Mehrdad Minavand

Mehrdad Minavand
	Minavand in 2020
Personal information
Date of birth	30 November 1975
Place of birth	Tehran, Iran
Date of death	27 January 2021 (aged 45)
Place of death	Tehran, Iran
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Left midfielder
Youth career
	Atash Neshani
Senior career*
Years	Team
1994–1995	Pas
1995–1998	Persepolis
1998–2001	Sturm Graz
2001–2002	Charleroi
2002	Al-Shabab
2002–2004	Persepolis
2004–2005	Sepahan
2005–2006	Rah Ahan
International career
1996–2003	Iran
Managerial career
2009	Persepolis B
2014–2015	Khooneh Be Khooneh (assistant)
2016	Khooneh Be Khooneh (assistant)
2018	Sepidrood Rasht (assistant)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mehrdad Minavand (Persian: مهرداد میناوند; 30 November 1975 – 27 January 2021) was an Iranian professional footballer and coach. He played mostly as a left midfielder but was also deployed as a left winger or left-back.^[1]

Club career

Minavand was born in Tehran. He played for a few clubs, including Keshavarz F.C., Persepolis FC, Sturm Graz (Austria), Sporting Charleroi (Belgium) and Al-Shabab (United Arab Emirates) as well as Sepahan. He last played for Rah Ahan FC, but left the team after the 2005–06 season. He played 21 matches in UEFA Champions League and he is all-time record holder among the Iranian footballers in this feature.

International career

Minavand played for the Iran national team and was a participant at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.^[2]

Death

On 21 January 2021, Minavand was hospitalised due to COVID-19.^[3] Six days later it was announced that he had died from the virus, at age 45.^[4]^[5]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total		Ref.
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Ref.
Persepolis	1995–96	Azadegan League	30	4							30	4	^[1]
	1996–97		31	5							31	5	^[1]
	1997–98		28	4							28	4	^[1]
	Total		89	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	89	13	–
Sturm Graz	1998–99	Austrian Bundesliga	17	0	2	1	3	0	1	0	23	1	^[6]
	1999–00		23	0	0	0	5	0			28	0	^[6]
	2000–01		27	1	0	0	13	0			40	1	^[6]
	Total		67	1	2	1	21	0	1	0	91	2	–
Charleroi	2001–02	Belgian First Division	2	0	0	0	—				2	0
Persepolis	2002–03	Pro League	8	0							8	0	^[1]
	2003–04	Pro League	11	0			—				11	0	^[1]
	Total		19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0	–
Sepahan	2004–05	Pro League	19	0			—				19	0	^[1]
Career total			196	14	2	1	21	0	1	0	220	15	–

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Iran^[7]
	1996	7	1
	1997	16	2
	1998	10	0
	1999	3	0
	2000	12	0
	2001	16	1
	2002	4	0
Total		68	4

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Minavand goal.^[7]

List of international goals scored by Mehrdad Minavand
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 December 1996	Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Thailand	2–0	3–1	1996 Asian Cup
2	2 June 1997	Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria	Maldives	17–0	17–0	1998 World Cup qualification
3	4 June 1997	Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria	Kyrgyzstan	5–0	7–0	1998 World Cup qualification
4	31 October 2001	Al-Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	3–0	3–0	2002 World Cup qualification (play-off)