Ashkan Dejagah facts for kids
Dejagah training with Iran in 2018
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Seyed Ashkan Dejagah | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 5 July 1986 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tehran, Iran | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| –1999 | Reinickendorfer Füchse | |||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | |||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | Hertha BSC | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2007 | Hertha BSC II | 72 | (23) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Hertha BSC | 26 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2012 | VfL Wolfsburg | 132 | (18) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Fulham | 43 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Al Arabi | 45 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | VfL Wolfsburg | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | VfL Wolfsburg II | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | Nottingham Forest | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Tractor | 62 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Al Shahania | 14 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Foolad | 20 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Germany U17 | 10 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Germany U18 | 4 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2004 | Germany U19 | 11 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Germany U20 | 5 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2009 | Germany U21 | 20 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2019 | Iran | 59 | (11) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 May 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
Seyed Ashkan Dejagah (born 5 July 1986), known as Ashkan Dejagah, is a former professional football player. He played as a midfielder.
Ashkan Dejagah played for Germany's youth teams from 2001 to 2009. He even won the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with them. Later, he joined the Iranian national team in 2011. He helped Iran qualify for the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, and the 2015 Asian Cup. In 2015, fans voted him Iran's best-ever left midfielder.
Dejagah started his professional career with Hertha BSC in Germany in 2004. In 2007, he moved to VfL Wolfsburg and helped them win the Bundesliga title in the 2008–09 season. In 2012, he joined Fulham in the Premier League in England.
Contents
Ashkan Dejagah's Early Life
Ashkan Dejagah was born in Tehran, Iran. When he was just one year old, his family moved to Berlin, Germany. He became a German citizen at the age of 16. He played for German national youth teams from 2001 until 2009. During this time, he won the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
Club Football Journey
Starting at Hertha BSC
Dejagah made his first professional appearance for Hertha BSC in the 2004–05 season. He played for only five minutes in that game. This made him the youngest player ever to play for the club since it started in 1892. During his three years at Hertha, he also played in a regional league. He started as a central defender but soon moved to a forward position. In the 2005–06 season, he was the team's top scorer with twelve goals. His coach, Falko Götz, believed in him and gave him more chances to play. He played in the Bundesliga and also in three UEFA Cup matches.
Success with VfL Wolfsburg
In 2007, Dejagah joined VfL Wolfsburg. In his first season, he scored eight goals, showing his talent. In his second season, he was a key player in the team that won the Bundesliga title in 2008–09. Later, he lost his regular spot in the team for a while. But when Felix Magath returned as coach, Dejagah found his form again. In the 2011–12 season, he became a very important player, scoring and assisting many goals. Dejagah wanted to play in the Premier League in England, which was a childhood dream. His coach, Magath, eventually agreed to let him go. Dejagah finished his time in the Bundesliga with 19 goals and 25 assists.
Playing for Fulham in England
On 31 August 2012, Dejagah joined Fulham. He signed a three-year contract. He was the third Iranian player to ever play in the Premier League. He made his league debut on 20 October 2012. He came on as a substitute in a 1–0 win against Aston Villa. His first start was against Arsenal in a 3–3 draw. He also got his first assist for a goal on New Year's Day.
Memorable Goals at Fulham
Dejagah played his first game of the 2013–14 season in a League Cup win. On 4 December, he scored his first goal for Fulham against Tottenham Hotspur. This was in René Meulensteen's first game as manager. On 14 January, he scored a goal and set up another in an FA Cup match. On 22 February, he scored again against West Bromwich Albion. This was in the first game under his former coach, Felix Magath.
On 15 March, Dejagah scored the winning goal against Newcastle United. He came on as a substitute and scored eight minutes later. On 30 March, he scored a similar goal against Everton. He was named the best player of the match after scoring against Hull City on 26 April. Fans voted Dejagah as Fulham's player of the year for that season.
Time with Al-Arabi
On 29 July 2014, Dejagah joined the Qatari club Al-Arabi. In his first season, he scored 5 goals in 24 games. He helped Al-Arabi finish eighth in the league. He scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season on 9 December 2015. He was named Al-Arabi's player of the season for 2015–16. After two years, Dejagah left Al-Arabi in January 2017.
Returning to Wolfsburg
On 30 January 2017, Dejagah signed a six-month deal to return to his former team, VfL Wolfsburg. He was given the number 25 shirt. Soon after joining, he got a hamstring injury and was out for some time. He returned to play on 29 April 2017 for VfL Wolfsburg II.
Dejagah played his first competitive game for the main team on 25 May 2017. This was in a play-off match. He came on as a substitute and Wolfsburg won 1–0. He also played in the second leg, which Wolfsburg also won. In June 2017, Wolfsburg announced that Dejagah would leave the club.
Short Spell at Nottingham Forest
On 31 January 2018, Dejagah joined Nottingham Forest. This was a short-term deal until the end of the 2017–18 season. He made his debut on 3 February against his old club Fulham. He came on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss. In February, he had surgery. He left Forest at the end of the season.
Playing for Tractor in Iran
On 2 August 2018, Dejagah signed a three-year contract with Tractor in the Iran Pro League.
International Football Career
Playing for Germany's Youth Teams
In 2004, Ashkan Dejagah was called up to the German U-19 team. He scored seven goals in 15 international games. In 2005, he was invited to play for Germany's U-21 team.
In October 2007, Dejagah chose not to play in an under-21 match for Germany against Israel. He explained that he had "very personal reasons." He said he was worried about his family in Iran if he played in Israel. He also said he had nothing against Israel and that his choice was not because of political or racist reasons. After talking with the German Football Association, it was understood that his concern was for his family's safety. He was not removed from the German national team. In 2009, Dejagah won the 2009 UEFA Euro U-21s with Germany.
Representing Iran
After a rule change by FIFA in 2009, Dejagah became eligible to play for Iran. In September 2011, Iran's coach Carlos Queiroz invited him to join the Iran national team. He scored two goals in his first game for Iran against Qatar in February 2012. This was a World Cup qualifier.
He helped Iran qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played in their opening match against Nigeria. He also played against Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was also part of Iran's squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
On 12 November 2015, Dejagah captained the national team for the first time. He also scored a goal in a 3–1 win against Turkmenistan. He was in Iran's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. However, he did not play in any matches. In January 2019, he scored his tenth goal for Iran in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup against Yemen.
Personal Life
When he played for Fulham, Ashkan Dejagah lived in London with his wife and daughters. He has tattoos on his arms: one says "Berlin" and the other says "Tehran." On his neck, he has the phrase, "Never forget where you're from." His wife is from Baku.
In May 2014, Dejagah helped with scientific research. He donated his DNA profile to study sports-related injuries and training.
Honours and Achievements
VfL Wolfsburg
- Bundesliga: 2008–09 (German League Champions)
Tractor
- Hazfi Cup: 2019–20 (Iranian Cup Winners)
Germany U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: 2009 (European Champions)
Individual Awards
- AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2019 (Recognized as one of the best players in the tournament)
See also
In Spanish: Ashkan Dejagah para niños
- German-Iranians
