Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (born 1983)

Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (Persian: محمدرضا خلعتبری‎, born 14 September 1983) is an Iranian international football player who currently plays for Sepahan. He can play as attacking midfielder, winger and forward.

Not to be confused with Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (born 1948).

Mohammad-Reza Khalatbari
Personal information
Full name Mohammad-Reza Khalatbari Limaki
Date of birth (1983-09-14) 14 September 1983
Place of birth Ramsar, Iran[1]
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Winger/ Forward
Club information
Current team
 Sepahan
Number 99
Youth career
2000–2003 Shamoushak[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 Shamoushak 14 (1)
2004–2006 Aboumoslem 51 (3)
2006–2011 Zob Ahan 128 (34)
2011–2012 Al Gharrafa 8 (2)
2012 → Al Wasl (loan) 10 (3)
2012–2013 Sepahan 32 (13)
2013 Ajman 0 (0)
2013–2014 Persepolis 22 (6)
2014–2016 Sepahan 51 (13)
2016–2017 Gostaresh Foolad 13 (0)
2017 Saipa 13 (1)
2017–2019 Padideh 39 (4)
2019–2020 Zob Ahan 12 (1)
2020 Shahr Khodro 10 (1)
2020– Sepahan 10 (0)
National team‡
2008–2014 Iran 60 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:22, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Club career

Early years
Khalatbari in Iran National Team

Khalatbari began his career with Shamoushak's youth teams and joined Aboumoslem in the summer of 2004. He helped Aboumoslem reach the Hazfi Cup final where they lost to Saba Qom on penalties.

Zob Ahan

After two years with Aboumoslem, in July 2006, he signed for Zob Ahan,[3] where he played important matches and led his team to win the Hazfi Cup in June 2009. During the Summer of 2009, Khalatbari had a trial at FC Köln, however the manager (Zvonimir Soldo) stated that Khalatbari was "lacking physical strength" and that "he might be a problem in Germany",.[4] He returned after his failed trial to become one of the most influential players in league and ACL in the 2009–10 season,[5] where Zob Ahan reached the Champions League final for the first time in club history.

Al Gharrafa

He left Zob Ahan in June 2011 and signed a contract with Al Gharrafa Qatar. After an unsuccessful half-season at Al-Gharrafa, Khalatbari left the club in the winter transfer window.

Al Wasl

In early 2012, he was moved to UAE Pro-League side Al Wasl during the winter transfer window which was under Diego Maradona's management. He was one of the key players in Al Wasl's run to the GCC Champions League final where Al Wasl lost to Bahraini club Al-Muharraq on penalties.

Sepahan and Ajman
Khalatbari playing for Sepahan in an AFC Champions League match against Al-Nasr

On 10 July 2012, he joined Iranian champion Sepahan. He won the Hazfi Cup with Sepahan and became the league's top assistant player with 13 assists. He was also one of the league's top scorers with 14 league goals. Khalatbari had one of the best years in hs career with 17 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions. At the end of 2012–13 season, he moved to Ajman but the transfer was canceled after the renaming of UAE Pro League to UAE Arabian Gulf League.[6][7]

Persepolis

On 1 September 2013, Persepolis and Ajman reached an agreement with a fee around $800,000 and he joined Persepolis with a two-year contract.[8] He made his debut in the Tehran derby match against Esteghlal. His first goal came when he scored a penalty kick in a match against Gostaresh Foolad. His six league goals helped Persepolis to a second-place league finish and a berth in the Asian Champions League. At the end of season, while he had financial problems with Persepolis, he paid one third of Ajman's debt (fee around $250,000)[9] and skip his debts (fee around 3,400 million Rials).[10] on 15 July 2014, Persepolis released him.[11]

Return to Sepahan

On 15 July 2014, Khalatbari returned to Sepahan, signing a two-year contract.[12]

Club career statistics
As of 20 October 2018
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2003–04ShamoushakIran Pro League14100––141
2004–05Aboumoslem25000––250
2005–0626300––263
2006–07Zob Ahan19110––201
2007–0825720––277
2008–09281032––3112
2009–102611411154017
2010–112851061356
Qatar League Emir of Qatar Cup Asia Total
2011–12Al GharrafaQatar Stars League82110093
United Arab Emirates League President's Cup Asia Total
2011–12Al WaslUAE Pro-League10341––144
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2012–13SepahanIran Pro League321452814517
2013–14Persepolis21620––216
2014–15Sepahan26910––279
2015–16 9 1 1 1 6 0 16 2
2016–17 Gostaresh 20 2 0 0 – – 20 2
2017 Saipa 13 1 0 0 – – 13 1
2017–18 Padideh 7 1 0 0 – – 7 1
2018–19 15 2 2 0 – – 17 2
Zob Ahan 1 0 0 0 – – 1 0
2019–20 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 1
2020 Shahr Khodro 14 1 1 0 2 0 17 2
Total Iran 3517820635740688
Total Qatar 82110093
Total United Arab Emirates 10341––144
Career total 3698325835742998
  • Assists
SeasonTeamAssists
05–06Aboumoslem1
06–07Zob Ahan2
07–08Zob Ahan4
08–09Zob Ahan14
09–10Zob Ahan5
10–11Zob Ahan11
11–12Al Gharrafa4
11–12Al Wasl5
12–13Sepahan13
13–14Persepolis5
14–15Sepahan3

International career
Khalatbari in training with Iran

Khalatbari plays as both winger and attacking midfielder for Iran. He's played in the WAFF Championships, 2010 World Cup qualifiers and 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers. He played an important role in securing Iran's spot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup under manager Carlos Queiroz. He was selected in Iran's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Carlos Queiroz.[13] However, Khalatbari did not make in the final 23-man squad.

International goals
Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.9 February 2011Al Dhafra Stadium, Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates Russia1–01–0Friendly
2.28 July 2011Galolhu National Stadium, Malé, Maldives Maldives1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.3 June 2012JAR Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan Uzbekistan1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.15 August 2012Széktói Stadion, Kecskemét, Hungary Tunisia2–22–2Friendly
5.11 June 2013Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran Lebanon1–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Attributes

Khalatbari is best known for his technical skill and fast pace on the ball, his vision, and his shooting capabilities.

Honours

Club
Abomooslem
Zob Ahan
Al-Wasl
Sepahan
Persepolis

Country

Individual

References
  1. "Hamshahri". Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  2. "Javan". Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  3. "Mohammad Reza Khalatbari". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  4. Cologne close in on Khalatbari
  5. Jaamejam
  6. Tehran Times Archived 31 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Angle Chronicle". Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  8. Mehrnews: Khalatbari joined Persepolis with a 2-years contract
  9. Fars: Khalatbari paid Ajman's third part of debts
  10. Perspolisnews.com: Khalatbari skip his debts
  11. Khabaronline: Khalatbari released by Perspolis
  12. "Sepahan FC: Khalatbari joined Sepahan". Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  13. "Team Melli final 30 given to FIFA". Persian Football. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
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