Ghasem Haddadifar ( fa, قاسم حدادی‌فر; born July 12, 1983) 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 ...

who played for Zob Ahan in the

Iran 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 ...

. He was also member of the Iranian national team and represented Iran at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In 2015 Haddadifar was named Iranian footballer of the season for the 2014–15

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 ...

season with Zob Ahan.

Club career

Zob Ahan

Hadadifar joined Zob Ahan in 2003 after spending seven years with the club's youth teams. Haddadifar made his debut in the 2003–04 season making nine appearances and scoring once throughout his first season. The next year again Haddadifar played a minor role and mainly came on as a substitute in the season which Zob Ahan finished runners up in the league. He has also been loaned out to Sanat Naft who played in the Azadegan League in 2005 to gain some experience and playing time. Haddadifar was a big part in Sanat Naft's successful season scoring twice in which the club finished third. After returning to Zob Ahan in 2006 Haddadifar broke into the first team having an increasing role and helping Zob Ahan clinch an eight place finish. In the 2008–09 season Ghasem was Zob Ahan's best player scoring six times and leading Zob Ahan to another league runners-up and scoring twice in Zob Ahan's 5–2

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 Ch ...

final victory over Rah Ahan. The following season Haddadifar had continued success with Zob Ahan, again achieving a runners-up finish in the league. The same season with the help of Haddadifar goal in the semi-final against Al Hilal, Zob Ahan made the final of the AFC Champions League, becoming the second Iranian club to do so, but the club eventually lost to South Korean club

Seongnam FC Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. Seongnam is a satellite city of Seoul. It is largely a residential city ...

. After struggling with injury in the 2011–12 season Haddadifar was loaned out to

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

for the later half of the season. He helped Tractor achieve a runners-up finish and the club clinched an AFC Champions League spot for the first time in their history. The following season after Haddadifar returned to Zob Ahan, the team had a poor season finishing in a relegation play-off, but the club managed to stay up after beating

Pas Hamedan PAS Hamedan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پاس همدان, ''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 P ...

in a two-legged play-off. The 2013–14 season did not fare much better for Haddadifar or the club. Zob Ahan escaped relegation on goal difference after finishing thirteenth. After the arrival of Yahya Golmohammadi as manager of Zob Ahan, both the club and Haddadifar were revived. Haddidifar had a stellar season, helping the club to win the

again and earn a fourth-place finish in the league, which earned Zob Ahan a Champions League slot after a six-year absence. Haddidifar was recognized for his individual performances and was named to the 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League Team of the Year and was also recognized as the 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League Player of the Year.

Career Statistics

International career

In 2010, Hadadifar received his first cap for

Iran 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 ...

in a friendly match against

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

. On 1 June 2014, he was called into Iran's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad 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 Emirat ...

Honours

Club

;Zob Ahan * AFC Champions League : 2010 Runner up *

: 2004–05 Runner up, 2008–09 Runner up, 2009–10 Runner up *

(4) : 2002–03 , 2008–09 , 2014–15 , 2015–16 *

Iranian Super Cup The Iranian Super Cup ( 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 the Hazfi Cup. I ...

(1) :

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

;Tractor *

: 2011–12 Runner up

Individual

* Iranian Footballer of the Year : 2015 *

Team of the Year : 2014–15

Personal life

His father was an employee of Zob Ahan Isfahan Steel Company, and he was born in Zob Ahan Hospital. His brother Alireza is also a footballer and is his teammate.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haddadifar, Ghasem 1983 births Living people Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. players Iranian footballers Iran international footballers 2011 AFC Asian Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. players Persian Gulf Pro League players Azadegan League players Sportspeople from Isfahan Association football midfielders