From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Oct 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Reza Taremi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Saba have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market9 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Saba is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Loan watch9 Oct 2028
“I did not go to Al Dhafra to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match7 Oct 2028
Saba share the spoils with Sepahan
A 1-1 draw with Sepahan leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match2 Oct 2028
Saba up to position 2
19 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad2 Oct 2028
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match30 Sep 2028
Saba make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Saba have 3 straight wins of it.
Match30 Sep 2028
Saba get the job done against Foolad
A 3-1 win over Foolad, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad2 Oct 2028
The award goes to Ehsan Moharrami, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Sep 2028
No mercy from Saba
Gostaresh Foulad will want this one forgotten quickly: 5-0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Saba were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad25 Sep 2028
The match ball belongs to Ehsan Moharrami, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad25 Sep 2028
58 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad25 Sep 2028
A season average of 7.20 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market25 Sep 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Saba know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match6 Sep 2028
Saba bow out of the cup
Tractor go through and Saba go home, 0-2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The terraces11 Sep 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market11 Sep 2028
Daniel Reynoso has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Saba they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match9 Sep 2028
A bad afternoon for Saba against Persepolis
1-2 to Persepolis, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad11 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Ahmad Nekounam
“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.
Market11 Sep 2028
Experience through the door at Saba
Suraj Ayeleso arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Squad11 Sep 2028
A first senior shirt for Luka Posavec
Every debut is a small story about the future: Luka Posavec, 19 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Hossein Beiranvand joins up with his country. Saba lose him for the window and would like him back in one piece.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Sep 2028
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market4 Sep 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match2 Sep 2028
Saba cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad4 Sep 2028
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nader Mohammadi and Saba agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match2 Sep 2028
Saba get the job done against Rah Ahan
A 3-1 win over Rah Ahan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad4 Sep 2028
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Saba have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Saba release $4.3M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Market4 Sep 2028
Experience through the door at Saba
Exequiel Márquez arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Aug 2028
The match ball belongs to Hossein Beiranvand, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Ehsan Moharrami: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Saba have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match19 Aug 2028
Three points for Saba, 4-2 the final word against Tractor in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market21 Aug 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Saba will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Jul 2028
Saba are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 50 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market10 Jul 2028
Najran come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Saba did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Hossein Darvishi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market10 Jul 2028
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Saba could get for him.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Majid Cheshmi has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Jul 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 152 days on the sidelines for Reza Taremi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“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.
Market3 Jul 2028
The name of Ashkan Azmoun has come up in conversations Saba were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
$5.0M on the table at Saba
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Ahmad Nekounam knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jun 2028
Al-Taawoun are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Saba will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad26 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Ehsan Hosseini
“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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Majid Cheshmi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Jun 2028
Saba are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 50 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market12 Jun 2028
The bid was some way short and Saba did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raghdan Matri commits to Saba for another 3 years.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Ali Nekounam called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Saba that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match15 May 2028
Saba are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 50 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market15 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad15 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Loan watch15 May 2028
“I did not go to Naft Tehran to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 45 matches say the rest.
Squad15 May 2028
Ahmad Nekounam asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad15 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom8 May 2028
$5.0M on the table at Saba
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad8 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad8 May 2028
Ramin Hajsafi knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad1 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch1 May 2028
“I did not go to Al-Shabab to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Apr 2028
Saba are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 50 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Loan watch17 Apr 2028
“I did not go to Naft Tehran to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 41 matches say the rest.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Vahid Nekounam
“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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Nader Mohammadi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market17 Apr 2028
7 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Saba money.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Ehsan Hosseini plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Loan watch27 Mar 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Saba, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Ahmad Nekounam knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Mar 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Saba can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Nader Mohammadi
“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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Hossein Darvishi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Feb 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Nader Mohammadi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Saba have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Saeid Karimazar
“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.
Match26 Feb 2028
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Loan watch28 Feb 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Saba, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Soheil Sarkari knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Feb 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Saba can pretend not to have heard.
Match12 Feb 2028
A bad afternoon for Saba against Zob Ahan
3-4 to Zob Ahan, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Feb 2028
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Aria Barzegar, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch14 Feb 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Saba, and 0 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad14 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Soheil Sarkari
“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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 2 saves does not settle it either way.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Jan 2028
Saba up to position 2
44 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Match22 Jan 2028
Saba come up short against Sepahan
Sepahan left with the points after a 3-5 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A season average of 7.24 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Loan watch24 Jan 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Saba, and 0 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Beaten 5 times, with 5 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Market24 Jan 2028
Al-Shabab are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Saba will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market24 Jan 2028
Saba have made Ramin Hajsafi available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Ehsan Hosseini knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match8 Jan 2028
Gostaresh Foulad left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Shahriar Shojaei commits to Saba for another 4 years.
Market10 Jan 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Ramin Hajsafi has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Saba.
Market10 Jan 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Ali Nekounam has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Ali Nekounam keeps the shirt for now, at Saba's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Dec 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match11 Dec 2027
A 2-0 win over Esteghlal Ahvaz, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad13 Dec 2027
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match4 Dec 2027
Honours even between Saba and Tractor
3-3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad6 Dec 2027
The award goes to Fernando Bravo, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Saba release $5.0M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Ehsan Hosseini knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A new face in his position, and Ashkan Azmoun suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Saba have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
In brief
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The terraces
The press cannot get enough of Sardar Shojaei
-
Boardroom
The Saba production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Nov 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market8 Nov 2027
Ehsan Hosseini has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Saba they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match6 Nov 2027
A bad afternoon for Saba against Padideh
1-2 to Padideh, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Saba release $5.0M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Market8 Nov 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Oct 2027
Ehsan Hosseini has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Saba they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Oct 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Fernando Bravo knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match9 Oct 2027
Honours even between Saba and Sepahan
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Reza Taremi finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Saba have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Ali Nekounam called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Saba that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Saba that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
In brief
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Market
Ehsan Hosseini runs his contract down
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The terraces
The press cannot get enough of Reza Taremi
-
Boardroom
The Saba production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Sep 2027
Persepolis made Saba work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Ahmad Dejagah asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market13 Sep 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A new face in his position, and Ahmad Dejagah suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Saba have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Squad13 Sep 2027
It went in off him and he did not care in the slightest. 1 for the season now, and a forward who has scored is a different footballer by Tuesday.
Market13 Sep 2027
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Ali Rezaeian leaves Saba the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Market13 Sep 2027
No fee, no negotiation, no argument: Hossein Noorafkan moves on to another club with his contract settled and the wage bill a little lighter.
Market13 Sep 2027
6 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Saba could get for him.
In brief
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Boardroom
Saba answer back
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The terraces
The press have found their man in Alireza Azmoun
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Boardroom
The Saba production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 2027
Naft Tehran come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Saba did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Ali Nekounam asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom31 May 2027
Saba are in Europe
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
Squad31 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad31 May 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Ashkan Rashedi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A welcome sight on the training pitch: Ehsan Hosseini has come through recovery and is pushing for a place again.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ashkan Rashedi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Saba have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market5 Apr 2027
Omid Hajsafi 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 Saba can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Apr 2027
52 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Sardar Shojaei
“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.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
Saba release $30.5K for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Saba, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Saba's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Saba has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Ehsan Hosseini
“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.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ittihad to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.23 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Loan watch25 Jan 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ittihad to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Jan 2027
$360.0K — a new record at Saba
No footballer has ever cost this club more, and the number will be read out every time he misplaces a pass for the next two years.
Match18 Jan 2027
Saba up to position 2
45 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Saba can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Mehdi Beiranvand: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Saba have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Jan 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Ehsan Hosseini knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match16 Jan 2027
Saba come up short against Sepahan
Sepahan left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Jan 2027
$340.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
Market11 Jan 2027
Omid Hajsafi 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 Saba can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jan 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The terraces11 Jan 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 5 of the 23 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Market11 Jan 2027
Amir Ebrahimi has left for Naft Tehran in a $200.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Match9 Jan 2027
Saba come up short against Foolad
Foolad left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.