2018–19 Persian Gulf Pro League
The 2018–19 Persian Gulf Pro League was the 36th season of Iran's Football League and 18th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Persepolis were the defending champions. The season featured 13 teams from the 2017–18 Persian Gulf Pro League and two new teams promoted from the 2017–18 Azadegan League: Naft Masjed Soleyman as champions and Nassaji Mazandaran. Machine Sazi replaced Gostaresh. The league started on 26 July 2018 and ended on 16 May 2019. Persepolis won the Pro League title for the fifth time in their history, a total 12th Iranian title.
Teams
Stadia and locations
Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
Esteghlal | Tehran | Azadi | 78,116 |
Esteghlal Khuzestan | Ahvaz | Ghadir | 38,900 |
Foolad | Ahvaz | Ghadir Foolad Arena | 38,900 30,655 |
Machine Sazi | Tabriz | Bonyan Diesel | 12,000 |
Naft Masjed Soleyman | Masjed Soleyman | Behnam Mohammadi | 8,000 |
Nassaji Mazandaran | Qaemshahr | Vatani | 15,000 |
Padideh | Mashhad | Imam Reza | 27,700 |
Pars Jonoubi Jam | Jam | Takhti Jam | 15,000 |
Paykan | Shahr-e Qods | Shahre Qods | 25,000 |
Persepolis | Tehran | Azadi | 78,116 |
Saipa | Tehran | Dastgerdi | 8,250 |
Sanat Naft | Abadan | Takhti Abadan | 8,000 |
Sepahan | Isfahan | Naghsh-e-Jahan | 75,000 |
Sepidrood | Rasht | Sardar Jangal | 15,000 |
Tractor Sazi | Tabriz | Sahand | 66,833 |
Zob Ahan | Fooladshahr | Fooladshahr | 15,000 |
Number of teams by region
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
Esteghlal | Farhad Majidi | Mehdi Rahmati | Li-Ning |
Est. Khuzestan | Mohammad Alavi | Ahmad Alenemeh | Li-Ning |
Foolad | Afshin Ghotbi | Ayoub Vali | Uhlsport |
Machine Sazi | Mohammad Reza Mohajeri | Esmaeil Farhadi | Merooj |
Naft MIS | Firouz Karimi | Milad Meydavoudi | Merooj |
Nassaji | Majid Jalali | Mohammad Abbaszadeh | Uhlsport |
Padideh | Yahya Golmohammadi | Reza Nasehi | Yousef Jame |
Pars Jonoubi | Mehdi Tartar | Mohammad Nouri | Merooj |
Paykan | Hossein Faraki | Arman Ghasemi | Yousef Jame |
Persepolis | Branko Ivanković | Jalal Hosseini | Li-Ning |
Saipa | Ebrahim Sadeghi | Roozbeh Shahalidoost | Start |
Sanat Naft | Paulo Sérgio | Hossein Baghlani | Merooj |
Sepahan | Amir Ghalenoei | Rasoul Navidkia | Start |
Sepidrood | Nader Dastneshan | Hossein Kaebi | Merooj |
Tractor Sazi | Georges Leekens | Masoud Shojaei | Merooj |
Zob Ahan | Alireza Mansourian | Ghasem Haddadifar | Merooj |
Managerial changes
Foreign players
The number of foreign players is restricted to four per Persian Gulf Pro League team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team can use four foreign players on the field in each game, including at least one player from the AFC country.In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.
Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Asian Player | Former Players |
Esteghlal | Isma | Godwin Mensha | Ayanda Patosi | Humam Tariq | Markus Neumayr Alhaji Gero |
Esteghlal Khuzestan | |||||
Foolad | Chimba | Raphaël Messi Bouli | Zié Diabaté | Takafumi Akahoshi | Tartá Neguete |
Machine Sazi | Fernando Jesus | Jai Quitongo | Maximilien Elimbi Harry Forrester | ||
Naft MIS | Moussa Coulibaly | ||||
Nassaji | Giorgi Gvelesiani | Lasha Totadze | Arfang Daffé | ||
Padideh | Carlos Chavarría | ||||
Pars Jonoubi Jam | |||||
Paykan | Magno Batista | Marko Vukčević | |||
Persepolis | Božidar Radošević | Mario Budimir | Bashar Resan | Godwin Mensha | |
Saipa | Samuel Sarfo | ||||
Sanat Naft | Jonathan Balotelli | Vinícius | Macoumba Kandji | Aziz Sydykov | Platini Karrar Jassim |
Sepahan | Kiros | Vladimir Koman | |||
Sepidrood | Luka Nozadze | Roman Chachua | |||
Tractor Sazi | Anthony Stokes | Kévin Constant | Lee Erwin | Yukiya Sugita | Harry Forrester |
Zob Ahan | Marion | Christian Osaguona | Eddie Hernández |
League table
Results
Positions by round
Season statistics
Top scorers
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
1 | Luciano Pereira | Foolad | 16 |
1 | Kiros Stanlley | Sepahan | 16 |
3 | Ali Alipour | Persepolis | 14 |
4 | Anthony Stokes | Tractor Sazi | 11 |
5 | Amin Ghaseminejad | Padideh | 10 |
5 | Younes Shakeri | Padideh | 10 |
7 | Issa Alekasir | Paykan | 8 |
8 | Mehrdad Bayrami | Sepidrood | 6 |
8 | Ashkan Dejagah | Tractor Sazi | 6 |
8 | Mehrdad Mohammadi | Sepahan | 6 |
8 | Amir Arsalan Motahari | Zob Ahan | 6 |
Hat-tricks
Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
Anthony Stokes | Tractor Sazi | Esteghlal Khuzestan | 6–0 | 28 9 2018 |
Lee Erwin | Tractor Sazi | Zob Ahan | 4–1 | 9 11 2018 |
Jonathan Balotelli | Sanat Naft | Foolad | 4–1 | 19 4 2019 |
Top assists
Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
1 | Mohammad Karimi | Sepahan | 8 |
2 | Mehdi Momeni | Paykan | 7 |
3 | Hassan Beyt Saeed | Foolad | 6 |
3 | Mohammad Ghaseminejad | Padideh | 6 |
5 | Saeid Aghaei | Sepahan | 5 |
5 | Omid Alishah | Persepolis | 5 |
5 | Ehsan Hajsafi | Tractor Sazi | 5 |
5 | Mohammad Iranpourian | Sepahan | 5 |
5 | Godwin Mensha | Persepolis / Esteghlal | 5 |
5 | Masoud Shojaei | Tractor Sazi | 5 |
Clean Sheets
Rank | Player | Club | Clean Sheets |
1 | Alireza Beiranvand | Persepolis | 16 |
2 | Payam Niazmand | Sepahan | 15 |
3 | Mohsen Forouzan | Tractor Sazi | 14 |
4 | Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri | Zob Ahan | 12 |
4 | Mehdi Rahmati | Esteghlal | 12 |
6 | Hamed Fallahzadeh | Saipa | 10 |
6 | Hamed Lak | Nassaji | 10 |
8 | Yousef Behzadi | Padideh | 9 |
8 | Milad Farahani | Naft MIS / Padideh | 9 |
Scoring
Attendances
Average home attendances
Attendances by round
Notes:Updated to games played on 16 March 2019. Source:
Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendances
Esteghlal Khuzestan played their matches against Foolad and Nassaji at Foolad Arena
Machine Sazi played their matches against Esteghlal Khuzestan and Tractor Sazi at Sahand
Saipa played their matches against Esteghlal and Persepolis at Takhti Tehran
Saipa played their matches against Foolad, Nassaji, Paykan, Padideh, Sanat Naft, Sepahan and Tractor Sazi at Shohada Shahr-e Qods
Sepahan played their match against Tractor Sazi at Foolad Shahr
Highest attendances
Notes:Updated to games played on 16 March 2019. Source: