Sardar Azmoun: Iranian star
Sardar Azmoun is an Iranian professional who plays as a centre forward for Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg and the Iranian national team. He was a part of the Iranian club Sepahan’s youth teams when the team won the 2011-12 Iran Pro League. He never featured for the senior team of the club. Around halfway through the 2012-13 season (January 2013), Azmoun left Sepahan to join Russian club Rubin Kazan amidst interest from other Iranian clubs like Esteghlal and Persepolis.
When Azmoun joined Rubin Kazan, he became the first Iranian footballer to play in the Russian Premier League. Initially, he played for Rubin Kazan’s reserve team where he scored 2 goals. It was during the 2013-14 season that Azmoun made his first team debut for Rubin Kazan. His debut came against Serbian club Jagodina in a UEFA Europa League match. His first goal for the club came in only his 2nd appearance against Norwegian team Molde. Overall, in the 2013-14 season, Azmoun played 17 times scoring 5 goals and assisting 3 goals meaning he was involved in a goal every 110 minutes (He played 881 minutes in all competitions). In the first half of the 2014-15 season, Azmoun made 15 appearances (606 minutes) for Rubin Kazan scoring twice and assisting once.
In February 2015, Azmoun was loaned out to FK Rostov until the end of the season. For Rostov that season, he featured 12 times scoring 4 goals helping the club escape relegation. The loan spell with Rostov was extended for the entirety of the 2015-16 season. He enjoyed a productive campaign scoring 9 goals and providing 3 assists in 24 games (1276 minutes played) meaning he scored or assisted a goal every 106 minutes. In the process, he helped Rostov finish 2nd in the league and secure a spot in the UEFA Champions League play-off round.
After a legal battle with Rubin Kazan, FK Rostov managed to sign Azmoun for a fee around €2.5 million. Azmoun played 41 times for the team in the 2016-17 season including in Champions League and in Europa League. Despite scoring only 12 goals in all competitions, he managed to score away at the Vicente Calderon against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. He even managed to get on the scoresheet in a game against German giants Bayern Munich at home where Rostov shocked the Bavarians 3-2.
Ahead of the 2017-18 season, Azmoun was purchased by Rubin Kazan where he would play for the next 1 ½ seasons. In those 1 ½ years at Kazan, he played 45 times, scoring and assisting 10 goals each. In two spells at the club, Azmoun made a total of 77 appearances where he scored 17 goals and provided 14 assists.
Midway through the 2018-19 season, Zenit St. Petersburg paid Rubin Kazan €12 million to acquire Azmoun. In the first six months at Zenit, Azmoun played 16 times (1262 minutes) and he scored and assisted 12 goals and 3 goals respectively which is a goal or an assist every 84 minutes. The next season (2019-20), he scored 21 goals and provided 10 assists in 38 matches (all competitions). Once again, he was very good for Zenit with a goal or an assist every 91 minutes.
Azmoun has been capped 49 times by Team Melli (nickname of the Iranian national football team). His international debut came against Montenegro. His first international goal came against Asian rivals South Korea. So far in his international career, he has scored 33 goals.
Sardar Azmoun is a forward who is best suited for the role of an Advanced Forward as per the video game, Football Manager 2020. The Advanced Forward’s main duty is to spearhead the attack who should be capable of scoring and creating goals. Azmoun is exactly that. He is a skilled finisher who is also a very strong passer of the ball. Azmoun has been touted as the heir to the legendary Ali Daei and has been nicknamed ‘Iranian Messi”.
