EXPLORE THE ASIAN GAME
Football through an Asian lens.
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Behnam Jafarzadeh
Behnam Jafarzadeh is an Iranian football writer based in Mazandaran in the north of Iran. He started his career as a football commentator and then moved to writing, first with Farsi edition of Goal.com and then Varzesh3, Iran’s most visited sport website, where he covered two FIFA World Cups. He also is on The Guardian’s voting panel for selecting the world’s best players since 2016.
More from Behnam Jafarzadeh
Iran’s qualification met by muted celebrations… but why?
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Why the match against Japan is more than just football for Iran
The day of reckoning has arrived for Iran. Five years after the Al-Ain agony and a…
Doubts linger despite winning form for Iran
Iran is one of the three teams to win all three of their matches in the…
The ‘Last Dance’ for Iran’s golden generation
When Iran won the AFC Asian Cup for the third consecutive time, in 1976, Brazilian Mario…
Team of the Regime: the history of Esteghlal and Persepolis’ bitter rivalry
There are lots of insults and obscenities among Iranian football fans but none of them couldn’t…
Amir Ghalenoei: The General or Boss of the Mafia?
It was a long journey for Amir Ghalenoei to return to Iran’s bench after his sacking…