2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League


The 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League was the 34th season of Iran's Football League and 16th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Esteghlal Khuzestan were the defending champions. The season featured 13 teams from the 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League and three new teams promoted from the 2015–16 Azadegan League: Paykan as champions, Machine Sazi and Sanat Naft. The league started on 25 July 2016 and ended on 4 May 2017. Persepolis won the Pro League title for the third time in their history.

Teams

Stadia and locations

TeamCityVenueCapacity
EsteghlalTehranAzadi78,116
Esteghlal KhuzestanAhvazGhadir38,900
FooladAhvazGhadir38,900
GostareshTabrizBonyan Diesel12,000
Machine SaziTabrizYadegar-e Emam66,833
Naft TehranTehranTakhti Tehran30,122
PadidehMashhadSamen35,000
PaykanTehranShahr-e Qods25,000
PersepolisTehranAzadi78,116
Saba QomQomYadegar-e Emam10,610
SaipaTehranShahid Dastgerdi8,250
Sanat NaftAbadanTakhti Abadan8,000
SepahanIsfahanNaghsh-e-Jahan75,000
Siah JameganMashhadSamen35,000
Tractor SaziTabrizYadegar-e Emam66,833
Zob AhanIsfahanFoolad Shahr15,000

Number of teams by region

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturer
Esteghlal Alireza Mansourian Mehdi Rahmati Li-Ning
Est. Khuzestan Sirous Pourmousavi Mohammad Tayyebi Start
Foolad Naeim Saadavi Mehrdad Jamaati Uhlsport
Gostaresh Faraz Kamalvand Morteza Asadi Merooj
Machine Sazi Farhad Kazemi Andranik Teymourian Merooj
Naft Tehran Ali Daei Alireza Ezzati Legea
Padideh Mohammad Reza Mohajeri Reza Nasehi Yousef Jame
Paykan Majid Jalali Rahman Ahmadi Yousef Jame
Persepolis Branko Ivanković Jalal Hosseini Joma
Saba Qom Samad Marfavi Reza Enayati Merooj
Sanat Naft Firouz Karimi Hassan Houri Merooj
Saipa Hossein Faraki Ebrahim Sadeghi Givova
Sepahan Zlatko Kranjčar Ehsan Hajsafi Uhlsport
Siah Jamegan Akbar Misaghian Meysam Hosseini Merooj
Tractor Sazi Amir Ghalenoei Mehdi Kiani Fitcom
Zob Ahan Mojtaba Hosseini Mehdi Rajabzadeh Merooj

Managerial changes

Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to four per Persian Gulf Pro League team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team can use four foreign players on the field in each game, including at least one player from the AFC country.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Asian Player
Esteghlal Hrayr Mkoyan Róbson Januário Leandro Padovani
Esteghlal Khuzestan Aloys Nong
Foolad Mathias Chago Ernest Nfor
Gostaresh Fernando Magno Batista Chimba
Machine Sazi Edson Kakhaber Kakashvili Aziz Ibragimov
Naft Tehran Igor Prahić
Padideh Varazdat Haroyan Drissa Diarrassouba David Wirikom
Paykan Levon Hayrapetyan Godwin Mensha Jérémy Manzorro Faysal Shayesteh
Persepolis Božidar Radošević Volodymyr Pryyomov Oleksiy Polyanskyi Antony Golec
Saba Qom
Saipa Júnior Lopes Alessandro Bogdan Milić
Sanat Naft Bruno Matos Rasheed Alabi Kim Gwi-hyeon
Sepahan Lee Oliveira Moussa Coulibaly Server Djeparov
Siah Jamegan Andrey Moussa Traoré Goran Jerković
Tractor Sazi Edinho Karrar Jassim
Zob Ahan Jerry Bengtson Rabih Ataya Ali Hamam

League table

Results

Positions by round

Clubs season-progress

Season statistics

Top Goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Mehdi TaremiPersepolis18
2 Sasan AnsariFoolad16
3 Godwin MenshaPaykan15
4 Mohammad GhaziNaft Tehran12
5 Hassan Beyt SaeedEsteghlal Khuzestan10
5 Luciano PereiraGostaresh Foolad10
5 Morteza TabriziZob Ahan10
8 Mehdi RajabzadehZob Ahan9
9 Jerry BengtsonZob Ahan8
9 Masoud HassanzadehSepahan8

Last updated: 4 May 2017
Source:
Source:

Hat-tricks

PlayerClubAgainstResultDate
Mehdi RajabzadehZob AhanSanat Naft3–0 25 11 2016
Sasan AnsariFooladNaft Tehran4–2 1 12 2016
Morteza TabriziZob AhanPaykan3–0 2 12 2016

Top Assistants

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Kaveh RezaeiEsteghlal9
2 Ehsan HajsafiSepahan8
2 Iman MobaliNaft Tehran8
4 Mohsen MosalmanPersepolis7
5 Ali AlipourPersepolis6
5 Mohammad EbrahimiTractor Sazi6
5 Mohammad IranpourianTractor Sazi6
5 Soroush RafieiPersepolis6
5 Dariush ShojaeianGostaresh Foulad6
10 Vahid AmiriPersepolis5
10 Mehdi MomeniEsteghlal Khuzestan5
10 Hassan Beyt SaeedEsteghlal Khuzestan5
10 Omid EbrahimiEsteghlal5
10 Hassan JafariPadideh5
10 Ayoub KalantariSaipa5
10 Payam SadeghianMashine Sazi5

Last updated: 4 May 2017
Source:
Source:

Clean Sheets

RankPlayerClubClean Sheets
1 Alireza BeiranvandPersepolis17
2 Mohammadreza AkhbariTractor Sazi11
2 Mohammad Rashid MazaheriZob Ahan11
4 Fernando de JesusGostaresh Foulad8
5 Hamed LakSaipa7
5 Mehdi RahmatiEsteghlal7
7 Rahman AhmadiPaykan6
7 Vahid TaleblooFoolad6

Last Update: 4 May 2017
Source:

Hat-tricks

PlayerClubAgainstResultDate
Mehdi RajabzadehZob AhanSanat Naft3–025 11 2016
Sasan AnsariFooladNaft Tehran4–21 12 2016
Morteza TabriziZob AhanPaykan3–02 12 2016

Last updated: 4 May 2017
Source:

Attendances

Average home attendances

Attendances by round

Notes:
Updated to games played on 4 May 2017. Source:
Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendances
Machine Sazi played their matches against Esteghlal Khuzestan and Gostaresh at Bonyan Dizel
Machine Sazi played their matches against Paykan, Saipa, Sepahan, Tractor Sazi and Zob Ahan at Shahid Bakeri
Saipa played their match against Esteghlal at Azadi
Saipa played their match against Persepolis at Takhti Tehran
Sepahan played their matches against Esteghlal Khuzestan, Padideh, Paykan, Persepolis and Siah Jamegan at Foolad Shahr
Tractor Sazi played their matches against Esteghlal Khuzestan, Foolad, Padideh, Paykan, Persepolis, Saba Qom, Sepahan and Siah Jamegan at Shahid Bakeri

Highest attendances

Notes:
Updated to games played on 4 May 2017. Source: