Azmoun and Taremi get Iranians dreaming
Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun have Iranians dreaming of history at Qatar 2022
We look at their contrasting journeys to the top
IR Iran will face England and USA in Group B
After being the dominant footballing power in Asia in the 1970s, IR Iran hit the heights again in the mid-90s thanks to a golden generation that paved the way for players from the region to play in Europe.
Thanks to their stellar performance at the AFC Asian Cup 1996, Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri attracted the attention of German side Arminia Bielefeld, where they would become the first Iranians to play in the Bundesliga. They were soon to be followed by Khodadad Azizi, who joined the ranks of Cologne, as Germany seemed to have discovered a new source of footballing talent.
A strong showing by Iran at France 1998 enhanced the reputation and the status of Iranian players. This was reflected by Mehdi Mahdavikia’s move to Hamburg, where he spent eight successful seasons and became a club legend. By the time the Asian Cup 2000 came around, there were six Iranians playing in Europe, compared to only one when the previous edition of the continental tournament had taken place.
The biggest name of that golden generation of Iranian football is legendary striker Ali Daei. The gifted marksman managed to score 109 international goals, a record he kept for 15 years until beaten recently by the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, 17 years after Daei hung up his boots, major European leagues are witnessing a new wave of Iranian talent.
A quick look at Team Melli’s starting XI in recent games confirms that around half are plying their trade in Europe, with the remainder either in the Iranian league or the neighbouring countries like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This reflects the calibre of top Iranian players and how much they are valued by European clubs from the UK and Portugal to Germany and the Netherlands.
No-one exemplifies this better than two of the country’s rising stars: Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun. It goes without saying that Iran’s group-stage opponents at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – England, USA and a still-to-de-determined European side – will need to do their homework on the duo.
The careers of these Iranian stars, who were born worlds apart, took starkly different paths until they both reached the pinnacle of their footballing journeys. Azmoun was born in the city of Gonbad-e Kavus in the far north-east of the country, very close to the border with Turkmenistan. From there, Azmoun kept moving north, joining Russian club Rubin Kazan while still a teenager, foregoing the chance to play in Iran.
After eight years competing in the Russian Premier League, where he scored an impressive 85 goals, became top scorer in the championship for 2019/20 and was voted player of the season in 2020/21, Azmoun moved to Bayer Leverkusen earlier this year.
The 27-year-old was one of the best forwards in Asian qualifying for Qatar 2022, scoring ten times. He is also the leading Iranian marksman in the UEFA Champions League with six goals, including ones against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
In contrast, Taremi was born in the city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast of western Iran, playing exclusively in the Iranian league until 2018. By then he was 26, and the dream of playing in Europe seemed increasingly distant.
When in 2014 Taremi moved from his hometown side Iranjavan Bushehr to Persepolis, the country’s most successful club, many believed this would be the pinnacle of the forward’s career. During a four-year stint with the Tehran giants, he helped them to the semi-final of the AFC Champions League for the first time and twice won the top-scorer award in the Iranian Pro League.
In 2018, Taremi finally got the chance to play professionally abroad, joining Qatar’s Al-Gharafa, where he partnered Dutchman Wesley Sneijder. Within a year, he was offered the chance to play European football with Portugal’s Rio Ave. The ambitious striker continued to find the target for his new club, where a first-season tally of 18 goals prompted Portuguese giants Porto to lure him away at the end of the campaign.
Fast-forward to 13 April 2021, when the Bushehr native became the talk of planet football with his spectacular bicycle-kick away to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Taremi’s strike was voted goal of the season in last year’s tournament and was later nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award.
Iranian football has been through a long journey from the Ali Daei era to the present day. However, the Islamic Republic is now well positioned on the international stage with lofty ambitions. And after their early exit from Russia 2018, where they finished just a point behind Group B’s top two sides Spain and Portugal, Team Melli are eager to reach the Round of 16 for the first time in their history, fully aware that with players like Azmoun and Taremi, anything is possible.
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/art...fifa-world-cup
Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun have Iranians dreaming of history at Qatar 2022
We look at their contrasting journeys to the top
IR Iran will face England and USA in Group B
After being the dominant footballing power in Asia in the 1970s, IR Iran hit the heights again in the mid-90s thanks to a golden generation that paved the way for players from the region to play in Europe.
Thanks to their stellar performance at the AFC Asian Cup 1996, Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri attracted the attention of German side Arminia Bielefeld, where they would become the first Iranians to play in the Bundesliga. They were soon to be followed by Khodadad Azizi, who joined the ranks of Cologne, as Germany seemed to have discovered a new source of footballing talent.
A strong showing by Iran at France 1998 enhanced the reputation and the status of Iranian players. This was reflected by Mehdi Mahdavikia’s move to Hamburg, where he spent eight successful seasons and became a club legend. By the time the Asian Cup 2000 came around, there were six Iranians playing in Europe, compared to only one when the previous edition of the continental tournament had taken place.
The biggest name of that golden generation of Iranian football is legendary striker Ali Daei. The gifted marksman managed to score 109 international goals, a record he kept for 15 years until beaten recently by the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, 17 years after Daei hung up his boots, major European leagues are witnessing a new wave of Iranian talent.
A quick look at Team Melli’s starting XI in recent games confirms that around half are plying their trade in Europe, with the remainder either in the Iranian league or the neighbouring countries like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This reflects the calibre of top Iranian players and how much they are valued by European clubs from the UK and Portugal to Germany and the Netherlands.
No-one exemplifies this better than two of the country’s rising stars: Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun. It goes without saying that Iran’s group-stage opponents at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – England, USA and a still-to-de-determined European side – will need to do their homework on the duo.
The careers of these Iranian stars, who were born worlds apart, took starkly different paths until they both reached the pinnacle of their footballing journeys. Azmoun was born in the city of Gonbad-e Kavus in the far north-east of the country, very close to the border with Turkmenistan. From there, Azmoun kept moving north, joining Russian club Rubin Kazan while still a teenager, foregoing the chance to play in Iran.
After eight years competing in the Russian Premier League, where he scored an impressive 85 goals, became top scorer in the championship for 2019/20 and was voted player of the season in 2020/21, Azmoun moved to Bayer Leverkusen earlier this year.
The 27-year-old was one of the best forwards in Asian qualifying for Qatar 2022, scoring ten times. He is also the leading Iranian marksman in the UEFA Champions League with six goals, including ones against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
In contrast, Taremi was born in the city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast of western Iran, playing exclusively in the Iranian league until 2018. By then he was 26, and the dream of playing in Europe seemed increasingly distant.
When in 2014 Taremi moved from his hometown side Iranjavan Bushehr to Persepolis, the country’s most successful club, many believed this would be the pinnacle of the forward’s career. During a four-year stint with the Tehran giants, he helped them to the semi-final of the AFC Champions League for the first time and twice won the top-scorer award in the Iranian Pro League.
In 2018, Taremi finally got the chance to play professionally abroad, joining Qatar’s Al-Gharafa, where he partnered Dutchman Wesley Sneijder. Within a year, he was offered the chance to play European football with Portugal’s Rio Ave. The ambitious striker continued to find the target for his new club, where a first-season tally of 18 goals prompted Portuguese giants Porto to lure him away at the end of the campaign.
Fast-forward to 13 April 2021, when the Bushehr native became the talk of planet football with his spectacular bicycle-kick away to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Taremi’s strike was voted goal of the season in last year’s tournament and was later nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award.
Iranian football has been through a long journey from the Ali Daei era to the present day. However, the Islamic Republic is now well positioned on the international stage with lofty ambitions. And after their early exit from Russia 2018, where they finished just a point behind Group B’s top two sides Spain and Portugal, Team Melli are eager to reach the Round of 16 for the first time in their history, fully aware that with players like Azmoun and Taremi, anything is possible.
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/art...fifa-world-cup
Remember RESPECT BEGETS RESPECT & 
Such hypocrisy. 
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