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Prolific Mehdi Taremi proof that patience can be rewarded

Mehdi Taremi

As the new year was welcomed in for 2018, Mehdi Taremi was still turning out in his homeland for Persepolis. Shortly after that, an impressive strike rate of around one goal every two games earned him a switch to Qatar to represent Al-Ghafara.

At that stage, despite more positive steps being made, it appeared as though the Iran international would never get a chance to prove himself among the European elite. Rio Ave were, however, to come calling in the summer of 2019 and Taremi was off to Portugal.

Confidence

From there, he has never looked back. Just one 21-goal season at Estadio dos Arcos was all he required in order to catch the eye of perennial title challengers Porto. Such a step up in class could have been made with a sense of trepidation, but confidence was seeping out of every pore by now.

Taremi has been a revelation at Estadio do Dragao, with a league crown captured in 2021-22. Porto have not had things all their own way in defence of that prize, with arch-rivals Benfica flying high, but Bwin sports betting has them priced at 15/2 to deliver back-to-back successes. Taremi will be hoping to lead that charge with double figures reached on the goal front in domestic competition for a fourth successive year, which had made him a prominent figure in first goalscorer markets that ultimately impact odds regarding match outcomes and final standings 

Another impressive impact has been made in continental competition as well, with five strikes among the Champions League A-list not to be sniffed at. Having illuminated the grandest of sporting stages, there has been talk of admiring glances being shot in Taremi’s direction.

Having found a spiritual home of sorts, it may be that the best decision for all concerned is to stay put. Ambition is to be admired, though, and the experienced striker has more cause than most to continue chasing his dream. Given where he has come from, in a relatively short space of time, Taremi will be eager to maximise whatever time he has left at the very top of the game. If clubs from the Premier League and beyond want to put enticing offers to him, then so be it.

It would come as no surprise if he were to go on and shine as brightly in another major division as he has in the Portuguese top flight. Having cleared every hurdle put in front of him so far, Taremi is living proof that patience can be rewarded.

If fears of having missed the boat when it came to professional adventures in Europe had crossed his mind in the past, they have been pushed firmly to the back of conscious thinking in the present.

Dreams

Taremi has become an inspiration to millions back home, with a tale that should serve to push any budding footballers in Iran to chase their dreams a little harder than maybe they would have done had there not been such a prominent role model in place.

He has shown that there are no glass ceilings, or at least none that cannot be smashed with the right blend of ability and brute force, and the hope is that there will soon be another generation of talent ready to follow in his footsteps.