2012–13 Esteghlal F.C. season

The 2012–13 season are the Esteghlal Football Club's 12th season in the Iran Pro League, and their 19th consecutive season in the top division of Iranian football. They are also competing in the Hazfi Cup and AFC Champions League, and 68th year in existence as a football club.

Esteghlal F.C.

2012–13 season
President	Ali Fathollahzadeh
Head coach	Amir Ghalenoei
Stadium	Azadi Stadium
IPL	1st
Hazfi Cup	Semi-Final
Champions League	Semi-Final
Top goalscorer	League: Arash Borhani (10 goals) All: Arash Borhani (15 goals)
Highest home attendance	100,000 v Persepolis (25 January 2013) 100,000 v Damash (10 May 2013)
Lowest home attendance	0 (spectator ban) v Gahar Zagros (12 April 2013)
Average home league attendance	32,235
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2011–12 2013–14 →

Club

Kit

Supplier: Uhlsport
Sponsor(s): Refah Bank^[1]

Home kit

Away kit

Third kit

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Amir Ghalenoei[2]
Assistant coach	Majid Saleh[3]
First Team Coach	Karim Bostani[3]
First Team Coach	Sattar Hamedani[3]
Goalkeepers coach	Hamid Babazadeh[4]
Fitness coach	Dr. Amir Haj-Ghasem[5]
Analyzer	Iman Alami[3]
Analyzer	Nima Rasouli[3]
Analyzer	Shahrokh Bayani
Analyzer	Reza Rajabi
Physiotherapist	Dr. Amin Norouzi[6]
Doctor	Dr. Kaveh Sotoudeh[6]
Psychologist	Dr. Abbas Montazeri
Technical Manager	Mansour Pourheidari[7]
Academy Manager	Asghar Hajiloo
Director	Mirshad Majedi[8]

Other information

Chairman	Ali Fathollahzadeh
Deputy Chairman	Ali Nazari Juybari
Media Officer	Hamed Afzali

Grounds

Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Azadi Stadium (100,000 / 110x75m)
Training ground	Hejazi Camp

Player

First team squad

Last updated: 5 January 2012

Out for Injuries

Released – ride

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from
Goalkeepers
1	Mehdi Rahmati		GK	(1983-02-02)2 February 1983 (aged 29)	Sepahan
35	Hadi Rishi Esfahani		GK	(1992-02-19)19 February 1992 (aged 20)	Sepahan
29	Liam Reddy		GK	(1981-08-08)8 August 1981 (aged 30)	Sydney FC
Defenders
2	Khosro Heydari		RM, RB	(1983-09-14)14 September 1983 (aged 28)	Sepahan
4	Amir Hossein Sadeghi		CB, SW	(1981-09-06)6 September 1981 (aged 30)	Tractor Sazi
5	Hanif Omranzadeh		CB, SW	(1985-04-30)30 April 1985 (aged 27)	PAS Hamedan
12	Hassan Ashjari		LB, LWB	(1979-08-01)1 August 1979 (aged 32)	Sepahan
18	Hashem Beikzadeh		LB, LM	(1984-01-22)22 January 1984 (aged 28)	Sepahan
21	Armen Tahmasian		DF	(1990-06-05)5 June 1990 (aged 22)	PAS Hamedan
25	Hojjat Chaharmahali		DF	(1989-03-25)25 March 1989 (aged 23)	Sanat Naft
33	Pejman Montazeri		CB, SW	(1983-09-06)6 September 1983 (aged 28)	Foolad
40	Ali Hamoudi		RB, RM	(1986-03-21)21 March 1986 (aged 26)	Foolad
15	Mohammad Ansari		CB, SW		(Youth system)
16	Meisam Hosseini		LB, CB	(1987-06-07)7 June 1987 (aged 25)	Gostaresh Foulad
Midfielders
3	Jlloyd Samuel		DM, CM, LB	(1981-03-29)29 March 1981 (aged 31)	Bolton
6	Javad Nekounam		DM, CM	(1980-09-07)7 September 1980 (aged 31)	CA Osasuna
8	Mojtaba Jabari(captain)		CM, AM	(1983-06-16)16 June 1983 (aged 29)	Aboumoslem
11	Saeed Lamei		MF	(1987-05-10)10 May 1987 (aged 25)	Sanati Kaveh
14	Kianoush Rahmati		DM, CM	(1978-09-18)18 September 1978 (aged 33)	Saipa
17	Maysam Baou		AM, CM	(1983-09-19)19 September 1983 (aged 28)	Shahrdari Tabriz
19	Abbas Mohammad-Rezaei		LM, LW	(1982-09-09)9 September 1982 (aged 29)	Fajr Sepasi
28	Mehran Ghasemi		MF	(1991-11-11)11 November 1991 (aged 20)	Steel Azin
38	Vicente		AM, LM	(1985-11-22) 22 November 1985 (age 39)	Charleroi
30	Rodrigo Tosi		CM, AM	(1983-01-06)6 January 1983 (aged 29)	Tractor Sazi
32	Ferydoon Zandi		AM, LM	(1979-04-26)26 April 1979 (aged 33)	Steel Azin
37	Januário		AM, CM	(1979-09-03)3 September 1979 (aged 32)	Sepahan
Forwards
7	Farhad Majidi		ST	(1976-06-03)3 June 1976 (aged 36)	Al-Ahli
9	Arash Borhani		ST	(1983-09-14)14 September 1983 (aged 28)	PAS Tehran
20	Siavash Akbarpour		AM, SS	(1985-01-21)21 January 1985 (aged 27)	Tractor Sazi
24	Farzad Hatami		ST	(1986-01-03)3 January 1986 (aged 26)	Tractor Sazi
36	Iman Mousavi		ST	(1989-02-05) 5 February 1989 (age 36)	Naft Tehran
10	Milad Meydavoudi		RW, ST	(1985-01-20)20 January 1985 (aged 27)	Esteghlal Ahvaz
11	Amin Manouchehri		ST	(1986-02-06)6 February 1986 (aged 26)	Saipa

Iran Pro League squad

As of 31 January 2013. Esteghlal F.C. Iran Pro League Squad 2011–12

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IRN Mehdi Rahmati (3rd Captain) 2 DF  IRN Khosro Heydari 3 DF  TRI Jlloyd Samuel 4 DF  IRN Amir Hossein Sadeghi 5 DF  IRN Hanif Omranzadeh 6 MF  IRN Javad Nekounam 7 FW  IRN Farhad Majidi (Captain) 8 MF  IRN Mojtaba Jabbari (Vice Captain) 9 FW  IRN Arash Borhani 10 FW  IRN Milad Meydavoudi 11 FW  IRN Amin Manouchehri 12 DF  IRN Hassan Ashjari 14 MF  IRN Kianoush Rahmati 15 DF  IRN Mohammad Ansari 16 DF  IRN Meysam Hosseini 17 MF  IRN Maysam Baou 18 DF  IRN Hashem Beikzadeh

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  IRN Abbas Mohammad-Rezaei 20 FW  IRN Siavash Akbarpour 21 DF  IRN Armen Tahmasian 22 GK  IRN Hossein Hosseini 24 FW  IRN Farzad Hatemi 25 DF  IRN Hojjat Chaharmahali 26 DF  IRN Mehdi Eslami 28 MF  IRN Mehran Ghasemi 29 GK  AUS Liam Reddy 30 MF  BRA Rodrigo Tosi 32 MF  IRN Ferydoon Zandi 33 DF  IRN Pejman Montazeri (4th Captain) 35 GK  IRN Hadi Rishi Esfahani 36 FW  IRN Iman Mousavi 37 MF  BRA Fabio Januario 38 MF  BOL Vicente Arze 40 DF  IRN Ali Hamoudi

AFC Champions League squad

As of 23 June 2013. Esteghlal F.C. Champions League Squad 2012–13

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IRN Mehdi Rahmati (3rd Captain) 2 DF  IRN Khosro Heydari 3 MF  TRI Jlloyd Samuel 4 DF  IRN Amir Hossein Sadeghi 5 DF  IRN Hanif Omranzadeh 6 MF  IRN Javad Nekounam 7 FW  IRN Farhad Majidi (Captain) 8 MF  IRN Mojtaba Jabbari (Vice Captain) 9 FW  IRN Arash Borhani 10 MF  IRN Siavash Akbarpour 11 MF  IRN Saeed Lamei 12 DF  IRN Hassan Ashjari 13 GK  IRN Mehrdad Hosseini 14 MF  IRN Kianoush Rahmati

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  IRN Hashem Beikzadeh 17 MF  IRN Maysam Baou 19 MF  IRN Abbas Mohammad-Rezaei 21 MF  IRN Armen Tahmasian 22 GK  IRN Hossein Hosseini 24 FW  IRN Farzad Hatemi 25 DF  IRN Hojjat Chaharmahali 28 MF  IRN Mehran Ghasemi 33 DF  IRN Pejman Montazeri (4th Captain) 35 GK  IRN Hadi Rishi Esfahani 36 FW  IRN Iman Mousavi 38 MF  BOL Vicente Arze 40 DF  IRN Ali Hamoudi

Transfers

Confirmed transfers 2012–13

Summer

Main article: List of Iranian football transfers summer 2012

In: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF  IRN Maysam Baou (from Shahrdari Tabriz)[9] 18 DF  IRN Hashem Beikzadeh (from Sepahan)[10] 11 FW  IRN Amin Manouchehri (from Saipa)[11] 25 FW  IRN Mojtaba Mojaz (from Mes Sarcheshme, Loan Return) 22 DF  IRN Amir Hossein Sadeghi (from Tractor Sazi)[12] 23 MF  IRN Iman Mobali (from Al Sharjah[13]) 20 FW  IRN Siavash Akbarpour (from Tractor Sazi) 20 GK  IRN Mohammad Mohammadi (from Damash Gilan[14]) 30 MF  BRA Rodrigo Tosi (from Tractor Sazi[15][16]) 37 MF  BRA Fabio Januario (from Sepahan[17][18]) 22 GK  IRN Hossein Hosseini (from Bargh Shiraz[19][20]) 35 GK  IRN Hadi Rishi Esfahani (from Sepahan[21]) 28 MF  IRN Mehran Ghasemi (from Steel Azin) 21 DF  IRN Armen Tahmasian (from Free agent) 6 MF  IRN Javad Nekounam (from CA Osasuna[22][23]) 29 GK  AUS Liam Reddy (from Sydney FC[24][25])

Out: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. No. Pos. Nation Player 22 GK  IRN Hadi Zarrin-Saed (to Alvand Hamedan) 4 DF  IRN Hamid Azizzadeh (Released) 17 MF  CMR Jacques Elong Elong (Released, to Naft Maysan) 34 MF  IRN Hossein Alavi (Released) 25 FW  IRN Mojtaba Mojaz (Released,[26][27] to Parseh Tehran) 3 DF  IRN Mehdi Amirabadi (to Foolad[28]) 14 MF  IRN Andranik Teymourian (to Al-Kharitiyath[29]) 31 DF  IRN Javad Shirzad (to Malavan[30]) 37 FW  IRN Esmaeil Sharifat (to Foolad[31]) 11 MF  IRN Mohsen Yousefi (to Saipa[32]) 20 GK  IRN Mohammad Mohammadi (to Rah Ahan[33][34][35]) 23 MF  IRN Iman Mobali (to Paykan[36]) 36 GK  IRN Mehdi Eslami (to Gostaresh Foulad[37]) 20 FW  SRB Goran Jerković (to Buriram United) 29 MF  IRN Tohid Gholami (to Parseh Tehran[38])

Winter

Main article: List of Iranian football transfers winter 2012–13

In: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  IRN Abbas Mohammad Rezaei (from Fajr Sepasi[39]) 12 DF  IRN Hassan Ashjari (from Sepahan)[40] 24 FW  IRN Farzad Hatami (from Tractor Sazi[41][42]) 25 DF  IRN Hojjat Chaharmahali (Free Agent) 38 MF  BOL Vicente Arze (from Charleroi[43]) 11 FW  IRN Iman Mousavi (from Naft Tehran) 7 FW  IRN Farhad Majidi (Loan back from Al-Gharafa)

Out: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. No. Pos. Nation Player 32 MF  IRN Ferydoon Zandi (to Al Ahli) 37 MF  BRA Fabio Januario (Retired[44]) 15 DF  IRN Mohammad Ansari (to Fajr Sepasi[45]) 16 DF  IRN Meysam Hosseini (to Naft Tehran) 11 FW  IRN Amin Manouchehri (to Naft Tehran) 10 FW  IRN Milad Meydavoudi (to Aluminium Hormozgan) 30 MF  BRA Rodrigo Tosi (to Brunei DPRMM) 29 GK  AUS Liam Reddy (to Sydney United)

Competitions

Overview

Competition	Started round	Current position / round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup	—	—	Winner	20 July 2012	10 May 2013
2012–13 Hazfi Cup	Round of 32	—	Semi-Final	14 December 2012	30 March 2013
AFC Champions League	Group stage	Round of 16		27 February 2013

Source: Competitions

Competition record

Competition	Record
	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Iran Pro League	34	19	10	5	42	18	+24	055.88
Hazfi Cup	5	4	0	1	11	1	+10	080.00
2013 AFC Champions League	8	5	2	1	15	7	+8	062.50
Total	47	28	12	7	68	26	+42	059.57

Iran Pro League

Main article: 2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Esteghlal (C)	34	19	10	5	42	18	+24	67	Qualification for the 2014 AFC Champions League group stage
2	Tractor Sazi	34	18	11	5	55	32	+23	65
3	Sepahan	34	19	7	8	64	33	+31	64
4	Foolad	34	14	14	6	52	35	+17	56
5	Naft Tehran	34	14	13	7	42	29	+13	55

Updated to match(es) played on 10 May 2013. Source: IPL stats.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
32	18	10	4	40	16	+24	64	11	4	1	20	8	+12	7	6	3	20	8	+12

Last updated: 15 April 2013.
Source: Ipl Stats

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	7	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H
Result	W	L	W	D	D	D	W	D	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	L	L	W	W	D	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	D	W	L
Position	4	9	5	8	9	10	10	9	8	6	4	5	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Updated to match(es) played on 22 November 2012. Source: "Ipl".
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Esteghlal v Aluminium

20 July 2012 1	Esteghlal	1–0	Aluminium	Tehran
22:15 UTC+04:30	Januario 56' Omranzadeh  64'	IPLStats Report Goal Report	Asgari  48' Shokouh Magham  51' Daneshdoost  62'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Ahmad Salehi

Saipa v Esteghlal

25 July 2012 2	Saipa	2–1	Esteghlal	Tehran
22:30 UTC+04:30	Sobhani 63' Daghighi 82'	IPLStats Report Goal Report	Akbarpour 81'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Esteghlal v Zob Ahan

31 July 2012 3	Esteghlal	1–0	Zob Ahan	Tehran
22:30 UTC+04:30	Akbarpour  13' Manouchehri 83'	IPLStats Report Goal Report	Ashouri  47'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Mohsen Torky

Mes Kerman v Esteghlal

6 August 2012 4	Mes Kerman	0–0	Esteghlal	Kerman
22:30 UTC+04:30	Enayati  36' Esmaeili Beigi  68' Jahani  89' Kazemi	IPLStats Report Goal Report	Omranzadeh  80' Borhani	Stadium: Shahid Bahonar Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Ahmad Salehi

Esteghlal v Malavan

17 August 2012 5	Esteghlal	1–1	Malavan	Tehran
22:00 UTC+04:30	Beikzadeh  7' Zandi  55' Borhani  65' 73'	IPLStats Report Goal Report	Nozhati 25' Paşcenco  85' Hajmohammadi  90+4'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Touraj Haghverdi

Persepolis v Esteghlal

24 August 2012 6	Persepolis	0–0	Esteghlal	Tehran
18:10 UTC+04:30	Pouladi  15' Feshangchi  90+5'	IPLStats Report Goal Report	Akbarpour  24' Omranzadeh  37'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 100,000 Referee: Mohsen Torky

Esteghlal v Paykan

22 November 2012 7	Esteghlal	2–0	Paykan	Tehran
17:30 UTC+03:30	Akbarpour 59' Omranzadeh Heydari Meydavoudi 90'	IPLStats Report Summary	Dabbagh	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Saeid Bakhshizadeh

Rah Ahan v Esteghlal

15 September 2012 8	Rah Ahan	0–2	Esteghlal	Tehran
19:45 UTC+04:30	Ashoubi Mamani	IPLStats Report Goal Report	Borhani 10' Baou 82' Zandi	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Ashkan Khorshidi

Esteghlal v Fajr Sepasi

21 September 2012 9	Esteghlal	0–0	Fajr Sepasi	Tehran
18:30 UTC+03:30		IPLStats Report Goal Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Mohsen Ghahremani

Sanat Naft v Esteghlal

26 September 2012 10	Sanat Naft	1–2	Esteghlal	Abadan
18:30 UTC+03:30	Navidkia 2'	IPLStats Report	Nekounam  11' Tosi 35' Januário 58'	Stadium: Takhti Stadium Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Mohsen Torky

Esteghlal v Saba Qom

1 October 2012 11	Esteghlal	1–0	Saba Qom	Tehran
18:15 UTC+03:30	Borhani 1' Sadeghi	IPLStats Report Summary	Lotfi Heidari Rezaeian Noori	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Ahmad Salehi

Tractor Sazi v Esteghlal

20 October 2012 12	Tractor Sazi	2–0	Esteghlal	Tabriz
16:00 UTC+03:30	Paixão 39' Fakhreddini 90+1' Nosrati Kiani	IPLStats Report Summary	Omranzadeh	Stadium: Yadegar-e Emam Stadium Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Saeid Mozaffarizadeh

Esteghlal v Naft Tehran

25 October 2012 13	Esteghlal	2–1	Naft Tehran	Tehran
19:00 UTC+03:30	Samuel 23' Borhani 52' Beikzadeh Akbarpour Baou	IPLStats Report Summary	Karimi 16'  79' Mousavi Ghafouri  79'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Mohsen Ghahremani

Gahar Zagros v Esteghlal

29 October 2012 14	Gahar Zagros	0–2	Esteghlal	Dorood
17:45 UTC+03:30		IPLStats Report Summary	Borhani 17' Samuel 20' Manouchehri	Stadium: Dorood Stadium Attendance: 5,400 Referee: Touraj Haghverdi

Sepahan v Esteghlal

18 November 2012 15	Sepahan	0–1	Esteghlal	Isfahan
15:15 UTC+03:30	Khalatbari  92' Navidkia  93' Ahmadi  95'	IPLStats Report	Heydari 15' Sadeghi Borhani Nekounam  93'	Stadium: Foolad Shahr Stadium Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Saeid Mozaffarizadeh

Esteghlal v Foolad

27 November 2012 16	Esteghlal	2–3	Foolad	Tehran
17:30 UTC+03:30	Nekounam 63' Borhani 74'	IPLStats Report Summary	Karami 62' Afshin 72' Jama'ati 87'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Mohsen Ghahremani

Damash Gilan v Esteghlal

4 December 2012 17	Damash Gilan	1–0	Esteghlal	Rasht
15:15 UTC+03:30	Kébé 85' Hajati	IPLStats Report Summary	Samuel  25'  39' Manouchehri Heydari Nekounam	Stadium: Shahid Azodi Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Mohsen Torky

Aluminmium v Esteghlal

26 December 2012 18	Aluminmium	0–2	Esteghlal	Bandar Abbas
15:15 UTC+03:30	Tighnavard  52'	IPLStats Report Goal.com [46]	Mousavi 14' Hatami 86'	Stadium: Takhti Stadium Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Esteghlal v Saipa

31 December 2012 19	Esteghlal	1–0	Saipa	Tehran
17:30 UTC+03:30	Hatami 54'  86' Samuel 16'	IPLStats Report Goal.com [47]	Shiri 88'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Ahmad Salehi

Zob Ahan v Esteghlal

5 January 2013 20	Zob Ahan	0–0	Esteghlal	Isfahan
17:30 UTC+03:30	Fofana Bayatinia Jarahkar	IPLStats Report Goal.com [48]	Omranzadeh	Stadium: Foolad Shahr Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Touraj Haghverdi

Esteghlal v Mes Kerman

14 January 2013 21	Esteghlal	2–1	Mes Kerman	Tehran
15:00 UTC+03:30	Borhani 25', 57' Nekounam Majidi	IPLStats Report Goal.com [49]	Shojaei 55' Bates	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Mohsen Torki

Malavan v Esteghlal

19 January 2013 22	Malavan	0–0	Esteghlal	Anzali
15:30 UTC+03:30	Ezzatollahi Rafkhaei	IPLStats Report Goal.com	Samuel Hatami Akbarpour	Stadium: Takhti Stadium Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Yadollah Jahanbazi

Esteghlal v Persepolis

25 January 2013 23	Esteghlal	0–0	Persepolis	Tehran
15:00 UTC+03:30		IPLStats Report Goal.com Fars	Haghighi  45'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 100,000 Referee: Mohsen Ghahremani

Paykan v Esteghlal

29 January 2013 24	Paykan	0–3	Esteghlal	Tehran
16:50 UTC+03:30		IPLStats Report Goal.com [50]	Vicente 20' Hatami 61' Majidi 78'  79'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Touraj Haghverdi

Esteghlal v Rah Ahan

8 February 2013 25	Esteghlal	1–0	Rah Ahan	Tehran
17:00 UTC+03:30	Majidi 71'  90'	IPLStats Report Goal.com [51]	Abdi  90+4'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Mohsen Torki

Fajr Sepasi v Esteghlal

15 February 2013 26	Fajr Sepasi	0–5	Esteghlal	Shiraz
14:30 UTC+03:30	Khalil Azad	IPLStats Report Goal.com Fars	Nekounam 38' (pen.) Hatami 49', 70' Akbarpour 64' Borhani 90+1' Samuel	Stadium: Hafezieh Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Saeid Mozaffarizadeh

Esteghlal v Sanat Naft

21 February 2013 27	Esteghlal	2–1	Sanat Naft	Tehran
19:00 UTC+03:30	Ashjari Nekounam Hatami  35' Montazeri  71' 75' Akbarpour  77' Majidi 87'	IPLStats Report Goal.com varzesh3.com	Baghlani  50' Kaebi  64' Moshkelpour 64'  87' Dehghani  84'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Saba Qom v Esteghlal

4 March 2013 28	Saba Qom	1–1	Esteghlal	Qom
17:25 UTC+03:30	Razaghirad 29' Lak Nouri Rezaïan Bakhtiarzadeh	IPLStats Report FARS	Borhani 90+1' (pen.) Samuel	Stadium: Yadegar Emam Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Yadollah Jahanbazi

Esteghlal v Tractor Sazi

8 March 2013 29	Esteghlal	1–0	Tractor Sazi	Tehran
17:30 UTC+03:30	Nekounam 31' Borhani Akbarpour Omranzadeh	IPLStats Report [52]	Dehnavi	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Saeid Mozaffarizadeh

Naft Tehran v Esteghlal

18 March 2013 30	Naft Tehran	1–1	Esteghlal	Tehran
15:30 UTC+03:30	Norouzi 63'	IPLStats Report [53]	Hatami 15' Samuel	Stadium: Shahid Dastgerdi Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Toraj Haghverdi

Esteghlal v Gahar Zagros

12 April 2013 31	Esteghlal	2–0	Gahar Zagros	Tehran
19:00 UTC+03:30	Nekounam 28' Arze 44' Beikzadeh	IPLStats Report	Ghasemi Kardoust	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: – Referee: Zargar

Esteghlal v Sepahan

15 April 2013 32	Esteghlal	1–1	Sepahan	Tehran
19:00 UTC+03:30	Irannejad 90+4' (o.g.) Sadeghi Mousavi	IPLStats Report	Navidkia 66' Khalatbari Talebi	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Saeid Mozaffarizadeh

Foolad v Esteghlal

5 May 2013 33	Foolad	0–1	Esteghlal	Ahvaz
17:45 UTC+03:30		IPLStats Report	Nekounam 19' (pen.)	Stadium: Takhti Ahvaz Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Mohsen Torki

Esteghlal v Damash

10 May 2013 34	Esteghlal	1–2	Damash	Tehran
17:45 UTC+03:30	Ashjari 31'	IPLStats Report	Mahdavi 67' Ebrahimi 80'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 100,000 Referee: Alireza Khorshidi

AFC Champions League

Main article: 2013 AFC Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2013 AFC Champions League group stage § Group D

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Esteghlal	6	4	1	1	11	5	+6	13	Advance to knockout stage
2	Al-Hilal	6	4	0	2	10	6	+4	12
3	Al-Ain	6	2	0	4	6	9	−3	6
4	Al-Rayyan	6	1	1	4	7	14	−7	4

Source: ScoresPro

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Al-Rayyan v Esteghlal

27 February 2013 1	Al-Rayyan	3–3	Esteghlal	Al Rayyan
18:20 UTC+3	Tabata 34' (pen.) Haroon 60' Nilmar 87'	report	Samuel 27' Borhani 45+1' Nekounam 85' (pen.) Akbarpour	Stadium: Ahmed bin Ali Stadium Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Ben Williams

Esteghlal v Al-Ain

13 March 2013 2	Esteghlal	2–0	Al-Ain	Tehran
19:00 UTC+3:30	Samuel 65' Majidi 73' Sadeghi	report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 21,000 Referee: Valentin Kovalenko

Al-Hilal v Esteghlal

3 April 2013 3	Al-Hilal	1–2	Esteghlal	Riyadh
20:40 UTC+3	Al-Dossari 67'	report	Montazeri 80' Borhani 85'	Stadium: Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Nawaf Shukralla

Esteghlal v Al-Hilal

9 April 2013 4	Esteghlal	0–1	Al-Hilal	Tehran
21:00 UTC+4:30		report	Al Abed 35'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 80,300 Referee: Abdul Malik Abdul Bashir

Esteghlal v Al-Rayyan

23 April 2013 5	Esteghlal	3–0	Al-Rayyan	Tehran
21:00 UTC+4:30	Majidi 45' Beikzadeh 73' Borhani 90'	report	Goma  75'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 28,330 Referee: Andre El Haddad

Al-Ain v Esteghlal

30 April 2013 6	Al-Ain	0–1	Esteghlal	Al Ain
19:40 UTC+4		report	Nekounam 80' (pen.)	Stadium: Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium Attendance: 4,173 Referee: Masaaki Toma

Knockout stage

Main article: 2013 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Al Shabab Al Arabi v Esteghlal

15 May 2013 First leg	Al Shabab Al Arabi	2–4	Esteghlal	Dubai
20:40 UTC+4	Henrique 45+1' Edgar 83'	report	Samuel 51' Nekounam 72' Majidi 80' Heydari 89'	Stadium: Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium Attendance: Yuichi Nishimura Referee: 6,375

Esteghlal v Al Shabab Al Arabi

22 May 2013 Second leg	Esteghlal	0–0	Al Shabab Al Arabi	Tehran
		report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium

Hazfi Cup

Main article: 2012–13 Hazfi Cup

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Esteghlal v Saipa

14 December 2012 1/16	Esteghlal	4–0	Saipa	Tehran
16:15 UTC+03:30	Hatami  34' 63' Borhani 46', 65' Camacho 90+2'	Report Varzesh3.com	Rezaei  21'  42' Gholamnejad  26' Márcio  32' Sadeghi  75'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Toraj Haghverdi

Gahar Dorud v Esteghlal

22 December 2012 1/8	Gahar Dorud	0–1	Esteghlal	Dorud
13:30 UTC+03:30		Report Varzesh3.com	Mousavi 66' Heydari  73'	Stadium: Takhti Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Yadollah Jahanbazi

Esteghlal v Aboumoslem

9 January 2013 1/4	Esteghlal	5–0	Aboumoslem	Tehran
16:30 UTC+03:30	Samuel 25' Hatami 46', 65' Nekounam 63' Montazeri 76' Arze Sadeghi	farsnews.com		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Alborz HajiPoor

Esteghlal v Sepahan

30 March 2013 1/2	Esteghlal	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)	Sepahan	Tehran
17:00 UTC+03:30	Hatami 63'	report	Khalatbari 42'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani
	Penalties
	Jabbari Samuel Mohammad-Rezaei Sadeghi Nekounam Rahmati Hatami		Bulku Ebrahimi Khalatbari Hajsafi Jamshidian Irannejad Susak

Friendly Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Esteghlal v Ruero Nif

4 July 2012	Esteghlal	7–0	Ruero Nif	Istanbul
17:30 UTC+03:00	Borhani Borhani Borhani Borhani Baou Omranzadeh Manouchehri	[54] [55] [56] [57] [58]		Stadium: Green Park Camp Stadium

Paykan v Esteghlal

7 July 2012	Paykan	2–0	Esteghlal	Istanbul
	Alekasir 50' Gashni 60'	[59]

Elazığspor v Esteghlal

10 July 2012	Elazığspor	2–4	Esteghlal	Istanbul
17:30 UTC+03:00		[60] [61] [62]	Meidavoudi Meidavoudi Borhani Heydari

Esteghlal v Parseh

28 August 2012	Esteghlal	2–2	Parseh	Tehran
17:30 UTC+04:30	Tosi 13' Borhani 65'	Goal report farsnews report Aftabnews report	Ipakchi 10' Khorsandi 79'	Stadium: Hejazi Camp Attendance: 300

Aboumoslem v Esteghlal

3 September 2012	Aboumoslem	1–2	Esteghlal	Mashhad
17:00 UTC+04:30	Rezapour 69'	[63] [64] [65]	Tosi 1' Borhani 63'	Stadium: Samen Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Mohsen Ghahremani
Note: Charity match

Esteghlal v Damash Gilan

9 September 2012	Esteghlal	1–1	Damash Gilan	Tehran
17:30 UTC+04:30	Manouchehri 18'	[66] [67]	Chavoshi 70'	Stadium: Hejazi Camp Attendance: 600

Esteghlal v Honarmandan

6 October 2012	Esteghlal	7–0	Honarmandan	Tehran
16:00 UTC+04:30	Manouchehri Manouchehri Borhani Meydavoudi Sadeghi Lamali Sadeghian	[68]		Stadium: Ararat Stadium
Note: Charity match

Esteghlal v Paykan

4 February 2013	Esteghlal	3–0	Paykan	Tehran
15:15 UTC+03:30	Mousavi 6', 42' Mohammad-Rezaei 11'	Varzesh3.ir Shafaf.ir		Stadium: Hejazi Camp Attendance: 100

Statistics

Appearances

As of 22 May 2013

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Iran Pro League		AFC Champions League		Hazfi Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	IRN	Mehdi Rahmati	46	0	34+0	0	8+0	0	4+0	0
2	DF	IRN	Khosro Heydari	41	2	29+1	1	7+0	1	4+0	0
3	DF	TRI	Jlloyd Samuel	35	6	19+6	2	7+0	3	3+0	1
4	DF	IRN	Amir Hossein Sadeghi	44	0	31+2	0	6+1	0	4+0	0
5	DF	IRN	Hanif Omranzadeh	34	0	17+8	0	6+1	0	1+1	0
6	MF	IRN	Javad Nekounam	39	9	26+1	5	8+0	3	4+0	1
7	FW	IRN	Farhad Majidi	18	6	4+7	3	3+3	3	0+1	0
8	MF	IRN	Mojtaba Jabari	28	0	10+6	0	8+0	0	1+3	0
9	FW	IRN	Arash Borhani	38	15	22+5	10	3+4	3	2+2	2
12	DF	IRN	Hassan Ashjari	15	1	9+2	1	1+0	0	3+0	0
14	MF	IRN	Kianoush Rahmati	2	0	0+1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
17	MF	IRN	Maysam Baou	20	1	10+9	1	0+0	0	1+0	0
18	DF	IRN	Hashem Beikzadeh	29	1	20+1	0	6+1	1	1+0	0
19	MF	IRN	Abbas Mohammad Rezaei	16	0	10+2	0	0+0	0	3+1	0
20	FW	IRN	Siavash Akbarpour	35	3	21+6	3	3+4	0	1+0	0
24	FW	IRN	Farzad Hatami	26	10	12+3	6	3+4	0	3+1	4
28	DF	IRN	Mehran Ghasemi	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
33	DF	IRN	Pejman Montazeri	40	3	29+0	1	8+0	1	3+0	1
36	FW	IRN	Iman Mousavi	16	2	7+4	1	3+1	0	1+0	1
38	MF	BOL	Vicente Arze	11	3	6+1	2	2+0	0	0+2	1
40	MF	IRN	Ali Hamoudi	42	0	27+4	0	5+2	0	4+0	0
Players sold or loaned out after the start of the season:
10	FW	IRN	Milad Meidavoudi	7	1	4+3	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
11	FW	IRN	Amin Manouchehri	16	1	6+9	1	0+0	0	1+0	0
16	DF	IRN	Meysam Hosseini	10	0	4+6	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	MF	BRA	Rodrigo Tosi	9	1	4+5	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
32	MF	IRN	Ferydoon Zandi	8	0	5+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
37	MF	BRA	Fabio Januario	10	2	8+2	2	0+0	0	0+0	0

Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Last updated on 23 March 2013

Ranking	Position	Nation	Name	Pro League	Champions League	Hazfi Cup	Total
1	FW		Arash Borhani	10	3	2	15
2	FW		Farzad Hatami	6	0	4	10
3	MF		Javad Nekounam	5	3	1	9
3	MF		Jlloyd Samuel	2	3	1	6
	FW		Farhad Majidi	3	3	0	6
5	FW		Siavash Akbarpour	3	0	0	3
	DF		Pejman Montazeri	1	1	1	3
	MF		Vicente Arze	2	0	1	3
6	MF		Januário	2	0	0	2
	FW		Iman Mousavi	1	0	1	2
	DF		Khosro Heydari	1	1	0	2
7	DF		Hashem Beikzadeh	0	1	0	1
	MF		Maysam Baou	1	0	0	1
	MF		Rodrigo Tosi	1	0	0	1
Own Goal				0	0	0	0
TOTALS				42	15	11	68

Friendlies and Pre season goals are not recognized as competitive match goals.

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.

Last updated on 23 March 2013

No.	Nat.	Position	Name	Iran Pro League			AFC Champions League			Hazfi Cup			Total
5		DF	Hanif Omranzadeh	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
3		MF	Jlloyd Samuel	7	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1	1
6		MF	Javad Nekounam	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	1
20		FW	Siavash Akbarpour	7	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0
9		FW	Arash Borhani	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	1
TOTALS				5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0

Goals conceded

• 4 April 2013

Position	Nation	Number	Name	Pro League	Champions League	Hazfi Cup	Total	Minutes per goal
GK		1	Mehdi Rahmati	18	7	1	26	159.2 min
TOTALS				18	7	1	26	159.2 min

Overall statistics

	Total	Home	Away	Neutral
Games played	45	26	19	0
Games won	28	16	12	0
Games drawn	11	4	7	0
Games lost	7	4	3	0
Biggest win	5 – 0 Fajr Sepasi 5 – 0 Aboumoslem	5 – 0 Aboumoslem	5 – 0 Fajr Sepasi	N/A
Biggest loss	0 – 2 Tractor Sazi	2 – 3 Foolad	2 – 0 Tractor Sazi	N/A
Biggest win (League)	5 – 0 Fajr Sepasi	2 – 0 Paykan	5 – 0 Fajr Sepasi	N/A
Biggest win (Cup)	5 – 0 Aboumoslem	5 – 0 Aboumoslem	1 – 0 Gahar Zagros	N/A
Biggest win (Asia)	3 – 0 Al-Rayyan SC	3 – 0 Al-Rayyan SC	N/A	N/A
Biggest loss (League)	0 – 2 Tractor Sazi	2 – 3 Foolad	0 – 2 Tractor Sazi	N/A
Biggest loss (Cup)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Biggest loss (Asia)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Clean sheets	28	16	12	0
Goals scored	68	36	32	0
Goals conceded	26	12	14	0
Goal difference	42	24	18	0
Average GF per game	1.5	1.6	1	0
Average GA per game	0.5	0.4	0.4	0
Points	66	36	30	0
Winning rate	62%	66%	57%	N/A
Most appearances	Mehdi Rahmati 45 appearances
Most minutes played	Mehdi Rahmati 4050 minutes
Top scorer	Arash Borhani 15 goals
Top assister	Mojtaba Jabari 11 assists

Last updated: 24 April 2013
Source: Competitive matches

Awards

Team

Award	Month	Source
Iran Football Team of the year	June	[69]

Player

No.	Player	Award	Month	Source
1	Mehdi Rahmati	Persian Gulf Pro League Goalkeeper of the year	June	[70]
33	Pejman Montazeri	Persian Gulf Pro League Defender of the year		[71]
3	Jlloyd Samuel	Persian Gulf Pro League Foreign player of the year		[72]

Manager

Name	Award	Month	Source
Amir Ghalenoei	Persian Gulf Pro League Manager of the year	June	[73]

See also

• 2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup
• 2012–13 Hazfi Cup
• 2013 AFC Champions League