The Sepahan Sentinel
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
A brace, and Aaron Connolly takes the afternoon — 8.85
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Aaron Connolly provided it, and the 8.85 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Iván Sánchez, 35, rolls back the years — 7.88
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.88 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
Mehdi Khoshbakht: 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.” Sepahan have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad21 Aug 2028
The step up is real for Farhan Jafari
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A falling-out at Sepahan
Kaveh Rezaei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A late step up for Aaron Connolly
At 28 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
Sepahan baulk at the price for Mohammad Mehdi Mohebi
Persepolis wanted more than $150.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
Al Ahli tell Sepahan: Mohamed Mabkhout 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.
Match19 Aug 2028
Aaron Connolly the difference as Sepahan beat Rah Ahan
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aaron Connolly. 2‑1 against Rah Ahan, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
- Market Ali Rezaei attracts admirers
- Squad Sepahan are still strangers to each other
- Market Sepahan buy the years ahead of Omid Beiranvand