Iman Mobali

Iman Mobali

Personal information
Date of birth	(1982-11-03) 3 November 1982
Place of birth	Izeh, Khuzestan Province, Iran
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Naft Tehran
Number	23
Youth career
	Esteghlal Ahvaz
	Foolad
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2005	Foolad	73	(24)
2003	→ Nirouye Zamini (loan)	25	(2)
2005–2008	Al-Shabab	45	(20)
2008–2009	Al Wasl	19	(7)
2009–2010	Al Nasr	15	(6)
2010–2011	Esteghlal	30	(0)
2011–2012	Al Sharjah	8	(0)
2012–2013	Paykan	25	(2)
2013–2014	Esteghlal Khuzestan	25	(2)
2014	→ Esteghlal (loan)	0	(0)
2014–	Naft Tehran	30	(1)
International career‡
2000–2001	Iran U20	13	(?)
2002–2003	Iran U23	11	(2)
2001–	Iran	60	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 April 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 February 2011

Iman Mobali (Persian: ایمان مبعلی‎‎; born November 3, 1982 in Izeh, Iran) is an Iranian football player who currently plays for Naft Tehran in Iran Pro League.

Club career

Foolad

Mobali joined Foolad's senior team in 2000. He was considered as the creative dynamo of the highly talented Foolad, based in Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province. Mobali was the key member of his team during Foolad's Iran Pro League championship. Which also secured a berth in the AFC Champions League for the first time in club history.

Al-Shabab

In 2005 Mobali signed a contract with Al-Shabab in the UAE League. In his first season he scored 6 times in 15 appearances. In the following season Mobali was hit with a series of injuries and only managed to make 11 league appearances. In his last year with Al-Shabab he had his best year, he scored 9 goals in 19 appearances and Al-Shabab won the league title.

Al Wasl & Al Nasr

In summer 2008 he signed a contract with the UAE giants, Al Wasl. In his one and only season with the club, Mobali scored 7 times in 19 appearances. He left the club at the end of the season. He signed for Al Nasr in summer 2009. After an unsuccessful season with Al Nasr, Mobali decided not to extend his contract and returned to Iran.

Esteghlal

Mobali signed a one-year contract with Esteghlal in spring of 2010. He made 36 total appearances and did not manage to score a goal. He left the club at the end of the season and signed with UAE club Al Sharjah. He only made 8 appearances before leaving the club.

Paykan

After his stint in Sharjah, Mobali again returned to the Iran Pro League and again returned to Tehran, this time he signed with Paykan in the summer of 2012. He scored twice in 25 appearances but was unable to help Paykan from getting relegated to the Azadegan League.

Esteghlal Khuzestan

After Paykan was relegated, Mobali left the team and joined newly promoted club Esteghlal Khuzestan. He made 25 appearances and scored twice before being loaned out to his former club Esteghlal. He made 4 appearances with Esteghlal before season's end.

Naft Tehran

In summer of 2014, Mobali signed a two-year contract with Naft Tehran. He finished the 2014–15 season with 13 assists, most in the league. On 1 July 2015 Mobali extended his contract with Naft Tehran for one more year.

Club career statistics

Last Update 11 December 2014

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
2000–01	Foolad	Azadegan League	7	2			–	–
2001–02		Pro League	16	2			–	–
2002–03				0			–	–
	Niroye Zamini	Division 1					–	–
2003–04	Foolad	Pro League	21	8			–	–
2004–05			29	12			–	–
United Arab Emirates			League		President's Cup		Asia		Total
2005–06	Al Shabab	Pro League	15	6			–	–
2006–07			11	5			–	–
2007–08			19	9			–	–
2008–09	Al Wasl		19	7			–	–
2009–10	Al Nasr		15	6	4	1	–	–	19	6
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
2010–11	Esteghlal	Pro League	30	0	2	0	4	0	36	0
United Arab Emirates			League		President's Cup		Asia		Total
2011–12	Al Sharjah	Pro League	8	0			–	–
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
2012–13	Paykan	Pro League	25	2	1	0	–	–	26	2
2013–14	Esteghlal Khuzestan		23	2	0	0	–	–	23	2
2014–15	Naft Tehran		27	1	2	0	6	0	35	1
Total	Iran						4	0
	United Arab Emirates		87	33			0	0
	Career total						4	0

• Assist Goals

Season	Team	Assists
10–11	Esteghlal	5
12–13	Paykan	2
13–14	Esteghlal Khuzestan	6
14–15	Naft Tehran	13

International career

At international level Mobali is considered one of Asia's brightest prospects. Mobali made his debut for Team Melli in January 2001 against China. He was among Iran's under-23 squad in 2002, winning a Gold Medal in the Busan Asian Games.

Although according to many football analysts, Iman is among the most talented Asian players of his generation, his international career has not been as impressive as expected. There is some speculation that Branko Ivanković, the former coach of Iranian national football team, was not a big fan of Iman. He was not always called up to the national team, and even if selected, he was usually on the bench. Some also say that Iman Mobali has had personal issues with Ali Daei, which emerged when Mobali made a dangerous tackle on Ali Daei's legs in a cup match in Iran, although Iman has denied these speculations.

2011 Asian Cup

Mobali started most of the matches in the group stage for Team Melli in 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and scored a beautiful goal in match against Iraq from a curling free-kick.

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 September 2003	Azadi Stadium, Tehran	Jordan	2–1	4–1	2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2	11 January 2011	Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan	Iraq	2–1	2–1	2011 AFC Asian Cup

Awards and honours

Club

Foolad

• Iran Pro League (1): 2004–05

Al-Shabab

• UAE Pro League (1): 2007–08

Esteghlal

• Iran Pro League runner-up (1): 2010–11

Country

Iran U-23

• Asian Games (1): 2002

Iran

• WAFF (1): 2004
• Asian Cup bronze medal (1): 2004

External links

• Iman Mobali at TeamMelli.com
• Iman Mobali at National-Football-Teams.com