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Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C.

Not to be confused with Esteghlal F.C..

Esteghlal Khuzestan Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال استقلال خوزستان, Bašgâh-e Futbâl-e Esteqlâl-e Xuzestân), commonly known as Esteghlal Khuzestan, is an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Iran. The club currently competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League after being promoted from the Azadegan League in the 2022–23 season.

Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C.
Full nameEsteghlal Khuzestan Football Club
Nickname(s)Âbihai-ye Jinub (Southern Blues)
Founded2011; 13 years ago (2011)
GroundGhadir
Capacity38,900
OwnerIran National Steel Industrial Group
ManagerSirous Pourmousavi
LeaguePersian Gulf Pro League
2023–24Persian Gulf Pro League 14th
WebsiteClub website
Current season

This football club is different from Esteghlal Ahvaz.[1] In 2011 they bought Esteghlal Jonub's licence to compete in the Azadegan League. They finished 2012–13 season in 2nd place of their group and qualified to the promotion play-off. However, they were awarded the direct promotion IRIFF after group's winner, Shahrdari Tabriz's relegation due to match-fixing. They won the Persian Gulf Pro League title in 2015–16 season.

History

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Founding and early years

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Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C. was established just before the start of the 2011–2012 season by acquiring the license of Esteghlal Jonub Tehran F.C. who has just been promoted to the Azadegan League (Iran's 1st division). After an average 6th-place finish in the team's inaugural year in the Azadegan League in 2011–2012, the next season (2012–13) turned out to be a different year, with a 2nd-placed finish in group B, the club was promoted to the Iran Pro League for the first time in their history.

Promotion to the Pro League

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In Esteghlal Khuzestan's first year in the top flight, it finished 12th, escaping relegation play-off by better goal difference. In the Hazfi Cup Esteghlal Khuzestan exited the competition in the Round of 32 after a shock defeat to Azadegan League side Alvand Hamedan. Esteghlal finished the 2014–15 season 14th, meaning it would have to play in a relegation play-off against the winner of the Azadegan League promotion play-off winner. Esteghlal Khuzestan defeated Mes Kerman 3–0 on aggregate meaning it had secured a spot in the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League season.

2015–16 season

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Esteghlal Khuzestan players celebrating after winning league title in 2015–16 season

Before the start of the 2015–16 season Esteghlal Khuzestan signed many of Foolad Novin's players and was a major surprise, as it started well in the season. Esteghlal Khuzestan had four consecutive winning streak at the 12th week, which made Esteghlal Khuzestan finished champion of the first half of the season.[2][3] After a great result with Abdollah Veisi, Esteghlal Khuzestan managed to keep its shape at the second half of the season. On January 1, 2016, Esteghlal Khuzestan lost to Persepolis which made the race tighter for first place, and also made Esteghlal Khuzestan fall to second place, Esteghlal became first after 17th week. The head coach Abdollah Veisi later said that their main goal was to take place at AFC Champions League.[4] Esteghlal Khuzestan qualified to the AFC Champions League on 8 May, for the first time in its history. Esteghlal Khuzestan won the league title on 13 May after a 2–0 win over Zob Ahan.

Relegation

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Following a poor start to the following season, 6 points were deduced from Esteghlal Khuzestan by FIFA. Dariush Yazdi was sacked and Karim Boostani replaced the coach. Results ultimately did not improve under Boostani and he was replaced with Mohammad Alavi. Esteghlal Khuzestan were relegated from the Persian Gulf Pro League to Azadegan League on 3 May 2019.

Individual Records

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All Top Appearances

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#NameNationalityPositionApps
1Mohammad Tayyebi IranDefender133
2Hossein Bahrami IranMidfielder107
Meysam Doraghi IranDefensive midfielder107
4Ali Helichi IranMidfielder100
5Aghil Kaabi IranDefender95
6Moussa Coulibaly MaliDefender92
7Vahid Sheikhveisi IranGoalkeeper87
8Mehdi Momeni IranForward83
9Hadi Khanifar IranMidfielder82
10Mojtaba Rashidi IranForward75

All Top Scorers

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#NameNationalityPositionGoals
1Mojtaba Rashidi IranForward23
2Hassan Beyt Saeed IranForward22
3Ehsan Alvanzadeh IranForward21
4Farshad Janfaza IranStriker18
5Javad Aghaei Pour IranForward16
6Ali vaziri Panah IranStriker15
7Mehdi Momeni IranForward14
Rahim Zahivi IranForward14
9Hadi Khanifar IranMidfielder9
Ali Kiani Far IranMidfielder9

Stadium

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Main article: Ghadir Stadium
See also: Takhti Stadium (Ahvaz)

After the takeover of the club in 2011, the club played its home matches in Ahvaz's Takhti Stadium. After the club promoted to the Iran Pro League, it was decided that club continuing to play at Takthi, while big games like Persepolis, Esteghlal and Foolad playing at newly built Ghadir Stadium. In 2015, the club moved to Ghadir permanently, as city rivals Foolad set to move to its private ground.

Rivals

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The team competes in Ahvaz derby against two-times Iran Pro League winner Foolad.

Honours

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Domestic competitions

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League

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Cup

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Season-by-season

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The table below shows the achievements of the club in various competitions.

SeasonLeaguePositionHazfi CupAsiaNotes
2011–12Azadegan League6thRound of 32did not qualify
2012–132nd?Promoted
2013–14Persian Gulf Pro League12thRound of 32
2014–1514thRound of 16Relegation play-off
2015–161stRound of 16Super Cup
2016–177thRound of 64Round of 16
2017–1812thSemi-Finaldid not qualify
2018–1916thRound of 16Relegated
2019–20Azadegan League9thDid not participate
2020–216thDid not participate
2021–2213thThird Round
2022–232ndRound of 32Promoted

Continental record

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SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
2017AFC Champions LeagueGroup B Al-Fateh1–01–12nd
Al-Jazira1–11–0
Lekhwiya1–11–2
Round of 16 Al-Hilal1–21–22–4

Players

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First-team squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
1GK  IRNFarzin Garousian
3DF  IRNAli Helichi
6MF  IRNMahmoud Motlaghzadeh (Captain)
8MF  IRNHassan Shoushtari
9FW  IRNJavad Aghaeipour
11FW  IRNBehrouz Barani
14FW  IRQAso Rostam
16MF  ECUSergio Quintero
17DF  IRNMatin Karimzadeh
21FW  IRNAmirmohammad Mohkamkar
23FW  IRNAlireza Kazemi
25DF  IRNSoheil Delfiefard
26MF  IRNAmirhossein Jalalivand
27FW  IRNAhmad Savari
No.Pos. NationPlayer
30MF  IRNFoad Koroushat
37DF  IRNHossein Saki
39FW  IRNPeyman Ranjbari
44DF  UZBDostonbek Tursunov
50MF  BRASávio Roberto
64DF  IRNSaeid Irankhah
66MF  IRNHossein Ahmadi
72DF  IRNAlireza Khoshkafa
77GK  IRNHassan Pour Hamidi
79FW  IRNAlireza Rahmati
80DF  IRNAhmadreza Jalali
90DF  SENOusmane Ndong
97FW  IRNMohammad Hossein Baseri

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2023–24.

Officials

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Coaching staff

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Staff[5]Name
Head coach Sergio Mendes
Assistant coach Behrouz Makvandi
Goalkeeping coach Karim Boostani
Fitness coach Rafael Bispo
International manager Behdad Bayat
Doctor Jalal Heydari
Physiotherapist Sadegh Norouzi
Analyzer Habib Eslami
B Team Manager Behrouz Makvandi
Team manager Afshin Komaei

List of managers

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PeriodNameGWDLGFGAGDHonours
2011–2013 Majid Bagherinia522215155241+11Promotion to the Persian Gulf Cup
2013–2016 Abdollah Veisi132554730142131+21Azadegan League
Persian Gulf Pro League
2016–2017 Sirous Pourmousavi30101193634+2
2017–2018 Abdollah Veisi30810122936-7
2018 Dariush Yazdi12246818-10
2018–2019 Karim Boostani8026511-6
2019 Karim Ghanbari (caretaker)410336-3

Players in International Tournaments

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Players who were a member of their national team at International Competitions while playing for Esteghlal Khuzestan.

CupPlayers
2015 Africa Cup of Nations Soumbeïla Diakité

See also

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References

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  1. ^ اهواز صاحب دومین استقلال شد/ امتیاز استقلال جنوب به اهواز انتقال یافت (in Persian). Goal.com. 2011-07-31. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  2. ^ "استقلال خوزستان چگونه قهرمان نیم فصل شد؟".
  3. ^ "استقلال خوزستان قهرمان نیم فصل شد". 18 December 2015.
  4. ^ "ویسی: طالب لو فوق العاده بود".
  5. ^ "اعلام رقم قرارداد بازیکنان و کادر فنی استقلال خوزستان". 22 July 2014.
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