Mehrzad Madanchi

Madanchi with Persepolis in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Mehrzad Madanchi Ardakani[1]
Date of birth	(1983-10-12) 12 October 1983[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

Mehrzad Madanchi Ardekani (Persian: مهرزاد معدنچى; 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 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 to be worth over $1.5 million. 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.

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	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

Honours

References

External links

• Mehrzad Madanchi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Mehrzad Madanchi at TeamMelli.com
• Mehrzad Madanchi's Al-Shaab goals at YouTube.com