# F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran

Nassaji Mazandaran Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال نساجی مازندران, Bāšgāh-e Futbāl-e Nassāji-ye Māzandarān) is an Iranian football club based in Qaem Shahr, Mazandaran. They currently compete in the Persian Gulf Pro League.
Nassaji has one of the highest average attendances in Iran. Nassaji is also the oldest club from the Caspian region of Iran and one of the oldest in all of Iran. One of the most important honors of Nassaji Mazandaran is a championship title in Iranian Hazfi Cup and a runner-up title in Iranian Super Cup.

## History
### Establishment

Nassaji Mazandaran Company established the club in Qaem Shahr in 1959. In 1986, the team won the 1986 Pakistan President's Gold Cup in Pakistan, the tournament including selected teams from China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and Nader Dastneshan was named the tournament's top scorer. Nassaji entered the Qods Cup in 1988 and soon after they entered the top division Azadegan League in 1991 and remained a strong competitor in that division until 1995.

### Recent years

Nassaji stayed in 2nd division until 2001 and when Iranian Football Federation decided to start a professional league, the Azadegan league became the second highest league in Iran. In 2004 Nassaji was relegated to 2nd Division but they were promoted back to the Azadegan League at the end of the 2005–06 season. On 3 August 2006 Nasser Hejazi signed as head-coach of Nassaji on a one-year deal for the 2006–07 season.
In the 2013–14 season, Nassaji had their closest call with promotion to the Persian Gulf Pro League since their relegation from the top flight in 1995, the team finished third in Group A which was one place out of a promotion play-off spot. The following season Nassaji again finished third and was two points out of a promotion play-off spot.

### Persian Gulf Pro League

On 29 April 2018, after a win against Rah Ahan, Nassaji finished in second place in the Azadegan League and were promoted to the Persian Gulf Pro League for the first time.

### AFC Champions League debut

On 27 October 2022, Nassaji won the 2021–22 Hazfi Cup cup which see them qualified to their first ever AFC Champions League appearance. On 18 September 2023 in their debut 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage fixtures, Nassaji won 2–0 against Mumbai City of India with goals coming from Ehsan Hosseini and Mohammad Reza Azadi.

## Facilities

Since the club was created, Nassaji has trained and played its home games at Vatani Stadium, which was built in the 1940s. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the stadium was expanded to hold 15,000 people.

## Seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Nassaji Mazandaran since 1989.
| Year | Division | Position | Hazfi Cup |
| 1989–90 | Qods | 3rd | Not held |
| 1990–91 | 2nd Division | 3rd | 1/16 Final |
| 1991–92 | Azadegan | 7th | First round |
| 1992–93 | Azadegan | 7th | Not held |
| 1993–94 | Azadegan | 6th | 1/8 Final |
| 1994–95 | Azadegan | 10th | First round |
| 1995–96 | 2nd Division | 4th | Second round |
| 1996–97 | 2nd Division | 8th | Second round |
| 1997–98 | 2nd Division | 7th | Not held |
| 1998–99 | 2nd Division | 5th | 1/4 Final |
| 1999–00 | 2nd Division | 6th | Third round |
| 2000–01 | 2nd Division | 4th | 1/4 Final |
| 2001–02 | Azadegan | 4th | Third round |
| 2002–03 | Azadegan | 13th | Second round |
| 2003–04 | Azadegan | 16th | Second round |
| 2004–05 | 2nd Division | 3rd | First round |
| 2005–06 | 2nd Division | 2nd | 1/16 Final |
| 2006–07 | Azadegan | 6th | First round |
| 2007–08 | Azadegan | 5th | 1/16 Final |
| 2008–09 | Azadegan | 12th | 1/16 Final |
| 2009–10 | Azadegan | 7th | 1/16 Final |
| 2010–11 | Azadegan | 4th | Third round |
| 2011–12 | Azadegan | 5th | Second round |
| 2012–13 | Azadegan | 8th | First round |
| 2013–14 | Azadegan | 3rd | Third round |
| 2014–15 | Azadegan | 3rd | Fourth round |
| 2015–16 | Azadegan | 8th | did not contest |
| 2016–17 | Azadegan | 10th | 1/16 Final |
| 2017–18 | Azadegan | 2nd | 1/8 Final |
| 2018–19 | PGPL | 10th | 1/8 Final |
| 2019–20 | PGPL | 9th | 1/16 Final |
| 2020–21 | PGPL | 12th | 1/8 Final |
| 2021–22 | PGPL | 12th | Winner |
| 2022–23 | PGPL | 13th | Semifinal |
| 2023–24 | PGPL | 12th | 1/16 Final |
| 2024–25 | PGPL | | |

## Honours

* Hazfi Cup
** Winners (1): 2021–22
* Iranian Super Cup
** Runners-up (1): 2022
* Azadegan League
** Runners-up (1): 2017–18

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 9 october 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 |
| 2 | DF | IRN | Saeid Aghaei |
| 3 | DF | IRN | Vahid Mohammadzadeh |
| 4 | DF | IRN | Amir Mehdi Janmaleki |
| 5 | DF | IRN | Amirhossein Samdaliri $^{U23}$ |
| 6 | MF | IRN | Mansour Bagheri |
| 8 | MF | IRN | Ayoub Kalantari |
| 9 | FW | SDN | Mo Eisa |
| 10 | MF | IRN | Hossein Zamehran (captain) |
| 11 | MF | IRN | Mehrdad Rezaei |
| 13 | MF | IRQ | Muntadher Mohammed |
| 14 | FW | IRN | Hamed Pakdel |
| 16 | MF | IRN | Amir Reza Vafaeinejhad $^{U23}$ |
| 17 | MF | IRN | Mahmoud Ghaed Rahmati |
| 18 | FW | IRN | Mehdi Rezaei $^{U21}$ |
| 20 | DF | IRN | Armin Sohrabian |
| 27 | GK | BRA | Luan Polli |
| 28 | MF | IRN | Mohsen Karimi |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | MF | FRA | Kevin Yamga |
| 32 | MF | IRN | Saber Hardani |
| 52 | MF | KAZ | Alexander Merkel |
| 55 | DF | IRN | Mersad Seifi $^{U23}$ |
| 65 | GK | IRN | Siavash Amiri $^{U21}$ |
| 66 | MF | IRN | Mohammad Reza Torabi $^{U21}$ |
| 68 | DF | IRN | Amir Mohammad Houshmand |
| 70 | MF | IRN | Amir Hossein Mahjori $^{U23}$ |
| 76 | MF | IRN | Mohammad Reza Hosseini |
| 80 | MF | IRN | Hassan Emdadi |
| 81 | FW | IRN | Aria Barzegar $^{U23}$ |
| 84 | DF | IRN | Amir Reza Rezapour $^{U21}$ |
| 88 | MF | IRN | Siamak Nemati |
| 90 | FW | IRN | Ahad Jamshidi $^{U21}$ |
| 96 | FW | IRN | Mohammadreza Abbasi |
| 98 | GK | IRN | Alireza Rezaei |
For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers summer 2023.

## Staff
### Current coach staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Savo Milosevic |
| Assistant coach | Mostafa Sedaghat Shahrokh Bayani Farhad Kouchakzadeh Hamed Shiri Mohammad Mehdi Nazari |
| Goalkeeper coach | Ashkan Namdari |
| Fitness coach | Hamid Reza Joudaki Mohammad Reza Molaei |
| Tactical analyst | Sadegh Moghaddam Payam Kazemi |
| Team Manager | Nasrollah Khajegiri |

## Head coaches

* Rahim Dastneshan (1983–94)
* Fereydoon Asgarzadeh (1994)
* Abolfazl Mozdastan (1994–95)
* Rahim Dastneshan (1995–96)
* Nader Dastneshan (1996–02)
* Hossein Mesgar Saravi (2002–04)
* Rahim Dastneshan (2004–05)
* Ebrahim Talebi (2005–06)
* Nasser Hejazi (2006– 07)
* Morteza Sadeghi (2007)
* Hossein Ghazal Seflou (2007)
* Ebrahim Talebi (2007–08)
* Morteza Sadeghi (2008)
* Hassan Khourdestan (2008)
* Morteza Sadeghi (2008–2009)
* Rahim Dastneshan (2009)
* Esmaeil Esmaeili (2009)
* Nader Dastneshan (2009–2010)
* Reza Forouzani (2010)
* Farhad Kouchakzadeh (2010)
* Yahya Golmohammadi (2010–11)
* Esmaeil Esmaeili (2011–13)
* Younes Geraeili (2013)
* Nader Dastneshan (2013–15)
* Paulo Alves (2015)
* Kourosh Mousavi (2015–16)
* Mahmoud Fekri (2016)
* Hossein Mesgar Saravi (2016–17)
* Saket Elhami (2017)
* Hossein Mesgar Saravi (2017)
* Mehdi Pashazadeh (2017)
* Davoud Mahabadi (2017–18)
* Javad Nekounam (2018)
* Majid Jalali (2019)
* Mohammad Reza Mohajeri (2019–20)
* Mahmoud Fekri (2020)
* Vahid Fazeli (2020–21)
* Majid Jalali (2021)
* Saket Elhami (2021–22)
* Esmaeil Esmaeili (2022)
* Hamid Motahari (2022–23)
* Carlos Inarejos (2023)
* Mehdi Rahmati (2023)
* Vahid Rezaei (2023)
* Lucas Alcaraz (2023–2024)
* Saket Elhami (2024–2025)
* Mostafa Sedaghat (2025)
* Savo Milosevic (2025–Present)

## Sponsorship
### Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor | Shirt Sponsor | Shirt Sponsor | Shirt Sponsor |
| 2014–15 | Uhlsport | Uhlsport | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel |
| 2016–17 | Uhlsport | Uhlsport | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel |
| 2018– | Majid | Majid | | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel | Samsung Group Kosar FCI MCI Yamaha Corporation/ Varesh Airlines Dariush Grand Hotel |

## Managers
### Owners

* Kourosh Rahmani (2007–2009)
* Mehdi Parham (2009–2013)
* Hossein Ghasemnejhad (2013–2014)
* Mehdi Parham (2014–2017)
* Mehdi Parham, Farhad Sanieifar (2017)
* Farhad Sanieifar (2017–2018)
* Farhad Sanieifar, Reza Haddadian (2018–2019)
* Reza Haddadian (2019–Present)

### Chairmans

* Kourosh Rahmani (2004–2007)
* Abed Mahzoun (2007)
* Kourosh Rahmani (2007–2009)
* Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2009)
* Mehdi Parham (2009–2010)
* Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2010)
* Saeed Azari (2010–2011)
* Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2011)
* Yousef Daftari (2011)
* Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2011)
* Ahmad Sahadatmand (2011–2013)
* Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2013)
* Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2013)
* Mohammad Reza Ranjbar (2013)
* Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2013–2014)
* Sadegh Dorudgar (2014–2015)
* Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2015–2016)
* Hamed Ebrahimi (2016)
* Abdolhamid Ramezani (2016–2017)
* Ali Amiri (2017–2019)
* Mohammad Kazemi (2019–2019)
* Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2019)
* Ali Reza Asadi (2019)
* Izad Seyfollahpour (2019–2020)
* Ali Amiri (2020–2021)
* Izad Seyfollahpour (2021–2023)
* Sadegh Dorudgar (2023)
* Hamid Reza Bayandorian (2023–2024)
* Ali Khatir (2024–Present)

## Individual records
### All Top Appearances

| # | Name | Nationality | Position | Apps |
| 1 | Hamed Shiri | Iran | Defender | 185 |
| 2 | Hossein Zamehran | Iran | Midfielder | 155 |
| 3 | Mehrdad Abdi | Iran | Midfielder | 127 |
| 4 | Saeid Gholamalibeygi | Iran | Midfielder | 122 |
| 5 | Mohammad Abbaszadeh | Iran | Striker | 122 |
| 6 | Hassan Najafi | Iran | Defender | 106 |
| 7 | Ayoub Kalantari | Iran | Midfielder | 103 |
| 8 | Amir Mehdi Janmaleki | Iran | Defender | 101 |
| 9 | Karim Eslami | Iran | Striker | 91 |
| 10 | Mojtaba Mamashli | Iran | Midfielder | 91 |
| 11 | Alireza Haghighi | Iran | Goalkeeper | 88 |
| 12 | Mohammad Mehdi Nazari | Iran | Forward | 84 |
| 13 | Saber Hardani | Iran | Midfielder | 85 |
| 14 | Mohammad Ghaseminejad | Iran | Midfielder | 72 |
| 15 | Ali Shojaei | Iran | Midfielder | 71 |

### All Top Scorers

| # | Name | Nationality | Position | Goals |
| 1 | Mohammad Abbaszadeh | Iran | Striker | 66 |
| 2 | Hamed Shiri | Iran | Defender | 26 |
| 3 | Hamid Kazemi | Iran | Forward | 16 |
| 4 | Karim Eslami | Iran | Striker | 15 |
| 5 | Mojtaba Ramezani | Iran | Midfielder | 14 |
| 6 | Mojtaba Mamashli | Iran | Defender | 14 |
| 7 | Ayoub Kalantari | Iran | Midfielder | 12 |
| 8 | Mohammad Mehdi Nazari | Iran | Midfielder | 12 |
| 9 | Mohammad Reza Azadi | Iran | Forward | 12 |
| 10 | Hassan Najafi | Iran | Defender | 10 |
| 11 | Hossein Zamehran | Iran | Midfielder | 10 |
| 12 | Rahman Jafari | Iran | Forward | 9 |
| 13 | Mehrdad Abdi | Iran | Midfielder | 9 |
| 14 | Shahin Majidi | Iran | Midfielder | 7 |
| 15 | Mohammad Ghaseminejad | Iran | Midfielder | 7 |

### Club captains

| Name | Captaincy |
| Nader Dastneshan | 1986–1999 |
| Aziz Zare | 1999–2002 |
| Morteza Arabnejad | 2002–2003 |
| Nasrollah Nourbakhsh | 2003–2004 |
| Farid Yaghoubnia | 2004–2009 |
| Hadi Khodadadi | 2009–2010 |
| Mohsen Pourhaji | 2009–2012 |
| Fereydoon Fazli | 2011 |
| Meysam Khodashenas | 2012–2013 |
| Mohsen Rahimi | 2013–2014 |
| Mohsen Hosseini | 2014 |
| Issa Parto | 2014–2015 |
| Meysam Baou | 2015–2016 |
| Meysam Khodashenas | 2016 |
| Mohammad Abbaszadeh | 2016–2017 |
| Morteza Gholamalitabar | 2017 |
| Mohammad Abbaszadeh | 2017–2020 |
| Hamed Shiri | 2020–2023 |
| Masoud Shojaei | 2021–2022 |
| Mehrdad Abdi | 2023–2024 |
| Mohammad Abbaszadeh | 2024 |
| Hossein Zamehran | 2024– |

## Supporters

* Behdad Salimi (Olympic gold medallist)
* Hanif Omranzadeh (Footballer)
* Mohsen Bengar (Footballer)
* Shoja Khalilzadeh (Footballer)