Sepidrood Rasht Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه ورزشی سپیدرود رشت, ''Bashgah-e Vârzeshi-ye Sipidrod Resht'') is an Iranian football club based in

Rasht Rasht ( fa, رشت, Rašt ; glk, Rəšt, script=Latn; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt ''Recht'' in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ''Ŝahre B ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. They currently compete in the third flight

League 2 The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

. Sepidrood competes against

Malavan Malavan Bandar Anzali Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال ملوان بندر انزلى, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Milâvan Bendâr Anzeli'') is an Iranian football club based in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. It currently won Iran's second foo ...

in the El Gilano and also has a friendly rivalry with cross-city rival

Damash Gilan Sport Club Damash Gilan ( fa, باشگاه ورزشی داماش گیلان, ''Bashgah-e Vârzeshi-ye Damash Gilân''), commonly known as Damash Gilan, also spelled Damash Guilan, is an Iranian football club based in Rasht, Gilan, that competes ...

History

Establishment

Sepidrood Rasht Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in northern Iran founded in 1968 and is the first sports club to be based in Rasht. The team was named after the

Sefīd-Rūd The Sefid-Rud ( fa, سفیدرود, lit=white river, glk, اسپي بيه, ''Espī bīeh'') (also known as Sepid-Rud) is a river approximately long, rising in the Alborz mountain range of northwestern Iran and flowing generally northeast to en ...

river which runs through the area. Sepidrood became champions of the Gilan Provincial League after the revolution three times, in 1983, 1986 and in 2003.

Lower Leagues

On 15 May 2010, Sepidrood secured promotion and thus played in the

Azadegan League The Azadegan League ( fa, ليگ آزادگان, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 ( fa, لیگ یک, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from ...

in the 2010–11 season for the first time in eleven years, however, the club was relegated at the end of the season. In 2014 Despite relegating to 3rd Division, Sepidrood bought Shahrdari Langarud license and remained in Second Division. After a good 2015–16 season in which Sepidrood made the last round of the 2nd Division, the team were promoted after finishing first in Group B.

Promotion to the top flight

Sepidrood started the 2016–17 season in the

excellently, and at the halfway point of the season they were leading the league. On the second last match day of the season, Sepidrood lost to third place team

Gol Gohar Sirjan Gol Gohar Sirjan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگى ورزشى گل‌گهر سیرجان, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Gol Gohăr Sirjan'') is an Iranian football club based in Sirjan, Iran. They currently compete in the Persian Gulf Pro L ...

3–2 and their promotion to the top flight came into serious danger. However, on 1 May 2017 Sepidrood defeated

Nassaji Mazandaran , ''Babrhay-e Mazandaran'') , founded = , ground = Vatani Stadium , capacity = 15,000 , owner = Reza Haddadian , chairman = Izad Seyfollahpour , manager = Hamid Motahari , league = Persian Gulf Pro League , season = 2021–22 , position ...

3–2 and were promoted to the

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

and the top flight of Iranian football for the first time in their 49 year history.

Colours and badge

Since its founding, the club colors have been red and white. Sepidrood is known by its fans as the Red Army.

Owner

The owner of the club is Javad Tanzadeh (an Iranian businessman).

Honours

(

promotion) **''Runners-up (1)'': 2016–17 *

Aga Khan Gold Cup The Aga Khan Gold Cup was a tournament played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited the top club sides from leading football playing nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of AFC Champion ...

**Winners (1): 1977

El Gilano

The match between Sepidrood or Damash and Malavan is known as The Derby Of Gilan or El Gilano. This derby is one of Iran's most important and heated derbies.

Players

First-team squad

As of 31 July 2020

Reserves

Season-by-season

''For details on seasons, see List of Sepidrood Rasht F.C. seasons'' :

Famous players

* Mohammad Reza Mahdavi *

Reza Niknazar Reza Niknazar ( fa, رضا نيک‌نظر, born 23 August 1980 in Rasht) is an Iranian football player who is currently a free agent. He usually plays at defender position. He played his golden years for Malavan in Iran Pro League. Referenc ...

Soheil Haghshenas Soheil Haghshenas (born 26 June 1982 in Rasht) is an Iranian Association football, footballer. He is currently as Assistant coach in Sepidrood Rasht S.C., Sepidrood Rasht. He played 14 years for Sepidrood in his career. Club career He started h ...

Hossein Kaebi Hossein Kaebi ( fa, حسین کعبی, born September 23, 1985) is a former Iranian professional football player who last played for Sepidrood and Perspolis among other clubs in Persian Gulf Pro League. Club career Kaebi started his football ...

References

External links

* {{Football in Iran Association football clubs established in 1968 1968 establishments in Iran