Malavan Bandar Anzali Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال ملوان بندر انزلى) is an Iranian football club based in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran.
The team is known to have some of the most passionate and loyal fans in Iranian football, and is one of the most successful teams not based in Tehran. It is attached to the Iranian Navy, and is known to have one of the best youth football programs in the country. It currently plays in Iran's top football league, the IPL.
Malavan is the football club of the multisport Malavan Sport and Cultural Club.
[edit] History
[edit] Establishment
Bahman Salehnia created the team in 1969 along with some young athletes from the port city of Anzali. After some time, the Iranian Navy decided to become the team's main sponsor and owner. Salehnia can be called the team's founder; he took over as the team's manger in 1973, and until 1998 remained in the position. Until 2010 the team has only had two coaches other than Salehnia, (Mohammad Ahmadzadeh and Nosrat Irandoost).
[edit] Success
Salehnia was last manager of the team when he helped the team climb out of the 1st division and back into the IPL. The club has never really had great success in the league but they were able to become the best non-Tehran based club and finishing third in the 1977 and 1989. Malavan has won the Hazfi Cup on three occasions, in 1976, 1987 and 1990. In 1988 Malavan participated in Asian Club Championship but after beating Saunders SC in first round they withdrew from tournament due to the Iran–Iraq War. They have been one of the most stable teams of the league in recent years where they only had few coaches during their history and always finished in mid table and challenge the big teams.They finished 12th in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 season. In 2010-2011 season they finished 8th and reached the final of Hazfi Cup but lost to Perspolis F.C..
[edit] Rivalries
Bandar Anzali and Rasht are two big cities in Gilan Province. Bandar Anzali is the biggest port in the north of Iran and Rasht is the capital of Gilan and there have always been a competition between these two cities specially in football. Malavan is the best team of Anzali and S.C. Damash is the best team in Rasht (Rasht also has Sepidrood).The match between these two teams ( Malavan vs Damash or Sepidrood ) is known as The Derbi Of Gilan or El Gilano. It has been 14 years since the last time a team from Rasht won Malavan.
In 2008-2009 season Malavan won Damash in Rasht with goals from Jalal Rafkhaei and Mehran Jafari. At the end of the match about 1000 seats were broken by Damash fans. In 2009-2010 season Malavan faced Sepidrood in Hazfi Cup after a very long time and beat them with two goals from Mehrdad Oladi and Milad Goharinia scored the only goal of Sepidrood.
Malavan is known to have some the most passionate and loyal fans in Iran. Their famous chant is Ghouye sepide khazari/Malavan bandar Anzali (Persian: قوی سپید خزری/ملوان بندر انزلی) which means the white swan of north/Malavan of bandar Anzali. Malavan fans are very passionate to Sirous Ghayeghran and they have a special chant that they always sing when their team is behind to remind the legacy of Ghayeghran to players. In 2010-2011 season when Malavan faced Esteghlal the semi-final of Hazfi Cup, a lot fans even more than the capacity of the stadium went to see the match and after Malavan won it, they celebrated the victory all over the city. In final even more went to stadium but when Malavan lost to Persepolis a lot of fans broke the fence of stadium and rushed into the ground.
[edit] Season-by-season
The table below chronicles the achievements of Malavan in various competitions since the beginning of Iranian Pro league in 2001.
For details on seasons, see List of Malavan F.C. seasons
[edit] Board of Directors
| |
| Name |
Nationality |
Position |
Years |
| Rashid Sazmand |
 |
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) |
1996–2006 |
| Ardeshir Pournemat |
|
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) |
2006– |
|
[1] [2] [3]
[edit] Current Coaching Staff
| Position |
Name |
| Head Coach |
Farhad Pourgholami |
| Assistant Coach |
Mohammad Habibi |
| Team Manager |
Hossein Gholami |
| Doctor |
Ali Pour-Tahmsabi |
[edit] Malavan Coaches
Below is a list of Malavan coaches from 1968 until the present day.
[edit] Board of Directors
| |
| Name |
Nationality |
Position |
Years |
| Rashid Sazmand |
|
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) |
1996–2006 |
| Ardeshir Pournemat |
|
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) |
2006– |
|
[4] [5] [6]
[edit] Current Coaching Staff
| Position |
Name |
| Head Coach |
Farhad Pourgholami |
| Assistant Coach |
Mohammad Habibi |
| Team Manager |
Hossein Gholami |
| Doctor |
Ali Pour-Tahmsabi |
[edit] Malavan Coaches
Below is a list of Malavan coaches from 1968 until the present day.
[edit] Players
[edit] First-team squad
as of 3 August 2011[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2011–12.
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Honors
[edit] National titles
- Winners (3): 1976, 1987, 1990
- Runner Up (4): 1988, 1989, 1991, 2010-11
- Runner Up (1): 2003
[edit] Minor titles
- Third Place (1): 1982
- Runner Up (1): RCD Cup 1974
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Azadegan League
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Competitions involving Iranian clubs
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Semi Final
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1/4 Final
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1/8 Final
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1/16 Final
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Third Round
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Second Round
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First Round
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Hazfi Cup Seasons
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Seasons
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Final
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Competitions involving Iranian clubs
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Domestic
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Defunct
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International
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Ardeshir Pournemat
