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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Mar 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sardar Shojaei commits to Saba for another 3 years.
Squad6 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.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
Saba release $5.0M for the managerThe 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.
Loan watch6 Mar 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 5 matches say the rest.
Squad6 Mar 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.
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
Upbeat
Market17 Jan 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.
Match15 Jan 2028
Foolad made Saba work for it, but the scoreboard read 4-2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Ali Nekounam gets it from the manager“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 watch17 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Saba pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Market17 Jan 2028
Saba bring in an old headRodrigo Accinelli is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Squad17 Jan 2028
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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Alireza Azmoun keeps the shirt for now, at Saba 's convenience rather than his own.
Market17 Jan 2028
No fee and no drama: Johan Murillo has signed at Saba , and the wage bill is the only line that moved.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad20 Dec 2027
“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.
Match18 Dec 2027
6 unbeaten for Saba
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Saba did not have in the autumn.
Match18 Dec 2027
Three points for Saba , 2-1 the final word against Rah Ahan in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad20 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.
Loan watch20 Dec 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ahli to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.
Squad20 Dec 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match20 Nov 2027
A 1-0 win over Naft Tehran , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad22 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.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ahli 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
Crisis
Market25 Oct 2027
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.
Match23 Oct 2027
Esteghlal left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Oct 2027
The medical room confirms 44 days on the sidelines for Karim Ghoddos , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad25 Oct 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.
Loan watch25 Oct 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ahli to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Ramin Hajsafi 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
Upbeat
Squad27 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 76 days on the sidelines for Karim Ghoddos , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match25 Sep 2027
Gostaresh Foulad made Saba work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Loan watch27 Sep 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ahli to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Squad27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Reza Taremi
“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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Daniel Reynoso 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
Market30 Aug 2027
$4.3M from Zob Ahan for Masoud Hosseini . Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
Match28 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Saba
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match28 Aug 2027
Esteghlal Ahvaz made Saba work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad30 Aug 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.
Loan watch30 Aug 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ahli to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Squad30 Aug 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Aref Haji Eydi 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
7 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Somebody else's move, somebody else's headline. What it left at Saba is an empty peg and a footballer who keeps glancing at it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Aug 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.
Market2 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market2 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market2 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad2 Aug 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.
Loan watch2 Aug 2027
“I did not go to Al-Ahli to sit and watch. I want to come back to Saba and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 2027
Naft Tehran come back empty-handedThe 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
Market21 Jun 2027
The name of Ehsan Moharrami has come up in conversations Saba were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad21 Jun 2027
50 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Ali 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
Uneasy
Market26 Apr 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad26 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Mar 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
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.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Saba release $30.5K for the managerThe 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Mar 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Ahmad Dejagah
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Alireza Azmoun 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Ramin Torabi is not saying it is over“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 36 with 0 appearances behind him, and Saba have to plan for both answers.
Market1 Mar 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Shahriar Shojaei may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Ashkan Shojaei named in the team of the weekA rating of 7.04 was enough for the selectors, and nobody who watched the match is going to argue with them.
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
Upbeat
Match26 Dec 2026
Three points for Saba , 2-1 the final word against Siah Jamegan in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“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 watch28 Dec 2026
“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 17 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“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 watch30 Nov 2026
“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 13 matches say the rest.
Reza Taremi Reza Taremi: that is not what I was promised
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 33 days on the sidelines for Ahmad Karimi , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“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 9 matches say the rest.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Saba
The unbeaten run reaches 11. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Market5 Oct 2026
“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.
Match3 Oct 2026
4 matches without a win for Saba
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Saba are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“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 watch5 Oct 2026
“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 5 matches say the rest.
Match3 Oct 2026
Saba and Sepahan take a point apieceIt finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match22 Aug 2026
No mercy from Saba
Esteghlal Ahvaz will want this one forgotten quickly: 6-0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Saba were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market24 Aug 2026
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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The match ball belongs to Hossein Beiranvand , whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Saba make it 4 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Saba have 4 straight wins of it.
Market24 Aug 2026
The name of Ehsan Moharrami has come up in conversations Saba were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market17 Aug 2026
“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.
Market17 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Saba have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match15 Aug 2026
Saba make it 3 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Saba have 3 straight wins of it.
Match15 Aug 2026
Three points for Saba , 2-1 the final word against Tractor in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“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.
Market17 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Ashkan Shojaei 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market17 Aug 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Saeid Hosseini has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Saba .
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match1 Aug 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3-0 against Naft Tehran , and it could have been more.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
Al-Taawoun come back empty-handedThe 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The name of Shahriar Shojaei has come up in conversations Saba were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
Hossein Noorafkan is 16, and Saba have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ali 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
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.