Morteza Pouraliganji

Morteza Pouraliganji

Pouraliganji celebrating in Iran national football team shirt
Personal information
Date of birth19 April 1992
Place of birthBabol, Iran
Height1.84 m (6 ft 12 in)
Playing positionCenter back, Centre midfield
Club information
Current team
Tianjin Teda
Number3
Youth career
2008–2010Ehsan Rey
2010–2013Naft Tehran
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010–2015Naft Tehran73(3)
2015–Tianjin Teda6(0)
National team
2009Iran U-174(0)
2010Iran U-202(0)
2012–Iran U-2314(2)
2015–Iran6(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 January 2015

Morteza Pouraliganji (born April 19, 1992)[1] is an Iranian professional footballer who plays for Tianjin Teda in the Chinese Super League. Pouraliganji represented Iran at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Club career

Naft Tehran

Pouraliganji started his senior career with Naft Tehran in 2010.[2] He scored his first professional goal in 2011 in a 4–1 win against Paykan.

Tianjin Teda

He joined Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda on 25 February 2015.[3]

Club career statistics

As of 17 February 2015
Club Division Season League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Naft Tehran Pro League 2010–11 12200--122
2011–12 16010--170
2012–13 11000--110
2013–14 21010--220
2014–15 1302110161
China PR League FA Cup Asia Total
Tianjin TedaChinese Super League201560000060
Career total 7324110783
SeasonTeamAssists
2010–11Naft Tehran0
2011–120
2012–130
2013–142
2014–151

International career

U17

Pouraliganji represented Iran U-17 in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[4]

U23

In 2012 he broke in to coach Ali Reza Mansourian's squad and has been regular feature ever since. He named in Iran U23 final list for Incheon 2014.[5]

Senior

After his performance in Asian Games in October 2014, Carlos Queiroz called Pouraliganji up for a training camp in Portugal. He played a friendly fixtures against Estroli and Benfica and was later called up for an international friendly against South Korea on 18 November 2014. He was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad on 30 December 2014,[6] making his debut in a friendly match against Iraq on 4 January 2015 which Iran won 1–0.

Pouraliganji was selected to start in Iran's opening match at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, a 2–0 win over Bahrain. His good performance in Iran's second match against Qatar earned him a place in the AFC Best 11 of Round 2.[7] In the quarter-final match against Iraq, Pouraliganji scored his first goal for Iran as they drew 3–3 at Canberra Stadium and were eventually defeated 7–6 on a penalty shootout.[8]

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 23 January 2015 Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia  Iraq 2–2 3–3 2015 AFC Asian Cup

References