Malavan Bandar Anzali Football Club (, ''Bāšgāh-e Futbāl-e Malavān-e Bandar-e Anzali'') is an Iranian

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

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 ...

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 ...

. It currently won Iran's second league, 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 ...

and came back to Persian Gulf Pro League after they were relegated in the 2015–16 season. The team is known to have some of the most passionate fans in

ian

, and is one of the country's most successful teams based outside

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. ...

. This team is one of the most successful Iranian teams 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 ...

. Malavan has reached the Hazfi Cup final 7 times and won 3 titles. The club forms the

part of the multisport Malavan Sport and Cultural Club. Malavan was previously owned by the Iranian Navy.

History

Establishment

Bahman Salehnia created the team in 1968 along with some young athletes from the port city of Anzali. After some time, the Iranian Navy decided to become the team's main sponsor and owner.

Early years

The club never really had great success in the league but they were able to become the best non-

based club and finishing third in the 1977 and 1989. Malavan has won the

on 3 occasions. In 1986 Malavan participated in Asian Club Championship but after beating Saunders SC in first round they withdrew from tournament due to 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 ...

Iran Pro League

In 2003 Malavan was relegated to the

, they only stayed one year in the lower league as they were immediately promoted back to the Iran Pro League. Since then, they have been one of the most stable teams of the league in recent years where they only had few coaches during their history and always finished in mid table and challenge the big teams. They finished 12th in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 season. In 2010–11 season they finished 8th and reached the final of

but lost to

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 2013–14 Iran Pro League season Malavan achieved a surprising 7th-place finish in the league, their highest ever.

Relegation

In July 2015 Malavan hired famous Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoi who had won several league titles with Esteghlal and Sepahan. Player such as Arash Afshin, Hossein Mahini and Shahab Karami joined the squad to serve their conscription period. In Ghalenoi's first game in charge, Malavan defeated the

holders, Zob Ahan 1–0. After only three games Ghalenoi left the club and was replaced by former

manager Hamid Estili. On 13 May 2016 after a 2–0 loss to Siah Jamegan, who were behind Malavan before the match started, the clubs was relegated to the

for the second time in their history. Before the start of the 2016–17 season it was announced that controversial manager Mohammad Mayeli Kohan had been named Malavan's manager. Despite achieving good results and being in or near a promotion spot the entire season, Mayeli Kohan was involved in several confrontations with the supporters, which led to many supporters boycotting the team's games.

Return to Pro League with Zare

2020-2021 season marked the return of two retired homegrown players, Maziar Zare and Pejman Nouri, the former as the new head coach and the latter as the general manager of the club. In his first season, Zare lead the team to the semi-final of the domestic cup, despite failing to win promotion. In the 2021-2022 season, Zare led the team back to the Pro League by winning the

with record points, marking the return of Malavan to the top flight after six years.

El Gilano

The match between Malavan and Damash or Sepidrood is known as the ''Gilan Derby'' or ''El Gilano''. This match is one of Iran's most important and heated derby's. Malavan hold the record for most wins in the derby with four since the start of the Iran Pro League in 2001. Malavan also holds the largest margin of victory when they defeated Damash 3–0 in 2005 and again in 2013. The derby is also known for its fan violence.

Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Malavan in various competitions since the beginning of Iranian Pro league in 2001. ''For details on seasons, see List of Malavan F.C. seasons''

Honours

National titles

**Winners (1): 2021–22 **''Runner-up (1):'' 2003–04 *

**Winners (3): 1975–76, 1986–87, 1990–91 **''Runner-up (4):'' 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 2010–11

Minor titles

* Vahdat Cup **''Third place (1)'':

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* RCD Cup **''Runner-up (1)'': 1974

Club officials

Presidents

Sources:

Current coaching staff

Source:

Head coaches

Below is a list of Malavan coaches from 1968 until the present day. Firouz Karimi carries the honor of being the first Iranian head coach to assume the title without rising from the Malavan football school.

Players

First-team squad

Notes

References

Malavan FC stats
at ''persianleague.com'' (archived)

External links

* {{Football in Iran Football clubs in Iran Association football clubs established in 1969 Sport in Gilan province 1969 establishments in Iran Malavan F.C.