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Iranian Stars Now Having Success in Europe’s Major Leagues

Jahanbakhsh Ghoddos

It is a sign of how far Iran have come in international football that many of their leading players now feature in Europe for some of the biggest teams in European football. Just a decade ago this would have not been the case.

Iran are now the highest place Asian team in the FIFA world rankings. They sit in 20th place, ahead of Japan and South Korea, who are 24th and 28th respectively in those standings with the sport’s governing body.

This latest Iran team is arguably the best in the country’s history. Here is a look at some of their stars who feature in Europe in club football.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord)

Former Damash Gilan winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh has been now in Europe for the majority of his career. He had spells at NEC and AZ in the Dutch league before moving to Premier League side Brighton.

The 29-year-old, who has featured in the Persian Gulf Pro League, is now back in the Eredivisie with Feyenoord. Jahanbakhsh’s side sit top of the Dutch league after 14 games, and they will hold that position going into 2023 when the league returns following the World Cup and winter break.

Jahanbakhsh has played five times in the Europa League this year, scoring two goals for his team. The Dutch side finished top of their UEFA group this season. Their Iranian striker will be hoping to help them lift the European trophy at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on the 31st of May.

Saman Ghoddos (Brentford)

Attacking midfielder Saman Ghoddos signed a permanent deal with Brentford in 2021 and he has been on a great journey with the west London club, as he helped them gain promotion to the Premier League.

The Iran international has now played 78 times for Brentford. He featured in 23 games for them last season in their opening year in the top-flight of English football, while he has also been a regular this season where the Bees have made an excellent start to the campaign.

Ghoddos switched allegiances in international football from Sweden to Iran in 2017. His parents are both Iranian, so he qualified to play for the AFC country. Since that switch, he has picked up 34 caps for Iran. He has been named in the squad named by the Iranian Football Federation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,

Mehdi Taremi (Porto)

Two-time Iranian footballer of the Year Mehdi Taremi has been one of the hottest strikers in Europe over the last few years. In the 2019-20 campaign, he was the top goalscorer in Portugal, scoring 18 times for Rio Ave.

Taremi, who helped leading Iranian side Persepolis win the Persian Gulf Prof League in 2017, now plays his football for Porto. He won the league title for the club last season after scoring 20 goals.

The Primeira Liga striker has gotten off to a good start with the champions this season, as he has found the back of the net six times in the opening 12 games of the campaign. Taremi is a crucial member of his national team. As of the 20th of November, Iran are 500/1 outsiders in the FIFA World Cup betting this year, but if he is in the same kind of form as he often is for Porto, they could be one of the surprise packages in the tournament in Qatar.

Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen)

With 41 goals for his country, Sardar Azmoun is one of Iran’s most successful players in history. The prolific goalscorer now plays his club football in Germany for Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

Azmoun bagged his move to Leverkusen following four excellent years for Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia. He scored 62 goals in 104 games for the Russian Premier League club before departing. The Iranian has featured in the Champions League this season, the premier club competition in Europe. His side were eliminated in the group stage after finishing third behind Porto and Club Brugge respectively.

Azmoun is third in Iran’s top goalscorer list. He needs 10 goals to pass Karim Bagheri who is in first place.

With the above four Iranian players having so much success, they are likely to inspire a whole new generation in the future to make it at the biggest clubs in world football.