# Pejman Montazeri

Pejman Montazeri (Persian: پژمان منتظری, born 6 September 1983) is an Iranian former footballer who plays as a defender.

## Club career
### Foolad

He was one of the exceptionally talented players in the Foolad squad that won the Iran Pro League in 2005, Montazeri played for Foolad in the 2006 AFC Champions League group stage.

### Esteghlal

After Foolad was relegated to the Azadegan League, Montazeri signed with Esteghlal. He had been a regular player for the team in his first two seasons, where he won the Iran Pro League and the Hazfi Cup. He extended his contract with Esteghlal until 2013 where he won the league title in the 2012–13 season. He also reached the semi-final of the Asian Champions League with Esteghlal in 2013.

### Umm Salal

Montazeri transferred to Umm Salal on 5 January 2014. When Montazeri joined Umm Salal, the club was in danger of relegation, but under the leadership of Montazeri, Umm Salal avoided relegation and finished 7th place.

### Al Ahli

On 31 May 2015 Montazeri signed a two-year contract with Qatari club Al Ahli.

### Return to Esteghlal

On 14 June, Montazeri returned to Esteghlal after a mutual decision not to renew his contract with Al Ahli. He was given the number 33 shirt, the same number he wore for Esteghlal during his first spell.

## International career

Pejman Montazeri was a member of Iran U-23, participating in the 2006 Asian Games. On 5 October 2011, he made his debut for the senior side against Palestine which he managed to score as Iran beat their opponent 7–0. He was named Man of the match later. He was called to the national team for World Cup 2014 qualification, 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification and 2012 WAFF Championship by coach Carlos Queiroz. On 1 June 2014, he was called into Iran's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad by Carlos Queiroz. He played full 90 minutes in all three matches for Team Melli, where Iran eliminated in the group stage. However, he missed 2015 AFC Asian Cup due to injury. He was also called up to play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification and made a strong partnership with Morteza Pouraliganji and Jalal Hosseini as Iran qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup without conceding a single goal. In May 2018 he was named in Iran's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 6 February 2015
| 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 |
| 2004–05 | Foolad | Pro League | 29 | 2 | | | – | – | 29 | 2 |
| 2005–06 | Foolad | Pro League | 28 | 1 | | | 6 | 1 | 34 | 2 |
| 2006–07 | Foolad | Pro League | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 2 |
| 2007–08 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 31 | 2 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 37 | 3 |
| 2008–09 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 41 | 3 |
| 2010–11 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 41 | 3 |
| 2011–12 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 28 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 39 | 2 |
| 2012–13 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 29 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 40 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Qatar | Qatar | Qatar | League | League | Emir Cup | Emir Cup | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2014-15 | Umm-Salal | Stars League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | Umm-Salal | Stars League | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 2 |
| 2016-17 | Al Ahli SC | Stars League | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 2 |
| Iran | Iran | Iran | League | League | Hazfi Cup | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2017–18 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 15 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| 2018–19 | Esteghlal | Pro League | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 1 |
| Total | Iran | Iran | 308 | 15 | 26 | 4 | 52 | 3 | 386 | 21 |
| Total | Qatar | Qatar | 57 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 58 | 3 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 359 | 18 | 25 | 3 | 43 | 3 | 428 | 24 |

### International

    Statistics accurate as of match played 31 December 2018.
Iran :
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 |
| 2016 | 6 | 1 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 51 | 2 |

### International goals

    Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 5 October 2011 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | Palestine | 5–0 | 7–0 | Friendly |

## Honours
### Club
#### Foolad

* Iran Pro League: 2004–05

#### Esteghlal

* Iran Pro League: 2008–09, 2012–13
* Hazfi Cup: 2007–08, 2011–12, 2017–18

### Individual

* Iran Football Federation Award player of the season: 2012–13 (Third)