# Rahman Rezaei

Rahman Rezaei (Persian: رحمان رضايی, born 20 February 1975) is an Iranian football coach and former player. A centre-back, he also represented the Iran national team.

## Club career

He was originally discovered by Iranian manager, Nasser Hejazi. Rezaei played for Zob Ahan in Isfahan for five seasons. After impressive performances for the club and the national team, he was transferred to Perugia for €150,000 and then to Messina.
Rahman Rezaei is currently the most successful Asian defender in Europe. In the 2003/2004 season, he helped Messina gain promotion to Serie A. He had been one of Messina's most consistently used players with 36 appearances in their 2004–05 mid-table finish. After steadily playing for his club for three seasons, at the end of August 2006 Rezaei signed with another Serie A club, Livorno.
He has won numerous plaudits in Italy and has been dubbed "The Flying Carpet". In addition, his fans in Messina have named him the "Secretary of Defense". In January 2006, he acquired Italian citizenship through his marriage to an Italian-Iranian Helia Hashemi.
In July 2008, an Iranian newspaper reported Iranian giants Persepolis were holding talks with Rezaei. However, in mid-July, Afshin Ghotbi was re-appointed manager of Persepolis and cut the talks with Rezaei, stating that the club were not looking for a centre-back player at that moment in time.
On 10 August 2009, Rezaei signed a one-year, $700 thousand contract with Qatari side Al Ahli SC. In 2010, he signed with Shahin Bushehr. A half-year later he joined Paykan. He announced his retirement from football on 4 July 2012.

## Club career statistics

    As of 18 May 2019
| Club performance | Club performance | Club performance | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Iran | Iran | Iran | League | League | Hazfi Cup | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 1996–97 | Zob Ahan | Azadegan League | | | | | – | – | | |
| 1997–98 | Zob Ahan | Azadegan League | | | | | – | – | | |
| 1998–99 | Zob Ahan | Azadegan League | 22 | 7 | | | – | – | | |
| 1999–00 | Zob Ahan | Azadegan League | | | | | – | – | | |
| 2000–01 | Zob Ahan | Azadegan League | 29 | 2 | | | – | – | | |
| Italy | Italy | Italy | League | League | Coppa Italia | Coppa Italia | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| 2001–02 | Perugia | Serie A | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 2 |
| 2002–03 | Perugia | Serie A | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 2003–04 | Messina | Serie B | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 2 |
| 2004–05 | Messina | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | Messina | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Messina | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Livorno | Serie A | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | Livorno | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 |
| Iran | Iran | Iran | League | League | Hazfi Cup | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2008–09 | Persepolis | Persian Gulf Pro League | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Qatar | Qatar | Qatar | League | League | Emir of Qatar Cup | Emir of Qatar Cup | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2009–10 | Al Ahli SC | Qatar Stars League | 9 | 1 | | | – | – | | |
| Iran | Iran | Iran | League | League | Hazfi Cup | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2010–11 | Shahin | Persian Gulf Pro League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | Paykan | Persian Gulf Pro League | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 1 |
| 2011–12 | Paykan | Azadegan League | | | | | – | – | | |
| Total | Iran | Iran | | | | | 4 | 0 | | |
| Total | Italy | Italy | 166 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 175 | 8 |
| Total | Qatar | Qatar | 9 | 1 | | | – | – | | |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | | | | | 7 | 0 | | |

## International career

Rahman Rezaei made his first appearance for Iran in July 2001 against Bosnia. He has been the most consistent defender for the team ever since.
In European football, Rahman Rezaei is considered a solid defender well inclined to launch devastating counterattacks. However his role is different in the Iranian national football team, where he is a straight defensive centre back. He was formerly a forward, but has proved to be an indispensable defensive stalwart for an Iranian side considered top-heavy in attacking players.
He was among the key players for Iran in World Cup 2006, but he did not perform as well as everyone had hoped. He received some criticism following a couple mistakes which led to goals being scored against the team.
On 6 April 2007 Rezaei stated he will retire from international football after the 2007 Asian Cup., but in another interview in December 2007 he expressed his intention to return to the national team. Rezaei was given his #5 jersey and was selected for Team Melli's 2010 World Cup Qualification matches.
Iran national team :
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2001 | 16 | 0 |
| 2002 | 3 | 1 |
| 2003 | 5 | 0 |
| 2004 | 10 | 0 |
| 2005 | 6 | 1 |
| 2006 | 8 | 1 |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 54 | 3 |

### International goals

    Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 30 May 2002 | Sabah Al Salem Stadium, Kuwait City | Kuwait | 2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 3 June 2005 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | North Korea | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 28 May 2006 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–2 | 5–2 | Friendly |

### Director of football

    after time of playing he was director sport and coach in some clubs.
| # | season | club | position |
| 1 | 2011–2012 | Paykan F.C. | Director of football |
| 2 | 2012–2013 | Persepolis F.C. | Director of football |
| 3 | 2020 | Zob Ahan F.C. | Director of football |

## Honours
### Individual

* Asian Cup All-Star Team: 2007

## Personal life

Rezaei is married to translator H. Hashemian, a woman of Iranian origin who was born in Assisi, Perugia.