Naft Tehran F.C.

Naft Tehran Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال نفت تهران‎) is an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National Iranian Oil Company previously. Naft Tehran was founded in 1950 and played in the Takhti Stadium until 2018.

Naft Tehran
نفت تهران
Full nameNaft Tehran Football Club
باشگاه فوتبال نفت تهران
Nickname(s)Black Cats
Yellow Ghosts[1][2]
Founded23 August 1950
GroundTakhti Stadium
Tehran
Capacity30,122
OwnerTehran Kar Rasa Company
LeagueLeague 3
2019–20League 3, 3rd (Group A)
WebsiteClub website

Naft has finished third place in the Persian Gulf Pro League three times and has also won the Hazfi Cup. In 2015 for the first time in the club's history Naft played in the AFC Champions League. They defeated Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 to advance to the quarter–finals where they were eliminated by Al-Ahli Dubai.

Following the departures of their best players, Naft Tehran were relegated to the second tier in 2017.

While the club was dealing with ownership and financial problems, forfeiting two matches in the second tier resulted in their relegation to the 3rd tier of Iranian Football. On October 22, 2018, the minister of sports announced club's dissolution and players and the staff were released.[3]Since then, Naft Tehran is participating as Naft Iranian Tehran in League 3.

History

Establishment

On 23 August 1971, National Iranian Oil Company decided on starting a football team. Before the Iranian Revolution the team competed in the Tehran Football League for several years. In 2003, the club was competing in the Tehran Local Leagues, in 2005 they were promoted to the 3rd Division.

Naft Tehran was competing in Iran's 2nd Division and they turned out to be one of the best teams. In the First Round, they had managed to score 36 goals and convecting only 14, they were on top of Iranjavan with 38 points. In the Second Round, they came out second at the Group B. They were just under Mes Sarcheshmeh with 3 points away and 1 point on top of Esteghlal Jonub Tehran, Naft Tehran after promoted to Azadegan League.

Promotion to Iran Pro League

After three years of competing in the 2nd Division, Naft was promoted to the Azadegan League. Naft Tehran started the season well in Azadegan League and eventually became first in the group tables. Naft Tehran came out with a huge goal difference by conceding the fewest goals, and they were on top of the table by 1 point from Damash Gilan They didn't score much as their top scorer Akbar Saghiri scored 7 goals in the league. It was the first time ever that Naft Tehran went to Iran Pro League.

Iran Pro League
Naft Tehran players in 2011–12 season

Naft Tehran was competing in Iran's 2nd Division and they turned out to be one of the best teams. In the First Round they had managed to score 36 goals and conceding only 14, they were on top of Iranjavan with 38 points. In the Second Round they came out second at the Group B. They were just under Mes Sarcheshmeh with 3 points away and 1 point on top of Esteghlal Jonub Tehran, Naft Tehran after promoted to Azadegan League.

Naft Tehran started the season well in Azadegan League and eventually became first in the group tables. Naft Tehran came out with a huge goal difference by conceding the fewest goals, and they were on top of the table by one point from Damash Gilan. They didn't score much as their top scorer Akbar Saghiri scored seven goals in the league. It was the first time ever that Naft Tehran went to Persian Gulf Pro League.

Champions League

On the final day of the 2013–14 Iran Pro League season, Naft lead the league and had an opportunity to win the league. However, Naft lost to Sepahan and dropped to 3rd place, which was still good enough for a spot in the AFC Champions League, the first time in club history the team has reached the international stage. In May 2014 Yahya Golmohammadi announced that he would not be extending his contract with Naft and had signed with Zob Ahan. Shortly after on 31 May, Naft revealed Ali Reza Mansourian as their manager for the 2014–15 season. The club qualified for the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage after a 1–0 win over Qatari club El Jaish in the play-off round. Naft won its first ever Champions League game in a 2–1 victory against Saudi club Al Shabab. On 6 May 2015 the club advanced to the round of 16 of the AFC Champions League.

On 15 May 2015 on the final matchday of the league Naft went in to the final match second and tied on points with Tractor, whom they played in the final match. Naft drew with Tractor 3–3 and finished third in the league, securing a Champions League play-off spot. In the Hazfi Cup final, Naft Tehran was defeated by Zob Ahan.

Hazfi Cup champions

During the 2015–16 season Naft encountered severe financial issues and could not pay the players and coaching staff. The National Iranian Oil Company decided to sell the club and it was believed that relegated Malavan would buy the clubs rights and remain in the Persian Gulf Pro League. However, Behnam Pishro Company bought Naft and the team remained in Tehran.

After Alireza Mansourian left the club to become head coach of Esteghlal, the club hired Iranian legend Ali Daei to lead the club. After Daei took over the team in 2016, financial issues in the club continued. Despite this Naft was fighting for an AFC Champions League spot for most of the season. Naft also had success in the Hazfi Cup, Daei's team defeated Sepahan 1–0 to advance to the final against Tractor. In the final Sajjad Shahbazzadeh scored a late winner for Naft as the club won its first major domestic title.

Relegation to 3rd Division and dissolution

After Disturbance in the Club Regarding Ownership Issue, It was declared that Naft Tehran Relegated to 3rd Division and 2018–19 Azadegan League will resume with remaining 17 teams.[4]

Supporters

Before Naft's successful season in the AFC Champions League the club had only a few supporters who were mostly workers of the National Iranian Oil Company. In 2015 after a third-place finish in the league, reaching the final of the Hazfi Cup and advancing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League the club gained some supporters and became the third most popular team in Tehran behind Persepolis and Esteghlal.[5]

Relegation to 3rd Division

After Disturbance in the Club Regarding Ownership Issue, It was declared that Naft Tehran Relegated to 3rd Division and 2018–19 Azadegan League will resume with remaining 17 teams.[6]

Season-by-season

The table below comes from List of Naft Tehran F.C. seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Naft Tehran in various competitions since 2003.

Season League Position Hazfi Cup AFC Notes
2003–04 Tehran Football League 4th
2004–05 1st Promoted
2005–06 3rd Division 1st Promoted
2006–07 2nd Division 5th
2007–08 7th First round
2008–09 1st 1/16 Final Promoted
2009–10 Azadegan League 1st Third round Promoted
2010–11 Pro League 13th Round of 32
2011–12 5th Round of 32
2012–13 5th Round of 16
2013–14 3rd Round of 16
2014–15 3rd Runner-up
2015–16 5th Quarter-final Quarter-final
2016–17 9th Champions Play-off
2017–18 15th Round of 32 Relegated
2018–19 Azadegan League Disqualified Relegated

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 13 March 2016 (players in bold signifies current Naft Tehran player). (The stats are from 2009)

Clean sheets by season
Season Player Clean Sheet
2009–10 Hamed Fallahzadeh 11
2010–11 Hossein Ashena 9
2011–12 Hamed Fallahzadeh 13
2012–13 Sosha Makani 12
2013–14 Alireza Beiranvand 12
2014–15 Alireza Beiranvand 9
2015–16 Alireza Beiranvand 9
2016–17 Milad Farahani 5

AFC Champions League record

AFC record
Naft Tehran team image before match against El Jaish in AFC Champions League, 9 February 2016
Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League
Season Round Rival Home Away Agg.
2015 Play-off El Jaish 1–0 – –
Group Stage
(Group B)		 Pakhtakor 1–1 2–1 –
Al-Ain 1–1 3–0 –
Al-Shabab 2–1 0–3 –
Knockout Al-Ahli 1–0 2–1 2–2
Al-Ahli 0–1 2–1 3–1
2016 Play-off El Jaish 0–2 – –

Top goalscorers in AFC Champions League
Rank Player Goals Seasons
1 Amir Arsalan Motahari 3 2
2 Vahid Amiri 2 2
Gholamreza Rezaei 2 1
Leandro Padovani 2 1
3 Ali Ghorbani 1 2
Siamak Kouroshi 1 2
Reza Aliari 1 2

Honours
Naft players celebrating winning 2016–17 Hazfi Cup title
Third Place (2): 2013–14, 2014–15
Winner (1): 2016–17
Runners-up (1): 2014–15
Runners-up (1): 2017
Winner (1): 2009–10
Winner (1): 2008–09
Winner (1): 2005–06
Winner (1): 2004–05

References
  1. "نفت‌تهران ـ گربه سیاه تیم‌های عربستانی :: ورزش سه". Varzesh3.com. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  2. "فرهیختگان - نفت تهران ۱-۰ پرسپولیس؛ ارواح زرد عزت یحیی را تضمین کرد !". Fdn.ir. Archived from the original on 2015-08-22. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  3. "تیم فوتبال نفت تهران منحل شد". اقتصاد نیوز (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  4. YJC, خبرگزاری باشگاه خبرنگاران - آخرین اخبار ایران و جهان. "سقوط نفت تهران به لیگ دسته ۳ قطعی شد". خبرگزاری باشگاه خبرنگاران - آخرین اخبار ایران و جهان - YJC.
  5. "فوتبالی‌ترین | بیرانوند: نفت از حالا طرفدار دارد/یکی از بطری‌های پرتاب شده آب‌میوه بود که آن را خوردم". Footballitarin.com. 2015-05-29. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  6. YJC, خبرگزاری باشگاه خبرنگاران - آخرین اخبار ایران و جهان. "سقوط نفت تهران به لیگ دسته ۳ قطعی شد". خبرگزاری باشگاه خبرنگاران - آخرین اخبار ایران و جهان - YJC.
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