for Persepolis:

• 2006 – Ali Daei

AFC Asian Cup MVP Award

The following player have won the AFC Asian Cup MVP Award award while playing for Persepolis:

• 1996 – Khodadad Azizi

Statistics and records

Ali Parvin holds the record for Persepolis appearances with 341, having played between 1970 and 1988, while Afshin Peyrovani holds the league appearances records with 209, playing from 1993 to 2004.

The record for a goalkeeper is held by Vahid Ghelich, with 176 appearances. The record for total Persepolis appearances among current players is held by captain Karim Bagheri with 172 appearances and 23 goals.

With 149 caps, Ali Daei of Iran is Persepolis' most capped international player. Farshad Pious is the club's all time top goalscorer in all competitions with 153 goals in 211 matches^[78][79], playing between 1985 and 1998.

Persepolis set Iran the highest division League records for most wins (9) and most runners-up (7).

Ownership

In May 2009, in the run-up to the 2009 presidential election President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that the club will be privatized.^[80] It is expected that the transfer of the club to private investors will be a long process, largely due to problems with the club's financial documents and the debts that the club has accumulated that make it unable to be listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Shares for the club can be sold on the OTC market once it has removed all of its financial ambiguities.^[81]

The purchase of the club has been linked with UAE-based Iranian businessman Sirous Mahjoob, who may also be interested in buying Newcastle United.^[82] Mahjoob was said to be willing to buy the club immediately for $50 million dollars and claimed to have previously invested into the club under the reign of chairman Akbar Ghamkhar.^[83]

Sponsorship

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

References

External links

Official

• (Persian) Official club website
• (English) Persepolis Results and Stats
• (English) FIFA page

News

• (Persian) (English) Club News website
• (English) Goal.com page
• (English) Soccerway Page
• (English) worldfootball Page
• (English) Footballdatabase Page
• (Persian) Parsfootball Page