The Gostaresh Foulad Sentinel
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Saman Noorafkan could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.30
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.30, 1 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Mohammad Vafaei 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 Gostaresh Foulad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Gostaresh Foulad
1 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Match1 Aug 2026
Gostaresh Foulad find a way past Rah Ahan
Rah Ahan made Gostaresh Foulad work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Gostaresh Foulad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ahmad Rezaeian 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.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
Gostaresh Foulad supporters have found a favourite in Omid Taremi
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Omid Taremi 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
One of our own: Ali Taremi joins the Gostaresh Foulad first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ali Taremi is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Karim Hajsafi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.22. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Market3 Aug 2026
Sepahan join the queue for Shahriar Vafaei
Add another name to the list: Sepahan have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Shahriar Vafaei. The answer from Gostaresh Foulad has not changed — yet.
In brief
- Market Majid Khodadad told to find a new club
- Squad Ali Hajsafi asks for a word with the manager
- Boardroom Gostaresh Foulad turn down the training-ground plan