History of Persepolis F.C.
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The history of Persepolis F.C. begins from the football club's founding in 1968 (1963; as Persepolis Amateur team) up until the present day. Persepolis F.C., also known as Red Army, is based in Tehran, Iran.
Persepolis was founded in 1963 by Ali Abdo and has been in the first division of Iranian football since 1968. Persepolis also had three teams in bowling, basketball and volleyball in its first years of establishment.[1] Persepolis F.C. is the football club of the multisport Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club. The club has played at its home ground, Azadi Stadium, since 1973. They contest the Tehran derby, which is regarded as one of the biggest in Asia,[2] with archrivals Esteghlal, a match that is always closely followed by Iranian football fans. According to the Asian Football Confederation, Persepolis is the most popular football club in Asia.[3][4][5]
Shahin was established in 1942 by Dr. Abbas Ekrami, a teacher.[6][7] Ekrami founded the club with help of some young students under the motto:
اول اخلاق، دوم درس، سوم ورزش
Ethics first, education second, sports third.[8]
— Shahin F.C. Motto
Shahin produced many talented players like Parviz Dehdari, Masoud Boroumand, Homayoun Behzadi, Jafar Kashani, Hossein Kalani, Hamid Shirzadegan, and many more that played for Iran national football team. These talents made Shahin popular in the 1960s but its very popularity was viewed as a threat by the Iran Football Federation and the Keihan Varzeshi newspaper (Iran's most important sports publication at the time).[9] The conflict between them became worse and on 9 July 1967, two days after Shahin's 3–0 win against Tehranjavan F.C., the Iran Sports Organization declared Shahin F.C. as dissolved.[9] League attendance dropped and other clubs including Pas, Rah Ahan, and Oghab tried to sign Shahin players.
Establishment early years (1963–1969)
Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club was established in 1963 by Ali Abdo.[10] Abdo had returned to Iran from the United States and was a championship boxer.
Persepolis F.C. started the 1968 season with Parviz Dehdari as manager. Despite the efforts to sign and disperse Shahin players to various clubs, Parviz Dehdari and Masoud Boroumand transferred the popularity of Shahin to Persepolis F.C. by taking most Shahin Players to join Persepolis. The team was initially quite weak, and participated in the 2nd division of the country. The best player on the team then was Mahmoud Khordbin.
The club, using four Shahin players, had a friendly match with Jam Abadan, a respected team at the time. After the match the remainder of the Shahin players joined Persepolis. That year no league competition was held, as many teams had been dissolved, so a 44-team tournament was held, and Persepolis, along with Pas, Taj, and Oghab finished top of the group.
The next year they represented as the first Iranian club in the Asian Champion Club Tournament held in Thailand, but they were not successful and were eliminated in the group stage.
Takht Jamshid Cup (1969–1979)
In 1962, the Iran Universal (Iran National "Iran Nacional") automobile factory was opened.[11] In 1969, The boss of the factory, Mahmoud Khayami, who was also the owner of a football team, was a big fan of Shahin. Khayami, who wanted to improve his football team, entered into negotiations with Persepolis and was able to get all the former Shahin players except Aziz Asli and Mahmoud Khordbin to join his new team, Paykan Tehran F.C.[12] Paykan won the championship that year, but the new players moved back to Persepolis at the end of the season.[12]
In 1971, Persepolis won its first ever championship in the Iranian League. Persepolis had an impressive season with 13 wins and 1 draw, in 14 weeks. In 1972, Abdo announced Persepolis as the first professional football club in Iran. The club did not enter the domestic league and only played against foreign clubs, and a few months later it became amateur again[12] Next year the Takht Jamshid Cup was established. Persepolis won the inaugural Takht Jamshid Cup in 1973 and won it again in 1975.[13] In the third year of establishment of Takhte Jamshid cup Persepolis lost just two matches of thirty matches of that year.[14] Persepolis is the most successful club in the Takht Jamshid Cup league, clinching two championship titles and finishing three times as runner-up.[15]
Success under tough conditions (1979–1990)
When the Iranian Revolution took place in 1979, Abdo returned to United States. Although Persepolis won the Espandi Cup, the club fell apart and many of the old players did not return.[16] The club's property was sequestered by The Oppressed and Veterans Foundation (Persian: بنیاد مستضعفان و جانبازان) and the club placed under the responsibility of The Physical Education Department (Persian: سازمان تربیت بدنی) of Iran.[16]
In 1981, the Physical Education Department declared that the name of the club would change, but club officials, players, and fans opposed the move.[17] The team didn't appear in the match against Homa in the Tehran league as a protest against the Physical Education Department. They lost the match 3–0 by default and Homa became champion.[17] In 1986, The club was taken over by the Oppressed and Veterans Foundation and renamed Azadi (meaning "freedom", Persian: آزادی).[17] Players declared that they wouldn't play for the club if the name change went through.[17] After a brief period the Foundation did not want the club any more, and it was taken over by the Physical Education Department again. On 16 February 1987, the Physical Education Department renamed the club Pirouzi (meaning "victory", Persian: پیروزی) with players' agreement,[17] although fans still call the team by its original name, Persepolis.[17] On 10 April 2012 the club chairman Mohammad Rouyanian announced that the club will officially only be known as Persepolis.[18]
In the 1980s the club only played in the Tehran League and various elimination tournaments. Persepolis was successful during this time and maintained its popularity, winning the Tehran League five seasons in a row. During all that time, Ali Parvin served as player-manager.
Revitalization (1990–2001)
The 1990s were a dream decade for the team, with four league championships, two Hazfi Cups, dozens of great players, and renewed support. At one point more than six Persepolis players were starters on Iran's national team. The team won the national championship in the 1995–96 season. At one point in that season they were 10 points behind Bahman. They came back and finished first, six points ahead of the league runner-up. They won the league again the next season, again finishing ahead of the runner up by six points. They were stopped by the Korean side Pohang Steelers in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions' Cup. Persepolis finished third, defeating Iraq's Al-Zawraa in the third place match.
The next season they showed good form again, but due to their commitments in the Asian Champions' Cup and the large number of national team players they had, they withdrew from the league. The poor scheduling and mismanagement of both the I.R.I.F.F. and AFC officials led to this unprofessional event. This prevented Persepolis from possibly winning a third consecutive league championship. Persepolis did not have much luck in the Asian Champion's cup either, as they were once again stopped in the semi-finals, this time by Chinese club, Dalian Wanda. They lost the third place match as well to Al-Hilal.
The 1996–97 and 1997–98 Persepolis teams are considered by many to be among the greatest Iranian clubs to ever play. National team players and future superstars such as Ahmadreza Abedzadeh, Khodadad Azizi, Karim Bagheri, Ali Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Mehrdad Minavand, Ali Karimi and many more were among the players who played for the club in those years.
After the World Cup 1998, several of Persepolis' best players were transferred to European clubs, but Persepolis was able to keep a talented squad. Future national team members Ali Karimi and Hamed Kavianpour would join the team at this time. They won the 1998–99 championship as well as the Hazfi Cup that season. They also won the 1999–2000 league championship, finishing third again in the Asian Champions Cup. This would be their last championship in the Azadegan League era.
Most of Persepolis' championships at the time were won while Ali Parvin was the manager, and Amirali Abedini was the chairman.
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