Esteghlal F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Esteghlal

Full name	Esteghlal Sport Club
Nickname(s)	Capital Blues Blue Boys Tâj SS Blue Giant
Founded	26 September 1945; 79 years ago (1945-09-26) as Docharkheh Savaran Football Club
Ground	Azadi Stadium
Ground Capacity	78,116
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	Farshid Samiei
Head coach	Pitso Mosimane
League	Persian Gulf Pro League
2023–24	Persian Gulf Pro League, 2nd
Home colours Away colours

Esteghlal Football Club is a famous professional football team from Tehran, Iran. It's one of the oldest clubs in the country. The word "Esteghlal" means 'The Independence' in Persian.

The club started in 1945 as 'The Cyclists' (Docharkheh Savaran). Later, from 1949 to 1979, it was known as Tâj (meaning 'The Crown'). Esteghlal is often called the "giant of Asia" by the AFC. This club was the first team to score 1,000 points in the Persian Gulf Pro League.

Esteghlal plays its home games at the Azadi Stadium, which can hold over 78,000 fans. In 1999, a huge crowd of 125,000 people watched their final match against Júbilo Iwata there. This set a record for an Asian Club Championship game. Millions of people watch Esteghlal's games on TV and online.

History of Esteghlal Football Club

Early Years: 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 loved cycling, so they named it Docharkheh Savaran, meaning 'The Cyclists'. Esteghlal played its first official football match in 1946.

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

Taj played its first official game as Taj on March 6, 1950, at Amjadieh Stadium. They won 1–0 against Shahin. Taj became very successful in the 1950s and 1960s. They won seven league titles and four Tehran Hazfi Cups during this time. Their first national cup win was in 1957.

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.

Asian Champions: 1970–1978

In 1970, Taj won its first ever Asian Club Championship. They beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 2–1 in the final match held in Tehran. This win marked a new beginning for professional football in Iran.

The TAJ team in 1970, after becoming national and Asian champions

That same year, Taj also won its first Iranian national league title, the 1970–71 Local League. They beat PAS 2–1 in the final. In 1971, Taj finished third in the Asian Club Championship.

Esteghlal came in second place in the 1973–74 league. Gholam Hossein Mazloumi was the top scorer with 15 goals. Taj won the 1974–75 Takht Jamshid Cup the next year, with Mazloumi still being the best scorer.

Revolution and New Era: 1979–2001

After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the government took over the club. They changed its name from Taj ('Crown') to Esteghlal ('Independence'). This was because the new government did not want any symbols of the old monarchy. The club's women's team was also stopped during this time.

In the 1980s, Esteghlal won the Tehran Football League twice. The 1989–90 season was special. Esteghlal won their group and then beat Malavan to reach the final. They then defeated their big rival, Persepolis, 2–1 to win the Qods League.

In 1990–91, Esteghlal won the Asian Club Championship for the second time. They beat the Chinese club Liaoning 2–1. The next year, they reached the final again but lost to Al-Hilal FC in a penalty shootout. Esteghlal made it to the Asian Club Championship final once more in 1999 but lost to the Japanese club Júbilo Iwata 1–2 in Tehran.

Iran Pro League Era: 2001–Present

The Iran Pro League started in 2001. Esteghlal was close to winning the first title but finished second. However, they won the 2001–02 Hazfi Cup that year. The 2002–03 season was tough for the club, as they finished 9th.

In 2003, Amir Ghalenoi became the manager. In his first year, Esteghlal finished second in the league. They also reached the Hazfi Cup final. 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. Later, Nasser Hejazi became manager but was replaced by Firouz Karimi. In 2008, Amir Ghalenoi returned as manager. He helped the team win the Hazfi Cup and then the Iran Pro League in 2008–09.

Samad Marfavi managed the team again, leading them to a 3rd place league finish in 2009–10. Then, Parviz Mazloumi became manager. He led the team to a Hazfi Cup win in 2012. After that, Amir Ghalenoi came back for his third time as manager.

Ghalenoi led Esteghlal to another league victory in his first season back. The team also reached the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League but lost to FC Seoul. The next season was not as good, as they finished 5th in the league.

In 2016, Alireza Mansourian became the new coach. Esteghlal had a difficult start but later defeated Al Sadd to reach the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage. However, they were knocked out by Al Ain. Mansourian resigned in 2017, and German coach Winfried Schäfer took over. He was replaced by Farhad Majidi in 2019. In June 2019, Italian coach Andrea Stramaccioni was appointed, but he left due to financial problems.

Club Colors and Symbols

Crest and Symbols

The first crest of Docharkhehsavaran in 1946 showed a blue cyclist. In 1950, when the club changed its name to Taj, the crest changed to two rings with a Pahlavi crown.

Before the 1979 revolution, Taj had many sports clubs and facilities. These included clubs in Tehran, Turkey, and Qatar. After the revolution, the government took over these facilities. Esteghlal Club has been trying to get them back.

Colors

Esteghlal has always worn blue shirts with white or blue shorts and socks. White is their 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

Tehran Derby

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

Sometimes, these matches were very intense. In 1995, after a controversial game, foreign referees were brought in to officiate the derby. This was to make sure there was no favoritism. After 14 years, Iranian referees started officiating the derby again in 2008.

Supporters

Esteghlal fans during the Tehran derby

Esteghlal has a huge number of fans in Iran and across Asia. The club is popular throughout Iran, and also has supporters in other countries like the United States and Europe.

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

Grounds

Azadi Stadium is Iran's national stadium. It was built to host the 1974 Asian Games. The stadium is part of a larger sports complex with many other facilities. Today, Azadi Stadium can hold 78,116 people.

Esteghlal's home stadium is Azadi (meaning 'Freedom' in Persian). Before Azadi Stadium was built, Esteghlal played its games at Amjadieh Stadium.

Players

Current Squad

See also: 2024–25 Esteghlal F.C. season

No. Position Player 1 GK Hossein Hosseini (captain) 2 DF Mohammad Hossein Moradmand 3 DF Saman Fallah 4 MF Rouzbeh Cheshmi (vice-captain) 6 DF Iman Salimi 10 DF Ramin Rezaeian 12 GK Mohammad Reza Khaledabadi U25 14 MF Zobeir Niknafs 15 MF Abolfazl Zamani U19 18 DF Milad Zakipour 19 FW Gustavo Blanco 20 FW Alireza Koushki 21 MF Gaël Kakuta 22 MF Didier Ndong

No. Position Player 23 FW Arman Ramezani 28 FW Mojtaba Hasheminasab U21 33 DF Abolfazl Jalali INJ 50 GK Amirhossein Nikpour U23 55 DF Raphael Silva 66 MF Zargham Saadavi U19 70 MF Mehdi Bahrami Nejad U19 77 FW Jaloliddin Masharipov 80 FW Mohammad Hossein Eslami 88 MF Arash Rezavand (3rd Captain) 89 FW Hesam Eskandari U21 90 FW Amir Mohammad Mardi U19 99 FW Amirali Sadeghi U25

• 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.

Other Players on Contract

No. Position Player 7 FW Mehrdad Mohammadi INJ 9 MF Mehdi Mehdipour INJ 16 MF Abbas Sharafi U23

Players on Loan

No. Position Player 30 DF Saman Touranian (at Malavan until 30 June 2026)

Club Captains

Here are the captains of Esteghlal 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 Management

Current Technical Staff

Esteghlal current technical staff; Left to right: Musi Matlaba, Pitso Mosimane, Maahier Davids, Kabelo Rangoaga

Position	Name
Head coach	Pitso Mosimane
Assistant coach	Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh
	Maahier Davids
Goalkeeper coach	Behzad Gholampour
Fitness Trainer	Kabelo Rangoaga
Physical Therapist	N/A
Team manager	Iman Alami
Analyzer	Musi Matlaba
	Kyle Solomon
Academy manager	Mohammad Hossein Ziyaei
U23 manager	Khosro Heydari
U19 manager	Ali Saghaian
U16 manager	Ayub Asgharkhani
U14 manager	Hossein Sadr Mohammadi

Notable Managers

These managers have won official trophies for Esteghlal.

Key to 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

Chairmen

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

Current Management Board

Chairman	Farshid Samiei
Board president	Ahmad Shahriari
Other board members	Mostafa Karkhaneh Mahdi Heydarzadeh Mahdi Afzali

Notable Chairmen

Chairman	Tenure
Enayatollah Atashi (acting)	April 1979 – May 1979
Nader Faryadshiran	June 1985 – September 1985
Ali Agha-Mohammadi	June 1989 – September 1989
Ali Fathollahzadeh	28 October 1996 – 20 May 2003, 30 April 2007 – 17 September 2008, 9 June 2010 – 17 May 2014, 26 February 2020 – 20 March 2020
Amir Reza Vaezi-Ashtiani	20 September 2008 – 31 May 2010
Mostafa Ajorlu	24 September 2021 – 15 October 2022

Esteghlal's Trophies

Esteghlal has won 38 championship titles in different competitions.

•      record
•      * shared record
•      ** Iran record

Domestic Titles

League Championships

Esteghlal won the 2021-22 Persian Gulf Pro League without losing a single game. This was the first time an Iranian team achieved this in a 30-game season.

Taj (Esteghlal) celebrating their win in the 1970 AFC Champions League. This was the first Asian title for an Iranian and Muslim club.

The Taj Club Museum, which had many trophies won by the football team.

• Iran League

• • Winners (10): 1957,1970–71, 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 Wins

• Hazfi Cup (shared record)

• • Winners (7): 1976–77, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2017–18
  • 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 one season (a "Double") 5 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 one season (a "Treble") once:

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

Club Statistics and Records

Arash Borhani is Esteghlal's top goalscorer of all time, with 108 goals.

Official Matches

• Most goals scored in a single match:
  • 18 – 0 (1 time) (Iran record)
  • 13 – 0 (1 time)
  • 13 – 1 (1 time)
• Most goals conceded in a match: 6 – 0 (1 time)
• Player with most goals in a single match:
  • Ali Jabbari with 5 goals (3 times)
  • Reza Enayati with 5 goals
  • Arash Borhani with 5 goals

Statistics in Iran Pro League (IPL)

• Seasons in IPL: 24 (all) (record)
• Best position in IPL: First (2005–06, 2008–2009, 2012–13, 2021-22)
• Worst position in IPL: 13 (2007–08)
• Most Points scored in a season: 68 (2021-22) (record)
• Fewest losses in a season: 0 Loss (2021-22) (record)
• Most goals scored in a season: 70 (2008–09) (record)
• Most goals scored in a match:
  • 7 – 1 (1 time)
  • 6 – 0 (1 time)
• Most goals conceded in a match: 4 – 1 (3 times)
• Player with most goals in a single match: Reza Enayati with 5 goals

Statistics in Asian Competitions (ACC/ACL/ACWC)

• Most goals scored in a match:
  • 8 – 0 (1 time)
  • 7 – 0 (1 time)
• Most goals conceded in a match: 1 – 6 (1 time)
• Player with most goals in a single match:
  • Farhad Majidi with 4 goals
  • Ali Jabari with 3 goals
  • Farhad Majidi with 3 goals
  • Ali Latifi with 3 goals
  • Mame Thiam with 3 goals

Statistics in Hazfi Cup

• Most goals scored in a match:
  • 13 – 0 (1 time)
  • 10 – 1 (1 time)
• Most goals conceded in a match: 0 – 3 (1 time)
• Player with most goals in a single match:
  • Arash Borhani with 5 goals
  • Alireza Akbarpour with 4 goals
  • Adel Hardani with 4 goals
  • Dariush Yazdabi with 4 goals
  • Mehdi Seyed-Salehi with 4 goals

Season-by-Season Performance

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 set up training camps to help players develop their skills.

Efforts to start women's football in Iran began in the late 1960s. In 1969, as more women became interested, the Football Federation sent coaches to FIFA training courses. These coaches also watched Asian women's teams play. After this, Iranian football leaders decided to form women's teams at the club level. Esteghlal F.C. (then TAJ) was the first Iranian club to create a women's soccer training program and its own team.

However, the women's team was later stopped in 2016 due to money problems.

See also

In Spanish: Esteghlal Tehran Football Club para niños