Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club (, Bashgah-e Futbal-e Esteqlâl Ahvaz), commonly known as Esteghlal Ahvaz, is an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, that competed in the Khuzestan Province league. The club was founded in 1948 as Taj Ahvaz Football Club ().

The football team played their home games at the Takhti Ahvaz which has a seating capacity of 10,000. The club was owned and supported by Mohammad Maleki.

History

Establishment The club was founded as Taj Ahvaz Football Club by Hakim Shoushtari in 1938. The club was one of Taj Tehran branches at the time.

Before 1970 Before the 1970s, Iran did not have an official national football league. Most clubs participated in championships of their city or province. In addition to that Taj Ahvaz played in the Khuzestan Premier League until 1970.

1970s In 1970, the Local League was created. The league included teams from all Iran in different qualifying tournaments. Taj Ahvaz finished first in Group A of their qualifying tournament. After losing the semifinal, Taj Ahvaz defeated Javanan Isfahan 2–0 in the third-place match.

The club also participated in the 1971–72 Local League season. Taj Ahvaz missed again qualification for the final stage after defeating 0–2 by Sepahan in the semifinal of their qualifying tournament. Once again, they achieved third place after a 2–1 win over Tractor.

In 1972, the Takht Jamshid Cup was founded as the national league and included teams from all over the country. Although Taj Ahvaz was promoted to the Takht Jamshid Cup in 1973, the club had to play in the Khuzestan Premier League anymore. Reason therefore was rule by the Iran Football Federation. They allowed only one team of the same name to participate in the league at that time. Taj Tehran played in the league already.

1979 Revolution After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Taj Ahvaz changed its name into Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club. Esteghlal means independence in Persian. After the revolution, any sign of the previous monarchist regime was not tolerated.

1980s and 1990s Due to the revolution and the Iran–Iraq War, the Takht Jamshid Cup was dissolved and also the lower leagues were unorganized. The war hit Ahvaz and Khuzestan hard. Consequently, the people paid very little attention to the club and football in general at that time. In 1989 the Qods League was created as the national football league, but Esteghlal Ahvaz did not participate.

In 1991 the Azadegan League was formed as the top flight of Iranian football. Esteghlal Ahvaz played eight years in the league with average results. After they finished 13th in the 1997–98 Azadegan League season, Esteghlal Ahvaz relegated to Iran Football's 2nd Division.

2000s After the Iran Pro League was established as the professional football league of Iran, Azadegan League was declared as the second-highest professional league in the Iranian football league system. Esteghlal Ahvaz won the 2001–02 Azadegan League season and promoted to Iran Pro League.

Esteghlal Ahvaz had a good team and remained in Iran pro League. They finished eighth in the 2003–04 Iran Pro League season and fifth one season later.

After they achieved only 12th place in 2005–06 Iran Pro League, Esteghlal Ahvaz finished as runners-up in the 2006–07 season. They continued to be an average team in seasons 2007–08 and 2008–09.

Weak years Based on a weak performance during 2009–10 Iran Pro League, Esteghlal Ahvaz finished 18th and relegated to Azadegan League. Only one year later they relegated again due to a lot of instability in 2010–11 Azadegan League as they finished 13th. Esteghlal Ahvaz returned to Azadegan League in 2012. They won the 2011–12 Iran 2nd Division after a 4–3 win over PAS Novin Hamedan.

Past on two average seasons, Esteghlal Ahvaz relegated again to League 2. They lost their Play-off match against Shahrdari Tabriz 3–3 on aggregate due to away goals.

Promotion and relegation Although Esteghlal Ahvaz was relegated to League 2 in 2014-15 season, they were able to play in the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League. They got the licence from Foolad Novin, which was actually promoted. Foolad Novin could not be promoted to Persian Gulf Pro League, being the reserve side of Foolad Khuzestan. However the team was mismanaged and they were relegated back to the Azadegan League several games before the end of the season.

Because of a very poor performance in the 2016–17 Azadegan League season, Esteghlal Ahvaz was relegated to League 2 without winning a single match.

Stadium

Esteghlal Ahvaz plays their home games at the Takhti Ahvaz which has a seating capacity of 10,000. The stadium was opened in 1978 and is owned by the Municipality of Ahvaz. The stadium was renovated in 2005 and 2012. It is also the home venue of local rival Shahin Ahvaz.

Furthermore, Esteghlal Ahvaz played two matches in the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League season at Ghadir. They played also their Hazfi Cup match in this season there.

Average attendances Season Division Average 2005–0615,667 2006–0716,267 2007–0817,938 2008–0915,000 2009–1015,059 2010–1121,800 2015–1611,773 2016–172927 Notes:Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendances

Supporters Due to the Iran–Iraq War, the people paid very little attention to the club and football in general in the 1980s.

Based on weak years between 2010 and 2015, the club has to fight with falling attendance numbers and sinking popularity.

Last but not least the fans stands out negative sometimes. For instance the fans threw stones in the field in a match against Persepolis on 22 April 2016. As a result of this, Esteghlal Ahvaz had to play three matches with a ban on spectators.

Rivalries Esteghlal Ahvaz' main rival is Foolad.

Ahvaz Derby Esteghlal Ahvaz' longest-running and deepest rivalry is with the other major club in Ahvaz, Foolad Khuzestan. Matches between the two clubs are referred to as the Ahvaz Derby. Although Foolad represents the Arab minority of Ahvaz, while the supporters of Esteghlal Ahvaz are primarily Persians, there is no any ethnic rivalry in the derby. After weak seasons of Esteghlal Ahvaz in the past, the derby lost in importance.

Further rivalries Other smaller rivalries within Ahvaz include those with Esteghlal Khuzestan and Shahin Ahvaz.

Seasons The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal Ahvaz in various competitions since 1970.

SeasonDivision League PositionHazfi CupNotes1970–711Local League3rd (Region D)Not held1971–721Local League3rd (Region C)1991–921Azadegan League8th1992–931Azadegan League5th (Group B)1993–941Azadegan League14th1994–951Azadegan League4th (Group B)1995–961Azadegan League7th1996–971Azadegan League9th1997–981Azadegan League13thRelegated1998–992League 24th (Group 1)Semi-Final1999–002League 25th (2nd Round)2000–012League 23rd (Group 3)2001–022Azadegan League1st (2nd Round)Promoted2002–031Persian Gulf Pro League11th2003–041Persian Gulf Pro League8thQuarter-Final2004–051Persian Gulf Pro League5thSemi-Final2005–061Persian Gulf Pro League12thRound of 322006–071Persian Gulf Pro League2ndQuarter-FinalRunners-up2007–081Persian Gulf Pro League8thRound of 162008–091Persian Gulf Pro League14thRound of 162009–101Persian Gulf Pro League18thRound of 32Relegated2010–112Azadegan League13th (Group B)3rd RoundRelegated2011–123League 21st (Group A)1st RoundPromoted2012–132Azadegan League10th (Group A)Round of 322013–142Azadegan League8th (Group A)3rd Round2014–152Azadegan League9th (Group A)Round of 32Promoted2015–161Persian Gulf Pro League16thRound of 32Relegated2016–172Azadegan League18th2nd RoundRelegated2017–183League 28thdid not enter2018–193League 211thdid not enterRelegated2019–204League 3Disqualifieddid not enterRelegated Notes:The Persian Gulf Pro League was formerly known as Iran Pro League (IPL) and Persian Gulf Cup (PGC) The Azadegan League was the highest division between 1991 and 2001 The League 2 was formerly known as Iran 2nd Division The League 3 was formerly known as Iran 3rd Division

Honours Domestic Persian Gulf Pro League Runners-up (1): 2006–07 Azadegan League Winners (1): 2001–02 League 2 Winners (1): 2011–12

Players

First team squad

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers summer 2016.

Coaches Coaches since 1993 No.CoachfromuntilMajor Titles1 July 1993June 200102 July 200120023 2002June 20021Azadegan League4 July 2002June 200305 July 2003June 20046 July 200420057 200520058 2005June 20059 July 2005June 200610 July 2006November 200711 November 2007May 200812 July 2008August 200813 August 2008August 200814 August 2008August 200815 August 2008February 200916 June 2009September 200917 2009200918 2009200919 2009200920 2009September 201021 September 2010January 201122 February 2011March 201123 March 2011March 201124 April 2011April 201125 April 2011May 201126 July 2011November 201227 November 2012November 201228 November 2012June 20131League 229 July 2013June 2014030 July 2014201531 2015201532 2015201533 2015201534 2015June 201535 July 2015October 201536 November 2015December 201537 January 2016June 201638 July 2016December 201639 January 2017

Club chairmen Chairmen since 2002 No.Coachfromuntil1 20022 200220063 200620114 201120165 2016

See also Esteghlal Tehran Esteghlal Khuzestan FC Istiklol 2016–17 Azadegan League 2016-17 Hazfi Cup

References

External links Official club website Khuzestan Football Association