Farhad Majidi (Persian: فرهاد مجیدی; born 3 June 1976) is an Iranian football coach and former player who most recently manages Al Bataeh Club.

He mostly played as attacking midfielder for Esteghlal when he was a football player. He scored 2 important goal for AlAin at 2002–03 AFC Champions League

Club career

Having played for Esteghlal Tehran for several seasons, Majidi's performance attracted Rapid Vienna to recruit him for one season. However, the offer for a permanent transfer to Austria was not accepted by the Austrians, and they released Majidi who joined Al-Wasl in the UAE.

In the UAE League and in combination with his compatriot Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht, Majidi scored a handful of goals and topped the league chart with Al Wasl. Majidi was unlucky with injuries and was out of action for quite a few matches. One of the highlights of Majidi's career was his short loan to Al-Ain. Majidi was the star of the 2002–03 AFC Champions League semi-final game against Dalian Shide. His goal helped Al Ain to reach the AFC Champions League final match, eventually winning the trophy for the first time in the club's history.

All together in the five years Majidi played for Al Wasl FC, he scored over 100 goals. He left Al Wasl in 2006, joining another UAE club, Al-Nasr.

On 10 February 2007, Majidi signed a contract until the end of the season with Al-Ahli. At the end of the season, Majidi signed a season-long contract with Esteghlal tehran. He extended his contract with Esteghlal tehran for two more season and he was mostly used as the attacking midfielder in 2008–09 season which ended up in winning the league. He had a very good season in 2009–10 season where he was the top scorer of the team and one of the top scorers of ACL.

On 21 December 2011, Majidi left Esteghlal due to personal problems and joined the Qatari side Al Gharrafa. He played until the end of the season at Al Gharafa and his contract was expired on 1 July 2012. Majidi announced his retirement from football on 28 September 2012 after Esteghlal refused to offer him a contract extension. but upon request of Esteghlal fans and management, he later withdrew his decision and rejoined the team with an 18-months contract on 18 December 2012. He then won the league title with the team and scored six goals. Finally, Majidi retired for the second time as a football player on 29 October 2013 after Esteghlal was unable to qualified to the finals of the 2013 AFC Champions League.

International career

He made his debut for Iran national football team in December 1996 in the 1996 Asian Cup match against Saudi Arabia. He was occasionally getting called up but never became a regular starter till the arrival of Branko Ivankovic where he was experiencing the top of his football. He was mostly benched by Ivankovic because of Ali Daei and Arash Borhani and decided to leave Team Melli camp in 2004 just before the 2004 AFC Asian Cup where Iran lost the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Jordan in Tehran and he was benched for the whole match. Before the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was called for a few friendlies but could not break it through to the tournament. Majidi was invited by Amir Ghalenoei and Afshin Ghotbi in 2006 and 2009 for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification and 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification for a couple of matches and was used as the substitute. He was called for few friendlies three months before 2011 AFC Asian Cup but decided to announce his retirement. Majidi was again invited on 23 August 2011 by Carlos Queiroz. He was the oldest player in the Iran national team since he had been a member of the team since 1996, however Majidi does not have many international caps. Farhad Majidi and the Persepolis captain, Ali Karimi, were considered two of the fans' favorite players during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 27 September 2011, Majidi announced his retirement from national playing.

Personal life

On 11 January 2026, Majidi publicly supported the 2025–2026 Iranian protests on his Instagram by criticizing the Iranian government's internet blackout, stating, "Iran's internet has been shut down, but the voices can still be heard." On 24 January, he said, "The religious leaders destroyed the celebrations and looted the country's money, and this is what happened to us. Condolences to all the people of my country, Iran." Majidi also reposted a video on his Instagram of an elderly individual reciting poetry describing the Islamic Republic's destruction of Iran, saying, "If there is no art and freedom in a society, violence will take its place. Art, freedom, and literacy have been eliminated from our country for years."

Club statistics

Club performanceLeagueCupContinentalTotal
SeasonClub 50 LeagueApps 20 GoalsApps 10 GoalsApps 15 GoalsApps 13 Goals
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
1995–96BahmanAzadegan LeagueUnknown
1996–97Unknown
TotalUnknown7
1997–98EsteghlalAzadegan LeagueUnknown
1998–99
1999–00
2000–01Unknown6Unknown
AustriaLeagueAustrian CupEuropeTotal
1999–00Rapid Wien (loan)Bundesliga1220000122
United Arab EmiratesLeaguePresident's CupAsiaTotal
2000–01Al WaslUAE Pro LeagueUnknown14Unknown–Unknown
2001–02Unknown11–Unknown25
2002–03Unknown12Unknown6–Unknown18
2003–04Unknown14Unknown–Unknown
2004–05Unknown14–
2005–06Unknown3Unknown⩾4–Unknown⩾7
TotalUnknown68Unknown108
2002–03Al Ain (loan)UAE Pro League–4141
2005–06Al Ahli (loan)UAE Pro LeagueUnknown6Unknown–Unknown
2006–07Al NasrUAE Pro League112Unknown–Unknown4
2006–07Al Ahli (loan)UAE Pro League81Unknown–Unknown
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2007–08EsteghlalPersian Gulf League22762–289
2008–092332150304
2009–10301111653717
2010–11261021653416
2011–121692000189
QatarLeagueEmir of Qatar CupAsiaTotal
2011–12Al-GharafaQatar Stars League1373150218
IranLeagueHazfi CupAsiaTotal
2012–13EsteghlalPersian Gulf League11310103226
2013–141040000104
TotalIran
Austria1220000122
United Arab Emirates
Qatar
Career total
  • Assists
SeasonTeamAssists
07–08Esteghlal2
08–09Esteghlal3
09–10Esteghlal2
10–11Esteghlal5
11–12Esteghlal9
11–12Al-Gharafa5
12–13Esteghlal1
13–14Esteghlal1

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
14 June 1997Abbasiyyin Stadium, DamascusKyrgyzstan4–07–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
216 August 2000Azadi Stadium, TehranGeorgia2–12–1Friendly
31 September 2000Ernst Happel Stadion, ViennaAustria1–01–5
424 November 2000Takhti Stadium, TabrizGuam1–019–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
516–0
618–0
717 November 2002Sabah Al Salem Stadium, Kuwait CityKuwait3–13–1Friendly
815 August 2003Azadi Stadium, TehranCameroon2–14–1
926 September 2003Al-Hassan Stadium, AmmanJordan2–12–32004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
1021 June 2004Azadi Stadium, TehranSyria7–17–12004 WAFF Championship

Managerial statistics

As of 29 February 2024

TeamFromToRecord
GWDLGFGAGDWin %
Esteghlal (caretaker)29 April 20191 June 2019532095+4060.00
Iran U2310 June 20196 October 2019200215−4000.00
Esteghlal2 January 20205 September 20202110743822+16047.62
3 March 20211 June 202259351777532+43059.32
Kalba4 June 20222 March 2024531613248392−9030.19
Al Bataeh13 January 2025present2677122634−8026.92
Total coaching for Esteghlal8548261112457+67056.47
Total166714649227179+48042.77
  • The result of wins and losses on penalties is calculated in the statistics of wins and losses.

Honours

Player

Club

Farhad Majidi has won the Persian Gulf Pro League as the captain and head coach of Esteghlal.

Esteghlal

Al-Ain

Al-Ahli

Al-Gharafa

National

Iran

Manager

Esteghlal

External links