Ferydoon Zandi (born 26 April 1979) is an Iranian retired 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 le ...

Early life

Zandi was born in the city of

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

, in northern Germany, to an Iranian father and a German mother. He speaks

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. He started playing football at an early age when his talent shone through his playing for a number of youth clubs in and near his hometown.

Club career

Germany

Zandi was called up for the Germany under-17 national football team and played for

SV Meppen SV Meppen is a German association football club playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as ''Amisia Meppen'' and joined ''Männer-Turnverein Meppen'' on 8 February 1920 to form ''TuS Meppen 1912''. The football ...

before being signed by

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

. There, he failed to establish himself as a starter and was traded to the 2. Bundesliga club

VfB Lübeck VfB Lübeck is a German association football club playing in Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein in the country's north. In addition to its football side the 1,000 member sports club also has departments for badminton, women's gymnastics, handball, and ...

. After struggling again initially, Zandi broke through and established himself as one of the most dangerous and versatile attackers of the league. He regularly was one of the top scorers and assist givers. After enjoying two successful seasons in Lübeck, he was signed by 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 2004 and given the number 10. In the 2005–06 season, in which 1. FCK fell to the end of the table, he lost his position as a starting playmaker, was benched for a longer period of time, and had periods when he failed to be nominated as a bench player at all. Trainer

Wolfgang Wolf Wolfgang Wolf (born 24 September 1957) is a German football coach and a former player. Career Wolf was born in Tiefenthal. As a player, he spent twelve seasons in the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Stuttgarter Kickers. Coaching car ...

refused to play him in the second half of the season, and after the relegation of the club, Zandi was confirmed to be cut from the squad. Also,

Amir Ghalenoei Ardeshir "Amir" Ghalenoei ( fa, , born 21 November 1963 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian football coach and former player who currently manages Gol Gohar Sirjan. He has been the most successful coach in the Iran Pro League and managed several clu ...

, the new manager of

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 ...

, did not invite Ferydoon to the Iranian squad for the

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

qualification games. In September 2006, he signed a one-year contract with 2. Bundesliga club

TuS Koblenz TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club. History Nazi era (1933–1945) The or ...

, which he left in January 2007 due to the limited number of appearance he made.

Cyprus

On 2 January 2007, Zandi signed a contract till the end of the 2006–07 season with

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC ( el, Απόλλων Λεμεσού, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Divisi ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. After his return from the

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

he was linked with moves to Steaua București,

Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade' ...

and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. On 18 January 2008, he joined

Olympiakos Nicosia Olympiakos Nicosia ( el, Ολυμπιακός Λευκωσίας, ''Olympiakos Lefkosias'') is a football club based in Nicosia, Cyprus and competes in the Cypriot First Division. The club was founded in 1931, and is a founding member of the Cy ...

. On 24 March 2009, Zandi signed

Alki Larnaca Alki Larnaca ( el, ΑΛΚΗ Λάρνακας, ''ALKI Larnakas'') was a Cypriot football club based in the town of Larnaca. The club was founded in 1948 and it was dissolved on the 6th of May of 2014 due to financial issues. The club's colours wer ...

for a one-year contract where he became the top scorer.

Iran

Zandi joined the Iranian side Steel Azin in 2009 and stayed there for two seasons. After the relegation of Steel Azin he left the club and in August 2011 he joined to Esteghlal but he started season with an injury. On 22 October 2011, he made his debut for Esteghlal and made an assist against Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. He won the

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 ...

in his first season. Having been released by Esteghlal on 29 September 2012 Zandi joined the Qatari side Al Ahli. On 5 November 2015, he announced his retirement.

International career

Raised in Germany, Zandi did not initially have the permission to play for his ancestral Iran as he did not have Iranian citizenship. However, the

Iranian Football Federation The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) ( fa, فدراسیون فوتبال جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Federâsion-è Futbâl-è Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân) is the governing body of association football in Iran. Formed ...

obtained permission for him to play for them, and Zandi began to compete on the

in the second round of

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South Americ ...

against Bahrain. After the qualifications he did not compete again on the team until being invited again for the

. He was recalled to the national squad in March 2007 for a friendly against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, included in the Asian Cup squad, and was featured for Iran in the friendly match against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in June 2007. On 15 July 2007, Zandi scored from a free kick for Iran in their 2–2 draw versus

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in the Asian Cup. Zandi also played for Iran in the

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (O ...

where after the departure of

Ali Daei Ali Daei ( fa, ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian football manager and former player. A striker, he was the captain of the Iranian national team between 2000 and 2006 and played in the German Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich ...

he was not invited for around a year and was invited again by

Afshin Ghotbi Afshin Ghotbi ( fa, افشین قطبی, born 8 February 1964 in Tehran) is an Iranian-American football coach who works as head coach of Vancouver FC in the Canadian Premier League. Early life Afshin Ghotbi was born in Tehran. He is the son ...

for a couple of performances but was dropped again. He was invited again after around 18 months 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, ...

for a friendly in May 2012 against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

where before the match On 28 May 2012, Zandi announced his retirement from International football.

Coaching career

Dynamo Dresden

After signing as assistant coach of 2. Bundesliga club

Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...

in 2020, he was named head coach in March 2022 after Alexander Schmidt was sacked, but was replaced just two days later without managing a match.

Traffic accident

In 2005, Zandi was victim of a heavy traffic accident on a highway. When another car swerved to the left directly in front of him, Zandi had to evade and crashed into a lorry of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. The lorry took heavy damage, and Zandi's car was utterly wrecked. Zandi made it out with minor injuries only.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zandi goal.''

Honours

Esteghlal *

: 2011–12

References

External links

Ferydoon Zandi
a
PersianLeague.comLatest news, goal downloads, information on Zandi
a
TeamMelli.comOfficial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zandi, Ferydoon 1979 births Living people People from Emden Footballers from Lower Saxony Association football midfielders Iranian footballers Iran international footballers Germany youth international footballers Germany under-21 international footballers German people of Iranian descent Regionalliga players Oberliga (football) players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Cypriot First Division players Persian Gulf Pro League players Qatari Second Division players Qatar Stars League players SV Meppen players SV Werder Bremen players SC Freiburg players VfB Lübeck players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players TuS Koblenz players Apollon Limassol FC players Olympiakos Nicosia players Alki Larnaca FC players Steel Azin F.C. players Esteghlal F.C. players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Kickers Emden players Al Ahli SC (Doha) players Sportspeople of Iranian descent FC St. Pauli non-playing staff Expatriate footballers in Cyprus