The 2012 Hazfi Cup Final was the 25th edition of the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Ch ...

since 1975. The match between Esteghlal and

Shahin Bushehr Shahin Lian Shahrdari Bushehr Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال شاهین شهرداری بوشهر, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Shahin Shiherdari-ye Bushiher'') is an Iranian football club based in Bushehr, Iran. They are one of the most ...

took place on 15 March 2012 at the

Hafezieh Stadium The Hafeziyeh Stadium ( fa, ورزشگاه حافظیه) is a multi-purpose stadium in Shiraz, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Persian Gulf League side, Fajr Sepasi F.C. The stadium also is use ...

. Esteghlal beat Shahin Bushehr 4-1 on penalties and qualified for the

2013 AFC Champions League The 2013 AFC Champions League was the 32nd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 11th under the current AFC Champions League title. The defending champions, Ulsan Hyu ...

Format

The rules for the final was exactly the different as the one for the previous knockout rounds. The tie was contested over one legs. If the teams could still not be separated, then extra time would have been played with a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

(taking place if the teams were still level after that). Both teams have agreed

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

as the final venue but it was announced that because of Hafezieh's ground qualify in winter, the final match will be transferred to the newly established

Ghadir Stadium The Ahvaz Ghadir Stadium ( fa, ورزشگاه غدیر اهواز) is a new multi-use stadium in Ahvaz, Iran, has a capacity of 38,900 people. Background In 1974, Zohreh Malileh Farshid, one of Iran's first and youngest female architects designed ...

Ahvaz Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...

. It was later denied.

Road to the finals

Match

Shahin was qualified for the first time to the final but it was Esteghlal's 9th final performance. The match was scoreless after 120 minutes but there had been numerous scoring chances on both sides. Mehdi Noori had a good chance in the first half and shot for the goal but was hit to the goalpostwas. In the second half, Fereydoun Zandi,

Arash Borhani Arash Borhani ( fa, آرش برهانی ; born 14 September 1983 in Kerman, Iran) is a retired Iranian football player and coach. He is the all-time top goal scorer of Esteghlal and also the second all-time top goal scorer in Iran's Premier F ...

and

Jlloyd Samuel Jlloyd Tafari Samuel ( , 29 March 1981 – 15 May 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he was raised in England and played for England up to under-21 level. He played two ful ...

had many chances but all of them was kept out with a one-handed save by Shahin goalkeeper

Vahid Talebloo Vahid Talebloo ( fa, وحيد طالب‌لو; born 26 May 1982 in Tehran, Iran) is a retired Iranian football goalkeeper. Club career He began receiving media attention when he was able to save Ali Daei's spot kick in an IPL match at the be ...

, a former Esteghlal player.

Ali Ansarian Ali Ansarian ( fa, علی انصاریان; 5 July 1977 – 3 February 2021) was an Iranian professional footballer, actor and presenter. His uncle, Hossein, is a famous Shia cleric. Club career After playing for Persepolis F.C. for several ...

's shot was forced saves by Esteghlal goalkeeper

Mehdi Rahmati Seyed Mehdi Rahmati Oskuei ( fa, سید مهدی رحمتی اسکویی; born February 3, 1983) is an Iranian football coach and former player who currently manages Aluminium Arak in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He played for the Iran nation ...

. The game was end 0-0 and was advanced to the extra times. In the extra times, both team tried to have an aggressive play in order to scoring the winning goal. In 112, Milad Meydavoudi hit a free kick but was saved by defensive wall. Goran Jerković also had a chance but was out of the gate. The Blues proved to be the superior side with all four of their penalty takers converting from the spot, while only one of the three Shahin players stepping behind the ball withstood the pressure and summoned the necessary composure to score. In the penalties, Mohsen Yousefi, a left foot Midfielder scored Esteghlal's first goal. After that Mehdi Noori's shoot was out of target. Then, Fereydoun Zandi, a German-Iranian footballer, scored the second goal for Esteghlal. Shokouhmagham was behind the wall but his shoot was saved by Mehdi Rahmati.

scored Esteghlal's third goal.

scored for Shahin the first goal but Goran Jerković converted the winning penalty and Esteghlal won the trophy 4-1.

Match details

, valign="top", Esteghlal-Shahin Bushehr-lineup

Champions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazfi Cup 2012 Final

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