Fereydoun Zandi
Ferydoon Zandi in Saipa training
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ferydoon Zandi | ||
| Date of birth | 26 April 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Emden, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
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FC St. Pauli II (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1985–1988 | Blau-Weiß Borssum | ||
| 1988–1992 | SV Meppen | ||
| 1992–1993 | SV Werder Bremen | ||
| 1993–1995 | TuS Esens | ||
| 1995–1998 | SV Meppen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2000 | SV Meppen | 60 | (15) |
| 2000–2002 | SC Freiburg | 10 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | VfB Lübeck | 54 | (20) |
| 2004–2006 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 45 | (6) |
| 2006 | TuS Koblenz | 8 | (0) |
| 2007 | Apollon Limassol | 10 | (2) |
| 2008 | Olympiakos Nicosia | 10 | (4) |
| 2008–2009 | Alki Larnaca | 23 | (12) |
| 2009–2011 | Steel Azin | 39 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Esteghlal | 39 | (5) |
| 2012–2014 | Al Ahli | 18 | (3) |
| Total | 216 | (69) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001 | Germany U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2005–2012 | Iran | 29 | (5) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2016– | FC St. Pauli II | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 October 2012. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 May 2012 |
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Ferydoon Zandi (born 26 April 1979) is a retired Iranian professional footballer and a current coach.
Zandi was born in the city of Emden, in northern Germany, to an Iranian father and a German mother. He speaks German and Persian. Ferydoon started playing football at an early age when his talent shone through his playing for a number of youth clubs in and near his hometown.
Zandi was called up for the German under-17 national football team and played for the SV Meppen before being signed by SC Freiburg. There, he failed to establish himself as a starter and was traded to the second-division club VfB Lübeck. After struggling again initially, Zandi spectacularly broke through and established himself as one of the most dangerous and versatile attackers of the Second Bundesliga. He regularly was one of the top scorers and assist givers.
After enjoying two successful seasons in Lübeck, he was signed by 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 2004 and given the number 10 to underline his importance. However, Zandi struggled with his form, arguably not helped by the fact that 1. FCK was then a club in flux, with a high turnover of players after heavy financial problems. He still managed to become a starter and score important goals, but the overall impression was that Zandi failed to live up to the expectations from his strong Lübeck stint.
In season 2005/06, Zandi's position further worsened. In a chaotic season in which 1. FCK spectacularly crashed to the end of the table, he lost his position as a starting playmaker, was benched for a longer period of time, and even had periods when he even failed to be nominated as a bench player at all. Trainer Wolfgang Wolf refused to play him in the second half of the season, and after the relegation of FCK, Zandi is confirmed to be cut from the squad. Also, Amir Ghalenoei, the new manager of Iran national football team, did not invite Ferydoon to the Iranian squad for the Asian Cup qualification games.
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