Mehrdad Minavand

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Mehrdad Minavand
Mehrdad Minavand 139410121224417216831434.jpg
Mehrdad Minavand (2015)
Personalia
birthday November 30, 1975
place of birth Tehran ,  Iran
date of death January 27, 2021
Place of death Tehran ,  Iran
size 178 cm
position Midfielder and winger
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1994-1995 PAS Tehran FC
1995-1998 FC Persepolis 89 (13)
1998-2001 SK Sturm Graz 67 0(1)
2001-2002 Sporting Charleroi 2 0(0)
2002 al Shabab (UAE)
2002-2004 FC Persepolis 19 0(0)
2004-2005 Sepahan FC 19 0(0)
2005-2006 Rah Ahan 0 0(0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1996-2003 Iran 68 0(4)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
2009 Persepolis B
2014-2015 Khoneh Be Khoneh (Co-Tr.)
2016 Khoneh Be Khoneh (Co-Tr.)
2018 Sepidrood Rasht (Co-Tr.)
1 Only league games are given.

Mehrdad Minavand ( Persian مهرداد میناوند; * November 30, 1975 in Tehran ; † January 27, 2021 ibid) was an Iranian football player who was mainly used in the position of midfielder or winger , but could also be used as a left-back. The 67-time Iranian national player won the Iranian championship twice with FC Persepolis and was Austrian champion , cup winner and Supercup winner with Austrian Bundesliga club SK Sturm Graz .

After the end of his active career, he worked temporarily as a football coach in his home country and appeared successfully as a singer.

Club career

Champion title with Persepolis

Mehrdad Minavand was born on November 30, 1975 in Tehran and started his football career here. At the age of 18, he made his first professional appearances for the capital club PAS Tehran , which in the previous season was fifth in the rather tightly staggered final table and had again won the championship title in the two years before. Within the capital, he moved to FC Persepolis in 1995 , which at that time was just on the move. Right from the start Minavand acted as a regular player for the team and was used in the 1995/96 season in all 30 championship games of his team, where he contributed four goals. In the end, the team won the Iranian championship by six points over the runner-up, Bahman FC - tied with third-placed city rival Esteghlal . For the club it was after 1971/72, 1973/74 and 1975/76 the fourth championship title in a nationwide championship in the club's history since 1963.

In the subsequent Asian Club Championship , in which Minavand and his team participated because of the championship title, Persepolis moved into the group stage quarter-finals after victories over Köpetdag Aşgabat from Turkmenistan in round 1, Spartak Semei from Kazakhstan in round. After winning the group there, Minavand's team was eliminated from the eventual tournament winners, the Pohang Steelers from South Korea , in the semifinals and was able to secure a podium place in the game for third place. Furthermore, in April 1996, Minavand made it into the Iranian national soccer team for the first time, in which it became a regular at the end of the year.

As in the previous season, the left foot was used in all league games of his team in the 1996/97 season and scored five goals. In the final standings, he and Persepolis were again six points ahead of Bahman FC in first place in the table, which meant the second championship title in a row. In the subsequent Asian Club Championship 1997/98 , the 1.78 m tall winger and his team fared similarly to the previous tournament. After another group victory in the quarterfinals, Persepolis was defeated in the semifinals this time by the Dalian Wanda club from China and also lost the game for third place significantly against the al-Hilal club from Saudi Arabia . In the 1997/98 season, Persepolis FC withdrew during the current season from playing in the highest Iranian football league. The reason given was the international obligations of its players - Persepolis was the only Iranian representative in the Asian Club Championship and at that time had numerous active national players in the squad. According to the various statistics sites on the Internet, including national-football-teams.com , Minavand was used in all 28 league games and scored four goals.

Change to Sturm Graz and the beginning of the success story

Within a very short time, Minavand had become a strong national player; for example, by the start of the 1998 World Cup in France, he had already booked 29 international matches. At the World Cup, he played for the full 90 minutes on the left wing in all three Iranian group games, but failed to advance in the tournament with his home country due to a third place in the group. At this World Cup finals, the Austrian national team also played five players from the reigning champions SK Sturm Graz . Hannes Kartnig , then president of this SK Sturm, had set himself the goal of signing World Cup players for the coming season. In addition to Didier Angibeaud from Cameroon, who was already badly hit at the time , the 22-year-old Mehrdad Minavand was also promoted to the highest Austrian football league, where he signed a three-year contract with the Grazers . The rumored transfer fee for the Iranian was the equivalent of around 15 million schillings , making him one of the most expensive players in the club history of the reigning football champions. His salary for those three years was rumored to be the equivalent of two million dollars , making him one of the highest paid Iranian players of his time. Minavand Kartnig, who was on a multi-month trip to South America during this time , was offered by a German lawyer. The then manager and Vice President of FC Tirol , Robert Hochstaffl, took over the telephone negotiations . Even the Karlsruher SC and LASK however, were on the midfielder off failed in the negotiations.

His competitive debut took place on July 24, 1998, when the Graz team won the ÖFB Supercup with a clear 4-0 victory over SV Ried , where he was substituted on for Hannes Reinmayr . Minavand made his debut in the Austrian Bundesliga in the third round (August 4) when he was brought into play by coach Ivica Osim in the 71st minute for Mario Haas in a 3-0 home win over SC Austria Lustenau . In the period that followed, Minavand's missions were largely absent. In the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League without playing on the bench, Minavand came on for Didier Angibeaud in the second leg against Újpest Budapest from the 76th minute. After that, the “golden Champions League era” began for SK Sturm, in which Minavand was also partly involved. In his first Champions League appearance, the away game against Inter Milan , however, it was a mistake by the recently substituted Minavand that led to the Graz team's narrow 1-0 defeat. After that, he was only used in the Champions League in the clear 1: 5 home defeat against Real Madrid for the full 90 minutes and retired with the team with a single point as the last of Group C from the current tournament.

In the league, he mostly played the role of reservist and was often only sent into the race as a wild card by Osim. In the 5-0 runaway win in the Grazer Derby against the Grazer AK on November 6, 1998, which was also the highest derby win since 1946, Minavand was the only time this season in the league for the full 90 minutes on the field. In the end he managed to win the championship title again in the Austrian Bundesliga with the Grazers three points ahead of SK Rapid Wien . He himself had made 17 league appearances. He had to storm in the final of a few days before ÖFB Cup 1998/99 to LASK in the penalty shoot-out with 5: defeated third In the course of the ÖFB Cup, the Iranian served as a regular, was used in all remaining games for the full duration of the game except for the quarter-final against the GAK and was also able to score two goals. Noteworthy here was his goal to lead the 2-0 lead in the 5-0 victory over SV Ried in the Cup semi-finals, which he scored in the seventh minute with a shot from the center line. He was also in action when Sturm narrowly won the ÖFB Supercup and thus the triple against LASK on June 25, 1999 .

Other Champions League appearances and runner-up titles

In the 1999/2000 season , Minavand, known in Graz for his white football boots and his banana flanks, which were not always successful after successful dribbling, could hardly break away from his reserve role - the competition in his traditional position within the team was too strong. Only in four of the last five championship games until the winter break did Osim make him appear as a regular, after which he had to resume his reserve role in spring 2000. In the successful qualification for the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League and in the competition itself, the 1.78 m tall left foot also only played a subordinate role. During his short time as a regular player in autumn 1999, he made two appearances in the Champions League - in the 3-2 win over Olympique Marseille he was replaced by Georg Bardel from the 76th minute of the game and in the narrow 1: 2- He played through defeat away to Manchester United . After being eliminated from the Champions League, Sturm had the opportunity to take part in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup from the third round on, finishing third in Group D. There, too, Minavand acted as a regular and was on the pitch for the full length of the game both in the first leg and in the scandalous second leg against AC Parma . In the league it brought the midfielder, who was often used further back during this time, but mainly played on the wing to at least 23 championship appearances, where he again remained goalless. In the 1999/2000 ÖFB Cup , he and the team came to an abrupt end in the second round against the regional league team ASKÖ Pasching - until then he had played in both of his team's cup games for the entire duration of the game.

With the Grazers, whose budget had increased almost twentyfold within a few years and whose professional squad now consisted of 30 men, "Mini" or "Mina", as it was called in Graz, was able to establish itself more and more as a regular from the 2000/01 season . After victories over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the second and Feyenoord Rotterdam in the third qualifying round for the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League , Sturm Graz made it into the Champions League for the third time in a row, something that no other Austrian team has done to date (as of 2021) succeeded. On July 26, 2000, he made history when he was the first player in more than 20 years to defy the ban of the mullah and to play against an Israeli team (Hapoel Tel Aviv) (see Middle East conflict ). However, Minavand's risky approach was not punished by the Iranian government. According to his own statement, the decision whether he should play or not should have been left to him. Minavand was unable to contest the second leg against the Israelis that took place a week later; as an Iranian citizen, he was denied entry to Israel. During this time, often in defensive midfield and on the wings, Minavand was a permanent member of the Sturm team, which was so internationally successful this season.

While he defeated teams like Galatasaray Istanbul , Glasgow Rangers or AS Monaco in the first group stage with the black and whites and qualified as group winners for the second group stage in the end , he and the team in the league were slipping more and more into a crisis. In the autumn of 2000, Sturm even ranked eighth in the table for several weeks and then slowly made its way to the top positions in the league. During this time Minavand also scored his only goal for the Graz team; he achieved this on October 28, 2000 in a 4-2 home win over Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz , when he scored a 1-0 lead in the second minute of the game. Ivica Osim also relied on the now 25-year-old Iranian in the second Champions League group stage. After defeats against FC Valencia and Manchester United, the two victories over Panathinaikos Athens , in whose second leg Minavand also made an assist, did not help them advance in the competition. As third in group A , he retired from the premier class with Sturm Graz. At the end of the season, he and his team only reached fourth place in the table and thus missed qualification for an international starting position for the first time since 1994. He himself made 27 out of 36 possible league appearances. In the ÖFB-Pokal 2000/01 it was also less successful for the Graz team. In the quarterfinals, the team lost to SK Rapid Wien on penalties - Minavand had made two appearances in this competition.

Flying visit to Belgium and the United Arab Emirates

A long transfer list announced by Sturm President Hannes Kartnig also fell victim to Minavand. At that time, Kartnig made the disparaging statement to Minavand, “If a Persian, then a carpet ” to the media . For the Iranians, it then went to a six-month Vereinslosigkeit in winter 2001/02 by Belgium to the highest Belgian football league playing Sporting Charleroi . Before that, he was courted by clubs like 1860 Munich or Werder Bremen during his time with Sturm , but decided to stay in Graz. In a 3: 3 away draw against KVC Westerlo he was used on February 10, 2002 by coach Enzo Scifo for the first time in the league; here he came into play from minute 58 for Serjio Rojas . In the weeks that followed, Minavands, who mostly sat on the bench, missed out on. Only one round before the end he was used on April 27 in a 3-1 home defeat against Lommel SK in the starting line-up, where he played on the defensive alongside the then 20-year-old Burkinabe international Mahamoudou Kéré and from the 70. Minute was replaced by the Serbian Branko Milovanović . In the final ranking in twelfth place, Minavand's adventure in Belgium was over after just a few weeks. Instead, he moved to the United Arab Emirates for a few months , where he was staying at the Dubai club al Shabab . He left the club, which was mostly in the back of the table at that time, for home - Persepolis had announced his new commitment.

Return to Iran and career end there

Back home, Minavand found it difficult to gain a foothold at Persepolis - partly due to injury. In the league he was used in eight games and ranked with the team in the end with eight points behind Sepahan FC in third place in the table. The following 2003/04 season went similarly for him, in which he was only on the field in eleven championship games and finished the season with the team in fifth place. A club change that had been emerging for a long time led to Sepahan FC in summer 2004, who finished the 2003/04 season tied with Persepolis, but qualified for the 2005 AFC Champions League via the Hazfi Cup . In the group stage of the Champions League he failed with the team in Group B against al Ain from the United Arab Emirates . In the league, Minavand had made 19 appearances and ended the season with Sepahan in tenth place in the table. After only one season in Isfahan , Minavand joined another club change; this led him back to his hometown to play the Rah Ahan club . Nothing is known about Minavand's stakes for the capital club. At the age of 30, he ended his active career and concentrated more on his business career, which he had now embarked on.

National team career

First successes at the 1996 Asian Cup

Under coach Mohammad Mayeli Kohan , the then 20-year-old made it to the Iranian senior team in April 1996 and made his debut in the national dress on April 28, 1996 in a friendly game against Turkmenistan when he lost 1-0 in a friendly match played on and was replaced from the 50th minute by Reza Shahroudi . Mayeli Kohan, who had previously coached the Iranian national futsal team, only brought him back into the national squad seven months later to prepare for the 1996 Asian Cup . After another friendly against Turkmenistan at the end of November 1996, he took part in the aforementioned Asian Cup in December as part of the 20-strong Iranian squad. During the qualification phase of the tournament , when Iran made six international matches within eleven days in June 1996, he was not used. In the 2-1 defeat against Iraq in the first group game of the tournament, Minavand acted as a regular in the two following group games against Thailand and Saudi Arabia , with his first goal in the 3-1 win over Thailand succeeded in the national team. In the tightly staggered group B , he made it to the knockout phase with his home country . There the Iranians clearly defeated South Korea 6-2 and advanced to the semi-finals against Saudi Arabia. Again, Minavand acted as a regular player for the full 90 minutes; the game was only lost 3: 4 on penalties. In the subsequent game for 3rd place against Kuwait - Minavand played from the start and was replaced by team captain Mojtaba Moharrami from the 86th minute - Iran beat the Kuwait 3-2 on penalties. In the end he made it into the “team of the tournament” as a midfielder.

Successful World Cup qualification with Iran

From then on Minavand was celebrated as one of the heroes of the Asian Cup and had a regular place in the team even after the tournament. In April 1997 he was used in two friendly international matches against Kenya and China in preparation for qualifying for the 1998 World Cup , and in June 1997 he played five of the six World Cup qualifiers in his home country. In the historic 17-0 victory over the Maldives , which was the highest victory in the history of the Iranian national team until the 19-0 victory over Guam on the occasion of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup around three and a half years later, as well as in the 7-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan could tax Minavand one hit at a time. As the superior first place in Group 2 , the team made it into the second qualifying round . After two more friendly games in August and September 1997, Minavand joined Iran in the second qualifying round. Mayeli Kohan bet on the 21-year-old midfielder in six of the eight games; Iran ended up in second place in Group A, two points behind Saudi Arabia.

Since Mayeli Kohan had not achieved the set goal of directly qualifying for the World Cup, he was given leave of absence with immediate effect after the second qualifying round and replaced by the Brazilian Valdeir Vieira as an interim solution . Vieira then used him in the relegation game against Japan ; however, the game was lost 3-2 in extra time. Now fourth in the Asian World Cup qualification - Saudi Arabia and South Korea had qualified as group winners and Japan as winners in the relegation match against Iran for the World Cup finals - Iran played two play-off games against Oceania without Minavand's participation - Winner, the Australian national team . After a 1-1 draw in the first leg in the Azadi Stadium , which was sold out with 100,000 visitors , Iran managed to qualify for the World Cup after a 2-2 draw in the second leg only because of the away goals rule ; by the 75th minute of the game, Australia had led 2-0. After the first successful World Cup qualification in 20 years, there was another coaching change and interim coach Viera was replaced by the experienced Croat Tomislav Ivić . Ivić continued to use Minavand as a regular player; so among other things in two friendly matches against Nigeria and Chile in January 1998, as well as in three friendly international matches against Kuwait, Hungary and Jamaica in April 1998. In the last preparatory game for the World Cup, a 0-2 defeat against Croatia , Minavand came on 3. June under the new trainer, Jalal Talebi , and then started with his home country on June 21st in the World Cup in France .

Participation in the World Cup in 1998 and Winner of West Asia in 2000

At the World Cup finals, where Ivić's handwriting was still clearly visible, the 22-year-old midfielder played as a winger in the first group match against BR Yugoslavia for the entire duration of the game. In the historic and explosive duel against the United States , which ended in a 2-1 win for the Iranians and thus Team Melli's first victory at a world championship, Minavand was considered one of the best players on the field. In the last group game against Germany , Minavand played the entire match on the wing again and retired from Group F with his home country with three points, whereupon he moved to his first club in Europe, SK Sturm Graz, just a few weeks later. In October 1998 he made a friendly match against Kuwait, missed Iran's victory at the Asian Games in 1998 and in the following year was only in a total of three international matches (against Ecuador , Canada and Guatemala ) for the Iranian national team, which at the time was played by Mansour Pourheidari has been trained.

Again under the World Cup coach Jalal Talebi, Minavand took part in May and June 2000 with his home country in the first West Asian Cup in Jordan . He was used by Talebi in all three games of Iran in Group A and was also in action in the 1-0 victory in the semi-finals against the hosts , as well as in the 1-0 victory over Syria in the subsequent final game. Just a few days after this historic success, Minavand was already taking part in a series of friendly games (against Egypt and Macedonia ) for his home country on the occasion of the LG Cup national tournament. On September 1, 2000, he was in action from the start in the first and so far only (as of 2021) international match against Austria , a 1: 5 defeat. He had only left SK Sturm Graz a few weeks earlier, but met some former team-mates like Markus Schopp , Tomislav Kocijan or Günther Neukirchner .

Participation in the Asian Cup 2000 and unsuccessful World Cup qualification

In the same year he took part in the Asian Cup 2000 under Jalal Talebi . After the successful group stage against Lebanon , Thailand and Iraq, when the 1.78 m tall winger was used in all three games, he and the team were defeated in the quarter-finals by the South Koreans who, due to a golden goal by Lee Dong-gook in the 99th minute passed. Then it took until the summer of 2001 before Minavand was back in the Iranian national soccer team. On July 22nd - Iran had meanwhile sacked the new coach Ademar da Silva Braga and had been coached by Miroslav Blažević since the end of April - Minavand played in a friendly against his coach's native Bosnia and Herzegovina . Until the start of the second round of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup at the end of August 2001, the midfielder was placed in four further preparation games.

In the qualification itself he continued to function as a regular player, played seven of the eight group games in his home country, playing through six in full and being substituted in one just a few minutes before the end. Two points behind Saudi Arabia, he ranked second with Iran in Group A of the Asian World Cup qualifiers and then played in a play-off against the United Arab Emirates' national soccer team . Here he completed both the first leg and the second leg, in which he again scored the fourth and last international goal in his career. With the Iranians he then had to contest another play-off against Ireland , the second in Group 2 of the European qualification . Here he played through in both games again, but in the end just couldn't prevail against the Irish. A 1-0 win in the second leg was not enough for a successful World Cup qualification after a 0-2 defeat in the first leg. After the departure of Blažević as Iranian national coach, he was used in four friendly international matches under his successor Branko Ivanković . It was not enough for Minavand to take part in the Asian Games in 2002 ; A month before that, he made his 68th and last international match for Team Melli in a 1-0 win over Ukraine . On the occasion of the Lunar New Year Cup 2003 in Hong Kong , he belonged to one of the Iranian national teams trained by Homayoun Shahrokhi in early 2003, but was not used in the course of the tournament.

Time after professional career

After the end of his career, he embarked on a professional career as a singer, was very successful for a while and made it into the Iranian charts. In the western media, he was mostly referred to as an Iranian pop star. He also owned a perfume shop in the 2000s, worked as a television presenter and at times also worked as a soccer coach. Among other things, he coached the Persepolis B team in 2009 and acted as assistant coach of the Khoneh Be Khoneh club from 2014 to 2015 , where he also worked briefly as an assistant coach in 2016. In 2018 he worked as an assistant coach at Sepidrood Rasht .

After Minavand was admitted to Laleh Hospital in Tehran on January 21, 2021 due to a COVID-19 illness , he died six days later at the age of 45 from the effects of the disease. In 2014, he had survived another serious illness. The Islamic burial took place the day after his death in the Behescht-e Zahra , the central cemetery of Tehran.

At the time of his death, he was an assistant coach in the Iranian second division. He was also very active on social media; when he died, his Instagram account had almost 1.5 million subscribers.

successes

with FC Persepolis
with SK Sturm Graz
with the Iranian national team
  • Third place at the Asian Cup : 1996
  • Election to the “Team of the Tournament” at the Asian Cup: 1996
  • Qualification for and participation in the World Cup : 1998
  • Fourth place in the Asian Cup: 2000
  • West Asian Championship winner : 2000

Web links

Commons : Mehrdad Minavand  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b We are storm! , P. 342
  2. ↑ a b c d e rest in peace, Mehrdad Minavand (1975-2021) , accessed January 28, 2021
  3. ↑ World: Middle East - Iranian international footballer joins Austrian club (English), accessed on January 29, 2021
  4. ↑ Sturm Graz legend Mehrdad Minavand died at the age of 45 , accessed on January 28, 2021
  5. ↑ THE “PARMA-TOR” CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY , accessed on January 28, 2021
  6. ↑ We are storm! , P. 366
  7. ↑ a b c d Punished for playing , accessed January 28, 2021
  8. ↑ a b We are storm! , Pp. 366-371
  9. ↑ We are storm! , P. 372
  10. ↑ After the league bankruptcy, the storm is under construction , accessed on January 29, 2021
  11. ↑ Kartnig's statements concern the Grazer Landtag , accessed on January 29, 2021
  12. ↑ كأس آسيا 1996 .. عندما انتزع المنتخب السعودي اللقب من الإمارات صاحب الأرض (Arabic), accessed January 29, 2021
  13. ↑ Popovic: The careers of his storm companions , accessed on January 29, 2021
  14. ↑ Football icons wish Minavand a speedy recovery in his battle with COVID-19 , accessed January 27, 2021
  15. ↑ Former Iran and Persepolis midfielder Minavand this (English), accessed on January 27, 2021
  16. ↑ STURM MORRES AT MEHRDAD MINAVAND , accessed on January 29, 2021
  17. ^ Funeral of prominent footballer Mehrdad Minavand , accessed January 28, 2021
  18. ↑ جدیدترین خبر از مراسم تشییع مهرداد میناوند + جزئیات (Arabic), accessed January 30, 2021
  19. ↑ Ex-Charleroi-speler Minavand is op 45-jarige leeftijd overleden aan coronavirus (Dutch), accessed on January 27, 2021
personal data
SURNAME Minavand, Mehrdad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES مهرداد میناوند (Persian); Mini (nickname); Mina (nickname)
SHORT DESCRIPTION Iranian soccer player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Tehran , Iran
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 2021
Place of death Tehran , Iran