Sardar Azmoun @ Rubin Kazan | 2017-2018

[RubinKazanUK]

Are you okay?

We fans literally came out and made a support video when the pressure of the WC was getting to his head. After the last game he straight out retired. What kind of an attitude is that? It’s far from professional and screams that he is still in need of attention.

For me, he’s done. I hope for Queiroz too, once a player retires he’s on his shit list. Enjoy your player at a nobody team like Rubin Kazan who recycle the same players / tactics every year and barely escape relegation.

I didn't say all, but some fans. Some fans were great getting behind him. But now he's revealed his reasons I think there should be a bit more respect about it.


I don't want him at Rubin. I am desperate for him to move to Europe and continue his career because this guy can be a top class striker. I have 0 doubt that he'll be back for Iran in the future when he is in a much better place.

[RubinKazanUK]

Who is making fun of his mom? Maybe the spotlight isnt something rubin kazan have been used to for a long time, they are a mid table russian team after all. Then when sardar goes on an international stage, he cant deal with the pressure. I actually thought he played well at the World Cup, but then he decides to respond to some random idiots on instagram who were insulting him and saying he played poorly. Do you know that over half of our team received similar insults at one time or another? Its very common across football, not to say its right. They didnt respond to their critics and kept playing their game. If our manager is happy with sardar, his teammates are happy with him, and he is happy with his own performance, there is no need to respond publicly to critics and say "You try running as much as me", quit from national team, etc. One of the reasons why he is so weak mentally is he didnt leave shitty russian clubs to big clubs like Lazio, Leverkusen, Liverpool when he had the chance. There, he would have learned how to deal with pressure and improved his game. Instead he has stagnated, maybe even regressed, with rubins impossible to watch tactics and low level teammates, and has remained mentally weak.

This guy probably will never realize his potential, because, besides refusing to leave berdyev, he is just a spoiled kid, and this is coming from somebody who used to love him dearly. His upbringing, family background, childish attitude, having his parents live with him and cook for him at age of 23 ?!??!?, are all indicators of this. If he doesnt want to play for national team and would rather follow around his adopted dad berdyev (who btw, I recognized once as a very good tactician, but now looks more of like a dinosaur. The guy has no versatility or unpredictablity in his tactics, plays the same goddamned formation and style EVERY MATCH, regardless of opposition, and found one group of players in rostov that fit his tactics, (some that came from an original group in rubin kazan), and wherever he goes he keeps trying to bring in the SAME EXACT PLAYERS. He is unable to develop new talent, or work with what he has, and improve players past a certain level.

It is sad that sardar stayed on this team, and it has already proven to be a disaster, with last seasons goal tally, and his subsequent mental breakdowns. Thankfully for Iran,we have multiple high quality strikers, with stronger mentalities than sardar (albeit not as talented), as well as youngsters coming through that are just as talented. Here is to hoping none of them ever go to Rubin. You guys could have got 20 million for this kid from lazio last year, instead you thought you could get more, LOL. You would be lucky if any team paid 10 million EU now.

No one is making fun of his mom. But people are saying he's using his mother's illness as an excuse. Yes the spotlight of Iran is HUGE compared to Rubin. If he feels that his ill mother's condition is worsening due to the stress of the criticism, then it's within his right to step back from the limelight. People are different and deal with things in different ways.

I agree he played well during the World Cup. All players receive insults, for every team, from their own fans AND from opposition fans, but mental health is a huge spectrum, and he may not be able to handle it as well. As I previously said, if he think's his mother's health is suffering as a result, then that's a good reason. Of course a simpler resolution would have been to step back from social media, but I'm sure he would still hear about the insults elsewhere.

I don't think his weak mentality is due to his career in Russia. I think he's always been this way. The Leverkusen offer was only before the World Cup by the way, so that's very much still on. I think perhaps he should have gone last season, but he has almost a blind faith in Berdyev, and so when he told Azmoun to wait until after the World Cup, he did. That blind faith in Berdyev is perhaps his strongest weapon and biggest weakness.

Without Berdyev, Azmoun may have been wasted in some academy somewhere, but he gave him the career he has now. He has done well so far and is still young.

As I said, I think he should have gone last summer. However, there are still options. Last season he started very poorly indeed, and that was due to the transfer stuff from last season. But in the 2nd half of the season, leading to the World Cup, he was excellent, back to his normal self. People don't seem to remember that.

I don't care that you have a go at Rubin, they're my favourite Russian team of course, and I still think any Iranian youngster would be lucky to go there. Reza Shekari is there now and will have a big season ahead of him. But Azmoun went there and his career is owed to that club.

Last summer, by the way, it was Rostov who could have gotten €20m for him, not Rubin. So don't say Rubin were being greedy. Rubin now are desperate to sell him. Berdyev wants him to further his career and they also need the money. They are looking for €15m (I know this from my meetings with Rubin staff during the World Cup) for him, and they are very confident that he will leave this summer.

I'm sorry...who in the right mind said he deserves abuse for family issues? No one was even aware of family issues till he himself used it as part of reasoning in a social media posts recently. That screams that he wants our sympathy and pitty which I am happy to give him aside from his footballing IQ, play, and performance which is what fans are in uproar about!

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No one said he deserves it. No one was aware of it before he retired. But NOW, some fans are saying he's just using his mother's illness as an excuse for not dealing well with criticism. Well that's life. People are different. People deal with things in different ways. I've been there with my mother having a serious illness in the past few years. It's a horrible situation to be in, and as a family you have to rally around each other.

If he feels he needs to dedicate himself to his family during this time, by distancing himself from the big stage, then so be it. There will be a time when he can come back from this and I'm very optimistic for his career still.

[Afat11]

I didn't say all, but some fans. Some fans were great getting behind him. But now he's revealed his reasons I think there should be a bit more respect about it.


I don't want him at Rubin. I am desperate for him to move to Europe and continue his career because this guy can be a top class striker. I have 0 doubt that he'll be back for Iran in the future when he is in a much better place.

Anybody's family member getting sick is HORRIBLE. I don't think anyone here has ever stated we want bad for Sardar. All we want is for him not to disrespect the national shirt by making such a big deal that he "has to be there for Mom" yet is traveling all around, releasing a passion project film about horses, and generally going about his business as usual.

It is strange that the ONLY thing he has to sacrifice from this news is TM football. The one thing people were giving him a hard time about. He then has the gall to essentially troll fans who care by posting on his beloved social media how he will NOT play in Asian Cup, etc.

A true professional would wait a few weeks or months after these games have finished. He would call a press conference, and he would announce his reasons for stepping away.

Posting on instagram the day or two after our elimination, making it a huge deal, and then doing everything in his life exactly the same as before minus TM football just reeks of punishing the fans who don't "love him for who he is."

Anyone who doesn't see this move as nothing more than retaliation to TM fans for their negativity towards him is blind. His Mom is sick, and that is sad, but like I said before, players from other nations play the days following the deaths of parents, siblings, etc.

That is true passion for your country and sport. Sardar can do what he pleases, but all of his behavior just shows me and many others that he is not serious about wearing the national shirt. I don't dislike him and hope everything improves with his family, but TM is not a jacket you put on and take off when people insult you. Without the "insults" from the minority, Sardar would not have posted that threat before Portugal game, and likely wouldn't have made this spectacle after to punish his critics.

I for one hope he will not be called back anymore, so that maybe he will grow up a bit and push himself to improve. I really don't see it though, the guy just reeks of football being a job. Punch in, punch out. Anyone seen Sardar staying after practices late into the night like Ronaldo to practice by himself and improve? The kid's natural talent is there, but its fading. If you don't use it, you'll lose it.

I think he might be doing us a favor by retiring, a hungry player like Kaveh will step in and develop further than the stagnating Azmoun.

[MR.ESTESNAII]

Sardar is such a bache nane. He needs a really good agent and a mentor cause with this pace he is going to quit football all together in a few years. he is just a symbol of iranian culture: zero confidence and full of insecurity and doubt lool people need to ignore him for a while... the guys biggest mistake was not going to a bigger club last year and he is going to keep doing this

[Futbaldoost]

Sardar was good this world cup, within the context of our system he did the utmost he could and I thought he was great from where I was watching him in the stadium. Check his running stats, for a striker he covered more ground than almost any other forward in the group stages. He hassled defenders in set piece situations and drew defenders towards him throughout the matches.

He defended from the front. The only other player I guess I could compare him to in this WC was Giroud (who although he hasn't scored, his presence has made France a completely different team since the beginning of the world cup and has created balance in the team), though they are very different as players.

He got needless criticism from people who think his only goal is to shoot and score.

His problem is that he should have been able to ignore the criticism, not let it get to him. Not every TM fan is a football expert, so people who don't appreciate his contribution should just be ignored. The only opinion which matters is what he feels he did, and the opinion of his coaches.


He needs a psychologist, and a mentor. It would be the biggest shame if this talent:

A) Is not appreciated fully by fans for what he brings to TM
B) Goes to waste because of his own immaturity and fragility

Getting a personal mentor and/or psychologist requires the willingness to engage. It is not easy to hear from a mentor when they point to your behavioral patterns that don't work. At this point I am not sure whether he is willing. It seems like that's a missing yet necessary ingredient in his situation.

[RubinKazanUK]

I want to just get my position across. Although a Rubin fan, I, and most other Rubin fans by the way, are desperate for Azmoun to leave the club this summer so that he can further his career.

Ever since I first watched him play for our youth team as a 17 year old boy, I knew he had talent. I've seen him flourish in Rubin, follow Berdyev to Rostov and have an amazing breakout in Europe, and then come back to Rubin and hit a real low point in his career.

But I know he has talent. The world knows he has talent. I have contact with a number of scouts and agents. One agent in particular messaged me 7/8 times last year every few months, asking for an update on Azmoun. He is desperate to take him to the UK. He tried to take him to Celtic when he was at Rostov, and he has pushed him to a number of English clubs including Huddersfield and WBA last January.

Liverpool, in March, were seriously considering him as a signing for this summer. I don't know if that interest is still there.

Bayer Leverkusen, ahead of the World Cup, made and official enquiry for him. Rubin wanted to wait until after the World Cup, desperate for him to score against Spain or Portugal to increase his value. I don't know if negotiations are ongoing.

The rumours around the Indian club are nonsense, by the way.


On a personal level, I think Azmoun is getting a lot of unfair stick. His mother has a serious illness. Just because you may deal with criticism well doesn't mean he does. Combining that with a serious illness in the family is not a good mixture. Just having an ill mother is a huge burden, as I know from personal experience. I just wish fans would be a bit more lenient on him, let him and his family have some peace, let the summer transfer window out of the way, and see what happens with his transfer saga, before condemning him to a failed career. He is a huge talent.

Apologies if I have caused any offence, but I feel very strongly about him having watched almost every match of his in his whole senior club career.

[DR Strangemoosh]

Guys, there are two issues here:

1) Some of you guys don't appreciate his contribution to TM, both in general, and for the world cup.

I think this board is split in terms of how we value Sardar's game. I for one thought he did EVERYTHING he could be expected to do in the three games. Now some people here criticise his body language, I take that point. But you can't criticise the distance he ran in all three games, his hustling, his defending from the front and his movement off-the-ball. I saw him in the stadium and I can't ask for more within the context of our disciplined pragmatic system. What more, realistically, did you guys want him to do? His international scoring record speaks for itself, in comparison with our other top scorers of the last few decades.

2) Most/all of us know that he is emotionally fragile, a bit of a bacheh naneh and immensely immature

That's true, but if we just whine and criticise him then he isn't going to suddenly become "aadam", is he? Many top players are immature (eg "birthday cake" Yaya Toure) and superficial (eg Ronaldo) but still become very successful. Somehow, the message needs to get out that he needs support, in two areas:
A) Psychologist - to help him cope with criticism, fans' comments, other players' comments
B) Mentor - to teach him values in life and appreciate things. To advise him that his obsession with social media is


He is our most intrinsically gifted player (this "retirement" stuff is just him being immature again, don't fall for it). I have no doubt that if he gets someone to mentor him and take him under his wing properly, and a psychologist to improve his mental state, he can become the player we all know he can be.

[DR Strangemoosh]

Getting a personal mentor and/or psychologist requires the willingness to engage. It is not easy to hear from a mentor when they point to your behavioral patterns that don't work. At this point I am not sure whether he is willing. It seems like that's a missing yet necessary ingredient in his situation.

He probably needs some more hard truths to hit him and help him rationalise his life, but I do think we can subtly put it in front of his face.

I hope he has seen his captain's volunteer work just after the WC finished.

[Afat11]

I want to just get my position across. Although a Rubin fan, I, and most other Rubin fans by the way, are desperate for Azmoun to leave the club this summer so that he can further his career.

Ever since I first watched him play for our youth team as a 17 year old boy, I knew he had talent. I've seen him flourish in Rubin, follow Berdyev to Rostov and have an amazing breakout in Europe, and then come back to Rubin and hit a real low point in his career.

But I know he has talent. The world knows he has talent. I have contact with a number of scouts and agents. One agent in particular messaged me 7/8 times last year every few months, asking for an update on Azmoun. He is desperate to take him to the UK. He tried to take him to Celtic when he was at Rostov, and he has pushed him to a number of English clubs including Huddersfield and WBA last January.

Liverpool, in March, were seriously considering him as a signing for this summer. I don't know if that interest is still there.

Bayer Leverkusen, ahead of the World Cup, made and official enquiry for him. Rubin wanted to wait until after the World Cup, desperate for him to score against Spain or Portugal to increase his value. I don't know if negotiations are ongoing.

The rumours around the Indian club are nonsense, by the way.


On a personal level, I think Azmoun is getting a lot of unfair stick. His mother has a serious illness. Just because you may deal with criticism well doesn't mean he does. Combining that with a serious illness in the family is not a good mixture. Just having an ill mother is a huge burden, as I know from personal experience. I just wish fans would be a bit more lenient on him, let him and his family have some peace, let the summer transfer window out of the way, and see what happens with his transfer saga, before condemning him to a failed career. He is a huge talent.

Apologies if I have caused any offence, but I feel very strongly about him having watched almost every match of his in his whole senior club career.

Thanks for the information. I guess we are all just sick of Sardar's behavior. He is talented, and people are lying to themselves if they say he isn't our highest potential player. We may not know what is really going on with him, but his demeanor in spite of everything just does not exude that he chose to make this sacrifice for any reason other than the insults. His mother's illness is terrible, and we all support her recovery. I, for one, just wish he was more professional about everything going on. Threatening to quit, and quitting days later, and posting on instagram, the place he is dealing with so many problems, and just his general choices and behavior for years has made us lose faith in him.

None of us have hatred or anger for Sardar for his decision, we are all just disappointed. He could be so much further along with better decision-making and attitude. His choice to call it "retire" (which has permanent meaning), and then say it is not a retirement, to then mock fans hoping for a comeback by saying "NO WAY ASIAN CUP" or whatever is just such unprofessional behavior.

I would expect him to act differently if his mother's illness is the impetus for his decision, to be honest. I could be wrong, as everyone acts differently, but retiring and unretiring is not something I want from a TM member. He could have said he wants to take a break, and say he is excited to return when things improve.

By making it a "you people hurt me, you don't love me for who I am, and my mother is sick because of you (strange thing to say honestly), and I am RETIRED" is just too childish of a response. The way he dealt with this whole thing is why so many are disappointed with this issue.

If Sardar had waited a couple of weeks after the game, called a press conference, and told us of his mother's illness, I would have 100% understood his decision to retire, take a break or whatever. By making it about the insults, and blaming them as exacerbating her illness, it just seems disingenuous. His mother's illness is reason enough to leave the team, bringing the insults into it is just a sign that he doesn't know how to act in a way that avoids controversy, and to be honest, I don't know if he wants to avoid controversy.

[Fesenjan]

The best thing to do right now is shut up and leave the kid alone.

Whether or not he displays signs of immense immaturity is beside the point. He is clearly trying to distance himself from the scrutiny that neither he nor his poor mother can handle. So, if we want him to return, then the logical move is to give him the space he needs to rehabilitate himself. Period.

[Afat11]

The best thing to do right now is shut up and leave the kid alone.

Whether or not he displays signs of immense immaturity is beside the point. He is clearly trying to distance himself from the scrutiny that neither he nor his poor mother can handle. So, if we want him to return, then the logical move is to give him the space he needs to rehabilitate himself. Period.

100% agree, nobody should bother him, or antagonize him. Nobody here is advocating that. The question is what should happen down the line when he wants to return, and many of us are saying he should not come back to TM. Notwithstanding his personal issues, his professionalism and demeanor are highlighted by his behavior, and our TM will continue to grow in his absence. No point in waiting for him to return.

But yes, all people personally targeting Sardar calling him a bad player, or a bad person are stupid. He has flaws like everyone, but it's probably best for his and his family's health if he does not return to face the immense pressure the national shirt puts on a player.

[DR Strangemoosh]

. The question is what should happen down the line when he wants to return, and many of us are saying he should not come back to TM. .

We will need him. I like Kaveh, I like our other young forwards, but no one has the attributes of Sardar as a combination of aerial ability, skill with both feet, pace, strength, intelligence on the ball.

in 2001-2003, many on PFDC were calling Vahid Hashemian a "non-iranian", people were given warnings/banned for posting about him, and there was a huge debate that "Vahid should not come back to TM".

I can't imagine what would have happened if those guys have got their way. His amazing brace against Japan in March 2005, his crucial goal in October '04, the guy just pushed us to that 2006 world cup...

We can't compare the two because Vahid is a humble and different character to Sardar, but we will need Sardar in the same way that we needed Vahid. No question. We can be annoyed with him, but don't push him away completely.

[Mr Pouya]

Honestly guys, we're wasting too much time on this guy. He's not worth it.

[Taz]

I'm of the opinion if there is a player worth it, it's this man here.

I still think if it wasn't for social media he wouldn't be viewed anywhere like what he currently is by the majority. 18 months younger than ARJ and I'm not even sure ARJ has achieved all that much more than Sardar (some might argue even less) and yet the contrast in tone between their threads is lol. There's geezers physically threatening one and there's others praising the other for literally doing nothing ('well done for keeping this transfer a secret' before anything's even gone through ).

[Sly]

I think it's a relevant question because a lot of the criticism of azmoun stems from his alleged "decision" to ignore wonderful european offers, to stay with Berdiyev.

Also - let's tone down the drama and theatrics. Vahid Hashemian literally refused to play for TM in his prime when he was a top-2 scorer in the bundesliga and he's now regarded a TM hero. sardar's childishness will be forgotten when he lives up to his potential and has some good performances for TM.

Never did Hashemian behave like a child, as Azmoun does. He was a true professional. As for Azmoun, he seems to like and focus on his social media fame more than his game and football career. So for us football fans, who cares what he does any more? Social media fans can enjoy the clown. It's not about your questions or his desire not to play for TM. It's his whole unprofessional behavior.

and yes, I agree with you. His childishness will be forgotten once/IF he lives up to his potential and behaves like a 23 year old football player. Until then and again, who cares what he does anymore?