 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Esteghlal F.C." – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |||
| Full name | Esteghlal Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Capital Blues Blue Boys Tâj SS 2 Stars Asia Blues Giant of Asia | ||
| Founded | 26 September 1945; 80 years ago (1945-09-26) asDocharkheh Savaran Football Club | ||
| Ground | Azadi Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 74,000[1] | ||
| Owner(s) | Esteghlal of Iran Athletic and Cultural Company Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries 85% (PPC: 20% BSPC: 20% BIPC: 20% STPC: 20% PGPIC: 5%) MSY: 3.54% Public Shareholders: 11.46% -IFB:ESLP1) | ||
| President | Ali Tajernia (acting) | ||
| Head coach | Ricardo Sá Pinto | ||
| League | Persian Gulf Pro League | ||
| 2024–25 | Persian Gulf Pro League, 9th | ||
| Website | fcesteghlal | ||
 Current season | |||
| Active departments ofEsteghlal F.C. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Closed departments ofEsteghlal F.C. | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Esteghlal Football Club (Persian:باشگاه فوتبال استقلال,romanized: Bâšgâh-e Futbâl-e Esteqlâl, 'Esteghlal' meaning 'The Independence') is anIranian professionalfootball club based inTehran that competes in thePersian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1945 asThe Cyclists (دوچرخهسواران, Dočarxe-Savârân) and was known asTâj (تاج; meaning 'The Crown') between 1949 and 1979. The club is part of themultisport club Esteghlal Athletic and Cultural Company of Iran. They were the first team to reach 1,000 points in the Persian Gulf Pro League.[2][3][4]
After the1979 revolution, the club's women's teams were dissolved and the progress of women's football in Iran was tied tonew regime politics. Since the1973–74 season, Esteghlal has played its home games at theAzadi, which has aseating capacity of 78,116,[1] though it can hold more people during important matches. Esteghlal set an attendance record for anAsian Club Championship match in1999 when 121,000 supporters watched their final againstJúbilo Iwata in Tehran.[5]
On 20 September 1945, some young athletes and students including a 23-year-old military officer Parviz Khosravani (first manager of the club), Asghar Navaab (Bicycle Mechanic), Enayat Jananpour (National Sports Organisation staff member), Mirzaee (carpenter) and Khashaaei (bank guard) established a sports club on Ferdowsi Street, Tehran. Since the founders of the club were mostly interested in cycling, the club's original name wasDocharkheh Savaran (Persian:دوچرخه سواران; meaning 'The Cyclists'), in 1945. Esteghlal football club played its first official match in 1946.
In the first year, the 1946 season, they stood in second place ofTehran Football League andTehran Hazfi Cup. The 1947 season ended with the first ever Esteghlal's cup, after victories to reach theTehran Hazfi Cup. Docharkhe Savaran founders and players agreed with the rename of the club toTaj (Persian:تاج; meaning 'The Crown'), in 1949.
From the beginning Taj or Docharkeh Savaran competed in the Tehran Local League, which at the time was the highest ranked league in Iran. On 6 March 1950, Taj played its first official game inAmjadieh Stadium againstShahin; Taj managed a 1–0 win.
Taj won seven first titles in the 1950s and 1960s; 1949–1950, 1951–1952, 1957–1958 and the three consecutive championships in 1959–1960, 1960–1961 and 1961–1962 (in the following years Taj added its first titles from theTehran Provincial League and theTehran Hazfi Cup) and again in 1963–1964 season.
Taj also won fourTehran Hazfi Cup in 1947, 1951, 1958 and 1959. The most successful club in Iran between that years, so far than other great teams likeDaraei with three first titles andShahin with two first titles and four-second place.[6] The first national cup was obtained in 1957 National Football League after victory against Tabriz team by three goals. Taj represented Tehran's football in those games which were played in Bagh-e-Homayun ground.
Tehran old derby was a sensitive match which played between TAJ andShahin in mid century, until 1967.
The 1970 Asian Club Championship was the 3rd edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted byAsian Football Confederation. Seven clubs from seven countries competed in the tournament. The tournament was held in Tehran, Iran in April. The clubs were split in two groups and the group winners and runners-up advanced to semi-finals.
TAJ defeatedHapoel Tel Aviv of Israel 2–1 in the final to win its first everAsian Club Championship and started new era in Iranian football with announced of professionalisation of football in Iran.Club LegendAli Jabbari(King Ali) was the Star and Captain of the Team.
This year had another honour for TAJ, the first Iranian national league title:1970–71 Local League under management ofRajkov. TAJ defeatedPAS 2–1 in final match. TAJ have reached to third place of1971 Asian Club Championship, a year after the first Asian Cup of club. They were defeatedROK Army of Korea 3–2 in Third place match.
TAJ stood at second place in the 1973–74 league, with only two points less than Persepolis.Gholam Hossein Mazloumi was the top scorer of the league, with 15 goals. TAJ reached the 1974–75Takht Jamshid Cup the next year, the second officialIranian Football League for Club. Mazloumi was still the best scorer. Social tensions came to the club, a rebellion against the system which named revolution in next years.
After the 1979Islamic Revolution in Iran, the club was taken over by the newly establishedIslamic government and put under the control of the Physical Education Organization of theIslamic republic of Iran (Persian:سازمان تربیت بدنی جمهوری اسلامی ايران), a governmental organisation, and changed its name to Esteghlal (Persian:استقلال), 'Independence' in Persian; Taj (تاج) means 'Crown' in Persian. All players not swearing allegiance to the new Islamic government were arrested, brutally beaten and executed by Iran'sRevolutionary Guard Corps. After the revolution, any sign of the previous monarchist regime was not tolerated.
During the 1980s, Esteghlal won the Tehran Football League twice. The1989–90 season was a memorable one for Esteghlal. The club finished 1st in Group B of the Qods League and advanced to the semi-finals. Esteghlal defeatedMalavan 4–0 on aggregate to advance to the final against the rival:Persepolis. Esteghlal defeated Persepolis 2–1 to win the Qods League. In the following season, Esteghlal made it to the final of the Hazfi Cup only to lose to Malavan on penalties.
1990–91 Esteghlal won the Asian Club Championship for the 2nd time defeating Chinese clubLiaoning 2–1. In the next year Esteghlal reached the1991 Asian Club Championship final match again and lost in penalties toAl-Hilal FC. Esteghlal once again reached the final of the Asian Club Championship in 1999, this time losing to Japanese clubJúbilo Iwata 1–2 in Tehran.
2001 marked the first year of the newly foundedIran Pro League. Going into the final day, Esteghlal was on top of the league's table; however, with an Esteghlal loss and a Persepolis win, Persepolis was crowned as the league's inaugural champion. However, the2001–02 Hazfi Cup provided some consolation for Esteghlal as they beatFajr Sepasi 4–3 on aggregate to win the cup. The2002–03 season was one of the worst years in club history, as they finished 9th and were eliminated in the group stage of theAFC Champions League.
In July 2003,Amir Ghalenoi was appointed manager of Esteghlal. In his first year, Esteghlal finished runner-up in the league behind the championPas Tehran. Ghalenoi also made it to the final of the Hazfi Cup losing 2–5 on aggregate toSepahan. His second season proved to be less successful as Esteghlal finished 3rd and failed to qualify to the AFC Champions League. However, the2005–06 season Esteghlal were crowned champions of the Iran Pro League for the first time in the Pro League era.
In 2006 after the departure of Amir Ghalenoi, his assistant and youth team coachSamad Marfavi took over the head-coaching job. Esteghlal had a disappointing season, finishing fourth, thus failing to secure a spot in the AFC Champions League, as well as only reaching the Round of 16 in the Hazfi Cup with a shock defeat byFajr Sepasi. After Marfavi's departure in August 2007,Nasser Hejazi took over; but after only 14 games and 4 defeats, Hejazi was fired as manager in November 2007.Firouz Karimi was hired as the temporary head coach for the remainder of the season; he did not fare much better than Hejazi and the team finished 13th in the league, its lowest finish ever. Firouz Karimi was fired in May 2008 and Amir Ghalenoi was hired again in July 2008.He regrouped the team and the Hazfi Cup proved to be a valuable consolation, as Esteghlal became champions after defeatingPegah Gilan 3–1 on aggregate, thus securing a Champions League spot after a two-year absence. During Ghalenoi's first full and only season in his second stint with Esteghlal, he led the team to an Iran Pro League championship, finishing ahead ofZob Ahan on goal difference. However, after a group stage exit in the AFC Champions League, Ghalenoi resigned.
Samad Marfavi took the reins of Esteghlal for a second time; Marfavi led the team to a 3rd place league finish in the2009–10 season and also led the team to the Round of 16 of the AFC Champions League, losing toAl Shabab of Saudi Arabia 2–3 on aggregate. In the spring of 2010, Marfavi extended his contract for another year, but strangely a few days later he resigned. This time Esteghlal turned toParviz Mazloumi, a former Esteghlal player in the 1980s. During his 2-year tenure with Esteghlal, he led the team to 2nd and 3rd place league finishes, as well as a Hazfi Cup trophy in2012. After a 0–2 loss to fellow countrymenSepahan in the Round 16 of the AFC Champions League, Mazloumi was sacked by the club and Amir Ghalenoi took the reins of Esteghlal for a third time.
The new era started for Esteghlal. Ghalenoi had no trouble leading Esteghlal to a league victory in hisfirst season back. The team also made it to the semi-finals of the Hazfi Cup which they eventually lost toSepahan. The year was also marked by advancing to the AFC Champions League semi-finals where they met Korean sideFC Seoul. After a 0–2 away loss in the first leg, Esteghlal faced an uphill task; they returned toAzadi Stadium but eventually lost to FC Seoul 2–4 on aggregate.
Thenext season however was a disappointing one for Ghalenoi and his team. With a chance to win the league on the final match day, Esteghlal lost 1–3 toTractor Sazi and dropped to 5th place, and out of a champions league slot. Esteghlal also faced a shock defeat at the hands ofMes Kerman in the Hazfi Cup semi-finals. To top off Esteghlal's horrendous year, the team failed to reach the AFC Champions League knock-out stage, finishing 3rd in its group.
After Esteghlal's defeat toZob Ahan in the Hazfi Cup final on 29 May 2016,Parviz Mazloomi was fired and replaced by former player andNaft Tehran's head coachAlireza Mansourian on 1 June 2016. Esteghlal started the season poorly and were knocked out of the Hazfi Cup in the Quarter-finals byNaft Tehran. The club was also issued a transfer ban for the 2017 winter period for outstanding debts toAdil Chihi. On 7 February 2017, Esteghlal defeated Qatari clubAl Sadd on penalties to advance to the2017 AFC Champions League group stage. Esteghlal was defeated by Al Ain 6–1 on quarter final of2017 AFC Champions League and was eliminated. Mansourian was the head coach of Esteghlal until 7th week of 2017–18 season of Persian Gulf Pro League. Mansourian resigned after accumulating only 5 points in 7 matches and standing on 16th position. German coachWinfried Schäfer was appointed as new manager of Esteghlal Tehran on 1 October 2017, replacingAlireza Mansourian. He was fired in the spring of 2019 andFarhad Majidi replaced him, but was fired at the end of the season.
In June 2019, Italian coachAndrea Stramaccioni was appointed as Esteghlal's coach, but he later left the club in December 2019 due to financial insolvency.[7]
Unveiled in 1946, Docharkhehsavaran's firstcrest featured a blue cyclist cycling. In 1950 following change of club's name the crest changed to two interlocking rings on both sides of Pahlavi crown.
Before the revolution, the Taj sports complex had 5 sports clubs in Tehran and 66 clubs in the cities. Taj also had clubs in Turkey (under the name of Tajspor club) and Qatar. Taj clubs in Tehran include Taj Central Palace on Baharestan Street, Pele Sports Club on Nizam Abad Street, Taj Women's Club on Los Angeles Street (now Hijab), Taj Tennis Club on Pahlavi Street (now Veli Asr) and Reza Pahlavi club was in Naziabad. Taj also had two sports stores in Tehran on Shahreza and Baharestan streets. With the Iranian revolution and on 28 February, the Taj Central Palace and other places belonging to the Taj Club were taken over by the Revolutionary Committees.
The sports facilities were given to the Physical Training Organization and the administrative facilities or other services such as the sports store of the club were handed over to organizations such as the Islamic Propaganda Organization. Esteghlal Club's efforts to reclaim these places have not been successful so far.
Esteghlal wore blue shirts from the beginning with white or blue shorts and socks. The second colour of the club is white.
| Historical kits of Esteghlal | ||
|---|---|---|
       1945 The First Kit (was founded in 1945) | ||
The club's biggest rival and its opponent in theTehran derby isPersepolis. The first derby match between the clubs took place on 5 April 1968, atAmjadieh Stadium.
In 1995,IRIFF began to invite foreignreferees to officiate the derby to ease fans' and players' suspicions of referee bias. This occurred after the events of the 38th derby (20 January 1995) in which Persepolis was leading by a score of 2–0 until the 79th minute when Esteghlal scored two goals within 8 minutes to erase the deficit; the 1st goal was scored from the penalty spot which angered the Persepolis fans and players who felt the referee was biased towards Esteghlal. Persepolis fans stormed the field in the 88th minute and fights broke out on the pitch between fans and players. Following the match, it was decided that Iranian referees would no longer be used for the derby. After 14 years of foreign referees, the second leg of the2008–09 season saw an Iranian once again refereeing the derby. The game ended in a draw.
Esteghlal is one of the most supported teams inIran andAsia. The club is based in Tehran and is popular in all parts of the country. Esteghlal also has a fan base in the United States, Europe andPersian Gulf countries.[citation needed]The match between Esteghlal and Jubilo Iwata in the1998–99 Asian Club Championship final with 125,000 spectators is known as the most watched match in Asia, which was played at Azadi Stadium.[8]
After the1979 revolution, female fans were banned from entering stadiums in Iran. Finally, with international efforts, this ban was lifted in 2022 and female Esteghlal fans entered the stadiums in this year for the first time.[3][9]
Azadi Stadium is Iran'snational stadium and the largest in the country. Azadi Stadium officially had a capacity of 100,000 people at the beginning[10][11] and was built to host the1974 Asian Games. The stadium is part of the much larger Azadi Sports Complex and is surrounded by a rowing river, football training pitches, a weightlifting complex, swimming facilities and indoor volleyball and futsal courts, among many other amenities. Today, Azadi Stadium has a capacity of 78,116 after renovations in 2016.[12]
Esteghlal's home stadium isAzadi (Persian:ورزشگاه آزادی), a football stadium inTehran, Iran. The stadium's former name was Aryamehr Stadium which was changed after theIranian Revolution. Prior to the construction ofAzadi, Esteghlal used to play their games atAmjadieh Stadium.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Esteghlal captains since 1990.
| # | Name | Captaincy |
|---|---|---|
1 |  Shahin Bayani | 1990–1992 |
2 | Amir Ghalenoei | 1992–1997 |
3 | Javad Zarincheh | 1997–2000 |
4 | Mehdi Pashazadeh | 2000–2003 |
5 | Mahmoud Fekri | 2003–2007 |
6 | Alireza Mansourian | 2007–2008 |
7 | Farhad Majidi | 2008–2013 |
8 | Mehdi Rahmati | 2013–2014 2015–2019 |
9 | Amir Hossein Sadeghi | 2014–2015 |
10 | Reza Enayati | 2015 |
11 | Voria Ghafouri | 2019–2022 |
12 | Hossein Hosseini | 2022–2025 |
13 | Rouzbeh Cheshmi | 2025– |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Ricardo Sá Pinto |
| Assistant coach | Nuno Morais |
| Khosro Heydari | |
| Voria Ghafouri | |
| Goalkeeper coach |  Giorgos Skiathitis |
| Fitness Trainer | Leandro Mendes |
| Translator | Farzad Naderi |
| Team manager | Bijan Taheri |
| Analyzer | Samuel André de Sousa |
| Academy manager | Alireza Asadi |
| U19 manager | Hashem Beikzadeh |
| U15 manager | Naser Ebadi |
| U12 manager | Ramin Mohammadnezhad |
Only managers who have won official trophies are listed.
Key
| Name | Official Trophies | |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic | ||
| PGPL | Iranian league (Persian Gulf Pro League) | |
| HC | Hazfi Cup | |
| ISC | Iranian Super Cup | |
| ICC | Iran championship cup | |
| TPL | Tehran Province League | |
| THC | Tehran Hazfi Cup | |
| TSC | Tehran Super Cup | |
| Continental | ||
| ACL | AFC Champions League | |
| Name | Nat. | Period | Official Trophies | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Domestic | Continental | |||||||||
| PGPL | HC | ISC | ICC | TPL | THC | TSC | ACL | ||||
| Ali Danaeifard |  | 1946–1953 1954–1967 1968–1970 1976 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Mansour Pourheidari | 1979 1981 1983–1984 1985–1986 1986–1988 1989–1992 1995–1996 2000–2002 2003 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Zdravko Rajkov |  | 1969–1971 1971–1976 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Amir Ghalenoei | | 2003–2006 2008–2009 2012–2015 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Vladimir Đekić |  | 1976–1979 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Reza Naalchegar | | 1994 1994 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Nasser Hejazi | 1996–1999 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| Parviz Mazloumi | 2010–2012 2015–2016 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| Winfried Schäfer | | 2017–2019 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Farhad Majidi | | 2019–2020 2021–2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Ricardo Sá Pinto | | 2022–2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Mojtaba Jabbari | | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Ricardo Sá Pinto | | 2025- | |||||||||
| Chairman | Ali Tajernia (acting) |
|---|---|
| Board president | Ali Tajernia |
| Other board members | Mojtaba Fereydouni Farideh Shojaei
|
| Chairman | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Enayatollah Atashi (acting) | April 1979 – May 1979 |
| Nader Faryadshiran | June 1985 – September 1985 |
| Ali Agha-Mohammadi | June 1989 – September 1989 |
| Ali Fathollahzadeh | 28 October 1996 – 20 May 2003,[13] 30 April 2007 – 17 September 2008, 9 June 2010 – 17 May 2014,[14][15] 26 February 2020 – 20 March 2020 |
| Amir Reza Vaezi-Ashtiani | 20 September 2008 – 31 May 2010 |
| Mostafa Ajorlu | 24 September 2021 – 15 October 2022 |
Esteghlal has won 39 championship titles in provincial, national and continental cups.[16][17]
| Esteghlal F.C. official honours[18][19][20] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons | ||
| Domestic | National | ||||
| League | 9 | 1970–71,1974–75,1989–90,1997–98,2000–01,2005–06,2008–09,2012–13,2021–22 | |||
| Hazfi Cup | 8 | 1976–77,1995–96,1999–2000,2001–02,2007–08,2011–12,2017–18,2024–25 | |||
| Super Cup | 1 | 2022 | |||
| Championship Cup | 1 | 1957 | |||
| Provincial (High Level) | Tehran League | 13 | 1949–50, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–1971, 1972–73, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1991–92 | ||
| Tehran Hazfi Cup | 4 | 1946–47, 1950–51, 1958–59, 1960–61 | |||
| Tehran Super Cup | 1* | 1994 | |||
| Continental | AFC Champions League | 2** | 1970,1990–91 | ||
Winners (9):1970–71,1974–75,1989–90,1997–98,2000–01,2005–06,2008–09,2012–13,2021–22
Runners-up (11):1973–74,1991–92,1994–95,1998–99,1999–2000,2001–02,2003–04,2010–11,2016–17,2019–20,2023–24 Winners (1): 1957 Winners (8):1976–77,1995–96,1999–2000,2001–02,2007–08,2011–12,2017–18,2024–25 Runners-up (7):1989–90,1998–99,2003–04,2015–16,2019–20,2020–21,2022–2023 Winners (13): 1949–50, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–1971, 1972–73, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1991–92 Runners-up (7): 1946–47, 1951–52, 1958–59, 1969–70, 1982–83, 1989–90, 1990–91 Winners (4): 1946–47, 1950–51, 1958–59, 1960–61 Runners-up (3): 1945–46, 1957–58, 1969–70 Winners (1): 1994Esteghlal has achieved theDouble on 5 occasions in its history:
Esteghlal has achieved theTreble on 1 occasions in its history:
DCM TrophyBordoloi Trophy
Qatar Independence Cup
Turkmenistan President's CupCaspian International Cup
Esteghlal was the first club in Iran that established a team for women's football. To reach this goal the club has made some Camps for training players.[25][26]
The first attempts to launch women's football in Iran began in the late 1960s. In 1969, with the increase in the number of women interested in football in Iran, the Football Federation sent several women to FIFA training courses. During the trip, Iranian coaches were able to watch matches of Asian women's soccer teams such as South Korea, India and Singapore, held at the venue. Iranian football authorities then decided to form women's soccer teams at the club level. Esteghlal F.C. (TAJ) was the first Iranian club to establish a women's soccer training class and set up its own women's team.
The women's team which competed in theKowsar Women Football League was dissolved in 2016 due to financial issues.
Media related toEsteghlal FC at Wikimedia Commons| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Asian Champions League 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Asian Champions League 1990–91 | Succeeded by |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Home Stadiums | |
| Training ground | |
| Other facilities | |
| Players | |
| Other teams |
|
| Youth teams | |
| Related teams | |
| Media |
|
| Suppoters | |
| Rivalries | |
| Popular Culture |
|
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
_pictogram.svg)
