Ryan Tafazolli

Ryan Tafazolli
Personal information
Full nameRyan Sirous Tafazolli[1]
Date of birth28 September 1991
Place of birthSutton, England
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Mansfield Town
Number6
Youth career
2005–2011Southampton
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2011Southampton2(0)
2009→ Salisbury City (loan)9(0)
2011→ Salisbury City (loan)8(0)
2012–Mansfield Town65(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:26, 2 October 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Ryan Sirious Tafazolli (born 28 September 1991) is an English-Iranian footballer who currently plays as a defender for League Two club Mansfield Town. Born in Sutton, London, he was originally a member of the Southampton youth system, and plays primarily as a centre back.

Club career

Early career

Ryan Tafazolli originally joined the Southampton Academy in 2005. Tafazolli went on to captain the successful Under-18 youth team and also the Reserve Team.[2]

His first taste of first team football came after he joined Conference Premier team Salisbury City on a one-month loan starting October 2009,[2] His professional debut against York City on 10 October 2009 was a disaster for Tafazolli, as he was sent-off in the second half. Nevertheless, Sainsbury City would went on to win the match 1-0.[3] Despite the sending off, Tafazolli later made five league games and one FA Cup fixture[4] before returning to his parent club in December.[5] Still not breaking into the squad at Southampton, the young defender returned to Salisbury in 2011 for three months, playing three times in the FA Trophy.[4]

After being released by Southampton,[6] Tafazolli went on trial with Eastleigh [7] and Reading in effort to win a contract with the club.[8] However, Tafazolli's best effort to win a contract with these club have failed.[9]

Mansfield Town

After a year out in football, Tafazolli signed for Conference club Mansfield Town on 20 August 2012.[10][11] Tafazolli made his Mansfield Town debut on 15 September 2012, in a 2-0 win over Braintree Town.[12]

Despite being injured his hamstring for most of the campaign,[13] during which time he only picked up five league appearances, at the end of Mansfield's title-winning season he was offered a new contract with the club.[14][15] On 18 June 2014, Tafazolli would accepted a new offered contract by the club.[16]

At the start of the 2013/14 season, Tafazolli changed his number shirt from number thirty-two to twelve.[17] Tafazolli remained on the bench at the start of the season until he made his first start as a center back in a 3-0 win over Northampton Town on 21 September 2013.[18] Adding further appearance, Tafazolli soon suffered a knee injury that kept him out for a month.[19] Though recovering from a knee injury, Tafazolli made his return on 29 December 2014, where Mansfield Town won 2-1 against Cheltenham Town.[20] From that point on, Tafazolli established himself as a center back defense and joined up with various partnership in defense. Tafazolli then scored his first goal for the club on 8 March 2014, in a 2-1 win over Newport County[21] and scored another goal in a 3-0 win over Rochdale a week later.[22] At the end of the 2013/2014 season, Tafazolli won 3 Player of The Season Awards; Fans player of the season, Chairman and Directors player of the season and the Stags Association player of the season award despite making twenty-four appearance.[23]

In the pre-season of the 2014/2015 season Mansfield turned down a bid from Scottish Professional Football League side Dundee United for Ryan Tafazolli.[24] The club would explained the decision on the club's website, stating that the less income of compensation Mansfield Town would receive.[25] Despite this, Tafazolli switched shirt again from twelve number to six number shirt.[26] Tafazolli scored his first goal for the club, at the start of the season, in a 2-1 win over Oxford United.[27] Things went well for Tafazolli until he injured his hamstring during a match against Accrington Stanley in early October.[28] This left him on a sideline until he made his return on 15 November 2014, in a 2-0 loss against Shrewsbury Town.[29] Tafazolli was sent-off after a second bookable offense, in a 1-1 draw against Hartlepool United on 26 December 2014.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "English National Football Archive". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Loan Move for Ryan". Southampton F.C. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "Salisbury City 1-0 York City". BBC Sport. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Ryan Tafazolli". FootballDatabase.eu. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "Weymouth v Salisbury City preview / Tafazolli returns to Saints". Southampton Daily Echo. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Southampton duo prepare for talks". BBC Sport. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Eastleigh hand trial to ex-Saint Ryan Tafazolli". Southampton Daily Echo. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Why Aaron Martin is a great incentive?". Southampton Daily Echo. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Eastleigh Make Late Signings". The Official Football Conference League Website. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Mansfield Town sign defender Ryan Tafazolli". BBC Sport. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Mansfield Town sign former Southampton trainee Ryan Tafazolli". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  12. ↑ "Tafazolli set for debut". Mansfield Town F.C. 15 September 2012. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Cox will play strongest side v Slough". Mansfield Town F.C. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Mansfield Town give defender Ryan Tafazolli new deal". This is Nottingham. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  15. ↑ "Mansfield Town: Lee Beevers one of 11 offered new deals". BBC Sport. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "Duo agree Football League deals". Mansfield Town F.C. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Squad numbers announced". Mansfield Town F.C. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Two changes for Cobblers clash". Mansfield Town F.C. 21 September 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Preview: Torquay vs Stags". Mansfield Town F.C. 18 October 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "Match Report: Cheltenham Town 1 - 3 Mansfield Town". Mansfield Town F.C. 29 December 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  21. ↑ "Mansfield Town 2-1 Newport County". BBC Sport. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Mansfield Town 3 - 1 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "In pictures: Annual Dinner Awards". Mansfield Town F.C. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "Dundee United fail with bid for Mansfield defender Ryan Tafazolli". BBC Sport. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "Stags reject bids for duo". Mansfield Town F.C. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Squad numbers confirmed for new campaign". Mansfield Town F.C. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "Mansfield Town 2 - 1 Oxford United". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  28. ↑ "Defensive duo face spells on the sidelines". Mansfield Town F.C. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "Team news from Greenhous Meadow". Mansfield Town F.C. 15 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  30. ↑ "Mansfield Town 1 - 1 Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

External links