Alireza Jahanbakhsh Jirandeh ( fa, علیرضا جهانبخش جیرنده, ; born 11 August 1993) 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 le ...

who plays as a winger and

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

for

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

and the

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 ...

. He represented Iran at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

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 ...

and the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

. Jahanbakhsh also represented Iran at the

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA SN ...

and U23 levels. In 2014 Jahanbakhsh was voted the second greatest young talent of the 2013–14

season. In the

2017–18 Eredivisie The 2017–18 Eredivisie was the 62nd season of the Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. The season began on 11 August 2017 and concluded on 6 May 2018; the Europa League and relegation play-offs took place later that month. Feyenoord wer ...

season, Jahanbakhsh scored 21 league goals, making him the first Asian player to become top scorer in a major European league.

Early life

Jahanbakhsh was born on 11 August 1993 in

Jirandeh Jirandeh ( fa, جيرنده, ''jirandeh'') ( Tati: , ''Jirindih'') is a city and capital of Amarlu District, in Rudbar County, Gilan Province, Iran. It is located north of the Shahrood river Shahrood or Shah-Rud ( fa, شاهرود, Shāhrūd, ...

, a small city located in

Rudbar County Rudbar County ( fa, شهرستان رودبار) is in Gilan province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Rudbar. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 101,884 in 27,902 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1 ...

, Gilan Province. He grew up in

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

to Tat parents.

Club career

Damash

Jahanbakhsh played most of his youth in

Rasht Rasht ( fa, رشت, Rašt ; glk, Rəšt, script=Latn; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt ''Recht'' in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ''Ŝahre B ...

and Persian

before joining the youth academy of Damash Tehran in 2008. Jahanbaksh started his career 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 ...

with Damash Tehran, an affiliate of Damash Gilan in the 2nd Division. In 2011, Jahanbakhsh returned to Gilan and at the age of 17. In 2011, Jahanbakhsh played his first game for

Damash Gilan Sport Club Damash Gilan ( fa, باشگاه ورزشی داماش گیلان, ''Bashgah-e Vârzeshi-ye Damash Gilân''), commonly known as Damash Gilan, also spelled Damash Guilan, is an Iranian football club based in Rasht, Gilan, that competes ...

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 ...

against Mes as one of Damash's youngest ever players. Jahanbakhsh scored his first goal on 15 January 2012 in a 1–0 victory against Fajr. In 42 league appearances with Damash, he scored 10 goals.

NEC

2013–14 season

On 26 May 2013, Jahanbakhsh reached a verbal agreement with Dutch

outfit

NEC is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...

for a three-year deal. This deal was subject to a medical examination and obtaining a visa and work permit. He officially joined the club on 1 July 2013. He made his debut as a substitute in a league match against

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

on 3 August 2013. He scored his first goal in an 8–0 win over

Harkemase Boys Harkemase Boys is a football club from Harkema, Netherlands. The club plays in the Derde Divisie since 2016, when it won a section championship in the Hoofdklasse. History On 27 October 2021, they became one of 3 Derde Divisie teams to advance ...

in the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

. On 1 December 2013, Jahanbakhsh scored two goals and assisted the other in a 3–2 league match win over

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

. On 22 December, he scored and assisted at

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...

while providing a secondary assist on 15 February 2014 against RKC Waalwijk. On 22 March, when NEC were down 2–0 at halftime, Jahanbakhsh came on as a substitute after the half and provided an assist to

Michael Higdon Michael Higdon (born 2 September 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his career with Crewe Alexandra where he came through the youth team before making the break into their first eleven in 2003. ...

in their 2–2 draw at

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

. On the final day of the 2013–14 season, Jahanbakhsh scored two late goals against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

to save NEC from automatic relegation, instead securing a relegation playoff spot. Jahanbakhsh was originally voted the Eredivisie's greatest talent of the season before becoming runner-up to

Memphis Depay Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known simply as Memphis, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. Memphis began his professional career with PSV Eind ...

2014–15 season

On the opening day of the 2014–15 Jupiler League, Jahanbakhsh scored a goal in a 3–1 win against

FC Eindhoven FC Eindhoven is a Dutch football club based in Eindhoven, North Brabant. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie (second tier of Dutch football), and are one of two professional clubs which are based in the city of Eindhoven, the other one bei ...

. On 29 August, he scored two goals and provided two assists in a 4–1 win at

Helmond Sport Helmond Sport is a professional association football club based in the city of Helmond, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 27 June 1967, as ...

. On 20 September, he scored against FC Emmen to help bring NEC to the top of the league table. Three days later, on 23 September, AJ scored a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

in extra time and converted a penalty in their win against

Ajax II Ajax was a champion Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, who won 18 consecutive races before he was defeated at the odds of 40/1 on, causing a huge racing sensation. He had wins from 5 furlongs (1,000 metres) to 1½ m ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

during the second round of the 2014–15 Dutch Cup. On 3 October, he scored a goal and provided an assist in a 2–1 win against Almere City to send NEC to the Eredivisie play-offs as quarter-season league champions. On 17 October 2014, Jahanbakhsh was named the Best Player of the First Period of the 2014–15 Jupiler League. On 28 November, he opened the scoring with a volley and provided two assists in a 5–1 win over

Jong Twente Jong FC Twente (English: Young FC Twente) are the reserve team of FC Twente, a team from Enschede which played in the Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It ...

. On 1 February 2015, in his first game upon his return from the

, he scored a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

and was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

in the 3–1 win over

. On 13 February, he scored a goal and provided two assists in a 3–2 win over FC Emmen with another goal against

Achilles '29 Achilles '29 is a football club from Groesbeek, Netherlands, competing in the sixth-tier Eerste Klasse. The club is known for its successes in the Dutch domestic cup, having knocked FC Volendam, Heracles Almelo, RKC Waalwijk, Telstar and MV ...

days later to bring his tally to 4 goals in 5 consecutive matches after the Asian Cup. At the end of the season, Jahanbakhsh was selected by fans as NEC's player of the season. On 12 May 2015 Jahanbakhsh was voted as the Eerste Divisie's best player for the 2014–15 season, with twelve goals and eighteen assists in the league.

AZ

2015–16 season

On 3 August 2015, Jahanbakhsh signed a five–year contract with Dutch club

. He was given number nine as his jersey number, and made his

debut for AZ on 12 September 2015 in a 3–1 win over

De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...

. Jahanbakhsh made his

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

debut in a 2–1

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

win over

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

on 1 October 2015. Jahanbakhsh recorded his first assist for AZ on 21 November 2015 in a 3–1 victory against

. Jahanbakhsh scored his first goal for AZ on 30 January 2016 in a match against his former club

. He scored his second goal of the season and also recorded his fourth assist on 13 February 2016 in a 6–3 victory over

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

2016–17 season

In June 2016 Jahanbakhsh switched from number 9 to number 7 for the upcoming 2016–17 season. On 2 July 2016, in AZ's first preseason match, Jahanbakhsh recorded a goal and an assist in his team's 5–1 victory. On 28 August he scored his first goal of the season against

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

. The match was ended 2-1 which Jahanbakhsh scored the winning goal. On 13 January 2017, Jahanbakhsh scored a brace and recorded an assist, as well as being named man of the match in a 3–1 victory against

Go Ahead Eagles Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...

. On 21 August 2016, he scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 win over

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. On 16 February 2017, he scored his first ever

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

goal in a 4–1 loss to

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

in Round of 32 of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. Jahanbakhsh was named the best winger of the 2016–17 season in the Dutch League.

2017–18 season

Jahanbakhsh scored a hat trick and recorded an assist on 18 April 2018 against Vitesse in the

. Jahanbakhsh scored another hat trick on the last match day to become the leading goal scorer of the Eredivisie season with 21 goals, and also finished joint third with 12 assists. He became the first Asian player ever to become the top goalscorer in a top level European league.

Brighton & Hove Albion

2018–19 season

BHA v FC Nantes pre season 03 08 2018-287 (43135243974)

On 25 July 2018, Jahanbakhsh transferred to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

for an undisclosed club record fee, signing a five-year contract. He announced on his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that he will wear number 16, the same number he used to wear in his first season at

. On 11 August 2018, Jahanbakhsh made his debut for Brighton as a substitute in the club's opening match of the

season against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. Even though he played 25 matches in the season due to injuries and poor performance he amounted no goals and no assists.

2019–20 season

With the managerial change at Brighton with

Graham Potter Graham Stephen Potter (born 20 May 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of club Chelsea. In a 13-year playing career, Potter, who played as a left-back, made 307 appearances in the ...

replacing

Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...

, Jahanbakhsh rarely found himself in the match squad until 8 December 2019 when he came in as a substitute in a match against

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

. On 28 December 2019, he scored his first goal for the club on his first start against

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. Jahanbakhsh was overcome with emotion and was seen crying after scoring his first ever goal for his club. On 1 January 2020, he scored an equalising bicycle kick goal for Brighton 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 ...

. The goal against Chelsea was later voted by people as the

Premier League Goal of the Month The Premier League Goal of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player who is deemed to have scored the best Premier League goal each month of the season from August to April. The winner is chosen by a combination of ...

for January, in which Jahanbakhsh described it as the best goal he has ever scored.

2020–21 season

Jahanbakhsh came on as a sub in the Brighton's opening day of the season in a 3–1 home loss against Chelsea in the league. He scored a cracker in the next game, a 4–0 home thrashing over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

on 17 September. He scored again 6 days later again coming in the EFL Cup, this time a 2–0 away win over Preston. Jahanbakhsh started in Brighton's 3–2 home victory over champions

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

on 18 May 2021, with fans returning to football. Brighton came back from 2–0 down to secure their first win over ''The Sky Blues'' since 1989.

Feyenoord

On 17 July 2021,

announced that Jahanbakhsh had joined the club on a 3-year contract with an option for a fourth year. He made his debut for Feyenoord on 29 July in the second leg of the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on thei ...

tie against

FC Drita Football Club Drita ( sq, Klubi Futbollistik Drita), commonly known as Drita, is a professional football club based in Gjilan, Kosovo. The club plays in the Football Superleague of Kosovo . The club's home ground is the Gjilan City Stadium. It ...

where he started the match but later substituted in the 3–2 home victory, with Feyenoord also going through 3–2 on aggregate. He scored his first two goals for the club on 12 August, scoring Feyenoord's first two goals in a 3–0 win against

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league syste ...

in the third qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. Jahanbakhsh made his league debut for the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

side on 22 August starting in the 2–0 home victory over

International career

Alireza Jahanbakhsh in Iran national football team 2018

Youth

Jahanbakhsh was part of the squad that played at the

2010 AFC U-19 Championship The 2010 AFC U-19 Championship was the 36th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. Qualification for the tournament started in October 2009 with the finals tournament being hosted in October 2010. The AFC reco ...

in China, playing in two games. Being only 16 at the start of the championships in 2010, he continued at the same age group, captaining the national under-20 team for their successful

2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification The qualification for the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship. Format The teams have been divided into two zones – West (23) and East (16). The teams will be divided into seven groups of six and five teams each. West Zone will have three groups of si ...

by scoring 5 goals in four appearances. At the championships, he added two more to his tally 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 th ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Jahanbakhsh was called into Iran's

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

qualifiers in March 2015 and was named team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. With the presence of Jahanbakhsh the under-23 team qualified to the

2016 AFC U-23 Championship The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2016 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) fo ...

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 ...

. As the

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 d ...

, Jahanbakhsh was not released by AZ Alkmaar.

Senior team

On 5 October 2013, Jahanbakhsh was called up to

Team Melli ) ''(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 ...

in a 2015 Asian Cup qualifier against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

by manager

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, ...

, and he served his first cap as a substitute in the 82nd minute. His first national team goal came in his second game on 15 November in a 3–0 win at Thailand. On 1 June 2014, he was called into Iran's

squad by

. He played in all three matches against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. He was called into Iran's

squad on 30 December 2014 by Queiroz. Jahanbakhsh scored Iran's second goal in June 2016 in a 2–0 World Cup qualifier victory against

. In May 2018, he was named in Iran's

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

for the

in Russia. He played all three group matches 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 to ...

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 ...

. In December 2018, Jahanbakhsh was selected for Iran's 23-man squad for the

. On 16 January 2019, he made his competitive debut in a 0–0 draw against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in the last match of the group stage. In the latter match, he scored his first goal in the tournament in the 2–0 victory against

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

Style of play

Jahanbakhsh has been compared to Iranian legend

Mehdi Mahdavikia Mehdi Mahdavikia ( fa, ; born 24 July 1977) is an Iranian professional football coach and former player usually played as a right winger or right back. He is currently under contract by Hamburger SV as a youth coach, and also manages his own ...

. In Holland, Jahanbakhsh established himself as a dangerous and pacy player. In several interviews Jahanbakhsh revealed his life time dream is to play in

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

, although there is huge interest in him from Italian and English sides declaring that as a kid he grew up watching his idols

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 ...

Ali Karimi Mohammad Ali Karimi Pashaki ( fa, علی کریمی ; born 8 November 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player. During his professional football career, he has played in the Iran Pro League, UAE Pro League, Qatar Stars League and B ...

and

Vahid Hashemian Vahid Hashemian Korbekandi ( fa, وحيد هاشميان; born 21 July 1976) is an Iranian football coach and former player who works as assistant coach to Dragan Skočić at Iran national team. He played as a forward, spending most of his care ...

play for

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

and Mehdi Mahdavikia for

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

Outside football

Social media

In January 2020, Jahanbakhsh said that he posted on

a photo of Iranian major general

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds F ...

, who was killed at the

2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was killed by a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. The drone targeted and killed Soleimani while he was on his way to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi i ...

, and that the post was taken down.

Sponsorship

Jahanbakhsh is outfitted by German sportswear manufacturer

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

NEC *

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

: 2014–15 AZ *

runner-up: 2016–17, 2017–18 Feyenoord *

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...

runner-up: 2021–22

Individual

First Period Player of the Season: 2014–15 *Eerste Divisie Best Player of the Season (Gouden Stier): 2014–15 * Eredivisie top scorer: 2017–18 (21 goals) *

: January 2020 * Feyenoord Goal of Season: 2021–22

References

External links

* * *
Alireza Jahanbakhsh
a
PersianLeague.comVoetbal International profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jahanbakhsh, Alireza 1993 births Living people People from Qazvin Iranian footballers Iran under-20 international footballers Iran international footballers Association football wingers Damash Iranian players Damash Gilan players NEC Nijmegen players AZ Alkmaar players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Feyenoord players Persian Gulf Pro League players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Premier League players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Iranian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Iranian expatriate sportspeople in England Iranian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 2022 FIFA World Cup players

Early life

Club career

Damash

NEC

2013–14 season

2014–15 season

AZ

2015–16 season

2016–17 season

2017–18 season

Brighton & Hove Albion

2018–19 season

2019–20 season

2020–21 season

Feyenoord

International career

Youth

Senior team

Style of play

Outside football

Social media

Sponsorship

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Individual

See also

References

External links