Mehrzad Madanchi

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

Club career 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 Nozhan.

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 to be worth over $1.5 million. He moved to Al-Ahli in summer 2009 where he played in 2009 FIFA Club World Cup 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. 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

Assist Goals

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

International Matches Belarus, 20 August 2003, friendly match Panama, 18 December 2004, friendly match Chinese Taipei, 22 February 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers Costa Rica, 1 March 2006, friendly match Croatia, 28 May 2006, friendly match Bosnia, 31 May 2006, friendly match Mexico, 11 June 2006, 2006 Fifa World Cup Portugal, 17 June 2006, 2006 Fifa World Cup Angola, 21 June 2006, 2006 Fifa World Cup United Arab Emirates, 8 August 2006, friendly match Syria, 16 August 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers South Korea, 2 September 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers Syria, 6 September 2006, 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers Iraq, 4 October 2006, friendly match Qatar, 24 March 2007, friendly match Ghana, 28 June 2007, friendly match Jamaica, 2 July 2007, friendly match Uzbekistan, 11 July 2007, Asian Cup China, 15 July 2007, Asian Cup Korea Republic, 22 July 2007, Asian Cup Qatar, 10 January 2008, friendly match Costa Rica, 30 January 2008, friendly match Syria, 6 February 2008, World Cup Qualifiers Bahrain, 22 March 2008, friendly match Kuwait, 26 March 2008, World Cup Qualifiers Azerbaijan, 27 August 2008, friendly match Saudi Arabia, 6 September 2008, World Cup Qualifiers United Arab Emirates, 19 November 2008, World Cup Qualifiers Saudi Arabia, 28 March 2009, World Cup Qualifiers Senegal, 1 April 2009, friendly match China, 1 June 2009, friendly match Korea DPR, 6 June 2009, World Cup Qualifiers Bosnia, 12 August 2009, friendly match

International appearances and goals World Cup 3 (0) World Cup qualification 6 (0) Asian Cup 3 (0) Asian Cup qualification 4 (2) Friendly 17 (4)

Honours

Club Hazfi Cup: Runner up: 2002–03 with Fajr Sepasi 2005–06 with Persepolis 2012–13 with Persepolis

International

AFC/OFC Cup Challenge: Winner: 2003 with Iran

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