Farshid Esmaeili ( fa, فرشید اسماعیلی; born 23 February 1994) is an Iranian

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 le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for the

Iran national team 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 Turkmeni ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Bandar Lengeh Bandar Lengeh ( fa, بندرلنگه, also Romanized as Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e-Langeh and Bandar Langeh; also known simply as Lengeh, Linja, Linjah or Lingah) is a harbour city and capital of Bandar Lengeh County, in Hormozgan province of ...

, Esmaeili started his career with Badr Hormozgan from youth levels. In the summer 2011, he joined Fajr Sepasi U-20 and after a good season he was promoted to the first team. Esmaeili made his debut for

Fajr Sepasi Fajr Shahid Sepasi Shiraz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگى ورزشى فجر شهید سپاسی شیراز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Fajr-e Sepasi-ye Shiraz''), commonly known as Fajr Sepasi Shiraz, or Fajr Sepasi, is an Iranian football ...

in a 6–1 win against Damash on 15 September 2012. He spent three years with Fajr Sepasi in

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

Esteghlal

On 5 July 2015, Esmaeili joined Iranian Pro League club Esteghlal on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for '' Taj'' against

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...

with a long distance shot in a 3–0 away win. Esmaeili scored a goal and assisted one during Esteghlal's 3–2 win in Tehran derby against

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

on 12 February 2017 and was named as best player of the match. He played regularly for Esteghlal under the management of

Alireza Mansourian Alireza Mansourian ( fa, علیرضا منصوريان; born 2 December 1971) is an Iranian football coach and retired player. Club career Mansourian was born in Tehran. During his career, he played for Singapore S.League clubs: Balestier Khals ...

. Under German coach

Winfried Schäfer Winfried "Winnie" Schäfer (born 10 January 1950) is a German football manager and former player who last managed of Qatari club Al-Khor. Playing career Winfried Schäfer played 403 Bundesliga matches and scored 46 goals in the (West) German top ...

, he was one of the most successful players in Iran, he also was selected as one of the best players and the top assists at the

2018 AFC Champions League The 2018 AFC Champions League was the 37th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title. Kashima Antlers won the title for the f ...

. He finished his third season with the team with six goals and assisted 13 times in 34 games. Esmaeili made significant strides in his ability as a

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

, also forming a formidable partnership with his teammates, the Uzbek

Server Djeparov Server Reshatovich Djeparov ( Uzbek: ''Server Jeparov'', Uzbek Cyrillic: Сервер Жепаров, crh, Server Reşat oğlu Ceparov; born 3 October 1982), is an Uzbek former professional football playmaker who is the head coach of Uzbekist ...

and the Senegalese Mame Thiam. He scored 6 goals and had 5 assists in 35 matches in his last season with the club. In August 2021, Esmaeili was linked to his move to rival Persepolis and an Emirati team. In October 2021, he joined Qatari side

Al-Arabi Al-Arabi may refer to: Companies *Al-Arabi Group, a holding company in the Kuwait Stock Exchange#Services *Al Arabi Investment Group (AB Invest), a subsidiary of Arab Bank *Al Arabi Investment Group Company, a subsidiary of Arab Bank Media *'' A ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, replacing of his injured compatriot Mehrdad Mohammadi.

International career

Youth

Esmaeili was part of Iran U-20 during

2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification The qualification for the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship. Format The teams have been divided into two zones – West (23) and East (16). The teams will be divided into seven groups of six and five teams each. West Zone will have three groups of si ...

2012 CIS Cup 2012 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup was the 20th annual Commonwealth of Independent States Cup since its establishment in 1993. It was hosted in Saint Petersburg, Russia between 19 and 29 January 2012. Saint Petersburg hosted the event fo ...

2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship The 2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship was held from 2 September to 8 September 2012, hosted by Vietnam. All games were played at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam and Thailand were due to represent the AFF but Thailand withdrew ...

and

2012 AFC U-19 Championship The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship is the 37th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC approved UAE as hosts of the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship on 23 November 2011.

U23

Esmaeili invited to

Iran U-23 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 footbal ...

training camp by

Nelo Vingada Eduardo Manuel "Nelo" Martinho Bragança de Vingada (born 30 March 1953) is a Portuguese football manager. Managerial career Early years Vingada was born in Serpa. His first steps as a professional football manager were in Belenenses, and then ...

to preparation for

Incheon 2014 The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

and 2016 AFC U-22 Championship (Summer Olympic qualification). He named in Iran U23 final list for

Senior

Esmaeili was first called up to ''

Team Melli ) ''(the national team)' other nicknames'' , Badge = Flag_of_Iran.svg , Badge_size = 190px , Association = Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran , FIFA Trigramme = IRN , FIFA Rank ...

'' training camp in September 2017 by

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, ...

. He was invited again to the Iran in August 2021 by

Dragan Skočić Dragan Skočić (born 3 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. Prior to his coaching career, Skočić started his playing career with the local club Rijeka and then abroad when he signed for Las Palmas in ...

Style of play

Esmaeili is good on the ball with both feet and his direct running at players. In his early beginnings, he played 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) ** Sm ...

, but was converted into a

after moving to

. Esmaeili showed his best performance when playing as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

or as a winger. He played as an

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

on occasion for his ability to retrieve the ball, so Esmaeili is considered a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

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Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Esteghlal *

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Cha ...

: 2017–18 Al Arabi * QFA Cup: 2022 Individual *

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 ...

Team of the Year: 2016–17 *

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

Top Assist:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

(5 Assist) *

Fans' Best XI:

References

External links

Farshid Esmaeili
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

*
Farshid Esmaeili
a
PersianLeague.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esmaeili, Farshid 1994 births Living people People from Hormozgan Province Iranian footballers Association football midfielders Association football utility players Azadegan League players Persian Gulf Pro League players Qatar Stars League players Fajr Sepasi players Esteghlal F.C. players Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Iranian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Qatar Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Iran