2018–19 Esteghlal F.C. season

Esteghlal F.C.
2018–19 season
President	Ahmadreza Fathi
Head coach	Winfried Schäfer; (until 29 April); Farhad Majidi; (from 29 April)
Stadium	Azadi Stadium
Iran Pro League	3rd
Hazfi Cup	Round of 16
Super Cup	Runners-up
2018 AFC Champions League	Quarter-finals
2019 AFC Champions League	Group-stage
Top goalscorer	League: Morteza Tabrizi (5); All: Morteza Tabrizi (7)
Highest home attendance	78,000; (vs Tractor Sazi, 10 August 2018)
Lowest home attendance	9,500; (vs Esteghlal Khuzestan, 8 May 2019)
Average home league attendance	29,033
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2017–18 2019–20 →

The 2018–19 season was the Esteghlal Football Club's 18th season in the Iran Pro League, and their 25nd consecutive season in the top division of Iranian football. They also competed in the Hazfi Cup, and 73rd year in existence as a football club.

Players[edit]

First team squad[edit]

Players and squad numbers last updated on 6 June 2018.

No.	Name	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Since	End	Signed from
Goalkeepers
1	Mehdi Rahmati (Captain)	GK	(1983-02-02)2 February 1983 (aged 35)	2015	2019	Paykan
19	Mehdi Nourollahi	GK	(1997-03-24)24 March 1997 (aged 21)	2018	2021	Youth system
22	Hossein Hosseini	GK	(1992-06-30)30 June 1992 (aged 26)	2012	2019	Youth system
Defenders
2	Khosro Heydari (2nd VC)	RB / RM / LB	(1983-09-14)14 September 1983 (aged 35)	2011	2019	Sepahan
3	Milad Zakipour	LB / LM	(1995-11-23)23 November 1995 (aged 23)	2016	2021	Naft Tehran
12	Meysam Teymouri	LB	(1992-07-06)6 July 1992 (aged 26)	2018	2021	Pars Jonoubi
13	Armin Sohrabian	LB / CB	(1995-07-26)26 July 1995 (aged 23)	2017	2019	Sepahan
21	Vouria Ghafouri	RB / RW	(1987-09-20)20 September 1987 (aged 31)	2016	2019	Sepahan
33	Pejman Montazeri (3rd VC)	CB / RB	(1983-09-06)6 September 1983 (aged 35)	2017	2019	Al Ahli
44	Farshad Mohammadi	RB / RW	(1994-09-04)4 September 1994 (aged 24)	2018	2021	Pars Jonoubi
70	Mohammad Daneshgar	CB	(1994-01-20)20 January 1994 (aged 24)	2018	2020	Saipa
Midfielders
4	Roozbeh Cheshmi	CB / DM	(1993-07-24)24 July 1993 (aged 25)	2015	2019	Saba Qom
5	Ayanda Patosi	AM / LW	(1992-10-31)31 October 1992 (aged 26)	2019	2019	Cape Town
6	Ali Karimi	CM / DM	(1994-02-11)11 February 1994 (aged 24)	2018	2019	Sepahan
8	Farshid Esmaeili	AM / LW / RW	(1994-02-23)23 February 1994 (aged 24)	2015	2020	Fajr Sepasi
14	Farshid Bagheri	DM / CM	(1992-06-05)5 June 1992 (aged 26)	2016	2020	Saba Qom
17	Humam Tariq	LW / RW / AM	(1996-02-10)10 February 1996 (aged 22)	2018	2021	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
23	Dariush Shojaeian	RW / LW / AM	(1992-04-07)7 April 1992 (aged 26)	2017	2020	Gostaresh Foulad
28	Mohsen Karimi	LW / RW / SS	(1994-09-20)20 September 1994 (aged 24)	2014	2020	Youth system
30	Omid Noorafkan	DM / LB	(1997-04-09)9 April 1997 (aged 21)	2019	2019	Charleroi
77	Reza Azari	AM / CM	(1998-02-10)10 February 1998 (aged 20)	2018	2023	Youth system
88	Reza Karimi	RW / LW / SS	(1998-08-23)23 August 1998 (aged 20)	2018	2021	Skënderbeu Korçë
Forwards
10	Rouhollah Bagheri	CF / RW	(1991-02-12)12 February 1991 (aged 27)	2018	2021	Khooneh be Khooneh
11	Morteza Tabrizi	CF / LW	(1991-01-06)6 January 1991 (aged 27)	2018	2020	Zob Ahan
16	Allahyar Sayyadmanesh	CF / RW / LW	(2001-06-29)29 June 2001 (aged 17)	2018	2023	Saipa
20	Esmaël Gonçalves	CF / LW	(1991-06-25)25 June 1991 (aged 27)	2019	2020	Pakhtakor
25	Mehdi Ghayedi	LW / RW	(1998-12-05)5 December 1998 (aged 20)	2017	2023	Iranjavan
90	Godwin Mensha	CF / SS	(1989-09-02)2 September 1989 (aged 29)	2019	2020	Persepolis
Players transferred during the season
7	Markus Neumayr	AM / CM	(1986-03-23)23 March 1986 (aged 32)	2018	2020	Kasımpaşa
9	Alhaji Gero	CF	(1993-10-10)10 October 1993 (aged 25)	2018	2021	Östersunds
24	Jaber Ansari	SS / AM / RW	(1987-01-10)10 January 1987 (aged 31)	2015	2019	Gostaresh Foulad

Persian Gulf League Squad[edit]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	IRN	Mehdi Rahmati (captain)
2	DF	IRN	Khosro Heydari (vice-captain)
3	DF	IRN	Milad Zakipour
4	DF	IRN	Rouzbeh Cheshmi
5	MF	RSA	Ayanda Patosi
6	MF	IRN	Ali Karimi
8	MF	IRN	Farshid Esmaeili
10	FW	IRN	Rouhollah Bagheri
11	FW	IRN	Morteza Tabrizi
12	DF	IRN	Meysam Teymouri
13	DF	IRN	Armin Sohrabian
14	MF	IRN	Farshid Bagheri
16	FW	IRN	Allahyar Sayyadmanesh
17	MF	IRQ	Humam Tariq
18	DF	IRN	Shahin Taherkhani
19	GK	IRN	Mehdi Nourollahi
20	FW	GNB	Esmaël Gonçalves


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
21	DF	IRN	Vouria Ghafouri
22	GK	IRN	Hossein Hosseini
23	MF	IRN	Dariush Shojaeian
25	FW	IRN	Mehdi Ghayedi
27	MF	IRN	Hossein Heydari
28	MF	IRN	Mohsen Karimi
30	MF	IRN	Omid Noorafkan
33	DF	IRN	Pejman Montazeri (third-captain)
43	DF	IRN	Amirhossein Kargar
44	DF	IRN	Farshad Mohammadi Mehr
70	DF	IRN	Mohammad Daneshgar
77	MF	IRN	Reza Azari
88	MF	IRN	Reza Karimi
90	FW	NGA	Godwin Mensha
99	FW	IRN	Sajjad Aghaei
—	FW	IRN	Meraj Pourtaghi
—	FW	IRN	Zakaria Moradi

2018 AFC Champions League Squad[edit]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	IRN	Mehdi Rahmati (captain)
2	DF	IRN	Khosro Heydari (vice-captain)
4	MF	IRN	Roozbeh Cheshmi
8	MF	IRN	Farshid Esmaeili
12	FW	NGA	Alhaji Gero
13	DF	IRN	Armin Sohrabian
14	MF	IRN	Farshid Bagheri
16	MF	IRN	Mehdi Ghayedi
17	MF	IRQ	Humam Tariq
18	DF	IRN	Milad Zakipour
21	DF	IRN	Vouria Ghafouri
22	GK	IRN	Hossein Hosseini
27	MF	IRN	Hossein Heydari
29	DF	IRN	Amirhossein Esmaeilzadeh


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
32	DF	IRN	Amirhossein Kargar
33	DF	IRN	Pejman Montazeri (third-captain)
37	MF	IRN	Reza Azari
39	FW	IRN	Allahyar Sayyadmanesh
44	DF	IRN	Farshad Mohammadi Mehr
49	DF	IRN	Shahin Taherkhani
60	MF	IRN	Ali Karimi
69	FW	IRN	Heydar Ali Ahmadzadeh
70	DF	IRN	Mohammad Daneshgar
71	MF	GER	Markus Neumayr
78	FW	IRN	Morteza Tabrizi
88	GK	IRN	Mehdi Nourollahi
91	FW	IRN	Rouhollah Bagheri
99	FW	IRN	Sajjad Aghaei

Transfers[edit]

In[edit]

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Source
20	CF	Morteza Aghakhan	25	Peykan	Transfer	Summer	2021	^[1]
44	RB	Farshad Mohammadi	23	Pars Jonoubi	Transfer	Summer	2020	^[2]
10	CF	Rouhollah Bagheri	27	Khooneh be Khooneh	Transfer	Summer	2021	^[3]
70	CB	Mohammad Daneshgar	24	Saipa	Transfer	Summer	2020	^[4]
19	GK	Mehdi Nourollahi	21	Esteghlal Academy	Promoted	Summer	2021
32	RB	Amirhossein Kargar	19	Esteghlal Academy	Promoted	Summer	2021
45	DM	Sina Khadempour	21	Naft Tehran	End of loan	Summer	2021	^[5]
99	LW	Sajjad Aghaei	19	Aluminium Arak	End of loan	Summer	2021	^[6]
16	CF	Allahyar Sayyadmanesh	16	Saipa	Transfer	Summer	2023	^[7]
12	LB	Meysam Teymouri	25	Pars Jonoubi	Transfer	Summer	2021	^[8]
77	CM	Reza Azari	20	Esteghlal Academy	Promoted	Summer	2021	^[9]
18	CB	Shahin Taherkhani	21	Peykan U21	Transfer	Summer	2021
6	CM	Ali Karimi	24	Sepahan	Transfer	Summer	2019	^[10]
11	LW	Morteza Tabrizi	27	Zob Ahan	Transfer	Summer	2020	^[11]
7	AM	Markus Neumayr	32	Kasımpaşa	Transfer	Summer	2020	^[11]
17	RW	Humam Tariq	22	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	Transfer	Summer	2021	^[12]
9	CF	Alhaji Gero	24	Östersunds	Transfer	Summer	2021	^[13]
88	AM	Reza Karimi	20	Skënderbeu Korçë	Transfer	Winter	2021	^[14]
20	CF	Esmaël Gonçalves	27	Pakhtakor	Transfer	Winter	2020	^[15]
30	DM	Omid Noorafkan	21	Charleroi	Loan	Winter	2019	^[16]
43	LB	Amirhossein Pourmohammad	20	Esteghlal Academy	Transfer	Winter	2023
38	CF	Meraj Pourtaghi	20	Esteghlal Academy	Transfer	Winter	2023
17	RW	Zakaria Moradi	20	Esteghlal Academy	Transfer	Winter	2023
5	AM	Ayanda Patosi	26	Cape Town	Loan	Winter	2019
90	CF	Godwin Mensha	29	Persepolis	Transfer	Winter	2020

Out[edit]

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Source
90	CB	Leandro Padovani Celin	34	Retired	End of contract	Summer
24	DM	Omid Noorafkan	21	Charleroi	Transfer	Summer	^[17]
70	RW	Mohammad Javad Mohammadi	21	Arvand Khorramshahr	Loan	Summer
13	LW	Miad Yazdani	25	Sepidrood Rasht	Transfer	Summer
77	RW	Behnam Barzay	25	Sanat Naft	Transfer	Summer
	CM	Majid Tajik	21	Gol Reyhan	Transfer	Summer
6	DM	Omid Ebrahimi	30	Al-Ahli	End of contract	Summer
26	CF	Fardin Najafi	20	Baadraan	Loan	Summer
20	AM	Server Djeparov	35	Zhetysu	End of contract	Summer
5	CB	Majid Hosseini	22	Trabzonspor	Transfer	Summer
25	CF	Mame Baba Thiam	25	Al-Ajman	Transfer	Summer	^[18]
80	CM	Bojan Najdenov	26	KF Laçi	Transfer	Summer
9	CF	Ali Ghorbani	27	Spartak Trnava	End of contract	Summer
	DM	Amirhossein Sheikholeslami	19	Marítimo B	Transfer	Summer
7	AM	Markus Neumayr	32	Aarau	Transfer	Winter	^[19]
45	DM	Sina Khadempour	22	Gol Gohar	Loan	Winter
24	RW	Jaber Ansari	32	Paykan	Transfer	Winter
69	LW	Heydar Ali Ahmadzadeh	21	Shahrdari Mahshahr	Transfer	Winter	^[20]
9	CF	Alhaji Gero	25	Östersunds	Transfer	Winter

Pre-season and friendlies[edit]

7 July 2018 (2018-07-07) 1	Esteghlal	2 – 1	Esteghlal U23	Tehran, Iran
18:20 IRDT (UTC+04:30)		Report

12 July 2018 (2018-07-12) 2	Esteghlal	0 – 1	Mariupol	Kartepe, Turkey
17:00 Turkey Time (UTC+03:00)		Report

16 July 2018 (2018-07-16) 3	Esteghlal	2 – 2	FUS Rabat	Kartepe, Turkey
17:00 Turkey Time (UTC+03:00)		Report

18 July 2018 (2018-07-18) 4	Bursaspor U23	0 – 6	Esteghlal	Kartepe, Turkey
16:30 Turkey Time (UTC+03:00)		Report

20 July 2018 (2018-07-20) 5	Esteghlal	2 – 0	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Kartepe, Turkey
17:00 Turkey Time (UTC+03:00)		Report

14 October 2018 (2018-10-14) 1	Esteghlal	2 – 1	Esteghlal Academy	Tehran, Iran
15:30 IRST (UTC+03:30)	F. Bagheri M. Tabrizi	Report	M. Pourtaghi

Competitions[edit]

Overview[edit]

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Pro League	27 July 2018	16 May 2019	—	3rd	30	16	9	5	40	13	+27	053.33
Hazfi Cup	2 October 2018	1 November 2018	Round of 32	Round of 16	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	050.00
Super Cup	20 July 2018		Final	Runners-up	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	000.00
2018 ACL	27 August 2018	17 September 2018	Quarter-finals	Quarter-finals	2	0	1	1	3	5	−2	000.00
2019 ACL	February 2019	20 May 2019	Group stage	Group stage	6	2	2	2	6	8	−2	033.33
Total					41	19	13	9	52	31	+21	046.34

Last updated: 21 May 2019 (2019-05-21).
Source: Competitions

Iran Pro League[edit]

Standings[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Persepolis (C)	30	16	13	1	36	14	+22	61	Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage
2	Sepahan	30	15	13	2	46	20	+26	58	Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage
3	Esteghlal	30	16	9	5	40	13	+27	57	Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League Qualifying play-offs
4	Padideh	30	16	8	6	32	16	+16	56
5	Tractor Sazi	30	14	10	6	42	25	+17	52

Source: IPL Table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.^[21]
(C) Champions

Results summary[edit]


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
30	16	9	5	40	13	+27	57	9	5	1	20	4	+16	7	4	4	20	9	+11

Last updated: 16 May 2019 (2019-05-16).
Source: Ipl Stats

Results by round[edit]

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

Updated to match(es) played on 16 May 2019. Source: "Ipl".
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Matches[edit]

27 July 2018 (2018-07-27) 1	Esteghlal	0 – 0	Paykan	Tehran
20:45 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	F. Bagheri 23' S. Aghaei 26'	Report	F. Emamali 5' M. Batista 32'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Mouood Bonyadifar

2 August 2018 (2018-08-02) 2	Zob Ahan	2 – 2	Esteghlal	Isfahan
20:45 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	R. Habibzadeh 24' 18' E. Hernández 45' M. Nejadmehdi 45' V. Mohammadzadeh 59' 75'	Report	V. Ghafouri 43', 56' M. Daneshgar 10' 90+1' F. Mohammadi-Mehr 76' A. Sohrabian 76' A. Sayyadmanesh 85'	Stadium: Foolad Shahr Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Bijan Heydari

10 August 2018 (2018-08-10) 3	Esteghlal	3 – 0	Tractor Sazi	Tehran
20:30 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	A. Abdollahzadeh 13' (o.g.) M. Tabrizi 28' F. Esmaeili 51'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 78,000 Referee: Mahdi Seyyed Ali

16 August 2018 (2018-08-16) 4	Pars Jonoubi Jam	1 – 0	Esteghlal	Jam
20:33 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	A. Sohrabian 12' (o.g.) E. Salehi 56' Nouri 70' M. Lotfi 85' H. Noormohammadi 90+5'	Report	M. Daneshgar 19' A. Karimi 86'	Stadium: Takhti Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Hossein Zargar

22 August 2018 (2018-08-22) 5	Esteghlal	0 – 0	Foolad	Tehran
20:15 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	M. Daneshgar 34'	Report	E. Moradian 73' M. Najjarian 78'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Koupal Nazemi

22 September 2018 (2018-09-22) 7	Nassaji Mazandaran	0 – 0	Esteghlal	Qaem Shahr
19:32 IRST (UTC+03:30)	M. Abshak 25' A. Abdollahzadeh 87'	Report	R. Bagheri 66'	Stadium: Vatani Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Hossein Zargar

27 September 2018 (2018-09-27) 8	Esteghlal	0 – 0	Persepolis	Tehran
18:30 IRST (UTC+03:30)	A. Sohrabian 25' P. Montazeri 47' R. Cheshmi 90+2'	Report	A. Nourollahi 75' S. Khalilzadeh 90+1'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani

6 October 2018 (2018-10-06) 6	Naft Masjed Soleyman	1 – 2	Esteghlal	Masjed Soleyman
18:15 IRST (UTC+03:30)	H.Nassari 12' (p) 16' E. Sharifat 7' M. Ghaed Rahmati 65' M. Coulibaly 73' M. Hosseini 90'	Report	A. Sayyadmanesh 2' 25' M. Ghayedi 29' M. Zakipour 17' 47' R. Bagheri 65' F. Mohammadi Mehr 71'	Stadium: Behnam Mohammadi Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Mahdi Seyyed Ali

19 October 2018 (2018-10-19) 9	Saipa	1 – 2	Esteghlal	Tehran
15:32 IRST (UTC+03:30)	A. Dashti 7' 28' M. Torabi 70'	Report	M. Daneshgar 23' V. Ghafouri 81' (p) A. Sohrabian 70'	Stadium: Takhti Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Mohammad Hossein Zahedifard

26 October 2018 (2018-10-26) 10	Esteghlal	0 – 1	Sepahan	Tehran
16:45 IRST (UTC+03:30)	F. Bagheri 36' F. Esmaeili 88'	Report	K. Stanlley 81' M. Mohammadi 25' M. Kiani 71' E. Pourghaz 77'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 37,000 Referee: Reza Kermanshahi

5 November 2018 (2018-11-05) 11	Machine Sazi	0 – 0	Esteghlal	Tabriz
15:15 IRST (UTC+03:30)	A.Maboudi 89'	Report		Stadium: Bonyan Diesel Stadium Attendance: 7,000

13 December 2018 (2018-12-13) 12	Esteghlal	0 – 0	Padideh	Tehran
16:15 IRST (UTC+03:30)	M. Daneshgar 11' M. Zakipour 29' A. Sayyad 84' 88'	Report	H. Mehraban 11' A. Nemati 53' M. Khalatbari 57'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Mohammad Hossein Zahedifard

25 November 2018 (2018-11-25) 13	Esteghlal Khuzestan	0 – 1	Esteghlal	Ahvaz
17:35 IRST (UTC+03:30)	M.Shahmakvandzadeh 54'	Report	R.Bagheri 29' F. Bagheri 25' F. Esmaeili 57' F. Mohammadi 58'	Stadium: Ghadir Stadium Attendance: 8,000

29 November 2018 (2018-11-29) 14	Esteghlal	3 – 0	Sanat Naft	Tehran
17:33 IRST (UTC+03:30)	F. Bagheri 9' H. Tariq 24' A. Sayyadmanesh 74' M. Zakipour 80' M. Neumayr 86'	Report	H. Saki 69' A. Imani 76' S. Ghorbani 85'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 12,000 Man of the Match: Farshid Esmaeili

7 December 2018 (2018-12-07) 15	Sepidrood	0 – 5	Esteghlal	Rasht
15:00 IRST (UTC+03:30)	M. Nozhati 26' A. Ezzati 55'	Report	F. Bagheri 12', 34' J. Ansari 57' Tohidast 58' (o.g.) R. Azari 75'	Stadium: Sardar Jangal Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Man of the Match: Farshid Bagheri

7 February 2019 (2019-02-07) 16	Paykan	0 – 4	Esteghlal	Shahr-e Qods
15:45 IRST (UTC+03:30)	M. Batista 6' F. Emamali 57'	Report	M. Tabrizi 16' O. Noorafkan 20' M. Zakipour 58' M. Daneshgar 81' Isma 83' F. Bagheri 90+1' V. Ghafouri 90+2'	Stadium: Shahr-e Qods Stadium Attendance: 10,000

24 February 2019 (2019-02-24) 17	Esteghlal	3 – 0	Zob Ahan	Tehran
18:30 IRST (UTC+03:30)	F. Esmaeili 7'} R. Cheshmi 38' A. Patosi 40' M. Daneshgar 51'	Report	H. Mohammadi 38'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani Man of the Match: A. Patosi

15 February 2019 (2019-02-15) 18	Tractor Sazi	1 – 0	Esteghlal	Tabriz
15:36 IRST (UTC+03:30)	A. Dejagah 45' 53' A. Imani 58'	Report	D. Shojaeian 32' R. Cheshmi 90'	Stadium: Yadegar-e Emam Stadium Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Ashkan Khorshidi

20 February 2019 (2019-02-20) 19	Esteghlal	2 – 0	Pars Jonoubi Jam	Tehran
18:30 IRST (UTC+03:30)	E. Mirjavan 11' (o.g.) R. Cheshmi 23' A. Patosi 38' P. Montazeri 64' V. Ghafouri 84' Isma 92'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Hassan Ekrami Man of the Match: Ayanda Patosi

28 February 2019 (2019-02-28) 20	Foolad	1 – 3	Esteghlal	Ahvaz
15:00 IRST (UTC+03:30)	H. Beyt Saeed 38' R. Mirzaei 34' R. Messi 64'	Report	G. Mensha 15' M. Daneshgar 19' A. Patosi 40' M. Karimi 90+2' Isma 90+4'	Stadium: Ghadir Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Seyed Mehdi Seyed Ali Man of the Match: Godwin Mensha

8 March 2019 (2019-03-08) 21	Esteghlal	1 – 0	Naft Masjed Soleyman	Tehran
18:30 IRST (UTC+03:30)	A. Karimi 9' O. Noorafkan 41' H. Hosseini 79'	Report	H. Nassari 40' Y. Vakia 74'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Ali Safaei

16 March 2019 (2019-03-16) 22	Esteghlal	1 – 0	Nassaji Mazandaran	Tehran
19:00 IRST (UTC+03:30)	M. Tabrizi 42' (pen.) D. Shojaeian 68' G. Mensha 90+2'	Report	F. Faraji 38' M. Abdi 41' M. Abshak 67'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 17,000 Referee: Mohammadreza Akbarian

30 March 2019 (2019-03-30) 23	Persepolis	1 – 0	Esteghlal	Tehran
16:01 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	A. Nourollahi 21' S. Khalilzadeh 44' A. Beiranvand 45+2' M. Torabi 57' J. Hosseini 57'	Report	M. Zakipour 44' F. Esmaeili 45+1' A. Karimi 59'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Ashkan Khorshidi

3 April 2019 (2019-04-03) 24	Esteghlal	0 – 0	Saipa	Tehran
17:46 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	A. Karimi 90'	Report	A. Dashti 57'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 17,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani

12 April 2019 (2019-04-12) 25	Sepahan	0 – 1	Esteghlal	Isfahan
17:47 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	K. Shafiei 57'	Report	A. Patosi 90+7'	Stadium: Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium Attendance: 60,000 Man of the Match: Ayanda Patosi

17 April 2019 (2019-04-17) 26	Esteghlal	1 – 0	Machine Sazi	Tehran
20:17 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	M. Ghayedi 76' O. Noorafkan 49' 90+2' R. Cheshmi 50'	Report	J. Quitongo 55' F. Karimi 71'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 20,000 Man of the Match: Mehdi Ghayedi

27 April 2019 (2019-04-27) 27	Padideh	1 – 0	Esteghlal	Mashhad
20:16 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	Barzay 8' M. Ghaseminejad 42' A. Sadeghi 45' A. Hosseini 67' M. Farahani 89'	Report		Stadium: Imam Reza Stadium Attendance: 33,000 Referee: Koupal Nazemi

1 May 2019 (2019-05-01) 28	Esteghlal	4 – 2	Esteghlal Khuzestan	Tehran
20:15 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	D. Shojaeian 4' Isma 26' R. Karimi 68' M. Tabrizi 86' A. Karimi 90'	Report	V. Hamdinejad 26' Farid Amiri 28' R. Naami 37' M. Sharifi 63' R. Darvishi 75' A. Kalantari 79'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Mouood Bonyadifar

11 May 2019 (2019-05-11) 29	Sanat Naft	0 – 0	Esteghlal	Abadan
21:30 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	H. Saki 83' M. Ghorishi 90'	Report	A. Sohrabian 30' P. Montazeri 51' R. Cheshmi 63' M. Tabrizi 75'	Stadium: Takhti Abadan Referee: Mohammad Reza Akbarian

16 May 2019 (2019-05-16) 30	Esteghlal	2 – 1	Sepidrood	Tehran
21:30 IRDT (UTC+04:30)	M. Ghayedi 26' M. Tabrizi 68' A. Sohrabian 57' R. Cheshmi 68' D. Shojaeian 83'	Report	M. Bayrami 84' 92'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Hazfi Cup[edit]

2 October 2018 (2018-10-02) Round of 32	Naft Masjed Soleyman	0 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Esteghlal	Masjed Soleyman
20:45 IRST (UTC+03:30)	H. Nassari 64'	Report	R. Bagheri 96' M. Tabrizi 70' M. Ghayedi 95' V. Ghafouri 109'	Stadium: Behnam Mohammadi Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Reza Kermanshahi

1 November 2018 (2018-11-01) Round of 16	Esteghlal	2 – 2 (a.e.t.) (1 – 3 p)	Saipa	Tehran
16:30 IRST (UTC+03:30)	F. Esmaeili 17' (pen.) 49' A. Gero 34' (pen.) M. Daneshgar 54' M. Zakipour 66' R. Cheshmi 111'	Report	M. Torabi 28' M. Hajmohammadi 42' S. Sarfo 23' 33' R. Asadi 80'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Bijan Heydari
	Penalties
	Sohrabian Ghayedi R. Bagheri Esmaeili		Rezavand Ramezani Asadi Torabi

Super Cup[edit]

20 July 2018 (2018-07-20) Final	Persepolis	3 – 0	Esteghlal	Tehran
(DST+04:30)		Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium
Note: The match was not played, because Esteghlal refused to do it. Football Federation declared the match 3–0 in favor of Persepolis.

AFC Champions League[edit]

2018 AFC Champions League[edit]

Quarter-finals[edit]

27 August 2018 (2018-08-27) First leg	Esteghlal	1 – 3	Al-Sadd	Tehran, Iran
20:30 UTC+4:30	M. Barsham 12' (o.g.) M. Neumayr 42' A. Sohrabian 47' F. Bagheri 64'	Live Report Stats Report	A. Afif 61' B. Bounedjah 65' 74' (pen.) J. Woo-young 24'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 78,116 Referee: Ma Ning Man of the Match: Baghdad Bounedjah

17 September 2018 (2018-09-17) Second leg	Al-Sadd	2 – 2 (5 – 3 agg.)	Esteghlal	Doha, Qatar
19:00 UTC+3	A. Afif 27' B. Bounedjah 90+1' (pen.) Y. Abubakar 81'	Live Report Stats Report	R. Bagheri 33' M. Tabrizi 49' R. Cheshmi 22' 51' F. Esmaeili 86' M. Rahmati 90+1'	Stadium: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium Attendance: 6,462 Referee: Muhammad Taqi Man of the Match: Akram Afif

2019 AFC Champions League[edit]

Group stage[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	HIL	DUH	EST	AIN
1	Al-Hilal	6	4	1	1	10	5	+5	13	Advance to knockout stage	—	3–1	1–0	2–0
2	Al-Duhail	6	2	3	1	11	8	+3	9	Advance to knockout stage	2–2	—	3–0	2–2
3	Esteghlal	6	2	2	2	6	8	−2	8		2–1	1–1	—	1–1
4	Al-Ain	6	0	2	4	4	10	−6	2		0–1	0–2	1–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matches[edit]

5 March 2019 (2019-03-05) 1	Al-Duhail	3 – 0	Esteghlal	Doha, Qatar
18:15 UTC+3	M. Benatia 56' Y. El-Arabi 73' A. Afifi 90+1' A. Yasser 32'	Live Report Stats Report	O. Noorafkan 27' V. Ghafouri 65'	Stadium: Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium Attendance: 6,888 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) Man of the Match: Shoya Nakajima

12 March 2019 (2019-03-12) 2	Esteghlal	1 – 1	Al-Ain	Tehran, Iran
19:00 UTC+3:30	F. Bagheri 53' 19' F. Esmaeili 82'	Live Report Stats Report	T. Shiotani 85' A. Abdulrahman 90+1'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 65,178 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) Man of the Match: Farshid Bagheri

8 April 2019 (2019-04-08) 3	Esteghlal	2 – 1	Al-Hilal	Doha, Qatar
20:00 UTC+3	A. Karimi 5' 19' P. Montazeri 30' M. Daneshgar 51' F. Esmaeili 56' M. Zakipour 90+5'	Live Report Stats Report	A. Al-Bulaihi 32' B. Gomis 71'	Stadium: Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium Attendance: 947 Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

23 April 2019 (2019-04-23) 4	Al-Hilal	1 – 0	Esteghlal	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
19:00 UTC+4	N. Al Abed 25' 52' M. Al-Breik 48' S. Giovinco 51' Y. Al-Shahrani 74'	Live Report Stats Report	G. Mensha 15' M. Daneshgar 30' D. Shojaeian 45' R. Cheshmi 60'	Stadium: Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium Attendance: 2,212 Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

6 May 2019 (2019-05-06) 5	Esteghlal	1 – 1	Al-Duhail	Tehran, Iran
20:30 UTC+4:30	D. Shojaeian 7' R. Cheshmi 53' A. Sohrabian 65'	Live Report Stats Report	Edmilson 55'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 37,400 Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

20 May 2019 (2019-05-20) 6	Al-Ain	1 – 2	Esteghlal	Al Ain, UAE
22:00 UTC+4	M. Berg 13' 38' Caio 34' S. Jumaa 90+3'	Live Report Stats Report	M. Daneshgar 22' 78' M. Tabrizi 45+1' R. Cheshmi 50'	Stadium: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium Attendance: 1,126 Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea) Man of the Match: Morteza Tabrizi

Statistics[edit]

Squad statistics[edit]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Pro League		Hazfi Cup		Super Cup		2018 ACL		2019 ACL
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Mehdi Rahmati	22	0	17	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
2	DF		Khosro Heydari	12	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
3	DF		Milad Zakipour	28	1	21	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
4	DF		Roozbeh Cheshmi	27	1	19	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	4	1
5	MF		Ayanda Patosi	19	4	13	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
6	MF		Ali Karimi	33	3	26	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	1
7	MF		Markus Neumayr ^†	10	0	8	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
8	MF		Farshid Esmaeili	28	3	21	2	2	1	0	0	2	0	3	0
9	FW		Alhaji Gero ^†	10	1	7	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
10	FW		Rouhollah Bagheri	18	3	14	1	2	1	0	0	1	1	1	0
11	FW		Morteza Tabrizi	29	7	24	5	1	0	0	0	2	1	2	1
12	DF		Meysam Teymouri	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	DF		Armin Sohrabian	25	0	18	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	3	0
14	MF		Farshid Bagheri	28	4	22	3	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	1
16	FW		Allahyar Sayyad	18	2	15	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
17	MF		Humam Tariq	18	1	14	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
20	FW		Esmaël Gonçalves	18	3	13	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
21	DF		Vouria Ghafouri	31	4	23	4	1	0	0	0	2	0	5	0
22	GK		Hossein Hosseini	18	0	13	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
23	MF		Dariush Shojaeian	19	0	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
24	FW		Jaber Ansari ^†	4	1	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
25	MF		Mehdi Ghayedi	15	3	9	3	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
28	MF		Mohsen Karimi	6	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
30	MF		Omid Noorafkan	14	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
33	DF		Pejman Montazeri	34	1	25	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	6	1
44	DF		Farshad Mohammadi Mehr	10	0	9	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
70	DF		Mohammad Daneshgar	29	3	22	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	1
77	MF		Reza Azari	6	1	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
88	MF		Reza Karimi	3	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
90	FW		Godwin Mensha	18	1	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
99	FW		Sajjad Aghaei	4	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0

Last updated: 4 June 2019 (2019-06-04)
Source: Competitions

^† Players who left the club mid-season.

Goalscorers[edit]

Rank	Player	Position	Pro League	Hazfi Cup	ACL¹	Total
1	Morteza Tabrizi	FW	5	0	2	7
2	Vouria Ghafouri	DF	4	0	0	4
	Ayanda Patosi	MF	4	0	0	4
	Farshid Bagheri	MF	3	0	1	4
3	Mehdi Ghayedi	MF	3	0	0	3
	Esmaël Gonçalves	FW	3	0	0	3
	Ali Karimi	MF	2	0	1	3
	Mohammad Daneshgar	DF	2	0	1	3
	Farshid Esmaeili	MF	2	1	0	3
	Rouhollah Bagheri	FW	1	1	1	3
4	Allahyar Sayyad	FW	2	0	0	2
5	Milad Zakipour	DF	1	0	0	1
	Humam Tariq	MF	1	0	0	1
	Reza Azari	MF	1	0	0	1
	Reza Karimi	MF	1	0	0	1
	Godwin Mensha	FW	1	0	0	1
	Jaber Ansari	MF	1	0	0	1
	Roozbeh Cheshmi	DF	0	0	1	1
	Pejman Montazeri	DF	0	0	1	1
	Alhaji Gero	FW	0	1	0	1
Own goals			3	0	1	4
Total			40	3	9	52

¹ Includes 2018 AFC Champions League, 2019 AFC Champions League.

Clean sheets[edit]

Rank	Name	Pro League	Hazfi Cup	Total
1	Mehdi Rahmati	12	1	13
2	Hossein Hosseini	7	0	7
Total		19	1	20

¹ Includes 2018 AFC Champions League, 2019 AFC Champions League.

Disciplinary record[edit]

Bookings & sending-off[edit]

N	P	Nat.	Name											Notes
N	P	Nat.	Name	Pro League		Hazfi Cup		2018 ACL		2019 ACL	Total			Notes
1	GK		Mehdi Rahmati					1			1
3	DF		Milad Zakipour	3	1	1				1	5	1
4	DF		Roozbeh Cheshmi	7		1			1	2	10	1
6	MF		Ali Karimi	3						1	4
7	MF		Markus Neumayr	1				1			2
8	MF		Farshid Esmaeili	2		1		1		2	6
10	FW		Rouhollah Bagheri	2							2
11	FW		Morteza Tabrizi	1		1					2
13	DF		Armin Sohrabian	4		1		1		1	7
14	MF		Farshid Bagheri	4				1		1	6
16	FW		Allahyar Sayyadmanesh	3	1						3	1
20	FW		Esmaël Gonçalves	2							2
21	DF		Vouria Ghafouri	1			1			1	2		1
22	GK		Hossein Hosseini	2							2
23	MF		Dariush Shojaeian	4						2	6
25	MF		Mehdi Ghayedi			1					1
28	MF		Mohsen Karimi	1							1
30	MF		Omid Noorafkan	3	1					1	4	1
33	DF		Pejman Montazeri	3				1			4
44	DF		Farshad Mohammadi	3							3
70	DF		Mohammad Daneshgar	7	1	1				3	11	1
90	FW		Godwin Mensha	1						1	2
99	FW		Sajjad Aghaei	1							1

Last updated: 5 June 2019
Source: Scoreway
Ordered by , and
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Suspensions[edit]

No.	Pos	Player	No. of matches served	Reason	Competition	Date served	Opponent(s)
70	DF	Mohammad Daneshgar	1	Double yellow card in a match against Zob Ahan	League	10 August 2018	Tractor Sazi
16	FW	Allahyar Sayyad	2	Immoral celebration		16 August 2018	Pars Jonoubi Jam
16	FW	Allahyar Sayyad	2			22 August 2018	Foolad
99	FW	Sajjad Aghaei	2			16 August 2018	Pars Jonoubi Jam
99	FW	Sajjad Aghaei	2			22 August 2018	Foolad

References[edit]

^ "رسمی؛ مرتضی آقاخان استقلالی شد". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-01.
^ "فرشاد محمدی مهر به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
^ "روح الله باقری آبی‌پوش شد". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
^ "محمد دانشگر به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-03.
^ "بازگشت دو بازیکن قرضی به استقلال". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.
^ "بازگشت دو بازیکن قرضی به استقلال". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.
^ "صیادمنش به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.
^ "رسمی; تیموری به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.
^ "رضا آذری به استقلال ملحق شد". پارس فوتبال (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.
^ "علی کریمی به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-07-16.
^ "بریزی و نویمایر استقلالی شدند". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-07-31.
^ "طارق همام به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-08-01.
^ "الحاجی گرو به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-08-08.
^ "هافبک تیم امید به استقلال پیوست". سایت نود (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-01.
^ "رسمی؛ گونسالوس به استقلال پیوست". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-16.
^ "امید نورافکن قرارداد خود را با استقلال ثبت کرد". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2019-01-30.
^ "رسمی / امید نورافکن به شارلروا بلژیک پیوست + عکس". فرتاک ورزشی (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-06.
^ "مامه تیام به عجمان پیوست". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-08-08.
^ "گرو و نویمایر با پرونده بسته رفتند!". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-16.
^ "واکنش تلخِ پدیدۀ تکنیکی و آینده‌دار استقلال به جدایی از جمع آبی‌پوشان + عکس". ورزش 11 (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-14.
^ "PERSIAN GULF PRO LEAGUE/2019 - Season rules". Scoresway.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.

External links[edit]

[1] "رسمی؛ مرتضی آقاخان استقلالی شد". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-01.

[2] "فرشاد محمدی مهر به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-03.

[3] "روح الله باقری آبی‌پوش شد". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-03.

[4] "محمد دانشگر به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-03.

[5] "بازگشت دو بازیکن قرضی به استقلال". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.

[6] "بازگشت دو بازیکن قرضی به استقلال". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.

[7] "صیادمنش به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.

[8] "رسمی; تیموری به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.

[9] "رضا آذری به استقلال ملحق شد". پارس فوتبال (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-12.

[10] "علی کریمی به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-07-16.

[11] "بریزی و نویمایر استقلالی شدند". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-07-31.

[12] "طارق همام به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-08-01.

[13] "الحاجی گرو به استقلال پیوست". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-08-08.

[14] "هافبک تیم امید به استقلال پیوست". سایت نود (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-01.

[15] "رسمی؛ گونسالوس به استقلال پیوست". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-16.

[16] "امید نورافکن قرارداد خود را با استقلال ثبت کرد". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2019-01-30.

[17] "رسمی / امید نورافکن به شارلروا بلژیک پیوست + عکس". فرتاک ورزشی (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-06-06.

[18] "مامه تیام به عجمان پیوست". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-08-08.

[19] "گرو و نویمایر با پرونده بسته رفتند!". ورزش ۳ (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-16.

[20] "واکنش تلخِ پدیدۀ تکنیکی و آینده‌دار استقلال به جدایی از جمع آبی‌پوشان + عکس". ورزش 11 (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-12-14.

[21] "PERSIAN GULF PRO LEAGUE/2019 - Season rules". Scoresway.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]