Masoud Shojaei

Masoud Soleimani Shojaei (Persian: مسعود سلیمانی شجاعی‎; born 9 June 1984) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays for UD Las Palmas in Spain. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger or forward.^[1]

After playing in his country for two clubs and with Al-Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, he went on to spend several seasons in Spain with Osasuna, appearing in more than 100 official games.

An Iranian international since 2004, Shojaei represented the country at the 2006 World Cup.

Club career

Early years

Shojaei was born in Abadan.^[2] He started his career with Sanat Naft F.C. before moving to Saipa F.C. of Karaj in the Iran Pro League; having signed at the age of 19, he went on to play three seasons with the latter, displaying good overall dribbling skills and being dubbed The New Karimi.

After the 2006 World Cup, Shojaei moved to the United Arab Emirates and signed for Al Sharjah SC, joining compatriot Rasoul Khatibi and penning a one-year contract worth US$1,200,000. He scored his first goal for the club in the League on 3 October, against Al-Emarat.

Osasuna

On 23 June 2008, after previous attempts from VfL Wolfsburg in Germany and Italy's S.S.C. Napoli, Shojaei signed with Spanish side CA Osasuna for three years, teaming up with compatriot Javad Nekounam. The deal included a €6 million buyout clause for the first 18 months of his contract, being reduced to €3.5 million for the remainder of his stay.^[3]

Shojaei made his La Liga debut on 31 August 2008, playing 32 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF. During his first two seasons he appeared almost always as a substitute, as the Navarrese managed to maintain its division status; the player remained a regular even after the coaching change at the club, as José Ángel Ziganda was replaced by José Antonio Camacho.

Shojaei – who was addressed by his first name during his spell in Spain – appeared regularly again for Osasuna in the 2010–11 campaign, but also spent one month at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup with his national team. In late May he renewed his contract with the club for another two seasons, also having the option of an annual renewal of his link.^[4]

Shojaei spent the entire 2011–12 on the sidelines, due to injury.^[5] On 25 February 2013, in only his fourth appearance since returning, he scored a stunning goal to help Osasuna win it 2–0 at Levante UD.^[6][7]

Despite a solid start to his spell, Shojaei was eventually released in June 2013.^[8] Shortly after he was linked with a move to fellow league club Real Valladolid,^[9] but nothing came of it.

Las Palmas

On 3 September 2013 Shojaei moved clubs but stayed in Spain, joining Segunda División side UD Las Palmas on a one-year contract.^[10] He found the net in his debut, in a 3–1 away success over CE Sabadell FC for the campaign's Copa del Rey.^[11]

International career

After good performances with Saipa, Shojaei earned a place in Iran national under-23 football team, catching the eye of senior side coach Branko Ivanković. He was first called up to play for the full national team in November 2004, for a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Laos – it was the only cap he would win until his inclusion in the training camp prior to the finals in Germany, held in Switzerland; during the camp, the manager was impressed enough to include the player in the final squad, but he only appeared once in the tournament, replacing injured Mohammad Nosrati in the early minutes of the 1–1 draw against Angola.

Shojaei began appearing more regularly in the 2010 World Cup qualification stages, scoring in a 1–1 draw against South Korea in the final game. However, Team Melli did not qualify for the tournament in South Africa. They did, however, qualify for the 2014 World Cup with Shojaei a regular starter in the qualifiers.

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 March 2009	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Saudi Arabia	1–0	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
2	17 June 2009	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul	South Korea	1–0	1–1	2010 World Cup qualification
3	12 August 2009	Asim Ferhatovic, Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–2	3–2	Friendly
4	7 September 2010	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul	South Korea	1–0	1–0	Friendly
5	26 March 2013	Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City	Kuwait	1–0	1–1	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Honours

Country

• Islamic Solidarity Games: Third Place 2005

Club statistics

As of 5 January 2014

• Assist Goals

Personal life

Shojaei has six siblings, and two of his brothers are also involved in football.

See also

• Iranians in Spain

References

External links

• Osasuna official profile (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• TeamMelli official profile
• Masoud Shojaei at National-Football-Teams.com
• Masoud Shojaei – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile

Iran squads v t 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 (c) 11 Khatibi 12 Roudbarian 13 Kaebi 14 Teymourian 15 Borhani 16 Enayati 17 Kazemian 18 Navidkia 19 Sadeghi 20 Nosrati 21 Madanchi 22 Talebloo 23 Shojaei Coach: Ivanković v t e Iran squad – 2007 AFC Asian Cup 1 Roudbarian 2 Mahdavikia 3 Sadeghi 4 Teymourian 5 Rezaei 6 Nekounam 7 Zandi 8 Karimi 9 Hashemian 10 Khatibi 11 Madanchi 12 Hosseini 13 Kaebi 14 Mobali 15 Aghili 16 Enayati 17 Kazemian 18 Rajabzadeh 19 Sadeghi 20 Nosrati 22 Talebloo 24 Shojaei 30 Rahmati Coach: Ghalenoei v t e Iran squad – 2011 AFC Asian Cup 1 Rahmati 2 Heidari 3 Talebi 4 Hosseini 5 Aghili 6 Nekounam 7 Rezaei 8 Shojaei 9 Khalatbari 10 Ansarifard 11 Hajsafi 12 Mirzapour 13 Bengar 14 Teymourian 15 Hadadifar 16 Norouzi 17 M. Nouri 18 P. Nouri 19 Gholami 20 Nosrati 21 Afshin 22 Gordan 23 Mobali Coach: Ghotbi