Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C.
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| Full name | Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club | ||
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| Founded | 1948; 67 years ago | ||
| Ground | Takhti Stadium Ahvaz Iran | ||
| Capacity | 15,000[1] | ||
| Owner | Mohammad Maleki | ||
| Chairman | Mohammad Maleki | ||
| Head Coach | Siavash Bakhtiarizadeh | ||
| League | Azadegan League | ||
| 2015–16 | Persian Gulf Pro League, 16th (relegated) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال استقلال اهواز) is an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Iran. They currently compete in the Persian Gulf Pro League.
History
Establishment
The club was founded in 1948 with the help of Hakim Shoushtari. The club was one of Taj Tehran branches at the time, and was called Taj Ahvaz F.C. From the beginning the club was able to attract some of the better Khuzestani players.
Takht Jamshid Cup
In 1973 the team was promoted to the Takht Jamshid Cup, but league rules allowed for only one team of the same name to participate, therefore Taj Tehran, remained in the league, and Taj Ahvaz F.C. was forced to stay in the lower leagues.
Post-revolution success
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Taj Ahvaz F.C. (Persian: تاج اهواز) changed its name to Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. (Persian: استقلال اهواز). The Iran–Iraq War hit Ahvaz and Khuzestan hard, and very little attention was paid to the club at that time. Finally in 1991 the team was promoted to the Azadegan League and was allowed to participate, despite two teams having the same name. In 1997, the club was relegated, but returned to Iran's Premier Football League (IPL) in 2002. The club started to develop during its initial and second season in the IPL, because of the amount of money they spent, thanks to club chairman Ali Shafizadeh. The club became known as Iran's Chelsea after that.[citation needed] Despite being the only private club in the league they could not win anything and they finally came so close and finished second in the league in 2006–07 by only 2 points. They continued to be an average team in 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons which finished in mid table for both seasons.
Relegation
Their instability in 2010–11 season caused the teams relegation to the Azadegan League where they changed their head coach three times. In their first year in the Azadegan League, they had a dismal season as they finished 13th and were relegated to the 2nd Division. Fortunately for Esteghlal Ahvaz, the team bounced back in 2012 as they finished first in the 2nd Division and were promoted to the Azadegan League.
Return to Persian Gulf Pro League
After the 2014–15 Azadegan League they bought the right to play in Persian Gulf Pro League from Foolad Novin and were promoted to the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League.[2]
Ahvaz Derby
- Main articles: Ahvaz Derby
The Ahvaz derby is a football local derby match between the two rival professional teams of Ahvaz, Iran: Esteghlal Ahvaz and Foolad. It is one of the most important derbies in Iran.
Season-by-season
The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal Ahvaz in various competitions since 1991.
- Notes
- R buy the right to play in IPL.
Club honours
- Runners–Up (1): 2006–2007
- Winners (1): 2001–02
- Winners (1): 2011–12
Club chairmen
- Nasrollah Heibodi (−2002)
- Ali Shafizadeh (2002–2006)
- Shahram Shafizadeh (2006–2011)
- Safar Jamalpour (2011–present)
Club managers
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Players
First-team squad
- As of 19 January 2016.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2015–16.
See also
- Esteghlal Tehran Football Club
- Esteghlal Meli-Sanati Khuzestan Football Club
- Esteghlal Dushanbe Football Club
- 2011-12 Hazfi Cup
- 2011–12 Iran Football's 2nd Division
References
- ^ "World Stadiums – Stadiums in Iran". worldstadiums.com.
- ^ "واگذاری رسمی امتیاز فولادنوین به استقلال اهواز". ورزش سه.
- ^ "داریوش یزدی، سرمربی استقلال اهواز شد". shooshan.ir.
- ^ "حبیب خدریان سرمربی استقلال اهواز شد". khouznews.ir.
- ^ "فریدون حردانی سرمربی استقلال اهواز شد". khouznews.ir.
- ^ "سیدصالحی سرمربی استقلال اهواز شد +عکس". shooshan.ir.
- ^ "اتفاق عجیب در اهواز؛ صابر میرقربانی سرمربی استقلال شد!". طرفداری.
- ^ "بختیاریزاده سرمربی استقلال اهواز شد". ورزش سه.
External links
{{IPL}} may refer to:
- {{Persian Gulf Pro League}} - Iran Pro League
- {{Indian Premier League}} - Indian Premier League
- {{Irish Premier League}} - Irish Premier League
If an internal transclusion led you here, you may wish to change it to point directly to the intended page.
{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.
| League competitions | |
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| Cup competitions | |
| Defunct competitions | |
| National teams | |
| Lists and categories | |
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