Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh

Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Persian: سهراب بختيارى‌زاده, born 11 September 1973) is an Iranian football coach and former player. A centre-back, he played for many teams like Esteghlal, Foolad, Saba Qom, Erzurumspor, Estehglal Khuzestan and the Iran national team. He is the current interim manager of Esteghlal.^[4]

Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh

Bakhtiarizadeh in Iran U-23 training
Personal information
Full name	Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh[1]
Date of birth	(1973-09-11) 11 September 1973 (age 51)[2][3]
Place of birth	Ahvaz, Iran
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
1990–1992	Jonoub Ahvaz
1992–1994	Entezam Ahvaz
1994–1995	Shahin Ahvaz
1995–1997	Foolad
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–1999	Foolad	30	(3)
1999–2000	Esteghlal	120	(1)
2000–2001	Erzurumspor	20	(1)
2001–2003	Esteghlal	34	(1)
2003–2004	Foolad	24	(4)
2004–2007	Saba Battery Tehran	74	(15)
2007	Pas Hamedan	1	(0)
2008–2009	Foolad	17	(1)
2009–2013	Saba Qom	60	(1)
2013–2014	Esteghlal Khuzestan	16	(1)
International career
1997–2006	Iran	33	(4)
Managerial career
2016	Naft Masjed Soleyman
2018–2019	Iran U-23 (assistant)
2019–2020	Esteghlal Khuzestan
2020	Shahr Khodro
2020–2020	Khooshe Talaei
2021–2022	Esteghlal Khuzestan
2023	Esteghlal (Technical director)
2024	Sanat Naft
2024–2025	Esteghlal (assistant)
2024	Esteghlal (interim)
2025	Esteghlal (interim)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

He started his professional career with playing for Khuzestani clubs, before moving to Esteghlal FC. After a couple of seasons, he elected to play professionally in Turkish league. The move was far from successful and Sohrab left this club in controversial circumstances.^[5]

He returned to Esteghlal soon after. His lack of playing time caused him to be transferred to Foolad. After a season there he moved to Saba Battery. Along with the likes of Ali Daei and Mohammad Navazi, Sohrab won the Hazfi Cup in 2004/05 season and hence qualified for the Asian Champions League.

In August 2007, Bakhtiarzadeh was transferred to the newly formed club Pas Hamedan. He only played one match and had many differences with the club where he left the club and moved to Foolad for the season after and did not play in many matches. He moved to Saba for the season after.

Bakhtiarizadeh endured a major injury, and was out for many games during 2010–11 season.

Club career statistics

As of 24 July 2013

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Turkey			League		Turkish Cup		Europe		Total
2000–01	Erzurumspor	Süper Lig	20	1	0	0	–	–	20	1
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
1999–20	Esteghlal	Azadegan League	15	0	0	0	–	–	15	0
2001–02		Pro League	15	1	0	0	–	–	15	4
2002–03			19	0	0	0	3	0	19	0
2003–04	Foolad		24	4	1	0	–	–	25	4
2004–05	Saba Battery		25	3	2	0	–	–	27	3
2005–06			26	8	0	0	6	1	32	9
2006–07			23	4	5	0	–	–	28	4
2007–08	Pas		1	0	0	0	–	–	1	0
2008–09	Foolad		17	1	1	1	–	–	18	2
2009–10	Saba		27	0	2	0	–	–	29	0
2010–11			8	1	0	0	–	–	8	1
2011–12			16	0	2	0	–	–	18	0
2012–13			9	0	0	0	1	0	10	0
2013–14	Esteghlal Khuzestan		16	1	0	0	–	–	16	1
Total	Turkey		20	1	0	0	–	–	20	1
Total	Iran		249	23	13	1	10	1	272	25
Career total			269	24	13	1	10	1	292	26

• Assist Goals

Season	Team	Assists
06–07	Saba Battery	3
10–11	Saba	0
11–12	Saba Qom	0

International career

He made his debut for Iran in October 1997 in a World Cup 1998 qualification game against Qatar in Tehran. He was not included in Iran's final squad for the 1998 Fifa World Cup, but he was an on-and-off starter for the national team until 2003, when he lost his spot. He scored the last goal in the final of WAFF 2000 where Team Melli won the competition. His brilliant performance in the IPL 2005/06 season was rewarded by a recall to duty after a three-year absence from Team Melli. He appeared in two of Iran's games in the 2006 World Cup, starting against Angola and scoring Iran's only goal in the game. He was called up to the national team again after the World Cup, by new manager Amir Ghalenoei, but did not participate. He has since retired from international football and only participates in club play.^[6]

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 June 2000	King Abdullah Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Syria	1–0	Win	2000 WAFF Championship
2.	24 November 2000	Takhti Stadium, Tabriz, Iran	Guam	19–0	Win	2002 World Cup qualifying
3.	24 November 2000	Takhti Stadium, Tabriz, Iran	Guam	19–0	Win	2002 World Cup qualifying
4.	21 June 2006	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Angola	1–1	Draw	2006 FIFA World Cup
Correct as of 13 December 2017[7]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 23 October 2024.

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			M	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Ref.
Naft Masjed Soleyman	12 June 2016	22 December 2016	19	5	8	6	20	16	+4	026.32
Esteghlal Khuzestan	15 October 2019	2 February 2020	13	4	4	5	10	8	+2	030.77
Shahr Khodro	8 July 2020	29 August 2020	7	0	5	2	5	8	−3	000.00
Khooshe Talaee	14 September 2020	16 December 2020	5	0	2	3	10	8	+2	000.00
Esteghlal Khuzestan	15 September 2021	2 February 2022	17	7	5	5	19	13	+6	041.18
Sanat Naft	3 February 2024	2 March 2024	7	0	2	5	8	14	−6	000.00
Esteghlal (caretaker)	1 October 2024	23 October 2024	3	1	0	2	2	5	−3	033.33
Total			71	17	26	28	74	72	+2	023.94

Honours

Club

Esteghlal

• Hazfi Cup: 1999–2000, 2001–02

Saba

• Hazfi Cup: 2004–05
• Super Cup: 2005

National

Iran

• WAFF Championship: 2000