Tag: UEFA Champions League

Taremi wins best Champions League Goal Award.

The Iran international has been recognized by European football's main governing body for his acrobatic effort in the Champions League quarter-finals

Porto striker Mehdi Taremi has won the UEFA Goal of the Season award for his stunning bicycle kick against Chelsea.

Taremi scooped the prize as a reward for scoring Porto's last-gasp winner in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Chelsea on April 13.

The Portuguese outfit ultimately exited the competition 2-1 on aggregate to the eventual winners, but their talismanic frontman has secured a place in European football history after receiving 30 percent of the final vote for the best goal of 2020-21.

Taremi's wonder strike

There did not appear to be a lot on when Porto substitute Nanu raced down the right-wing in stoppage time at Sevilla's Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, but he managed to produce a perfectly weighted cross that found its way to Taremi with his back to goal.

The Iran international could have tried to bring the ball down before letting fly, but instead trusted his goalscoring instincts to unleash a sensational first time overhead kick, which flew into the top corner and left Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy rooted to the spot.

Who did Taremi beat to the award?

60,000 votes were cast for the UEFA prize in total, with Italy talisman Lorenzo Insigne coming in second for his superb individual goal against Belgium in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals, which ultimately gave the Azzurri a 2-1 victory before they went on secure the trophy with wins against Spain and England.

Rangers star Kemar Roofe has completed the top three, having been recognized for the spectacular long-range effort he produced in a Europa League group stage clash with Standard Liege.

Taremi's overall record for Porto

Taremi joined Porto from Rio Ave last August and quickly established himself as the focal point in Sergio Conceicao's set-up at Estadio do Dragao.

The 29-year-old scored 23 goals in his debut season with the Primeira Liga club, including his wonder goal against Chelsea, while also recording 18 assists.

Taremi scores sensational bicycle kick against Chelsea

Sérgio Conceição’s side had lost 2-0 to Chelsea last week at Seville’s Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. Taremi played in the last 30 minutes but in that half an hour he created magic that will be talked about for a long time.  His bicycle kick just inside the box went to the roof of the goal leaving Chlsea's keeper Mendy motionless. Taremi became the first Iranian player to score a goal in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. With such a goal, it is quite likely that he will be nominated for Puskas Trophy for the year's best goal. That would be a dream achievement for the Iraninan football. Unfortunately, Taremi can easily be his worst enemy due to weak self-control and poor mental toughness. Taremi missed the the first leg against Chelsea because he was sent off in the previous round against Juventus for what looked like one of the most stupid send offs in the history of the Championship league. The term childish and stupid was repeated by all pundits commenting on this act that seriously lacked professionalism. He was suspended for the next crucial match against Chlesa. Porto, without Taremi, lost 2-0 in the home leg. In the return leg and after that wonder goal, Taremi was back to his worst behaviour and could not keep his mouth shut, getting a late yellow card for dissent after he protested a referee call.  

Sardar Azmoun Named Top Goal Scorer of Russian Football League

For the second time in history, an Iranian player wins the League Top Scorer in Europe

Sardar Azmoun,  Team Melli and Zenit Saint Petersburg center forward, has finished the 2019/20 season at the Russian Premier League as the top goal scorer after scoring the winner against FC Rostov in the season’s last fixture. Match ended 2-1 for the champion.

Both Azmoun and teammate Artem Dzyuba played 28 games, with both forwards scoring 17 goals, but the Iranian was ahead of the Russian striker by virtue of fewer goals from the penalty spot. Azmoun scored one penalty, whereas Dzyuba scored seven.

In the history of the RPL, Azmoun is the third Zenit player to finish a season as top scorer. Much was expected of Azmoun when he was snapped up by Rubin Kazan as an 18-year-old, and he has grown to become a superstar of Asian football.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh finished the 2017-18  Dutch Eredivise as the top scorer with 21 goals. Jahanbakhsh becomes the first Asian ever to finish as the highest-scoring player in an Eredivisie campaign.

Now Azmoun is repeating a similar feat by becoming the first Asian player to win the top scorer title in Russia, and the second Iranian player to achieve this honor in a European league.

Azmoun is both the youngest Iranian to score in a Champions League game, as well as the Iranian record-holder for the most goals scored in UEFA Champions League games, having scored 4 goals in the two seasons he has taken part in the tournament. Azmoun has a great chance to add to his tally as Zenit has qualified for next season UEFA Champions League.

Azmoun is now linked to several top European football teams, from AC Milan, Napoli, and Lazio in Italy to Arsenal and West Ham in England. It is reported that Azmoun's agent has already met this week with Napoli owner discussing players transfers.

Transfer Rumours: Mehdi Taremi to FC Porto!

According to José Fernandes a journalist at the newspaper OGogo, Mehdi Taremi and FC Porto have already signed a pre-agreement for Rio Ave forward to join FC Porto.

Mehdi Taremi is Al-Gharafa player loaned to Rio Ave. The transfer is imminent according to the journalist but highly dependent on whether Tiquinho Soares's deal with AS Roma is finalized.

Taremi has been in an excellent form season with the middle of the table Rio Ave in the Portuguese League. The 27 Years old former Persepolis and IranJavan Busheher player has scored 8 goals this season, 5 goals in the league and 3 in the cup competition.  This is despite an injury he suffered earlier in the season which placed him on the injury list for a few weeks. Taremi has been a regular starter for Rio Ave and registered several assists on top of his goals.

Porto's interest in Mehdi Taremi is significant as they are one of the top teams in Portugal. They have been dominating the Portuguese football along with Benfica. Porto has won the league 28 times with season 2017/18 being the last. PC Porto won the UEFA Champions League twice in 1986/87 and 2003/04 seasons. They also won the UEFA Cup twice and the UEFA Super Cup once in 1987. The club has a strong European pedigree. The other Portuguese icon, Benfica is currently leading the table with 45 points while FC Porto is second on 41 with 16 games played.  FC Porto head coach is Sérgio Conceição

The transfer of Taremi to FC Porto required the agreement of the Qatari club Al-Gharafa.

Ivan Leko supports Kaveh Rezaie, to return to his form after injury setback.

FC Brugge will be playing against According Sporting Charleroi in the fifteenth week of the Jupiler Pro League on Saturday night. This encounter is a special match for Brugge and Team Melli center forward Kaveh Rezaei, as he will be facing his former team

"It's true that Rezaei is not in an ideal form right now, but he's already working quite hard after his injury and adjusting to playing in the bigger team, at the price the media places on him," said the Croatian coach Ivan Leko, “ I'm sure that the time will make when Rezaei will return to his ideal conditions. He is a good player with a good mindset and quality that will definitely play a more important role for us in the coming weeks. Rezaei uses every minute of the team's training, and I'm impressed by his progress and commitment in recent weeks.”

Kaveh Rezaei , (26 years) who was transferred from Sporting Charleroi for 5 million Euros , at the beginning of the 2018/19 season , was injured and sidelined for a few weeks. He has already made 6 appearances with his new club including games in the UEFA Champions League and scored 1 goal.