The Esteghlal Herald
Market3 Aug 2026
Esteghlal say no — this time
The offer from Al-Ittihad for Saeid Saharkhizan 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Antonio Adán signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Antonio Adán commits to Esteghlal for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Esteghlal
Munir 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.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Esteghlal
3 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ramin Rezaeian falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Rouzbeh Cheshmi 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
Esteghlal promote Masoud Gholizadeh from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Masoud Gholizadeh 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
Esteghlal promote Kaveh Shojaei from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kaveh 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
One of our own: Ali Noorafkan joins the Esteghlal first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ali Noorafkan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Match Padideh take the points off Esteghlal
- Boardroom Nobody left the Esteghlal dressing room in a hurry
- Player ratings Jasir Asani runs at them all day