The rivalry between Esteghlal and Sepahan is a football rivalry played between Iranian football clubs Esteghlal Tehran and Sepahan Isfahan.
History Since 1971–72 Iran football season, Esteghlal Tehran and Sepahan Isfahan had several meetings in Iranian League, Hazfi Cup, and friendly matches.
The first was in Local League 1971–72 in Isfahan, that Esteghlal won the match with the result of 4–0. First win for Sepahan was in Takht Jamshid Cup 1974–75 with the result of 1–0.تاریخچه بازی های سپاهان و استقلال
Before the Iranian Revolution in 1979, two football clubs met 10 times (2 times in Local League and 8 times in Takht Jamshid Cup). From these 10 meetings, each club won four matches and the result of two matches was draw.
From 1991–92 to 2000–01 Iranian Football Seasons, two clubs met 18 times (16 times in Azadegan League, and 2 times in Naghsh-Jahan Tournament in Esfahan). From these 18 meetings, Esteghlal won 8 matches and Sepahan won 5. The result of the other 5 matches was draw.
Since the establishment of Iran Pro League in 2001, two clubs met 30 times (22 times in Iran Pro League, 6 times in Hazfi Cup, once in AFC Champions League, and once in Tehran Etehadiyeh Cup). From these 30 meetings, Esteghlal won 8 matches and Sepahan won 15. The result of the other 7 matches was draw.
The best win for Esteghlal took place in the clubs first meeting in Local League 1971–72 with the score of 4–0. And the best win for Sepahan was in 2002–03 Hazfi Cup with the score of 3–0.
The highest goal-scoring match was in 2010–11 Iran Pro League with the result of 4–3 for Esteghlal.
Notable matches and seasons
2001–02 Hazfi Cup Two football clubs faced each other in Semi-final of 2001–02 Hazfi Cup in a two-leg meeting.
Esteghlal missed the championship of the 2001–02 Iran Pro League on the last day, losing to Persepolis. Winning the Hazfi Cup was important to them. On the other side Sepahan lost both matches in 2001–02 Iran Pro League to Esteghlal. They wanted to compensate for losing the two matches.
The first leg was held in Isfahan, and Sepahan could win the match with the result of 4–2. However, in the second leg in Tehran, it was Esteghlal who would win the match with the result of 3–1, making it 5-5 on aggregate. Esteghlal could advance into the final due to away goals.
In the final, Esteghlal also could beat Fajr Sepasi and became the champion.
A dramatic season for Sepahan (5 matches, 5 wins)
In 2002–03 Iranian Football Season, two clubs met each other 5 times, and dramatically, Sepahan could won all 5 meetings with coaching of Farhad Kazemi. From these five meetings, 2 of them were in 2002–03 Iran Pro League, 2 of them were in 2002–03 Hazfi Cup, and the last one in a four-team friendly tournament (Etehadiyeh Cupقهرمان و نايب قهرمان ليگ قبل به فينال رسيدند) hosted by Esteghlal.
In 2002–03 Iran Pro League, Sepahan could beat Esteghlal in both league matches in Tehran and Isfahan with the similar result of 3–2.
In the 1/8 final of 2002–03 Hazfi Cup, two clubs again faced each other in a two-leg meeting. The first leg was held in Isfahan, and Sepahan could win the match with the result of 3–0. In the second leg in Tehran, it was again Sepahan who could beat Esteghlal with the result of 1–0.
After the end of 2002–03 Iran's Football Season and before the starting of the new Iranian Football Season, a four-team friendly tournament with the name of Etehadiyeh Cup held in Tehran hosted by Esteghlal. In this tournament Esteghlal as the host, Sepahan and Pas Tehran as the champion and runner-up of 2002–03 Iran Pro League, and Al Wasl from Dubai as the guest team participated. In the Semi-final of the tournament, Seaphan and Esteghlal again faced each other and Sepahan could beat Esteghlal with the result of 3–2 and advanced to the final of the tournament. In the final, Sepahan also could beat Pas Tehran and became the champion.
As a result, Sepahan won all five meetings between the two clubs that season, setting a record of five consecutive victories in this fixture.
2003–04 Hazfi Cup In 2003–04 Iran's Football Season, two football clubs reached the Final of 2003–04 Hazfi Cup.
Esteghlal by coaching of Amir Ghalenoei had a great performance in 2003–04 Iran Pro League and becoming the runner-up. On the other side, Sepahan by coaching of Farhad Kazemi did not have a successful season in 2003–04 Iran Pro League. Therefore, and before the starting of Final, Esteghlal seemed to be the favor for winning the Hazfi Cup title. The first leg was played in Isfahan, where Sepahan defeated Esteghlal 3–2 in a closely contested and exciting match, with Sepahan scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute. With this result, Esteghlal needed only a victory in the second leg by a score of 1–0 or 2–1 to secure the championship.
However, the story of second-leg match was different. In the second leg in Tehran and in front of more than 85000 Esteghlal fans, it was Sepahan could perform really great and won the match with the result of 2–0. It was a really unexpected loss for Esteghlal fans and Amir Ghalenoei, due to their great performance during the league season. On the other side, it was a really dramatic win for Sepahan fans and Frahad Kazemi.
Therefore, after these two dramatic matches, Seaphan could become the champion by the total result of 5–2.
2012 AFC Champions League At the end of 2011–12 Iran's Football Season, two football clubs met each other in the 1/8 Final of 2012 AFC Champions League.
This was the first meeting of two football clubs in an international and continental tournaments.
By winning this match, Esteghlal had the possibility to go for the first time to the Quarter-Finals of AFC Champions League since its establishment in 2002. On the other side, Sepahan's fans expected from their team to win this match and go forward for the first Asian title after three-year-in-a-row Iran's football championships.
On May 22, 2012, the match was held in Isfahan and finally Sepahan could win the match with the result of 2–0. Therefore, Sepahan advanced to Quarter-Finals of AFC Champions League for the third time in the history of the club. The Quarter-Final round will be held in September 2012.
Iranian League