Nima Nakisa ( fa, نیما نکیسا; born May 1, 1975, in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

) is an

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 ...

ian football executive and former

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 ...

goalkeeper, who is currently the executive director of Zob Ahan sport club.https://www.irna.ir/news/85172240

Club career

Nakisa first entered the limelight in Iranian football when he played for

Persepolis FC Persepolis Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پرسپولیس, Bâšgâh-e Futbâl-e Perspolis) is an Iranian professional football club based in Tehran, that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. Persepolis was founded in 19 ...

. Following World Cup 1998, Nakisa was transferred to

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 ...

n Side

KS Flamurtari Vlorë Flamurtari FC is a professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria e Parë, which is the second tier of football in the country. Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Albania, and it is also one ...

, but left very soon after to AO Kavalas. He had a tough time there, and moved back to Iran the season after. He went back to Persepolis but due to his rivalry with Abedzadeh, Nakisa decided to leave the club for

Pas Tehran Pas Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پاس تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Pas Tehran'') was an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. Pas F.C. was the football club of the multisport Pas Cultural and Sports Club. T ...

. He played there until August 2006, when he quit after having an argument with

officials. There was speculation linking him to

Esteghlal Ahvaz Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال اهواز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Esteqlâl Ahvaz''), commonly known as Esteghlal Ahvaz, was an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, that competed in the khu ...

, but after the signing of

Ebrahim Mirzapour Ebrahim Mirzapour ( fa, ابراهیم میرزاپور; born 1978) is a retired Iranian association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, who played most of his career for Foolad F.C . Club career Foolad He started ...

, Nakisa was no longer needed. Due to this he missed the IPL transfer deadline and was forced to sign with a lower league team, on September 4, 2006, it was announced that Nima Nakisa had officially signed a one-year contract with

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 ...

outfit Esteghlal Jonub Dezful. On July 23, 2007, Nakisa signed with

IPL The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

club

Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال اهواز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Esteqlâl Ahvaz''), commonly known as Esteghlal Ahvaz, was an Iranian Football team, football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Kh ...

, the club he was destined to sign with for the 2006/07 season on a one-year deal, however in his first game he had to be subbed out due to injury. His injury has set him back and is thought he will never be able to play again. Nima Nakisa officially retired from professional football shortly after to pursue a singing career.

International career

Nakisa made his first appearance for the Iranian national team in a friendly versus

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

on November 13, 1996. Nakisa was playing for

at the time. Because of an injury to Iran's number one goalkeeper,

Ahmadreza Abedzadeh Ahmadreza Abedzadeh ( fa, احمدرضا عابدزاده, born 25 May 1966) is an Iranian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Esteghlal, Sepahan, Persepolis and the Iranian national team. He made 79 appearances for Ira ...

, Nakisa started all of Iran's games in Asia Cup 1996, performing quite well despite his lack of experience. He was called up again to the national team for

World Cup 1998 The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for th ...

. Once again Abedzadeh was injured and Nakisa started in his place for the first game versus

Yugoslavia national football team The Yugoslavia national football team; hr, Jugoslavenska nogometna reprezentacija; sl, Jugoslovanska nogometna reprezentanca; mk, Фудбалска репрезентација на Југославија, Fudbalska reprezentacija na Jugosl ...

. Nakisa was extremely nervous, and his mistake allowed

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional Footballer, football player and Football coach (association football), manager. During his career as a football ...

to score on a free kick. Iran lost the game 1–0. Nakisa did not start the other two games and his only other international appearances after that were at the Thailand Asian Games in 1998. He was called up to the national team again by Iran's next manager

Branko Ivanković Branko Ivanković (; born 28 February 1954) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of the Oman national team. After a 12-year playing career at Varteks, Ivanković started his coaching career at the ...

, but did not play.

Honours

Club

;Persepolis *

Iranian Football League The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Persian Gulf Pro League (PGL) is the highest level of club football in Iran. I ...

: 1995–96 ;Pas *

: 2003–04

National

;Iran *

Asian Games Gold Medal Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Personal life

Nakisa has a background in music. He is able to play the piano, and also released a music album in 2005.

References

External links

Nima Nakisa
a
TeamMelli.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakisa, Nima 1975 births Living people Iranian men's footballers 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football goalkeepers Expatriate men's footballers in Albania Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Iran men's international footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Footballers from Tehran Payam Khorasan F.C. players Asian Games gold medalists for Iran Persepolis F.C. players Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1998 Asian Games 21st-century Iranian male singers Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Greece