Malavan Bandar Anzali Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال ملوان بندر انزلى, Bashgah-e Futbal-e Milâvan Bendâr Anzeli) is an Iranian football club based in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. It currently won Iran's second football league, the Azadegan League and came back to Persian Gulf Pro League after they were relegated in the 2015–16 season. The team is known to have some of the most passionate fans in Iranian football, and is one of the successful teams that is not based in Tehran. This team is one of the most successful Iranian teams in the Hazfi Cup. Malavan has reached the Hazfi Cup final 7 times and won 3 titles.

Malavan
ملوان
Full nameMalavan Bandar Anzali Football Club
Nickname(s)Ghou-ye Sepid (The White Swan)
Malavānān (The Sailors)
Short nameMalavan
Founded1969; 55 years ago (1969)
GroundGhayeghran Stadium
Capacity9,000[1]
ChairmanArash Fahmide
ManagerMaziar Zare
LeaguePersian Gulf Pro League
2023–246th of 16
Websitehttp://malavanfc.com
Current season

The club forms the football part of the multisport Malavan Sport and Cultural Club. Malavan was previously owned by the Iranian Navy.

History

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Establishment

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Bahman Salehnia created the team in 1968 along with some young athletes from the port city of Anzali. After some time, the Iranian Navy decided to become the team's main sponsor and owner.

Early years

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The club never really had great success in the league but they were able to become the best non-Tehran based club and finishing third in the 1977 and 1989. Malavan has won the Hazfi Cup on 3 occasions. In 1986 Malavan participated in Asian Club Championship but after beating Saunders SC in first round they withdrew from tournament due to the Iran–Iraq War.

Iran Pro League

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In 2003 Malavan was relegated to the Azadegan League, they only stayed one year in the lower league as they were immediately promoted back to the Iran Pro League. Since then, they have been one of the most stable teams of the league in recent years where they only had few coaches during their history and always finished in mid table and challenge the big teams. They finished 12th in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 season. In 2010–11 season they finished 8th and reached the final of Hazfi Cup but lost to Persepolis. In the 2013–14 Iran Pro League season Malavan achieved a surprising 7th-place finish in the league, their highest ever.

Relegation

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In July 2015 Malavan hired famous Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoi who had won several league titles with Esteghlal and Sepahan. Player such as Arash Afshin, Hossein Mahini and Shahab Karami joined the squad to serve their conscription period. In Ghalenoi's first game in charge, Malavan defeated the Hazfi Cup holders, Zob Ahan 1–0. After only three games Ghalenoi left the club and was replaced by former Persepolis manager Hamid Estili.

On 13 May 2016 after a 2–0 loss to Siah Jamegan, who were behind Malavan before the match started, the clubs was relegated to the Azadegan League for the second time in their history.

Before the start of the 2016–17 season it was announced that controversial manager Mohammad Mayeli Kohan had been named Malavan's manager. Despite achieving good results and being in or near a promotion spot the entire season, Mayeli Kohan was involved in several confrontations with the supporters, which led to many supporters boycotting the team's games.

Return to Pro League with Zare

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2020-2021 season marked the return of two retired homegrown players, Maziar Zare and Pejman Nouri, the former as the new head coach and the latter as the general manager of the club. In his first season, Zare lead the team to the semi-final of the domestic cup, despite failing to win promotion. In the 2021-2022 season, Zare led the team back to the Pro League by winning the Azadegan League with record points, marking the return of Malavan to the top flight after six years.

El Gilano

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The match between Malavan and Damash or Sepidrood is known as the Gilan Derby or El Gilano. This match is one of Iran's most important and heated derby's. Malavan hold the record for most wins in the derby with four since the start of the Iran Pro League in 2001. Malavan also holds the largest margin of victory when they defeated Damash 3–0 in 2005 and again in 2013. The derby is also known for its fan violence.

 
Fans of Malavan in play of Malavan & Esteghlal semi-final in 2010–11 Hazfi Cup

Season-by-season

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The table below chronicles the achievements of Malavan in various competitions since the beginning of Iranian Pro league in 2001.

Year Division Position Hazfi Cup
2001–02 Pro League 12th Quarter-finals
2002–03 Pro League 14th   Round of 16
2003–04 Azadegan League 2nd   Quarter-finals
2004–05 Pro League 7th Quarter-finals
2005–06 Pro League 11th Quarter-finals
2006–07 Pro League 14th Quarter-finals
2007–08 Pro League 16th Round of 16
2008–09 Pro League 12th Quarter-finals
2009–10 Pro League 12th Quarter-finals
2010–11 Pro League 8th Final
2011–12 Pro League 15th Fourth Round
2012–13 Pro League 13th Round of 16
2013–14 Pro League 7th Quarter-finals
2014–15 Pro League 13th Round of 16
2015–16 Pro League 14th  Quarter-finals
2016–17 Azadegan League 4th Quarter-finals
2017–18 Azadegan League 6th Quarter-finals
2018–19 Azadegan League 11th Fourth Round
2019–20 Azadegan League 15th Third Round
2020–21 Azadegan League 11th Semi-finals
2021–22 Azadegan League 1st   Third Round
2022–23 Pro League 12th Round of 16

For details on seasons, see List of Malavan F.C. seasons

Honours

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National titles

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Minor titles

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Club officials

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Presidents

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Sources:[2][3]

Name Years
Rashid Sazmand 1996–06
Saadollah Pourtahmasbi 2006–09
Ardeshir Pournemat 2009–11
Bahman Salehnia 2011–12
Sadegh Deroudgar 2012–14
Hossein Gholami 2014–15
Ahmad Donyamali 2015–17
Mehran Nasiri 2017–18
Pejman Nouri 2019–23
Arash Fahmide 2023–present

Current coaching staff

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Source:[4]

Position Name
Head coach   Mehdi Tartar
Assistant coach   Eurico Pinhal
Goalkeeping coach   Mohammad Ali Hassani Sefat
Doctor   Babak Sayyad
Technical director   Ghafour Jahani
Team manager   Hossein Gholami

Head coaches

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Below is a list of Malavan coaches from 1968 until the present day. Firouz Karimi carries the honor of being the first Iranian head coach to assume the title without rising from the Malavan football school.

Name Nationality Years
Bahman Salehnia    20 May 1968 – 5 February 1997
Nosrat Irandoost   5 February 1997 – 15 December 2000
Mohammad Ahmadzadeh   15 Dec 2000 – 2 July 2002
Bahman Salehnia   15 May 2002 – 2 July 2004
Nosrat Irandoost   2 July 2004 – 5 July 2006
Mohammad Ahmadzadeh   5 July 2006 – 1 January 2010
Farhad Pourgholami   1 January 2010 – 29 September 2012
Mohammad Ahmadzadeh   29 September 2012 – 28 May 2013
Dragan Skočić   28 May 2013 – 1 June 2014
Nosrat Irandoost   1 June 2014 – 8 October 2014
Stevan Mojsilović   8 October 2014 – 5 December 2014
Firouz Karimi   6 December 2014 – 1 June 2015
Hamid Estili   10 August 2015 – 20 February 2016
Mohammad Ahmadzadeh   1 March 2016 – 15 July 2016
Mohammad Mayeli Kohan   22 July 2016 – 27 May 2017
Nader Dastneshan   28 May 2017 – 1 June 2018
Farhad Pourgholami   1 June 2018 – 28 October 2018
Mohammad Ahmadzadeh   31 October 2018 – 7 June 2020
Akbar Misaghian   7 June 2020 – 1 September 2020
Maziar Zare   1 September 2020 – 18 May 2023
Mehdi Tartar   26 June 2023 – present

Players

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First-team squad

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As of 7 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   IRN Alireza Jafarpour
2 DF   IRN Saman Touranian (on loan from Esteghlal)
3 DF   IRN Abolfazi Alizadeh
4 DF   IRN Amir Reza Afsordeh
5 DF   IRN Saeed Karimi
6 MF   IRN Omid Noorafkan (on loan from Sepahan) (captain)
7 FW   IRN Soheil Fadakar
8 MF   IRN Reza Mirzaei
10 MF   IRN Mohammad Omri (on loan from Persepolis)
11 FW   IRN Reza Jafari
12 GK   IRN Afshar Sedaghat
14 DF   IRN Milad Bagheri
16 MF   IRN Farhan Jafari
17 FW   IRN Reza Ghandipour
18 FW   IRN Mohsen Alafi
19 DF   IRN Jalal Maddahi
20 DF   IRN Mohammadreza Rezaei
21 DF   IRN Younes Akbarpour
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF   IRN Parham Movaghari
27 DF   IRN Mahan Taghipour
28 MF   IRN Nima Entezari
30 FW   IRN Ali Ramezani
33 GK   IRN Habib Far Abbasi (on loan from Zob Ahan)
35 MF   IRN Mahan Sadeghi
40 MF   IRN Sajad Mosayebzadeh
44 DF   IRN Parham Javadi
45 MF   IRN Sina Saadatmand
47 FW   IRN Sajjad Bazgir
55 MF   IRN Mohammad Hossein Khosravi
77 MF   IRN Abouzar Safarzadeh
80 FW   IRN Ilya Imani
81 GK   IRN Parham Ghanad
82 MF   IRN Mohammadreza Khosrsvi
88 MF   IRN Ghaem Eslamikhah
90 MF   IRN Hossein Sadeghi

Loan list

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers summer 2022.

Notes

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  1. ^ "مدیرعامل ملوان:ورزشگاه تختی انزلی ظرفیت هواداران پرشور را ندارد". 11 April 2016. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Salehnia return to Malavan". PersianLeague.com. 13 July 2002. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  3. ^ "صفحه پیدا نشد - ملوان نیوز". Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  4. ^ حمید استیلی قراردادش را امضا کرد/ پایان رافت در کادرفنی ملوان (in Persian). Mehr News Agency. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2015.

References

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