The Esteghlal Khuzestan Herald
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A brace, and Hojjat Ahmadi takes the afternoon — 8.42
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Hojjat Ahmadi provided it, and the 8.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
8 seasons of Mohammad Sharifi
112 appearances across 8 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Esteghlal Khuzestan know what they have.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Hamid Bouhamdan stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hamid Bouhamdan and Esteghlal Khuzestan agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Mohammad Sharifi 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 Esteghlal Khuzestan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Amir Hossein Jalalivand runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
4 academy players handed senior numbers at Esteghlal Khuzestan
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Hamid Bouhamdan 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.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
Esteghlal Khuzestan supporters have found a favourite in Hojjat Ahmadi
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Hojjat Ahmadi has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market3 Aug 2026
Mohammad Khodadad steps up from the Esteghlal Khuzestan academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mohammad Khodadad has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market Mehdi Taremi steps up from the Esteghlal Khuzestan academy
- Market One of our own: Omid Noorafkan joins the Esteghlal Khuzestan first team
- Market Mohammad Torabi steps up from the Esteghlal Khuzestan academy