Hadi Aghily Explained

Hadi Aghily
Fullname:Hadi Anvar Aghily
Birth Date:15 January 1981
Birth Place:Tehran, Iran[1]
Height:1.85 m
Position:Centre-back
Years1:2001–2004
Clubs1:Saipa
Caps1:63
Goals1:2
Years2:2004–2011
Clubs2:Sepahan
Caps2:178
Goals2:15
Years3:2011–2012
Clubs3:Al-Arabi
Caps3:20
Goals3:0
Years4:2012–2013
Clubs4:Qatar SC
Caps4:16
Goals4:4
Years5:2013–2016
Clubs5:Sepahan
Caps5:76
Goals5:8
Totalcaps:353
Totalgoals:29
Nationalyears1:2006–2012
Nationalteam1:Iran
Nationalcaps1:69
Nationalgoals1:10

Hadi Anvar Aghily (Persian: هادی عقیلی, born 15 January 1981) is a former Iranian professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Known for his toughness, positioning and intelligent movement, he was nominated for the Asian Player of The Year award twice in 2009 and 2011.

Aghily began his career at Saipa, then moved to Sepahan and reached the 2007 AFC Champions League Final. He spent two successful seasons in Qatar with Al-Arabi and Qatar SC, before returning to Sepahan and concluding his football career in 2016.

He captained the Iranian national team on multiple occasions.

Club career

Early years

Aghily was born in Tehran. He was part of the Persepolis youth academy, but left for Saipa in 2001.

Sepahan

After three years at Saipa, he moved to Sepahan where he won the Hazfi Cup and also played in the AFC Champions League final in 2007. He also played in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. After his good games, he was linked with a move to Japanese teams and also with a return to Persepolis, but he decided to extend his contract with Sepahan. He had so many injuries during the 2008–09 season that he did not play many matches for Sepahan and missed some of the matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification for Team Melli.

On 28 July 2009, Aghili traveled to Freiburg in order to negotiate a future move to the Bundesliga side. However, negotiations were cut short after a few days and the club released a statement saying that "Hadi was not the player that they were looking for."[2] He won the league with Sepahan twice in a row. He left Sepahan in the summer of 2011 after seven seasons.

Qatar Stars League

In July 2011, Aghili signed a new contract with Al-Arabi. He wears the number 55 and was the club's captain. He won the Sheikh Jassem Cup while with the club. There were rumors that he would join Persepolis after the Iran Pro League season had finished,[3] but he signed with Qatar SC on 22 June 2012, remaining in Qatar Stars League for another season. He played many matches for the team.

Return to Sepahan

On 19 June 2013, after spending two seasons in Qatar, he returned to his former club, Sepahan.[4] He officially rejoined the club on 1 July 2013, signing a two-year contract. He made his debut in a 2–0 win over Foolad and scored his first goal in the next match from penalty kicks in a 2–1 away win against Esteghlal. He was also the captain of Sepahan for their match with Esteghlal, as Moharram Navidkia did not play because of injury. On 9 June 2014, Aghily extended his contract with Sepahan until 30 June 2017.

International career

In October 2006, he was called up to the Iranian national team for the 2006 LG Cup held in Jordan. He made his debut for Iran on 4 October 2006 in a match against Iraq.

He was an important member of the Iranian squad at various major tournaments, such as the 2007 and 2011 AFC Asian Cups, the 2008 and 2010 WAFF Championships, as well as the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification phases.

Retirement

Prior to a 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Lebanon, Aghily left the team camp because he knew he would not be in the starting lineup. He was banned for one year and Carlos Queiroz left him out of the team. Before the last three World Cup qualifying matches in June 2013, he publicly apologised to Queiroz and Iranian fans but was still not called up. In July 2013, he revealed that the Iranian FA and Queiroz wanted him to sign an apology letter, but Mehdi Rahmati advised him not to as he believed that Iran would lose the first match and would then beg him to return.[5]

Career statistics

Club

Last updated on 10 December 2016.

Club performanceLeagueCupContinentalTotal
Season Club LeagueApps GoalsApps GoalsApps GoalsApps Goals
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2001–02SaipaIran Pro League21100211
2002–0322100221
2003–0420000200
2004–05Sepahan2600031260
2005–0627000270
2006–0727354120447
2007–082822152355
2008–092311051291
2009–102252060305
2010–112543183368
QatarLeagueEmir of Qatar CupAsiaTotal
2011–12Al-ArabiQatar Stars League2000050250
2012–13Qatar SC16400164
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2013–14SepahanIran Pro League2751060335
2014–151500000150
2015–162833000313
TotalIran3112918643737242
Qatar3640050414
Career total3192518649738638
SeasonTeamAssists
05–06Sepahan1
07–08Sepahan1
0–09Sepahan1
10–11Sepahan1
11–12Al-Arabi7
12–13Qatar SC1
13–14Sepahan1
14–15Sepahan0

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.

Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 May 2008 3–2 3–2 Friendly
2 11 August 2008 3–0 6–1 2008 WAFF
3 15 August 2008 1–0 2–1 2008 WAFF
4 6 January 2010 1–0 3–1 2011 ACQ
5 11 August 2010 1–1 3–1 Friendly
6 11 August 2010 3–1 3–1 Friendly
7 24 September 2010 1–0 3–0 2010 WAFF
8 24 September 2010 2–0 3–0 2010 WAFF
9 6 September 2011 1–0 1–1 2014 WCQ
10 11 October 2011 3–0 6–0 2014 WCQ

Honours

Sepahan

2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15

2005–06, 2006–07

Al-Arabi

2011

Iran

2008

Individual

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Roster Aghili . 27 September 2010 . 29 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120929203453/http://www.teammelli.com/Roster/AghiliRoster.htm . dead .
  2. http://www.the-afc.com/en/member-association-news/central-a-south-asia-news/24920-aghili-eyes-freiburg-move Aghili eyes Freiburg move
  3. http://www.iransportspress.com/iran-pro-league/10886-Hadi-Aghili-tipped-to-join-Persepolis-%E2%80%93-report.html Hadi Aghili tipped to join Persepolis – report
  4. Web site: هادی عقیلی به جمع طلائی پوشان سپاهان پیوست . 19 June 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140222051422/http://www.fooladsepahansport.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article-seo&sid=6554- . 22 February 2014 . dead .
  5. https://www.varzesh3.com/news/1004519/محرومیت-یکساله-و-جریمه-نقدی-برای-عقیلی Aghily banned from the Iran national team
  6. Web site: Japan's Yasuhito Endo Named AFC Player Of The Year . Goal.
  7. Web site: Uzbekistan's Server Djeparov wins AFC Player of the Year award . Goal.