Mehrzad Madanchi Ardekani (Persian: مهرزاد معدنچى; born 12 October 1983) is an Iranian former football midfielder who last played for Fajr Sepasi.

Mehrzad Madanchi
Madanchi with Persepolis in 2013
Personal information
Full name Mehrzad Madanchi Ardakani[1]
Date of birth (1983-10-12) 12 October 1983 (age 40)[2]
Place of birth Shiraz, Iran
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Left winger
Team information
Current team
Fajr Sepasi (assistant coach)
Youth career
Vali Asr Shiraz Academy
Homa Shiraz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Fajr Sepasi 69 (10)
2005–2007 Persepolis 55 (11)
2007–2008 Al Shaab 21 (15)
2008–2009 Al Nasr 18 (9)
2009–2010 Al Ahli 15 (1)
2010–2011 Steel Azin 21 (0)
2011–2012 Al Shaab 16 (0)
2012–2013 Persepolis 5 (0)
2013–2014 Fajr Sepasi 14 (0)
Total 234 (46)
International career
2000–2001 Iran U–20 13 (?)
2003–2004 Iran U–23 6 (?)
2003–2010 Iran 41 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 May 2013
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 March 2010

Club career edit

The attacker started his playing career in Homa Shiraz club which plays in the lower Iranian divisions. After playing impressively at the lower division Shiraz club, he earned a transfer to Fajr Sepasi, one of the top two clubs of Shiraz (the other being Bargh 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 agreed could 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. Although, 8 of his 17 goals were scored from the penalty spot. After the season Madanchi was named the Foreign 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[by whom?] to be worth over $1.5 million.[citation needed] 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.[3] 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 edit

As of 10 May 2013
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2002–03 Fajr Pro League 23 2
2003–04 22 5
2004–05 24 3
2005–06 Persepolis 28 1 6 7 34 8
2006–07 27 10 4 2 31 12
United Arab Emirates League President's Cup Asia Total
2007–08 Al Shaab UAE League 21 15
2008–09 Al Nasr 18 9
2009–10 Al Ahli 15 1 4 1 6 1 25 3
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2010–11 Steel Azin Pro league 21 0 1 0 22 0
United Arab Emirates League President's Cup Asia Total
2011–12 Al Shaab Division 1 6 0 0 0 6 0
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2012–13 Persepolis Pro league 5 0 1 0 6 0
Total Iran 150 21 0 0
United Arab Emirates 60 25 6 1
Career total 210 46 6 1
  • Assist Goals
Season Team Assists
05–06 Persepolis 5
06–07 5
10–11 Steel Azin 2
12–13 Persepolis 0

International career edit

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 edit

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 February 2006 Azadi Stadium, Tehran   Chinese Taipei 2–0 4–0 ACQ 2007
2 22 February 2006 Azadi Stadium, Tehran   Chinese Taipei 3–0 4–0 ACQ 2007
3 31 May 2006 Azadi Stadium, Tehran   Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–2 5–2 Friendly
4 2 July 2007 Azadi Stadium, Tehran   Jamaica 2–0 8–1 Friendly
5 2 July 2007 Azadi Stadium, Tehran   Jamaica 5–0 8–1 Friendly
6 1 April 2009 Azadi Stadium, Tehran   Senegal 1–1 1–1 Friendly
7 2 January 2010 Qatar SC Stadium, Doha   North Korea 1–0 1–0 2010 Qatar Friendship Cup
8 6 January 2010 National Stadium, Kallang   Singapore 2–0 3–1 ACQ 2011

International Matches edit

  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 edit

World Cup 3 (0)
World Cup qualification 6 (0)
Asian Cup 3 (0)
Asian Cup qualification 4 (2)
Friendly 17 (4)

Honours edit

Club edit

International edit

Individual edit

  • UAE League:
    • Foreigner Player of the year:
      • 2007–08 with Al-Shaab

References edit

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Iran" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009 presented by Toyota: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 9 December 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2012.
  3. ^ Madanchi joins Persepolis Archived 22 January 2013 at archive.today

External links edit