Naft Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال نفت تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Nuft Teheran'') is an Iranian football club based in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, 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 th ...

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 Turkm ...

. They competed in the

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 ...

. They were owned by the

National Iranian Oil Company The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; fa, شرکت ملّی نفت ایران, Sherkat-e Melli-ye Naft-e Īrān) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum o ...

previously. Naft Tehran was founded in 1950 and played in the

Takhti Stadium Takhti Stadium ( fa, استاديوم تختی, link=no) is the name of several facilities named in honour of Iranian wrestler Gholamreza Takhti: *Takhti Stadium (Abadan) *Takhti Stadium (Ahvaz) *, home ground of Malavan F.C. * Takhti Stadium (Ard ...

until 2018. Naft has finished third place in the

three times and has also won 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 ...

. In 2015, for the first time in the club's history, Naft played in 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 ...

. They defeated Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 to advance to the quarter–finals where they were eliminated by

Al-Ahli Dubai Shabab Al-Ahli Club ( ar, نادي شباب الأهلي) is a Emirati professional association football club based in Dubai, that currently plays in the UAE ADNOC Pro League. Al-Ahli is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE. Al Ahli F ...

. Following the departures of their best players, Naft Tehran were relegated to the second tier in 2017. While the club was dealing with ownership and financial problems, forfeiting two matches in the second tier resulted in their relegation to the 3rd tier of Iranian Football. On October 22, 2018, the minister of sports announced the club's dissolution. Subsequently, players and the staff were released. Since then, Naft Tehran is participating as ''Naft Iranian Tehran'' in League 3.

History

Establishment

On 23 August 1971,

decided on starting a football team. Before 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 ...

the team competed in the

Tehran Football League The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Persian Gulf Pro League (PGL) is the highest level of club football in Iran. ...

for several years. In 2003, the club was competing in the Tehran Local Leagues. In 2005, they were promoted to the 3rd Division. Naft Tehran was competing in Iran's 2nd Division and they turned out to be one of the best teams. In the first round, they had managed to score 36 goals and convecting only 14, they were on top of Iranjavan with 38 points. In the second round, they came out second at the Group B. They were just under Mes Sarcheshmeh with 3 points away and 1 point on top of Esteghlal Jonub Tehran, Naft Tehran after promoted to

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 ...

Promotion to Iran Pro League

After three years of competing in the 2nd Division, Naft was promoted to the

. Naft Tehran started the season well in

and eventually became first in the group tables. Naft Tehran came out with a huge goal difference by conceding the fewest goals, and they were on top of the table by 1 point from

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 ...

They didn't score much as their top scorer Akbar Saghiri scored 7 goals in the league. It was the first time ever that Naft Tehran went to

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 ...

Iran Pro League

Naft Tehran was competing in Iran's 2nd Division and they turned out to be one of the best teams. In the First Round they had managed to score 36 goals and conceding only 14, they were on top of Iranjavan with 38 points. In the Second Round they came out second at the Group B. They were just under Mes Sarcheshmeh with 3 points away and 1 point on top of Esteghlal Jonub Tehran, Naft Tehran after promoted to

. Naft Tehran started the season well in

and eventually became first in the group tables. Naft Tehran came out with a huge goal difference by conceding the fewest goals, and they were on top of the table by one point from

. They didn't score much as their top scorer Akbar Saghiri scored seven goals in the league. It was the first time ever that Naft Tehran went to

Champions League

On the final day of the 2013–14 Iran Pro League season, Naft lead the league and had an opportunity to win the league. However, Naft lost to

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 ...

and dropped to 3rd place, which was still good enough for a spot in the

, the first time in club history the team has reached the international stage. In May 2014 Yahya Golmohammadi announced that he would not be extending his contract with Naft and had signed with Zob Ahan. Shortly after on 31 May, Naft revealed Ali Reza Mansourian as their manager for the 2014–15 season. The club qualified for the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage after a 1–0 win over Qatari club El Jaish in the play-off round. Naft won its first ever Champions League game in a 2–1 victory against Saudi club Al Shabab. On 6 May 2015 the club advanced to the round of 16 of the AFC Champions League. On 15 May 2015, on the final matchday of the league, Naft went in to the final match second and tied on points with

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most comm ...

, whom they played in the final match. Naft drew with Tractor 3–3 and finished third in the league, securing a Champions League play-off spot. In the

final, Naft Tehran was defeated by Zob Ahan.

Hazfi Cup champions

During the 2015–16 season, Naft encountered severe financial issues and could not pay the players and coaching staff. The

decided to sell the club and it was believed that relegated Malavan would buy the clubs rights and remain in the

. However, Behnam Pishro Company bought Naft and the team remained in Tehran. After

Alireza Mansourian Alireza Mansourian ( fa, علیرضا منصوريان; born 2 December 1971) is an Iranian football coach and retired player. Club career Mansourian was born in Tehran. During his career, he played for Singapore S.League clubs: Balestier Khal ...

left the club to become head coach of Esteghlal, the club hired Iranian legend

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 Mun ...

to lead the club. After Daei took over the team in 2016, financial issues in the club continued. Despite this Naft was fighting for an

spot for most of the season. Naft also had success in the

, Daei's team defeated

1–0 to advance to the final against

. In the final

Sajjad Shahbazzadeh Sajjad Shahbazzadeh ( fa, سجاد شهباززاده, born 23 January 1990) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal. Club career Youth clubs As a native of Ardabil, Shahbazzadeh s ...

scored a late winner for Naft as the club won its first major domestic title.

Relegation to 3rd Division and dissolution

After Disturbance in the Club Regarding Ownership Issue, it was declared that Naft Tehran Relegated to 3rd Division and 2018–19 Azadegan League will resume with remaining 17 teams.

Supporters

Before Naft's successful season in the

, the club had only a few supporters who were mostly workers of the

. In 2015 after a third-place finish in the league, reaching the final of the

and advancing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League the club gained some supporters and became the third most popular team in

behind

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 ...

and Esteghlal.

Relegation to 3rd Division

After the Disturbance in the Club Regarding Ownership Issue, it was declared that Naft Tehran Relegated to 3rd Division and 2018–19 Azadegan League will resume with remaining 17 teams.

Season-by-season

The table below comes from ''

List of Naft Tehran F.C. seasons This is a list of seasons played by Naft Tehran Football Club in Iranian and Asian football, from 1973 to the most recent completed season. It details the club's achievements in major competitions, and the top scorers for each season. Top score ...

'' The table below chronicles the achievements of Naft Tehran in various competitions since 2003.

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 13 March 2016 (players in bold signifies current Naft Tehran player). (The stats are from 2009)

Top scorers

Top scorers by season

Clean sheets by season

AFC Champions League record

AFC record

Top goalscorers in AFC Champions League

Honours

:Third Place (2): 2013–14, 2014–15 *

:Winner (1): 2016–17 :Runners-up (1): 2014–15 * Iranian Super Cup :Runners-up (1):

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

:Winner (1): 2009–10 * 2nd Division :Winner (1): 2008–09 * 3rd Division :Winner (1): 2005–06 *

Tehran Province League Tehran Provincial League, formerly known as Tehran Clubs Championship, is the premier football league of Tehran Province and is 5th in the Iranian football pyramid after the 3rd Division. It is part of AFC's Vision Asia program. Stablished in 19 ...

:Winner (1): 2004–05

References

External links

Official Website
{{Football in Iran Football clubs in Tehran Association football clubs established in 1950 1950 establishments in Iran