Mehrzad Madanchi


Mehrzad Madanchi is a retired Iranian football midfielder who last played for Fajr Sepasi.

Club career

The attacker started his playing career in Homa Shiraz club which plays in the lower Iranian divisions. After impressing at the lower division Shiraz club, he earned a transfer to Fajr Sepasi, one of the top two clubs of Shiraz. He was immediately seen as a big talent and continued to play well in the 2004/2005 season. The speedy left winger saw his performances be rewarded with a transfer to the most popular club in Iran, Persepolis, in July 2005.
In the 2005/2006 season at Persepolis Madanchi grew to become a first team player. He played some good matches on the left wing during the season, due to his great speed and dribbling. His main problem however was his crossing ability, which many agree can be greatly improved. At the end of the season Persepolis coach Arie Haan took Madanchi away from the left wing and put him in as a striker, with topscorer Javad Kazemian as his partner. This position worked immediately, as in three matches in the Hazfi Cup Madanchi scored seven goals, a hattrick against Abu Muslem and two doubles against Malavan and Nojan.
In the 2006/2007 season at Persepolis Madanchi was put in the striker position by head coach Mustafa Denizli. This really helped out Persepolis because Madanchi was able to score 10 goals and make 5 assists in the League and was announced the best player of the 2006/2007 IPL season called the Persian Gulf Cup. On 10 July 2007 Madanchi signed a one-year deal with U.A.E's club Al-Shaab for a fee of $500,000.
During the 2007/2008 season at Al-Shaab, Madanchi played in the Striker position for the entire season which resulted in him scoring 17 goals in three different competitions. He scored 14 goals in the UAE League, while scoring two goals in the Arab Champions League and one goal in the UAE Cup. Even though 8 of his 17 goals were scored from the penalty spot. After the season Madanchi was named the Foreigner Player of the Season 2007/08 of the UAE League.
On 31 May 2008 Madanchi signed a one-year deal with Al-Nasr Sports Club in the UAE League in a contract is thought to be worth over $1.5 million.
He moved to Al-Ahli in summer 2009 where he played in CWC and also AFC Champions League.
He joined Steel Azin in 2010 and stayed there for a season where he had an unsuccessful season because of the injuries he had and after the relegation of the team he moved to Al Shaab but again because of the injuries he had his contract was canceled halfway through the season.
On 16 July 2012 he joined Persepolis with a three-year contract. After spending one season at the club and not gaining much of playing time, his contract was terminated and he joined Fajr Sepasi.

Club career statistics

SeasonTeamAssists
05–06Persepolis5
06–07Persepolis5
10–11Steel Azin2
12–13Persepolis0

International career

Madanchi was selected for the Iranian Olympic team during the qualifiers for the Olympic Games 2004. Although Iran failed to qualify for the tournament, Madanchi, at the time only 18, was one of the stars of the young team. His good performance during the qualifiers led to him being called up to the full national team and he made his debut in August 2003 against Belarus. His most impressive international match was Iran's Asian Cup qualifier against Chinese Taipei in March 2006, in which he scored two of Iran's four goals. He also scored one goal against Bosnia in a World Cup warmup friendly.
He was selected for Iran's final World Cup 2006 squad as one of the 23 players. In July 2007 and for the Asian Championships Madanchi was called for Team Melli once again. He has been called up for Team Melli for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying. He also featured and scored in 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
122 February 2006Azadi Stadium, Tehran2–04–0ACQ 2007
222 February 2006Azadi Stadium, Tehran3–04–0ACQ 2007
331 May 2006Azadi Stadium, Tehran1–25–2Friendly
42 July 2007Azadi Stadium, Tehran2–08–1Friendly
52 July 2007Azadi Stadium, Tehran5–08–1Friendly
61 April 2009Azadi Stadium, Tehran1–11–1Friendly
72 January 2010Qatar SC Stadium, Doha1–01–02010 Qatar Friendship Cup
86 January 2010National Stadium, Kallang2–03–1ACQ 2011

International Matches

  1. Belarus, 20 August 2003, friendly match
  2. Panama, 18 December 2004, friendly match
  3. Taiwan, 22 February 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers
  4. Costa Rica, 1 March 2006, friendly match
  5. Croatia, 28 May 2006, friendly match
  6. Bosnia, 31 May 2006, friendly match
  7. Mexico, 11 June 2006, 2006 Fifa World Cup
  8. Portugal, 17 June 2006, 2006 Fifa World Cup
  9. Angola, 21 June 2006, 2006 Fifa World Cup
  10. United Arab Emirates, 8 August 2006, friendly match
  11. Syria, 16 August 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers
  12. South Korea, 2 September 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers
  13. Syria, 6 September 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers
  14. Iraq, 4 October 2006, friendly match
  15. Qatar, 24 March 2007, friendly match
  16. Ghana, 28 June 2007, friendly match
  17. Jamaica, 2 July 2007, friendly match
  18. Uzbekistan, 11 July 2007, Asian Cup
  19. China, 15 July 2007, Asian Cup
  20. Korea Republic, 22 July 2007, Asian Cup
  21. Qatar, 10 January 2008, friendly match
  22. Costa Rica, 30 January 2008, friendly match
  23. Syria, 6 February 2008, World Cup Qualifiers
  24. Bahrain, 22 March 2008, friendly match
  25. Kuwait, 26 March 2008, World Cup Qualifiers
  26. Azerbaijan, 27 August 2008, friendly match
  27. Saudi Arabia, 6 September 2008, World Cup Qualifiers
  28. United Arab Emirates, 19 November 2008, World Cup Qualifiers
  29. Saudi Arabia, 28 March 2009, World Cup Qualifiers
  30. Senegal, 1 April 2009, friendly match
  31. China, 1 June 2009, friendly match
  32. Korea DPR, 6 June 2009, World Cup Qualifiers
  33. Bosnia, 12 August 2009, friendly match

    International appearances and goals

Honours

Club