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

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

First team squad

Players and squad numbers last updated on 6 June 2018.

No.	Name	Nat	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

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. 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

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. 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

Main articles: List of Iranian football transfers summer 2018 and List of Iranian football transfers winter 2018–19

In

No.	Pos.	Nat.	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
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

No.	Pos.	Nat.	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
19	GK		Arshia Babazadeh	22	Surat Thani	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

Esteghlal v Esteghlal U23

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

Esteghlal v Mariupol

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

Esteghlal v FUS Rabat

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

Bursaspor U23 v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Nebitçi Balkanabat

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

Esteghlal v Esteghlal Academy

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

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					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

Main article: 2018–19 Iran Pro League

Standings

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
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

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

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 (2019-05-16). Source: "Ipl".
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Matches

Esteghlal v Paykan

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

Zob Ahan v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Tractor Sazi

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

Pars Jonoubi Jam v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Foolad

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

Nassaji Mazandaran v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Persepolis

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

Naft Masjed Soleyman v Esteghlal

6 October 2018 (2018-10-06) 6	Naft Masjed Soleyman	1 – 2	Esteghlal	Masjed Soleyman
18:15 IRST (UTC+03:30)	H.Nassari 12' (pen.)  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

Saipa v Esteghlal

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' (pen.) A. Sohrabian  70'	Stadium: Takhti Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Mohammad Hossein Zahedifard

Esteghlal v Sepahan

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

Machine Sazi v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Padideh

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

Esteghlal Khuzestan v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Sanat Naft

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

Sepidrood v Esteghlal

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

Paykan v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Zob Ahan

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

Tractor Sazi v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Pars Jonoubi Jam

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

Foolad v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Naft Masjed Soleyman

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

Esteghlal v Nassaji Mazandaran

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

Persepolis v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Saipa

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

Sepahan v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Machine Sazi

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

Padideh v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Esteghlal Khuzestan

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

Sanat Naft v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Sepidrood

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

Main article: 2018–19 Hazfi Cup

Naft Masjed Soleyman v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Saipa

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

Main article: 2018 Iranian Super Cup

Persepolis v Esteghlal

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

2018 AFC Champions League

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League

Quarter-finals

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Esteghlal v Al-Sadd

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

Al-Sadd v Esteghlal

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

Main article: 2019 AFC Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2019 AFC Champions League group stage

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			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

Al-Duhail v Esteghlal

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

Esteghlal v Al-Ain

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

Esteghlal v Al-Hilal

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)

Al-Hilal v Esteghlal

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)

Esteghlal v Al-Duhail

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)

Al-Ain v Esteghlal

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

Squad statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Pro League		Hazfi Cup		Super Cup		2018 ACL		2019 ACL
				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

Rank	Player	Position	Pro League	Hazfi Cup	ACL^1	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

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

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

Disciplinary record

Bookings & sending-off

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

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	No. of matches served	Reason	Competition	Date served	Opponent(s)	Ref.
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
							22 August 2018	Foolad
99	FW		Sajjad Aghaei	2			16 August 2018	Pars Jonoubi Jam
							22 August 2018	Foolad

References

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.

External links

• Iran Premier League Statistics
• Persian League