Learn more about Esteghlal Ahvaz
Esteghlal Ahvaz (استقلال اهواز in Persian), is a football team based in Ahvaz, Khouzestan, Iran. They play in Iran's top football league, the IPL.
They are one of few privately owned and operated teams in Iranian football. The club also has close contacts with the more famous Esteghlal team, Esteghlal Tehran.
[edit] Club history
The club was founded in 1948 with the help of Hakim Shoushtari. The club was one of Taj Tehran's branches at the time, and was called Taj Ahvaz. Right from the beginning the club was able to attract some of the better Khouzestan players. In 1973 the team was promoted to the Takhte Jamshid Cup, but league rules allowed for only one team of the same name to participate, therefore Taj Tehran, remained in the league, and Taj Ahvaz was forced to stay in the lower leagues.
After the Iranian revolution, Taj Ahvaz changed its name to Esteghlal Ahvaz. The Iran-Iraq War hit Ahvaz and Khouzestan hard, and very little attention was paid to the team at that time. Finally in 1991 the team was promoted to the Azadegan League and was allowed to participate, despite two teams having the same name. In 1997, the club was relegated, but returned to the IPL in 2002. The club gained a lot of buzz during its initial and second season in the IPL, because of the amount of money they spent, thanks to club chairman, Shafeizadeh. The club became known as Iran's Chelsea after that.
[edit] 2006-2007 squad
The numbers are established according to Iranian Pro League Stats and FootballRoad.com
As of September 4 2006
[edit] Squad changes during 2006/07 season
In:
Out:
[edit] Famous players
[edit] External links
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