Mehrdad Pooladi ( fa, مهرداد پولادی, born 26 February 1987) 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 ...

. He was also an Iranian international, where he played as a left back. Pooladi is a utility player, formerly playing as a forward and

attacking 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 boundarie ...

in his youth and playing regularly as a full back,

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 ...

and winger.

Club career

Esteghlal

In August 2007, Pooladi moved from

Paykan The Paykan ( fa, پيکان meaning ''Arrow'') is the first Iranian-made car produced by Iran Khodro (formerly called "Iran National") between 1967 and 2005. The car was very popular in Iran from its introduction until its discontinuation. I ...

to Esteghlal as one of the number of young players that were chosen by coach

Naser Hejazi Nasser Hejazi ( Persian: ناصر حجازی ''nāser hejāzi''; 14 December 1949 – 23 May 2011), nicknamed "the legendary Iranian goalkeeper", was an Iranian football player and coach who most notably played for Esteghlal (Taj). Considered a ...

. He scored his only goal in Estghlal's 2–1 away at Moghavemat Sepasi. After Hejazi was sacked and replaced with Firouz Karimi, he fell down in the pecking order and eventually left Esteghlal two years after joining the team.

Tractor Sazi

Pooladi joined

Tractor Sazi Tractor Cultural Sports Economic Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی اقتصادی تراکتور, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi Varzeši Eqtesâdi-ye Terâktor''), commonly known as Tractor, formerly Tractor Sazi, is an Iranian football ...

for the 2008–09 season where he played only for a single season. 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 ...

he managed to regain his form playing mostly as a central midfielder, scoring six goals in the season. The most noteworthy was a 40-yard free-kick against his former team Esteghlal in the

Azadi Stadium The Azadi Stadium ( fa, ورزشگاه آزادی Varzešgâh''-è Âzâdi''), opened as the Aryamehr Stadium ( fa, ورزشگاه آریامهر Varzešgâh-è ''Âryâmehr''), is an all-seater football stadium in Tehran, Iran. The stadium wa ...

Mes Kerman

Pooladi transferred to Mes Kerman and played for the team for a year and a half, again mostly as a

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 boundarie ...

. In the mid-season of 2011–12, he was not included in

Miroslav Blažević Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević (; born 10 February 1935) is a Croatian former professional football manager and player. His professional playing career spanned from 1954 to 1966, during which he played for Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva Zagreb, FK Saraje ...

's squad and left the team.

Persepolis

In January 2012 Pooladi moved to

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

, Pooladi could not play in 2011–12 season as he had missed the transfer deadline day. He was however able to register for the 2012 AFC Champions League playing in 7 games and scoring a goal against Al-Shabab from a free-kick in a 3–1 win. He extended his contract with Persepolis for two years, keeping him in the team until 2014. He has established himself as a fan favorite due to the high intensity at which he plays the game. Since he joined Persepolis he played the majority of the games as a left back, occasionally slotting in as a defensive midfielder and left wing. After a good showing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he was monitored by

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 Fo ...

clubs such as

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

and Swansea City. On 17 September 2014, the FFIRI disciplinary committee announced a sentence on his contract with

for the forthcoming 2014–15 season due to conscription issues. According to this sentence, the contract is cancelled after the end of the 2013–14 season (in May 2014), therefore he became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

and was free to choose his club.

Al-Shahania

Pooladi officially joined coach

Miguel Ángel Lotina Miguel Ángel Lotina Oruechebarría (; born 18 June 1957) is a Spanish professional manager and former footballer who played as a striker. Playing career Born in Meñaka, Biscay, Lotina started playing football with local Gernika Club, rep ...

's Qatari side Al-Shahania with a two-year contract after IFF's rule that he is a free agent due to conscription issues. On 5 December 2014, he provided an assist to Masoud Shojaei. He also scored a 35–yard free kick for them towards the end of the season.

Bangkok United

In June 2017, Pooladi joined

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลทรู แบงค็อก ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Pathum Thani province. Formerly known as Bangkok University Foot ...

Football Club - a Thai professional football club based in Pathum Thani.

International career

Pooladi played all three games for Iran U20 at

2006 AFC Youth Championship The 2006 AFC Youth Championship was the 34th instance of the AFC Youth Championship. It was held from 29 October to 12 November 2006 in India. It was the first time for India to host this tournament. Sixteen teams from the AFC qualified to the f ...

, as a product of Paykan Tehran. He also made five appearances in 2005 in Valentin A.Granatkin Memorial – International Youth Tournament for Iran U20. He was also a member of

Iran U-23 Iran national under-23 football team, also known as Iran U-23 or Iran Olympic Team; represents Iran in international football competitions in Olympic Games, Asian Games and AFC U-22 Asian Cup, as well as any other under-23 international footba ...

, participating in the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. He started his senior international career under

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 ...

in July 2011 against

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Queiroz moved Pooladi to the left back position a position and Pooladi has taken the opportunity and established himself as first choice left back ever since.

2014 FIFA World Cup

On 1 June 2014, he was called into

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 ...

's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad by

. Pooladi was named as the second best-ranked player in the first week of the tournament behind

Thomas Müller Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. A versatile player, Müller has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking mi ...

by FIFA, after receiving 9.7 points in the opening match 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 ...

. He also showed a good performance in the next match against

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 ...

. In second half time he dribbled well Higuain and Messi to shows his technical ability

2015 Asian Cup

He was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad on 30 December 2014 by

. On 23 January 2015, he received a controversial red card in the quarter-final match of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup 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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

by referee Ben Williams.

Career statistics

Honours

Esteghlal *

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 ...

: 2008–09 *

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 ...

: 2007–08 Persepolis *

: Runner-up 2013–14

References

External links

Mehrdad Pooladi
a
PersianLeague.comMehrdad Pooladi
a
TeamMelli.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pooladi, Mehrdad 1987 births Living people Iranian footballers Association football midfielders Iran international footballers Iranian expatriate footballers Association football utility players Asian Games bronze medalists for Iran Paykan F.C. players Esteghlal F.C. players Tractor S.C. players Sanat Mes Kerman F.C. players Persepolis F.C. players Al-Shahania SC players Mehrdad Pooladi Al Kharaitiyat SC players Muaither SC players Persian Gulf Pro League players Qatar Stars League players Qatari Second Division players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players People from Karaj Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Thailand Expatriate footballers in Qatar