Hossein Kaebi

Hossein Kaebi (Persian: حسین کعبی, born 13 September 1982) is an Iranian former professional footballer who last played for Sepidrood and Perspolis among other clubs in Persian Gulf Pro League.

Hossein Kaebi
Personal information
Full nameHossein Kaebi[1]
Date of birth (1983-09-13) 13 September 1983 (age 40)
Place of birthAhvaz, Iran
Height1.67 m (5 ft 5+12 in)
Position(s)Right back
Team information
Current team
Foolad (assistant)
Youth career
2000–2002Esteghlal Ahwaz
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2002–2004Foolad42(5)
2004–2005Al-Sadd18(3)
2005–2006Foolad26(2)
2006–2007Emirates7(1)
2007Persepolis6(3)
2007–2008Leicester City3(0)
2008Persepolis10(0)
2008–2009Saipa26(1)
2009–2011Steel Azin55(5)
2011–2013Rah Ahan34(1)
2013Sanat Naft19(0)
2013–2014Esteghlal Khuzestan19(0)
2016–2018Sepidrood30(2)
Total295(23)
International career
2000–2001Iran U1713(0)
2000–2003Iran U20
2002–2007Iran U2317(2)
2002–2010Iran84[2](1)
Managerial career
2019–Foolad (assistant)
Medal record
Representing  Iran
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Busan Team Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:09, 19 July 2016 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:02, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

Club career edit

Kaebi started his football in Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. youth academy, before moving to Foolad. It was in this club that Croatian coach Vinko Begović quickly discovered him and soon he was in the first team line-up despite his tender young age. He was selected for the U17 team that played in the AFC U-17 Championship 2000. He was also selected for the national team soon after the Asian Championship. Kaebi started getting attention from European clubs at an early age and went on a 3-week trial at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2003.[3]He was part of the Team that won the Iran's Premier Football League on 2004 with Foolad for first time.Kaebi disappointed many when he signed for UAE club Emirates. Kaebi signed a contract with Persepolis F.C. on 25 February 2007 on a 6-month deal.

On 5 July 2007, he signed a two-year deal with Leicester City for an undisclosed fee,[4] making his debut as a substitute in a 4–1 win over Watford on 25 August.[5] Kaebi used a translator to speak for him during his time at Leicester City as he could not speak English. He was relegated to the reserve squad following the sacking of Martin Allen on 29 August.[6]

Kaebi revealed on 19 September that he was settling in well with the club and was eager to show his talent to the fans.[7] But on 15 October, he told the Leicester Mercury that he was frustrated at being left in the reserve squad. This left many Iranian fans to question the club's decision to leave an international footballer out of the first team setup.[8] Kaebi later declared to Sky Sports that if his "time on the bench continues then" he would consider leaving Leicester.[9]

He finally made his long-awaited start on 11 December in a 3–1 defeat to Ipswich Town on 11 December 2007.[10] He was however transfer listed by then-manager Ian Holloway on 23 December, eight days after featuring in a 2–0 defeat to Hull City, his last ever appearance for the club.[11] He was released by mutual consent on 4 February 2008, after he failed to secure a move from Leicester when the January transfer window closed.[12]

Return to Iran edit

He was returned to Persepolis after he failed to make an impact at Leicester City. He won the Iran's Premier Football League for the second time under Afshin Ghotbi. Despite the offer from Persepolis F.C. he decided to move to Saipa F.C. He said he wanted to experience new team and he could not continue playing for Persepolis F.C. but he never said why. Many others believed that he moved to Saipa F.C. for a better offer. After 2 seasons he settled in one club and played in Asian Champions League also played 26 games in 2008–9 season for Saipa.Then he joined Steel Azin and spent two seasons before joining Rah Ahan in 2011 where he joined his beloved coach Ali Daei where they fall apart after Kaebi failed to attend few training sessions on time and he decided to leave and move to Sanat Naft in January 2013 where he stayed for half a season and 6 months before joining Esteghlal Khuzestan for 2013–14 season. After a short stint at Sepidrood, he announced his retirement from football in December 2018.

Club career statistics edit

As of 19 December 2018
Club performanceLeagueCupContinentalTotal
SeasonClubLeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2002–03FooladPro League24400--244
2003–0418120--201
QatarLeagueEmir of Qatar CupAsiaTotal
2004–05Al SaddQatar Stars League1830062245
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2005–06FooladPro League2620050312
United Arab EmiratesLeaguePresident's CupAsiaTotal
2006–07EmiratesUAE Football League7100--71
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2006–07PersepolisPro League6310--73
EnglandLeagueFA CupEuropeTotal
2007–08Leicester CityChampionship3000--30
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2007–08PersepolisPro League10000--100
2008–09Saipa2611020291
2009–10Steel Azin30431--335
2010–1125120--271
2011–12Rah Ahan26110--271
2012–138000--80
Sanat Naft19000--190
2013–14Esteghlal Khuzestan19000--190
2016–17SepidroodAzadegan League2----2
2017–18Pro League26010--270
2018–198000--80
TotalIran271191117028920
Qatar1830062245
United Arab Emirates7100--71
England3000--30
Career total2992311113232326
  • Assist Goals
SeasonTeamAssists
05–06Foolad2
07–08Leicester City1
07–08Persepolis1
08–09Saipa1
09–10Steel Azin2
10–11Steel Azin0
11–12Rah Ahan2
12–13Rah Ahan0
12–13Sanat Naft1

International career edit

Kaebi won his first cap having just turned 17, scoring his first international goal against Cameroon League XI on 15 August 2003, although the match was not considered an official international.[13] He scored his first official goal for Iran against New Zealand in the 2003 AFC/OFC Cup Challenge . In 2004, he was named amongst World Soccer Magazine's Top 10 most promising players.He was in Iran squad for 2004 Asian Cup which finished third and he also won the 2004 West Asian Football Federation Championship in Tehran.Kaebi was in the Iran squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, appearing in all three matches of the group stage. His most memorable performance came against Portugal, where he was able to clamp down both Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Figo.[14] He was also included in the squad for the 2007 Asian Cup, making just one appearance against China, which ended in a 2–2 draw.[15]He was called to Team Melli for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He also performed in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification for Team Melli.In 2009, he made a mistake against Qatar in a friendly, which Iran lost in the last minute and Kaebi was dropped for the rest of the games and was used as a substitute for a while.

International caps edit

Iran
YearAppsGoals
200220
200391
2004170
2005110
200690
200720
2008150
2009180
201010
Total841

International goals edit

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
112 October 2003Azadi Stadium, Tehran  New Zealand3–03–0AFC/OFC Cup Challenge

Honours edit

Club edit

International edit

Iran
Iran U23

References edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Iran" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ Hossein Kaebi – International Appearances
  3. ^ "Kaebi joins Wolves". BBC News. 4 December 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  4. ^ Foxes recruit Iran defender Kaebi BBC Sport 5 July 2007.
  5. ^ Leicester 4–1 Watford, BBC Sport 25 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  6. ^ Allen ends brief Leicester reign, BBC Sport 29 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
  7. ^ Kaebi settled at Leicester, Sky Sports 19 September 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  8. ^ WHEN WILL CITY PLAY THE PRINCE OF PERSIA?[permanent dead link], Leicester Mercury 15 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
  9. ^ Iranian banking on Holloway, Sky Sports 28 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  10. ^ Kaebi Starts Archived 30 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Leicester City 11 December 2007.
  11. ^ Holloway begins clear-out, Sky Sports 23 December 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  12. ^ "Kaebi departs Walkers". Sky Sports. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
  13. ^ "Ali Daei – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 January 2008. ...the matches against ... Cameroon League XI (1–2, 30- 5–03 in Abuja, LG Cup), and Cameroon XI (4–1,..., 15- 8–03 in Tehran, LG Cup) ..., are not considered full "A" international matches
  14. ^ Portugal 2–0 Iran, BBC Sport 17 June 2006. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  15. ^ China 2–2 Iran: Nekounam seals fightback Archived 2 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ESPN 15 July 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.

General references edit

  1. حسین کعبی، مربی فولاد شد Retrieved in Persian www.farsnews.ir
  2. حسین کعبی تنها مشترک فولاد – السد(عکس) Retrieved in Persian www.varzesh3.com
  3. Portugal vs. Iran Retrieved in Soccerway 17 June 2006
  4. کعبی: چرا موقع گزارش بازی لستر از من اسم نمی‌برند؟ Retrieved in Persian www.varzesh3.com
  5. حسین کعبی، از تیم ملی نوجوانان تا لسترسیتی انگلیس Retrieved in Persian www.iribnews.ir
  6. بازی با پرتقال باید 50بار اخراج میشدم؛ رونالدو رو بدتر از فیگو زدم Retrieved in Persian www.irna.ir
  7. پاسخ صادقانه حسین کعبی به سوالات جنجالی علی ضیا ویدئو Retrieved in Persian www.ilna.news
  8. حسین کعبی: برای خداحافظی با علی کریمی مشورت کردم/ فوتبالم را با عزت شروع کردم و با عزت هم به پایان رساندم Retrieved in Persian www.tasnimnews.com
  9. Hossein Kaebi retires from football Retrieved in Persian www.tehrantimes.com
  10. What happened next: Hossein Kaebi – YouTube star, Leicester City nightmare and a political protest Retrieved www.Leicestermercury.com
  11. Fifa world cup 2006 Portugal vs. Iran Hossein Kaabi played in the main squad of the Iranian national team and received a yellow card in the form of Figo

External links edit