Marked for Ehsan Cheshmi
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Jul 2029
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ehsan Cheshmi commits to Rah Ahan for another 4 years.
Market16 Jul 2029
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Apr 2029
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
“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.
Market30 Apr 2029
The name of Ahmad Azmoun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Rah Ahan say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Mar 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rah Ahan they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rah Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ehsan Cheshmi commits to Rah Ahan for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Mar 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rah Ahan is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Henrique Gelain commits to Rah Ahan for another 2 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Feb 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Osamu Henry Iyoha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rah Ahan the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rah Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Feb 2029
Three points for Rah Ahan, 3‑2 the final word against Esteghlal in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
A performance of 9.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Ahmad Azmoun is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.33 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Loan watch12 Feb 2029
“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 Rah Ahan, and 1 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“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.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market15 Jan 2029
Rah Ahan say no — this time
The offer from Sepahan for Ashkan Rezaeian 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.
Market15 Jan 2029
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Rah Ahan have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Rah Ahan know it.
Squad15 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rah Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Jan 2029
0‑1 to Naft Tehran, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giovani Chiaverano, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ashkan Dejagah and Rah Ahan agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch15 Jan 2029
“I watch every Rah Ahan game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Tractor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Dec 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad18 Dec 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rah Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.43, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match16 Dec 2028
Rah Ahan get the job done against Saba
A 2‑1 win over Saba, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
A performance of 8.22 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch18 Dec 2028
“I watch every Rah Ahan game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Tractor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad18 Dec 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.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rah Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Nov 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Ahmad Azmoun 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Rah Ahan are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings20 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Nov 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ashkan Dejagah commits to Rah Ahan for another 1 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Rah Ahan may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rah Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
A performance of 8.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch23 Oct 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 Rah Ahan, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad23 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.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Sep 2028
There were 10 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rah Ahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Sep 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Masoud Rezaeian. 2‑0 against Esteghlal Khuzestan, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad25 Sep 2028
25 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.25, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emerson Martins, and the manager let it.
Loan watch25 Sep 2028
“I watch every Rah Ahan game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Tractor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Aug 2028
13 matches without a win for Rah Ahan
The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around Rah Ahan are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Aug 2028
There were 7 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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 ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Marked 9.02 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.59 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market28 Aug 2028
The phone has started ringing about Karim Gholizadeh again, and this time the name on the line is Borneo. Rah Ahan are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Djamel Belalem and Rah Ahan agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad28 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
Match24 Jul 2028
Tractor refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 53 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Market24 Jul 2028
Esteghlal paid $3.8M and Tractor took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Adib Zarei 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.
Squad24 Jul 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 Tractor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market24 Jul 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sadegh Moharrami signs something — a contract at Tractor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jul 2028
Only the photograph left for Majid Ghoddos
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Majid Ghoddos will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rah Ahan the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ramin Vafaei and Rah Ahan agree another 1 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rah Ahan is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ehsan Cheshmi and Rah Ahan agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market3 Jul 2028
The Majid Ghoddos conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Tractor will make the call about Majid Ghoddos this week. Rah Ahan have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The captaincy has been taken off Ahmad Azmoun. Rah Ahan will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market19 Jun 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 Rah Ahan can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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.