ESTEGHLAL F.C1945 - 2008

Esteghlal (in Persian, meaning 'Independence') (formerly

known as Taj, meaning 'Crown') is a football club in Iran.

It is one of the most famous football (soccer) clubs in Asia

and in Iran's Premier Football League, established in 1945,

and has won many championships in different competitions.

Esteghlal and Perspolis are presently the two most popular

football clubs in Iran, however in recent years their

dominance has been seriously threatened by other clubs like

Sepahan and Foolad. The team's main rival and its opponent

in the Tehran derby is Persepolis. Azadi Stadium is always

sold out when the match takes place.

The team is currently under the control of the welfare

ministry a government department.

Club history

On 24 September 1945, three individuals by the names of Mirzani,

Jananpour and Navab started a sports club on Ferdowsi Street of

Tehran. Since the founders of the club were mostly interested in

cycling, the club's original name was Docharke Savaran or The

Cyclists. The Docharkhe Savaran football club played its first

official match a year later, and in 1947 was able to capture the

Tehran Hazfi Cup. In 1949, the team officially changed its name to

Taj. The club became the second most loved team in Iran after

some years, and were able to make their fans happy by winning

numerous league championships, Hazfi Cups and Asian Club

Championships.

The team had to change its name again in 1979 to

Esteghlal(independence in Persian), because of the revolution. Taj

means crown in Persian, and after the revolution, any sign of the

previous monarchist regime was not tolerated, so naturally, the

name Taj was not suitable. The club has been able to get successful

results in the past couple of years and is always looked at as a

contender for the league championship. In the past two years it has

finished 2nd or 3rd in the league, but Ghalenoei was able to get the

team its first championship in the IPL in the 2005-06 season after

his third and final year as the manager.

Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal FC every season, from 1994 to the

present day.

Season League League Position Hazfi Cup

Asian Cup and Asian Cup Winners

Cup

1994-1995

Azadegan League

2nd

1995-1996

Azadegan League

3rd Cup

1996-1997

Azadegan League

6thAsian Cup Winners Cup

(Semifinal)

1997-1998

Azadegan League

1st (Champions)

1998-1999

Azadegan League

2nd Final Asian Cup (2nd)

1999-2000

Azadegan League

2nd Cup Asian Cup Winners Cup (Second Round)

2000-2001

Azadegan League

1st (Champions) Semifinal Asian Cup Winners Cup

(Semifinal)

2001-2002

Iran Premier League 2nd Cup Asian Cup (3rd)

2002-2003

Iran Premier League 9th

2003-2004

Iran Premier League 2nd Final

2004-2005

Iran Premier League 3rd

2005-2006

Iran Premier League

1st (Champions)

Quarterfinal

2006-2007

Iran Premier League 4th 1/16 Final Disqualified

Famous players:

1945 to 1970s :

Heshmat Mohajerani Nasser Hejazi Iraj Danaeifard Behtash Fariba Hassan Rowshan Hassan Nazari Andranik Eskandarian Mansour Pourheidari Gholam Hossein Mazloomi Parviz Ghelichkhani

1980s :

Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh Sadegh Varmazyar Amir Ghalenoei Majid Namjoo-Motlagh Abdolali Changiz Samad Marfavi

1990s :

Javad Zarincheh Alireza Mansourian Sirous Dinmohammadi Mehdi Pashazadeh Mohammad Navazi Mahmoud Fekri Hadi Tabatabaei Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh Farhad Majidi

2000s :

Ali Samereh Pirouz Ghorbani Reza Enayati Siavash Akbarpour Mojtaba Jabbari Vahid Talebloo Amir Hossein Sadeqi Hossein Kazemi Mehdi Amirabadi

Photo Gallery

Esteghlal Tehran FC (Official Website) ( Official Fan Website )Nickname: SS Founded: 24 September 1945 Ground: Azadi Stadium Capacity: 100,000 Chairman: Ali FatollahzadeLast Coach: Firooz Karimi