The Malavan Courier
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
A brace, and Mehdi Abdi takes the afternoon — 8.61
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mehdi Abdi provided it, and the 8.61 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Jorge Pedrozo wants to go home
“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 Malavan know it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Mehdi Abdi 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 Malavan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Mohammad Papi stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mohammad Papi and Malavan agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match10 Oct 2026
Malavan see off Saba
Three points for Malavan, 2‑0 the final word against Saba in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Mojtaba Fakhrian
“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.
In brief
- Player ratings A defender's afternoon for Danial Eiri
- Player ratings Ghaem Eslamikhah runs at them all day
- Player ratings Nothing got past Amir Reza Afsordeh