Rahman Rezaei

Rahman Rezaei

Personal information
Full name	Rahman Rezaei
Date of birth	20 February 1975 (1975-02-20)
Place of birth	Noor, Iran
Height	6 ft 0.50 in (1.84 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Paykan
Number	5
Youth career
1991–1995	Nassaji Mazandaran
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995	Bargh Tehran	?	(?)
1995–1996	Rah Ahan	?	(7)
1996–2001	Zob Ahan	?	(?)
2001–2003	Perugia	38	(5)
2003–2006	Messina	108	(2)
2006–2008	Livorno	21	(1)
2008–2009	Persepolis	13	(0)
2009–2010	Al-Ahly Doha	9	(1)
2010	Shahin Bushehr	6	(0)
2010–	Paykan	12	(1)
National team
2001–2009	Iran	56	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 December 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Rahman Rezaei (Persian: رحمان رضايی , born 20 February 1975 in Noor) is an Iranian football player who currently plays for Paykan in the Iran Pro League. He is also a former member of the Iran national football team and usually plays in the centre back position.

Club career

He was originally discovered by Iranian manager, Nasser Hejazi. Rezaei played for F.C. Zob Ahan in Isfahan for three seasons. After impressive performances for the club and the national team, he was transferred to Perugia for €150,000 euros and then to Messina.

Rahman Rezaei is currently the most successful Asian defender in Europe. In the 2003/2004 season, he helped Messina gain promotion to Serie A. He had been one of Messina's most consistently used players with 36 appearances in their 2004-05 mid-table finish. After steadily playing for his club for three seasons, at the end of August 2006 Rezaei signed with another Serie A club, Livorno.

He has won numerous plaudits in Italy and has been dubbed "The Flying Carpet". In addition, his fans in Messina have named him the "Secretary of Defense". In January 2006, he acquired Italian citizenship through his marriage to an Italian-Iranian Helia Hashemi.

In January 2008 Rahman's agent stated that Torino is interested in Rezaei and there may be a future move.

In July 2008, an Iranian newspaper reported Iranian giants Persepolis F.C. were holding talks with Rezaei. However, in mid-July, Afhsin Ghotbi was re-appointed manager of Persepolis and cut the talks with Rezaei, stating that the club were not looking for a centre-back player at that moment in time.

On 10 August 2009 Rezaei signed a 1-year, $700 thousand dollar contract with Qatari side Al-Ahli.

Club Career Statistics

Last Update May 20, 2011

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
1995–96	Rah Ahan	Second Division		7			-	-
1996-97	Zob Ahan	Azadegan League					-	-
1997-98							-	-
1998-99					-	-	-	-
1999-00							-	-
2000-01				2			-	-
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
2001–02	Perugia	Serie A	25	2			-	-
2002–03			13	3			-	-
2003–04	Messina	Serie B	37	2			-	-
2004–05		Serie A	37	0			-	-
2005–06			34	0			-	-
2006–07	Livorno		16	1	1	0	3	0	20	1
2007–08			5	0			-	-
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
2008–09	Persepolis	Persian Gulf Cup	13	0	3	0	4	0	20	0
Qatar			League		Emir of Qatar Cup		Asia		Total
2011–12	Persepolis	Persian Gulf Cup	13	0	3	0	4	0	20	0
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
2009–10	Shahin	Persian Gulf Cup	6	0	0	0	-	-	6	0
2010–11	Paykan		12	1	0	0	-	-	12	1
Total	Iran						4	0
Total	Italy		169	8			3	0
Total	Qatar		9	1			0	0
Career total							7	0

• Assist Goals

Season	Team	Assists
09–10	Shahin	0

International career

Rahman Rezaei made his first appearance for Iran in July 2001 against Bosnia. He has been the most consistent defender for the team ever since.^{[citation needed]}

In European football, Rahman Rezaei is considered a solid defender well inclined to launch devastating counter attacks. However his role is different in the Iranian national football team, where he is a straight defensive centre back. He was formerly a forward, but has proved to be an indispensable defensive stalwart for an Iranian side considered top-heavy in attacking players.

He was among the key players for Iran in World Cup 2006, but he did not perform as well as everyone had hoped. He received some criticism following a couple mistakes which led to goals being scored against the team.^{[citation needed]}

On April 6, 2007 Rezaei stated he will retire from international football after the 2007 Asian Cup., but in another interview in December 2007 he expressed his intention to return to the national team. Rezaei was given his #5 jersey and was selected for Team Melli's 2010 World Cup Qualification matches.^{[citation needed]}

Iran national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2001	16	0
2002	3	1
2003	5	0
2004	10	0
2005	6	1
2006	8	1
2007	6	0
Total	54	3

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 June 2005	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	North Korea	1-0	1-0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	28 May 2006	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2-2	5-2	Friendly
3	7 February 2007	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Belarus	2-0	2-2	Friendly

External links

• (Italian) Rahman's profile on Official Website of A.S. Livorno Calcio
• Rahman Rezaei at TeamMelli.com