Esteghlal FC

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Football club infobox Esteghlal (استقلال in Persian, meaning 'Independence') (formerly known as Taj, meaning 'Crown') is a football club in Iran.

It is one of the most famous football (soccer) clubs in Iran's Premier Football League, established in 1945, and won many cups in different competitions. Esteghlal and Perspolis are presently the two most popular football clubs in Iran, however in recent years their dominance has been seriously threatened by other clubs like Sepahan and Foolad. The team's main rival and its opponent in the Tehran derby is Persepolis. Azadi Stadium is always sold out when the match takes place.

1 Club history
2 Season-by-season
3 Club Honours
4 2005-2006 Squad
5 Famous players
6 External links

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Club history

On 24 September, 1945, three individuals by the names of Mirzani, Jananpour and Navab started a sports club in Ferdowsi Street of Tehran. Since the founders of the club were mostly interested in cycling, the club's original name was Docharke Savaran or The Cyclists. The Docharkhe Savaran football club played its first official match a year later, and in 1947 was able to capture the Tehran Hazfi Cup. In 1949, the team officially changed its name to Taj. The club became the second most loved team in Iran after some years, and were able to make their fans happy by winning numerous league championships, Hazfi Cups and Asian Club Championships. The team had to change its name again in 1979 to Esteghlal(independence in Persian), because of the revolution. Taj means crown in Persian, and after the revolution, any sign of the previous monarchist regime was not tolerated, so naturally, the name Taj was not suitable. The club has been able to get successful results in the past couple of years and is always looked at as a contender for the league championship. In the past two years it has finished 2nd or 3rd in the league, but Ghalenoei was able to get the team it's first championship in the IPL in the 2005-06 season after three years as the manager.

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Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal FC every season, from 1995 to the present day.

Season	League	League Finishing Position	Hazfi Cup	Asian Cup and Asian Cup Winners Cup
1995-1996	Azadegan League	3rd	Cup
1996-1997	Azadegan League	6th		Asian Cup Winners Cup (Semifinal)
1997-1998	Azadegan League	1st (Champions)
1998-1999	Azadegan League	2nd	Final	Asian Cup (2nd)
1999-2000	Azadegan League	2nd	Cup	Asian Cup Winners Cup (Second Round)
2000-2001	Azadegan League	1st (Champions)		Asian Cup Winners Cup (Semifinal)
2001-2002	Iran Premier League	2nd	Cup	Asian Cup (3rd)
2002-2003	Iran Premier League	9th
2003-2004	Iran Premier League	2nd	Final
2004-2005	Iran Premier League	3rd
2005-2006	Iran Premier League	1st (Champions)

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Club Honours

League Championships:6, (1 in Local Tehran League, 1 in Takhte Jamshid Cup, 1 in Qods League, 2 in Azadegan League, 1 in IPL)
Hazfi Cup: 4
Asian Club Championships: 2

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