 Rezaei in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rahman Rezaei[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-02-20)20 February 1975 (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Noor,Mazandaran,Iran | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft1+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1995 | Nassaji Mazandaran | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1996 | Bargh Tehran | ||
| 1996 | Rah Ahan | ||
| 1996–2001 | Zob Ahan | ||
| 2001–2003 | Perugia | 38 | (5) |
| 2003–2006 | Messina | 107 | (2) |
| 2006–2008 | Livorno | 21 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Persepolis | 13 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Al Ahli | 9 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Shahin Bushehr | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Paykan | ||
| International career | |||
| 2001–2009 | Iran | 54 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2014 | Paykan (youth) | ||
| 2014–2015 | Rah Ahan (youth) | ||
| 2016–2017 | Tractor Sazi (assistant) | ||
| 2018–2019 | Bargh Jadid | ||
| 2019–2020 | Rayka Babol | ||
| 2020–2021 | Zob Ahan | ||
| 2023– | Iran (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rahman Rezaei (Persian:رحمان رضايی, born 20 February 1975) is an Iranianfootball coach and former player. Acentre-back, he also represented theIran national team.
He was originally discovered by Iranian manager,Nasser Hejazi. Rezaei played forZob Ahan inIsfahan for five seasons. After impressive performances for the club and the national team, he was transferred toPerugia for €150,000[2] and then toMessina.
Rahman Rezaei is currently the most successful Asian defender in Europe.[3] In the 2003/2004 season, he helped Messina gain promotion toSerie A.[4] He had been one of Messina's most consistently used players with 36 appearances in their2004–05 mid-table finish.[3] After steadily playing for his club for three seasons, at the end of August 2006 Rezaei signed with another Serie A club, Livorno.
He has won numerous plaudits in Italy and has been dubbed "The Flying Carpet".[4] In addition, his fans in Messina have named him the "Secretary of Defense".[4] In January 2006, he acquired Italian citizenship through his marriage to an Italian-Iranian Helia Hashemi.[4]
In July 2008, an Iranian newspaper reported Iranian giantsPersepolis were holding talks with Rezaei. However, in mid-July,Afshin Ghotbi was re-appointed manager of Persepolis and cut the talks with Rezaei, stating that the club were not looking for a centre-back player at that moment in time.
On 10 August 2009, Rezaei signed a one-year, $700 thousand contract with Qatari sideAl Ahli SC.[5] In 2010, he signed withShahin Bushehr. A half-year later he joinedPaykan. He announced his retirement from football on 4 July 2012.
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 1996–97 | Zob Ahan | Azadegan League | – | |||||||
| 1997–98 | – | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | 22 | 7 | – | |||||||
| 1999–00 | – | |||||||||
| 2000–01 | 29 | 2 | – | |||||||
| Italy | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2001–02 | Perugia | Serie A | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 2 | |
| 2002–03 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | ||
| 2003–04 | Messina | Serie B | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 37 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Livorno | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 2008–09 | Persepolis | Persian Gulf Pro League | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Qatar | League | Emir of Qatar Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 2009–10 | Al Ahli SC | Qatar Stars League | 9 | 1 | – | |||||
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 2010–11 | Shahin | Persian Gulf Pro League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
| Paykan | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2011–12 | Azadegan League | – | ||||||||
| Total | Iran | 4 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | Italy | 166 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 175 | 8 | |
| Total | Qatar | 9 | 1 | – | ||||||
| Career total | 7 | 0 | ||||||||
Rahman Rezaei made his first appearance forIran in July 2001 againstBosnia. He has been the most consistent defender for the team ever since.
In European football, Rahman Rezaei is considered a solid defender well inclined to launch devastating counterattacks. However his role is different in theIranian national football team, where he is a straight defensive centre back. He was formerly a forward, but has proved to be an indispensable defensive stalwart for an Iranian side considered top-heavy in attacking players.
He was among the key players for Iran inWorld Cup 2006, but he did not perform as well as everyone had hoped. He received some criticism following a couple mistakes which led to goals being scored against the team.
On 6 April 2007 Rezaei stated he will retire from international football after the2007 Asian Cup.,[6][7] but in another interview in December 2007 he expressed his intention to return to the national team.[8] Rezaei was given his #5 jersey and was selected for Team Melli's2010 World Cup Qualification matches.[9]
| Iran national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2001 | 16 | 0 |
| 2002 | 3 | 1 |
| 2003 | 5 | 0 |
| 2004 | 10 | 0 |
| 2005 | 6 | 1 |
| 2006 | 8 | 1 |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 54 | 3 |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 May 2002 | Sabah Al Salem Stadium,Kuwait City |  Kuwait | 2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 3 June 2005 | Azadi Stadium,Tehran |  North Korea | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 28 May 2006 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–2 | 5–2 | Friendly |
| # | season | club | position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011–2012 | Paykan F.C. | Director of football |
| 2 | 2012–2013 | Persepolis F.C. | Director of football |
| 3 | 2020 | Zob Ahan F.C. | Director of football |
Rezaei is married to translator H. Hashemian, a woman of Iranian origin who was born inAssisi,Perugia.[10]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Iran squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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