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Shojae Khalilzadeh

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Shoja Khalilzadeh
Khalilzadeh in Persepolis training in 2018
Personal information
Full name Shojae Khalilzadeh[1]
Date of birth (1989-05-14) 14 May 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Bahnemir, Mazandaran, Iran[2]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Tractor
Number 3
Youth career
2005–2007 Shahrdari Amirkola
2007–2008 Khoshnoush Sari
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Mes Rafsanjan 42 (1)
2010–2013 Mes Kerman 74 (2)
2013–2017 Sepahan 58 (0)
2015–2016 → Tractor (loan) 22 (2)
2017–2020 Persepolis 75 (6)
2020–2022 Al-Rayyan 34 (4)
2022–2023 Al Ahli 18 (0)
2023– Tractor 26 (3)
International career‡
2007–2009 Iran U20
2009–2011 Iran U23 5 (0)
2009– Iran 42 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2024

Shojae Khalilzadeh (Persian: شجاع خلیل‌زاده; born 14 May 1989) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Persian Gulf Pro League club Tractor and Iran national team. He is known for his pace, artistic tackles and positional sense.[3]

Khalilzadeh starting his career in Kerman where he moved to two clubs, first joining Mes Rafsanjan and then signing with Mes Kerman in 2010. His performance earned him a transfer to Sepahan Isfahan in 2013 and spent four years with Talaei Pooshan, which included a successful loan spell with Tractor in Tabriz. In May 2017, Khalilzadeh joined Persepolis side that he helped turn into one of the strongest on the continent, before joining Qatari side Al-Rayyan in October 2020.[4][5]

Club career

Early years in Mazandaran

At the age of 16, Khalilzadeh started playing football with local youth teams for three years.[6][7][8]

Mes Rafsanjan and Kerman

Khalilzadeh began his professional career with Mes Rafsanjan in 2008. He spent two seasons at Mes Rafsanjan in Azadegan League.[9] In late June 2010, Khalilzadeh joined Iran Pro League side Mes Kerman.[10] He made a debut for the club under coach Samad Marfavi in the league 2010–11 season. In his second season, under Croatian coach Miroslav Blažević, he reached with the team the semi-finals of the 2011–12 Hazfi Cup.[11] In June 2012, Khalilzadeh extended his contract for a third season a worth R800m. His performance did not go unnoticed, as Esteghlal, Persepolis and Sepahan teams showed interest in signing of the defender.[12]

Sepahan and Tractor

In late June 2013, Khalilzadeh was presented as a player of Isfahani club Sepahan on a four-year contract.[13] In his first season, under Croatian coach Zlatko Kranjčar, he formed a partnership in the heart of the Sepahan defensive with the captain Hadi Aghily.[14][15] He helped the team to won of the 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League.

Khalilzadeh was loaned to Tractor to complete his mandatory military service.[16] He was one of the best players under coach Amir Ghalenoei, the club reached the top of their group at the 2016 AFC Champions League, outperforming the Saudi giant Al-Hilal. He returned to Sepahan at the end of the loan spell in July 2016.[17]

Sepahan coach Abdollah Veisi talking about efforts to move Khalilzadeh to Persepolis in the 2016–17 season.[18]

"As long as Shojae is in our team, even if [Gerard Piqué] comes to our team, I will play Shojae. I advise Persepolis not to follow Shojae, because if he is with a stick, I will send him to the field."[16][19]

Persepolis

Khalilzadeh celebrates scoring for the Reds, 2018[20]

On 6 May 2017, it was confirmed that Khalilzadeh would join the Persian Gulf Pro League champions Persepolis on a two-year contract to play under Croatian coach Branko Ivanković.[5] In his debut match in the league, he scored his first goal against Foolad Khuzestan.[21] He scored his second goal for Persepolis in the 2017 AFC Champions League quarter-finals match against Al Ahli. Persepolis reached the semi-final for the first time in its history before FIFA imposed sanctions on the team's top scorer and the club.[22] In his first season with the red half of Tehran, Persepolis, Khalilzadeh played 41 games and scored five goals.

The following year was the most successful in Persepolis history against all odds, the Reds finished runner-up in the 2018 AFC Champions League. Khalilzadeh was selected in two squads "Team of the Season" for his performance in the tournament.[23][24][25]

Persepolis was scoreless with Al Ahli on Matchday Three 2019 AFC Champions League, when Khalilzadeh showed superb agility to adjust his body and acrobatically bicycle kick home the opening goal, which was named as the best goal of the 2019 AFC Champions League by the fans.[26][27] He scored two goals in the competition but his team were eliminated of the group stage.

"During these years, I never neglected Persepolis, which has always been my love, and despite numerous injuries, I entered the field with all my strength, so that I could repay a part of love to the fans."

–Khalilzadeh Speaking to the fans after his move, October 2020.[28][29][30]

In the 2020 AFC Champions League, the last tournament before increasing the number of clubs to 40 teams, Khalilzadeh’s goal in the final minutes of the Al Taawoun match was a leap for the team after a faltering start in the tournament. In the Round of 16 against Al-Sadd, the role and interventions of Khalilzadeh in the game were more influential, before Persepolis scored the winning goal in the 89th minute.[31][32] He was also "Player of the Week" at the AFC Champions League semi-final following his performance in his last match with the team against Al Nassr and help Persepolis to reach the final,[33] where the east champion was determined on 13 December.

Khalilzadeh played a great role in winning three titles in the Iran Pro League and helped Persepolis to reach AFC Champions League final twice in three years.[4][34][35][36] Since 2018, Khalilzadeh has been linked with a move to the Qatar Stars League and the Chinese Super League.[30][29][37] At the age of 31, before the start of the 2020–21 season, after not reaching an agreement to renew his contract,[38] he moved to Qatar. Khalilzadeh was reportedly chosen as one of the candidates for the 2020 Asian Footballer of the Year award before the award was confirmed to be cancelled in late December.[39][40]

Al-Rayyan

On 25 October 2020, Al-Rayyan announced on the last day of the summer transfer window the signing of Khalilzadeh on a two-year contract a worth $700,000.[41][42] It was his first career stop outside of his home country and became the second Iranian to play for Al-Rayyan since 1980s, after his former coach Ghasempour.[43] Under the coach Aguirre, he played a central defender, and Mercado moved to the right-back in the following games. He scored his first goal with a side volley shot in a 2–1 victory against Qatar SC on 12 January 2021.[44] The following week, Khalilzadeh scored his second goal with a counter-attack in a 3–0 win against Al-Wakrah.[45] As a defender and deep-lying playmaker behind the midfield,[46] he played 26 games and scored three goals. Al-Rayyan finished third in the league. In late October 2021, Khalilzadeh extended his contract with the club until 2023.[47][48]

International career

Khalilzadeh was invited to Iran national team in 2012 by Carlos Queiroz. He made his debut for the Team Melli in a 6–1 victory against Tajikistan national team.[49]

After seven years of notable absence from the international side, during the time of Queiroz and Marc Wilmots,[50][51] Khalilzadeh was call-up by new coach Dragan Skočić in 2020 for a friendlies against Uzbekistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina,[52] and to help in a difficult situation, after the failure in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and two consecutive defeats from Bahrain and Iraq in the second round of qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[53][54][55] The Team Melli finished top of the group stage, where they won all of his remaining four matches to qualify to 2023 AFC Asian Cup and the final round of the World Cup.[56][51]

Style of play

Khalilzadeh with a striker Baghdad Bounedjah during a 2018 ACL.[57]

Regarded as one of the most reliable a defenders in the AFC Champions League in high-pressure situations.[58][59][4][35][36][60] He is known for his awareness, carrying the ball forward and also showed some impressive offensive ability.[46][61][62][63][24][64] He is highly regarded by the fans and coaches for his on-the-pitch bravery.[65][66] Khalilzadeh is the preferred defender for most coaches, especially the Croats Miroslav Blažević, Zlatko Kranjčar, Branko Ivanković and Dragan Skočić.[11][18][66][67][68][16]

Personal life

Khalilzadeh was born in the small village of Gālesh Kolā in Bahnemir District, Babolsar County, Mazandaran Province, to a family working in agriculture and fish farming on the Caspian Sea.[6][12][69]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 June 2024[2][70][71]
Club Season League Cup[a] Asia Other[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Mes Rafsanjan Division 1 2008–09 20 0 4 0 — — 24 0
2009–10 22 1 3 0 — — 25 1
Total 42 1 7 0 — — 49 1
Mes Kerman Pro League 2010–11 23 0 1 0 — — 24 0
2011–12 27 2 3 0 — — 30 2
2012–13 24 0 1 0 — — 25 0
Total 74 2 5 0 — — 79 2
Sepahan Pro League 2013–14 26 0 1 0 6 0 — 33 0
2014–15 9 0 0 0 — — 9 0
Tractor (loan) 2015–16 22 2 3 0 7 1 — 32 3
Sepahan 2016–17 23 0 4 0 — — 27 0
Total 80 2 8 0 13 1 — 101 3
Persepolis Pro League 2017–18 26 3 3 1 11 1 1 0 41 5
2018–19 27 2 4 0 11 2 — 42 4
2019–20 22 1 3 0 9 2 — 34 3
Total 75 6 10 1 31 5 1 0 117 12
Al-Rayyan Stars League 2020–21 13 2 4 0 6 1 3 0 26 3
2021–22 21 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 23 2
Total 34 4 6 0 6 1 3 0 49 5
Al Ahli Qatar Stars League 2022–23 18 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
Tractor Persian Gulf Pro League 2023–24 26 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 29 2
Career total 349 17 42 1 51 7 4 0 446 25
  1. ^ Includes Hazfi Cup and Emir Cup.
  2. ^ Includes Super Cup, Qatar Cup and Qatari Stars Cup.

International

As of 11 June 2024[72][71]
National team Year Apps Goals
Iran
2009 1 0
2012 6 0
2013 1 0
2014 0 0
2020 2 0
2021 11 1
2022 4 0
2023 7 0
2024 10 1
Total 42 2
Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.[71]
List of international goals scored by Shojae Khalilzadeh
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 June 2021 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain  Cambodia 2–0 10–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 14 January 2024 Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Palestine 2–0 4–1 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

Persepolis trophy celebrations, 2018–19 Persian Gulf Pro League.

Sepahan[2]

Persepolis[2]

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: IR Iran (IRN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Shojae Khalilzadeh at Soccerway
  3. ^ Shoja Khalilzadeh at SofaScore
  4. ^ a b c "2021 AFC Champions League (West) Matchday 2: 5 Things To Look Out For". AFC. 17 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Shoja Khalilzadeh joins Persepolis football team". Tehran Times. 6 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b "شجاع خلیل زاده سوپر استار جدید فوتبال ایران" (in Persian). امیرکلا شهر من. 19 April 2013.
  7. ^ Shojae Khalilzadeh with Ahmad Mehdizadeh in 2007
  8. ^ His coach Mohammad Ghorbanian and his friend the player Ahmad Mehdizadeh
  9. ^ "Shojae Khalilzadeh – Mes Rafsanjan". Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
  10. ^ Khalilzadeh joined Mes Kerman. 29 June 2010.
  11. ^ a b "خلیل زاده:عذاب کشیدم اما برنده شدیم". Goal. 20 December 2011. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013.
  12. ^ a b "این روزها همه مشتری شجاع خلیل زاده ، بازیکن سابق مس رفسنجان شده اند!" (in Persian). 28 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  13. ^ "شجاع خلیل‌زاده به سپاهان پیوست/ مدافع سابق مس در راه اصفهان" (in Persian). 25 June 2013.
  14. ^ "شجاع خلیل زاده : بدان و درک کن که هميشه در قلب هواداران فوتبال ايران وخصوصا سپاهاني‌ها خواهي ماند".
  15. ^ Khalilzadeh with his teammates in Sepahan
  16. ^ a b c "Shojae Khalilzadeh with Sepahan" (in Persian). 22 May 2019
  17. ^ "قرارداد شجاع خلیل‌زاده با سپاهان بالاخره نهایی شد" (in Persian).
  18. ^ a b 2 سالی دنبال خریدش بود و بالاخره هم توانست او را جذب كند.
  19. ^ ویسی، خلیل‌زاده را سه‌ قفله کرد
  20. ^ من لوگوی پرسپولیس را با دلم بوسیدم و همه چیزم را مدیون آن هستم اما مرا از پرسپولیس بیرون کردند
    "تقدیم به شجاع خلیل زاده (با غيرت وبا تعصب) بهترین مدافع فوتبال آسیا". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via Youtube.
  21. ^ "Shoja Khalilzadeh's Goal (Persepolis-Foolad)". Aparat. 27 July 2017.
  22. ^ "Iran's Mehdi Taremi banned for four months by FIFA". Tehran Times. 23 September 2017.
  23. ^ a b "The Best ACL2018 XI announced!". Archived from the original on 23 April 2021.
  24. ^ a b c "Best 2018 AFC Champions League Team: Defenders". AFC.
  25. ^ شجاع خلیل‌زاده: باید ژاوی را می‌زدم
  26. ^ "best goal of the ACL 2019 group stage". AFC. 30 May 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Khalilzadeh voted best goal of AFC Champions League 2019". AFC. 9 December 2019.
  28. ^ "Khalilzadeh Profile". Instagram. 25 October 2020
  29. ^ a b "مصاحبه تند و توفانی شجاع علیه رسول پناه". Varzesh 3.
  30. ^ a b "حرف‌های جنجالی شجاع درباره عامل جدایی‌اش". Varzesh 3.
  31. ^ "مجلس_قناة_الكاس: هل استحق #السد الحصول على ركلة جزاء في الدقيقة 68 ؟!".
  32. ^ "تشافي مدرب #السد يدافع عبر برنامج 90 دقيقة عن اللعب بطريقة هجومية ويقول: " خطأ صغير اخرجنا من #دوري_أبطال_آسيا".
  33. ^ a b "AFC Champions League Semi-final (WEST) Toyota Player of the Week: Shojae Khalilzadeh". AFC. 6 October 2020.
  34. ^ "Al-Rayyan closing in on Shoja Khalilzadeh [Report]".
  35. ^ a b تیم رویایی مازنی‌های لیگ برتر نوزدهم.
  36. ^ a b @shoja_khalilzadeh just doing his thing 🔥 #ACL.
  37. ^ "شجاع خلیل زاده: موضوع جدایی‌ام از پرسپولیس جدی است و شرایط فراهم شود، می‌خواهم لژیونر شوم؛ اگر تا الان حرفی نزدیم، به خاطر هواداران بوده است" (in Persian). طرفداری. 31 December 2019.
  38. ^ "کریم باقری: قبل از تماس من، شجاع قراردادش را فسخ کرده بود!" (in Persian). Tarafdari. 26 October 2020. کریم باقری: شجاع یک بازیکن بسیار خوب و با تعصب بود که همیشه بهترین بازی ‌هایش را برای پرسپولیس. همه پرسپولیس باید از این بازیکن قدردانی کنند.
  39. ^ 6 أعوام حرمان من جائزة أفضل لاعب سعودي في آسيا
  40. ^ الاتحاد الآسيوي على أعتاب إلغاء حفل جائزة أفضل لاعب
  41. ^ "Shoja' Khalilzadeh signs two-year contract with Al Rayyan". AFC. 24 October 2020.
  42. ^ "شجاع خلیل زاده رسماً تصمیمش برای فصل آینده را فاش کرد/ بازگشت به پرسپولیس؟" (in Persian). خبر ورزشی. 18 June 2021.
  43. ^ "قاسمپور سرمربی تیم فوتبال مس کرمان شد/ "بلاژویچ" مدیرفنی نارنجی پوشان" (in Persian). 14 February 2012.
  44. ^ @AlkassDigital (12 January 2021). "Khalilzadeh goal helps Al-Rayyan beat Qatar SC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  45. ^ @QSL (19 January 2021). "Khalilzadeh second goal Al-Wakrah vs Al-Rayyan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  46. ^ a b Mario Husillos Jr. (16 October 2021). "Finding the best centre-backs in Asia – data analysis". Total Football Analysis Magazine.
  47. ^ "خلیل‌زاده یک سال دیگر در الریان ماندنی شد" (in Persian). Tasnim News Agency. 27 October 2021.
  48. ^ "واکنش شجاع به تصمیمش برای فصل آینده | کنعانی داغ بود آن حرف‌ها را زد! | منتقدان تیم ملی خودشان در زمین بازی کنند!". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 27 April 2022.
  49. ^ International friendly match
  50. ^ خلیل زاده که طی چند سال اخیر از سوی کی روش و ویلموتس شانس حضور در تیم ملی را به دست نمی آورد.
  51. ^ a b "حمله شجاع به کی‌روش و پیغام به هواداران پرسپولیس | خیلی‌ها منتظر برکناری اسکوچیچ بودند". Hamshahri (in Persian). 11 September 2021.
  52. ^ "واکنش شجاع به این شایعه؛ برانکو سفارشش را به اسکوچیچ کرده؟" (in Persian). خبرآنلاین. 20 July 2020.
  53. ^ Skocic has changed spirit of Iran football
  54. ^ Asian Qualifiers – Group C Preview. AFC.
  55. ^ Iran defender Khalilzadeh ruled out for four weeks
  56. ^ "Iran finish top, Iraq advance as well". Gulf Times. 15 June 2021.
  57. ^ Khalilzadeh vs Bounedjah 1
    Khalilzadeh vs Bounedjah 2
    Persepolis (injury and suspension of 3 players and the coach Branko) 1 vs 0 Al-Sadd semi final. Khalilzadeh his long pass to Ali Alipour and then going to referee
  58. ^ a b "2020 AFC Champions League: The Stats Leaders". AFC. 25 December 2020.
  59. ^ "Best 2020 AFC Champions League Team: Defenders".
  60. ^ 🔎 Solid and reliable at the back
  61. ^ "AFC Champions League 2020 (WEST): The Stats Wrap". AFC. 7 October 2020.
  62. ^ @QSL_EN (14 August 2021). "💫 Shojae Khalilzadeh is a defender with the qualities of an attacker ⚽️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  63. ^ @TheAFCCL (15 June 2021). "Nothing is better than a goalscoring defender! ⚽ 🇮🇷 Shojae Khalilzadeh loves bagging goals in the #ACL! ☄️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  64. ^ یادداشت اختصاصی| خبرنگار کره‌ای: مهاجمان ایران تهدیدی بزرگتر از کریمی و مهدوی‌کیا نیستند/ پیش‌بینی شکست کره‌جنوبی!
  65. ^ "سرپرست تیم ملی: نزدیک بود شجاع خلیل‌زاده سکته کند". Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 9 October 2021.
  66. ^ a b "تقدیر برانکو از خلیل‌زاده؛ مثل اسمت شجاع هستی" (in Persian). خبر ورزشی. 15 October 2018.
  67. ^ برمی‌گردم پرسپولیس/ حتی یک بازی پرسپولیس را از دست نمی‌دهم
  68. ^ عکس| دیالوگ‌های جالب شجاع و اسکوچیچ پس از معجزه VAR/ ببخشید کوچ!
  69. ^ "شجاع خلیل زاده: با کفش پاره و درجه 3 برای تست تیم ملی رفتم/ پدرم مخالف فوتبالیست شدنم بود". YJC. 3 December 2017.
  70. ^ Shoja Khalilzadeh at Playmakerstats
  71. ^ a b c Shojae Khalilzadeh at Global Sports Archive
  72. ^ Shojae Khalilzadeh at Team Melli
  73. ^ a b According to Toyota Player of the Week (Stats Perform, OPTA, Voted by the fans), TheAFCCL and SofaScore.
  74. ^ "Vote for your best AFC Champions League 2020 (West) Team: Defenders". AFC. 25 October 2020.
  75. ^ "Vote for your favourite AFC Champions League 2020 (West) player as Best XI is announced!". AFC.
  76. ^ "Persepolis' Khalilzadeh voted as winner of AFC Champions League 2020 Goal of the West". AFC.
  77. ^ 2020 AFC Champions League – Stats. 20 December 2020.
  78. ^ Successful – Overall Passes: 392 (10th Place), 2021 ACL – Stats. 14 July 2021.
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