Persepolis–Sepahan rivalry

Persepolis-Sepahan rivalry
Other names Persepolis vs Sepahan
Locale Iran Tehran, Iran
Iran Isfahan, Iran
Teams Persepolis Football Club
Sepahan Football Club
First meeting 11 February 1972
Latest meeting 2–1
Persepolis - Sepahan
(February 18, 2017)
Next meeting TBD
Statistics
Meetings total Official: 66
Friendlies: 3
Most wins Persepolis (23)
Most player appearances Moharram Navidkia (24)
Top scorer Rasoul Khatibi
Mahmoud Karimi Sibaki (5)
Largest victory 6–0
Persepolis - Sepahan
(November 15, 1972)

The rivalry between Persepolis and Sepahan is a footballing rivalry played between Iranian clubs Persepolis and Sepahan.

History

2006 Hazfi Cup Final

This rivalry started in 2006 when Sepahan and Persepolis contested the Hafzi Cup championship, Iranian football's second-most prestigious competition. After both teams battled to a 1–1 tie in the first leg in Tehran, the two sides returned to Esfahan's Nagshe Jahan Stadium for the pivotal second leg, when a champion would be crowned. The first half was uneventful. But in the second half, things would get explosive. Ebrahim Asadi gave the reds the lead at the 56-minute mark. With that, a Persepolis championship seemed to be a foregone conclusion. But just nine minutes later, Hamid Shafiee, who also scored the equalizer in the first leg, tied the game with a goal in the 64th minute. Neither team would do anything special in extra time, so the game went to penalty kicks.

In the fateful shootout, Sepahan got off to a bad start as Jalal Akbari missed his shot and Karim Bagheri gave Persepolis the lead. But Sheis Rezaei and Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht missed their shots, and Sepahan would go on to win 4–2 in the shootout.

2007 Hazfi Cup Semifinal

As expected, the two sides would meet again in next year's Hazfi Cup semifinal. This time the spoils would be decided in one game, and with Persepolis playing in front of 100,000 supporters in Azadi Stadium, they looked like a good bet for revenge. The reds got off to a good start by scoring midway through the second half on a penalty kick by Farzad Ashoubi. Persepolis would also have some chances to extend their lead. All was set for a Persepolis celebration when with just two minutes left, Sepahan earned a penalty of their own. Hadi Aghili converted with ease, silencing the crowd and sending the game into extra time.

In the extra sessions, nothing much happened from the home side and most Spectators hoped the game to go to penalty kicks again. But the Sepahan players never gave up and could not let the chance decide for the winner. Out of nowhere, Mahmoud Karimi, who had barely played all season for Sepahan, and was ignored by the government controlled media of Iran, emerged as an unlikely hero by scoring three goals in the span of just nine minutes to sink Persepolis 4–1. Sepahan would go on to win their second straight Hazfi Cup by beating Saba Battery 4–0 on aggregate, and Persepolis fans have found this harsh defeat heartbreaking and tough to forget.

2008 IPL Championship

Persepolis' fans after the match of Persepolis-Sepahan in the 2007–08 season

Throughout the 2007–2008 Iran Pro League season, Persepolis, under new head coach Afshin Ghotbi, was dominating the league. However, their one obstacle was still Sepahan, as they would be the only contender to bother Persepolis. In the middle of the season, Persepolis and Sepahan met at Esfahan's Fouladshahr Stadium. Sepahan won that game 2–1, handing Persepolis their first loss of the season. However, Sepahan would lose five points (reduced to three on an appeal) due to fan violence. But Persepolis also lost six points due to inability to pay former players. All things considered, Sepahan had a two-point lead over Persepolis at the top going into the last week of the season.

As fate would have it, the two teams would meet on the last day of the season in front 100,000 racuous fans in Azadi Stadium. Sepahan needed only a point to be crowned champs, while nothing less than a victory would do for the red giants. Persepolis got off to a dream start with a goal in the 18th minute from the league's top goalscorer, Mohsen Khalili. Khalili would also go on to hit the post and Persepolis was also denied a penalty kick on a controversial non-call by referee Saeed Mozafarri. Those misses would prove to be costly as 18-year-old senasation Ehsan Hajisafi would tie the game on a breakaway in the 30th minute. At halftime it remained 1–1, and Sepahan was just 45 minutes away from breaking the reds' hearts once more.

Throughout the second half, it was all one-way traffic as Ghotbi's men put four strikers upfront against Sepahan's defense, which still stood strong for almost the entire second half and did not allow Persepolis to get the imperative goal they needed. After 90 minutes plus five minutes of stoppage time, the score was still the same, and Sepahan was getting ready to celebrate. But this time, luck would shift Persepolis' way. A Khalili free kick bounced at the feet of Karim Bagheri. Bagheri's experience would take over from there, as he sent a high cross to Sepehr Heidari who headed the ball in the back of the net in the 96th minute, giving Persepolis the championship, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Heidari's goal earned him a spot in Persepolis lore and proved to be a historic and memorable moment in team history.

The historic events of this day, including the suspicious decisions of the referee-Said Mozafarizade (Who later, suddenly and with no apparent reasons resigned from football) completed one season supports for Persepolis, marked the last ever IPL championship for the government sponsored and supported Persepolis.

2009 Hazfi Cup Round of 16

The two teams would meet at the Azadi Stadium again, this time in the Round of 16 of the Hazfi Cup. This time, however, both teams had been through a very lackluster season as they both changed coaches twice during the regular season. Sepahan and Persepolis finished 4th and 5th respectively in the IPL, which meant a very underachieving season for both teams.

Persepolis would take an early lead on a 12th minute cracker by Maziar Zare. Since then, the game became more lively as both teams created numerous chances. Zare also missed a golden opportunity to double his goal tally and Persepolis' lead after missing a penalty kick. In second half stoppage time, Sepahan captain Moharram Navidkia also squandered a tailor-made opportunity by firing over the bar from just a few yards out. Persepolis would go on to the quarterfinals, where they went down 2–1 to Pas Hamedan.

The aftermath of this game was very ironic in the sense that Sepahan, despite crashing out of the Hazfi Cup, would still qualify for the AFC Champions League because neighbors Zob Ahan, who finished second (among the top three) in the IPL, won the Hazfi Cup, which gave 4th placed Sepahan qualification to the AFC Champions League. Persepolis, however, had nothing to show for their efforts after having a more expensive squad than last season, when they won the IPL.

2013 Hazfi Cup Final

The 2013 Hazfi Cup Final was the clubs' second meeting in the final where Sepahan won 4–2 over Persepolis in the penalties in 2006. The match was also the last match of Persepolis captain Mehdi Mahdavikia, a former Iran national football team and Hamburg SV midfielder. After failed to agree on a venue between Ahvaz, Mashhad and Tabriz, final venue was decided with draw which Azadi Stadium was announced as the venue for the 2013 final. The two teams finished 1-1 in regular time and 2-2 after extra-time. The game went to penalties and Sepahan defeated Persepolis 4-2 in the penalty shootout.[1]

All results

No. Date Persepolis vs Sepahan Persepolis's goal Sepahan's goal Venue Competition Comments
11972–Feb-11 2–1Hossein Kalani – Mahmoud Khordbin?Isfahan Local League
21972 6–0Homayoun Behzadi "2" – Adibi – Ali Parvin – Mahmoud Khordbin – Reza Vatankhah-Tehran Local League
31975 1–0Ali Parvin -Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
41975 3–0Dastjerdi "2" – Safar Iranpak-Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
51976 1–0Haj Rahimpour-Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
61976 0–0--Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
71977 2–2Haj Rahimpour – Ali Parvin ?Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
81977 1–1Fatahi?Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
91978 3–0Mahmoud Khordbin – Safar Iranpak – Ali Parvin -Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
101978 0–0--Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
111989 1–1Kermani?Isfahan Qods League
121989 3–0Abedian – Yusefi – Karim Bavi-Tehran Qods League
131991 3–0Naser Mohammadkhani "2" – Mojtaba Moharrami-Tehran Azadegan Cup
141991 0–0--Isfahan Azadegan Cup
151993 3–0Shah Mohammadi – Farshad Pious – Manafi-Tehran Azadegan Cup
161993 0–1-?Isfahan Azadegan Cup
171995 1–1Hassan Shirmohammadi?Tehran Azadegan Cup
181995 1–1Behrouz Rahbarifar?Isfahan Azadegan League
191996 2–2Behrouz Rahbarifar – Edmond Bezik?Tehran Azadegan League
201996 0–1-?Isfahan Azadegan League
211998–Oct-9 0–1-?Isfahan Azadegan League
221999–Feb-22 3–1Edmond Bezik "2" – Hamid Estili?Tehran Azadegan League
231999-May 2–2??Tehran Hazfi Cup 1/4[2]
241999-June 1–0Edmound Bezik-Isfahan Hazfi Cup 1/4[3]
251999–Nov-20 0–0--Isfahan Azadegan League
262000–Apr-28 1–0Behnam Seraj (31)-Tehran Azadegan League
272000–Dec-23 0–0--Isfahan Azadegan League
282001–Apr-19 0–2-Seyyed-Amin Musavi (67) (86)Tabriz Azadegan League
292001–Nov-23 0–0--Isfahan IPL 1st
302002–Mar-17 3–2Behrooz Rahbarifar(23p)-Amirhosseyn Aslanian(86)-Behnam Abolghasempour(90+3)Leon Stepanian(46)-Afshin Hajipour(64)Tehran IPL 1st
312003–Jan-02 1–2Ali AnsarianEdmond Bezik-Moharram NavidkiaIsfahan IPL 2nd
322003–May-19 1–1Ali AnsarianNasser FarshbafTehran IPL 2nd
332003–Sep-30 3–3Reza Jabbari(23)-Ali Salmani(52)-Issa Traoré(73)Talebnasab(37)-Bezik(40) (48)Tehran IPL 3rd
342004–Jan-16 2–1Afshin Peyrovani(54)-Pejman Jamshidi (89)Mahmoud Karimi(46)Isfahan IPL 3rd
352004–Oct-29 0–0--Isfahan IPL 4th
362005–May-15 1–2Javad Kazemian (35)Rasoul Khatibi (28) (68)Tehran IPL 4th
372005–Dec-23 2–3Javad Kazemian (35)-Pejman Nouri (56)Rasoul Khatibi (30) (68)-Hadi Jafari (52)Tehran IPL 5th
382006–Sep-13 1–1Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht (48)Hamid Shafiei (73)TehranHazfi Cup Final
392006-Sep-22 1–1 (2–4Pen)Ebrahim Asadi (55)Hamid Shafiei (64)IsfahanHazfi Cup Final
402006–Apr-21 0–2-Rasoul Khatibi (69)-Jaba Mujiri (85)IsfahanIPL 5th
412006–Oct-22 0–0--IsfahanIPL 6th
422007-Feb-9 2–1Abolfazl Hajizadeh (18)-Mehrzad Madanchi (89)Moharram Navidkia (78)Tehran IPL 6th
432007–May-29 1–4Farzad Ashoobi (64) Hadi Aghili (86)-Mahmud Karimi(108,111,117)Tehran Hazfi Cup Semi-Final
442007–Dec-31 1–2Abbas Aghaei (80) Mohammad Nosrati (36 og)-Emad Ridha (41)Isfahan IPL 7th
452008–May-17 2–1Mohsen Khalili (16)-Sepehr Heidari (90+6)Ehsan Hajsafi (29)Tehran IPL 7th
462008–Oct-26 3–2Karim Bagheri (12)-Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht (45,64) Emad Ridha (28,34)Tehran IPL 8th
472009–Feb-27 0–0--Isfahan IPL 8th
482009–May-30 1–0Maziar Zare (12) Tehran Hazfi Cup 1/8
492009-Nov-28 1–2Sepehr Heidari (65)Ebrahim Toure (27)-Hadi Aghili (90)(P)IsfahanIPL 9th
502010–May-18 1–1Hadi Norouzi (47)Mehdi Karimian (77)Tehran IPL 9th
512010–Sep-29 1–4Tiago (31)Ebrahim Toure (41)-Hadi Aghili (66)(P)- Khosro Heidari (73)-Reza Enayati (86)Tehran IPL 10th
522011–May-15 0–0--Isfahan IPL 10th
532011–May-29 0–0(4–2Pen)--Tehran Hazfi Cup 1/4
542011–Nov 19 0–0 --Tehran IPL 11th
552012–Apr-121–1 Mohammad Nouri (86)Xhevahir Sukaj (81)Isfahan IPL 11th
562012–Sep-23 0–2-Adel Kolahkaj (51)-Xhevahir Sukaj (72)Isfahan IPL 12th
572013–Feb-26 1–0Hadi Norouzi (92)Tehran IPL 12th
582013-May-052–2 (2–4Pen)Karim Ansarifard (24)-Mohammad Nouri (99)Xhevahir Sukaj (59)-Mohammad Gholami (106)Tehran Hazfi Cup Final
592013-Sep-200–2Hadi Aghili (6)(P)-Amin Jahan Alian (90+4)Isfahan IPL 13th
602014-Jan-312–0Mohammad Abbaszadeh (12)-Hamidreza Aliasgari (18)Tehran IPL 13th
612014-Oct-30–1Mehdi Sharifi (90+4)Isfahan IPL 14th
622015-Apr-161-2Hadi Norouzi(44) Mehdi Sharifi (85)- Luciano Pereira (90+2) Tehran IPL 14th
632015-Aug-132–4Mehdi Taremi (12)- Omid Alishah (32)Ehsan Hajsafi (8)-Michael Umaña (39 og)- Hadi Aghili (56)(P)- Mohammadreza Khalatbari (82)Isfahan IPL 15th
64 2016-Feb-02 2-2 Ali Alipour (50) - Kamal Kamyabinia (75) Fouzil Mousayef (10) - Luciano Pereira (65) Tehran IPL 15th
652016-Sep-213–1Omid Alishah (15)-Mehdi Taremi (61,74)Ehsan Hajsafi (23)Isfahan IPL 16th
662017-Feb-182–1Mehdi Taremi (56)(P)-Ramin Rezaeian (87)(P)Taleb Reykani (80)(P)Isfahan IPL 16th

Summary of results

Apps Persepolis wins Draws Sepahan wins
League (before IPL) 26 11 11 4
IPL League 32 9 11 12
Hazfi Cup 8 3 2 3
Total 66 23 27 19
Position Teams Matches Wins Draws Loses Goals
For
Goals
Against
Goal
Difference
Points
1 Persepolis 66232419 8470+1493
2 Sepahan 66192423 7084–1481

Sepahan goal scorers

5 Goals

4 Goals

3 Goals

2 Goals

1 Goals

Persepolis goal scorers

4 Goals
3 Goals
2 Goals
1 Goal

Notable matches

Persepolis Sepahan match in 1997

Persepolis won Sepahan in front of over 110’000 fans and became 2007–08 IPL champion. Mohsen Khalili scored a spectacular volley from 20 yards to give Persepolis the lead, But Ehsan Hajysafi equalised a few minutes later. With ninety minutes over, the injury time was nearly finished but Khalili again shot a deflected free-kick, Finding Karim Bagheri in the box. Bagheri turned and crossed the ball for Sepehr Heidari, who scored the second goal with a header to win the match for his team.

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.