Sardar Azmoun ( irani : سردار آزمون ; born 1 January 1995 ) is an irani professional football player who plays as a advancing for russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Iran national team. Azmoun made his debut for the Iran national team in 2014 aged 19. He has been a regular with Team Melli playing in the 2015 and 2019 AFC asian Cup deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Reading: Sardar Azmoun – Wikipedia
After Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Azmoun is the second- most expensive iranian player of all-time. He is both the youngest iranian to score in a Champions League game, adenine well as the irani record-breaker for the most goals scored in UEFA Champions League with four goals .
Club career [edit ]
early years [edit ]
According to Sardar, he was first introduced to the frolic when he started to kick balls on a kin trip in Turkmenistan [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] when he was 9. [ 7 ] He began his career at Oghab Gonbad of Gonbad-e Kavus. [ 8 ] He besides played volleyball and was invited to Iran ‘s national under-15 volleyball team. [ 7 ] After some years, he joined Shamoushak Gorgan, before joining Etka Gorgan, who were playing in Division 1 in Iran at the time. [ 9 ]
Sepahan [edit ]
At senesce 15, Azmoun joined Sepahan ‘s youth ranks. [ 8 ] While he appeared for the baseball club during their pre-season friendlies overseas in Turkey, he did not make a professional appearance for the golf club as Sepahan won the 2011–12 Iran Pro League and lifted the trophy. [ 7 ] During the 2012–13 season, thanks to Azmoun ‘s big display in Iran ‘s young person team, Sardar became sought after by a match of european clubs, namely Rubin Kazan. [ 10 ] Azmoun became Iran ‘s youngest legionnaire when late that year he transferred to Rubin Kazan at the old age of 17. [ 8 ]
Rubin Kazan [edit ]
2012–13 temper [edit ]
In January 2013, Azmoun received an offer from russian team Rubin Kazan to join them ; meanwhile he had sake from two iranian teams, Persepolis and Esteghlal, angstrom well as an propose for first team contract in Sepahan. He chose to work with Turkmen speaking Kurban Berdyev and became Iran ‘s first football player in the russian Premier League. [ 8 ] [ 11 ] In his first temper at the club, he made 8 appearances for his cabaret ‘s military reserve team, scoring two goals and receiving one yellow poster. He was besides picked for the 18-man match day squad on a numeral of occasions, but failed to make his aged introduction .
2013–14 season [edit ]
On 25 July 2013, Azmoun made his debut for the senior team in a UEFA Europa League match against Jagodina, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute as Rubin won 1–0. [ 12 ] On 29 August, he scored his first gear goal in just his second senior appearance for Rubin in a 3–0 Europa League win against Molde, coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute. [ 13 ] He made his league debut with a goal and an serve on 6 October 2013, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute in a 5–1 win over Anzhi Makhachkala. On 27 March 2014, English Premier League slope Arsenal reportedly made a £2 million offer to Kazan for the transfer of 19-year-old Azmoun, sparking interest from A.C. Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Barcelona a well. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] Three days late, he scored his irregular league finish for Rubin Kazan in a 2–1 get the better of to Rostov. [ 17 ] On 6 April, he scored a goal in Rubin Kazan ‘s kill to Zenit St. Petersburg. [ 18 ] In a match against Krylia Sovetov on 10 May, Azmoun came on as a alternate in the fifty-fifth minute, scoring a finish and providing an aid in a 4–0 succeed. [ 19 ] [ 20 ]
2014–15 season [edit ]
On 4 July 2014, Rubin Kazan announced through their official web site that Azmoun would remain at the club despite transmit offers from Arsenal, Liverpool and Zenit St. Petersburg. He scored Rubin Kazan ‘s goal in a 1–1 attract against Hellas Verona in a pre-season friendly match on 27 July 2014. He scored his first goal of the temper in a 1–1 drawing card against Terek Grozny in the 87th minute. On 30 October, he scored a goal in their victory over Spartak Moscow in the 2014–15 russian Cup. [ 21 ]
rostov [edit ]
On 26 February 2015, Azmoun signed a three-and-a-half-month loan bargain with relegation-battling russian Premier League golf club FC Rostov until the end of the season. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ] On 16 March, Azmoun came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute and scored the match winner in the 88th minute against Kuban Krasnodar. [ 25 ] Azmoun again found the back of the net on 26 April 2015 in Rostov ‘s 2–2 draw against Dynamo Moscow. His full performance earned him a place on the russian Premier League Team of the Week. He scored Rostov ‘s winning goal in the relegation play-offs on 7 June .
2015–16 season [edit ]
At the end of the 2014–15 season, Azmoun extended his loan deal with Rostov until the end of the 2015–16 temper. [ 27 ] [ 28 ] He scored his first finish of the season on 22 August 2015 in a 2–1 personnel casualty to CSKA Moscow. After his estimable performances in the first half of the season, he was linked with English Premier League club Stoke City. [ 29 ] Later in March 2016 he was besides linked with a move to English side Everton. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] After a long scoreless drought, Azmoun scored in Rostov ‘s 3–0 acquire against Zenit Saint Petersburg on 24 April 2016. He scored a brace in a 3–1 victory over Dynamo Moscow on 12 May 2016, which kept Rostov in moment space and in contention for the Russian Premier League championship. On 16 May 2016 with his goal, Rostov defeated Ural 1–0 and clinched at least an UEFA Champions League play–off smudge for the 2016–17 temper. His goal against Ural was his fifth consecutive game with a goal which included 6 goals in 5 games. On the survive day of the Russian Premier League on 21 May 2016 needing a win and CSKA Moscow to drop points to become champions, Azmoun assisted Rostov ‘s first goal in their 2–0 winnings against Terek Grozny. however, CSKA won their match and Rostov finished as runners up, thus securing a UEFA Champions League playoff spot. Azmoun finished seventh in league score with nine goals, despite getting half as much play time as some early top scorers. [ 33 ] He was besides voted as the fifth most valuable player of the league, narrowly behind players such as Fyodor Smolov, Moussa Doumbia, and brazilian ace Hulk. [ 34 ]
2016–17 season [edit ]
Azmoun in meet against Ajax in 2016 initially it was announced that Azmoun would return to Rubin Kazan. however, Rostov triggered the buy out article in Azmoun ‘s sign. Rubin Kazan denied this clause and claimed Azmoun was their actor. Rubin lodged a complaint with FIFA. FC Rostov filed a counter-complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and on 22 July 2016 CAS temporarily ruled in privilege of Azmoun and he was included in Rostov ‘s UEFA Champions League police squad. [ 35 ] According to Rostov ‘s lawyer Yuri Zaytsev, the final examination CAS decision on his condition might not be reached until late 2016 or even the summer of 2017. [ 36 ] Azmoun made his Champions League introduction on 26 July 2016 in the first gear leg of a third-round qualify round match against Anderlecht at Olimp – 2, coming on for Aleksandr Bukharov at the 56th moment. [ 37 ] He started in the reelect leg on 3 August 2016 and scored his first Champions League goal in the 47th hour, helping Rostov advance 4–2 on aggregate. [ 38 ] He scored his second base Champions League goal on 24 August 2016 in the reelect branch of the playoff round match against Ajax, scoring the open goal in a 4–1 victory which resulted in Rostov advancing to the group degree of the Champions League for the first time. [ 39 ] Azmoun scored on 1 November 2016 in a Rostov ‘s 2–1 Champions League group stage personnel casualty against Atlético Madrid. In the action, he became the first iranian to score in the Champions League group phase since Ali Karimi in 2005. On 23 November 2016, Azmoun scored his second base Champions League goal in the group stage against Bayern Munich at home, leading Rostov to a 3–2 victory and their beginning ever official Champions League group stage win. After his estimable performances and goals in the UEFA Champions League, Azmoun drew interest from european giants such as Marseille, Liverpool, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] [ 42 ] On 6 November 2016, Azmoun scored his foremost russian Premier League goal of the 2016–17 season in a 4–1 victory. He scored his second goal of the season on 28 November against Anzhi Makhachkala. On 26 January 2017, FIFA rejected appeals by Rubin Kazan related to Azmoun ‘s transfer to Rostov and ruled that there were no obligations outstanding towards Rubin. [ 43 ] On 3 March 2017, in the first league bet on after the end of the winter fail, Azmoun scored twice in a 6–0 victory against FC Tom Tomsk. [ 44 ] He scored another brace against his erstwhile side Rubin Kazan.
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After the end of the 2016–17 season, Azmoun received matter to from scottish side Celtic, English Premier League clubhouse Everton, and La Liga side Valencia. [ 45 ] [ 46 ]
render to Rubin Kazan [edit ]
In June 2017, Azmoun returned to Rubin Kazan. He appeared in a friendly on 28 June 2017 as a second-half substitute, wearing number 69. [ 47 ] FC Rostov confirmed the transplant agreement with Rubin on 14 July 2017. [ 48 ] [ 49 ]
Zenit Saint Petersburg [edit ]
On 1 February 2019, he signed a 3.5-year contract with Zenit St. Petersburg. [ 50 ] Sardar scored two goals and registered one serve in his debut start for Zenit against Fenerbahçe in the Round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League. He was chosen as the Player of the Week for his great performance by UEFA. [ 51 ] On 2 March 2019, he scored the alone goal of the crippled to give Zenit a 1–0 victory over FC Ural Yekaterinburg in his russian Premier League debut for the team. [ 52 ] On 31 March 2019, in a home plot he doubled against FC Orenburg. [ 53 ] On 17 September 2019, Azmoun scored the beginning goal of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group degree in his Champions League introduction for Zenit against Olympique Lyonnais. [ 54 ] With a goal against Benfica in the take after pit, he surpassed Mehdi Mahdavikia and Ali Daei to become the most fecund irani goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League with four goals. [ 55 ] On 5 July 2020, he scored doubly in a 4–2 victory over FC Krasnodar that secured a second straight russian Premier League title for Zenit. [ 56 ] On 22 July 2020, the stopping point day of the 2019–20 russian Premier League season, he scored his seventeenth goal in the league to finish as co-top scorekeeper of the league with his teammate Artem Dzyuba. [ 57 ] On 2 May 2021, he scored a hat-trick to bring his league season scoring total to 19, as Zenit secured their third championship in a row in a 6–1 victory over second-place FC Lokomotiv Moscow. [ 58 ] He was overtaken as the league acme scorer by his teammate Artem Dzyuba in the last game of the season on 16 May 2021 when Dzyuba scored four to bring his total to 20. [ 59 ] He was voted RPL Player of the Season for the 2020–21 russian Premier League temper. [ 60 ]
International career [edit ]
youth [edit ]
Azmoun broke out while representing the Iran U-20 side when he was first called up for the 2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship, becoming the circus tent scorekeeper of the tournament before repeating the feat in the 2012 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup, scoring seven goals in six games. On 8 October 2013, he played for the U-20 team during the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification in Kerman. In a match against Lebanon, he captained the team by scoring two goals, assisting one and drawing a punishment. [ 61 ] Azmoun was called into the U-23 ‘s team for Olympic qualifiers in March 2015. [ 62 ] He was the tournament ‘s lead goalscorer going into the final examination matchday with 4 goals in 3 matches. As the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship was not held during the FIFA International Match Calendar, he was not released by Rostov. [ 63 ]
elder [edit ]
On 5 October 2013, Azmoun was called up to the irani national football team against Thailand by Carlos Queiroz. [ 64 ] [ 65 ] He was selected in Iran ‘s 28-man probationary team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Queiroz but was one of five players being dropped from the final examination team. [ 66 ]
Azmoun made his aged debut on 26 May 2014 in a friendly match against Montenegro, coming on as a substitute in the sixtieth minute for Reza Ghoochannejhad. [ 67 ] however, he was not included in Iran ‘s police squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, announced on 1 June 2014. [ 68 ] He scored his first goal on 18 November 2014 in a 1–0 friendly succeed over South Korea. [ 69 ] Azmoun was called into Iran ‘s 2015 AFC asian Cup squad on 30 December 2014 by Carlos Queiroz. [ 70 ] He scored a goal in the next pit, a 1–0 friendly win over rivals Iraq. He then scored the achiever in the second game of the asian Cup with a bang-up piece of individual skill against Qatar. [ 71 ] He besides opened the scoring against Iraq in the quarter-finals with a header. On 16 June 2015, Azmoun scored a goal against Turkmenistan in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier. On 3 September 2015, he scored his first gear senior brace in a 6–0 defeat of Guam in the World Cup qualifiers. [ 72 ] He scored his beginning hat-trick for iranian national team in 3–0 gain over Macedonia at Philip II Arena on 2 June 2016. Eight days by and by, he scored the beginning goal in Iran ‘s 2–0 gain over Uzbekistan which secured reservation to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. [ 73 ] In June 2018 he was named in Iran ‘s final police squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. [ 74 ] He made his first World Cup appearance in a 1–0 victory over Morocco in their first gear group stage match on 15 June. [ 75 ] Azmoun retired from International football at the age of 23 precisely after Iran ‘s 2018 World Cup exit due to heavy criticism he faced from fans. The criticism caused his beget ‘s illness to worsen and as a solution, Azmoun chose to retire to be by his mother ‘s side. [ 76 ] In October 2018, Azmoun returned to the iranian national team and was called up for 2019 AFC asian Cup by Carlos Queiroz. [ 77 ]
style of play [edit ]
Azmoun has been praised for his aeriform ability, creativity, and bursts of acceleration. [ 78 ] He has been referred to as a new Zlatan Ibrahimović [ 79 ] and has besides been called the Iranian Messi by chiefly british media. [ 30 ] Azmoun has besides been touted to be the successor of legendary iranian hitter Ali Daei. [ 80 ]
personal life [edit ]
Azmoun was born into a Sunni syndicate [ 81 ] of iranian Turkmen origin. [ 82 ] [ 83 ] He speaks Turkmen and Persian fluently, and is fond of riding on horseback. He communicated with Kurban Berdyev, his Turkmenistani coach at FC Rubin Kazan and FC Rostov, in Turkmen. [ 84 ] He decided to wear total 69 at Kazan as a tribute to his hometown ‘s vehicle registration plate. [ 7 ] Azmoun has stated he is a assistant of spanish club Real Madrid [ 85 ] in the future he has expressed concern in playing for Tractor Sazi in the Persian Gulf Pro League. [ 86 ] He is the son of Khalil Azmoun, a former irani national volleyball team player who has coached several volleyball teams, such as Golgohar Sirjan and Javaheri Gonbad VC. [ 87 ] Azmoun decided to retire from International football at the historic period of 23 just after Iran ‘s 2018 World Cup exit due to heavy criticism he faced from fans, as the criticism caused his mother ‘s illness to worsen. As a result, Azmoun chose to retire to be by his beget ‘s side. He has returned to the team after taking this break. [ 88 ] Azmoun is a extremity of the Humanitarian Association of World Turkmens. [ 89 ] [ 90 ]
career statistics [edit ]
baseball club [edit ]
- As of 8 December 2021[91]
International [edit ]
- As of match played 16 November 2021[93]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iran | 2014 | 3 | 1 |
| 2015 | 11 | 7 | |
| 2016 | 8 | 8 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 6 | |
| 2018 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 8 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 6 | |
| Total | 60 | 39 | |
- As of match played 16 November 2021.[91]
- Scores and results list Iran’s goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Azmoun goal.
Youth level [edit ]
- Under-17
- Under-20
- Under-23
Honours [edit ]
Sepahan
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Iran U17
Iran U20
Individual
References [edit ]
Read more: EFL Trophy – Wikipedia