Saipa F.C.

Saipa
سايپا

Full name

Saipa Football Club

Nickname(s)

خودروسازان (car makers)
نارنجی ها (oranges)

Founded

1 February 1989; 28 years ago

Ground

Shahid Dastgerdi Stadium

Capacity

8,250

Owner

SAIPA

Chairman

Reza Darvish

Manager

Ali Daei

League

Persian Gulf Pro League

2016–17

Persian Gulf Pro League, 13th

Website

Club website

Home colours

Away colours

For the automobile company, see SAIPA.

Saipa Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال سايپا‎‎) is a football club from Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran which plays in Tehran, Iran. The team is owned by SAIPA, an Iranian automobile manufacturer. The team has never had a large fanbase, despite some success. It is known to have one of the best youth academies in Iranian football and regularly promotes academy players to the first team.

In the 2006–07 season, under the guidance of Ali Daei, Saipa won their only Persian Gulf Cup title. Saipa has also won the Azadegan League twice and the Hazfi Cup once.

Saipa is the football club of the multisport Saipa Cultural and Athletic Corporation.

History

Early days

In 1989, SAIPA Company decided to start its own football team. They purchased a team playing in the 4th division of Tehran's city league, and renamed it Saipa F.C. After back to back promotions starting in the first year, the Karaj based club was playing in the 2nd division by 1991. That same year they purchased the Shipping Department team's shares, and participated in the 1st division of Tehran's local league. In that year they won the Tehran city championship as well as the Tehran Super Cup, thus attaining the right to play in Iran's top league at the time, the Azadegan League.

Azadegan League

In their first year in the Azadegan League they won the championship, as well as the Hazfi Cup. They also won the league championship again in 1994 marking an unusually successful first five years for the club in Iranian football. The team was relegated into the second division in 1995, but were promoted again in the following year.

Since their second promotion to the top tier, the club has remained in the middle of the league table, and has often included some of the country's most well known players.

Persian Gulf Pro League

Ali Daei era

By 2001, the club's on-field performance remained stable, occupying mid-table position most years. Shortly following Iranian goalkeeper Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh's retirement, he was linked with the head coaching job at Saipa. It never materialized, but the club signed another Iranian, Ali Daei in a move from Saba Battery. The club had finished third in the previous season and now, with Daei on the field and Werner Lorant as a coach, the team aimed to work for the title. Shortly after the season began though, Littbarski was fired and Ali Daei took on the role of player/coach. Captaining and coaching the team to the title marked the end of a successful career. Daei also scored the winner in the title winning game.

Daei extended his contract, this time as a full-time coach. He was appointed head coach of the national team but kept his role at Saipa until the end of the season.

Return to mid-table and relocation to Tehran

Following the title winning year which saw the team play in the AFC Champions League, Saipa turned back into the mid-table places of the league again. Before the start of the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League season Saipa announced they had moved their home city from Karaj to nearby Tehran. Saipa also made some significant transfers to attempt to return to the top of the league, namely Gholamreza Rezaei, Reza Norouzi and former CA Osasuna captain Javad Nekounam.

Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Saipa in various competitions since 1993.

Season		Pos.	Hazfi Cup	ACL
1993–94	Azadegan League	1st	Cup	Did not qualify
1994–95	Azadegan League	1st		Second round
1995–96	Azadegan League	16th		Semifinal
1996–97	Iran Second Division	2nd		Did not qualify
1997–98	Azadegan League	7th	Not held
1998–99	Azadegan League	4th
1999–2000	Azadegan League	3rd	Semifinal
2000–01	Azadegan League	7th	Semifinal
2001–02	IPL	11th
2002–03	IPL	6th
2003–04	IPL	13th	Semifinal
2004–05	IPL	13th	Quarterfinal
2005–06	IPL	3rd	1/16 Final
2006–07	PGC	1st	1/8 Final
2007–08	PGC	11th	1/16 Final	Quarterfinal
2008–09	PGC	10th	1/16 Final	Did not qualify
2009–10	PGC	8th	Third Round
2010–11	PGC	11th	Fourth Round
2011–12	PGC	8th	1/16 Final
2012–13	PGC	9th	1/16 Final
2013–14	PGC	8th	1/16 Final
2014–15	PGPL	7th	1/16 Final
2015–16	PGPL	8th	1/4 Final
2016–17	PGPL	13th	1/4 Final

Honours

Iran Pro League/First Division:
- Winners (3): 1993–94, 1994–95, 2006–07
Hazfi Cup:
- Winners (1): 1993–94

First-team squad

As of July 1, 2017^[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Mohammadreza Akhbari
2	DF	Danial Mahini
3	DF	Reza Aliari
4	MF	Roozbeh Shahalidoost (Captain)
5	DF	Hossein Kanaani
6	DF	Mohammad Daneshgar ^U23
7	MF	Arash Rezavand
9	MF	Mehdi Torabi ^U23
10	MF	Ayoub Kalantari
11	FW	Ali Gholizadeh ^U21
12	MF	Ahmad Mehdizadeh
13	GK	Mohammad Hossein Akbar Monadi ^U21
14	MF	Reza Asadi ^U23
15	DF	Ali Shojaei ^U21
17	MF	Reza Jafari ^U21
18	MF	Hamed Shiri (Vice Captain)

No.	Position	Player
19	DF	Sajjad Moshkelpour
20	DF	Alireza Alizadeh
21	DF	Omid Khaledi
22	GK	Hamed Fallahzadeh
23	MF	Mohammadreza Baouj ^U23
24	MF	Mohammad Sharifi ^U21
25	DF	Mostafa Naeijpour ^U21
26	DF	Khalil Helali ^U23
27	FW	Hossein Kamyab ^U23
28	FW	Mohammad Soltani Mehr ^U21
32	FW	Mohammad Reza Soleimani ^U23
33	FW	Mohammad Abbaszadeh
36	DF	Taha Shariati ^U21
40	DF	Farshad Faraji ^U23
—	DF	Saeid Lotfi

Manager

Coaching staff

Staff ^[2]	Name
Head coach	Ali Daei
Assistant coach	Željko Mijač
Assistant coach	Mohammad Daei
Assistant coach	Ebrahim Sadeghi
Goalkeeping coach	Behzad Gholampour
Fitness coach	Nader Ghorbani
Doctor	Vajiollah Cheshmesari
Analyzer	Mohammad Palizvan
Technical Manager	Asghar Hajiloo
B team Manager	Kianoush Rahmati

The following managers had managed Saipa since 1993:

Name	Period	Trophies
Bijan Zolfagharnasab	1993–97	2 Azadegan League, Hazfi Cup
Nasrollah Abdollahi	1997–00
Behtash Fariba	2000–01
Hamid Alidoosti	2001–02
Giovanni Mei	2002–03
Mohammad Mayeli Kohan	2003–04
Bijan Zolfagharnasab	2004–06
Werner Lorant	2006
Ali Daei	2006–08	1 Persian Gulf Cup
Pierre Littbarski	2008
Mohammad Mayeli Kohan	2008–11
Majid Saleh	2011–12
Mojtaba Taghavi	2012–13
Engin Firat	2013–14
Majid Jalali	2014–16
Hossein Faraki	2016–17
Ali Daei	2017–

References

↑ سایپا تهران [Saipa Karaj] (in Persian). Ffiri.ir. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
↑ http://iranleague.ir/League/ClubProfile/64

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saipa FC.

Official website

Persian Gulf Pro League
2017–18 teams	Esteghlal Esteghlal Khuzestan Foolad Gostaresh Naft Tehran Padideh Pars Jam Paykan Persepolis Saipa Sanat Naft Sepahan Sepidrood Siah Jamegan Tractor Sazi Zob Ahan
Former teams	Aboumoslem Aluminium Hormozgan Bargh Shiraz Damash Esteghlal Ahvaz Esteghlal Rasht Fajr Sepasi Gahar Zagros Machine Sazi Malavan Mes Kerman Mes Sarcheshmeh Naft Masjed Soleyman PAS Hamedan Pas Tehran Payam Mashhad Pegah Gilan Rah Ahan Saba Shahin Bushehr Shahrdari Tabriz Shamoushak Rahian Kermanshah Steel Azin Tarbiat Yazd
Competition	Champions Iranian league system Foreign players
Statistics and awards	Winning managers Top scorers all-time by season Football Awards
Associated competitions	Hazfi Cup Iranian Super Cup Azadegan League League 2 League 3
Seasons	2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
List of transfers	summer 2012 winter 2012–13 summer 2013 winter 2013–14 summer 2014 winter 2014–15 summer 2015 winter 2015–16 summer 2016 winter 2016–17 summer 2017

Hazfi Cup

2016–17 Hazfi Cup clubs
Champions	Naft Tehran
Final	Tractor Sazi
6th Round (Semi-Final)	Sepahan Zob Ahan
5th Round (Quarter-Final)	Esteghlal Gostaresh Foolad Naft Gachsaran Saipa
4th Round (Round of 16)	Aluminium Arak Foolad Machine Sazi Naft Masjed Soleyman New Bargh Fars Saba Qom Shahrdari Fouman Shahrdari Mahshahr
3rd Round (Round of 32)	Baadraan Tehran Foolad Yazd Khooneh Be Khooneh Malavan Mes Rafsanjan Naft Omidiyeh Nassaji Mazandaran Oxin Alborz Padideh Pars Jonoubi Jam Paykan Qashqai Shiraz Rah Ahan Sanat Mes Shahrdari Tabriz Shohada Garrus Bijar
2nd Round (Round of 64)	Baadraan Novin Tehran Esteghlal Aabi B Tehran Esteghlal Ahvaz Esteghlal Khuzestan Etehad Lordegan Fajr Sepasi Foulad Yasuj Ghazaye Sabz Mashhad Giti Pasand Isfahan Gol Gohar Haf Semnan Iranjavan Kheybar Khorramabad Malavan Novin Anzali Mehregan Darreh Shahr Niroo Zamini Tehran Oghab Tabriz Omid Shahrdari Arak Parag Tehran Persepolis Safir Abyek Qazvin Sanat Naft Sanat Naft Novin Sepidrood Shahbaz Nozhan Alborz Shahid Karimi Juybar Shahin Bandar Ameri Shahin Shahrdari Bushehr Shahrdari Bandar Abbas Shahrdari Urmia Siah Jamegan Zagros Yasuj
1st Round	Aab o Bargh Kish Aluminium Hormozgan Arvand Khorramshahr Be'sat Kermanshah Caspian Qazvin Esteghlal Khoramshahr Esteghlal Latifi Larestan Esteghlal Padideh Alborz Foolad Novin Kara Shiraz Keshavarz Aliabad Keshavarz Meshginshahr Kimia Farayand Tehran Mahan Shushtar Omid Baharestan Tehran Panah Afarin Qom Pas Hamedan Pirouzi Garmsar Rahpouyan Gilan Sardar Bukan Shahr Baran Rasht Shahrdari Arak Shahrdari Ardabil Shahrdari Hamedan Shahin Mahshahr Shahrdari Mianrud Shahrdari Kahnuj Shahrdari Kashan Shahin Kish Tarbiat Dizicheh Ardestan

Hazfi Cup seasons
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2011–12 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17
Final	2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Competitions involving Iranian clubs
Domestic	IPL Azadegan League 2nd Division 3rd Division Hazfi Cup Super Cup
Defunct	Takht Jamshid Cup Local Leagues Qods League 17th of Shahrivar league Espandi Cup
International	AFC Champions League Asian Cup Winners' Cup (Defunct)

Football in Iran
League competitions	Persian Gulf Pro League Azadegan League League 2 League 3 Provincial Leagues Kowsar league (women's) Futsal Beach soccer
Cup competitions	Hazfi Cup Super Cup
Defunct competitions	Takht Jamshid Cup
National teams	Men's B-team Women's M U-23 M U-20 W U-20 M U-17
Lists and categories	League system Champions Foreign players List of clubs List of venues List of managers Top goalscorers all-time by season Clubs in the AFC Champions League
Iran Football Federation Iran Football League Organization Football Association of Iranian Club

Iranian football league champions
10 titles	Persepolis 1971–72, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2016–17
8 titles	Esteghlal 1970–71, 1974–75, 1989–90, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13
5 titles	Pas Tehran 1976–77, 1977–78, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2003–04 Sepahan 2002–03, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15
3 titles	Saipa 1993–94, 1994–95, 2006–07
2 titles	Foolad 2004–05, 2013–14
1 title	Esteghlal Khuzestan 2015–16

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