Tractor S.C.

Tractor Sports Club

Full name	Tractor Sports Club
Founded	1970 (1970)
Stadium	Yadegar-e Emam Stadium
Capacity	66,833
Owner	Mohammad Reza Zonuzi
Chairman	Ayoub Behtaj
Head Coach	Kurban Berdyev
League	Persian Gulf Pro League
2021–22	Persian Gulf Pro League, 13th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Tractor Cultural Sports Economic Club (Persian: باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی اقتصادی تراکتور, Bâšgâh-e Farhangi Varzeši Eqtesâdi-ye Terâktor), commonly known as Tractor, formerly Tractor Sazi, is an Iranian football club based in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1970 by the Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company.

Since the beginning of the 1996–97 season, Tractor has played its home games at the Sahand which has a seating capacity of 66,833, though it is able to hold more people during important matches. Tractor holds the attendance record for a promoted team in Iranian football when they had an estimated average attendance about 57,000 during the 2009–10 season. The club is owned and supported by the businessman Mohammad Reza Zonuzi since 2018.

Tractor is one of the most successful clubs in Tabriz, having won two Hazfi Cups and one Azadegan League title. The club's colors are red.

History

Tractor's squad in 1974 before a Takht Jamshid Cup match

Pre-Revolution

Tractor FC was formed in 1969 in support of the Tractor Manufacturing Company in Tabriz. They played in the Pasargad League for five years until 1975. They finished 1975–76 as the winner of the Pasargard League and were promoted to the Takht Jamshid Cup (now the Iran Pro League). In their first season in the Takht Jamshid Cup, they were in poor form, and as a result they were relegated to the Pasargard League after just one year in the first division. They also lost the Hazfi Cup final to Malavan in the cup's inaugural edition. After their relegation, Hossein Fekri remained as the club's manager and led them to a return to the first division for the 1977–78 season, which they finished in 5th place. In the 1978–79 season, which never finished due to the Iranian Revolution, they were in 8th place with twelve matches played. Their rival at the time was Machine Sazi, who are also based in Tabriz.

Post-Revolution

In the 1980s the national league was suspended due to the Iran–Iraq War, therefore Tractor were forced to compete in the Tabriz Local Leagues for many years. In the 1986–87 Qods League the East Azerbaijan Provincial team, with a mix of players from Tractor and rivals Machine Sazi, made it to the final, but were defeated in the final by the Isfahan Provincial team.

1990s

Romanian coach Vasile Godja was in charge of Tractor's youth teams from 1986. He was also a worker at the Tractor Company and discovered various talents as the B team's coach. He also discovered and trained various talented players like Karim Bargheri, Sirous Dinmohammadi, Alireza Nikmer and Hossein Khatibi which, in time, played for Iran's national team. In 1990, he was promoted to first team coach and led the club in the 1992–93 season, finishing third place in the national competition. Esmail Halali was their star in this period. Under his leadership in 1994, Tractor made the finals of the Hazfi Cup again, this time losing to Bahman in the final, and won the MILLS International cup in India in 1995.

Godja left the team in 1997 after eight years in charge of the club. Mohammad Hossein Ziaei then became the player-coach of Tractor. At this time, notable players of the team started their migration to the other clubs. 1998 to 2001 they finished the league in mid-table.

Iran Pro League

In 2001, IRIFF formed the Iran Pro League as the professional league. The inaugural 2001–02 season under Reza Vatankhah and Mahmoud Yavari's management, saw Tractor relegated to the Azadegan League after the club finished bottom of the league.

Relegation to Azadegan League

Tractor spent seven seasons in the Azadegan League (Iran's second division) and were unable to climb to the Iran Pro League. Tractor qualified for the promotion play-off in the 2006–07 season but lost to Shirin Faraz 4–2. After the appointment of Faraz Kamalvand as the manager before the 2008–09 season, Tractor were promoted to the Iran Pro League for the first time in 8 years.

Return to Pro League

Tractor players in 2019–20 season.

In the 2011–12 season and under Amir Ghalenoei's management, Tractor finished as runners-up, securing a spot for the 2013 AFC Champions League. This was the first time Tractor had qualified for the competition, subsequently qualifying for the 2014 and 2015 editions as well. In July 2012, former S.L. Benfica and Sevilla FC coach, Toni was named as the club's manager. He led the club to a runners up finish in the Iran Pro League.

Champions League

Toni, who won the 2013–14 Hazfi Cup and ended up as runners up in 2012–13 and 2014–15 Pro League.

After a fall out between Oliveira and the club chairman, Oliveira was sacked and Majid Jalali was brought in for the 2013–14 season. After a poor run of results Jalali was fired and Toni returned, almost immediately leading Tractor to a Hazfi Cup Championship, and a place in the 2015 AFC Champions League. They also finished the season in the 6th place, after they defeated Esteghlal 3–1 in the last match at Azadi Stadium. Tractor were also unable to qualify for the knock-out stage of the AFC Champions League for the second consecutive year, after they finished 4th in their group in both the 2013 and 2014 editions. In 2015, Tractor again were eliminated in the group stage of the AFC Champions League for the third straight time.

On 15 May 2015, the final match of the season was played between Tractor and Naft Tehran. The match took place at Sahand Stadium in Tabriz. After communication issues at the stadium, Tractor staff mistakenly thought that Sepahan was losing to Saipa, which would mean Tractor would win the league with a draw. Tractor tied the game, believing that a 3–3 draw with Naft had won them the title. While they were celebrating with their fans on the field, they found out that the actual result of the parallel game was 2–0 for Sepahan and that Sepahan were league champions. Tractor finished as runners-up for the third time, with Amir Ghalenoi in 2012–13 and Toni in 2012–13 and 2014–15.

Celebration after a 2–0 win against Pakhtakor in 2016 AFC Champions League group stage match.

Midway through the 2015–16 season Tractor head coach Toni was once again sacked and replaced by Amir Ghalenoi. On 24 February 2016 Tractor won their first match of the 2016 AFC Champions League in a 4–0 win against Emirati club Al Jazira. Tractor won the return leg 1–0 on 2 March 2016 in Abu Dhabi as well. After the first two games, Tractor surpassed the most points they ever gained in the AFC Champions League group stage. Tractor qualified for the knock-out stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history on 19 April 2016 after defeating Saudi club Al-Hilal 2–0. Tractor eventually lost in the Round of 16 to Emirati club Al Nasr.

In the 2016–17 season, Tractor defeated Zob Ahan in the semi final of the Hazfi Cup to reach the final against Naft Tehran. In January 2017 it was revealed that Tractor had been suspended from two transfer windows by FIFA due to outstanding debts to former players. This led to the club terminating the contract of Sajjad Shahbazzadeh whom they had signed days earlier.

Fans

Fans before a Pro League match.

Official anthem

There are a lot of popular marches for Tractor S.C. but 'Tiraxtur iftixarımız' ('Tractor is our pride'), created and implemented in 2012, was chosen as the official anthem. The table below shows the lyrics of the Tractor fans anthem:.

• Songwriter: Ayyub Shahbazi
• Composer: Gholam Reza Mirzazadeh
• Arrangement: Mohammad Hossein Drablou
• Singer: Esfandiar Garabaghi

ظفر مارشین چالان بیزیک
قهرمانلیق بیزیمکی دیر
آذربایجان دیاریمیز
ادب، شرف شوعاریمیز

بیرلیک گۆجون اینانمیشیق
چوخ مئیدانلار دوْلانمیشیق
آذربایجان دیاریمیز
ادب، شرف شوعاریمیز

دونیا بوْیو قالان بیزیک
ایرانا باش اوْلان بیزیک
تیراختور ایفتیخاریمیز
تیراختور ایفتیخاریمیز(۲)

داغلار کیمی دایانمیشیق
ایفتیخارلار قازانمیشیق
تیراختور ایفتیخاریمیز
تیراختور ایفتیخاریمیز(۲)

We are those who plays the victory march,
We are those who are immortal,
Heroism is ours,
We're the head of Iran.

Azerbaijan is our land,
Tractor is our pride,
Courtesy and honor is our slogan,
Tractor is our pride.

We have faith in the strength of the union,
We have stood like the mountains,
We have traveled many arenas,
We have won many honors.

Azerbaijan is our land,
Tractor is our pride,
Courtesy and honor is our slogan,
Tractor is our pride.

Violence and racist slogans

In home games, Tractor fans often shout racial insults and calls to violence against the other ethnic groups in Iran, in particular Persians and Kurds. Some supporters also carry the flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan inside the stadium. In a match on November 1, 2019, in response to Turkey's recent military operation against the Syrian Kurds, the ethnic Azerbaijani Tractor fans chanted "Death to Kurds!" throughout the match and carried banners stating "Either Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia!", in reference to the Yugoslav Wars.

Damage to opponent's stadiums

In some away games, Tractor fans burned the stadium seats and damaged the walls of the stadium. In 2018, they inflicted heavy damage on the Azadi stadium. In 2017, They did damage to Yadegar-e Emam Stadium of Qom.

Crest

From its foundation, the team used a red crest. On the exterior circle, the name of the club and the date of its foundation were written. The second crest was white until 2013, when the club changed the colour of the crest to black.

Kit

They were previously sponsored by the Hamrah-e Aval (Mobile Telecommunication Company). In July 2018, the club signed a contract with Merooj, starting from 2017–18 Iran Pro League season.

Years	Shirt sponsors
1970–2009	TMC
2007–2010	Bank Sepah
2009–2012	Hamrah-e Aval
2012–2014	Javanane Khayer Foundation
2013–2016	Aysan Tabriz
2014–2017	Hamrah-e Aval
2017–2018	Irancell
2018–2019	Kowsar Credit Institution
2019–	ATA Airlines

Years	Kit manufacturers
1970–1974	Umbro
1974–2005	Puma
2005–2010	Daei Sport
2010–2013	Uhlsport
2013–2014	Merooj
2014–2017	Kelme
2017–2018	Li-Ning
2018–2019	Merooj
2019–2021	Adidas
2021–present	Start

Media

The official matches of the club in Iran Pro League, Hazfi Cup and AFC Champions League are broadcast from Sahand TV (The club's city owned TV station), Varzesh and Shoma channels. Online viewing is also available on the official site of the club and three above TV channels sites. Important matches are also broadcast from IRIB TV3, Jame Jam and SAHAR TV.

Ownership

The club is owned by the Tractor Manufacturing Company since its establishment in 1970. Since 2011, it has been owned by Kowsar Foundation (51%), with 30% of the club belonging to the East-Azerbaijan Province. In addition, the Iranian Mehr Institute is an affiliate of Kowsar Foundation and other stakeholders and custodians of the club. Kowsar Foundation is part of Sepah Pasdaran – with the club enabling its players to complete their military service. Since 2018, the club has been owned by Mohammad Reza Zonouzi, an Iranian businessman and shareholder.

Rivals

Tractor has most rivalry with two big Iranian football clubs, Esteghlal and Persepolis.

Persepolis–Tractor rivalry

Main article: Persepolis–Tractor rivalry

Persepolis–Tractor rivalry started in 2009 when Tractor returned to first tier of Iranian football league after 8 years and their fans had passion about this event. Mustafa Denizli is one of the club's most popular coaches in this rivalry. In 2019, Tractor defeated Persepolis after more than five years when Denizli was the head coach.

Esteghlal–Tractor rivalry

This rivalry started in 2009 and in the past years this rivalry was a bit overwhelmed by violence from both fans. On 10 May 2015, Tractor defeated Esteghlal with 4 goals. On 1 November 2019, they were beaten 4–2 by Esteghlal in Yadegar-e Emam Stadium.

Machine Sazi–Tractor rivalry

Tractor has brotherly relationship with Machine Sazi (another football club from Tabriz). During the 1970s both Tractor and Machine Sazi met regularly in the Takht Jamshid Cup and both teams had some memorable successes in the fixture. Following the creation of the Azadegan League, Machine Sazi and Tractor met twice in the 1996–97 Azadegan League.

Machine Sazi's promotion to the Iran Pro League in 2016 saw fans eagerly anticipating the first league derbies in 7 years.

Affiliated clubs

• Rubin Kazan

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK IRN Mohammad Reza Akhbari (Vice Captain) 2 DF IRN Abolfazl RazzaghpourU25 3 DF IRN Mohammad Aghajanpour 4 DF IRN Hadi Mohammadi 5 MF IRQ Safaa Hadi 6 MF IRN Mehdi Kiani (Captain) 7 MF BRA Gustavo Vagenin 8 MF IRN Shahin Saghebi 9 MF IRN Reza Asadi 10 MF IRN Saeed Vasei 11 FW IRN Mohammad Mehdi GhanbariU25 13 DF IRN Arash GhaderiU25 14 DF IRN Reza Yazdandoost

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF POR Ricardo Alves 17 DF IRN Pouria Aria Kia 18 DF IRN Milad KorU19 19 FW IRN Amir EbrahimzadehU19 20 FW IRN Mehdi HashemnejadU21 22 GK IRN Mehdi Amini 23 DF IRN Sajjad Danaei 28 MF IRN Ali NajafiU23 33 FW IRN Mohammad Abbaszadeh 40 GK IRN Reza KakhsazU25 75 DF IRN Mohammad Hosseini 77 FW IRN Mohammadreza Abbasi 93 DF AZE Hojjat Haghverdi 99 FW IRN Kaveh Rezaei

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers summer 2022.

Stadium

Sahand Stadium is the home ground of the club.

See also: Bagh Shomal Stadium, Sahand Stadium, and Bakeri Stadium

Tractor played their home matches from 1979 until 1996 in the 20,000 capacity Bagh Shomal Stadium (Takhti Stadium), 1976 AFC Asian Cup stadium. Sahand Stadium (Yadegar-e Emam Stadium) was replaced with Bagh-e Shomal Stadium after it was completed in January 1996. The stadium is the second biggest stadium in Iran with 66,833 seats. The stadium is also part of Tabriz Olympic Complex.

During Sahand Stadium's renovation in 2005 until 2006 years, Bakeri Stadium was the club's home ground in the Azadegan League matches. The stadium has 10,000 capacity.

Recent seasons

The results of the club in last 10 years.

Season	Position	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Hazfi Cup	ACL	Top Scorers (Goals)		Manager(s)
2018–19 PGP	5th	30	14	10	6	42	25	+17	52	1/16 Final	–	A. Stokes(11)	A. Dejagah(6)	John Toshack	Georges Leekens
2017–18 PGP	10th	30	8	10	12	28	33	−5	34	1/4 Finals	GS	E. Pahlevan(6)	M. Iranpourian(6)	Y. Golmohammadi	E. Sağlam
2016–17 PGP	3rd	30	15	11	4	38	24	+14	56	Runners-up	–	F. Hatami(7)	Edinho(7)	A. Ghalenoei	–
2015–16 PGP	4th	30	13	12	5	43	27	+16	51	Semi Final	1/8 Final	A. Nong(7)	M. Iranpourian(7)	Toni	A. Ghalenoei
2014–15 PGP	Runners-up	30	17	7	6	58	34	+24	58	1/16 Final	GS	Edinho(20)	S. Nariman Jahan(9)	R. Khatibi	Toni
2013–14 PGP	6th	30	11	13	6	39	33	+6	45	Champions	GS	K. Ansarifard(14)	S. Daghighi(5)	M. Jalali	Toni
2012–13 PGP	Runners-up	34	18	11	5	55	32	+23	65	1/8 Final	GS	M. Salehi(16)	Flavio Paixao(10)	Toni	–
2011–12 PGP	Runners-up	34	19	9	6	57	32	+25	66	1/16 Final	–	Flavio Paixao(10)	Tosi(8)	A. Ghalenoei	–
2010–11 PGP	5th	34	15	12	7	42	29	+13	57	1/8 Final	–	A. Alizadeh(8)	Karrar(8)	F. Kamalvand	–
2009–10 PGP	7th	34	11	14	9	43	42	+1	47	1/8 Final	–	M. Ebrahimi(10)	F. Kheirkhah(10)	F. Kamalvand	–

Seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Tractor in various competitions.

See also: Category:Tractor S.C. seasons

Season	League	Position	Hazfi Cup	ACL	Notes
1971–72	Local League	4th	Not held	Not held	Region C
1972–73	2nd Division	4th			Group B
1973–74	2nd Division	2nd
1974–75	2nd Division	1st			Promoted
1975–76	Takht Jamshid Cup	16th	Final		Relegated
1976–77	2nd Division	2nd	1/8 Final		Promoted
1977–78	Takht Jamshid Cup	5th	Not held
1978–79	Takht Jamshid Cup	Did not finish
1980–81	Tabriz Football League	10th		Did not qualify	Relegated
1981–82	Tabriz Football League's 2nd Div.	1st			Promoted
1982–83	Tabriz Football League	6th
1983–84		5th
1984–85		1st
1985–86		2nd
1986–87		3rd
1987–88		2nd
1988–89		2nd
1989–90	Qods League	4th	Quarter Finals
1990–91	2nd Division	3rd	1/8 Final		Promoted
1991–92	Azadegan League	10th	Not held
1992–93		3rd	Not held
1993–94		8th	Final
1994–95		9th	First Round		Relegated
1995–96	2nd Division	2nd	Second Round		Promoted
1996–97	Azadegan League	11th	Second Round
1997–98		9th	Not held
1998–99		11th	Second Round
1999–00		6th	1/16 Final
2000–01		12th	Second Round
2001–02	Iran Pro League	14th	Third Round		Relegated
2002–03	Azadegan League	3rd	Second Round
2003–04		8th	Third Round
2004–05		7th	Third Round
2005–06		2nd	Second Round
2006–07		1st	Second Round		Promoted to Play Off
2007–08		4th	1/16 Final
2008–09		1st	Quarter Finals		Promoted
2009–10	Persian Gulf Cup	7th	Second Round
2010–11		5th	1/8 Final
2011–12		2nd	1/16 Final
2012–13		2nd	1/8 Final	Group Stage
2013–14		6th	Champion	Group Stage
2014–15		2nd	1/16 Final	Group Stage
2015–16		4th	Semi Final	1/8 Final
2016–17		3rd	Final	Did not qualify
2017–18		10th	Quarter Finals	Group Stage
2018–19		5th	Round of 32	Did not qualify
2019–20		4th	Champion	Group Stage
2020–21		4th	1/16 Final	1/16 Final

Honours

Tractor players celebrating winning Hazfi Cup in 2014

Official titles

• Iran Pro League

Runner up (3): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15

Third Place (2): 2016–17, 1992–93

• Hazfi Cup

Winner (2): 2013–14, 2019–20

Runner up (3): 1975–76, 1994–95, 2016–17

• Iranian Super Cup

Runner up (1): 2020

• Azadegan League (2nd Tier)

Winner (1): 2008–09

• 2nd Division

Winner (1): 1974–75

Runner up (2): 1976–77, 1995–96

• East Azerbaijan Super Cup

Winner (1): 1992

• Tabriz Football League

Winner (1): 1984–85

• Tabriz Football League's 2nd Division

Winner (1): 1981–82

Unofficial titles

• DCM Trophy

Winner (1): 1995–96

• Sardaran Shahid International Cup

Winner (2): 1995, 1996

• Shohada Cup

Winner (2): 2014, 2017

Personnel

Current coaching staff

See also: List of Tractor S.C. managers

Position	Staff
Head coach	Kurban Berdyev
Assistant coaches	Ivan Daniliants Dmitri Kirichenko Carlos González Haro
Head of Performance	Carlos González Haro
Goalkeeper coach	Alin Dincă
Rehab coach	Eduard Kundokhov
Chief analyst	Andrei Mațiura
Technical manager	Hossein Khatibi
Team manager	Kazem Mahmoodi

Management

Position	Staff
Owner	Mohammad Reza Zonouzi
President	Mir Massom Sohrabi
Vice President
Board chairman	Abbas Elyasi
Board members	Alireza Navin Mohammad Javad Dolfkar Ghafour Kargari Dara Ghaznavi Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi Saeed Abbasi
Fans club president	Esmaeil Ghilichkhani
Academy manager	Sadegh Pourhossein

Sports statistics

• Updated to May 2017.

General information

Details

Concept	Times
Seasons in Iran 1st Tier League	23
Seasons in Iran 2nd Tier League	12
Promotions to Iran 1st Tier League	4
Participations in the Hazfi Cup	27
Participations in Asian competitions	5
All-time best position in Iran Pro League	2nd

Asian record

Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League

Accurate as of 21 January 2019

Competition	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Win%
AFC Champions League	36	9	9	18	39	52	−13	025.00

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League
Season	Round	Rival	Home	Away	Agg.
2013	Group Stage (Group A)	Al-Jazira	3–1	0–2	–
		El Jaish	2–4	3–3
		Al-Shabab	0–1	0–1
2014	Group Stage (Group C)	Al-Ittihad	1–0	0–2	–
		Lekhwiya	0–1	0–0
		Al-Ain	2–2	1–3
2015	Group Stage (Group D)	Nasaf Qarshi	1–2	1–2	–
		Al-Ahli	1–0	2–3
		Al-Ahli	2–2	0–2
2016	Group Stage (Group C)	Al-Jazira	4–0	1–0	–
		Pakhtakor	2–0	0–1
		Al-Hilal	1–2	2–0
	Round of 16	Al-Nasr	3–1	1–4	4–5
2018	Group Stage (Group A)	Al-Jazira	1–1	0–0	–
		Al-Ahli	0–1	0–2
		Al-Gharafa	1–3	0–3
2021	Group Stage (Group B)	Pakhtakor	0–0	3–3	–
		Sharjah	0–0	0–2
		Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–0	0–0
	Round of 16	Al-Nassr	0-1

Top goalscores in ACL

Rank	Player	Goals	Seasons
1	Mohammad Abbaszadeh	4	1
2	Geílson Soares	3	1
	Bakhtiar Rahmani	3	1
	Farzad Hatami	3	1
3	Mehdi Seyed-Salehi	2	1
	Edinho	2	1
	Aloys Nong	2	1
	Augusto	2	1
	Farshad Ahmadzadeh	2	2
4	Ashkan Dejagah	1	1
	Mehdi Tikdari	1	1
	Karim Ansarifard	1	1
	Saeed Daghighi	1	1
	Flávio Paixão	1	1
	Mehdi Sharifi	1	1
	Saeid Aghaei	1	1
	Shoja' Khalilzadeh	1	1
	Shahin Saghebi	1	2
	Javad Kazemian	1	2
	Masoud Ebrahimzadeh	1	2
	Milad Fakhreddini	1	3
	Mohammad Iranpourian	1	4

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 3 June 2019.Mohammad Ebrahimi is the club's all-time most capped player and top scorer with 31 goals in 180 games. This list includes goals from all competitive matches.

Mohammad Ebrahimi is leading all time goalscorer's list for the club.

Top Ten Highest Goalscorers

Player		Period	Appearances	Goals
1	Mohammad Ebrahimi	2009–15, 2016–18	180	31
2	Edinho	2014–15, 2016–17	52	27
3	Farzad Hatami	2011–12, 2016–2018	83	23
4	Flávio Paixão	2011–13	67	21
5	Mehdi Seyed-Salehi	2012–13	38	19
6	Karim Ansarifard	2013–14	35	17
7	Mohammad Abbaszadeh	2020–	60	25
8	Ashkan Dejagah	2018–	65	13
9	Anthony Stokes	2018–2019	24	13
10	Karrar Jassim	2009–11, 2016–17	70	13
11	Mohammad Nosrati	2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–14	123	12
12	Saman Nariman Jahan	2014–2015	43	11
13	Ali Alizadeh	2010–12	40	10