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Reza Ghoochannejhad
Personal information
Ghoochannejhad in 2014
Date of birth	(1987-09-20) 20 September 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth	Mashhad, Iran
Height	1.80 m
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	LAC Frisia 1883
	Cambuur
1998–2005	SC Heerenveen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2005–2009	SC Heerenveen	2	(0)
2006–2007	→ Go Ahead Eagles (loan)	13	(4)
2009	→ FC Emmen (loan)	12	(1)
2009–2010	Go Ahead Eagles	10	(6)
2010–2011	Cambuur	37	(15)
2011–2013	Sint-Truiden	32	(17)
2013–2014	Standard Liège	8	(1)
2014–2016	Charlton Athletic	38	(3)
2014–2015	→ Al-Kuwait (loan)	10	(7)
2015	→ Al-Wakrah (loan)	9	(2)
2016–2018	SC Heerenveen	67	(27)
2018–2019	APOEL	10	(2)
2019	→ Sydney FC (loan)	10	(1)
2019–2021	PEC Zwolle	34	(13)
Total		292	(99)
National team
2003	Netherlands U16	1	(0)
2003–2004	Netherlands U17	4	(0)
2005	Netherlands U18	1	(0)
2006–2007	Netherlands U19	3	(1)
2012–2018	Iran	44	(17)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Reza Ghoochannejhad Nournia (born 20 September 1987) is a former professional footballer from Iran. He played as a forward, which means he was usually trying to score goals. People sometimes called him Gucci in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Reza played for the Netherlands' youth teams when he was younger. Later, he chose to play for the Iran national team as a senior player. He scored 17 goals in 44 games for Iran. He also played in two FIFA World Cups, in 2014 and 2018, and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Early Life and Moving to the Netherlands

Reza Ghoochannejhad was born in Mashhad, Iran. When he was just four years old, his family moved to the Netherlands. This is where he grew up and started his football journey.

Reza's Club Football Journey

Reza played for many different football clubs during his career. He started in the Netherlands and later played in Belgium, England, Kuwait, Qatar, Cyprus, and Australia.

Starting at Heerenveen

Reza spent 12 years learning and growing in the youth academy of Heerenveen, a team in the Eredivisie (the top Dutch league). He first played for smaller clubs like LAC Frisia 1883 and Cambuur. Then, in 2006, he made his first professional appearance for Heerenveen against AZ Alkmaar.

In 2009, Reza decided to leave Heerenveen. He wanted to focus on his studies at the Vrije University in Amsterdam. He was studying law and political ideas. But then, he met Marc Overmars, a famous former footballer. Marc convinced Reza to sign with the Go Ahead Eagles club.

Playing for Cambuur

On 22 January 2010, Reza played his first game for Cambuur. He scored his first goal for the team after only nine seconds! This goal tied a record set by the legendary Johan Cruyff for the fastest goal in the Netherlands. While at Cambuur, he also played as a winger. In February 2011, Reza scored three goals in one game, which is called a hat trick, against FC Emmen.

Moving to Sint-Truiden

In June 2011, Reza moved to Sint-Truiden in Belgium. He scored his first goal in the Belgian Pro League against Club Brugge.

Time at Standard Liège

In August 2012, Sint-Truiden and Standard Liège agreed on a transfer. Reza joined Standard Liège in January 2013. He signed a contract for three and a half years. Before leaving Sint-Truiden, he scored 10 goals in 12 matches. The next season, he played for Liège in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, which is a big European competition.

Playing for Charlton Athletic

On 30 January 2014, Reza joined Charlton Athletic, a team in England's Championship. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. He was only the second Iranian player to ever play for Charlton.

He played his first game for Charlton on 1 February. He also made his FA Cup debut in a win against Sheffield Wednesday. On 1 April, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against Leeds United.

Loan Spells in Kuwait and Qatar

In August 2014, Reza went on loan to Al-Kuwait for a season. He quickly started scoring goals there. He scored his first goal in the 2014 AFC Cup. In one game, he scored four goals in an 8–1 win! He scored 11 goals in 10 league matches for Al-Kuwait.

In February 2015, Reza went on another loan, this time to Al-Wakrah in Qatar. He helped the team avoid being moved down to a lower league.

Back to Charlton and Heerenveen

Reza returned to Charlton Athletic for the 2015–16 season. He scored a few more goals before leaving the club in May 2016. He had played 42 games and scored five goals for Charlton.

On 22 June 2016, Reza went back to his old club, Heerenveen, signing a two-year contract. He started strong, scoring two goals in his first friendly match. In January 2017, he scored another hat-trick in a game against PSV Eindhoven. This made him the first Iranian player to score a hat-trick in a top European league. He finished that season with 19 goals and was named Heerenveen's player of the year. He was also in the Eredivisie's team of the year.

Playing in Cyprus and Australia

In July 2018, Reza signed a two-year contract with APOEL, a club in Cyprus. He played there for half a season and scored two goals.

In January 2019, Reza went on loan to Sydney FC in Australia. He became the first Iranian international player in Australia's A-League. He scored his first goal for Sydney FC in March. Later, he scored the winning penalty kick in the 2019 A-League Grand Final. This made him the first Iranian to win the A-League title.

Finishing His Career at PEC Zwolle

Reza joined PEC Zwolle in the Netherlands in September 2019. In his very first game for them, he came on as a substitute and scored four goals! This was amazing because it made him the first Eredivisie player ever to score four goals after coming off the bench. He was also the first Iranian to score four goals in one game in a top European league.

In January 2021, he scored another hat-trick after coming on as a substitute. This made him the first player in Eredivisie history to score two hat-tricks as a substitute. He left PEC Zwolle in summer 2021.

Reza Ghoochannejhad officially retired from professional football in September 2022.

Reza's International Career with Iran

Ghoochannejhad during a match against Angola in 2014

Ghoochannejhad shaking hands with Argentinian players before a 2014 FIFA World Cup group match

Reza played for the Netherlands' youth teams from 2003 to 2007. But then, the coach Carlos Queiroz invited him to play for the Iran national team.

He made his debut for Iran on 16 October 2012 in a World Cup qualifier against South Korea. He scored his first two goals for Iran in his third international game against Lebanon.

Reza became a key player for Iran, scoring important goals in World Cup qualifiers. He scored the winning goal against Qatar and then again against South Korea. These goals helped Iran qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He also scored goals that helped Iran get into the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. He was the top scorer in the Asian Cup qualifiers!

On 1 June 2014, Reza was chosen for Iran's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 25 June 2014, he scored Iran's only goal in the tournament against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the first player from Charlton Athletic to score in a FIFA World Cup.

Ghoochannejhad with Carlos Queiroz during a 2014 FIFA World Cup match against Nigeria

In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Reza scored the only goal against the United Arab Emirates. This helped Iran finish first in their group. In the quarter-final against Iraq, he scored a goal in the 119th minute, making the score 3–3. However, Iran lost the game in a penalty shootout.

On 1 September 2016, Reza scored a winning goal in the last moments of a game against Qatar in a World Cup qualifying match. On 10 November 2016, he scored his first hat-trick for Iran in a friendly match against Papua New Guinea.

Ghoochannejhad with Iran in 2017

Reza was named in Iran's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. However, he did not play any minutes in that tournament. On 27 June 2018, Reza announced that he was retiring from playing for the national team.

How Reza Played Football

Reza Ghoochannejhad was known for his great ability to score goals. He was very good at finding the best places to be in attacking situations. Some people compared him to the famous Iranian football legend Khodadad Azizi.

Reza's Life Outside Football

Reza is very talented with languages. He can speak at least four languages: English, Dutch, French, and Persian (his first language). He also understands German and has learned some Italian and Portuguese.

He also enjoys playing musical instruments and can play the violin.

Reza's Family Life

Reza Ghoochannejhad's parents are Jalal and Mahin Ghoochannejhad. His uncle, Jabar Ghoochannejhad, is a volleyball coach in Iran.

Reza married Sarvin Bayat on 30 March 2016. Sarvin is the sister of the Iranian actress Sareh Bayat. They have a son named Doran, who was born on 29 January 2018.

Reza has said that he has always supported his hometown football club, Aboomoslem.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Heerenveen	2005–06	Eredivisie	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
	2006–07		0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
	2007–08		0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
	2008–09		1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Go Ahead Eagles (loan)	2006–07	Eerste Divisie	13	4	0	0	—		2	0	15	4
FC Emmen (loan)	2008–09	Eerste Divisie	12	1	0	0	—		0	0	12	1
Go Ahead Eagles	2009–10	Eerste Divisie	10	6	2	1	—		0	0	12	7
Cambuur	2009–10	Eerste Divisie	13	2	0	0	—		1	0	14	2
	2010–11	Eerste Divisie	24	13	1	1	—		2	0	27	14
	Total		37	15	1	1	0	0	3	0	41	16
Sint-Truiden	2011–12	Belgian Pro League	22	11	2	1	—		1	0	25	12
	2012–13	Belgian Second Division	10	6	3	3	—		0	0	13	9
	Total		32	17	5	4	0	0	1	0	38	21
Standard Liège	2012–13	Belgian Pro League	7	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	9	3
	2013–14	Belgian Pro League	1	1	1	1	7	0	0	0	9	2
	Total		8	1	1	1	7	0	2	3	18	5
Charlton Athletic	2013–14	Championship	15	1	2	0	—		0	0	17	1
	2014–15		0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
	2015–16		23	2	1	1	—		1	1	25	4
	Total		38	3	3	1	0	0	1	1	42	5
Kuwait SC (loan)	2014–15	Kuwaiti Premier League	10	7	1	0	2	1	1	0	14	8
Al-Wakrah (loan)	2014–15	Qatar Stars League	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	2
Heerenveen	2016–17	Eredivisie	34	19	4	2	—		1	1	39	22
	2017–18	Eredivisie	33	8	1	1	—		2	1	36	10
	Total		67	27	5	3	0	0	3	2	75	32
APOEL	2018–19	First Division	10	2	1	0	3	0	0	0	14	2
Sydney FC (loan)	2018–19	A-League	10	1	0	0	6	0	1	0	17	1
PEC Zwolle	2019–20	Eredivisie	13	7	1	0	—		0	0	14	7
	2020–21	Eredivisie	21	6	1	0	—		0	0	22	6
	Total		34	13	2	0	—		0	0	36	13
Career total			292	99	21	11	18	1	14	6	345	117

International Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Iran	2012	3	0
	2013	8	8
	2014	8	3
	2015	10	2
	2016	5	4
	2017	6	0
	2018	4	0
Total		44	17

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ghoochannejhad goal.

List of international goals scored by Reza Ghoochannejhad
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 February 2013	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	1–0	5–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2	6 February 2013	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	4–0	5–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
3	4 June 2013	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Qatar	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	11 June 2013	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	3–0	4–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	18 June 2013	Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan, South Korea	South Korea	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	15 October 2013	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Thailand	2–0	2–1	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
7	15 November 2013	Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	2–0	3–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
8	19 November 2013	Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon	Lebanon	4–0	4–1	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
9	5 March 2014	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Guinea	1–2	1–2	Friendly
10	8 June 2014	CT Joaquim Grava, São Paulo, Brazil	Trinidad and Tobago	2–0	2–0	Friendly
11	25 June 2014	Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–2	1–3	2014 FIFA World Cup
12	19 January 2015	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Australia	United Arab Emirates	1–0	1–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup
13	23 January 2015	Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia	Iraq	3–3	3–3	2015 AFC Asian Cup
14	1 September 2016	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Qatar	1–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
15	10 November 2016	Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam, Malaysia	Papua New Guinea	5–1	8–1	Friendly
16				6–1
17				7–1