# 2009–10 Azadegan League

The 2009–10 Azadegan League was the 19th season of the Azadegan League and ninth as the second highest division since its establishment in 1991. The season featured 19 teams from the 2008–09 Azadegan League, three new teams relegated from the 2008–09 Persian Gulf Cup (Payam Mashhad, Damash and Bargh Shiraz) and four new teams promoted from the 2008–09 2nd Division (Sanati Kaveh, Foolad Novin, Mes Sarcheshmeh and Naft Tehran). Gostaresh Foulad replaced Niroye Zamini while Iranjavan replaced Moghavemat Mersad. Aluminium Arak changed their name to Shensa Arak. The league started on 10 August 2009 and ended on 27 June 2010. Shahrdari Tabriz and Naft Tehran won the Azadegan League title for the first time in their history. Shahrdari Tabriz, Naft Tehran and Sanat Naft won promotion to the Persian Gulf Cup.

## Events
### Start of season

* The league was to feature three teams relegated from Persian Gulf Cup in 2008–09; Bargh Shiraz, Damash Gilan, and Payam Mashhad.
* It featured four teams promoted from 2009 to 2010 Azadegan League: Folad Novin, Naft Tehran, Mes Sarcheshme, and Sanati Kaveh.
* Gostaresh Foolad ended its 2008/2009 3rd Division campaign in first place( Group A) and can promoted in 2nd Division. They bought Niroye Zamini. So They currently play the 2009–10 Azadegan League.
* Iranjavan ended its 2008/2009 2nd Division campaign in third place( Group A) and can not promoted in 2009–10 Azadegan League. On 30 August 2009 they bought Moghavemat Mersad and they returned to Azadegan League.
* In September 2009 Aluminium Arak F.C. terminated their sports activities due to financial problems. Shensa Arak F.C. took over their license.

## Teams
### Group A

| Team | City | Venue | Capacity | Head coach | Past Season |
| Damash Lorestan | Dorood | Takhti | 10,000 | Markar Aghajanian | 4th in Azadegan League/B |
| Etka | Gorgan | Karim Abad | 15,000 | Hadi Bargizar | 10th in Azadegan League/B |
| Iranjavan | Bushehr | Shahid Beheshti | 15,000 | Abdolrahim Kharazmi | 3rd in 2nd Division/A |
| Mes Rafsanjan | Rafsanjan | Noushabad | 10,000 | Akbar Zabardast | 3rd in Azadegan League/B |
| Payam Mashhad | Mashhad | Samen | 35,000 | Ali Hanteh | 16th in Persian Gulf Cup |
| Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. | Abadan | Takhti Abadan | 22,000 | Bijan Zolfagharnasab | 7th in Azadegan League/A |
| Sanati Kaveh | Tehran | Aliaf Stadium | 5,000 | Ahmad Khodadad | 1st in 2nd Division/A |
| Shamoushak | Noshahr | Shohada | 6,000 | Mokhtar Babaei | 11th in Azadegan League/B |
| Shahin Ahvaz | Ahvaz | Takhti | 30,000 | Saeed Salamat | 12th in Azadegan League/B |
| Shahrdari Tabriz | Tabriz | Bagh Shomal | 20,000 | Akbar Misaghian | 2nd in Azadegan League/A |
| Shahrdari Bandar Abbas | Bandar Abbas | Takhti Bandar Abbas | 10,000 | Abbas Sarkhab | 11th in Azadegan League/A |
| Sepahan Novin | Isfahan | Safaiye | 15,000 | Amrollah Soltani | 6th in Azadegan League/A |
| Tarbiat Yazd | Yazd | Nassiri | 6,000 | Golmohammadi | 5th in Azadegan League/B |
| Payam Mokhaberat | Shiraz | Hafezieh | 20,000 | Jafar Fatahi | 8th in Azadegan League/B |

### Group B

| Team | City | Venue | Capacity | Head coach | Past Season |
| Aluminium Hormozgan | Bandar Abbas | Takhti | 10,000 | Vinko Begović | 2nd in Azadegan League/B |
| Bargh Shiraz | Shiraz | Hafezieh | 20,000 | Asghar Kalantari | 18th in Persian Gulf Cup |
| Damash Gilan | Rasht | Sardar Jangal | 15,000 | Firouz Karimi | 17th in Persian Gulf Cup |
| Folad Novin | Ahvaz | Takhti | 30,000 | Fereydon Hardani | 2nd in 2nd Division/A |
| Gostaresh Foolad | Tabriz | Bagh Shomal | 20,000 | Hossien Khatibi | 3rd Division Champions |
| Gol Gohar | Sirjan | Imam Ali | 2,000 | Ghasem Shehba | 5th in Azadegan League/A |
| Kowsar Lorestan | Khorramabad | Takhti Khorramabad | 10,000 | Ebrahim Talebi | 8th in Azadegan League/A |
| Petrochimi | Tabriz | Bagh Shomal | 20,000 | Zoran Smilevski | 3rd in Azadegan League/A |
| Shensa Arak | Arak | Imam Khomeini | 15,000 | Savio Souza | 4th in Azadegan League/A |
| Shirin Faraz | Kermanshah | Azadi Stadium | 7,000 | Mahmoud Fekri | 7th in Azadegan League/B |
| Mehrkam | Eslamshahr | Imam Khomeini | 15,000 | Behtash Fariba | 9th in Azadegan League/A |
| Mes Sarcheshme | Sarcheshmeh | Shahid Zenali | 10,000 | Ali Hadavi | 1st in 2nd Division/B |
| Naft Tehran | Tehran | Amir Abad | 5,000 | Mehdi Dinvarzadeh | 2nd in 2nd Division/B |
| Nassaji | Qa'em Shahr | Vatani | 15,000 | Nader Dastneshan | 12th in Azadegan League/A |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Kowsar | Reza Ahadi | Sacked | 2009 | Mostafa Ghanbarpour | 2009 |
| Shensa Arak | Castro Felore | Sacked | Oct 2009 | Savio Souza | 20 Oct 2009 |
| Kowsar | Mostafa Ghanbarpour | Sacked | Nov 2009 | Ebrahim Talebi | Nov 2009 |
| Shirin Faraz | Mahmoud Fekri | Sacked | Dec 2009 | Estehghari/ Mortazavi | Dec 2009 |
| Payam Mokhaberat | Mehrdad Shekari | Sacked | Dec 2009 | Jafar Fatahi | Dec 2009 |
| Iranjavan | Naser Ebrahimi | Abdicate | Dec 2009 | Abdolrahim Kharazmi | Dec 2009 |
| Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. | Bijan Zolfagharnasab | Abdicate | 1 Jan 2010 | Faraz Kamalvand | 1 Jan 2010 |
| Gostaresh Foolad | Hossein Khatibi | Abdicate | 20 Mar 2010 | Farhad Kazemi | 20 Mar 2010 |
| Nassaji Mazandaran | Nader Dastneshan | Abdicate | 20 Mar 2010 | Reza Foruzani | 24 Mar 2010 |
| Payam Mashhad | Ali Hanteh | Abdicate | 12 Mar 2010 | Davoud Mahabadi | 19 Mar 2010 |
| Sanati Kaveh | Ahmad Khodadad | Abdicate | 5 Mar 2010 | Hossein Fekri | 7 Mar 2010 |
| Mehrkam Pars | Behtash Fariba | Abdicate | 15 Mar 2010 | Javad Zarincheh | 17 Mar 2010 |
| Naft Tehran | Mehdi Dinvarzadeh | Abdicate | 20 May 2010 | Morteza Yeke | 23 May 2010 |
| Naft Tehran | Morteza Yeke | Abdicate | 1 June 2010 | Nader Dastneshan | 2 June 2010 |

## Final standings
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Sh. Tabriz (C, P) | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 43 | 11 | +32 | 62 | Promotion to 2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup |
| 2 | Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. (P) | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 26 | +12 | 45 | Azadegan League 2009–10 Play Off |
| 3 | Tarbiat Yazd | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 44 | |
| 4 | Sepahan Novin | 26 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 31 | +11 | 41 | |
| 5 | Etka Gorgan | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 37 | |
| 6 | Sh. Bandar Abbas | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 36 | |
| 7 | Mes Rafsanjan | 26 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 30 | 24 | +6 | 36 | |
| 8 | Payam Mashhad | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 33 | 36 | −3 | 34 | |
| 9 | Sanati Kaveh | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 30 | −3 | 34 | |
| 10 | Iranjavan | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 31 | 34 | −3 | 32 | |
| 11 | Damash Lorestan | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 33 | −10 | 29 | |
| 12 | Payam Mokhaberat | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 28 | |
| 13 | Shamoushak (R) | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 29 | 37 | −8 | 26 | Relegation to 2010–11 Iran Football's 2nd Division |
| 14 | Shahin Ahvaz (R) | 26 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 11 | 58 | −47 | 8 | Relegation to 2010–11 Iran Football's 2nd Division |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Naft Tehran (C, P) | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 49 | Promotion to 2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup |
| 2 | Damash | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 26 | +12 | 48 | Azadegan League 2009–10 Play Off |
| 3 | Bargh Shiraz | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 23 | +10 | 48 | |
| 4 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 26 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 32 | 33 | −1 | 40 | |
| 5 | Mes Sarcheshmeh | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 37 | |
| 6 | Shirin Faraz | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 37 | |
| 7 | Nassaji Mazandaran | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 34 | |
| 8 | Gostaresh | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 34 | |
| 9 | Mehrkam Pars | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 32 | |
| 10 | Gol Gohar | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 30 | 32 | −2 | 30 | |
| 11 | Shensa | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 29 | |
| 12 | Petroshimi Tabriz | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 31 | −8 | 29 | |
| 13 | Foolad Novin (R) | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 26 | 36 | −10 | 29 | Relegation to 2010–11 Iran Football's 2nd Division |
| 14 | Kowsar Lorestan (R) | 26 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 41 | −19 | 16 | Relegation to 2010–11 Iran Football's 2nd Division |

## Results table
### Group A

| Home \ Away | DAM | ETK | IRJ | MSR | PYM | PMS | SNA | KAV | SPN | SAA | SHB | SHT | SHM | TAR |
| Damash Lorestan | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Etka Gorgan | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Iranjavan | 3–1 | 1–2 | | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Mes Rafsanjan | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Payam Mashhad | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–4 |
| Payam Mokhaberat | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Sanati Kaveh | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Sepahan Novin | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Shahin Ahvaz | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | | 1–6 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Sh. Bandar Abbas | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Sh. Tabriz | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 7–1 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Shamoushak | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | | 1–0 |
| Tarbiat Yazd | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |

### Group B

| Home \ Away | ALH | BGH | DMG | FOL | GOL | GOS | KOW | MEH | MSA | NAF | NSJ | PET | ARA | SFZ |
| Aluminium Hormozgan | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Bargh Shiraz | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Damash | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Foolad Novin | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Gol Gohar | 2–0 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Gostaresh | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–2 | | 3–3 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Kowsar Lorestan | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Mehrkam Pars | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Mes Sarcheshmeh | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Naft Tehran | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Nassaji Mazandaran | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Petroshimi Tabriz | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Shensa | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 1–1 |
| Shirin Faraz | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |

## Play Off

    First leg to be played July 2, 2010; return leg to be played July 8, 2010
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Damash Gilan F.C. | 2-7 | Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. | 1-5 | 1-2 |

### Return leg
## Attendance
### Average home attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Nassaji | 142,000 | 15,000 | 0 | 11,833 | +65.4%$^†$ |
| 2 | Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. | 111,000 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 8,538 | +23.9%$^†$ |
| 3 | Damash Lorestan | 77,900 | 10,000 | 400 | 5,992 | −30.2%$^†$ |
| 4 | Tarbiat Yazd | 70,500 | 10,000 | 0 | 5,875 | +34.0%$^†$ |
| 5 | Sh. Tabriz | 63,000 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 4,846 | −8.4%$^†$ |
| 6 | Bargh Shiraz | 54,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 4,154 | −38.6%$^†$ |
| 7 | Kowsar Lorestan | 50,000 | 10,000 | 500 | 3,846 | −36.3%$^†$ |
| 8 | Shensa | 46,000 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 3,538 | −32.4%$^†$ |
| 9 | Shirin Faraz | 43,500 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 3,346 | +93.3%$^†$ |
| 10 | Damash | 42,000 | 10,000 | 500 | 3,231 | −18.0%$^†$ |
| 11 | Shamoushak | 31,500 | 6,000 | 500 | 2,423 | +86.4%$^†$ |
| 12 | Sh. Bandar Abbas | 24,200 | 6,000 | 0 | 2,017 | +47.3%$^†$ |
| 13 | Etka Gorgan | 26,200 | 6,000 | 100 | 2,015 | −27.2%$^†$ |
| 14 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 25,500 | 4,000 | 500 | 1,962 | −7.7%$^†$ |
| 15 | Iranjavan | 22,550 | 4,000 | 0 | 1,879 | n/a$^†$ |
| 16 | Gol Gohar | 21,000 | 3,000 | 0 | 1,750 | −9.0%$^†$ |
| 17 | Mes Rafsanjan | 19,300 | 2,500 | 0 | 1,608 | −39.8%$^†$ |
| 18 | Gostaresh | 16,800 | 3,000 | 200 | 1,292 | n/a$^†$ |
| 19 | Payam Mokhaberat | 12,000 | 3,000 | 100 | 923 | +126.2%$^†$ |
| 20 | Sepahan Novin | 11,900 | 2,000 | 300 | 915 | −40.5%$^†$ |
| 21 | Mes Sarcheshmeh | 9,000 | 2,000 | 100 | 692 | n/a$^†$ |
| 22 | Naft Tehran | 7,500 | 2,500 | 50 | 577 | n/a$^†$ |
| 23 | Mehrkam Pars | 6,550 | 2,000 | 100 | 504 | −13.8%$^†$ |
| 24 | Petroshimi Tabriz | 5,900 | 2,000 | 100 | 454 | +22.4%$^†$ |
| 25 | Payam Mashhad | 5,550 | 1,000 | 50 | 427 | −93.0%$^†$ |
| 26 | Shahin Ahvaz | 4,400 | 1,000 | 50 | 338 | −38.1%$^†$ |
| 27 | Sanati Kaveh | 2,650 | 500 | 100 | 204 | n/a$^†$ |
| 28 | Foolad Novin | 2,500 | 500 | 50 | 192 | n/a$^†$ |
| | League total | 954,900 | 15,000 | 0 | 2,667 | −13.3%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 27 June 2010 Source: iplstats.com Notes: Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendances Bargh Shiraz, Damash and Payam Mashhad played last season in Persian Gulf Cup Foolad Novin, Mes Sarcheshmeh, Naft Tehran and Sanati Kaveh played last season in Iran 2nd Division Gostaresh Foulad replaced Niroye Zamini Iranjavan replaced Moghavemat Mersad Aluminium Arak changed their name into Shensa Arak

### Highest attendance

| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Week | Stadium |
| 1 | Nassaji | 4–1 | Damash | 15,000 | 13 November 2009 (2009-11-13) | 6 | Vatani |
| 1 | Nassaji | 0–1 | Bargh Shiraz | 15,000 | 11 December 2009 (2009-12-11) | 9 | Vatani |
| 1 | Nassaji | 2–0 | Foolad Novin | 15,000 | 15 January 2010 (2010-01-15) | 13 | Vatani |
| 1 | Nassaji | 0–0 | Mehrkam Pars | 15,000 | 19 February 2010 (2010-02-19) | 14 | Vatani |
| 1 | Nassaji | 3–1 | Mes Sarcheshmeh | 15,000 | 8 April 2010 (2010-04-08) | 18 | Vatani |
| 1 | Nassaji | 2–0 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 15,000 | 23 April 2010 (2010-04-23) | 20 | Vatani |
| 1 | Sanat Naft | 0–2 | Shahrdari Tabriz | 15,000 | 23 April 2010 (2010-04-23) | 20 | Takhti Abadan |
| 1 | Nassaji | 1–3 | Gostaresh | 15,000 | 11 June 2010 (2010-06-11) | 23 | Vatani |
| 1 | Sanat Naft | 0–0 | Tarbiat Yazd | 15,000 | 27 June 2010 (2010-06-27) | 26 | Takhti Abadan |
| 2 | Sanat Naft | 2–0 | Iranjavan | 12,000 | 6 November 2009 (2009-11-06) | 5 | Takhti Abadan |
Notes: Updated to games played on 27 June 2010. Source: iplstats.com