The Gostaresh Foulad Sentinel
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Saman Cheshmi could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.84
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.84, 1 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Hossein Azmoun 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
4 academy players handed senior numbers at Gostaresh Foulad
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.
Match1 Aug 2026
Hossein Azmoun sends Gostaresh Foulad past Rah Ahan
It finished 3‑1, and it was Hossein Azmoun’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Gostaresh Foulad.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
The crowd has taken to Saman Cheshmi
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Omid Torabi 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
One of our own: Mohammad Karimi joins the Gostaresh Foulad first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mohammad Karimi is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market3 Aug 2026
Gostaresh Foulad promote Amir Khodadad from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Amir Khodadad 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
One of our own: Amir Azmoun joins the Gostaresh Foulad first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Amir Azmoun is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market Ashkan Karimi steps up from the Gostaresh Foulad academy
- Squad Hossein Cheshmi stays put
- Squad Gostaresh Foulad count the cost of losing Ramin Nekounam