football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all ...

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...

East Azerbaijan East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, ...

Persian Gulf 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 ...

Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company also known as ITMCO, is a manufacturer of tractors, trucks, auto-parts, and diesel engines with main site and headquarters in Tabriz, Iran.1996–97 season, Tractor has played its home games at the

Sahand Sahand ( fa, سهند), is a massive, heavily eroded stratovolcano in East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran. At , it is the highest mountain in the province of East Azarbaijan. Sahand is one of the highest mountains in Iranian Azerbaijan, ...

which has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

of 66,833, though it is able to hold more people during important matches. Tractor holds the attendance record for a promoted team in Iranian football when they had an estimated average attendance about 57,000 during the 2009–10 season. The club is owned and supported by the businessman

Mohammad Reza Zonuzi Mohammad Reza Zonuzi Motlagh ( fa, محمدرضا زُنوزی مطلق) is an Iranian businessman and sports director. He also owns the ATA Airlines ATA Airlines, Inc. – formerly known as American Trans Air and commonly referred to as ...

since 2018. Tractor is one of the most successful clubs in Tabriz, having won two

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 ...

s and one Azadegan League title. The club's colors are red.

History

Pre-Revolution

Tractor FC was formed in 1969 in support of the Tractor Manufacturing Company in Tabriz. They played in the Pasargad League for five years until 1975. They finished 1975–76 as the winner of the Pasargard League and were promoted to 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 ...

(now 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 ...

). In their first season in the Takht Jamshid Cup, they were in poor form, and as a result they were relegated to the Pasargard League after just one year in the first division. They also lost the

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 ...

final to

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 ...

in the cup's inaugural edition. After their relegation,

Hossein Fekri Hossein Fekri ( Persian: حسین فکری, March 15, 1924 – July 1, 2003) was an Iranian football player and coach for the Iran national football team. As an international player he won a silver medal at the 1951 Asian Games. At the club lev ...

remained as the club's manager and led them to a return to the first division for the 1977–78 season, which they finished in 5th place. In the 1978–79 season, which never finished due to the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

, they were in 8th place with twelve matches played. Their rival at the time was Machine Sazi, who are also based in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...

.

Post-Revolution

In the 1980s the national league was suspended due to 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 Counci ...

, therefore Tractor were forced to compete in the Tabriz Local Leagues for many years. In the 1986–87

Qods League Qods may refer to: Geography * Jerusalem, a disputed city in the Levant, sometimes known as Qods from Al-Quds, the Arabic name * Qaleh-ye Qods, a village in Markazi Province, Iran * Qods, Iran, a city in Tehran Province, Iran * Qods, Semnan, a v ...

the East Azerbaijan Provincial team, with a mix of players from Tractor and rivals Machine Sazi, made it to the final, but were defeated in the final by the Isfahan Provincial team.

1990s

Romanian coach

Vasile Godja Vasile Ioan Godja (19 October 1954 — 1 August 2016) was a Romanian football player and manager. Godja was head coach of Tractor an Iranian football club during the early 1990s, while working for Iran Tractor Manufacturing Co. (ITMCO), one of ...

was in charge of Tractor's youth teams from 1986. He was also a worker at the Tractor Company and discovered various talents as the B team's coach. He also discovered and trained various talented players like Karim Bargheri,

Sirous Dinmohammadi Sirous Dinmohammadi ( fa, سیروس دین‌محمدی, born 2 July 1970 in Tabriz) is a retired Iranian football player. Club career He is most notably for playing for Tractor and Esteghlal. Career statistics International career Din ...

, Alireza Nikmer and Hossein Khatibi which, in time, played for Iran's national team. In 1990, he was promoted to first team coach and led the club in the 1992–93 season, finishing third place in the national competition. Esmail Halali was their star in this period. Under his leadership in 1994, Tractor made the finals of the

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 ...

again, this time losing to

Bahman Bahman ( fa, بهمن, ) is the eleventh and penultimate month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. Bahman has thirty days. It begins in January and ends in February of the Gregorian calendar. The month ...

in the final, and won the MILLS International cup in India in 1995. Godja left the team in 1997 after eight years in charge of the club.

Mohammad Hossein Ziaei Mohammad Hossein Ziaei ( fa, محمد حسین ضیایی) is an Iranian football manager currently coaching Naft Gachsaran in the Azadegan League. Club career He played as a defender for Shahin F.C. and Tractor during the 1980s and played one ...

then became the player-coach of Tractor. At this time, notable players of the team started their migration to the other clubs. 1998 to 2001 they finished the league in mid-table.

Iran Pro League

In 2001,

IRIFF The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) ( fa, فدراسیون فوتبال جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Federâsion-è Futbâl-è Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân) is the governing body of association football in Iran. Forme ...

formed 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 ...

as the professional league. The inaugural 2001–02 season under Reza Vatankhah and Mahmoud Yavari's management, saw Tractor relegated to 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 ...

after the club finished bottom of the league.

Relegation to Azadegan League

Tractor spent seven seasons 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 ...

(Iran's second division) and were unable to climb to 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 ...

. Tractor qualified for the promotion play-off in the 2006–07 season but lost to Shirin Faraz 4–2. After the appointment of

Faraz Kamalvand Faraz Kamalvand ( fa, فراز کمالوند, born 26 December 1976) is an Iranian football coach. He is headcoach of Kheybar Khorramabad Early life He was born on 27 December 1976 in Khoramabad, Iran and is from Lorestan. From 1998 to 200 ...

as the manager before the 2008–09 season, Tractor were promoted to the Iran Pro League for the first time in 8 years.

Return to Pro League

In the 2011–12 season and under

Amir Ghalenoei Ardeshir "Amir" Ghalenoei ( fa, , born 21 November 1963 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian football coach and former player who currently manages Gol Gohar Sirjan. He has been the most successful coach in the Iran Pro League and managed several clu ...

's management, Tractor finished as runners-up, securing a spot for the

2013 AFC Champions League The 2013 AFC Champions League was the 32nd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 11th under the current AFC Champions League title. The defending champions, Ulsan Hyu ...

. This was the first time Tractor had qualified for the competition, subsequently qualifying for the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

editions as well. In July 2012, former

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

and

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA ...

coach,

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...

was named as the club's manager. He led the club to a runners up finish 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 ...

.

Champions League

Toni Oliveira - Esteghlal vs Tractor Sazi

After a fall out between Oliveira and the club chairman, Oliveira was sacked and

Majid Jalali Majid Jalali ( fa, مجید جلالی, born 6 September 1956 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian football manager and a former player. He has served as the manager in several clubs in Iran like Pas Tehran, Saba Battery, Foolad, and also national ...

was brought in for the 2013–14 season. After a poor run of results Jalali was fired and

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...

returned, almost immediately leading Tractor to a

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 ...

Championship, and a place in the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

. They also finished the season in the 6th place, after they defeated Esteghlal 3–1 in the last match at

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 ...

. Tractor were also unable to qualify for the knock-out stage of the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

for the second consecutive year, after they finished 4th in their group in both the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

editions. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, Tractor again were eliminated in the group stage of the AFC Champions League for the third straight time. On 15 May 2015, the final match of the season was played between Tractor and

Naft Tehran Naft Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال نفت تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Nuft Teheran'') is an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National I ...

. The match took place at

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 P ...

in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...

. After communication issues at the stadium, Tractor staff mistakenly thought that

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...

was losing to

Saipa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

, which would mean Tractor would win the league with a draw. Tractor tied the game, believing that a 3–3 draw with Naft had won them the title. While they were celebrating with their fans on the field, they found out that the actual result of the parallel game was 2–0 for Sepahan and that Sepahan were league champions. Tractor finished as runners-up for the third time, with

Amir Ghalenoi Ardeshir "Amir" Ghalenoei ( fa, , born 21 November 1963 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian football coach and former player who currently manages Gol Gohar Sirjan. He has been the most successful coach in the Iran Pro League and managed several clu ...

in 2011–12 and

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...

in

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 ...

and 2014–15. Tractor_Sazi_players_after_ACL_match_with_Pakhtakor

Midway through the 2015–16 season Tractor head coach

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...

was once again sacked and replaced by

Amir Ghalenoi Ardeshir "Amir" Ghalenoei ( fa, , born 21 November 1963 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian football coach and former player who currently manages Gol Gohar Sirjan. He has been the most successful coach in the Iran Pro League and managed several clu ...

. On 24 February 2016 Tractor won their first match of the

2016 AFC Champions League The 2016 AFC Champions League was the 35th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al-Ain ...

in a 4–0 win against Emirati club Al Jazira. Tractor won the return leg 1–0 on 2 March 2016 in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

as well. After the first two games, Tractor surpassed the most points they ever gained in the AFC Champions League group stage. Tractor qualified for the knock-out stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history on 19 April 2016 after defeating Saudi club Al-Hilal 2–0. Tractor eventually lost in the Round of 16 to Emirati club Al Nasr. In the 2016–17 season, Tractor defeated Zob Ahan in the semi final of the

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 ...

to reach the final against

Naft Tehran Naft Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال نفت تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Nuft Teheran'') is an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National I ...

. In January 2017 it was revealed that Tractor had been suspended from two transfer windows by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

due to outstanding debts to former players. This led to the club terminating the contract of Sajjad Shahbazzadeh whom they had signed days earlier.

Fans

Official anthem

There are a lot of popular marches for Tractor S.C. but 'Tiraxtur iftixarımız' ('Tractor is our pride'), created and implemented in 2012, was chosen as the official anthem. The table below shows the lyrics of the Tractor fans anthem:. *

Songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

: Ayyub Shahbazi *

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

: Gholam Reza Mirzazadeh *

Arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orche ...

: Mohammad Hossein Drablou * Singer: Esfandiar Garabaghi

Violence and racist slogans

In home games, Tractor fans often shout racial insults and calls to violence against the other

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

in Iran, in particular

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

and

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

. Some supporters also carry the flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan inside the stadium. In a match on November 1, 2019, in response to Turkey's recent military operation against the Syrian Kurds, the ethnic

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

Tractor fans chanted "Death to Kurds!" throughout the match and carried banners stating "Either Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia!", in reference to the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

. A percentage of fans do not care much about the football game and its results and are looking for a safe gathering place to express political separatist tendencies, as some Tractor fans compare their club and

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), with its aim bei ...

with FC Barcelona and

Catalanism Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...

ideology. These movements mainly include chanting slogans and carrying ethnic writings, and sometimes they have themes in support of Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan political acts. During the transfer of the 16th Persian Gulf Pro League, the CEO of Tractor club, Mostafa Ajorlu announced a two-year contract with

Varazdat Haroyan Varazdat Haroyan ( hy, Վարազդատ Հարոյան, born on 24 August 1992) is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta and the Armenia national team. Club career Patani and ...

, the central defender of the Armenian national team. But after 12 hours of this incident, the CEO of Tractor Club published an article on his Instagram and announced that they gave up recruiting Haroyan. Ajorlu stated that the reason for this action was the unity of the Turks and in response to the protest of some of the team's fans, the fans' protest was due to the so-called «occupation of Karabagh» by Armenians, and they consider Israel and Armenia to be the occupiers. This action was criticized by the media due to suspicions about racism and the involvement of politics in sports. Also, on the 10th of March 2017, during the match between Tractor and Sepahan teams that was held at Yadgar-e Imam Stadium in Tabriz, some Tractor fans set on fire the Armenian flag inside the stadium in protest of the incidents that occurred during the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia to Tehran.

Damage to opponent's stadiums

In some away games, Tractor fans burned the stadium seats and damaged the walls of the stadium. In 2018, they inflicted heavy damage on 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 ...

. In 2017, They did damage to Yadegar-e Emam Stadium of

Qom Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its pop ...

.

Crest

From its foundation, the team used a red crest. On the exterior circle, the name of the club and the date of its foundation were written. The second crest was white until 2013, when the club changed the colour of the crest to black.

Kit

They were previously sponsored by the Hamrah-e Aval (Mobile Telecommunication Company). In July 2018, the club signed a contract with

Merooj Merooj, Inc., which means ''ant'' in Luri language now rebranded as ''Majid'', is an Iranian sports producer and brand of athletic shoes, clothing, and accessories. The company was established by Dr. Majid Saedifar who was an official physical th ...

, starting from 2017–18 Iran Pro League season.

Media

The official matches of the club in

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 ...

,

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 ...

and

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

are broadcast from Sahand TV (The club's city owned TV station), Varzesh and Shoma channels. Online viewing is also available on the official site of the club and three above TV channels sites. Important matches are also broadcast from

IRIB TV3 IRIB TV3 ( fa, شبکه ۳ or ; ''Shabake Se'') is one of the 32 national television channels in Iran. It is the third television channel created by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and started broadcasting on December 4, 1993. The ch ...

, Jame Jam and

SAHAR TV Sahar TV (, ''Shibkâh-e Siher'', ''SAHARTV''), is the name of an Iranian TV channels that is part of Sahar Universal Network (SUN) which is the branch of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting responsible for broadcasting programs international ...

.

Ownership

The club is owned by the Tractor Manufacturing Company since its establishment in 1970. Since 2011, it has been owned by Kowsar Foundation (51%), with 30% of the club belonging to the East-Azerbaijan Province. In addition, the ''Iranian Mehr Institute'' is an affiliate of Kowsar Foundation and other stakeholders and custodians of the club. Kowsar Foundation is part of Sepah Pasdaran – with the club enabling its players to complete their military service. Since 2018, the club has been owned by Mohammad Reza Zonouzi, an Iranian businessman and shareholder.

Rivals

Tractor has most rivalry with two big Iranian football clubs, Esteghlal and

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 ...

.

Persepolis–Tractor rivalry

Persepolis–Tractor rivalry started in 2009 when Tractor returned to first tier of Iranian football league after 8 years and their fans had passion about this event.

Mustafa Denizli Mustafa Denizli (born 10 November 1949) is a Turkish football coach and former player. He has managed many notable Turkish football clubs, including ''"Istanbul Big Three"'' ( Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş) and has won the Süper Li ...

is one of the club's most popular coaches in this rivalry. In 2019, Tractor defeated Persepolis after more than five years when Denizli was the head coach.

Esteghlal–Tractor rivalry

This rivalry started in 2009 and in the past years this rivalry was a bit overwhelmed by violence from both fans. On 10 May 2015, Tractor defeated Esteghlal with 4 goals. On 1 November 2019, they were beaten 4–2 by Esteghlal in Yadegar-e Emam Stadium.

Machine Sazi–Tractor rivalry

Tractor has brotherly relationship with Machine Sazi (another football club from Tabriz). During the 1970s both Tractor and Machine Sazi met regularly in the Takht Jamshid Cup and both teams had some memorable successes in the fixture. Following the creation of the Azadegan League, Machine Sazi and Tractor met twice in the 1996–97 Azadegan League. Machine Sazi's promotion to 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 ...

in 2016 saw fans eagerly anticipating the first league derbies in 7 years.

Affiliated clubs

*

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 ...

Players

Current squad

''For recent transfers, see

List of Iranian football transfers summer 2022 This is a list of Iranian football transfers for the 2022 summer transfer window. Only moves from Persian Gulf Pro League are listed. The summer transfer window will begin on 13 June 2022 and closes at midnight on 31 August 2022. Players Free agen ...

''.

Stadium

Tractor played their home matches from 1979 until 1996 in the 20,000 capacity

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 Le ...

(Takhti Stadium),

1976 AFC Asian Cup The 1976 AFC Asian Cup was the 6th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Iran between 3 and 13 June 1976. The field of six ...

stadium.

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 P ...

(Yadegar-e Emam Stadium) was replaced with Bagh-e Shomal Stadium after it was completed in January 1996. The stadium is the second biggest stadium in Iran with 66,833 seats. The stadium is also part of Tabriz Olympic Complex. During Sahand Stadium's renovation in 2005 until 2006 years, Bakeri Stadium was the club's home ground 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 ...

matches. The stadium has 10,000 capacity.

Recent seasons

The results of the club in last 10 years. :

Seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Tractor in various competitions.

Honours

Tractor Sazi players celebrating winning Hazfi Cup

Official titles

*

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 ...

: Runner up (3): 2011–12,

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 ...

, 2014–15 : Third Place (2): 2016–17,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

*

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 ...

: Winner (2): 2013–14, 2019–20 : Runner up (3): 1975–76, 1994–95, 2016–17 *

Iranian Super Cup The Iranian Super Cup ( Persian: سوپر جام ایران, ''Super Jam-e 'Iran'') is an Iranian association football trophy awarded to the winner of a match between the Persian Gulf Pro League's season champion and the winner of the Hazfi Cup. I ...

: Runner up (1):

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

* Azadegan League (2nd Tier) : Winner (1): 2008–09 * 2nd Division : Winner (1): 1974–75 : Runner up (2): 1976–77, 1995–96 * East Azerbaijan Super Cup : Winner (1): ''1992'' * Tabriz Football League : Winner (1): 1984–85 * Tabriz Football League's 2nd Division : Winner (1): 1981–82

Unofficial titles

*

DCM Trophy The Delhi Cloth Mills Trophy, known simply as D.C.M. Trophy, was an invitational football tournament in India. It was held annually in New Delhi and was organised by the local Delhi Football Association. It was India's first football tourname ...

: Winner (1): ''1995–96'' * Sardaran Shahid International Cup : Winner (2): ''1995, 1996'' * Shohada Cup : Winner (2): ''

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, 2017''

Personnel

Current coaching staff

Management

Sports statistics

* ''Updated to May 2017''.

General information

Asian record

Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League

:''Accurate as of 21 January 2019'' Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Top goalscores in ACL

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 3 June 2019. Mohammad Ebrahimi is the club's all-time most capped player and top scorer with 31 goals in 180 games. This list includes goals from all competitive matches. Mohammad ebrahimi ( F16 )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tractor S.C. Football clubs in Iran Association football clubs established in 1970 Sport in Tabriz Works association football teams