Iman Mobali

Iman Mobali
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-11-03) 3 November 1982
Place of birth Izeh, Khuzestan Province, Iran
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Naft Tehran
Number 23
Youth career
Esteghlal Ahvaz
Foolad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2005 Foolad 73 (24)
2003 → Nirouye Zamini (loan) 25 (2)
2005–2008 Al-Shabab 45 (20)
2008–2009 Al Wasl 19 (7)
2009–2010 Al Nasr 15 (6)
2010–2011 Esteghlal 30 (0)
2011–2012 Al Sharjah 8 (0)
2012–2013 Paykan 25 (2)
2013–2014 Esteghlal Khuzestan 25 (2)
2014 → Esteghlal (loan) 0 (0)
2014– Naft Tehran 36 (1)
National team‡
2000–2001 Iran U20 13 (?)
2002–2003 Iran U23 11 (2)
2001– Iran 60 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 February 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 February 2011

Iman Mobali (Persian: ایمان مبعلی‎‎; born November 3, 1982 in Izeh, Iran) is an Iranian football player who currently plays for Naft Tehran in Iran Pro League.

Club career

Foolad

Mobali joined Foolad's senior team in 2000. He was considered as the creative dynamo of the highly talented Foolad, based in Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province. Mobali was the key member of his team during Foolad's Iran Pro League championship. Which also secured a berth in the AFC Champions League for the first time in club history.

Al-Shabab

In 2005 Mobali signed a contract with Al-Shabab in the UAE League. In his first season he scored 6 times in 15 appearances. In the following season Mobali was hit with a series of injuries and only managed to make 11 league appearances. In his last year with Al-Shabab he had his best year, he scored 9 goals in 19 appearances and Al-Shabab won the league title.

Al Wasl & Al Nasr

In summer 2008 he signed a contract with the UAE giants, Al Wasl. In his one and only season with the club, Mobali scored 7 times in 19 appearances. He left the club at the end of the season. He signed for Al Nasr in summer 2009. After an unsuccessful season with Al Nasr, Mobali decided not to extend his contract and returned to Iran.

Esteghlal

Mobali signed a one-year contract with Esteghlal in spring of 2010. He made 36 total appearances and did not manage to score a goal. He left the club at the end of the season and signed with UAE club Al Sharjah. He only made 8 appearances before leaving the club.

Paykan

After his stint in Sharjah, Mobali again returned to the Iran Pro League and again returned to Tehran, this time he signed with Paykan in the summer of 2012. He scored twice in 25 appearances but was unable to help Paykan from getting relegated to the Azadegan League.

Esteghlal Khuzestan

After Paykan was relegated, Mobali left the team and joined newly promoted club Esteghlal Khuzestan. He made 25 appearances and scored twice before being loaned out to his former club Esteghlal. He made 4 appearances with Esteghlal before season's end.

Naft Tehran

In summer of 2014, Mobali signed a two-year contract with Naft Tehran. He finished the 2014–15 season with 13 assists, most in the league. On 1 July 2015 Mobali extended his contract with Naft Tehran for one more year.

Club career statistics

Last Update 11 December 2014

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2000–01Foolad Azadegan League72––
2001–02Pro League162––
2002–030––
Niroye ZaminiDivision 1––
2003–04FooladPro League218––
2004–052912––
United Arab Emirates League President's Cup Asia Total
2005–06Al ShababPro League156––
2006–07 115––
2007–08 199––
2008–09Al Wasl 197––
2009–10Al Nasr 15641––196
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2010–11Esteghlal Pro League3002040360
United Arab Emirates League President's Cup Asia Total
2011–12Al SharjahPro League80––
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2012–13Paykan Pro League25210––262
2013–14Esteghlal Khuzestan 23200––232
2014–15Naft Tehran 2712060351
Total Iran 40
United Arab Emirates 873300
Career total 40
SeasonTeamAssists
10–11Esteghlal5
12–13Paykan2
13–14Esteghlal Khuzestan6
14–15Naft Tehran13

International career

At international level Mobali is considered one of Asia's brightest prospects. Mobali made his debut for Team Melli in January 2001 against China. He was among Iran's under-23 squad in 2002, winning a Gold Medal in the Busan Asian Games.

Although according to many football analysts, Iman is among the most talented Asian players of his generation, his international career has not been as impressive as expected. There is some speculation that Branko Ivanković, the former coach of Iranian national football team, was not a big fan of Iman. He was not always called up to the national team, and even if selected, he was usually on the bench. Some also say that Iman Mobali has had personal issues with Ali Daei, which emerged when Mobali made a dangerous tackle on Ali Daei's legs in a cup match in Iran, although Iman has denied these speculations.

2011 Asian Cup

Mobali started most of the matches in the group stage for Team Melli in 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and scored a beautiful goal in match against Iraq from a curling free-kick.

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 September 2003 Azadi Stadium, Tehran  Jordan 2–1 4–1 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2 11 January 2011 Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan  Iraq 2–1 2–1 2011 AFC Asian Cup

Awards and honours

Club

Foolad
Al-Shabab
Esteghlal

Country

Iran U-23
Iran

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.