Alireza Safar Beiranvand (; born 21 September 1992) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for the

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

club

Tractor S.C. Tractor Cultural Sports Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi Varzeši-ye Terâktor''), commonly known as Tractor, formerly Tractor Sazi, is an Iranian professional football club based in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro ...

and the

Iran national team Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Beiranvand represented Iran internationally at the

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, and at the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. In 2017, Beiranvand became the first Iranian ever to be nominated for an individual award at

The Best FIFA Football Awards The Best FIFA Football Awards is a football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA. The first awarding ceremony was held on 9 January 2017 in Zürich, Switzerland. The award is aimed at reviving the FIFA World Player Gal ...

. He has been the best goalkeeper in the

for four consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2019 and has also been the

Iranian Footballer of the Year The Iran Football award Winners is an annual association football award presented to Best Player, Coach and Referees in Iran, which recognises the most outstanding player in the Persian Gulf Pro League each season. The recipient is chosen by a pa ...

in 2019. With 23

clean sheets In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

in 37 matches during the 2017–18 season, he ranked as the second goalkeeper in the world for the cleanest sheets. In addition, Beiranvand achieved two ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' during his career, including the farthest distance throw of a football at against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on 11 October 2016, and the longest football drop kick at on 17 April 2019.

Early life

Beiranvand was born in the small village of Sarab-e Yas in

Khorramabad County Khorramabad County () is in Lorestan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad Khorramabad (; ) is a city in the Central District of Khorramabad County, Lorestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, th ...

Lorestan Province Lorestan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad. Lorestan is in the western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. In 2014 it was placed in Region ...

, and grew up in a Kurdish Lak

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

family. In his teenage years, Beiranvand ran away from home and moved to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

in order to realize his dream of becoming a professional footballer, where he was homeless for some time. Before his career in football, he worked at a carwash focused on four-wheel drives, leveraging his height advantage, as well as in a dressmaking factory and a pizza shop.

Marriage

Beiranvand got married in 2010. He has a son and a daughter.

Club career

Naft Tehran

Beiranvand has played with

Naft Tehran Naft Tehran Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Nuft Teheran'') was an Iranian association football, football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National Iranian Oil Company previousl ...

since 2011. He made his debut in the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

against Damash on 25 October 2011. There were links between him and the red half of Tehran,

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

, but the chairman of Naft Tehran, Mansour Ghanbarzadeh, did not allow him to leave the club. In his first year as the first-choice goalkeeper, Beiranvand led the team to a 3rd place

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

finish and a spot in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

for the first time in the club's history. On 23 March 2014, he extended his contract with the club until June 2019. On 24 November 2014, Beiranvand provided an assist in their match against

Tractor Sazi Tractor Cultural Sports Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi Varzeši-ye Terâktor''), commonly known as Tractor, formerly Tractor Sazi, is an Iranian professional football club based in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro ...

by throwing the ball into the opponent's half. He was linked with a move to Persepolis in January 2016, but the move fell through at the last moment. Beiranvand left Naft at the end of the 2015–16 season after his contract expired.

Persepolis

On 16 May 2016, Beiranvand signed a two–year contract with league

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. In 2017 Beiranvand extended his contract with the club until 2021. In December 2017, in a match against

Foolad Foolad Khuzestan Football Club (, ''Bāshgāh-e Futbāl-e Fulād-e Khuzestān'') is an Iranian professional football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, that plays in Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1971 and is owned by Foolad Khuze ...

, Beiranvand set a League record of going 718 minutes without conceding a goal, which was later broken by Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini. Beiranvand was named

2018 AFC Champions League The 2018 AFC Champions League was the 37th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title. Kashima Antlers won the title for t ...

semi-final first leg player of the week following his performance against

Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars League. Locally, it i ...

. He was also "Man of the match" and with "Team of the Week" 2nd leg after he saved many of Al Sadd's chances and helped Persepolis reach the final, His five clean sheets during the competition was the most of any goalkeeper. He was reportedly chosen as one of the candidates for the 2018 Asian Footballer of the Year award, but his exclusion was described by Asian football writers as a big shock, and an outrageous and scandalous event. The following season Beiranvand kept 16 clean sheets in 2018–19 Pro League and claimed Golden Gloves for three consecutive years and four successive times overall.

Antwerp

In late July 2020,

Jupiler Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023� ...

side

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

confirmed the signing of Beiranvand a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 10 December in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

away match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

Boavista (loan)

On 10 July 2021, Beiranvand joined

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

side Boavista on a one-year loan, with a purchase option for €1 million.

Return to Persepolis

Beiranvand joined

on 31 May 2022 with a new 3-year contract on a free transfer.

Tractor

On 16 July 2024, Beiranvand joined

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

on a one-year deal from Persepolis.

International career

Youth levels

He represented Iran at various youth levels, such as the U-19 team during the

2010 AFC U-19 Championship The 2010 AFC U-19 Championship was the 36th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Qualification for the tournament started in October 2009 with the finals tournament be ...

and the U-22 team in the 2013 U-22 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Senior team

Iran training before Uzbek match 139507102021096738814754

In April 2014, he was called up to the

Iran national football team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...

training camp in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

by coach

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football manager. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, Colombia, Egypt and Qatar, leading ...

after many

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi-Varzeši-ye Fulâd-e Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan, is an Iranian sports club based in Isfahan. It is best known for their football section that play in the P ...

players could not make it because of

matches, including goalkeeper

Rahman Ahmadi Rahman Ahmadi (, born 30 July 1980 in Noshahr, Iran) is an Iranian retired Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and coach. Club career Early career Ahmadi started his career as a youth player at Shamoushak Noshahr F.C., Shamoushak No ...

. He was also selected in Iran's 30-man provisional squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

. However, Beiranvand was not included in Iran's squad for the World Cup, without playing any match in pre-World Cup friendly matches. He was called into Iran's

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...

squad on 30 December 2014 by Carlos Queiroz. He made his debut in a friendly match against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

on 4 January 2015, just before the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

2018 FIFA World Cup

During the

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

, first-choice goalkeeper

Alireza Haghighi Alireza Haghighi (; born 6 May 1988) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Kheybar. Club career Persepolis Having joined the senior squad of Persepolis at the age of 16, he made his debut in the match against Saip ...

was denied a visa for entry to

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

ahead of their fixture, alongside left back

Ehsan Hajsafi Ehsan Hajsafi (; born 25 February 1990) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Greek Super League club AEK Athens. Hajsafi is regarded as a utility player, being able to play as a winger, left-back or defensive midf ...

. Beiranvand was thus given his first competitive start for the senior team. However, he was given a straight red in the 72nd minute for a foul on Guam midfielder Dylan Naputi, less than a minute after Iran had used up all of their substitutions, forcing defender

Ezzatollah Pourghaz Ezzatollah Pourghaz, (; born 21 March 1987 in Bandar Torkaman, Iran) is an Iranian footballer who played for Havadar in the Persian Gulf Pro League and the Iran national football team. Personal life Pourghaz is of Iranian Turkmen origin. Club ...

to take on goalkeeper duties. During the final round of the

, Beiranvand became Iran's starting goalkeeper, replacing Alireza Haghighi. In May 2018, he was named in Iran's preliminary squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In Iran's last match of the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

, Beiranvand saved a penalty from

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

, as Iran drew 1–1 with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Beiranvand was the starting goalkeeper of the Iran squad at the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup (or commonly called the Asian Cup 2019) was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international association football, football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ...

. He was again in the spotlight when he saved a penalty from

Ahmed Mubarak Al-Mahaijri Ahmed Mubarak Obaid al-Mahaijri (; born 23 February 1985), commonly known as Ahmed Mubarak or Ahmed Kano, is an Omani professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Club career Kano has previously played for various clubs in GCC countries ...

, as Iran won 2–0 against

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. He was again in the spotlight when he saved a penalty from the captain of Cambodia, as Iran won 14–0 against

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

. He was Iran's starting goalkeeper at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, but during the match against England he collided with defender

Majid Hosseini Seyed Majid Hosseini (; born 20 June 1996) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Turkish club Kayserispor and the Iran national team. Hosseini made his full international debut in 2018 and represented Iran at the 2 ...

; after a lengthy medical treatment on the field, he was allowed to continue, but appeared disoriented and minutes later lied down on the ground and requested a substitution, after which he was taken to a nearby hospital.

Headway Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise definition varies depending on ...

called the decision to keep him on the field an "utter disgrace" and an "abject failure" of the concussion protocol. He was replaced by Hossein Hosseini, who remained in the starting position for the next match against

Wales national football team The Wales national football team () represents Wales in international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales. They have been a member of FIFA since ...

; Beiranvand then returned for the third group stage match against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Style of play

Beiranvand's main trait is his ability to take very long throws. In the 2015 AFC Champions League Round of 16 against Al Ahli, Beiranvand made a throw that reached 60m. On 24 November 2014, he provided an assist against

by throwing the ball into the opponent's half. Beiranvand is good in aerial duels and has been praised for his athleticism, "outstanding shot-stopping", acrobatic dives, and quick reflexes. He, along with Zahra Khajavi, are known as the record holders of the longest hand throws in Iranian football.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Naft Tehran *

runner-up: 2014–15 Persepolis *

: (6): 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2023–24 *

: (2): 2018–19,

Iranian Super Cup The Iranian Super Cup (Persian language, Persian: سوپر جام ایران, ''Super Jam-e 'Iran'') is an Iranian association football trophy awarded to the winner of a match between the Persian Gulf Pro League's season champion and the winner of ...

: (4):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

runner-up:

Tractor *

: 2024–25 Iran *

CAFA Nations Cup The CAFA Nations Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), the governing body of football in Central Asia. History Inau ...

*Jordan International Tournament:

Individual *

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Team of the Year: 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Golden Glove:

Fans' Best XI:

OPTA Best XI:

Team of the Tournament:

* AFC Fans' Best Player of All Time at the FIFA World Cup: 2020

Guinness World Records

Beiranvand achieved two ''

'' during his career, including the farthest distance throw of a football at against

on 11 October 2016, and the longest football drop kick at on 17 April 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beiranvand, Alireza 1992 births Sportspeople from Khorramabad Footballers from Lorestan province Living people 21st-century Iranian sportsmen Men's association football goalkeepers Iranian men's footballers Iran men's under-20 international footballers Iran men's youth international footballers Iran men's international footballers Naft Tehran F.C. players Persepolis F.C. players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Boavista F.C. players Tractor S.C. players Persian Gulf Pro League players Belgian Pro League players Primeira Liga players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 AFC Asian Cup players Iranian expatriate men's footballers Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal