Sosha Makani (; born 18 November 1986) is an Iranian former

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 played as a goalkeeper. Makani also played for the

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

Fajr Sepasi

Makani started his career with

Fajr Sepasi Fajr Shahid Sepasi Shiraz Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Fajr-e Sepasi-ye Shiraz''), commonly known as Fajr Sepasi Shiraz, or Fajr Sepasi, is an Iranian football club based in Shiraz, Fars, that competes in the Azadegan League. The club wa ...

and stayed at the club for two seasons. He played 42 matches for the club and also scored a goal.

Pas Hamedan

He joined

Pas Hamedan PAS Hamedan Football Club (, ''Bashgag-e Futbal-e Pas Hemidan'') is an Iranian football club based in Hamedan, Iran and compete in the Azadegan League. The club was formed after the dissolution of Pas Tehran in 2007. History Establishment PAS H ...

in the summer of 2008 and signed a two-year contract keeping him at the club until the end of the 2009–10 season. He ended up playing 44 games for the club.

Steel Azin

He joined Steel Azin in the summer of 2010 and signed a one-year contract keeping him at the club until the end of the 2010–11 season. He only featured in 10 games for the club.

Naft Tehran

He joined

Naft Tehran Naft Tehran Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Nuft Teheran'') was an Iranian association football, football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National Iranian Oil Company previousl ...

in the summer of 2011 signing a three-year contract with the club keeping him there until the end of the 2013–14 season. He played 56 games for the club.

Foolad

Makani joined Foolad during the winter transfer window of the 2013–14 season. Makani helped Foolad win the 2013–14 Iran Pro League title, and also reach the knockout stages of the

2014 AFC Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the d ...

Persepolis

After becoming the Pro League's champions with Foolad and also recording 13 clean sheets in 2013–14 Iran Pro League the fourth best in the league. Makani decided to join

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 summer of 2014 and signed a two-year contract keeping him at the club until the end of 2015–16 season. Makani became the starter for the club in the middle of the 2014–15 season after then-manager

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 ...

decided to sell Perspolis' first choice goalkeeper Nilson Correa Junior.

Mjøndalen

On 21 June 2016, Makani joined

Mjøndalen Mjøndalen is a built up area in Drammen municipality in Buskerud, Buskerud county, Norway. It is situated south of the Drammenselva River opposite of Krokstadelva. History Mjøndalen has traditionally been a railway site most known as an indu ...

for a one-week trial. After a successful trial Makani on 30 June 2016 signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the club. Makani made his debut for

on 7 August 2016, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw at home against Ullensaker/Kisa.

Strømsgodset

On 25 January 2017, Makani signed for

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county) in Norway which is today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). ...

on loan until 14 August 2017.

International career

Under-23

Makani has played 6 games for the

Iran national under-23 football team Iran national under-23 football team, also known as Iran U-23 or Iran Olympic Team; represents Iran in international football competitions in Olympic Games, Asian Games and AFC U-22 Asian Cup, as well as any other under-23 international footba ...

Senior

In 2012 Makani was invited to the Iranian national team by

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 ...

to play in the

2012 WAFF Championship The 2012 WAFF Championship was the 7th WAFF Championship, an international tournament for member nations of the West Asian Football Federation. It was hosted by Kuwait from 8 to 20 December 2012. The defending champions were Kuwait. However, the ...

. Makani was suspended for the opening game 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, ...

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 ...

after the World Cup qualifying post-match altercation against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on 18 June 2013. He was selected in Iran's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Queiroz. However, he was not included in the final list.

Controversy

On 4 January 2016, Makani was arrested for posting pictures on social media that displayed two unveiled women. The photos were deemed to be anti-Islamic, and the arrest came following an alleged complaint by private plaintiffs. The official charge against Makani was, "publishing pictures that lead to the spread of corruption and prostitution in society". However, Makani's lawyer contested that his social media accounts had been hacked and that the information was posted by two other individuals. Makani was sent to

Evin Prison Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...

but was released shortly later and returned to Persepolis training in early 2016. On 8 June 2016, Makani was suspended for six months from playing football by the Disciplinary Committee.

Club career statistics

Honours

;Foolad *

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 ...

: 2013–14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Makani, Sosha 1986 births Living people Footballers from Bandar-e Anzali Iranian men's footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Iran men's international footballers Fajr Sepasi Shiraz F.C. players PAS Hamedan F.C. players Steel Azin F.C. players Naft Tehran F.C. players Foolad F.C. players Persepolis F.C. players Mjøndalen IF Fotball players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. players Naft Masjed Soleyman F.C. players Persian Gulf Pro League players Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players Men's association football goalkeepers Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Norway 21st-century Iranian sportsmen