Esteghlal F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Esteghlal

Full name	Esteghlal Sport Club
Nickname(s)	Capital Blues Blue Boys Tâj SS
Founded	26 September 1945; 79 years ago (1945-09-26) as Docharkheh Savaran Football Club
Ground	Azadi Stadium
Ground Capacity	74,000
Owner	Esteghlal of Iran Athletic and Cultural Company (Pars Petrochemical Co: 20% BSPC: 20% BIPC: 20% STPC: 20% PGPIC: 5% MSY: 3.54% Public Shareholders: 11.46% - IFB: ESLP1)
President	Ali Nazari Juybari
Head coach	Ricardo Sá Pinto
League	Persian Gulf Pro League
2024–25	Persian Gulf Pro League, 9th
Home colours Away colours

Esteghlal Football Club (استقلال), often called Esteghlal, is a famous professional football club from Tehran, Iran. Its name means 'The Independence'. The club was started in 1945. It was first known as 'The Cyclists' (Docharkheh Savaran). Later, from 1949 to 1979, it was called Tâj (تاج), which means 'The Crown'.

Esteghlal is part of a bigger sports group called Esteghlal Athletic and Cultural Company. They were the first team in the Persian Gulf Pro League to reach 1,000 points. Since the 1973–74 season, Esteghlal has played its home games at Azadi Stadium. This stadium can hold about 78,116 people. In 1999, Esteghlal set a record for an AFC Champions League match. About 121,000 fans watched their final game against Júbilo Iwata in Tehran.

Club History: From Cyclists to Champions

Early Years: The Cyclists and The Crown (1945–1969)

Docharkheh Savaran (Taj) Team in 1946

Ali Danaeifard, a key player and manager for the club from 1946 to 1969

On September 20, 1945, a group of young athletes and students started a sports club in Tehran. They included Parviz Khosravani, who was 23 and a military officer. He became the club's first manager. Because the founders loved cycling, they named the club Docharkheh Savaran, meaning 'The Cyclists'.

Esteghlal's football team played its first official match in 1946. In their first year, 1946, they finished second in the Tehran Football League and Tehran Hazfi Cup. In 1947, they won their first trophy, the Tehran Hazfi Cup. In 1949, the founders and players decided to change the club's name to Taj, meaning 'The Crown'.

Taj played in the Tehran Local League, which was the top league in Iran at that time. On March 6, 1950, Taj played its first official game at Amjadieh Stadium against Shahin, winning 1–0.

Taj won many titles in the 1950s and 1960s. They won the Tehran League in 1949–1950, 1951–1952, 1957–1958, and three times in a row from 1959–1960 to 1961–1962. They also won the Tehran Hazfi Cup four times: in 1947, 1951, 1958, and 1959. Taj was the most successful club in Iran during these years. In 1957, they won their first national cup, the National Football League.

Büyük Jeddikar was the first Iranian footballer to move from an Iranian club (Taj) to a foreign club in 1957.

The 'Tehran old derby' was a big match between Taj and Shahin until 1967.

Becoming Champions of Asia and Iran (1970–1978)

In 1970, Tehran hosted the 3rd Asian Club Championship. Seven clubs from seven countries played. Taj won their first ever Asian Club Championship by beating Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel 2–1 in the final. This win marked a new beginning for professional football in Iran.

The Taj team in 1970, after winning national and continental championships

That same year, Taj also won their first Iranian national league title, the 1970–71 Local League. They won under the management of Zdravko Rajkov. Taj beat PAS 2–1 in the final. In 1971, Taj finished third in the 1971 Asian Champion Club Tournament, beating ROK Army of Korea 3–2.

In the 1973–74 league, Taj finished second, just two points behind Persepolis. Gholam Hossein Mazloumi was the top scorer with 15 goals. Taj won the 1974–75 Takht Jamshid Cup the next year, which was the second official Iranian Football League for clubs. Mazloumi was again the top scorer.

The Revolution and New Era (1979–2001)

After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the club was taken over by the new government. It was placed under the control of the Physical Education Organization of Iran. The club's name was changed from Taj ('Crown') to Esteghlal ('Independence'). The club's women's team was also dissolved at this time.

In the 1980s, Esteghlal won the Tehran Football League twice. The 1989–90 season was special. Esteghlal finished first in their group and reached the semi-finals. They beat Malavan 4–0 to reach the final against their big rival, Persepolis. Esteghlal won the Qods League by beating Persepolis 2–1. The next season, they reached the Hazfi Cup final but lost to Malavan on penalties.

In 1990–91, Esteghlal won the Asian Club Championship for the second time. They defeated the Chinese club Liaoning 2–1. The following year, Esteghlal reached the 1991 Asian Club Championship final again but lost on penalties to Al-Hilal FC. Esteghlal made it to the Asian Club Championship final once more in 1999, but lost 1–2 to the Japanese club Júbilo Iwata in Tehran.

The Iran Pro League Era (2001–Present)

Rodrigo Tosi played for Esteghlal in the Iran Pro League era.

The Iran Pro League started in 2001. Esteghlal was at the top of the league on the final day. However, they lost their last game, and Persepolis won, becoming the first champions of the new league. Esteghlal found some comfort by winning the 2001–02 Hazfi Cup, beating Fajr Sepasi 4–3. The 2002–03 season was tough for the club. They finished 9th and were knocked out early from the AFC Champions League.

In July 2003, Amir Ghalenoi became Esteghlal's manager. In his first year, Esteghlal finished second in the league. He also reached the Hazfi Cup final but lost to Sepahan. His second season was not as successful, with Esteghlal finishing 3rd. However, in the 2005–06 season, Esteghlal won the Iran Pro League for the first time in this new era.

After Ghalenoi left in 2006, Samad Marfavi took over. The team finished fourth, missing out on the AFC Champions League. Nasser Hejazi became manager in August 2007 but was replaced by Firouz Karimi in November 2007. The team finished 13th, their lowest ever league finish. Amir Ghalenoi returned in July 2008. He helped the team win the Hazfi Cup, securing a Champions League spot. In his first full season back, he led Esteghlal to another Iran Pro League championship.

Samad Marfavi returned as manager for a second time. He led the team to a 3rd place league finish in the 2009–10 season. He also took the team to the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League. After Marfavi resigned, Parviz Mazloumi became manager. He led the team to 2nd and 3rd place league finishes and won a Hazfi Cup in 2012. After a loss in the AFC Champions League, Mazloumi was replaced by Amir Ghalenoi for his third time as manager.

Ghalenoi led Esteghlal to another league victory in his first season back. The team also reached the AFC Champions League semi-finals but lost to FC Seoul. The next season was disappointing. Esteghlal lost the chance to win the league on the final day and finished 5th. They also failed to reach the AFC Champions League knock-out stage.

After a Hazfi Cup final loss in May 2016, Parviz Mazloomi was replaced by Alireza Mansourian. Esteghlal had a tough start to the season. They were also banned from signing new players in early 2017 due to old debts. In February 2017, Esteghlal beat Al Sadd to reach the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage. However, they were eliminated after a big loss to Al Ain. Mansourian resigned in October 2017. German coach Winfried Schäfer took over but was fired in 2019. Farhad Majidi replaced him but also left at the end of the season.

In June 2019, Italian coach Andrea Stramaccioni became Esteghlal's coach. He left in December 2019 due to money problems.

Club Identity: Crest, Colors, and Home

Club Crest and Symbols

The first crest of Docharkhehsavaran, revealed in 1946, showed a blue cyclist. In 1950, when the club's name changed to Taj, the crest changed too. The new crest featured two interlocking rings on either side of the Pahlavi crown.

Before the 1979 revolution, the Taj sports group had many clubs and facilities. These included five sports clubs in Tehran and 66 clubs in other cities. Taj also had clubs in Turkey and Qatar. After the revolution, many of these facilities were taken over by the government. Esteghlal Club has tried to get them back, but without success.

Team Colors

Esteghlal has always worn blue shirts. Their shorts and socks are usually white or blue. White is the club's second main color.

Historical Kits

Historical kits of Esteghlal
1945 The First Kit (was founded in 1945)	1970 1st Asian Championship title	1991 2nd Asian Championship title

Rivalries: The Tehran Derby

The Tehran Derby

Esteghlal's biggest rival is Persepolis. Their matches are known as the Tehran derby. The first derby game was on April 5, 1968, at Amjadieh Stadium.

Sometimes, these matches were very intense. In 1995, after a controversial game, the IRIFF started inviting foreign referees to control the derby. This was to make sure fans and players felt the referee was fair. After 14 years, an Iranian referee was again in charge of the derby in the 2008–09 season. That game ended in a draw.

Supporters: A Huge Fan Base

In 2022, for the first time in many years, female Esteghlal fans were able to enter a stadium in Iran.

Esteghlal is one of the most popular teams in Iran and Asia. The club has fans all over Iran, and also in the United States, Europe, and Persian Gulf countries.

The match between Esteghlal and Jubilo Iwata in the 1998–99 Asian Club Championship final had 125,000 spectators. This is known as one of the most watched matches in Asian football history.

For many years after the 1979 revolution, female fans were not allowed to enter stadiums in Iran. This rule was changed in 2022, and female Esteghlal fans were able to attend games in stadiums for the first time in a long time.

Home Ground: Azadi Stadium

Azadi Stadium is Iran's national stadium and the largest in the country. It was built to host the 1974 Asian Games. The stadium is part of the larger Azadi Sports Complex, which has many other sports facilities. Today, Azadi Stadium can hold 78,116 people.

Esteghlal's home stadium is Azadi (Persian: ورزشگاه آزادی), located in Tehran. Its old name was Aryamehr Stadium, which was changed after the Iranian Revolution. Before Azadi Stadium was built, Esteghlal played their games at Amjadieh Stadium.

Players: The Team Roster

Current Squad

See also: 2025–26 Esteghlal F.C. season

No. Position Player 1 GK Hossein Hosseini (captain) 2 DF Saleh Hardani 3 DF Saman Fallah U25 4 MF Rouzbeh Cheshmi (vice-captain) 5 DF Rustam Ashurmatov 6 DF Aref Aghasi 7 MF Jaloliddin Masharipov 8 MF Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia U21 9 FW Mohammad Reza Azadi 10 DF Ramin Rezaeian 11 FW Joel Kojo 12 GK Habib Far Abbasi 13 GK Aria Hosainifar U21

No. Position Player 15 MF Abolfazl Zamani U19 18 DF Abolfazl Zoleykhaei U21 20 MF Alireza Koushki 22 MF Didier Ndong 28 FW Mojtaba Hasheminasab U21 33 DF Abolfazl Jalali 44 DF Armin Sohrabian 50 GK Amirhossein Nikpour U23 66 MF Zargham Saadavi U19 80 MF Mohammad Hossein Eslami 87 MF Esmaeil Gholizadeh U21 88 MF Mehran Ahmadi 93 FW Hesam Eskandari U23

• U19 = Under 19 year player. U21 = Under 21 year player. U23 = Under 23 year player. U25 = Under 25 year quota. INJ = Out of main squad due to injury.

Reserve Squad

No. Position Player 70 MF Mehdi Bahraminejad U19 90 FW Amir Mohammad Mardi U19

Players on Loan

No. Position Player 16 MF Abbas Sharafi U23 (at Fajr Sepasi until 1 January 2027) 30 DF Saman Touranian (at Malavan until 1 January 2026)

Club Captains Since 1990

#	Name	Captaincy
1	Shahin Bayani	1990–1992
2	Amir Ghalenoei	1992–1997
3	Javad Zarincheh	1997–2000
4	Mehdi Pashazadeh	2000–2003
5	Mahmoud Fekri	2003–2007
6	Alireza Mansourian	2007–2008
7	Farhad Majidi	2008–2013
8	Mehdi Rahmati	2013–2014 2015–2019
9	Amir Hossein Sadeghi	2014–2015
10	Reza Enayati	2015
11	Voria Ghafouri	2019–2022
12	Hossein Hosseini	2022–

Club Personnel: Coaches and Management

Current Technical Staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Ricardo Sá Pinto
Assistant coach	Nuno Morais
	Khosro Heydari
Goalkeeper coach	Giorgos Skiathitis
Fitness Trainer	Leandro Mendes
Translator	Farzad Naderi
Team manager	Iman Alami
Analyzer	Samuel André de Sousa
	N/A
Academy manager	Mohammad Hossein Ziyaei
U23 manager	Khosro Heydari
U19 manager	Hamid Hosseini
U16 manager	Hamid Reza Salemi
U14 manager	Hossein Sadr Mohammadi

Notable Managers Who Won Trophies

Zdravko Rajkov was Esteghlal's first international coach.

Name	Nat.	Period	Official Trophies
			Total	Domestic							Continental
				IPL	HC	ISC	ICC	TPL	THC	TSC	ACL
Ali Danaeifard		1946–1953 1954–1967 1968–1970 1976	13	0	0	0	1	8	4	0	0
Mansour Pourheidari		1979 1981 1983–1984 1985–1986 1986–1988 1989–1992 1995–1996 2000–2002 2003	8	2	2	0	0	3	0	0	1
Zdravko Rajkov		1969–1971 1971–1976	5	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	1
Amir Ghalenoei		2003–2006 2008–2009 2012–2015	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vladimir Đekić		1976–1979	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Reza Naalchegar		1994 1994	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Nasser Hejazi		1996–1999	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Parviz Mazloumi		2010–2012 2015–2016	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Winfried Schäfer		2017–2019	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Farhad Majidi		2019–2020 2021–2022	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ricardo Sá Pinto		2022–2023	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Mojtaba Jabbari		2025–Present	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Club Chairmen

Parviz Khosravani, the founder and first chairman of the club.

Current Management Board

Chairman	Ali Nazari Juybari
Board president	Ali Tajernia
Other board members	Alireza Asadi Farideh Shojaei Mahmoudreza Babaei

Club Achievements: Trophies and Records

Esteghlal has won 39 championship titles in different competitions. These include provincial, national, and continental cups.

Official Honours Table

•      record
•      * shared record
•      ** Iran record

Domestic Titles

League Championships

Esteghlal won the 2021-22 Persian Gulf Pro League without losing a single game, a first for an Iranian team in a 30-game season.

Taj celebrating their championship in the 1970 AFC Champions League, the first Asian title for an Iranian club.

The Taj Club Museum, which had many trophies, mostly from the football team.

• Iran League

• Winners (9): 1970–71, 1974–75, 1989–90, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2021–22
• Runners-up (11): 1973–74, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2010–11, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2023–24

Cup Competitions

• Hazfi Cup (record)

• Winners (8): 1976–77, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2017–18, 2024–25
• Runners-up (7): 1989–90, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2015–16, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–2023

• Super Cup

• Winners (1): 2022
• Runners-up (1): 2018

Provincial Titles

• Tehran League (record)

• Winners (13): 1949–50, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–1971, 1972–73, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1991–92
• Runners-up (7): 1946–47, 1951–52, 1958–59, 1969–70, 1982–83, 1989–90, 1990–91

• Tehran Hazfi Cup

• Winners (4): 1946–47, 1950–51, 1958–59, 1960–61
• Runners-up (3): 1945–46, 1957–58, 1969–70

• Tehran Super Cup (shared record)

• Winners (1): 1994

Continental Titles

• AFC Champions League (Iran record)

• Winners (2): 1970, 1990–91
• Runners-up (2): 1991, 1998–99
• Third place (2): 1971, 2001–02

Doubles and Trebles

Esteghlal has won two trophies in the same season (a "Double") five times:

• Iran League and Tehran League
  • 1957–58 Season
  • 1970–71 Season
• Tehran League and Tehran Hazfi Cup
  • 1958–59 Season
  • 1960–61 Season
• AFC Champions League and Tehran League
  • 1990–91 Season

Esteghlal has won three trophies in the same season (a "Treble") once:

• AFC Champions League, Iran League, and Tehran League
  • 1970–71 Season

Statistics and Records: Club Achievements

Arash Borhani is Esteghlal's all-time leading goalscorer with 108 goals.

Key Records in Matches

• Most goals scored in a single match:
  • 18 – 0 (1 time) (This is an Iran record!)
  • 13 – 0 (1 time)
  • 13 – 1 (1 time)
• Player with most goals in one match:
  • Ali Jabbari with 5 goals (3 times)
  • Arash Borhani with 5 goals

Records in the Iran Pro League (IPL)

• Seasons in IPL: 24 (all seasons, a record!)
• Best position in IPL: First (2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2021–22)
• Worst position in IPL: 13th (2007–08)
• Most points in a season: 68 (2021–22) (a record!)
• Fewest losses in a season: 0 Loss (2021–22) (a record!)
• Most goals scored in a season: 70 (2008–09) (a record!)

Esteghlal Women's Football Club

A friendly match between Taj F.C. Women's Football team and a selected team of Italian women footballers in 1970.

Esteghlal was the first club in Iran to create a women's football team. They even held training camps to find players.

Efforts to start women's football in Iran began in the late 1960s. As more women became interested, the Football Federation sent coaches to FIFA training courses. After seeing women's teams from other Asian countries, Iranian football leaders decided to form women's teams at the club level. Esteghlal F.C. (Taj) was the first Iranian club to start a women's football training class and set up its own women's team.

The women's team, which played in the Kowsar Women Football League, was unfortunately dissolved in 2016 due to financial problems.

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See also

In Spanish: Esteghlal Tehran Football Club para niños