Tractor Cultural Sports Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi Varzeši-ye Terâktor''), commonly known as Tractor, formerly Tractor Sazi, is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

professional

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 ...

club based 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 ...

, East Azerbaijan, that competes in 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 ...

. The club was founded in 1970 by the Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company Since the beginning of the 1996–97 season, Tractor has played its home games at the Sahand which has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 66,833, though it is able to hold more people during important matches. Tractor holds the attendance record for a promoted team in Iranian football when they had an estimated average attendance about 57,000 during the 2009–10 season. The club is owned and supported by the businessman Mohammad Reza Zonuzi since 2018. Tractor is one of the most successful clubs in Tabriz, having clinched the championship of the 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League, as well as having won two

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 ...

s and one Azadegan League title. The club's color is red and The club is known as the Red Wolves among its own fans and around the world.

History

Pre-Revolution

Tractor Sazi was formed in 1969 in support of the Tractor Manufacturing Company in Tabriz. They played in the Pasargad League for five years until 1975. They finished 1975–76 as the winner of the Pasargard League and were promoted to the

Takht Jamshid Cup The Takht Jamshid Cup (, Jâm-e Taxt-e Jamšid) was a national football league based in Iran which lasted from 1974 to 1979. The league was named after ''Takht-e Jamshid'', the Iranian name for the ancient city known as Persepolis. Hi ...

(now the

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 ...

). In their first season in the Takht Jamshid Cup, they were in poor form, and as a result they were relegated to the Pasargard League after just one year in the first division. They also lost the

final to Malavan in the cup's inaugural edition. After their relegation,

Hossein Fekri Hossein Fekri (, March 15, 1924 – July 1, 2003) was an Iranian football player and coach for the Iran national football team. As an international player he won a silver medal at the 1951 Asian Games. At the club level he competed for Daraei ...

remained as the club's manager and led them to a return to the first division for the 1977–78 season, which they finished in 5th place. In the 1978–79 season, which never finished due to the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, they were in 8th place with twelve matches played. Their rival at the time was Machine Sazi, who are also based in

Post-Revolution

In the 1980s the national league was suspended due to the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, therefore Tractor were forced to compete in the Tabriz Local Leagues for many years. In the 1986–87 Qods League the East Azerbaijan Provincial team, with a mix of players from Tractor and rivals Machine Sazi, made it to the final, but were defeated in the final by the Isfahan Provincial team.

1990s

Romanian coach Vasile Godja was in charge of Tractor's youth teams from 1986. He was also a worker at the Tractor Company and discovered various talents as the B team's coach. He also discovered and trained various talented players like Karim Bargheri, Sirous Dinmohammadi, Alireza Nikmer and Hossein Khatibi which, in time, played for Iran's national team. In 1990, he was promoted to first team coach and led the club in the 1992–93 season, finishing third place in the national competition. Esmail Halali was their star in this period. Under his leadership in 1994, Tractor made the finals of the

again, this time losing to Bahman in the final, and won the MILLS International cup in India in 1995. Godja left the team in 1997 after eight years in charge of the club. Mohammad Hossein Ziaei then became the player-coach of Tractor. At this time, notable players of the team started their migration to the other clubs. 1998 to 2001 they finished the league in mid-table.

Iran Pro League

In 2001, IRIFF formed the

as the professional league. The inaugural 2001–02 season under Reza Vatankhah and Mahmoud Yavari's management, saw Tractor 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 ...

after the club finished bottom of the league.

Relegation to Azadegan League

Tractor spent seven seasons in the

(Iran's second division) and were unable to climb to the

. Tractor qualified for the promotion play-off in the 2006–07 season but lost to Shirin Faraz 4–2. After the appointment of

Faraz Kamalvand Faraz Kamalvand (, born 26 December 1976) is an Iranian football coach. He is the head coach of Sanat Naft. Early life He was born on 27 December 1976 in Khoramabad, Iran and is from Lorestan. From 1998 to 2001, He worked for Abrarvarzeshi Ne ...

as the manager before the 2008–09 season, Tractor were promoted to the Iran Pro League for the first time in 8 years.

Return to Pro League

In the 2011–12 season and under Amir Ghalenoei's management, Tractor finished as runners-up, securing a spot for the

2013 AFC Champions League The 2013 AFC Champions League was the 32nd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 11th under the current AFC Champions League title. The defending champions, Ulsan ...

. This was the first time Tractor had qualified for the competition, subsequently qualifying for the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

editions as well. In July 2012, former Benfica and

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

coach,

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name used in several European countries as well as among individuals with ancestry from these countries outside Europe. In Spanish language, Spanish, Italian language, Italian, Croatian language, Croatian an ...

(Oliveira) was named as the club's manager. He led the club to a runners up finish in the

Champions League

Toni Oliveira - Esteghlal vs Tractor Sazi

After a fall out between Oliveira and the club chairman, Oliveira was sacked and Majid Jalali was brought in for the 2013–14 season. After a poor run of results, Jalali was fired and

returned, almost immediately leading Tractor to a

Championship, and a place in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

. They also finished the season in the 6th place, after they defeated Esteghlal 3–1 in the last match at

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 ...

. Tractor were also unable to qualify for the knock-out stage of the

for the second consecutive year, after they finished 4th in their group in both the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

editions. In

, Tractor again were eliminated in the group stage of the AFC Champions League for the third straight time. On 15 May 2015, the final match of the season was played between Tractor and Naft Tehran. The match took place at Sahand Stadium in

. After communication issues at the stadium, Tractor staff mistakenly thought that

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 ...

was losing to

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 ...

, which would mean Tractor would win the league with a draw. Tractor tied the game, believing that a 3–3 draw with Naft had won them the title. While they were celebrating with their fans on the field, they found out that the actual result of the parallel game was 2–0 for Sepahan and that Sepahan were league champions. Tractor finished as runners-up for the third time, with Amir Ghalenoi in 2011–12 and

in 2012–13 and 2014–15. Tractor Sazi players after ACL match with Pakhtakor

Midway through the 2015–16 season, Tractor head coach

was once again sacked and replaced by Amir Ghalenoi. On 24 February 2016 Tractor won their first match of the

2016 AFC Champions League The 2016 AFC Champions League was the 35th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al ...

in a 4–0 win against Emirati club Al Jazira. Tractor won the return leg 1–0 on 2 March 2016 in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

as well. After the first two games, Tractor surpassed the most points they ever gained in the AFC Champions League group stage. Tractor qualified for the knock-out stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history on 19 April 2016 after defeating Saudi club Al-Hilal 2–0. Tractor eventually lost in the Round of 16 to Emirati club Al Nasr. In the 2016–17 season, Tractor defeated Zob Ahan in the semi-final of the

to reach the final against Naft Tehran. In January 2017, it was revealed that Tractor had been suspended from two transfer windows by

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 ...

, due to outstanding debts to former players. This led to the club terminating the contract of

Sajjad Shahbazzadeh Sajjad Shahbazzadeh (, born 23 January 1990) is an Iranian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C., Esteghlal Khuzestan ...

, whom they had signed days earlier.

Fans

Official anthem

There are a lot of popular marches for Tractor, but 'Tiraxtur iftixarımız' ('Tractor is our pride'), created and implemented in 2012, was chosen as the official anthem. The table below shows the lyrics of the Tractor fans anthem: *

Songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

: Ayyub Shahbazi *

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

: Gholam Reza Mirzazadeh *

Arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

: Mohammad Hossein Drablou * Singer: Esfandiar Garabaghi Some supporters also carry the flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan inside the stadium. In a match on November 1, 2019, in response to Turkey's recent military operation against the Syrian Kurds, the ethnic Azerbaijani Tractor fans chanted "Death to Kurds!" throughout the match and carried banners stating "Either Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia!", in reference to the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

. A percentage of fans do not care much about the football game and its results, and are looking for a safe gathering place to express political separatist tendencies, as some Tractor fans compare their club and

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...

with Barcelona and

Catalanism Catalan nationalism promotes the idea that the Catalan people form a distinct nation and national identity. A related term is Catalanism (, ), which is more related to Regionalism (politics), regionalism and tends to have a wider meaning, most pe ...

ideology. These movements mainly include chanting slogans and carrying ethnic writings, and sometimes they have themes in support of Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan political acts. During the transfer of the 16th Persian Gulf Pro League, the CEO of Tractor club, Mostafa Ajorlu announced a two-year contract with Varazdat Haroyan, the central defender of the Armenian national team. But twelve hours after this incident, the CEO of Tractor published an article on his Instagram and announced that they gave up recruiting Haroyan. Ajorlu stated that the reason for this action was the unity of the Turks and in response to the protest of some of the team's fans, the fans' protest was due to the so-called «occupation of Karabagh» by Armenians, and they consider Israel and Armenia to be the occupiers. This action was criticized by the media due to suspicions about racism and the involvement of politics in sports. Also, on 10 March 2017, during the match between Tractor and Sepahan teams that was held at Yadgar-e Imam Stadium in Tabriz, some Tractor fans set on fire the Armenian flag inside the stadium in protest of the incidents that occurred during the visit of the prime minister of Armenia to Tehran.

Crest

From its foundation, the team used a red crest. On the exterior circle, the name of the club and the date of its foundation were written. The second crest was white until 2013, when the club changed the colour of the crest to black.

Kit

They were previously sponsored by the Hamrah-e Aval (Mobile Telecommunication Company). In July 2018, the club signed a contract with Merooj, starting from 2017–18 Iran Pro League season.

Media

The official matches of the club in

and

are broadcast from

Sahand TV Sahand (), is a massive, heavily eroded stratovolcano in East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran. At , it is the highest mountain in the province of East Azerbaijan. Sahand is one of the highest mountains in Iranian Azerbaijan, in additio ...

(The club's city owned TV station), Varzesh and Shoma channels. Online viewing is also available on the official site of the club and three above TV channels sites. Important matches are also broadcast from

IRIB TV3 IRIB TV3 () is one of the 32 national television channels in Iran. It is the third television channel created by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and started broadcasting on 4 December 1993. The channel is often referred to as the ' ...

, Jame Jam and SAHAR TV.

Ownership

The club is owned by the Tractor Manufacturing Company since its establishment in 1970. Since 2011, it has been owned by Kowsar Foundation (51%), with 30% of the club belonging to the East-Azerbaijan Province. In addition, the Iranian Mehr Institute is an affiliate of Kowsar Foundation and other stakeholders and custodians of the club. Kowsar Foundation is part of Sepah Pasdaran – with the club enabling its players to complete their military service. Since 2018, the club has been owned by Mohammad Reza Zonouzi, an Iranian businessman and shareholder.

Rivals

Tractor has most rivalry with two big Iranian football clubs, Esteghlal and

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 ...

Persepolis–Tractor rivalry

Persepolis–Tractor rivalry started in 2009, when Tractor returned to first tier of Iranian football league after eight years, and their fans were passionate about this event. Mustafa Denizli is one of the club's most popular coaches in this rivalry. In 2019, Tractor defeated Persepolis after more than five years, when Denizli was the head coach.

Esteghlal–Tractor rivalry

This rivalry started in 2009, and in the past years this rivalry has taken a violent turn, making it one of the most important sport events in the country. On 10 May 2015, Tractor defeated Esteghlal with four goals. On 1 November 2019, they were beaten 4–2 by Esteghlal in Yadegar-e Emam Stadium.

Machine Sazi–Tractor rivalry

Tractor has brotherly relationship with Machine Sazi (another football club from Tabriz). During the 1970s, both Tractor and Machine Sazi met regularly in the Takht Jamshid Cup, and both teams had some memorable successes in the fixture. Following the creation of the Azadegan League, Machine Sazi and Tractor met twice in the 1996–97 Azadegan League. Machine Sazi's promotion to the

in 2016 saw fans eagerly anticipating the first league derbies in seven years. However, in 2021, after a transfer of ownership and multiple relegations, Machine Sazi was on the verge of dissolving due to financial issues.

Affiliated clubs

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003. It has remained there through the 2021–2 ...

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

* Sumgayit FK

Stadium

Tractor played their home matches from 1979 until 1996 in the 20,000 capacity Bagh Shomal Stadium (Takhti Stadium),

1976 AFC Asian Cup The 1976 AFC Asian Cup was the 6th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Iran between 3 and 13 June 1976. The field of six ...

stadium. Sahand Stadium (Yadegar-e Emam Stadium) was replaced with Bagh-e Shomal Stadium after it was completed in January 1996. The stadium is the second biggest stadium in Iran with 66,833 seats. The stadium is also part of Tabriz Olympic Complex. During Sahand Stadium's renovation from 2005 to 2006, Bakeri Stadium was the club's home ground in the

matches. The stadium has a 10,000 seater capacity.

Players

Current squad

* U21 = Under 21 year player. U23 = Under 23 year player. INJ = Out of main squad due to injury. ''For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers summer 2024''.

Reserve team players

Out on loan

Recent seasons

: The table below chronicles the achievements of Tractor in various competitions.

Honours

Tractor Sazi players celebrating winning Hazfi Cup

Official titles

: Winner (1): 2024–25 : Runner up (3): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15 : Third Place (2): 1992–93, 2016–17 *

: Winner (2): 2013–14, 2019–20 : Runner up (3): 1975–76, 1994–95, 2016–17 *

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 ...

: Runner up (1):

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* Azadegan League (2nd Tier) : Winner (1): 2008–09 * 2nd Division : Winner (1): 1974–75 : Runner up (2): 1976–77, 1995–96 * East Azerbaijan Super Cup : Winner (1): ''1992'' * Tabriz Football League : Winner (1): 1984–85 * Tabriz Football League's 2nd Division : Winner (1): 1981–82

Unofficial titles

DCM Trophy The Delhi Cloth Mills Trophy, known simply as D.C.M. Trophy, was an invitational football tournament in India. It was held annually in New Delhi and was organised by the Delhi Cloth Mills tournament committee. It was India's first football tourn ...

: Winner (1): ''1995–96'' * Sardaran Shahid International Cup : Winner (2): ''1995, 1996'' * Shohada Cup : Winner (2): ''

, 2017''

Personnel

Current coaching staff

Management

Sports statistics

* ''Updated to May 2017''.

General information

* They are assured first place in the 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League, but the season is still in progress.

Asian record

Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League

:''Accurate as of 12 March 2025'' Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Top goalscores in ACL Elite + ACL 2

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 3 June 2019. Mohammad Ebrahimi is the club's all-time most capped player and top scorer with 31 goals in 180 games. This list includes goals from all competitive matches.

All Top Scorers

All Top Appearances

Association football clubs established in 1970 Football clubs in Iran Sport in Tabriz Works association football teams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tractor S.C. Association football clubs established in 1970 Football clubs in Iran Sport in Tabriz Works association football teams