Mehrdad Pooladi (, born 26 February 1987) is an Iranian former 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 ...

. He was also an Iranian international, where he played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Pooladi is a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

, formerly playing as a forward and

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in his youth and playing regularly as a full back,

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and winger.

Club career

Esteghlal

In August 2007, Pooladi moved from Paykan to Esteghlal as one of the number of young players that were chosen by coach Naser Hejazi. He scored his only goal in Estghlal's 2–1 away at Moghavemat Sepasi. After Hejazi was sacked and replaced with Firouz Karimi, he fell down in the pecking order and eventually left Esteghlal two years after joining the team.

Tractor Sazi

Pooladi joined Tractor Sazi for the 2008–09 season where he played only for a single season. 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 ...

he managed to regain his form playing mostly as a central midfielder, scoring six goals in the season. The most noteworthy was a 40-yard free-kick against his former team Esteghlal in 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 ...

Mes Kerman

Pooladi transferred to

Mes Kerman Mes Kerman Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Sân't-e Mes Kârman'') is an Iranian professional association football, football team based in Kerman, Iran. They were promoted to Iran's top league, the Iran Pro League, in the 2005–06 season. ...

and played for the team for a year and a half, again mostly as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. In the mid-season of 2011–12, he was not included in

Miroslav Blažević Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević (; 9 February 1935 – 8 February 2023) was a Bosnian-Croatian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. A former right winger, his professional ...

's squad and left the team.

Persepolis

In January 2012, Pooladi moved 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 ...

, Pooladi could not play in 2011–12 season as he had missed the transfer deadline day. He was however able to register for the

2012 AFC Champions League The 2012 AFC Champions League was the 31st edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 10th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea wo ...

playing in 7 games and scoring a goal against Al-Shabab from a free-kick in a 3–1 win. He extended his contract with Persepolis for two years, keeping him in the team until 2014. He has established himself as a fan favorite due to the high intensity at which he plays the game. Since he joined Persepolis he played the majority of the games as a left back, occasionally slotting in as a defensive midfielder and left wing. After a good showing in 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 ...

, he was monitored by

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

clubs such as

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Hull City and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

. On 17 September 2014, the FFIRI disciplinary committee announced a sentence on his contract with

for the forthcoming 2014–15 season due to

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

issues. According to this sentence, the contract is cancelled after the end of the 2013–14 season (in May 2014), therefore he became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

and was free to choose his club.

Al-Shahania

Pooladi officially joined coach Miguel Ángel Lotina's Qatari side Al-Shahania with a two-year contract after

IFF In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (often shortened as "iff") is paraphrased by the biconditional, a logical connective between statements. The biconditional is true in two cases, where either both ...

's rule that he is a free agent due to

issues. On 5 December 2014, he provided an assist to Masoud Shojaei. He also scored a 35–yard free kick for them towards the end of the season.

Bangkok United

In June 2017, Pooladi joined

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club () is a professional football club based in Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Known as Bangkok University Football Club until 2009, the club was relegated from the 2010 Thai Premier League only four years afte ...

Football Club - a Thai professional football club based in Pathum Thani.

International career

Pooladi played all three games for Iran U20 at 2006 AFC Youth Championship, as a product of

Paykan Tehran Paykan Club is an Iranian sports club based in Tehran, Iran. The club was founded in 1967. Teams * Paykan Football Club, competing in the Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Ir ...

. He also made five appearances in 2005 in Valentin A.Granatkin Memorial – International Youth Tournament for Iran U20. He was also a member of Iran U-23, participating in the

2006 Asian Games The 2006 Asian Games (), officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (, and commonly known as Doha 2006 (), were an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the ga ...

. He started his senior international career under

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 ...

in July 2011 against

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Queiroz moved Pooladi to the left back position a position and Pooladi has taken the opportunity and established himself as first choice left back ever since.

2014 FIFA World Cup

On 1 June 2014, he was called into

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 ...

squad by Queiroz. Pooladi was named as the second best-ranked player in the first week of the tournament behind

Thomas Müller Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays for club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Widely regarded as one o ...

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, after receiving 9.7 points in the opening match against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He also showed a good performance in the next match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. In second half time he dribbled well Higuain and Messi to shows his technical ability.

2015 Asian Cup

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 Queiroz. On 23 January 2015, he received a controversial red card in the quarter-final of the competition 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 ...

from referee Ben Williams.

Career statistics

Honours

Esteghlal *

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 ...

: 2008–09 *

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 ...

: 2007–08 Persepolis *

: Runner-up 2013–14

References

External links

Mehrdad Pooladi
a
PersianLeague.comMehrdad Pooladi
a
TeamMelli.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pooladi, Mehrdad 1987 births Living people Iranian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Iran men's international footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football utility players Asian Games bronze medalists for Iran Paykan F.C. players Esteghlal F.C. players Tractor S.C. players Sanat Mes Kerman F.C. players Persepolis F.C. players Al Shahaniya SC players Mehrdad Pooladi Al Kharaitiyat SC players Muaither SC players Persian Gulf Pro League players Qatar Stars League players Qatari Second Division players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers from Karaj Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar 21st-century Iranian sportsmen