Rahman Rezaei (Persian: رحمان رضايی, born 20 February 1975) is an Iranian football coach and former player. A centre-back, he also represented the Iran national team.
 Rezaei in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rahman Rezaei[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 February 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Noor, Mazandaran, Iran | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1+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 | |||
Club career
editHe was originally discovered by Iranian manager, Nasser Hejazi. Rezaei played for Zob Ahan in Isfahan for five seasons. After impressive performances for the club and the national team, he was transferred to Perugia for €150,000[2] and then to Messina.
Rahman Rezaei is currently the most successful Asian defender in Europe.[3] In the 2003/2004 season, he helped Messina gain promotion to Serie A.[4] He had been one of Messina's most consistently used players with 36 appearances in their 2004–05 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 giants Persepolis 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 side Al Ahli SC.[5] In 2010, he signed with Shahin Bushehr. A half-year later he joined Paykan. He announced his retirement from football on 4 July 2012.
Club career statistics
edit- As of 18 May 2019
| 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 | ||||||||
International career
editRahman Rezaei made his first appearance for Iran in July 2001 against Bosnia. 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 the Iranian 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 in World 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 the 2007 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's 2010 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 |
International goals
edit- Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
| # | 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 |
Director of football
edit- after time of playing he was director sport and coach in some clubs.
| # | 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 |
Honours
editIndividual
edit- Asian Cup All-Star Team: 2007
Personal life
editRezaei is married to translator H. Hashemian, a woman of Iranian origin who was born in Assisi, Perugia.[10]
References
edit- ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Iran" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
- ^ Imparato Gaetano. "Perugia: il mondo in una stanza". Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ a b "GlobeandMail.com: Soccer – Rahman Rezaei". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
- ^ a b c d "ESPNsoccernet: Rahman Rezaei". ESPN. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ پس از جام ملتها از تيم ملي خداحافظي ميكنم (in Persian). ISNA. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- ^ رحمان رضايي رسما از تيم ملي فوتبال خداحافظي كرد (in Persian). ISNA. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- ^ "Rahman Rezaei: I intend to return to the national team". IranSportsPress. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
- ^ Rahman Rezaei at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Porte aperte e tolleranza Largo all' Iran".