Machine Sazi Tabriz Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Mashinsazi-ye Tebriz'') more commonly known as Machine Sazi was an Iranian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

East Azarbaijan East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil province, West Azerbaijan province ...

Iran 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 ...

competing 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 ...

Club history

Establishment

In 1969, Machine Sazi Tabriz Industrial Group decided to create a new football team by the name of Machine Sazi. Machine Sazi Tabriz football club played its first official match in 1970. In 1973, 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 established. The Takht Jamshid Cup, was Iran's first ever nationwide football league and Machine Sazi entered the league in its first year of establishment in 1973. The club participated in

between 1973 and 1977.

Post Revolution

1980s

Like most sporting clubs in Iran, the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

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 ...

severely limited the team's activities. From 1979 to 1980 the club participated in almost no meaningful competitions. In 1980 the Tabriz Football League and Tabriz Hazfi Cup was established. Machine Sazi participated in the Tabriz Football League and Tabriz Hazfi Cup between 1980 and 1988. Machine Sazi was the most successful Tabriz Football League club, winning seven championship titles and finishing two times as runners-up. The club also won the Tabriz Hazfi Cup six times. After the war the local and provincial leagues were scrapped in favor of nationwide leagues.

1990s

After the war, the

was established as Iran's national league. Machine Sazi was promoted to the

in 1994. They stayed in the

for two seasons and the club finished 8th the following year. But, in 1997 the club was relegated to the 2nd Division. Machine Sazi played in the 2nd Division between 1997 and 2001 until 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 formed.

2000s

With the launch of

in 2001, Machine Sazi were placed into the

. After a 3rd-place finish in the new Azadegan League's inaugural season, Machine Sazi had a string of mid table finishes. In the 2007–08 season the club finished 11th in the Azadegan League and was relegated to 2nd Division but following the Iranian Football Federations' decision to increase the number of teams in the league to 28, Machine Sazi remained in the

. The club had a mixed start to the 2008–09 season in the

. 2008 heralded major changes for Machine Sazi, as the terrible state of the club's finances was revealed; they were unable to pay wages and had massive debts. After a drop in form, recording 10 losses in 12 matches, Asghar Etebari was sacked as manager and was replaced by Sirous Bayrami. In March 2008 Javad Shahlaei resigned as chairman and Farhad Sedaghat was elected chairman by the club council. Seyed Javad Mousavi was brought in as the new club manager. Machine Sazi finished 13th in the 2008–09

season. Thus, being relegated to 2nd Division.

Dabiri Takeover

On 25 April 2009 the club was bought by businessman Shahram Dabiri. After a year in the 2nd Division, Machine Sazi bought the licence of a club in the

and was allowed to compete in the 2010–11 edition of the league. Following a 3rd-place finish in 2012 which almost brought the club back to the

, the club was again relegated to the 2nd Division in 2013. Machine Sazi escaped relegation to the 3rd Division the following year via a relegation play–off. MachineSaziFC2016

Persian Gulf Pro League

Following Machine Sazi's dismal 2013–14 season the team was taken over by the Municipality of Tabriz. In June 2015 Machine Sazi replaced

Shahrdari Tabriz Shahrdari Tabriz Cultural and Athletic Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Vârzeshi-ye Shiherdari Tebriz'') was an Iranian sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Tabriz, Iran. Shahrdari Tabriz also has futsal, basket ...

in the 2015–16

East Azerbaijan East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil province, West Azerbaijan province ...

's representative. In winter of 2016

Rasoul Khatibi Rasoul Paki Khatibi (; born 22 September 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player who is the president of the Persian Gulf Pro League team Paykan. He is the younger brother of Hossein Khatibi, who is also a football manager and form ...

was named head coach of Machine Sazi and the club began the push for promotion to 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 ...

. On 10 May 2016 after a 3–0 win against Mes Rafsanjan, Machine Sazi confirmed their promotion to the

after a 19-year absence from the top flight of Iranian football. Machine Sazi managed to draw 1–1 with Esteghlal 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 ...

in week 5. Khatibi was fired midway through the season for Machine's bad performances and was replaced with

Farhad Kazemi Farhad Kazemi (; born 2 July 1959 in Tehran) is an Iranian football coach and a former footballer who played as a forward. With many professional clubs in his résumé, Kazemi has established himself as one of the top coaches in a country which ...

. Machine Sazi finished the season in last place and were relegated to the

once again. In the season of 2018–19, the club replaced the Gostaresh Foulad and returned to the top flight.

Players

First Team Squad

''For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2022-23''.

League and domestic cup history

Club stadium

Before the construction of

Sahand Stadium Yadegaran Stadium (Fārsi: Estādiome Yādegārān), also popularly known as Sahand Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium was built in 1996 and can accommodate 66,833 spec ...

, Machine Sazi played all of its matches at

Bagh Shomal Stadium The Takhti Stadium (, ''Vârzeshgah-e Taxti'') formerly known as Bagh Shomal Stadium (, ''Vârzeshgah-e Baq Shomal'') and Reza Pahlavi Stadium (, ''Vârzeshgah-e Reza Pahlavi'') is a multi-use stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It is currently used mostly ...

, which currently has a capacity of 25,000. They occasionally play big games at Sahand Stadium. Football academy and training ground of Machine sazi is

Marzdaran Stadium Marzdaran Stadium of Tabriz () is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It was previously used primarily for football (soccer), football matches and served as the home stadium of Shahrdari Tabriz F.C., Shahrdari Tabriz. Currently it is used as a football aca ...

Club colors

Kit evolution

Club managers

Managerial history

mohanmad saeid akhbari 2020

Current coaching staff

Honours

** Runners-up (1): 2015–16

References

External links

{{Azadegan League Football clubs in Iran Association football clubs established in 1969 Sport in Tabriz 1969 establishments in Iran