Jonathan Dellarossa

Striker - Zob Ahan
5 Sep 2026
Saturday
Process

Marked for Jonathan Dellarossa

4 Edition

The Zob Ahan Chronicle

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

Door shut on Alireza Ghoddos

Zob Ahan asked and Siah Jamegan said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Transfer targets

No deal for Mohammad Reza Bordbar at that price

Zob Ahan offered $2.1M; Sepahan said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Market

Zob Ahan turn down Padideh for Behnam Teymourian

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Tempers go at Zob Ahan

Saeid Karimi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Zob Ahan training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shayan Mosleh is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Two points walk out of the ground

Level with 91 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Zob Ahan had all but put away. Tractor will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.

Match

Honours even between Zob Ahan and Tractor

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Vladislav Saus is in the works

Zob Ahan have made the call to Spartak Moscow. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

The dugout

No hiding place for Shahin Taherkhani

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahin Taherkhani, and the manager let it.

In brief

Back issues
3 Edition

The Zob Ahan Chronicle

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Terms done: Ashkan Rashedi is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Saipa waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Zob Ahan is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh

Zob Ahan asked and Tractor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Transfer targets

Zob Ahan make their move for Mohammad Reza Bordbar

$2.0M on the table at Sepahan. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Jalalaldin Alimohammadi yet — 7.84

At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.84 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Market

Rah Ahan come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Zob Ahan did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

No deal for Milad Kor at that price

Zob Ahan offered $520.0K; Tractor said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Squad

Tempers go at Zob Ahan

Ehsan Pahlevan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Pedram Ghazipour was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Rahman Jafari the difference as Zob Ahan beat Saipa

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rahman Jafari. 2‑1 against Saipa, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

2 Edition

The Central Espanol Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A brace, and Máximo Alonso takes the afternoon — 9.04

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Máximo Alonso provided it, and the 9.04 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Fernando Camarda hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Espanol can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Exequiel Mereles at 20 — 8.85

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Exequiel Mereles did not need any: 8.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Market

Not going: Emiliano Márquez stays at Central Espanol

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” University of Pretoria had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

The terraces

Supporters turn on the $810.0K sale of Jonathan Dellarossa

He is going to Zob Ahan, the club has $810.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.

Market

Central Espanol turn down IFK Mariehamn for Facundo Borges

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Boardroom

Central Espanol to lose Mateo Urrutia for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Mateo Urrutia has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.

Market

Mateo Urrutia is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Central Espanol is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

Luciano Fernández beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

2 Edition

The Zob Ahan Chronicle

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Transfer targets

An offer of $5.5M for Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh

Zob Ahan have gone to Tractor with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Transfer targets

Rah Ahan tell Zob Ahan: Masoud Khodadad is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Market

Zob Ahan say no — this time

The offer from Smouha for Hadi Baghban was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Market

Zob Ahan spend $810.0K to raise the standard

This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $810.0K has been paid because Jonathan Dellarossa is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.

Transfer targets

Zob Ahan bid $380.0K for Milad Kor

The offer went to Tractor this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Squad

Mohammad Javad Mohammadi signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mohammad Javad Mohammadi and Zob Ahan agree another 3 years.

Squad

Rahman Jafari in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zob Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Hadi Baghban’s goal not enough for Zob Ahan

Hadi Baghban scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Naft Tehran, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Market

Eyes on Ali Ahmadi again

The phone has started ringing about Ali Ahmadi again, and this time the name on the line is Rah Ahan. Zob Ahan are listening politely and promising nothing.

In brief

1 Edition

The Central Espanol Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Mariano Aguilera

Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A brace, and Exequiel Mereles takes the afternoon — 8.89

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Exequiel Mereles provided it, and the 8.89 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Eyes on Jonathan Dellarossa again

The phone has started ringing about Jonathan Dellarossa again, and this time the name on the line is Zob Ahan. Central Espanol are listening politely and promising nothing.

Market

Andijon come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Central Espanol did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Jonathan Dellarossa stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonathan Dellarossa and Central Espanol agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A falling-out at Central Espanol

Máximo Alonso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Jonathan Dellarossa falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

Central Espanol supporters have found a favourite in Exequiel Mereles

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Exequiel Mereles has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Rodolfo

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

1 Edition

The Zob Ahan Chronicle

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Ali Eslami beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 35. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Ryan Christie

Zob Ahan asked and Bournemouth said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Zob Ahan say no — this time

The offer from Naft Tehran for Houman Elyasi was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Transfer targets

An offer of $810.0K for Jonathan Dellarossa

Zob Ahan have gone to Central Espanol with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Squad

Rahman Jafari signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rahman Jafari and Zob Ahan agree another 4 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zob Ahan

Ehsan Pahlevan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Market

Hadi Baghban attracts admirers

The name of Hadi Baghban has come up in conversations Zob Ahan were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Boardroom

5 academy players handed senior numbers at Zob Ahan

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Squad

A row about effort at Zob Ahan

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saeid Karimi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief