Persepolis–Sepahan rivalry

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Iran Derby
150px
Other names Persepolis vs Sepahan Persepolis-Sepahan rivalry
Locale Iran Tehran, Iran
Iran Isfahan, Iran
Teams Persepolis Football Club
Sepahan Football Club
First meeting 11 February 1972
Latest meeting 4–2
Sepahan - Persepolis
(August 13, 2015)
Next meeting TBD
Statistics
Meetings total Official: 63
Friendlies: 3
Most wins Persepolis (20)
Most player appearances Moharram Navidkia (24)
Top scorer Rasoul Khatibi (5)
Largest victory 6–0
Persepolis - Sepahan
(November 15, 1972)

The rivalry between Persepolis and Sepahan (also known as Derby of Iran)[citation needed] is a footballing rivalry played between Iranian clubs Persepolis and Sepahan.

History

2006 Hazfi Cup Final

This rivalry started in 2006 when Sepahan and Persepolis contested the Hafzi Cup championship, Iranian football's second-most prestigious competition. After both teams battled to a 1–1 tie in the first leg in Tehran, the two sides returned to Esfahan's Nagshe Jahan Stadium for the pivotal second leg, when a champion would be crowned. The first half was uneventful. But in the second half, things would get explosive. Ebrahim Asadi gave the reds the lead at the 56-minute mark. With that, a Persepolis championship seemed to be a foregone conclusion. But just nine minutes later, Hamid Shafiee, who also scored the equalizer in the first leg, tied the game with a goal in the 64th minute. Neither team would do anything special in extra time, so the game went to penalty kicks.

In the fateful shootout, Sepahan got off to a bad start as Jalal Akbari missed his shot and Karim Bagheri gave Persepolis the lead. But Sheis Rezaei and Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht missed their shots, and Sepahan would go on to win 4–2 in the shootout.

2007 Hazfi Cup Semifinal

As expected, the two sides would meet again in next year's Hazfi Cup semifinal. This time the spoils would be decided in one game, and with Persepolis playing in front of 100,000 supporters in Azadi Stadium, they looked like a good bet for revenge. The reds got off to a good start by scoring midway through the second half on a penalty kick by Farzad Ashoubi. Persepolis would also have some chances to extend their lead. All was set for a Persepolis celebration when with just two minutes left, Sepahan earned a penalty of their own. Hadi Aghili converted with ease, silencing the crowd and sending the game into extra time.

In the extra sessions, nothing much happened from the home side and most Spectators hoped the game to go to penalty kicks once again. But the Sepahan players never gave up and could not let the chance decide for the winner. Out of nowhere, Mahmoud Karimi, who had barely played all season for Sepahan, and was ignored by the government controlled media of Iran, emerged as an unlikely hero by scoring three goals in the span of just nine minutes to sink Persepolis 4–1. Sepahan would go on to win their second straight Hazfi Cup by beating Saba Battery 4–0 on aggregate, and Persepolis fans have found this harsh defeat heartbreaking and tough to forget.

2008 IPL Championship

Persepolis' fans after the match of Persepolis-Sepahan in the 2007–08 season

Throughout the 2007–2008 Iran Pro League season, Persepolis, under new head coach Afshin Ghotbi, was dominating the league. However, their one obstacle was still Sepahan, as they would be the only contender to bother Persepolis. In the middle of the season, Persepolis and Sepahan met at Esfahan's Fouladshahr Stadium. Sepahan won that game 2–1, handing Persepolis their first loss of the season. However, Sepahan would lose five points (reduced to three on an appeal) due to fan violence. But Persepolis also lost six points due to inability to pay former players. All things considered, Sepahan had a two-point lead over Persepolis at the top going into the last week of the season.

As fate would have it, the two teams would meet on the last day of the season in front 100,000 racuous fans in Azadi Stadium. Sepahan needed only a point to be crowned champs, while nothing less than a victory would do for the red giants. Persepolis got off to a dream start with a goal in the 18th minute from the league's top goalscorer, Mohsen Khalili. Khalili would also go on to hit the post and Persepolis was also denied a penalty kick on a controversial non-call by referee Saeed Mozafarri. Those misses would prove to be costly as 18-year-old senasation Ehsan Hajisafi would tie the game on a breakaway in the 30th minute. At halftime it remained 1–1, and Sepahan was just 45 minutes away from breaking the reds' hearts once more.

Throughout the second half, it was all one-way traffic as Ghotbi's men put four strikers upfront against Sepahan's defense, which still stood strong for almost the entire second half and did not allow Persepolis to get the imperative goal they needed. After 90 minutes plus five minutes of stoppage time, the score was still the same, and Sepahan was getting ready to celebrate. But this time, luck would shift Persepolis' way. A Khalili free kick bounced at the feet of Karim Bagheri. Bagheri's experience would take over from there, as he sent a high cross to Sepehr Heidari who headed the ball in the back of the net in the 96th minute, giving Persepolis the championship, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Heidari's goal earned him a spot in Persepolis lore and proved to be a historic and memorable moment in team history.

The historic events of this day, including the suspicious decisions of the referee-Said Mozafarizade (Who later, suddenly and with no apparent reasons resigned from football) completed one season supports for Persepolis, marked the last ever IPL championship for the government sponsored and supported Persepolis.

2009 Hazfi Cup Round of 16

The two teams would meet at the Azadi Stadium once again, this time in the Round of 16 of the Hazfi Cup. This time, however, both teams had been through a very lackluster season as they both changed coaches twice during the regular season. Sepahan and Persepolis finished 4th and 5th respectively in the IPL, which meant a very underachieving season for both teams.

Persepolis would take an early lead on a 12th minute cracker by Maziar Zare. Since then, the game became more lively as both teams created numerous chances. Zare also missed a golden opportunity to double his goal tally and Persepolis' lead after missing a penalty kick. In second half stoppage time, Sepahan captain Moharram Navidkia also squandered a tailor-made opportunity by firing over the bar from just a few yards out. Persepolis would go on to the quarterfinals, where they went down 2–1 to Pas Hamedan.

The aftermath of this game was very ironic in the sense that Sepahan, despite crashing out of the Hazfi Cup, would still qualify for the AFC Champions League because neighbors Zob Ahan, who finished second (among the top three) in the IPL, won the Hazfi Cup, which gave 4th placed Sepahan qualification to the AFC Champions League. Persepolis, however, had nothing to show for their efforts after having a more expensive squad than last season, when they won the IPL.

2013 Hazfi Cup Final

The 2013 Hazfi Cup Final was the clubs' second meeting in the final where Sepahan won 4–2 over Persepolis in the penalties in 2006. The match was also the last match of Persepolis captain Mehdi Mahdavikia, a former Iran national football team and Hamburg SV midfielder. After failed to agree on a venue between Ahvaz, Mashhad and Tabriz, final venue was decided with draw which Azadi Stadium was announced as the venue for the 2013 final. The two teams finished 1-1 in regular time and 2-2 after extra-time. The game went to penalties and Sepahan defeated Persepolis 4-2 in the penalty shootout.[1]

All results

No. Date Persepolis vs Sepahan Persepolis's goal Sepahan's goal Venue Competition Comments
1 1972–Feb-11 2–1 Hossein Kalani – Mahmoud Khordbin ? Isfahan Local League
2 1972 6–0 Homayoun Behzadi "2" – Adibi – Ali Parvin – Mahmoud Khordbin – Reza Vatankhah - Tehran Local League
3 1975 1–0 Ali Parvin - Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
4 1975 3–0 Dastjerdi "2" – Safar Iranpak - Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
5 1976 1–0 Haj Rahimpour - Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
6 1976 0–0 - - Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
7 1977 2–2 Haj Rahimpour – Ali Parvin ? Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
8 1977 1–1 Fatahi ? Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
9 1978 3–0 Mahmoud Khordbin – Safar Iranpak – Ali Parvin - Tehran Takht Jamshid Cup
10 1978 0–0 - - Isfahan Takht Jamshid Cup
11 1989 1–1 Kermani ? Isfahan Qods League
12 1989 3–0 Abedian – Yusefi – Karim Bavi - Tehran Qods League
13 1991 3–0 Naser Mohammadkhani "2" – Mojtaba Moharrami - Tehran Azadegan Cup
14 1991 0–0 - - Isfahan Azadegan Cup
15 1993 3–0 Shah Mohammadi – Farshad Pious – Manafi - Tehran Azadegan Cup
16 1993 0–1 - ? Isfahan Azadegan Cup
17 1995 1–1 Hassan Shirmohammadi ? Tehran Azadegan Cup
18 1995 1–1 Behrouz Rahbarifar ? Isfahan Azadegan League
19 1996 2–2 Behrouz Rahbarifar – Edmond Bezik ? Tehran Azadegan League
20 1996 0–1 - ? Isfahan Azadegan League
21 1998–Oct-9 0–1 - ? Isfahan Azadegan League
22 1999–Feb-22 3–1 Edmond Bezik "2" – Hamid Estili ? Tehran Azadegan League
23 1999-May 2–2 ? ? Tehran Hazfi Cup 1/4[2]
24 1999-June 1–0 Edmound Bezik - Isfahan Hazfi Cup 1/4[3]
25 1999–Nov-20 0–0 - - Isfahan Azadegan League
26 2000–Apr-28 1–0 Behnam Seraj (31) - Tehran Azadegan League
27 2000–Dec-23 0–0 - - Isfahan Azadegan League
28 2001–Apr-19 0–2 - Seyyed-Amin Musavi (67) (86) Tabriz Azadegan League
29 2001–Nov-23 0–0 - - Isfahan IPL 1st
30 2002–Mar-17 3–2 Behrooz Rahbarifar(23p)-Amirhosseyn Aslanian(86)-Behnam Abolghasempour(90+3) Leon Stepanian(46)-Afshin Hajipour(64) Tehran IPL 1st
31 2003–Jan-02 1–2 Ali Ansarian Edmond Bezik-Moharram Navidkia Isfahan IPL 2nd
32 2003–May-19 1–1 Ali Ansarian Nasser Farshbaf Tehran IPL 2nd
33 2003–Sep-30 3–3 Reza Jabbari(23)-Ali Salmani(52)-Issa Traoré(73) Talebnasab(37)-Bezik(40) (48) Tehran IPL 3rd
34 2004–Jan-16 2–1 Afshin Peyrovani(54)-Pejman Jamshidi (89) Mahmoud Karimi(46) Isfahan IPL 3rd
35 2004–Oct-29 0–0 - - Isfahan IPL 4th
36 2005–May-15 1–2 Javad Kazemian (35) Rasoul Khatibi (28) (68) Tehran IPL 4th
37 2005–Dec-23 2–3 Javad Kazemian (35)-Pejman Nouri (56) Rasoul Khatibi (30) (68)-Hadi Jafari (52) Tehran IPL 5th
38 2006–Sep-13 1–1 Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht (48) Hamid Shafiei (73) Tehran Hazfi Cup Final
39 2006-Sep-22 1–1 (2–4Pen) Ebrahim Asadi (55) Hamid Shafiei (64) Isfahan Hazfi Cup Final
40 2006–Apr-21 0–2 - Rasoul Khatibi (69)-Jaba Mujiri (85) Isfahan IPL 5th
41 2006–Oct-22 0–0 - - Isfahan IPL 6th
42 2007-Feb-9 2–1 Abolfazl Hajizadeh (18)-Mehrzad Madanchi (89) Moharram Navidkia (78) Tehran IPL 6th
43 2007–May-29 1–4 Farzad Ashoobi (64) Hadi Aghili (86)-Mahmud Karimi(108,111,117) Tehran Hazfi Cup Semi-Final
44 2007–Dec-31 1–2 Abbas Aghaei (80) Mohammad Nosrati (36 og)-Emad Ridha (41) Isfahan IPL 7th
45 2008–May-17 2–1 Mohsen Khalili (16)-Sepehr Heidari (90+6) Ehsan Hajsafi (29) Tehran IPL 7th
46 2008–Oct-26 3–2 Karim Bagheri (12)-Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht (45,64) Emad Ridha (28,34) Tehran IPL 8th
47 2009–Feb-27 0–0 - - Isfahan IPL 8th
48 2009–May-30 1–0 Maziar Zare (12) Tehran Hazfi Cup 1/8
49 2009-Nov-28 1–2 Sepehr Heidari (65) Ebrahim Toure (27)-Hadi Aghili (90)(P) Isfahan IPL 9th
50 2010–May-18 1–1 Hadi Norouzi (47) Mehdi Karimian (77) Tehran IPL 9th
51 2010–Sep-29 1–4 Tiago (31) Ebrahim Toure (41)-Hadi Aghili (66)(P)- Khosro Heidari (73)-Reza Enayati (86) Tehran IPL 10th
52 2011–May-15 0–0 - - Isfahan IPL 10th
53 2011–May-29 0–0(4–2Pen) - - Tehran Hazfi Cup 1/4
54 2011–Nov 19 0–0 - - Tehran IPL 11th
55 2012–Apr-12 1–1 Mohammad Nouri (86) Xhevahir Sukaj (81) Isfahan IPL 11th
56 2012–Sep-23 0–2 - Adel Kolahkaj (51)-Xhevahir Sukaj (72) Isfahan IPL 12th
57 2013–Feb-26 1–0 Hadi Norouzi (92) Tehran IPL 12th
58 2013-May-05 2–2 (2–4Pen) Karim Ansarifard (24)-Mohammad Nouri (99) Xhevahir Sukaj (59)-Mohammad Gholami (106) Tehran Hazfi Cup Final
59 2013-Sep-20 0–2 Hadi Aghili (6)(P)-Amin Jahan Alian (90+4) Isfahan IPL 13th
60 2014-Jan-31 2–0 Mohammad Abbaszadeh (12)-Hamidreza Aliasgari (18) Tehran IPL 13th
61 2014-Oct-3 0–1 Mehdi Sharifi (90+4) Isfahan IPL 14th
62 2015-Apr-16 1-2 Hadi Norouzi(44) Mehdi Sharifi(85)- luciano pereira(90+2) Tehran IPL 14th
63 2015-Aug-13 4–2 Mehdi Taremi (12)- Omid Alishah (32) Ehsan Hajsafi (8)-Michael Umaña (39 og)- Hadi Aghili (56)(P)- Mohammadreza Khalatbari (82) Isfahan IPL 15th

Summary of results

Apps Persepolis wins Draws Sepahan wins
League (before IPL) 26 11 11 4
IPL League 29 7 10 12
Hazfi Cup 8 2 5 1
Total 63 20 26 17
Position Teams Matches Wins Draws Loses Goals
For
Goals
Against
Goal
Difference
Points
1 Persepolis 63 20 26 17 77 66 +11 86
2 Sepahan 63 17 26 20 66 77 –11 77

Sepahan goal scorers

5 Goals

4 Goals

3 Goals

2 Goals

1 Goals

Persepolis goal scorers

4 Goals
3 Goals
2 Goals
1 Goal

Notable matches

  • Persepolis F.C. 2–1 Sepahan
    May 17, 2008

Persepolis won Sepahan in front of over 110’000 fans and became 2007–08 IPL champion. Mohsen Khalili scored a spectacular volley from 20 yards to give Persepolis the lead, But Ehsan Hajysafi equalised a few minutes later. With ninety minutes over, the injury time was nearly finished but Khalili again shot a deflected free-kick, Finding Karim Bagheri in the box. Bagheri turned and crossed the ball for Sepehr Heidari, who scored the second goal with a header to win the match for his team.

See also

References