Mehdi Taremi

Mehdi Taremi (Persian: مِهدی طارمی‎; born 18 July 1992) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Primeira Liga club FC Porto and the Iran national team.

Mehdi Taremi
Taremi with Iran at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name Mehdi Taremi
Date of birth (1992-07-18) 18 July 1992
Place of birth Bushehr, Iran
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Porto
Number 9
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Shahin Bushehr 8 (1)
2012–2014 Iranjavan 22 (12)
2014–2018 Persepolis 87 (45)
2018–2019 Al-Gharafa 30 (13)
2019–2020 Rio Ave 30 (18)
2020– Porto 16 (7)
National team‡
2011–2012 Iran U20 6 (0)
2013 Iran U23 1 (0)
2015– Iran 46 (22)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 October 2020

Taremi played for Persepolis between 2014 and 2018. He has been the top scorer of the Persian Gulf Pro League on two occasions (2015–16 and 2016–17). He also won Primeira Liga joint top scorer in 2019–20. Taremi made his first appearance for the Iran national team in 2015.

Club career

Early career

Taremi started his career with Bargh Bushehr's Academy before moving on to Iranjavan's Youth Academy.[2]

Shahin Bushehr

He joined Shahin Bushehr in the summer of 2010. He played 7 games and scored one goal in all competitions. In the winter of 2012, he was released by Shahin Bushehr to spend his conscription period in a military club, but he failed to join a club and was forced to spend his conscription period in a usual garrison.[3]

Iranjavan

He joined Iranjavan in the summer of 2013 and signed a two-year contract until the end of the 2014–15 season and was given the number 9. Taremi scored 12 times in 22 matches in 2013–14, and became the league's second top scorer after Mokhtar Jomehzadeh.

Persepolis
Taremi in Persepolis training.

After becoming the Azadegan League's top scorer, Taremi had offers from many teams. He joined Persepolis FC in the summer of 2014 and signed a two-year contract through June 2016.[4]

2014–15

He made his debut in 1–1 draw with Naft Tehran, coming as a substitute for Reza Norouzi in 90th minute. He scored his first goal for the club on 15 August 2014 in a 1–0 victory over Zob Ahan. On 8 April 2015 Taremi scored a penalty in Persepolis 1–0 win in the Asian Champions League over Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. He scored many goals for the club, and provided quality assists to win the Best Striker Award of the 14th Persian Gulf Pro League at the end of the 2014–15 season.

2015–16
Taremi playing for Persepolis in Tehran derby.

Taremi missed the first week of the new season due to suspension, but in his first game back on 6 August 2015, he scored in a 2–1 loss to Esteghlal Khuzestan. Taremi scored twice in a 2–0 week five win against Foolad. This was Persepolis' first win of the season and lifted them out of the relegation spot. Taremi's good performances in the month of August earned him the Navad player of the month as voted by fans.[5] On 18 December 2015 Taremi scored a brace against Rah Ahan in Persepolis' 2–0 victory. He ended the first half of the league as top scorer with 9 goals in 12 games.

On 4 April 2016 Taremi scored a brace in a 3–2 victory against Siah Jamegan to keep Persepolis in third place. On 12 April 2016 Taremi was in talks to extend his contract to the end of the 2017–18 season.[6] But, eventually he decided not to renew his contract. On 15 April 2016 Taremi scored a brace in Persepolis' historic 4–2 victory over Esteghlal in the Tehran derby. He became the league's top scorer with 16 goals at the end of the season, unless his team lost title at the last week.

2016–17

Before the start of the new season, Taremi announced that he would not extend his contract, to join to a European team. In July 2016, it was reported that Taremi was linked to Süper Lig team Çaykur Rizespor. The move was cancelled after Taremi returned to Iran and signed a two-year contract with Persepolis.[7] He played his first match for Persepolis in 1–0 win over Saipa, replaced Omid Alishah in 77th minute. He also scored his first goal of the season in week 4 against Saba Qom. He scored a brace in 3–1 away win over Sepahan, in a match known as Iran's El Clasico. At the end of the season, the club celebrated its 10th Iran Pro League title, and Taremi became top scorer for a second consecutive season with 18 goals.

On 8 May 2017, Taremi scored a decisive hat trick against Emirati side Al Wahda in a 4–2 win to help his team qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2017 AFC Champions League. After his good performances, Taremi was linked with Dinamo Zagreb.[8]

2017–18
Taremi playing for Al-Gharafa

He playing 7 games, scoring 4 goals, and during the 2017–18 season, Taremi was banned for four months because of a contract dispute with Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor dating back to June 2016, when the player reached an agreement to join the club and later returned to Persepolis. Persepolis were also banned from signing players for two transfer windows. FIFA ruled in favor of the Turkish club and imposed the ban.[9]

Al Gharafa

On 8 January 2018, Taremi signed an 18-month contract with the Qatari club Al-Gharafa.[10] He scored his first goal in the first match of 2018 AFC Champions League against UAE's Al Jazira. Taremi first scored goal in Qatar League against Al Kharaitiyat SC on 16 Feb And On 19 February, he scored a brace against Iranian side Tractor Sazi on the second match day of the AFC Champions League.

Rio Ave

On 23 July 2019, Taremi signed a two-year contract with Portuguese football club Rio Ave.[11][12] Taremi scored a hat-trick in his first Primeira Liga start for the club on 23 August 2019 in a match against C.D. Aves.[13] On 31 August, Taremi won his side three penalties in their match against Sporting CP, all on fouls committed by Sebastián Coates, as Rio Ave won 3–2.[14]

Taremi finished his first season with 18 goals, joint top with S.L. Benfica pair Pizzi and Carlos Vinícius; the latter won the official Bola da Prata trophy for playing the fewest minutes of the three.[15]

Porto

On August 2020 Taremi signed a 4-year contract with Portuguese football club FC Porto.[16] Taremi scored his first league goal for Porto on 8 November 2020 in a 3–1 home win against Portimonense.[17] There was a foul on Taremi during the 2020 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in December 2020 which gave Porto a penalty and resulted in their first goal of the match scored by Sérgio Oliveira. Porto went on to win the 42nd edition of the competition 2–0, which gave Mehdi Taremi his first European medal.[18]

International career

Youth

He played for Iran student's national football team in Turkey tournament and scored 9 goals for the team. He was called up by Ali Reza Mansourian to participate in the team's training camp in Kish Island in 2013.[19]

Senior
Taremi celebrating his goal against China in 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

He made his debut against Uzbekistan in a friendly match on 11 June 2015. He also came on as a second-half substitute in a World Cup Qualifying match against Turkmenistan on 16 June 2015.

On 3 September 2015, Taremi scored his first senior goals, a brace, in a 6–0 defeat of Guam in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[20] On 23 March 2017, Taremi scored the winning and only goal in Iran's victory against Qatar in the final round of World Cup qualifying. He followed this up with another goal on 28 March 2017, in a decisive 1–0 victory against China. On 12 June 2017, Taremi scored the second goal for Iran in a 2–0 win over Uzbekistan to seal the country's first consecutive qualification to two World Cups.[21] In June 2018, he was named in Iran's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[22] With the score tied 1–1 in stoppage time in Iran's group stage match with Portugal, Taremi missed a point-blank shot wide left that would have eliminated Portugal and advanced Iran to the round of 16.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 December 2020[23]
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Shahin 2010–11 Pro League 6100———61
2011–12 Pro League 2000———20
Total 8100———81
Iranjavan 2012–13 Azadegan League ——————
2013–14 Azadegan League 221200———2212
Total 221200———2212
Persepolis 2014–15 Pro League 26740—8[lower-alpha 3]1—388
2015–16 Pro League 251622———2718
2016–17 Pro League 291800—8[lower-alpha 3]6—3724
2017–18 Pro League 7400—2[lower-alpha 3]11[lower-alpha 4]0105
Total 874562—1881011255
Al-Gharafa 2017–18 Qatar Stars League 8531007[lower-alpha 3]5—1811
2018–19 Qatar Stars League 22811001[lower-alpha 3]1—2410
Total 3013420086—4221
Rio Ave 2019–20 Primeira Liga 30184231——3721
Total 30184231——3721
Porto 2020–21 Primeira Liga 15844103[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]02412
Total 14722103010209
Career total 1919616841291420241119
  1. Appearance(s) in Iranian Hazfi Cup, Emir of Qatar Cup and Taça de Portugal
  2. Appearance(s) in Qatari Stars Cup and Taça da Liga
  3. Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
  4. Appearance in Iranian Super Cup
  5. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  6. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

International
As of match played 8 October 2020[24]
Iran
YearAppsGoals
201575
201692
201773
2018123
2019108
202011
Total4622

International goals
As of 8 October 2020. Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Taremi goal.[23]
NoDateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1. 3 September 2015Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran3 Guam2–06–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 5–0
3. 8 September 2015Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore, India4 India3–03–0
4. 17 November 2015Guam National Football Stadium, Tamuning, Guam7 Guam1–06–0
5. 6–0
6. 7 June 2016Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran11 Kyrgyzstan2–06–0Friendly
7. 10 November 2016Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam, Malaysia15 Papua New Guinea2–08–1
8. 23 March 2017Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar17 Qatar1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
9. 28 March 2017Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran18 China PR1–01–0
10. 12 June 201719 Uzbekistan2–02–0
11. 27 March 2018UCP Arena, Graz, Austria25 Algeria2–02–1Friendly
12. 24 December 2018Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar34 Palestine1–01–1
13. 31 December 2018Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar35 Qatar1–02–1
14. 7 January 2019Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates36 Yemen1–05–02019 AFC Asian Cup
15. 3–0
16. 24 January 201940 China PR1–03–02019 AFC Asian Cup
17. 3 June 2019Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran41 Syria2–05–0Friendly
18. 3–0
19. 4–0
20. 10 October 201943 Cambodia4–014–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
21. 9–0
22. 8 October 2020Pakhtakor Central Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan46 Uzbekistan2–02–1Friendly

Personal life

He is the third and the youngest child of his family. His older brother Mohammad is also a football player. Mehdi has good professional and personal relationships with all national football players but is on especially good terms with Sardar Azmoun, Morteza Pouraliganji and Mohsen Mosalman, the latter being his closest friend and roommate in Persepolis.

He was in a relationship with Iranian actress Sahar Ghoreishi for months in 2018.[25] In March 2020, Taremi announced he is in a new relationship and prepares for marriage.[26]

Honours
Taremi in Persepolis trophy celebrations.

Club
Persepolis
Al-Gharafa
Porto

Individual

References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. "فوتبالیست بوشهری به تیم پرسپولیس تهران پیوست – Tasnim" (in Persian).
  3. PTFBU.IR – Biography
  4. "طارمی با پرسپولیس قرارداد داخلی بست :: ورزش سه". www.varzesh3.com.
  5. "فوتبالی‌ترین | "طارمی" بهترین بازیکن ماه از نگاه نود شد". footballitarin.com.
  6. "خبر خوب برای هواداران سرخپوش در آستانه دربی وکیل طارمی".
  7. "مهدی طارمی با پرسپولیس تمدید کرد". Fararu | فرارو (in Persian).
  8. "دینامو زاگرب کرواسی از برانکو در مورد طارمی اطلاعات گرفت" (in Persian). 15 June 2017.
  9. "Iran's Mehdi Taremi banned for four months by FIFA". 23 September 2017.
  10. "Mehdi Taremi joins Al Gharafa of Qatar". Tehran Times. 8 January 2018.
  11. "Taremi makes Portugal move". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  12. "Mehdi Taremi joins Portugal's Rio Ave". Mehr News Agency. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  13. "VÍDEO: o hat-trick de Mehdi no Rio Ave-Desp. Aves". TVI (in Portuguese). 23 August 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  14. "Sporting defender concedes 3 pens, sent off". ESPN. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  15. "Mehdi Taremi among Top Three Goalscorers in Primeira Liga". Iran News Daily. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  16. "Taremi oficializado no FC Porto: conheça todos os detalhes do contrato". Record (in Portuguese). 31 August 2020.
  17. "The Captain led the Turnaround". FC Porto. 8 November 2020.
  18. "Porto vs. Benfica - 23 December 2020 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  19. "دو بازیکن پرسپولیس در تیم ملی زیر 22 سال" (in Persian).
  20. "WORLD CUP QUALIFYING – AFC". ESPN FC. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  21. "World Cup 2018: Iran join Brazil in qualifying for next year's tournament". BBC Sport. 13 June 2017.
  22. "Iran World Cup 2018 squad and team guide". The Telegraph. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  23. "Taremi – career statistics".
  24. "Mehdi Taremi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  25. اظهارنظر تازه مهدی طارمی درباره رابطه‌اش با سحر قریشی: دوست بودیم و تمام شد
  26. طارمی: در یک رابطه جدید و به فکر ازدواج هستم!
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