Three Iranians Shortlisted for AFC International Player of Week


Three Iranians Shortlisted for AFC International Player of Week

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Three Iranian football players are among this week’s candidates for the AFC International Player of the Week.

Mehdi Taremi, Ali Alipour and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh have been nominated for the award based on performances from April 22 to 28.

Mehdi Taremi (FC Porto,Iran)
79 minutes, 2 shots, 2 shot assists (1-0 v Vitoria Guimarães)
90 minutes, 1 goal, 81% pass accuracy (1-1 v Moreirense)

Surely the most popular player in Asia in recent weeks, Taremi’s recent purple patch continued as he powered home an 86th-minute penalty to save Porto from defeat in the league.

The FC Porto star now scored four goals in his last five matches, and 19 in all competitions this season.

Ali Alipour (Maritimo, Iran)
90 minutes, 1 goal, 81% pass accuracy (1-0 v Boavista)

While Taremi is currently the best-known Team Melli star in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, he is far from the only Iranian to been performing well in the division, with Ali Alipour continuing his recent uplift in form to strike the winner for Maritimo against Boavista on Sunday.

Allahyar Sayyadmanesh (Zorya Luhansk, Iran)
90 minutes, 11 duels won, 1 shot assist (2-1 v Olimpik Donetsk)
90 minutes, 1 goal (1-2 v Olimpik Donetsk)

Back-to-back matches against Olimpik Donetsk produced one win and one defeat for Allahyar Sayyadmanesh’s Zorya, and while his countryman Shahab Zahedi netted the winner on Sunday, it was the youngster who came to the fore on Wednesday, netting a superb goal on the counterattack: his fifth of the season in the Ukrainian Premier League.

The Iranian trio will compete with Eldor Shomurodov (Genoa CFC, Uzbekistan), Gaku Shibasaki (CD Leganés, Japan), Ji So-yun (Chelsea, Korea Republic), Ella Mastrantonio (Bristol City, Australia), Alanna Kennedy (Tottenham Hotspur, Australia), Jiloan Hamad (HNK Gorica, Iraq) and Jackson Irvine (Hibernian, Australia) to win the award.

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