The Persepolis Courier
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Age has not caught Igor Sergeev yet — 8.22
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.22 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Nobody could get near Oston O'runov
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Hossein Kanaani signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hossein Kanaani commits to Persepolis for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Hossein Kanaani 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 Persepolis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Persepolis
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
The game went through Mohammad Omri — 6.82
Marked 6.82 on 13 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Market3 Aug 2026
Eyes on Soheil Sahraei again
The phone has started ringing about Soheil Sahraei again, and this time the name on the line is Al Shaab. Persepolis are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Payam Niazmand
“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 Aug 2026
Persepolis promote Reza Shojaei from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Reza Shojaei has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Market One of our own: Vahid Gholizadeh joins the Persepolis first team
- Market One of our own: Shahriar Vafaei joins the Persepolis first team
- Match Igor Sergeev rescues a point for Persepolis