Tractor vs. Esteghlal to headline Matchday 1 as Iranian top flight gets underway
Iranian fans will be treated to another nine months of thrilling action and drama as the new Persian Gulf Pro League season kicks off today.
However, all eyes will be on Tuesday’s showpiece in Tabriz, where Tractor will begin its title defense at home against Esteghlal on Tuesday.
This will be a second encounter between the two sides in eight days, after Tractor pulled off a late fightback to beat the Tehran Blues 2-1 in the Iranian Super Cup game in Isfahan last week.
Tractor had to part ways with two integral parts of its title-winning run in Portuguese midfielder Ricardo Alves, who joined Sepahan, and new Esteghlal center-back Aref Aqasi, while Iran international goalkeeper Alireza Beirnavand will be out with a four-month suspension.
Esteghlal supporters, meanwhile, are desperate to see Portuguese head coach Ricardo Sa Pinto, who is back on the Blues bench after two years, and new signings – including frontline duo Saeid Saharkhizan and Haiti international Duckens Nazon –make an instant impact, as the club will be looking to improve on last season’s ninth-place finish in the table.
Elsewhere in the opening round of fixtures, Esteghlal’s archrival Persepolis will host newly-promoted Fajr Sepasi at Thran’s Shahr-e Qods Stadium today.
Nine-time champion since the Pro League introduction in 2021, Persepolis stood third in the table last season – the Capital Reds’ lowest finish in the Iranian top flight in a decade – under Ismail Kartal, before the Turkish head coach left his role in July in the aftermath of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
Persepolis hierarchy was quick to replace Kartal with former Iran international Vahid Hashemian, though his appointment is widely seen as a major gamble for the club, given his significant lack of experience as a head coach in senior club football.
A number two to ex-Iran manager Dragan Skocic during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Hashemian will aim to build on his distinguished career as a player, having scored 53 goals in 254 appearances for Bundesliga clubs VfL Bochum, Hannover 96, Hamburger SV, and Bayern Munich.
A busy transfer window for Persepolis has seen the Reds, who will be chasing an eighth league trophy since 2017, make 10 marquee signings during the summer – including goalkeeper Payam Niazmand and attacking midfielder Reza Shekari, who joined from Sepahan, as well as former PSG and Tottenham Hotspur fullback Serge Aurier and Montenegrin midfielder Marko Bakić.
Sepahan – runner-up to Tractor last season – is also set for a new era under club legend Moharram Navidkia when visiting Malavan FC on Tuesday.
Navidkia returned to Sepahan bench earlier in the summer to replace French coach Patrice Carteron, who also walked out of his job amid the regional tensions.
Navidkia got off to a losing start to his second spell as Sepahan boss, as the club suffered a 3-2 defeat at Al Duhail last week to miss out on a place in the league stage of the upcoming AFC Champions League Elite season.
Joining Niazmand and Shekari in leaving Sepahan in the current transfer window were French midfielder Steven Nzonzi, who parted ways with the club for “safety reasons”, and prolific winger Mohammad-Mahdi Mohebbi, who signed for Ittihad Kalba in the UAE Pro League.
Meanwhile, ex-AEK Athens fullback Ehsan Hajsafi has returned to his boyhood club for a fourth stint, with goalkeeper Seyyed Hossein Hosseini and his Esteghlal teammate Arash Rezavand among the new signings.
The bad news for Navidkia is that integral midfielder Mohammad Karimi is expected to be out of action for six months after suffering a torn ligament injury against Al Duhail.
Also on matchday one, Zob Ahan will host newcomer Paykan in Isfahan today, while Golgohar and Iralco will meet in Sirjan and Mes Rafsanjan will play away to Khaybar in Khorramabad.
Esteghlal Khuzestan will welcome Shams Azar to Ahvaz on Tuesday, with last season’s surprise package Chadormalou hosting Yahya Golmohammadi’s Foolad Khuzestan, which hopes to improve on the fourth-place finish in the previous campaign.