Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Esteghlal Ahvaz
استقلال اهواز

Full name	Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club
Founded	1948; 76 years ago (1948) (as Taj Ahvaz Football Club)
Ground	Takhti Ahvaz
Ground Capacity	10,000
Owner	Mohammad Maleki
Chairman	Farshid Faraji
Head Coach	Ali Khoshzhat
League	League 3
2019–20	League 3, Disqualified (relegated)
Home colours Away colours

Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال استقلال اهواز, Bashgah-e Futbal-e Esteqlâl Ahvaz), commonly known as Esteghlal Ahvaz, was an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, that competed in the khuzestan province league The club was founded in 1948 as Taj Ahvaz Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال تاج اهواز).

The football team played their home games at the Takhti Ahvaz which has a seating capacity of 10,000. The club was owned and supported by Mohammad Maleki.

History

Establishment

The club was founded as Taj Ahvaz Football Club by Hakim Shoushtari in 1938. The club was one of Taj Tehran branches at the time.

Before 1970

Before the 1970s, Iran did not have an official national football league. Most clubs participated in championships of their city or province. In addition to that Taj Ahvaz played in the Khuzestan Premier League until 1970.

1970s

In 1970, the Local League was created. The league included teams from all Iran in different qualifying tournaments. Taj Ahvaz finished first in Group A of their qualifying tournament. After losing the semifinal, Taj Ahvaz defeated Javanan Isfahan 2–0 in the third-place match.

The club also participated in the 1971–72 Local League season. Taj Ahvaz missed again qualification for the final stage after defeating 0–2 by Sepahan in the semifinal of their qualifying tournament. Once again, they achieved third place after a 2–1 win over Tractor.

In 1972, the Takht Jamshid Cup was founded as the national league and included teams from all over the country. Although Taj Ahvaz was promoted to the Takht Jamshid Cup in 1973, the club had to play in the Khuzestan Premier League anymore. Reason therefore was rule by the Iran Football Federation. They allowed only one team of the same name to participate in the league at that time. Taj Tehran played in the league already.

1979 Revolution

After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Taj Ahvaz changed its name into Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club. Esteghlal means independence in Persian. After the revolution, any sign of the previous monarchist regime was not tolerated.

1980s and 1990s

Due to the revolution and the Iran–Iraq War, the Takht Jamshid Cup was dissolved and also the lower leagues were unorganized. The war hit Ahvaz and Khuzestan hard. Consequently, the people paid very little attention to the club and football in general at that time. In 1989 the Qods League was created as the national football league, but Esteghlal Ahvaz did not participate.

In 1991 the Azadegan League was formed as the top flight of Iranian football. Esteghlal Ahvaz played eight years in the league with average results. After they finished 13th in the 1997–98 Azadegan League season, Esteghlal Ahvaz relegated to Iran Football's 2nd Division.

2000s

After the Iran Pro League was established as the professional football league of Iran, Azadegan League was declared as the second-highest professional league in the Iranian football league system. Esteghlal Ahvaz won the 2001–02 Azadegan League season and promoted to Iran Pro League.

Esteghlal Ahvaz had a good team and remained in Iran pro League. They finished eighth in the 2003–04 Iran Pro League season and fifth one season later.

After they achieved only 12th place in 2005–06 Iran Pro League, Esteghlal Ahvaz finished as runners-up in the 2006–07 season. They continued to be an average team in seasons 2007–08 and 2008–09.

Weak years

Based on a weak performance during 2009–10 Iran Pro League, Esteghlal Ahvaz finished 18th and relegated to Azadegan League. Only one year later they relegated again due to a lot of instability in 2010–11 Azadegan League as they finished 13th. Esteghlal Ahvaz returned to Azadegan League in 2012. They won the 2011–12 Iran 2nd Division after a 4–3 win over PAS Novin Hamedan.

Past on two average seasons, Esteghlal Ahvaz relegated again to League 2. They lost their Play-off match against Shahrdari Tabriz 3–3 on aggregate due to away goals.

Promotion and relegation

Although Esteghlal Ahvaz was relegated to League 2, they were able to play in the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League. They get the licence from Foolad Novin, which was actually promoted. Foolad Novin could not promote to Persian Gulf Pro League as they are the reserve side of Foolad Khuzestan. However the team was mismanaged and they were relegated back to the Azadegan League several games before the end of the season.

Because of a very poor performance in the 2016–17 Azadegan League season, Esteghlal Ahvaz relegated to League 2 without winning a single match.

Stadium

Takhti Ahvaz

Esteghlal Ahvaz plays their home games at the Takhti Ahvaz which has a seating capacity of 10,000. The stadium was opened in 1978 and is owned by the Municipality of Ahvaz. The stadium was renovated in 2005 and 2012. It is also the home venue of local rival Shahin Ahvaz.

Furthermore, Esteghlal Ahvaz played two matches in the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League season at Ghadir. They played also their Hazfi Cup match in this season there.

Average attendances

Notes:
Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendances

Supporters

Due to the Iran–Iraq War, the people paid very little attention to the club and football in general in the 1980s.

Based on weak years between 2010 and 2015, the club has to fight with falling attendance numbers and sinking popularity.

Last but not least the fans stands out negative sometimes. For instance the fans thrown stones in a match against Persepolis on 22 April 2016. As a result of this, Esteghlal Ahvaz had to play three matches with spectator bans.

Rivalries

Esteghlal Ahvaz' main rival is Foolad.

Ahvaz Derby

Esteghlal Ahvaz' longest-running and deepest rivalry is with the other major club in Ahvaz, Foolad Khuzestan. Matches between the two clubs are referred to as the Ahvaz Derby. Although Foolad represents the Arab minority of Ahvaz, while the supporters of Esteghlal Ahvaz are primarily Persians, there is no any ethnic rivalry in the derby. After weak seasons of Esteghlal Ahvaz in the past, the derby lost in importance.

Further rivalries

Other smaller rivalries within Ahvaz include those with Esteghlal Khuzestan and Shahin Ahvaz.

Seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal Ahvaz in various competitions since 1970.

Notes:
The Persian Gulf Pro League was formerly known as Iran Pro League (IPL) and Persian Gulf Cup (PGC)
The Azadegan League was the highest division between 1991 and 2001
The League 2 was formerly known as Iran 2nd Division
The League 3 was formerly known as Iran 3rd Division

Honours

Domestic

• Persian Gulf Pro League
  • Runners-up (1): 2006–07
• Azadegan League
  • Winners (1): 2001–02
• League 2
  • Winners (1): 2011–12

Players

First team squad

No. Position Player 10 MF Adel Kolahkaj 13 FW Ali Bigdeli 15 DF Peyman Taleshi U23 20 DF Mehdi Eslami 24 FW Reza Bahmaei U23 25 DF Milad Rabbani U23 26 DF Maki Sharifi 28 FW Mehdi Niyayesh Pour 29 MF Mohammad Javad Kerdouni U21

No. Position Player 31 MF Mojtaba Rashidi U21 32 MF Sadegh Zharfani U21 34 DF Mehdi Yalali U21 38 FW Mirfarzad Majidi 39 DF Adel Masoudifard U23 45 GK Ali Kordani MF Pedram Ardalany

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers summer 2016.

Coaches

Coaches since 1993

No.	Coach	from	until	Major Titles
1	Atef, Bahram Bahram Atef	July 1993	June 2001	0
2	Monajati, Mehdi Mehdi Monajati	July 2001	2002
3	Cheraghpour, Jalal Jalal Cheraghpour	2002	June 2002	1	Azadegan League
4	Ghalenoei, Amir Amir Ghalenoei	July 2002	June 2003	0
5	Hejazi, Nasser Nasser Hejazi	July 2003	June 2004
6	Bonačić, Luka Luka Bonačić	July 2004	2005
7	Khachatourian, Martik Martik Khachatourian	2005	2005
8	Yavari, Mahmoud Mahmoud Yavari	2005	June 2005
9	Gemaljević, Srđan Srđan Gemaljević	July 2005	June 2006
10	Karimi, Firouz Firouz Karimi	July 2006	November 2007
11	Jalali, Majid Majid Jalali	November 2007	May 2008
12	Boustani, Karim Karim Boustani	July 2008	August 2008
13	Yavari, Mahmoud Mahmoud Yavari	August 2008	August 2008
14	Ahadi, Reza Reza Ahadi	August 2008	August 2008
15	Misaghian, Akbar Akbar Misaghian	August 2008	February 2009
16	Azizi, Khodadad Khodadad Azizi	June 2009	September 2009
17	Bagherinia, Majid Majid Bagherinia	2009	2009
18	Ahmadzadeh, Mohammad Mohammad Ahmadzadeh	2009	2009
19	Hasheminasab, Mehdi Mehdi Hasheminasab	2009	2009
20	Firouzi, Alireza Alireza Firouzi	2009	September 2010
21	Yazdi, Dariush Dariush Yazdi	September 2010	January 2011
22	Karimi, Firouz Firouz Karimi	February 2011	March 2011
23	Kamaei, Afshin Afshin Kamaei	March 2011	March 2011
24	Fazli, Fereydoon Fereydoon Fazli	April 2011	April 2011
25	Yazdi, Dariush Dariush Yazdi	April 2011	May 2011
26	Hardani, Adel Adel Hardani	July 2011	November 2012
27	Norouzi, Masoud Masoud Norouzi	November 2012	November 2012
28	Hanteh, Ali Ali Hanteh	November 2012	June 2013	1	League 2
29	Mahabadi, Davoud Davoud Mahabadi	July 2013	June 2014	0
30	Yazdi, Dariush Dariush Yazdi	July 2014	2015
31	Khadirian, Habib Habib Khadirian	2015	2015
32	Hardani, Fereydoun Fereydoun Hardani	2015	2015
33	Seyed-Salehi, Hossein Hossein Seyed-Salehi	2015	2015
34	Mirghorbani, Saber Saber Mirghorbani	2015	June 2015
35	Bakhtiarizadeh, Siavash Siavash Bakhtiarizadeh	July 2015	October 2015
36	Hanteh, Ali Ali Hanteh	November 2015	December 2015
37	Bakhtiarizadeh, Siavash Siavash Bakhtiarizadeh	January 2016	June 2016
38	Farzaneh, Hamidreza Hamidreza Farzaneh	July 2016	December 2016
39	Bakhtiarizadeh, Siavash Siavash Bakhtiarizadeh	January 2017

Club chairmen

Chairmen since 2002

No.	Coach	from	until
1	Heibodi, Nasrollah Nasrollah Heibodi		2002
2	Shafizadeh, Ali Ali Shafizadeh	2002	2006
3	Shafizadeh, Shahram Shahram Shafizadeh	2006	2011
4	Jamalpour, Safar Safar Jamalpour	2011	2016
5	Faraji, Farshid Farshid Faraji	2016

See also

In Spanish: Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club para niños

• Esteghlal Tehran
• Esteghlal Khuzestan
• FC Istiklol
• 2016–17 Azadegan League
• 2016-17 Hazfi Cup