Morteza Pouraliganji
Morteza Pouraliganji (Persian: مرتضی پورعلیگنجی; born 19 April 1992) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Persian Gulf Pro League club Persepolis and Iran national team.
| Pouraliganji with Persepolis in 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Morteza Pouraliganji[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1992[2] | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Babol, Iran | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Persepolis | |||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Paykan Babol | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Pas Tehran | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Eshan Rey | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Naft Tehran | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Naft Tehran | 74 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2015 | Tianjin Teda | 26 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Al Sadd | 51 | (9) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Eupen | 6 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Al-Arabi | 22 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Shenzhen | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Persepolis | 30 | (1) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Iran U17 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2010 | Iran U20 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Iran U23 | 14 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2015– | Iran | 54 | (3) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023 | ||||||||||||||
He represented Iran at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Early life edit
Pouraliganji was born in Pain Ganj Afruz, a village in Babol County.[3]
Club career edit
Naft Tehran edit
Pouraliganji started his senior career with Naft Tehran in 2010.[4] He scored his first professional goal in 2011 in a 4–1 win against Paykan.
Tianjin Teda edit
He joined Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda on 25 February 2015 with a one–year contract.[5] He made his first appearance for the club on 8 April 2015 in a match against Henan Jianye. On 4 June 2015 Pouraliganji scored his first goal for Tianjin in a 2–2 draw against Guangzhou Evergrande. He left the club at the end of the season after he decided not to renew his contract.
Al Sadd edit
On 8 January 2016 Pouraliganji rejected several offers from European and Chinese teams and accepted an offer from Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd.[6] He said that playing with Xavi was one of the main reasons he accepted this offer.[6] He signed a four-month contract on 20 January 2016 until the end of the season.[7] He scored his first goal for his new club in February 2016 in a 3–1 victory against Al Arabi.
Pouralingaji decided to remain with Al Sadd for another season and he scored his first league goal of the 2016–17 season on 12 December 2016 in an 8–0 win against Umm Salal. He scored again in the following match day on 16 December 2016 in a 3–1 victory against Al-Sailiya SC.
Persepolis edit
On 6 June 2022, Pouraliganji joined Persian Gulf Pro League side Persepolis on a two-year deal.[8][9]
International career edit
Youth edit
Pouraliganji represented Iran U-17 in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[10]
In 2012, he broke in to coach Ali Reza Mansourian's squad and has been a regular feature ever since. He was named in the Iran U23 final list for Incheon 2014.[11]
Senior edit
After his performance in Asian Games in October 2014, Carlos Queiroz called Pouraliganji up for a training camp in Portugal. He played a friendly fixtures against Estroli and Benfica and was later called up for an international friendly against South Korea on 18 November 2014. He was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad on 30 December 2014,[12] making his debut in a friendly match against Iraq on 4 January 2015 which Iran won 1–0.
Pouraliganji was selected to start in Iran's opening match at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, a 2–0 win over Bahrain. His good performance in Iran's second match against Qatar earned him a place in the AFC Best 11 of Round 2.[13] In the quarter-final match against Iraq, Pouraliganji scored his first goal for Iran as they drew 3–3 at Canberra Stadium and were eventually defeated 7–6 on a penalty shootout.[14]
In May 2018 he was named in Iran's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[15]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- As of 8 October 2023
| Club | Season | Division | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Naft Tehran | 2010–11 | Pro League | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||||||
| 2012–13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||||||
| 2013–14 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||||||
| 2014–15 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 74 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 3 | ||
| Tianjin Teda | 2015 | CSL | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 2 | ||
| Al Sadd | 2015–16 | QSL | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 2016–17 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 28 | 3 | ||
| Total | 49 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 9 | ||
| K.A.S. Eupen | 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 2 | ||
| Al-Arabi | 2018–19 | QSL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | ||
| Shenzhen | 2020 | CSL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Persepolis | 2022–23 | Pro League | 25 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 221 | 19 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 246 | 21 | ||
International edit
- Statistics accurate as of match played 17 October 2023 .[16]
| Iran | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2015 | 10 | 2 |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 |
| 2019 | 9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 54 | 3 |
International goals edit
- Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.[2]
Iran U23 edit
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 September 2014 | Munhak Stadium, Incheon, South Korea | Kyrgyzstan | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2014 Asian Games |
Iran edit
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 23 January 2015 | Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia | Iraq | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup |
| 2. | 12 November 2015 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran | Turkmenistan | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 11 June 2021 | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain | Cambodia | 6–0 | 10–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours edit
Club edit
- Al-Sadd
- Qatar Crown Prince Cup: 2017
- Qatar Emir Cup: 2017
- Sheikh Jassim Cup: 2017
- Persepolis
References edit
- ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: IR Iran (IRN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ a b Morteza Pouraliganji at Soccerway
- ^ "ملی پوشان مازندرانی در پی درخشش در جام جهانی فوتبال".
- ^ "Morteza Poor Ali Ganji مرتضی پورعلی گنجی – IPL 2010–2011 – Player Profile with career statistics and history – PersianLeague".
- ^ "Morteza Pouraliganji Joins Tianjin Teda".
- ^ a b "پورعلی گنجی همبازی ژاوی (عکس)". ورزش سه. 7 January 2016.
- ^ "کاپ - با قراردادی 4 ماهه/پورعلی گنجی به السد پیوست".
- ^ "Morteza Pouraliganji Joins Persepolis - Sports news". Tasnim News Agency. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Persepolis complete signing of Morteza Pouraliganji". Tehran Times. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2009.
- ^ . ffiri.ir. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ "Queiroz Names Team Melli Squad". afcasiancup.com. 30 December 2014.
- ^ "AFC Asian Cup - Timeline Photos - Facebook". Facebook.
- ^ "Asian Cup 2015: Iraq claims incredible shootout win over rival Iran to reach semi-finals". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "World Cup 2018: Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz names final squad". BBC Sport. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ Morteza Pouraliganji at National-Football-Teams.com