# 2013–14 Foolad F.C. season

The 2013–14 season were the Foolad's 12th season in the Pro League, and their 6th consecutive season in the top division of Iranian Football. They also be competed in the Hazfi Cup which were knockout in the semi-finals by Tractor Sazi and AFC Champions League in Round of 16 by Al-Sadd. Foolad F.C. was captained by Bakhtiar Rahmani and won the league title at the end of the season.

## Squad
### Iran Pro League squad

As of January 14, 2014
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | IRN | Alireza Salimi |
| 2 | DF | BRA | Leandro Padovani |
| 4 | DF | IRN | Ayub Vali |
| 5 | MF | IRN | Mehdi Badrlou |
| 6 | DF | IRN | Mehdi Noori |
| 7 | MF | IRN | Soroush Rafiei |
| 8 | FW | IRN | Esmaeil Sharifat |
| 9 | MF | IRN | Abbas Mohammadrezaei |
| 10 | DF | IRN | Abdullah Karami |
| 11 | MF | IRN | Bakhtiar Rahmani $^{U23}$ (Captain) |
| 13 | GK | IRN | Ershad Yousefi |
| 14 | MF | IRN | Shahab Karami $^{U23}$ |
| 15 | MF | BRA | Leandro Chaves |
| 16 | FW | IRN | Arash Afshin |
| 17 | DF | IRN | Abolhassan Jafari |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | IRN | Ayub Kalantari $^{U23}$ |
| 21 | DF | IRN | Omid Khaledi |
| 23 | FW | IRN | Sasan Ansari $^{U23}$ |
| 24 | DF | IRN | Mehrdad Jamaati |
| 26 | DF | IRN | Yousef Vakia $^{U21}$ |
| 27 | DF | IRN | Soroush Saeidi $^{U23}$ |
| 29 | FW | BRA | Chimba |
| 30 | MF | IRN | Ahmad Abdollahzadeh $^{U21}$ |
| 31 | GK | IRN | Milad Homayouni $^{U21}$ |
| 32 | MF | IRN | Valid Mashayzadeh $^{U21}$ |
| 33 | DF | IRN | Vafa Hakhamaneshi $^{U23}$ |
| 35 | FW | IRN | Mehdi Niyayesh Pour $^{U23}$ |
| 37 | FW | IRN | Gholamreza Rezaei |
| 55 | DF | IRN | Saeed Salarzadeh |
| 77 | GK | IRN | Sosha Makani |
* U21 = Under 21 Player
* U23 = Under 23 Player

#### Loan list

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | IRN | Amir Sharafi (to Hafari Ahvaz until the end of the 2013–14 season) |

## Transfers
### In

| No | P | Name | Age | Moving from | Ends | Transfer fee | Type | Transfer window |
| 37 | FW | Gholamreza Rezaei | 29 | Persepolis | 2016 | $680,000 | Transfer | Summer |
| 55 | DF | Saeed Salarzadeh | 31 | Malavan | 2015 | Free | Transfer | Summer |
| 3 | DF | Leandro Padovani | 30 | Loan return | 2016 | Free | Transfer | Winter |
| 7 | FW | Arash Afshin | 25 | Loan return | 2018 | Free | Transfer | Winter |
| 77 | GK | Sosha Makani | 27 | Naft Tehran | 2017 | $700,000 | Transfer | Winter |

### Out

| No | P | Name | Age | Moving to | Transfer fee | Type | Transfer window |
| 7 | FW | Arash Afshin | 25 | Sepahan | N/A | Loan | Summer |
| 3 | DF | Leandro Padovani | 30 | Al Rayyan | N/A | Loan | Summer |
| 22 | GK | Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri | 24 | Zob Ahan | Free | Transfer | Summer |
| 40 | FW | Farzad Hatami | 28 | Persepolis | $500,000 | Transfer | Winter |
| 3 | DF | Serjão | 28 | Released | Free | Transfer | Winter |

## Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 June 2013 | Foolad Novin | A | 5–2 | Rahmani (2) 5', 7', Chimba (3) 22', 56', 60 | 2,000 |
| 20 June 2013 | Foolad Yazd | N | 1–0 | Chimba 84' | 5,000 |
| 12 July 2013 | Naft Tehran | A | 3–2 | Chimba 11', Kalantari 22', Sharifat 89' | 1,000 |
| 14 July 2013 | Persepolis | N | 2–1 | Nouri 17' (o.g.), Sharifat 55' | 4,000 |
| 20 July 2013 | Bursaspor | H | 1–0 | Chimba 26' | 6,000 |
| 15 December 2013 | Padideh | N | 3–0 | Rahmani 12', Chaves 52', Rafiei 77' | 2,000 |
| 18 December 2013 | Saba | N | 0–0 | | 500 |

## Competition record
### Overall

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Iran Pro League | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 36 | 24 | +12 | 053.33 |
| Hazfi Cup | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 075.00 |
| Champions League | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 050.00 |
| Total | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 054.76 |

### Iran Pro League

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 25 July 2013 | Sepahan | A | 0–2 | | 15,777 | 15th |
| 2 August 2013 | Fajr Sepasi | H | 1–0 | Hatami 64' | 13,230 | 8th |
| 6 August 2013 | Saba Qom | A | 1–0 | Karami 49' | 11,453 | 4th |
| 10 August 2013 | Damash Gilan | H | 3–1 | Chimba (2) 26', 46', Rahmani 53' | 11,789 | 1st |
| 16 August 2013 | Rah Ahan | A | 1–0 | Chimba 48' (pen.) | 1,145 | 1st |
| 23 August 2013 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | H | 3–2 | Hatami 28', Rahmani 34', Rafiei 83' | 20,369 | 1st |
| 30 August 2013 | Persepolis | A | 1–3 | Sharifat 90+4' | 60,852 | 1st |
| 5 September 2013 | Zob Ahan | H | 1–0 | Rahmani 38' | 18,158 | 1st |
| 13 September 2013 | Mes Kerman | A | 2–2 | Chimba 31', Rafiei 88' | 13,951 | 1st |
| 20 September 2013 | Saipa | H | 4–1 | Chimba 45' (pen.), Rahmani 55', Sharifat 66', Rafiei 72' | 22,357 | 1st |
| 27 September 2013 | Malavan | A | 2–1 | Nouri 55', Chimba 79' | 12,458 | 1st |
| 27 September 2013 | Naft Tehran | H | 0–2 | | 16,200 | 1st |
| 18 October 2013 | Tractor Sazi | A | 2–2 | Chimba 37' (pen.), Sharifat 66' | 45,452 | 1st |
| 25 October 2013 | Esteghlal | A | 0–2 | | 35,985 | 2nd |
| 3 November 2013 | Gostaresh | H | 1–1 | Chaves 60' | 13,869 | 3rd |
| 29 November 2013 | Sepahan | H | 0–0 | | 27,185 | 4th |
| 5 December 2013 | Fajr Sepasi | A | 0–0 | | 2,037 | 5th |
| 13 December 2013 | Saba Qom | H | 2–0 | Rahmani 28', Khaledi (90+4) | 30,950 | 5th |
| 20 December 2013 | Damash Gilan | A | 2–1 | Chimba (2) 45', 48' | 3,782 | 4th |
| 24 December 2013 | Rah Ahan | H | 0–0 | | 12,350 | 4th |
| 3 January 2014 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | A | 2–0 | Sharifat (2) 33', 90+1 | 40,140 | 3rd |
| 11 January 2014 | Persepolis | H | 2–1 | Sharifat 34', Afshin 89' | 49,740 | 2nd |
| 16 January 2014 | Zob Ahan | A | 0–0 | | 3,356 | 2nd |
| 26 January 2014 | Mes Kerman | H | 1–0 | Vali 47' | 22,144 | 2nd |
| 31 January 2014 | Saipa | A | 0–0 | | 1,980 | 2nd |
| 9 February 2014 | Malavan | H | 1–0 | Jamaati 89' | 23,335 | 2nd |
| 16 February 2014 | Naft Tehran | A | 1–1 | Afshin 13' | 1,780 | 1st |
| 27 March 2014 | Tractor Sazi | H | 2–1 | Badrlou 33' (pen.), 73' (pen.) | 25,115 | 1st |
| 6 April 2014 | Esteghlal | H | 0–1 | | 50,205 | 2nd |
| 11 April 2014 | Gostaresh | A | 1–0 | Jamaati 37' | 15,253 | 1st |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Foolad (C) | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 36 | 24 | +12 | 57 | Qualification for the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Persepolis | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 15 | +19 | 55 | Qualification for the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Naft Tehran | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 54 | Qualification for the 2015 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off |
| 4 | Sepahan | 30 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 54 | |
| 5 | Esteghlal | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 53 | |
* 1 2 Esteghlal, Malavan, Damash, Persepolis and Tractor Sazi were deducted 1 point due to poor fan behavior in their home matches.

### Hazfi Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 29 October 2013 | Round 5 | Foolad Yazd | H | 3–0 (w/o) | | N/A |
| 8 November 2013 | Round of 16 | Foolad Novin | H | 3–0 (w/o) | | N/A |
| 26 January 2014 | Quarter-final | Persepolis | H | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–0p) | Rahmani 57' | 49,122 |
| 4 February 2014 | Semi-final | Tractor Sazi | A | 1–0 | | 30,270 |

### AFC Champions League
#### Group stage

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
| 25 February 2014 | El Jaish | A | 0–0 | | 5,417 | 1st |
| 11 March 2014 | Al-Fateh | H | 1–0 | Rahmani 68' (pen.) | 37,391 | 2nd |
| 19 March 2014 | Bunyodkor | A | 1–1 | Karami 74' | 1,950 | 1st |
| 1 April 2014 | Bunyodkor | H | 1–0 | Vali 77' | 24,175 | 2nd |
| 15 April 2014 | El Jaish | H | 3–1 | Rahmani 21', Rezaei 45+1', Chimba 90' | 38,452 | 1st |
| 23 April 2014 | Al-Fateh | A | 5–1 | Chimba (3) 10', 36' (pen.), 44' (pen.), Rezaei (2) 79', 90+4' (pen.) | 300 | 1st |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | FLD | BUN | JSH | FAT |
| 1 | Foolad | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 14 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Bunyodkor | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | Advance to knockout stage | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| 3 | El Jaish | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 |
| 4 | Al-Fateh | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 2 | | 1–5 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — |
* 1 2 Tiebreakers: Bunyodkor and El-Jaish are tied on head-to-head record and overall goal difference, and so are ranked on overall goals scored.

#### Knockout phase

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 7 May 2014 | Round of 16 First leg | Al-Sadd | A | 0–0 | | 6,320 |
| 14 May 2014 | Round of 16 Second leg | Al-Sadd | H | 2–2 | Chimba (2) 77' (pen.), 87' | 48,753 |
Note: Al-Sadd won 2–2 on away goals.

## Statistics
### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nationality | Number | Name | Iran Pro League | Hazfi Cup | AFC Champions League | Total |
| 1 | FW | | 29 | Chimba | 9 | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | MF | | 11 | Bakhtiar Rahmani | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | FW | | 8 | Esmaeil Sharifat | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | FW | | 37 | Gholamreza Rezaei | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | FW | | 7 | Soroush Rafiei | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | DF | | 24 | Mehrdad Jamaati | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | | 16 | Arash Afshin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | MF | | 7 | Mehdi Badrlou | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | | 40 | Farzad Hatami | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | | 10 | Abdullah Karami | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | | 4 | Ayub Vali | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | DF | | 6 | Mehdi Noori | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | | 15 | Leandro Chaves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | | 21 | Omid Khaledi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 36 | 1 | 11 | 48 |