Shahab Zahedi Tabar (, born 18 August 1995) is an Iranian 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 ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

club

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club based in Hakata, Fukuoka. They currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. History Earlier years in Fujieda The club were originally based in Fujieda, Shizu ...

and also

Iran national football team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...

Club career

Youth teams

Shahab Zahedi joined Persepolis Youth Academy in 2013 from

Paykan The Paykan ( meaning ''Arrow'') is the first Iranian-made car produced by Iran Khodro, between 1967 and 2005. The car, formerly called "Iran National", is a licensed version of the British Rootes Arrow (Hillman Hunter) and was very popular i ...

before joining Moghavemat Tehran F.C. Academy on loan. He played for

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 AFC Vision Asia U-21 Tehran Premier League.

Persepolis

Following good performances with the U21 side, Zahedi was promoted to the Persepolis first team in October 2014 by

Hamid Derakhshan Hamid Reza Derakhshan (; born 23 January 1959) is an Iranian former professional football player and now manager who last managed Saipa in Azadegan League. Derakhshan played as a midfielder for a number of clubs, most notably Persepolis, as wel ...

. He made his debut for

in a

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 ...

match against

Kargar Boneh Gaz Bushehr Kargar Boneh Gez Bueshehr Football Club is an Iranian football club based in Bushehr, 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, Aze ...

as a substitute for

Mehdi Taremi Mehdi Taremi (, ; born 18 July 1992) is an Iranian professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Iran national football team, Iran national team. A late ...

. He made his professional debut for the club in 1–0 loss against

Saipa SAIPA (, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'' lit. ''Iranian Limited Company for the Production of Citroën Autom ...

on 21 October 2004. He made five appearances in total for Persepolis in the 2014–2015 season. In 2015, while playing for the Persepolis youth team, Zahedi received a two-year suspension after failing a doping test.

Machine Sazi

On 5 January 2017, Zahedi joined Iranian football club Machine Sazi on loan for the duration of the 2016–2017 Iranian football season. His debut came three days later, coming off the bench in a 3–3 draw at home against Saipa FC on 8 January 2017. His first start came on 18 January 2017 in an away game against Gostaresh FC. In total he made 12 appearances for Machine Sazi who were relegated to 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 ...

ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar

On 16 July 2017, Zahedi joined Icelandic club ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar on a one-year deal, becoming the first Iranian player to play football in Iceland. He won the

2017 Icelandic Cup The 2017 Icelandic Cup, also known as Borgunarbikar for sponsorship reasons, was the 58th edition of the Icelandic national football cup. The winners were ÍBV after beating FH 1-0 in the final. Calendar Below are the dates for each round as ...

on 12 August 2017. On 30 November 2017, Zahedi extended his contract with ÍBV by three years following strong performances. ÍBV also announced the signing of Persepolis academy players Parsa Zarmian and Ehsan Sarbazi. In an interview with Fotboli.net in March 2018, ÍBV coach Kristján Guðmundsson disclosed an agreement made between ÍBV and

to develop specific youth players, citing Shahab Zahedi as an example. Zahedi made his

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

debut on 12 July 2018 in the

2018–19 UEFA Europa League The 2018–19 UEFA Europa League was the 48th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 10th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Olympic Sta ...

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

On January 16, 2019, Zahedi joined South Korean club

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...

on undisclosed terms. Zahedi's doping history was quickly publicized in Korean sports media, leading the Suwon Bluewings and Zahedi to agree to a mutual termination of the contract only one day following the deal's announcement. The fiasco created some controversy in Korea, prompting criticism of the Suwon Bluewings leadership and leaving Shahab Zahedi without a club until August.

Olimpik Donetsk

Zahedi signed for Ukrainian club

FC Olimpik Donetsk FC Olimpik Donetsk ( ) is a Ukrainian inactive football team based in Donetsk, Ukraine. The club currently doesn't play in any Ukrainian competition due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since its promotion to Ukrainian Premier League in ...

on 4 August 2019 as a free agent, following an extended period without any professional football. Zahedi established himself as a key player in his first season in Ukraine, playing 24 games and scoring 6 goals for Olimpik Donetsk across the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

and the

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...

. Zahedi finished as Olimpik's top scorer in all competitions for the 2019–2020 season. In his second season with Olimpik Donetsk, Zahedi exceeded his first season's total goal tally on 6 December 2020, following a brace against Rukh Lviv, topping the Ukrainian Premier League's goalscorer charts in the process and generating speculation of a transfer to Ukrainian heavyweight

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

Zorya Luhansk

On 8 February 2021

FC Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk was based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team currently plays its games at Slavutych-Arena in Zaporizhzhia. The modern club as a ...

announced the signing of Shahab Zahedi on a four-year deal. Ukrainian sports media reported that Zorya had paid a transfer fee of around 360 thousand euros to

Olimpik Donetsk FC Olimpik Donetsk ( ) is a Ukrainian inactive football team based in Donetsk, Ukraine. The club currently doesn't play in any Ukrainian competition due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since its promotion to Ukrainian Premier League in 2 ...

and that Zahedi had turned down an offer from Portuguese club

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

. Zorya Luhansk's press service commemorated the announcement by publishing a video highlight reel of Zahedi's performances over his time in Ukraine. He made his debut for Zorya on February 20, 2021, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over

FC Mariupol Football Club Mariupol ( ) was a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Mariupol, that competed in the Ukrainian Premier League. The club ceased to exist as a result of the Siege of Mariupol, during the 2022 Russian ...

. He played alongside his Iranian teammate

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh Allahyar Sayyadmanesh (; born 29 June 2001) is an Iranian professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward and Winger (association football), winger for Belgian Pro League club K.V.C. Westerlo, ...

. Zahedi finished the

2020–21 Ukrainian Premier League The 2020–21 Ukrainian Premier League season was the 30th top-level football club competition since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 13th since the establishment of the Ukrainian Premier League. The 13-time winner Shakhtar Donetsk we ...

season with 10 goals between his two clubs. Zahedi began to stake his place in the

2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League The 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League season, referred to as the VBet Liha for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st top-level football club competition since the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, fall of the Soviet Union and the 14th since the establ ...

, finishing the first half of the season with 6 goals in 922 minutes played over 16 matches. Zahedi had also come off the bench in the second leg of a Europa League Qualifying round against

SK Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English language, English, is an Football in Austria, Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian cham ...

, scoring his first goal in continental competition, but it was not enough to see Zorya into the next round. Zahedi then made his debut in the inaugural season of the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

against

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

, coming off the bench in a 3–0 loss. He scored his first Conference League goal in a 2–0 victory over

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...

. However, Zahedi's season was interrupted by the sudden commencement of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

in late February, during the league's winter break, leading to an imposition of martial law in Ukraine and the indefinite suspension of the league schedule.

Puskás Akadémia FC

On 10 March 2022, Zahedi signed with

Puskás Akadémia FC Puskás Akadémia Football Club is a professional football club based in Felcsút, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Puskás Akadémia have spent ten seasons in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, t ...

until the end of the season. On 23 April 2022, he scored twice against

Fehérvár FC Fehérvár Football Club (commonly known as ''Fehérvár'', ''Vidi'', or ''MOL Fehérvár Football Club'' for sponsorship reasons), is a Hungarian professional football club based in Székesfehérvár, which plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II ...

at the MOL Aréna Sóstó. On 30 April 2022, he scored again twice against

Mezőkövesd Mezőkövesd is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary. It lies from Miskolc and from Eger. Mezőkövesd is a town in northeastern Hungary, located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, near the Bükk Mountains. It is known as the ...

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

at the

Pancho Aréna Pancho Aréna is a stadium in Felcsút, Hungary. It is primarily used for football matches and serves as the home stadium for Puskás Akadémia FC. Between 2015 and 2018, the stadium also hosted the three-time champions Fehérvár FC due to th ...

Felcsút Felcsút is a village in Fejér county, Hungary. History The village was first mentioned in 1269 where its name was originated from the personal name "Csút". ("fel-" felső"means "upper" in Hungarian.) In the Middle Ages the owners were cru ...

. On 2 July 2022 he signed a new contract on loan until 2024.

Avispa Fukuoka

On 7 March 2024, Zahedi joined

club

on loan until the end of the season, becoming the first Iranian national to play in the J1 League.

International career

Zahedi received his first

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

call up in January 2022 for World Cup qualifiers. He made his debut against

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

on 16 June 2023.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;ÍBV * Icelandic Cup:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

;Zorya Luhansk *

: Runner-Up

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

;Iran *

CAFA Nations Cup The CAFA Nations Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), the governing body of football in Central Asia. History Inau ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

;Individual * Best player round 14

: 2021–22 * Best player round 3

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahedi, Shahab 1995 births Living people People from Malayer Sportspeople from Hamadan province Iranian men's footballers Iran men's international footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Persepolis F.C. players Suwon Samsung Bluewings players Machine Sazi F.C. players Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja players Persian Gulf Pro League players Besta deild karla players Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers FC Olimpik Donetsk players FC Zorya Luhansk players Puskás Akadémia FC players Avispa Fukuoka players J1 League players Ukrainian Premier League players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Hungary Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Iranian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Iranian sportspeople in doping cases 21st-century Iranian sportsmen