# Malavan F.C.

Malavan Bandar Anzali Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال ملوان بندر انزلى, Bāšgāh-e Futbāl-e Malavān-e Bandar-e Anzali) is an Iranian football club based in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. It currently won Iran's second league, the Azadegan League and came back to Persian Gulf Pro League after they were relegated in the 2015–16 season. The team is known to have some of the most passionate fans in Iranian football, and is one of the country's most successful teams based outside Tehran. This team is one of the most successful Iranian teams in the Hazfi Cup. Malavan has reached the Hazfi Cup final 7 times and won 3 titles.
The club forms the football part of the multisport Malavan Sport and Cultural Club. Malavan was previously owned by the Iranian Navy.

## History
### Establishment

Bahman Salehnia created the team in 1968 along with some young athletes from the port city of Anzali. After some time, the Iranian Navy decided to become the team's main sponsor and owner.

### Early years

The club never really had great success in the league but they were able to become the best non-Tehran based club and finishing third in the 1977 and 1989. Malavan has won the Hazfi Cup on 3 occasions. In 1986 Malavan participated in Asian Club Championship but after beating Saunders SC in first round they withdrew from tournament due to the Iran–Iraq War.

### Iran Pro League

In 2003 Malavan was relegated to the Azadegan League, they only stayed one year in the lower league as they were immediately promoted back to the Iran Pro League. Since then, they have been one of the most stable teams of the league in recent years where they only had few coaches during their history and always finished in mid table and challenge the big teams. They finished 12th in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 season. In 2010–11 season they finished 8th and reached the final of Hazfi Cup but lost to Persepolis. In the 2013–14 Iran Pro League season Malavan achieved a surprising 7th-place finish in the league, their highest ever.

### Relegation

In July 2015 Malavan hired famous Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoi who had won several league titles with Esteghlal and Sepahan. Player such as Arash Afshin, Hossein Mahini and Shahab Karami joined the squad to serve their conscription period. In Ghalenoi's first game in charge, Malavan defeated the Hazfi Cup holders, Zob Ahan 1–0. After only three games Ghalenoi left the club and was replaced by former Persepolis manager Hamid Estili.
On 13 May 2016 after a 2–0 loss to Siah Jamegan, who were behind Malavan before the match started, the clubs was relegated to the Azadegan League for the second time in their history.
Before the start of the 2016–17 season it was announced that controversial manager Mohammad Mayeli Kohan had been named Malavan's manager. Despite achieving good results and being in or near a promotion spot the entire season, Mayeli Kohan was involved in several confrontations with the supporters, which led to many supporters boycotting the team's games.

### Return to Pro League with Zare

2020-2021 season marked the return of two retired homegrown players, Maziar Zare and Pejman Nouri, the former as the new head coach and the latter as the general manager of the club. In his first season, Zare lead the team to the semi-final of the domestic cup, despite failing to win promotion. In the 2021-2022 season, Zare led the team back to the Pro League by winning the Azadegan League with record points, marking the return of Malavan to the top flight after six years.

## El Gilano

The match between Malavan and Damash or Sepidrood is known as the Gilan Derby or El Gilano. This match is one of Iran's most important and heated derby's. Malavan hold the record for most wins in the derby with four since the start of the Iran Pro League in 2001. Malavan also holds the largest margin of victory when they defeated Damash 3–0 in 2005 and again in 2013. The derby is also known for its fan violence.

## Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Malavan in various competitions since the beginning of Iranian Pro league in 2001.
| Year | Division | Position | Hazfi Cup |
| 2001–02 | Pro League | 12th | Quarter-finals |
| 2002–03 | Pro League | 14th | Round of 16 |
| 2003–04 | Azadegan League | 2nd | Quarter-finals |
| 2004–05 | Pro League | 7th | Quarter-finals |
| 2005–06 | Pro League | 11th | Quarter-finals |
| 2006–07 | Pro League | 14th | Quarter-finals |
| 2007–08 | Pro League | 16th | Round of 16 |
| 2008–09 | Pro League | 12th | Quarter-finals |
| 2009–10 | Pro League | 12th | Quarter-finals |
| 2010–11 | Pro League | 8th | Final |
| 2011–12 | Pro League | 15th | Fourth Round |
| 2012–13 | Pro League | 13th | Round of 16 |
| 2013–14 | Pro League | 7th | Quarter-finals |
| 2014–15 | Pro League | 13th | Round of 16 |
| 2015–16 | Pro League | 14th | Quarter-finals |
| 2016–17 | Azadegan League | 4th | Quarter-finals |
| 2017–18 | Azadegan League | 6th | Quarter-finals |
| 2018–19 | Azadegan League | 11th | Fourth Round |
| 2019–20 | Azadegan League | 15th | Third Round |
| 2020–21 | Azadegan League | 11th | Semi-finals |
| 2021–22 | Azadegan League | 1st | Third Round |
| 2022–23 | Pro League | 12th | Round of 16 |
For details on seasons, see List of Malavan F.C. seasons

## Honours
### National titles

* Azadegan League
** Winners (1): 2021–22
** Runner-up (1): 2003–04
* Hazfi Cup
** Winners (3): 1975–76, 1986–87, 1990–91
** Runner-up (4): 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 2010–11

### Minor titles

* Vahdat Cup
** Third place (1): 1982
* RCD Cup
** Runner-up (1): 1974

## Club officials
### Presidents

Sources:
| Name | Years |
| Rashid Sazmand | 1996–06 |
| Saadollah Pourtahmasbi | 2006–09 |
| Ardeshir Pournemat | 2009–11 |
| Bahman Salehnia | 2011–12 |
| Sadegh Deroudgar | 2012–14 |
| Hossein Gholami | 2014–15 |
| Ahmad Donyamali | 2015–17 |
| Mehran Nasiri | 2017–18 |
| Pejman Nouri | 2019–23 |
| Arash Fahmide | 2023–present |

### Current coaching staff

Source:
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Maziar Zare |
| Assistant coach | Eurico Pinhal |
| Goalkeeping coach | Mohammad Ali Hassani Sefat |
| Doctor | Babak Sayyad |
| Technical director | Ghafour Jahani |
| Team manager | Hossein Gholami |

### Head coaches

Below is a list of Malavan coaches from 1968 until the present day. Firouz Karimi carries the honor of being the first Iranian head coach to assume the title without rising from the Malavan football school.
| Name | Years |
| Bahman Salehnia | 20 May 1968 – 5 February 1997 |
| Nosrat Irandoost | 5 February 1997 – 15 December 2000 |
| Mohammad Ahmadzadeh | 15 Dec 2000 – 2 July 2002 |
| Bahman Salehnia | 15 May 2002 – 2 July 2004 |
| Nosrat Irandoost | 2 July 2004 – 5 July 2006 |
| Mohammad Ahmadzadeh | 5 July 2006 – 1 January 2010 |
| Farhad Pourgholami | 1 January 2010 – 29 September 2012 |
| Mohammad Ahmadzadeh | 29 September 2012 – 28 May 2013 |
| Dragan Skočić | 28 May 2013 – 1 June 2014 |
| Nosrat Irandoost | 1 June 2014 – 8 October 2014 |
| Stevan Mojsilović | 8 October 2014 – 5 December 2014 |
| Firouz Karimi | 6 December 2014 – 1 June 2015 |
| Hamid Estili | 10 August 2015 – 20 February 2016 |
| Mohammad Ahmadzadeh | 1 March 2016 – 15 July 2016 |
| Mohammad Mayeli Kohan | 22 July 2016 – 27 May 2017 |
| Nader Dastneshan | 28 May 2017 – 1 June 2018 |
| Farhad Pourgholami | 1 June 2018 – 28 October 2018 |
| Mohammad Ahmadzadeh | 31 October 2018 – 7 June 2020 |
| Akbar Misaghian | 7 June 2020 – 1 September 2020 |
| Maziar Zare | 1 September 2020 – 18 May 2023 |
| Mehdi Tartar | 26 June 2023 – present |

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 7 September 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | IRN | Alireza Jafarpour |
| 2 | DF | IRN | Saman Touranian (on loan from Esteghlal) |
| 3 | DF | IRN | Abolfazi Alizadeh |
| 4 | DF | IRN | Amir Reza Afsordeh |
| 5 | DF | IRN | Saeed Karimi |
| 6 | MF | IRN | Omid Noorafkan (on loan from Sepahan) (captain) |
| 7 | FW | IRN | Soheil Fadakar |
| 8 | MF | IRN | Reza Mirzaei |
| 9 | FW | IRN | Mehdi Abdi |
| 10 | MF | IRN | Mohammad Omri (on loan from Persepolis) |
| 11 | FW | IRN | Reza Jafari |
| 12 | GK | IRN | Afshar Sedaghat |
| 14 | DF | IRN | Milad Bagheri |
| 16 | MF | IRN | Farhan Jafari |
| 17 | FW | IRN | Reza Ghandipour |
| 18 | FW | IRN | Mohsen Alafi |
| 19 | DF | IRN | Jalal Maddahi |
| 20 | DF | IRN | Mohammadreza Rezaei |
| 21 | DF | IRN | Younes Akbarpour |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | MF | IRN | Parham Movaghari |
| 27 | DF | IRN | Mahan Taghipour |
| 28 | MF | IRN | Nima Entezari |
| 30 | FW | IRN | Ali Ramezani |
| 33 | GK | IRN | Habib Far Abbasi (on loan from Zob Ahan) |
| 35 | MF | IRN | Mahan Sadeghi |
| 40 | MF | IRN | Sajad Mosayebzadeh |
| 44 | DF | IRN | Parham Javadi |
| 45 | MF | IRN | Sina Saadatmand |
| 47 | FW | IRN | Sajjad Bazgir |
| 55 | MF | IRN | Mohammad Hossein Khosravi |
| 77 | MF | IRN | Abouzar Safarzadeh |
| 80 | FW | IRN | Ilya Imani |
| 81 | GK | IRN | Parham Ghanad |
| 82 | MF | IRN | Mohammadreza Khosrsvi |
| 88 | MF | IRN | Ghaem Eslamikhah |
| 90 | MF | IRN | Hossein Sadeghi |

### Loan list

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers summer 2022.