Reza Shekari (; born May 31, 1998) 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 ...

er who plays for

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 ...

ian club

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 ...

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 ...

Club career

Zob Ahan

Shekari joined 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 ...

side Zob Ahan in the summer of 2015 when he signed a 3-year contract with this

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

i side. He made his debut for Zob Ahan in 2nd fixtures of

2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League The 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League (formerly known as Iran Pro League) was the 33rd season of Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's Football League and 15th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Sepahan F.C., Sepahan were the 20 ...

against

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 ...

while he substituted in for

Mehdi Rajabzadeh Mehdi Rajabzadeh (; born 21 June 1978) is an Iranian football manager and former player who manages Pars Jonoubi Jam in Azadegan League. A midfielder, he is the second- top scorer in the history of the Persian Gulf Pro League. Club career Rajab ...

. Shekari scored his first professional goal on 4 November 2015 in a 2–0

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 ...

victory against

. After a good season with Zob Ahan, Shekari joined the Swiss club

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

on a one-week trial in May 2016.

Rubin Kazan

On 31 August 2017, he signed a contract with the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

side

FC Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded 1958 in Russia, in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003 Russia ...

, joining compatriot

Sardar Azmoun Sardar Azmoun ( (Sardâr Âzmun); born 1 January 1995) is an Iranian professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for UAE Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli Club, Shabab Al Ahli and the Iran na ...

at the club. Shekari was assigned to the U21 team. He made his Russian Premier League debut on 7 April 2018 in a game against

FC Akhmat Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat (; ), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, and formerly as Terek Grozny from 1958 to 2017, is a Russian professional Association football, football club based in Grozny that plays in the Russian Premier League. His ...

Tractor

On 9 July 2019, Iranian club

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

confirmed that they officially signed Shekari.

International career

U17

Shekari was part of Iran U17 from 2013 to 2014. He made eight official appearances for Iran U17 and scored five times.

U20

He was invited to Iran U20 by

Amir Hossein Peyrovani Amir Hossein Peiravani ( born in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian retired footballer and manager. Currently, he is the assistant coach of Tractor Sazi. He is the brother of Iranian international footballers Gholam Peyrovani and Afshin Peyrovani. ...

in 2014. He represented Iran in the AFC U19 Championships, in which Iran reached the semi-finals and qualified for the World Cup. Shekari scored three goals during the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

U23

In June 2015, he was invited to the Iran U23 training camp by Mohammad Khakpour.

Personal life

Reza was born in

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. ...

Career statistics

International goals

Iran U23

Honours

;Zob Ahan *

(1): 2015–16 *

Iranian Super Cup The Iranian Super Cup (Persian language, Persian: سوپر جام ایران, ''Super Jam-e 'Iran'') is an Iranian association football trophy awarded to the winner of a match between the Persian Gulf Pro League's season champion and the winner of ...

(1):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

;Tractor *

(1): 2019–20 ;Sepahan *

: 2023–24

References

External links

Reza Shekari
a
IranLeague.ir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shekari, Reza 1998 births Living people Iranian men's footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. players FC Rubin Kazan players Tractor S.C. players Gol Gohar Sirjan F.C. players Sepahan S.C. footballers Footballers from Tehran Iran men's youth international footballers Iran men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Persian Gulf Pro League players Russian Premier League players Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Russia 21st-century Iranian sportsmen