Javad Nekounam

Javad Nekounam

Nekounam with Esteghlal in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Javad Nekounam[1]
Date of birth	(1980-09-07) 7 September 1980 (age 45)
Place of birth	Rey, Iran
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Youth career
	Naft Tehran
0000–1998	Pas
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2005	Pas	179	(45)
2005–2006	Al-Wahda	11	(5)
2006–2012	Osasuna	151	(24)
2012–2014	Esteghlal	44	(8)
2014	Al-Kuwait	11	(1)
2014–2015	Osasuna	22	(5)
2015–2016	Saipa	15	(3)
2016	Al-Arabi	11	(1)
Total		444	(92)
International career
1998–2000	Iran U20
1999–2002	Iran U23	10	(2)
2000–2015	Iran[a]	149	(38)
Managerial career
2016	Iran (assistant)
2017–2018	Khooneh be Khooneh
2018–2019	Nassaji
2019–2021	Foolad
2021–2023	Foolad
2023–2024	Esteghlal
Medal record Representing  Iran AFC Asian Cup 2004 China Team Competition Asian Games 2002 Busan Team Competition
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Javad Nekounam (Persian: جواد نکونام; born 7 September 1980) is an Iranian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He holds the record for the most appearances for the Iranian national team with 149 caps.

Nicknamed Neku by numerous Iranian football fans,^[3] he played as a midfielder, and is also regarded as one of greatest players of the history of Pas.^[4][5] Nekounam represented the Iran national team a record of 149 times,^[6] playing several major tournaments including two World Cups and four Asian Cups.

Nekounam was born in Ray, Iran. Having played for Pas Tehran F.C. for several years, appearing in the AFC Champions League with the team, he signed a five-month contract with Al-Wahda F.C. in the United Arab Emirates for US$1 million, in 2005.^[7]

In January 2006, Nekounam joined Al Sharjah SC, although some European clubs such as 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Tottenham Hotspur had previously shown interest in him.^[8]

After his performance at the 2006 World Cup Nekounam was linked to the likes of Hertha BSC of the Bundesliga and Ligue 1's Olympique Lyonnais, but he eventually joined CA Osasuna on a two-year contract, with an option to a third year and a (about) €5 million minimum release-fee clause.^[9] On 22 February 2007, Nekunam finally scored in the 120th minute of the match against FC Girondins de Bordeaux in the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup to help to a 1–0 home win and aggregate score, and after a particularly successful first season began to attract interest from other European sides, notably Scotland's Rangers who had a £1 million pound offer rejected. On 14 August 2007, Nekounam suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his right knee and, after undergoing a successful surgery in Augsburg, Germany, was sidelined for eight months. His number 24 was given to new signing Jaroslav Plašil, and after some time finally he recovered from his injury.^[10][11] On 31 August 2008, Nekounam scored Osasuna's first goal of the season, from the penalty spot in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF. In November/December he also netted, but the Navarrese failed to win at Málaga CF (4–2 loss) and with Real Valladolid (3–3), also opening the score in the 3–1 away defeat to Real Madrid on 18 January 2009.^{[12][13][14][15]} On 21 May 2011, Nekounam renewed his contract with Osasuna for another two seasons, with the option of an annual renewal of his link.^[16][17]

In July of the following year, amidst interest from Iranian club Esteghlal F.C. and unnamed Turkish and Qatari clubs, it was reported that he would only remain with at the El Sadar Stadium if he accepted a salary reduction – he was the highest-paid player.^[18]

On 21 July 2012, aged almost 32, Nekounam returned to his country and signed a two-year deal with Esteghlal for a record fee of US$1,500,000, which made him the most expensive player in the Iran Pro League history.^[19][20] He scored his first goal for his new club in a 3–2 loss to Foolad F.C. on 28 November, through a penalty.^[21]

On 5 May 2013, against the same opponent, he also found the net, helping his team secure their 28th league title^[22] and winning his second national championship.

On 14 January 2014, Nekounam agreed to a four-month contract at Kuwait SC.^[23] He scored his first goal for the club on 2 February, netting the only in an AFC Champions League qualifier against Al Shorta SC.^[24]

Nekounam scored three goals in the 2014 edition of the AFC Cup,^[25] and also won the season's Kuwait Emir Cup.^[26]

On 4 August 2014, Nekounam returned to Osasuna by signing a two-year deal.^[27] He scored in his first game upon his return, a 3–1 Segunda División loss against Deportivo Alavés on 6 September.^[28] On 2 November he added another, helping to a 3–2 home victory over Real Betis.^[29]

Nekounam returned to Iran and its Persian Gulf Pro League on 6 July 2015, joining Saipa F.C. for one year.^[30] He scored his first competitive goal for his new team on 6 August, the second in a 2–0 win at Rah Ahan Yazdan FC.

On 21 January 2016, Nekounam moved to Qatari club Al-Arabi SC on a four-month contract with an option to extend for a further year.^[31] In his first match, at home against Qatar SC, he assisted countryman Ashkan Dejagah in an eventual 1–1 draw.

Nekounam left on 30 June 2016, and the 35-year-old announced his retirement two weeks later.^[32]

Nekounam received his first call-up to Iran in 2000. He became a starter for the national side during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and, already a key midfield element, played two of the national team's matches during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, being suspended for the final group game against Angola after his second yellow card against Portugal.^[33]

Additionally, Nekounam helped Iran win the 2002 Asian Games and the 2004 West Asian Football Federation Championship, and also represented the country in the 2004, 2007 and 2011 AFC Asian Cups.^[2] He was Team Melli's leading goalscorer in its successful 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign and, on 1 June 2014, he was selected by Carlos Queiroz for the finals in Brazil,^[34] where he captained the nation in an eventual group-stage exit.

Nekounam also made the 2015 Asian Cup squad, in December 2014.^[35] In March 2015, he hinted that a friendly against Sweden on the 31st – five days earlier, against Chile, he had become his country's most capped player after surpassing Ali Daei^[36]– might be his last international, but later went back on that statement^[37] only to confirm it the following day and subsequently send an emotional open letter to fans;^[38] he scored 39 goals for his country,^[39] and shortly after retiring was named Queiroz's assistant.^[40]

Midway through the 2017–18 season, Nekounam became the manager of F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran.^[41] His team won 23 points from his nine games in charge, and were promoted to the Persian Gulf Pro League after a 24-year absence.^[42]

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nekounam goal.

List of international goals scored by Javad Nekounam^[2]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
*	1 February 2003	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong, China	Denmark	1–0	1–0	2003 Carlsberg Cup	[1]
1	17 June 2004	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	3–0	4–0	2004 WAFF Championship	[2]
2	23 June 2004	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Iraq	1–0	2–1	2004 WAFF Championship	[3]
3	25 June 2004	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Syria	4–1	4–1	2004 WAFF Championship	[4]
4	20 July 2004	Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	Thailand	2–0	3–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup	[5]
5	6 August 2004	Workers Stadium, Beijing, China	Bahrain	1–0	4–2	2004 AFC Asian Cup	[6]
6	17 November 2004	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Laos	5–0	7–0	2006 World Cup qualification	[7]
7				7–0
8	30 March 2005	Kim Il-sung, Pyongyang, North Korea	North Korea	2–0	2–0	2006 World Cup qualification	[8]
9	29 May 2005	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Azerbaijan	2–0	2–1	Friendly	[9]
10	24 August 2005	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Libya	2–0	4–0	Friendly	[citation needed]
11				4–0
12	16 August 2006	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Syria	1–0	1–1	2007 Asian Cup qualification	[10]
13	6 September 2006	Abbasiyyin, Damascus, Syria	Syria	2–0	2–0	2007 Asian Cup qualification	[11]
14	2 July 2007	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Jamaica	1–0	8–1	Friendly	[12]
15				3–0
16	15 July 2007	National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Malaysia	China	2–2	2–2	2007 AFC Asian Cup	[13]
17	18 July 2007	National Stadium, Bukit Jalal, Malaysia	Malaysia	1–0	2–0	2007 AFC Asian Cup	[14]
18	25 May 2008	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Zambia	1–0	3–2	Friendly	[15]
19	22 June 2008	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Kuwait	1–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qualification	[16]
20	6 September 2008	King Fahd International, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	1–1	1–1	2010 World Cup qualification	[17]
21	15 October 2008	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	North Korea	2–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualification	[18]
22	11 February 2009	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	South Korea	1–0	1–1	2010 World Cup qualification	[19]
23	14 November 2009	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Jordan	1–0	1–0	2011 Asian Cup qualification	[20]
24	3 March 2010	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Thailand	1–0	1–0	2011 Asian Cup qualification	[21]
25	2 January 2011	Jassim Bin Hamad, Doha, Qatar	Angola	1–0	1–0	Friendly	[22]
26	2 September 2011	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Indonesia	1–0	3–0	2014 World Cup qualification	[23]
27				2–0
28	5 October 2011	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Palestine	3–0	7–0	Friendly	[24]
29	15 November 2011	Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	4–1	4–1	2014 World Cup qualification	[25]
30	16 October 2012	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	South Korea	1–0	1–0	2014 World Cup qualification	[26]
31	6 February 2013	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	2–0	5–0	2015 Asian Cup qualification	[27]
32				3–0
33				5–0
34	11 June 2013	Azadi, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	2–0	4–0	2014 World Cup qualification	[28]
35				4–0
36	19 November 2013	Camille Chamoun, Beirut, Lebanon	Lebanon	3–0	4–1	2015 Asian Cup qualification	[29]
37	26 March 2015	NV Arena, Sankt Pölten, Austria	Chile	1–0	2–0	Friendly	[30]
38	31 March 2015	Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden	Sweden	1–2	1–3	Friendly	[31]

As of 30 September 2024

Pas

• Iran Pro League: 2003–04

Esteghlal

• Iran Pro League: 2012–13

Al-Kuwait

• Kuwait Emir Cup: 2013–14

Iran

• Asian Games:2002^[47]
• AFC – OFC Challenge Cup: 2003
• West Asian Football Federation Championship: 2004

Individual

• Iran football award winners: Player of the Year^[48]
• AFC Champions League Dream Team: 2013
• Asian Footballer of the Year nominee: 2013^[49]

Nassaji Mazandaran

• Azadegan League: runner-up (promotion) 2017–18

Foolad

• Hazfi Cup: 2020–21^[50]
• Iranian Super Cup: 2021^[51]

Esteghlal

• Iran Pro League runner-up: 2023–24

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• Iranians in Spain

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Javad Nekounam.

• Javad Nekounam at BDFutbol
• profile at TeamMelli.com
• Javad Nekounam at National-Football-Teams.com
• Javad Nekounam – FIFA competition record (archived)