# 2022–23 Esteghlal F.C. season

The 2022–23 Esteghlal Football Club season is the 77th season and the club's 29th consecutive season in the top flight of Iranian football. In addition to the domestic league, Esteghlal are participating in this season's editions of the Hazfi Cup, and the Iranian Super Cup.
Esteghlal did not play any matches between 2 November and 16 December due to a mid-season break in accommodation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Persian Gulf Pro League was suspended after matchday 11.

## Players

    Last updated: 3 March 2023 (2023-03-03)
| No. | Name | Position | Date of Birth (Age) | Since | End | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||
| 1 | Hossein Hosseini | GK | (1992-06-30)30 June 1992 (aged 30) | 2012 | 2023 | Youth Sector |
| 90 | Sina Saeidifar | GK | (2001-04-12)12 April 2001 (aged 21) | 2020 | 2024 | Youth Sector |
| 98 | Alireza Rezaei | GK | (1999-12-11)11 December 1999 (aged 23) | 2021 | 2024 | Paykan |
| Defenders ||||||||
| 2 | Saleh Hardani | RB / RM | (1998-09-14)14 September 1998 (aged 24) | 2022 | 2024 | Foolad |
| 3 | Mohammad Hossein Moradmand | CB | (1993-06-22)22 June 1993 (aged 29) | 2020 | 2023 | Shahr Khodro |
| 5 | Aref Gholami | CB | (1997-04-19)19 April 1997 (aged 25) | 2019 | 2023 | Foolad |
| 11 | Arthur Yamga | RB / RW | (1996-09-07)7 September 1996 (aged 26) | 2021 | 2025 | Vejle |
| 17 | Jafar Salmani | LB / RB / LW | (1997-01-12)12 January 1997 (aged 25) | 2021 | 2023 | Portimonense |
| 33 | Abolfazl Jalali | LB / CB / LM | (1998-06-26)26 June 1998 (aged 24) | 2021 | 2024 | Saipa |
| 55 | Raphael Silva | CB | (1992-04-20)20 April 1992 (aged 30) | 2022 | 2024 | Al Faisaly |
| Midfielders ||||||||
| 4 | Rouzbeh Cheshmi | DM / CB | (1993-07-24)24 July 1993 (aged 29) | 2021 | 2024 | Umm Salal |
| 8 | Saeid Mehri | CM / AM / DM | (1995-09-16)16 September 1995 (aged 27) | 2021 | 2024 | Tractor |
| 9 | Mehdi Mehdipour | CM / DM / AM | (1994-02-18)18 February 1994 (aged 28) | 2020 | 2024 | Zob Ahan |
| 14 | Zobeir Niknafs | DM / CM | (1993-04-12)12 April 1993 (aged 29) | 2021 | 2024 | Foolad |
| 19 | Reza Mirzaei | RW / LW | (1996-04-14)14 April 1996 (aged 26) | 2022 | 2024 | Sepahan |
| 26 | Omid Hamedifar | DM / CB | (2000-08-20)20 August 2000 (aged 22) | 2022 | 2024 | Sanat Naft |
| 80 | Mohammad Hossein Zavari | CM / AM | (2001-01-11)11 January 2001 (aged 21) | 2022 | 2024 | Sanat Naft |
| 88 | Arash Rezavand | AM / CM / DM | (1993-10-05)5 October 1993 (aged 29) | 2019 | 2024 | Saipa |
| 99 | Amirali Sadeghi | LW / AM | (2001-02-09)9 February 2001 (aged 21) | 2021 | 2024 | Saipa |
| Forwards ||||||||
| 10 | Sajjad Shahbazzadeh | CF / LW | (1990-01-23)23 January 1990 (aged 32) | 2022 | 2024 | Sepahan |
| 18 | Peyman Babaei | CF / RW / LW | (1994-12-14)14 December 1994 (aged 28) | 2022 | 2024 | Tractor |
| 20 | Mehdi Ghayedi | LW / CF | (1998-12-05)5 December 1998 (aged 24) | 2022 | 2023 | Shabab Al Ahli |
| 23 | Arman Ramezani | CF | (1992-06-22)22 June 1992 (aged 30) | 2021 | 2024 | Persepolis |
| 72 | Amir Arsalan Motahari | CF / RW | (1993-03-10)10 March 1993 (aged 29) | 2020 | 2024 | Zob Ahan |
| 77 | Mohammad Mohebi | RW / LW / CF | (1998-12-20)20 December 1998 (aged 24) | 2022 | 2023 | Santa Clara |
| Players transferred during the season ||||||||
| 7 | Siavash Yazdani | CB | (1992-03-02)2 March 1992 (aged 30) | 2019 | 2024 | Sepahan |
| 30 | Azizbek Amonov | LM / AM | (1997-10-30)30 October 1997 (aged 25) | 2022 | 2024 | Lokomotiv |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Player | From | Type |
| 27 June 2022 (2022-06-27) | FW | Sajjad Shahbazzadeh | Sepahan | Transfer |
| 28 June 2022 (2022-06-28) | MF | Omid Hamedifar | Sanat Naft | Transfer |
| 29 June 2022 (2022-06-29) | MF | Mohammad Hossein Zavari | Sanat Naft | Transfer |
| 30 June 2022 (2022-06-30) | MF | Reza Mirzaei | Sepahan | Transfer |
| 1 July 2022 (2022-07-01) | MF | Arash Rezavand | Foolad | End of loan |
| 1 July 2022 (2022-07-01) | FW | Amin Ghaseminejad | Gol Gohar | End of loan |
| 1 July 2022 (2022-07-01) | MF | Sina Khadempour | Naft MIS | End of loan |
| 1 July 2022 (2022-07-01) | MF | Zakaria Moradi | Malavan | End of loan |
| 1 July 2022 (2022-07-01) | DF | Matin Karimzadeh | Nassaji | End of loan |
| 1 July 2022 (2022-07-01) | DF | Arash Dajliri | Havadar | End of loan |
| 1 July 2022 (2022-07-01) | MF | Fardin Rabet | Shahr Khodro | End of loan |
| 6 July 2022 (2022-07-06) | DF | Mohammad Hosseini | Havadar | Transfer |
| 9 July 2022 (2022-07-09) | FW | Peyman Babaei | Tractor | Transfer |
| 14 July 2022 (2022-07-14) | DF | Mohammad Hossein Moradmand | Malavan | End of loan |
| 11 August 2022 (2022-08-11) | FW | Mohammad Mohebi | Santa Clara | Loan |
| 12 August 2022 (2022-08-12) | FW | Mehdi Ghayedi | Shabab Al Ahli | Loan |
| 14 August 2022 (2022-08-14) | DF | Siavash Yazdani | Malavan | End of loan |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Player | To | Type |
| 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01) | FW | Rudy Gestede | Retired | Retired |
| 27 June 2022 (2022-06-27) | DF | Mohammad Daneshgar | Sepahan | Transfer |
| 16 July 2022 (2022-07-16) | MF | Reza Azari | Released | Released |
| 16 July 2022 (2022-07-16) | DF | Arash Dajliri | Released | Released |
| 19 July 2022 (2022-07-19) | MF | Alireza Khodabakhshi | Havadar | Transfer |
| 24 July 2022 (2022-07-24) | DF | Mohammad Javad Behafarin | Released | Released |
| 25 July 2022 (2022-07-25) | DF | Matin Karimzadeh | Nassaji Mazandaran | Transfer |
| 26 July 2022 (2022-07-26) | FW | Amin Ghaseminejad | Sanat Naft | Transfer |
| 29 July 2022 (2022-07-29) | DF | Voria Ghafouri | Foolad | End of contract |
| 6 August 2022 (2022-08-06) | FW | Moein Enayati | Fajr Sepasi | Transfer |
| 20 August 2022 (2022-08-20) | DF | Mohammad Hosseini | Tractor | Transfer |
| 22 August 2022 (2022-08-22) | MF | Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh | Charleroi | Transfer |
| 25 August 2022 (2022-08-25) | MF | Fardin Rabet | Dalkurd | Transfer |
| 26 August 2022 (2022-08-26) | MF | Zakaria Moradi | Chooka Talesh | Transfer |
| 26 August 2022 (2022-08-26) | MF | Sina Khadempour | Chooka Talesh | Transfer |
| 24 January 2023 (2023-01-24) | MF | Erfan Bagheri | Saipa | Loan |
| 26 January 2023 (2023-01-26) | DF | Siavash Yazdani | Sepahan | Released |
| 1 March 2023 (2023-03-01) | MF | Azizbek Amonov | Nasaf | Contract termination |

## Pre-season and friendlies

(King Reza) Taj Pahlavi and Ataturk Peace Cup

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Persian Gulf Pro League | 12 August 2022 (2022-08-12) | 18 May 2023 (2023-05-18) | Matchday 1 | 3rd | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 22 | +30 | 060.00 |
| Hazfi Cup | 12 January 2023 (2023-01-12) | 31 May 2023 (2023-05-31) | Round of 32 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 080.00 |
| Iranian Super Cup | 7 November 2022 (2022-11-07) | 7 November 2022 (2022-11-07) | Final | Winners | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 36 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 63 | 25 | +38 | 063.89 |
Last updated: 31 May 2023 (2023-05-31) Source: Soccerway

### Persian Gulf Pro League
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Persepolis (C) | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 46 | 13 | +33 | 66 | Qualification for 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Sepahan | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 49 | 17 | +32 | 65 | Qualification for 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Esteghlal | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 22 | +30 | 62 | |
| 4 | Tractor | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 52 | Qualification for 2023–24 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs |
| 5 | Mes Rafsanjan | 30 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 30 | 15 | +15 | 47 | |
* ↑ Esteghlal did not pay its debts on time and did not obtain an AFC license. They were therefore unable to participate in AFC competitions.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Ipl Stats

#### Results by round

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | D | W | D | L | L | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W |
| Position | 16 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 25 July 2022.

#### Score overview

Win  Draw  Loss
| Opposition | Home score | Away score | Aggregate score |
| Aluminium | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Foolad | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Gol Gohar | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 |
| Havadar | 6–1 | 1–0 | 7–1 |
| Malavan | 4–0 | 3–1 | 7–1 |
| Mes Kerman | 1–0 | 3–2 | 4–2 |
| Mes Rafsanjan | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Naft MIS | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Nassaji | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Paykan | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Persepolis | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| Sanat Naft | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Sepahan | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 |
| Tractor | 7–1 | 0–2 | 7–3 |
| Zob Ahan | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |

### Hazfi Cup

Esteghlal entered the tournament in the round of 32.

### Iranian Super Cup
## Statistics
### Squad statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Pro League | Pro League | Hazfi Cup | Hazfi Cup | Super Cup | Super Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | | Hossein Hosseini | 31 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Saleh Hardani | 28 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Mohammad Hossein Moradmand | 11 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | | Rouzbeh Cheshmi | 33 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Aref Gholami | 27 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Saeid Mehri | 32 | 2 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | | Mehdi Mehdipour | 23 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | | Sajjad Shahbazzadeh | 20 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | Arthur Yamga | 29 | 9 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Zobeir Niknafs | 21 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Jafar Salmani | 34 | 2 | 29 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | | Peyman Babaei | 31 | 2 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | | Reza Mirzaei | 23 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | | Mehdi Ghayedi | 35 | 12 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | | Arman Ramezani | 20 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | | Omid Hamedifar | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | | Abolfazl Jalali | 19 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | DF | | Raphael Silva | 33 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 72 | FW | | Arsalan Motahari | 29 | 6 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 77 | FW | | Mohammad Mohebi | 34 | 10 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 80 | MF | | Mohammad Hossein Zavari | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 | MF | | Arash Rezavand | 31 | 4 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 90 | GK | | Sina Saeidifar | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 98 | GK | | Alireza Rezaei | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | MF | | Amirali Sadeghi | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred/loaned out during the season ||||||||||||
| 7 | DF | | Siavash Yazdani | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | | Azizbek Amonov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 May 2023 (2023-05-31) Source: Competitions

### Goals

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.
| Rank | Player | Pro League | Hazfi Cup | Super Cup | Total |
| 1 | Mehdi Ghayedi | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Mohammad Mohebi | 8 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | Arthur Yamga | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | Arsalan Motahari | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Arash Rezavand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | Mohammad Hossein Moradmand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Rouzbeh Cheshmi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Jafar Salmani | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Peyman Babaei | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Saeid Mehri | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Hossein Hosseini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Saleh Hardani | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Aref Gholami | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Mehdi Mehdipour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Reza Mirzaei | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Arman Ramezani | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Abolfazl Jalali | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | Total | 52 | 10 | 1 | 63 |
Last updated: 31 May 2023 (2023-05-31). Source: Competitive matches

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Pro League | Hazfi Cup | Super Cup | Total |
| 1 | Hossein Hosseini | 12 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| 2 | Alireza Rezaei | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 13 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
Last updated: 31 May 2023 (2023-05-31). Source: Competitive matches

### Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more are included only.
| N | P | Name | Pro League | Pro League | Hazfi Cup | Super Cup | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | Hossein Hosseini | 3 | | | | 3 | |
| 2 | DF | Saleh Hardani | 6 | | 1 | | 7 | |
| 4 | MF | Rouzbeh Cheshmi | 7 | 1 | 1 | | 8 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Aref Gholami | 2 | | | | 2 | |
| 8 | MF | Saeid Mehri | 8 | | 2 | | 10 | |
| 9 | MF | Mehdi Mehdipour | 4 | | 2 | | 6 | |
| 11 | FW | Arthur Yamga | 4 | | | 1 | 5 | |
| 14 | MF | Zobeir Niknafs | 2 | | | | 2 | |
| 17 | MF | Jafar Salmani | 1 | | | 1 | 2 | |
| 18 | FW | Peyman Babaei | 4 | | 1 | | 5 | |
| 19 | MF | Reza Mirzaei | 2 | | | | 2 | |
| 20 | FW | Mehdi Ghayedi | 2 | | | 1 | 3 | |
| 23 | FW | Arman Ramezani | 1 | | | | 1 | |
| 26 | MF | Omid Hamedifar | 2 | | | | 2 | |
| 33 | DF | Abolfazl Jalali | 1 | | | | 1 | |
| 55 | DF | Raphael Silva | 5 | | | | 5 | |
| 72 | FW | Arsalan Motahari | 2 | | | | 2 | |
| 77 | FW | Mohammad Mohebi | 6 | | | | 6 | |
| 88 | MF | Arash Rezavand | 1 | | | 1 | 2 | |
Last updated: 31 May 2023 (2023-05-31) Source: Soccerway Only competitive matches = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.