Saeid Ezatolahi Afagh ( fa, سعید عزتاللهی آفاق; born 1 October 1996) is an Iranian 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 ...
who plays as a
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 boundari ...
for Danish club
Vejle
Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and th ...
and the
Iran national team.
Ezatolahi came up through
Malavan's youth academy
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...
and impressed from an early age, making his first team debut in 2012 and being 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 ...
's youngest ever player at the age of 16. Ezatolahi has earned a number of accolades, including the Iranian federation's
young player of the year award. In 2014, he was named as one of the most talented football players according to Wonderkids.
Ezatolahi became the youngest
goalscorer in the history of the
Iran national football team
) ''(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 ...
at the age of 19 years and 42 days after scoring in a 3–1 victory against
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
on 12 November 2015.
This record was broken by 17-year-old
Allahyar Sayyadmanesh on 6 June 2019.
Club career
Early years
Ezatolahi's father Nader and uncle Ghader both played for Malavan in 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, ...
. Saeid started his career with
Shahrdari Bandar Anzali in 2008 as a youth player.
Malavan
He moved to the
Malavan
Malavan Bandar Anzali Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال ملوان بندر انزلى, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Milâvan Bendâr Anzeli'') is an Iranian football club based in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. It currently won Iran's second foot ...
youth academy in the summer of 2010 and was promoted to the first team in July 2012.
2012–13
Ezatolahi made his debut against
Rah Ahan on 26 October 2012 as a substitute just 25 days after his 16th birthday, making him the youngest ever player in the history of 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 ...
. At the end of the season,
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 ...
giants
Esteghlal reportedly made an offer for him. He was also awarded the prize for
young player of the year.
2013–14
He made his season debut as a regular starter against
Saba Qom. After giving an impressive performance at the
2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November. Nigeria won the tournament after defeating Mexico 3–0 in the final, cl ...
in October 2013, European clubs like
Besiktas,
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
and
Lausanne Sport were reported to follow the youngster closely. In December 2013, Ezatolahi seemed to be on his way to Brazilian Serie A club
Atlético Paranaense
Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...
, this however was rapidly denied by his management. In the first week of December 2013,
Rubin Kazan
FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...
showed concrete interest in Ezatolahi by sending an invitation letter.
2014–15
Ezatolahi was enrolled for Malavan's
2014–15 squad, but he did not play any matches due to finalizing his contract with Atlético.
Atlético Madrid
2014–15
On 27 August 2014, Ezatolahi signed a one-year contract with Spanish side
Atlético Madrid, with an option to extend for four-years following the end of the 2014–15 season.
He competed in the
2014–15 División de Honor Juvenil de Fútbol for
Atlético Madrid.
He started in a 4–2 league debut win over
Alcorcón on 29 November 2014. He was also added to Atlético's
2014–15 UEFA Youth League
The 2014–15 UEFA Youth League was the second season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA. It was contested by the under-19 youth teams of the 32 clubs qualified for the group stage of the 2014–1 ...
squad. He scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory against UDC Sur. On 14 February 2015, he scored in a 4–1 win over
CF Rayo Majadahonda. Ezatolahi made his
UEFA Youth League
The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...
debut on 10 March 2015 in the
quarter-finals
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
, playing the full 90 minutes against
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.
In April 2015, Ezatolahi practiced with the senior
Atlético Madrid team with manager
Diego Simeone
Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011.
In his cl ...
.
On 12 April 2015, Ezatolahi made his debut for
Atlético Madrid C in the
Tercera Division, playing 30 minutes in a 1–0 loss to
Parla. On 3 May 2015, Ezatolahi assisted a goal in Atlético Madrid C's 1–1 draw against
Alcorcón B. Ezatolahi's good performances with Atlético Madrid C drew interest from
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
club
Getafe CF.
Rostov
2015–16
At the end of the 2014–15 season, Ezatolahi chose not to sign with
Atlético Madrid B
Atlético de Madrid B is a Spanish football team based in Madrid, in the community of Madrid. Founded on 17 September 1963, it is the reserve team of Atlético Madrid and currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group 5. They play their home ...
and on 21 July 2015, Ezatolahi joined international teammate
Sardar Azmoun
Sardar Azmoun ( fa, سردار آزمون (Sardâr Âzmôn); born 1 January 1995) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Iran national team.
Azmoun made his debut for the Ira ...
at
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
club
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While ...
with a four-year contract. Due to
Visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
issues, he could not play for Rostov until 2016 and in January 2016 Ezatolahi's Visa issues were resolved. He made his debut for the club on 2 February 2016 playing in a 3–0 friendly win against Chinese side
Jiangsu Sainty. Ezatolahi scored his first goal for Rostov on 27 February 2016 in a 2–0 friendly win against Norwegian side
Stabæk.
Ezatolahi made his first team debut for Rostov on 12 May 2016 in a 3–1 victory against
FC Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', russian: Дина́мо Москва́ ) is a Russian football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Foot ...
.
2016–17
On 26 July 2016, Ezatolahi made his first start for Rostov in an official game in the first leg of the
2016–17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round against
R.S.C. Anderlecht and scored a goal in the 16th minute, equalizing the score to 1–1. In the second half of the game, another shot by him from outside of the box was denied by the crossbar, as the game ended with the score of 2–2. He is the first scorer of the club in a European match (not counting the
UEFA Intertoto Cup) and also the youngest ever Iranian player to score at the Champions League. He scored his first
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
goal for Rostov on 20 August 2016 in a 3–0 victory over
FC Tom Tomsk
FC Tom Tomsk (russian: Футбольный клуб Томь Томск) is a Russian professional football club, based in the Siberian city of Tomsk. The team plays in Trud Stadium (Tomsk).
History
The team was previously named ''Burevestnik'' ...
.
His contract with
FC Rostov
FC Rostov (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб Ростов) is a Russian professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast. The club are members of the Russian Premier League, and play at the Rostov Arena. After the ...
expired at the end of 2016. His agent Mehdi Hagitali said his new team will be a team where he would consistently play. FC Rostov removed him from their
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
roster on 31 December 2016.
Anzhi Makhachkala (loan)
In February 2017, Ezatolahi was loaned to
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
side
Anzhi Makhachkala
Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб «Анжи́» Махачкала́, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded ...
for a period of six months. Ezatolahi made his first appearance for the club on 8 February 2017, coming on as a second-half substitute in a friendly against
Dukla Prague
Dukla Prague ( cz, Dukla Praha) was a Czechoslovakia, Czech association football, football club from the city of Prague. Established in 1948 as ATK Praha, the club won a total of 11 Czechoslovak league titles and eight Czechoslovak Cups, and in ...
. On 24 February 2017, he officially signed a new contract with
FC Rostov
FC Rostov (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб Ростов) is a Russian professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast. The club are members of the Russian Premier League, and play at the Rostov Arena. After the ...
and finalized the loan deal to Anzhi. In his first league game for Anzhi against
FC Rubin Kazan
FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...
on 6 March 2017, he was sent-off in the 77th minute after receiving two yellow cards, with his team conceding a goal in an 0–1 loss shortly after. During his loan, he started in only 3 league games out of 13 that Anzhi played in that span, making additional 7 appearances as a substitute, with Anzhi achieving its objective of avoiding relegation from the Russian Premier League.
Amkar Perm (loan)
Upon returning from the Anzhi loan he didn't make any appearances for FC Rostov in the first 8 games of the season, and on 31 August 2017, he joined
FC Amkar Perm
FC Amkar Perm (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб "Амка́р" Пермь ) is a professional football club. Originally founded in 1994, it is based in the city of Perm. It was a participant in second-tier football from 1995 and ...
on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season. He made his first appearance for Amkar on 21 September 2017 in a
Russian Cup match.
The loan contract is reportedly worth €1.3 million.
Reading (loan)
On 31 August 2018,
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
announced the signing of Ezatolahi on a season-long loan deal from
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While ...
.
He had a couple of man of the match performances in his first few games before an unfortunate season-ending injury.
Eupen (loan)
On 28 August 2019, he moved to Belgian club
Eupen
Eupen (, ; ; formerly ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border ( Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the " High Fens" ...
on loan.
In June 2020 he returned to Rostov and became a free agent when his contract expired later that month.
Vejle
On 20 August 2020, Ezatolahi signed a three-year deal with newly promoted
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...
club
Vejle Boldklub
Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...
.
On 19 January 2022, he was sent on a six-month loan to
Qatar Stars League club
Al-Gharafa
Al-Gharafa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الغرافة الرياضي) is a Qatari multisports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan. It is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. It was estab ...
.
International career
Youth
Saeid Ezatolahi participated with the
Iran U17 national team in all group matches as well as the round of 16 in the
2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November. Nigeria won the tournament after defeating Mexico 3–0 in the final, cl ...
.
He was invited to the
Iran U20 by
Ali Doustimehr and scored his first goal against the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
. Ezatolahi played two matches for Iran during the
2014 AFC U-19 Championship
The 2014 AFC U-19 Championship was the 38th edition of the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for players aged 19 and below. Myanmar were approved as hosts of the competition on 2 ...
.
As the
2016 AFC U-23 Championship was not held during the
FIFA International Match Calendar
The FIFA International Match Calendar (sometimes abbreviated as the FIFA Calendar or FIFA Days) is an outline agreement between FIFA, the six continental football confederations, the European Club Association, and FIFPro, which sets out which ...
, Ezatolahi was not released by Rostov.
Senior
He was invited to the
Iran senior national team camp 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 ...
on 16 May 2015. Ezatolahi was included in the final list for the
friendly match against
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
. He made his debut as a starter against Uzbekistan on 11 June 2015 in a 1–0 win. He scored his first senior national team goal during his fourth cap on 12 November 2015 in a 3–1 World Cup qualifying win over Turkmenistan. He became the youngest goal scorer for the Iranian national team at the age of 19 years and 42 days.
In May 2018 he was named in Iran's preliminary squad for the
2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He missed Iran's first group match against
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
because of a red card in qualification but played other two matches against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. He was ruled out of Iran's squad for
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 F ...
because of injury.
Personal life
Ezatollahi is son of Nader Ezatolahi, an Iranian football coach in
Malavan Academy who is also his agent.
In 2019, Ezatollah published a rap song in support of Iranian team at
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 F ...
since he got injured playing for Reading before the cup and could not be with the team.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ezatolahi goal.''
Honours
Rostov
*
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
runner-up:
2015–16
Individual
*
Iranian Young Player of the Year:
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
References
External links
*
Saeid Ezatolahia
PersianLeague.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezatolahi, Saeid
1996 births
Living people
People from Bandar-e Anzali
Iranian footballers
Iranian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Russia
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in Denmark
Expatriate footballers in Qatar
Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Malavan players
Atlético Madrid C players
FC Rostov players
FC Anzhi Makhachkala players
FC Amkar Perm players
Reading F.C. players
K.A.S. Eupen players
Vejle Boldklub players
Al-Gharafa SC players
Persian Gulf Pro League players
Tercera División players
Russian Premier League players
English Football League players
Qatar Stars League players
Iran under-20 international footballers
Iran international footballers
Association football midfielders
2018 FIFA World Cup players
Sportspeople from Gilan province
2022 FIFA World Cup players