Machine Sazi Tabriz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال ماشین‌سازی تبریز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Mashinsazi-ye Tebriz'') more commonly known as Machine Sazi is an Iranian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

, East Azarbaijan,

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 ...

competing in the

Azadegan League The Azadegan League ( fa, ليگ آزادگان, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 ( fa, لیگ یک, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from ...

Club history

Establishment

In 1969, Machine Sazi Tabriz Industrial Group decided to create a new football team by the name of Machine Sazi. The prototype of the team was the club Torpedo Moscow. Machine Sazi Tabriz football club played its first official match in 1970. The club became one of the most heavily supported teams in

after a couple of years. In 1973, the

Takht Jamshid Cup The Takht Jamshid Cup ( fa, جام تخت جمشید, Jâm-e Taxt-e Jamšid) was a national football league based in Iran which lasted from 1973 to 1978. History Before 1970 Before 1970s, the tournament was called the Iranian Championship cup, ...

was established. The Takht Jamshid Cup, was Iran's first ever nationwide football league and Machine Sazi entered the league in its first year of establishment in 1973. The club participated in

between 1973 and 1977.

Post Revolution

1980s

Like most sporting clubs in Iran, the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

and the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

severely limited the team's activities. From 1979 to 1980 the club participated in almost no meaningful competitions. In 1980 the Tabriz Football League and Tabriz Hazfi Cup was established. Machine Sazi participated in the Tabriz Football League and Tabriz Hazfi Cup between 1980 and 1988. Machine Sazi was the most successful Tabriz Football League club, winning seven championship titles and finishing two times as runners-up. The club also won the Tabriz Hazfi Cup six times. After the war the local and provincial leagues were scrapped in favor of nationwide leagues.

1990s

After the war, the

was established as Iran's national league. Machine Sazi was promoted to the

in 1994. They stayed in the

for two seasons and the club finished 8th the following year. But, in 1997 the club was relegated to the 2nd Division. Machine Sazi played in the 2nd Division between 1997 and 2001 until the Iran Pro League was formed.

2000s

With the launch of Iran Pro League in 2001, Machine Sazi were placed into the

. After a 3rd-place finish in the new Azadegan League's inaugural season, Machine Sazi had a string of mid table finishes. In the 2007–08 season the club finished 11th in the Azadegan League and was relegated to 2nd Division but following the Iranian Football Federations' decision to increase the number of teams in the league to 28, Machine Sazi remained in the

. The club had a mixed start to the 2008–09 season in the

. 2008 heralded major changes for Machine Sazi, as the terrible state of the club's finances was revealed; they were unable to pay wages and had massive debts. After a drop in form, recording 10 losses in 12 matches, Asghar Etebari was sacked as manager and was replaced by Sirous Bayrami. In March 2008 Javad Shahlaei resigned as chairman and Farhad Sedaghat was elected chairman by the club council. Seyed Javad Mousavi was brought in as the new club manager. Machine Sazi finished 13th in the 2008–09

season. Thus, being relegated to 2nd Division.

Dabiri Takeover

On 25 April 2009 the club was bought by businessman

Shahram Dabiri Shahram Dabiri Oskuei ( fa, شهرام دبیری اسکویی; born 1960) is an Iranian politician, physician, sporting director, professor and former board of directors Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran Football Federation. He fo ...

who invested heavily in the club. After a year in the 2nd Division, Machine Sazi bought the licence of a club in the

and was allowed to compete in the 2010–11 edition of the league. Following a 3rd-place finish in 2012 which almost brought the club back to the Iran Pro League, the club was again relegated to the 2nd Division in 2013. Machine Sazi escaped relegation to the 3rd Division the following year via a relegation play–off. MachineSaziFC2016

Persian Gulf Pro League

Following Machine Sazi's dismal 2013–14 season the team was taken over by the

Municipality of Tabriz Sa'at Tower also known as Tabriz Municipality Palace ( fa, کاخ شهرداری تبریز, also Romanized as Sā'at Tower) is building in Tabriz which is used as the city hall and main office of the municipal government of Tabriz, East Azarbaija ...

who introduced Gholamreza Baghabadi as the new chairman. In June 2015 Machine Sazi replaced Shahrdari Tabriz in the 2015–16

as East Azerbaijan's representative. In winter of 2016

Rasoul Khatibi Rasoul Paki Khatibi ( fa, رسول خطیبی; born 22 September 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player who manages Persian Gulf Pro League team Aluminium Arak. He is the younger brother of Hossein Khatibi, who is also a football ...

was named head coach of Machine Sazi and the club began the push for promotion to the Persian Gulf Pro League. On 10 May 2016 after a 3–0 win against Mes Rafsanjan, Machine Sazi confirmed their promotion to the Persian Gulf Pro League after a 19-year absence from the top flight of Iranian football. Machine Sazi managed to draw 1–1 with Iranian and Asian giants Esteghlal at the Azadi Stadium in week 5. Khatibi was fired midway through the season for Machine's bad performances and was replaced with Farhad Kazemi. Machine Sazi finished the season in last place and were relegated to the

once again. In the season of 2018–19, the club replaced the Gostaresh Foulad and returned to the top flight.

Players

First Team Squad

''For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2022-23''.

League and domestic cup history

Club stadium

Before the construction of

Sahand Stadium Yadegar-e-Imam Stadium, also popularly known as Sahand Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium was built in 1996 and has a capacity of 66,833 people. Tractor, the Iran Premi ...

, Machine Sazi played all of its matches at

Bagh Shomal Stadium The Takhti Stadium (, ''Vârzeshgah-e Texeti'') formerly known as Bagh Shomal Stadium (, ''Vârzeshgah-e Baq Shimal'') is a multi-use stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Iran Pro Lea ...

, which currently has a capacity of 25,000. They occasionally play big games at Sahand Stadium. Football academy and training ground of Machine sazi is

Marzdaran Stadium Marzdaran Stadium of Tabriz () is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It was previously used primarily for football matches and served as the home stadium of Shahrdari Tabriz. Currently it is used as a football academy and training grounds for Machine Saz ...

Club colors

Kit evolution

Club managers

Managerial history

mohanmad saeid akhbari 2020

Current coaching staff

Honours

:Runners-up (1): 2015–16

References

External links

{{Azadegan League Football clubs in Iran Association football clubs established in 1969 Sport in Tabriz 1969 establishments in Iran