Sport Club Damash Guilan (, ''Bashgah-e Vârzeshi-ye Damash Guilân''), commonly known as Damash Guilan sc, also spelled Damash Guilan, is an Iranian

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

based in

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

, Guilan, that competes in the

Azadegan League The Azadegan League (, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 (, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from its foundation in 1991 until 2001, when t ...

. The club was founded in 1960 as Taj Rasht Football Club (). The football team plays its home games at the Shahid Dr. Azodi Stadium which has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 11,000. The club is also using the

Sardar Jangal Stadium The Sardar Jangal Stadium () is a sports stadium located in Rasht, Iran. It is used by Sepidrood Rasht S.C. in some Iran's Premier Football League matches as of the start of the 2017–18 Persian Gulf Pro League, 2017–18 season. References

which has a seating capacity of 15,000. The club is owned and supported by Peymam Baharvand.

History

Establishment

The club was founded as Taj Rasht Football Club in 1960. The club was one of Taj Tehran branches at the time. From the beginning, Taj Rasht was able to attract some of the best players of Guilan.

Before 1970

Before the 1970s, Iran did not have an official national football league. Most clubs participated in championships of their city or province. In addition to that Taj Rasht played in the Guilan Province League until 1970.

1970s

In 1970, the Local League was created. The league included teams from all Iran in different qualifying tournaments. Taj Rasht finished fourth in

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

of their qualifying tournament. The club also participated in the 1971–72 Local League season. Taj Rasht missed again qualification for the final stage after they achieved the last place in their group again. In 1972, the

Takht Jamshid Cup The Takht Jamshid Cup (, Jâm-e Taxt-e Jamšid) was a national football league based in Iran which lasted from 1974 to 1979. The league was named after ''Takht-e Jamshid'', the Iranian name for the ancient city known as Persepolis. Hi ...

was founded as the national league and included teams from all over the country. However, Taj Rasht could not qualify and therefore played again in the Guilan Province League.

Abouzar Rasht

In 1975 the club changed its name for the first time. Until 1983 the club was called Abouzar Rasht Football Club. Due to the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

and the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, the Takht Jamshid Cup was dissolved and also the lower leagues were unorganized. As a result, the club took part in regional championships and cups only irregularly.

Esteghlal Rasht

In 1983 Abouzar changed its name into Esteghlal Rasht Football Club. ''Esteghlal'' means ''independence'' in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. In 1991 the

was formed as the top flight of Iranian football. Esteghlal Rasht took part in the league in the 1991–92 season, but was relegated at the end of the season. Due to sponsorship, the club was known as Esteghlal Gaz Rasht Football Club in 1992–93 Iran Football's 2nd Division. After playing many years in

Iran Football's 2nd Division Iranian football's 2nd division () is the third-highest football (soccer), football division overall in the Iranian football league system. Before 2001, the 2nd division league was the second-highest division in the national football league system ...

, they were promoted to

in 2000. They finished 10th in 2000–01 season. In the summer of 2001, the

Iran 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 ...

was established as the professional football league of Iran, Azadegan League was declared as the second-highest professional league in the

Iranian football league system The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for soccer, football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Iran's Premier Football League, Pro League is the highest level of cl ...

. All clubs from the 2000–01 Azadegan League season took participate in the

2001–02 Iran Pro League The following is the standings of the Persian Gulf Cup's 2001–02 football season. This was the first season of the Iran Pro League (Persian Gulf Cup) and replaced the Azadegan League as top tier of men's professional football division in the Ira ...

. Esteghlal Rasht was relegated after an embarrassingly lost 9–2 to Aboomoslem on the last matchday of the season. They finished 13th in that season.

Pegah Guilan

Due to financial problems and relegation, the Pegah Dairy Company took over the club in the summer of 2002. The club was renamed as Pegah Guilan Football Club. In 2007, however, a club called Esteghlal Shahrdari Rasht was founded again, which could participate as a separate club in the Guilan Provincial League. Pegah managed to get promoted to the first division and finished 9th in the 2003–04 season. A year later, relegation took place again. Then the club played two years in the Azadegan League. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

they were able to return to the Iran Pro League, known as the Persian Gulf Cup since 2006. With 15th place in the 2007–08 season, Pegah was able to prevent relegation. Pegah also qualified for the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of 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 ...

this season. After Pegah won the first leg 1–0, they lost in the second leg against Esteghlal in front of almost 100,000 spectators at the

Azadi Stadium The Azadi Stadium (, ), opened as the Aryamehr Stadium (), is an all-seater football stadium in Tehran, Iran. The stadium was designed by Abdol Aziz Mirza Farman-Farmaian Architects and Associates (AFFA) with other parts of the sports comple ...

with 0–3.

Damash Guilan

In the summer of 2008, Pegah Guilan was struggling with financial problems. In October of the same year, the Aria Investment Development Company, then owned by Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, took over the club. The club was renamed Sport Club Damash Guilan. Damash is a small historical village in Jirandeh near Rasht.

Pro and Azadegan League

The club shuttled between the first two leagues for the following years. In the 2008–09 season, they finished 17th and had to relegate to the Azadegan League. In the 2009–10 season, Damash failed to Sanat Naft Abadan in the play-offs and missed promotion. A year later, the club won the title for it and managed to rise. Between 2011 and 2013, the club played two decent years in the Persian Gulf Cup and came in 7th in 2011–12 and 11th in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. During this time,

Alireza Jahanbakhsh Alireza Jahanbakhsh (, ; born 11 August 1993) is an Iranian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, right winger and Midfielder, attacking midfielder for Dutch Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen and captain (ass ...

also made a name for himself with good performances, 10 goals in 44 matches. In the summer of 2013, he moved to the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

NEC Nijmegen NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion ...

. Iranian football legend

Mehdi Mahdavikia Mehdi Mahdavikia (; born 24 July 1977) is an Iranian professional association football, football coach and former player usually played as a winger (association football), right winger or right back. He was at Hamburger SV as a youth coach, and ...

also played for Damash between 2011 and 2012. Starting in 2013, the club experienced difficult years and relegated at the end of the 2013–14 season. Then followed two disappointing years in the Azadegan League. In the

2014–15 Azadegan League The 2014–15 Azadegan League was the 24th season of the Azadegan League and 14th as the second highest division since its establishment in 1991. The season featured 16 teams from the 2013–14 Azadegan League, three new teams relegated from the ...

season, the club only finished 6th and missed promotion. In the 2015–16 season, Damash even had to relegate to the League 2.

Since 2016

Due to very great financial difficulties, the club was close to being dissolved in March 2016. The Guilan Football Organization, therefore, took over the rights to the club and so Damash could end the season. After relegation, the club should be renamed ''Shahr-e Baran Football Club'', which led to major protests from fans. Damash then kept his name. In 2019 Damash sensationally reached the Hazfi Cup Final against

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 ...

in the

Foolad Arena Foolad Arena (, ''Fulâd Ârena'') is a stadium in Ahvaz, which was opened on 13 November 2018. It hosts the home matches of Foolad F.C., Foolad since March 2019. The stadium was planned to be completed by November 2013, which was changed to midd ...

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

. The game turned into a scandal as the stadium was filled with over 30,000 Perespolis supporters hours before kick-off. As a result, the approximately 1,000 Damash fans could not enter the stadium and the kick-off was delayed by a few hours. In the end, Damash lost to Persepolis 0–1. After three years in the League 2, Damash returned to the Azadegan League. The club replaced Karoon Arvand Khorramshahr for the 2019–20 season.

Name history

*Taj Rasht Football Club (1960–1975) *Abouzar Rasht Football Club (1975–1983) *Esteghlal Rasht Football Club (1983–1992) *Esteghlal Gaz Rasht Football Club (1992–1993) *Esteghlal Rasht Football Club (1993–2002) *Pegah Guilan Football Club (2002–2008) *Sport Club Damash Guilan (2008–present)

Crest

The name ''Damash'' goes back to a historical village in Jirandeh near Rasht. In 2016, Damash adopted the Lilium ledebourii, a typical plant from this region, in its logo.

Stadium

Traditionally, Damash Guilan plays its home games at the Shahid Dr. Azodi Stadium which has a seating capacity of 11,000. The stadium was opened in 1990 and is owned by the club. The stadium was renovated from 2009 to 2011. It is also the traditional home venue of the local rival Sepidrood. Furthermore, Damash plays some of its home games at the

which has a seating capacity of 15,000. The stadium was opened in 2007 and is owned by Sepidrood.

Rivalries

El Guilano

Matches between

Malavan Malavan Bandar Anzali Football Club (, ''Bāšgāh-e Futbāl-e Malavān-e Bandar-e Anzali'') is an Iranian football club based in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. It currently won Iran's second league, the Azadegan League and came back to Persian Gulf P ...

Bandar-e Anzali Bandar-e Anzali () is a city on the Caspian Sea in the Central District of Bandar-e Anzali County, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district. History Anzali is an old city in ancient Iran, first s ...

and the two teams from

, Damash Guilan, and Sepidrood Rasht are known as El Guilano.

Further rivalries

Within Rasht, Damash has a minor rivalry with PAS Guilan. Damash then has a bigger rivalry with Nassaji Mazandaran from

Qaem Shahr Qaem Shahr (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qaem Shahr County, Mazandaran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Originally known as Ŝâhi was used until the Iranian Revolution in 1979 when the city ...

Seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Damash Guilan in various competitions since 1970. Notes:
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 ...

was formerly known as Iran Pro League (IPL) and Persian Gulf Cup (PGC)
The

was the highest division between 1991 and 2001
The League 2 was formerly known as Iran 2nd Division
The League 3 was formerly known as Iran 3rd Division

Honours

Domestic

**Champions (1):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

**''Runners-up (2):'' 2007–08, 2018–19 *Rasht League **Champions (1): 1973

First-team squad

''For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2018–19''.