Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (; born 14 September 1983) is an Iranian former 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 lea ...

. During his professional football career, he has played as an attacking midfielder, Winger and Forward in the

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

and

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

. Khalatbari has scored 5 goals in 60 matches for the

Iran national football team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...

Club career

Early years

Khalatbari began his career with Shamoushak's youth teams and joined

Aboomoslem Football Club Abu Muslim (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Abumislâm-e Xorasan''), commonly known as Abu Muslim, is an Iranian football club based in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, that competes in the League 3. The club was founded in 1970 and is named aft ...

in the summer of 2004. He helped Aboumoslem reach the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

final where they lost to Saba Qom on penalties.

Zob Ahan

After two years with Aboumoslem, in July 2006, he signed for Zob Ahan, where he played important matches and led his team to win the

in June 2009. During the summer of 2009, Khalatbari had a trial at

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

, however the manager (

Zvonimir Soldo Zvonimir Soldo (born 2 November 1967) is a Croatian football manager and former player. During his playing career, he mostly played as defensive midfielder. Club career Early career After studying law for six semesters at the University of Zagr ...

) stated that Khalatbari was "''lacking physical strength''" and that "''he might be a problem in Germany''". He returned after his failed trial to become one of the most influential players in league and ACL in the 2009–10 season, where Zob Ahan reached the Champions League final for the first time in club history.

Al-Gharafa

He left Zob Ahan in June 2011 and signed a contract with

Al-Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...

. After an unsuccessful half-season at Al-Gharafa, Khalatbari left the club in the winter transfer window.

Al Ain F.C.

In early 2012, he was moved to Al Ain F.C.; a successful loan from Al Gharafa, he Scored 3 goals in 17 caps for Al Ain F.C.

Sepahan and Ajman

On 10 July 2012, he joined Iranian champion

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi-Varzeši-ye Fulâd-e Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan, is an Iranian sports club based in Isfahan. It is best known for their football section that play in the P ...

. He won the Hazfi Cup with Sepahan and became the league's top assistant player with 13 assists. He was also one of the league's top scorers with 14 league goals. Khalatbari had one of the best years in hs career with 17 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions. At the end of 2012–13 season, he moved to

Ajman Ajman ( '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ''ʿYmān'') is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Loca ...

but the transfer was canceled after the renaming of

UAE Arabian Gulf League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

Persepolis

On 1 September 2013,

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

and Ajman reached an agreement with a fee around $800,000 and he joined Persepolis with a two-year contract. He made his debut in the Tehran derby match against Esteghlal. His first goal came when he scored a penalty kick in a match against Gostaresh Foulad. His six league goals helped Persepolis to a second-place league finish and a berth in the

Asian Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) 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 cl ...

. At the end of season, while he had financial problems with Persepolis, he paid one third of Ajman's debt (fee around $250,000) and skip his debts (fee around 3,400 million Rials). on 15 July 2014, Persepolis released him.

Return to Sepahan

On 15 July 2014, Khalatbari returned to Sepahan, signing a two-year contract.

Club career statistics

*Assists

International career

Khalatbari plays as both winger and

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He's played in the WAFF Championships,

2010 World Cup qualifiers Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

and 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers. He played an important role in securing Iran's spot in the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

under manager

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football manager. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, Colombia, Egypt and Qatar, leading ...

. He was selected in Iran's 30-man provisional squad for the

. However, Khalatbari did not make in the final 23-man squad.

International goals

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

Attributes

Khalatbari is best known for his technical skill and fast pace on the ball, his vision, and his shooting capabilities.

Honours

Club

;Abomooslem *

: 2004–05 (Runner-up) ;Zob Ahan *

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

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

(Runner-up) *

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

: 2008–09 (Runner-up), 2009–10 (Runner-up) *

: 2008–09 ;Al Ain FC *

2012–13 UAE Pro League The 2011–12 UAE Pro League (known as ''Etisalat Pro League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 38th top-level football season in the United Arab Emirates, UAE and the fifth Professional season. The season was contested by 14 teams due to an expa ...

UAE Pro League Winner ;Sepahan *

(1): 2014–15 *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

;Persepolis *

: 2013–14 (Runner-up) ;Foolad *

Iranian Super Cup The Iranian Super Cup (Persian language, 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 ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Country

WAFF Championship The West Asian Football Federation Championship (), or simply WAFF Championship, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the ...

: 2008

Individual

top goal assistant: 2008–09,

References

External links

Mohammad Reza Khalatbari
a
PersianLeague.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalatbari, Mohammad Reza 1983 births People from Ramsar, Mazandaran Footballers from Mazandaran province Living people Mazandarani people 21st-century Iranian sportsmen Men's association football wingers Iranian men's footballers Iran men's international footballers Shamoushak Noshahr F.C. players F.C. Aboomoslem players Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. players Al-Gharafa SC players Al Wasl F.C. players Sepahan S.C. footballers Ajman Club players Persepolis F.C. players Gostaresh Foulad F.C. players Saipa F.C. players Shahr Khodro F.C. players Foolad F.C. players Aluminium Arak F.C. players Persian Gulf Pro League players Qatar Stars League players UAE Pro League players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Iranian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Iranian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates