Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh
 Bakhtiarizadeh in Esteghlal's training in 2026. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 September 1973[2][3] | ||
| Place of birth | Ahvaz, Iran | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Esteghlal (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–1992 | Jonoub Ahvaz | ||
| 1992–1994 | Entezam Ahvaz | ||
| 1994–1995 | Shahin Ahvaz | ||
| 1995–1997 | Foolad | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1999 | Foolad | 30 | (3) |
| 1999–2000 | Esteghlal | 43 | (1) |
| 2000–2001 | Erzurumspor | 20 | (1) |
| 2001–2003 | Esteghlal | 37 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Foolad | 24 | (4) |
| 2004–2007 | Saba Battery Tehran | 74 | (15) |
| 2007 | Pas Hamedan | 1 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Foolad | 17 | (1) |
| 2009–2013 | Saba Qom | 60 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | 16 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 1997–2006 | Iran | 34 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016 | Naft Masjed Soleyman | ||
| 2018–2019 | Iran U23 (assistant) | ||
| 2019–2020 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | ||
| 2020 | Shahr Khodro | ||
| 2020 | Khosheh Talaei Saveh | ||
| 2021–2022 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | ||
| 2023 | Esteghlal (technical director) | ||
| 2024 | Sanat Naft Abadan | ||
| 2024 | Esteghlal (caretaker) | ||
| 2024–2025 | Esteghlal (assistant) | ||
| 2025 | Esteghlal (caretaker) | ||
| 2026– | Esteghlal | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Persian: سهراب بختيارىزاده; born 11 September 1973) is an Iranian football coach and former player who manages Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal.[4] As a player, he played as a centre-back and represented several clubs in Iran, including Esteghlal, Foolad and Saba Qom. He also represented the Iran national team and was part of the squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After retiring from professional football, Bakhtiarizadeh moved into coaching and has worked with several clubs in Iranian football.[5]
Club career
He started his professional career with playing for Khuzestani clubs, before moving to Esteghlal FC. After a couple of seasons, he elected to play professionally in Turkish league. The move was far from successful and Sohrab left this club in controversial circumstances.[6]
He returned to Esteghlal soon after. His lack of playing time caused him to be transferred to Foolad. After a season there he moved to Saba Battery. Along with the likes of Ali Daei and Mohammad Navazi, Sohrab won the Hazfi Cup in 2004/05 season and hence qualified for the Asian Champions League.
In August 2007, Bakhtiarzadeh was transferred to the newly formed club Pas Hamedan. He only played one match and had many differences with the club where he left the club and moved to Foolad for the season after and did not play in many matches. He moved to Saba for the season after.
Bakhtiarizadeh endured a major injury, and was out for many games during 2010–11 season.
Personal life
On 7 January 2026, Bakhtiarizadeh publicly supported the 2025–2026 Iranian protests on his Instagram, stating: "This is the anger of a nation that saw before its eyes that your aghazadeh devoured the people's wealth. They took billions of their rights with a lot of force."[7] On 9 February 2026, he publicly objected to being included on a list of supporters of the 1979 Islamic Revolution by the Ministry of Sport and Youth, ahead of the Revolution's anniversary.[8]
Club career statistics
- As of 24 July 2013
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Turkey | League | Turkish Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2000–01 | Erzurumspor | Süper Lig | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 1 |
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 1999–20 | Esteghlal | Azadegan League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Pro League | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 4 | |
| 2002–03 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Foolad | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 4 | |
| 2004–05 | Saba Battery | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 3 | |
| 2005–06 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 32 | 9 | ||
| 2006–07 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Pas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Foolad | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 18 | 2 | |
| 2009–10 | Saba | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 | |
| Total | Turkey | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | Iran | 249 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 272 | 25 | |
| Career total | 269 | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 292 | 26 | ||
- Assist Goals
| Season | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 06–07 | Saba Battery | 3 |
| 10–11 | Saba | 0 |
| 11–12 | Saba Qom | 0 |
International career
He made his debut for Iran in October 1997 in a World Cup 1998 qualification game against Qatar in Tehran. He was not included in Iran's final squad for the 1998 Fifa World Cup, but he was an on-and-off starter for the national team until 2003, when he lost his spot. He scored the last goal in the final of WAFF 2000 where Team Melli won the competition. His brilliant performance in the IPL 2005/06 season was rewarded by a recall to duty after a three-year absence from Team Melli. He appeared in two of Iran's games in the 2006 World Cup, starting against Angola and scoring Iran's only goal in the game. He was called up to the national team again after the World Cup, by new manager Amir Ghalenoei, but did not participate. He has since retired from international football and only participates in club play.[9]
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2 June 2000 | King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan | %252C_Flag_of_Syria_(1980%E2%80%932024).svg.png){kind=small} Syria | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2000 WAFF Championship | |||||
| 2. | 24 November 2000 | Takhti Stadium, Tabriz, Iran |  Guam | 8–0 | 19–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||||
| 3. | 14–0 | ||||||||||
| 4. | 21 June 2006 | Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany |  Angola | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup | |||||
| Correct as of 13 December 2017[10] | |||||||||||
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 27 February 2026.
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Ref. | |||
| Naft Masjed Soleyman | 12 June 2016 | 22 December 2016 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 26.32 | |
| Esteghlal Khuzestan | 15 October 2019 | 2 February 2020 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 30.77 | |
| Shahr Khodro | 8 July 2020 | 29 August 2020 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 0.00 | |
| Khooshe Talaee | 14 September 2020 | 16 December 2020 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 0.00 | |
| Esteghlal Khuzestan | 15 September 2021 | 2 February 2022 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 41.18 | |
| Sanat Naft | 3 February 2024 | 2 March 2024 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 14 | −6 | 0.00 | |
| Esteghlal (caretaker) | 1 October 2024 | 23 October 2024 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 33.33 | |
| Esteghlal (caretaker) | 28 January 2025 | 20 February 2025 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 60.00 | |
| Esteghlal | 23 February 2026 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 | ||
| Total | 77 | 21 | 28 | 28 | 83 | 75 | +8 | 27.27 | |||
Honours
Club
- Esteghlal
- Saba
National
- Iran
References
- ↑ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Iran" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
- ↑ Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh at fifa.com
- ↑ Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh at fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
- ↑ "رسمی: سرمربی استقلال مشخص شد". Varzesh3 (in Persian). 16 June 2026.
- ↑ "Iran vs Angola Match Card at the 2006 World Cup". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 21 June 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ "Runaway Iranians make border in Turkish club car". Soccernet. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
- ↑ https://www.iranintl.com/202601073024
- ↑ https://www.iranintl.com/202602090161
- ↑ انصراف بختيازي زاده از حضور در تيم ملي (in Persian). ISNA. Retrieved 29 July 2006.
- ↑ Profile: Sohrab BAKHTIYARIZADEH – teammelli.com
External links
- Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh at National-Football-Teams.com
- Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh at TeamMelli.com
Iran squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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- 1973 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Ahvaz
- Iranian men's footballers
- Iran men's international footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- Persian Gulf Pro League players
- Azadegan League players
- Süper Lig players
- Foolad F.C. players
- Esteghlal F.C. players
- Erzurumspor footballers
- Saba Qom F.C. players
- PAS Tehran F.C. players
- Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C. players
- Iranian expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
- Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
- 2000 AFC Asian Cup players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- Iranian football managers
- Shahr Khodro F.C. managers
- Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. managers
- Esteghlal F.C. managers
- Persian Gulf Pro League managers