Amir Abedzadeh

Amir Abedzadeh
Amir with Iran in 2018
Personal information
Full name Amir Abedzadeh[1]
Date of birth (1993-04-26) 26 April 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Tehran, Iran[3]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Castellón
Number 13
Youth career
2006–2007 Persepolis
2008 Brentford
2008–2009 Dinamo Dorigo
2009 Tottenham Hotspur
2009–2010 London Tigers
2010 Persian F.C. London
2011 LA Blues
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 LA Blues 14 (0)
2012–2014 Persepolis 0 (0)
2014–2015 Rah Ahan 9 (0)
2016–2017 Barreirense 0 (0)
2017–2021 Marítimo 75 (0)
2021–2023 Ponferradina 65 (0)
2023–2024 Marítimo 17 (0)
2024– Castellón 0 (0)
International career‡
2014–2016 Iran U23 9 (0)
2018– Iran 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 July 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 September 2022

Amir Abedzadeh (Persian: امیر عابدزاده; born 26 April 1993), known as Amir, is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Segunda División club CD Castellón and the Iranian national team.

Club career

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Youth teams

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Abedzadeh was a member of the Persepolis Youth Academy from 2006 to 2007,[4] having previously trained under his father since he was 7. He moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 15,[5] and after spending two months with the third-tier outfit of Brentford[6] and taking part in a trial with Arsenal,[7] he joined Tottenham Hotspur's academy team in 2009. Abezadeh left Tottenham in the same year, following their signing of Italian goalkeeper Mirko Ranieri.[8]

During his time in the UK, Abedzadeh also played for amateur youth teams Dinamo Dorigo,[9] London Tigers,[5][10] and Persian FC, the latter of the G.E. Roberts Enfield Football Alliance League.[11]

United States

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Abedzadeh was unable to obtain a work permit in UK and after briefly returning to Iran and training with Iran Pro League side Steel Azin, where his father was a coach, to keep himself on form,[12] he moved to the United States in 2011,[10] and signed for the Los Angeles Blues in the USL Championship, where his father was an assistant coach.[13] He made his debut on 7 June 2011, playing for Los Angeles Blues U-23 (LA Blues' reserve team) in a USL Premier Development League game against Orange County Blue Star. He made eight saves but conceded five goals, and was also shown a yellow card.[14][15] In 2012, he had the option to join Chivas USA of Major League Soccer, but he decided to extend his contract with the Blues.[16]

Persepolis

[edit]

Abedzadeh signed a three-year contract with Persepolis on 15 July 2012.[17] He played for Persepolis U21 in AFC Vision Asia U-21 Tehran Premier League. He scored a goal for Persepolis U21 in game with Niroye Zamini U21.[18] Abedzadeh left the Persepolis in 2014 and without playing a single game for the club.

Rah Ahan

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On 3 July 2014, Abedzadeh joined Rah Ahan with signing a four-year contract. He worked under the supervision of his father, Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh who also worked at Rah Ahan as goalkeeping coach. He played his first professional match on 19 September 2014 against his former team Persepolis, where he came in as a substitute of injured Igor Nenezić in 34th minute. He was released by Rah Ahan at the end of the 2014–15 season.

Marítimo

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Abedzadeh signed with Portuguese Primeira Liga club Marítimo on 23 January 2017 after good performances with Barreirense in the Campeonato de Portugal.[19] He became the second Iranian goalkeeper to sign for the club after Alireza Haghighi who played for the club in 2016. He made his first appearance in September 2017 in a Portuguese League Cup match.

He made his Taça de Portugal debut on 14 October 2017 in a third round match against União Torcatense. Abedzadeh kept a clean sheet and was named Man of the Match, as Marítimo won the match 1–0.

Ponferradina

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Abedzadeh joined SD Ponferradina on 7 July 2021 making him the first Iranian to play for the club.[20]

Return to Marítimo

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On 30 August 2023, Marítimo, who had been relegated to the Liga Portugal 2 the previous season, announced the signing of Abedzadeh.[21]

Castellón

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On 16 July 2024, Abedzadeh joined Spanish Segunda División club CD Castellón.[22]

International career

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Abedzadeh in training with Iran Olympic team in 2014

Abedzadeh was once called up to Iran national under-17 football team's camp for 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Kish Island, but never invited again.[6][8]

About his playing probability in Iran national under-23 football team, Abedzadeh said: "Again, they told me that they wanted to take the players who have been together for a long time and know each other well... They also explained that if we should qualify, they are going to call in and examine new players . So hopefully they can beat Iraq and qualify for the Olympics, and hopefully I'll get my chance then. I think the problem is that I was in England for the past four years and that they weren't able to watch me play as much as the local players. That has been pretty disappointing for me."[6]

Abedzadeh was part of Iran's team for in 2014 AFC U-22 Championship, but he did not play any match. In 2015, he was invited to Olympic team for 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification.

Senior

[edit]
Abedzadeh in training with Iran in 2018 FIFA World Cup

On 5 November 2017, Abedzadeh was called into the Iran national team for the first time for friendlies against Panama and Venezuela.[23] In June 2018, he was named in Iran's final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[24] He made his debut against Uzbekistan on 19 May 2018.

Personal life

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He is the son of former Iranian national team legendary goalkeeper Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh.[5]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 7 April 2024
Club Season League National cup League cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
LA Blues 2011 USL Championship 4 0 — — 4 0
2012 10 0 — — 10 0
Total 14 0 — — 14 0
Persepolis 2012–13 Pro League 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2013–14 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Rah Ahan 2014–15 Pro League 9 0 0 0 — 9 0
Barreirense 2016–17 Campeonato de Portugal 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Marítimo 2017–18 Primeira Liga 8 0 3 0 4 0 15 0
2018–19 13 0 0 0 1 0 14 0
2019–20 25 0 1 0 0 0 26 0
2020–21 29 0 0 0 0 0 29 0
Total 75 0 4 0 5 0 84 0
Ponferradina 2021–22 Segunda División 35 0 0 0 — 35 0
2022–23 30 0 0 0 — 30 0
Total 65 0 0 0 — 65 0
Marítimo 2023–24 Liga Portugal 2 17 0 3 0 0 0 20 0
Career total 180 0 7 0 6 0 193 0

International

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Statistics accurate as of match played 23 September 2022 .[25]
Iran
Year Apps Goals
2018 3 0
2020 1 0
2021 2 0
2022 5 0
Total 11 0

Honours

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Persepolis

Iran U-23

References

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  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: IR Iran (IRN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 – List of Players: IR Iran" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  3. ^ Profile at uslsoccer.com Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ (in Persian) Haddadpour, Mehdi; Zarei, Asghar. Persepolis F.C. Official pictorial lexicon and Yearbook of 2007–2008. Honarkade Khojaste
  5. ^ a b c "Amir Abedzadeh: Wait for the Second Generation of Abedzadeh Family" (in Persian). Khanevadeye Sabz Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Amir Abedzadeh: Filling the Shoes Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. 31 May 2011 – USL PRO (USL PRO) Los Angeles Blues
  7. ^ (in Persian) Iran Varzeshi Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b "With Amir Abedzadeh: I want to replace my daddy!" (in Persian). Goal Newspaper. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  9. ^ Dinamo Dorigo home page Dinamo Dorigo – 2008/09
  10. ^ a b (in Persian) Aftab Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Challenge Cup Final". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  12. ^ (in Persian) Seyyed Ehsan Hashemi, Goal Daily Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Iranian Legend Making a Home in Los Angeles Archived 9 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Official Match Information Archived 12 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Blue Star Too Much For Blues 23 Archived 21 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine. LA Blues 23 News Release, Tuesday, 7 June 2011. Koonie faghat !
  16. ^ Abedzadeh Re-Signs with Los Angeles Blues: Top goalkeeping prospect has sights set firmly on starting job
  17. ^ Abedzadeh joins Persepolis Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Abedzadeh Score Goal Persepolis Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Iraniano do Barreirense a caminho da Liga NOS :: Zerozero.pt". Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  20. ^ "El portero Amir Abedzadeh se incorpora a la SD Ponferradina" [Goalkeeper Amir Abedzadeh joins SD Ponferradina] (in Spanish). SD Ponferradina. 8 July 2021. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Amir de volta a casa" [Amir's back home] (in European Portuguese). CS Marítimo. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Amir Abedzadeh, nuevo jugador del CD Castellón" [Amir Abedzadeh, new CD Castellón player]. www.cdcastellon.com (in Spanish). 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  23. ^ لقب جوان‌ترین گلر تیم ملی به عابدزاده رسید. ورزش سه (in Persian). Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  24. ^ "World Cup 2018: Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz names final squad". BBC Sport. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  25. ^ Amir Abedzadeh at National-Football-Teams.com
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