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 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 ...

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 The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN; ), also referred as the Iranian Navy (abbreviated NEDAJA; ), is the naval warfare service branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''). It is one of Iran's two maritim ...

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

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 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 ...

. 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

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 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 ...

. Player such as

Arash Afshin Arash Afshin (, born 21 January 1989) is an Iranian footballer. He is a former player of Iran national team and under-23 team.

Hossein Mahini Hossein Mahini (; born September 16, 1986) is an Iranian former footballer who played as a defender. Club career Persepolis On 7 July 2012, he signed a two-year contract with the leading Tehran team, Persepolis. Mahini is known for his speed a ...

and

Shahab Karami Shahab Karami (born March 16, 1991) is an Iranian footballer who plays for Shahin Bushehr F.C. Club career In summer 2012 he participated in Paykan's pre-season trainings and signed a pre-contract.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 ...

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

manager

Hamid Estili Hamid Reza Estili (; born 1 April 1967) is an Iranian football coach and former player. Estili was a member of the Iran national team and is mostly remembered for his memorable goal and goal celebration against the United States at the 1998 FIF ...

. 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 Mohammad Mayeli Kohan (, born 5 June 1954) is an Iranian football coach and former player. He recently managed Malavan in Azadegan League. Early life He was born on 5 June 1954 in Bandar-e Anzali in Iran. His father was a farmer. He has two ...

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 Pejman Nouri (; born 13 July 1980) is an Iranian Association football, football official, coach and a former player who played in the midfield position. He is the president of Malavan F.C., Malavan. Club career Born in Rezvanshahr County, Rezvan ...

, the former as the new head coach and the latter as the general manager of the club. In his first season,

Zare The Zare is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It flows into the Sude near Walsmühlen. See also *List of rivers of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern A list of rivers of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany: A * Aubach * Augraben, tributary of ...

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

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 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 ...

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 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

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.