- Javad Nekounam
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Javad Nekounam 
Nekounam in 2010Personal information Full name Javad Nekounam Date of birth 7 September 1980 Place of birth Rey, Iran Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Playing position Midfielder Club information Current club Osasuna Number 6 Youth career 1990–1994 Naft Tehran 1994–1998 Saipa Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1998–2005 Pas 179 (45) 2005–2006 Al-Wahda 11 (3) 2006 Al-Sharjah 11 (5) 2006– Osasuna 127 (21) National team‡ 1998–2000 Iran U20 2002 Iran U23 6 (2) 2000– Iran 124 (30) HonoursCompetitor for 
IranAsian Games Gold 2002 Busan Team Competition * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2011Javad Nekounam (Persian: جواد نکونام; born 7 September 1980 in Rey) is an Iranian footballer who plays for CA Osasuna in La Liga.
Usually playing as a central midfielder, he is known for his passing ability, defensive acumen, ball distribution and powerful long-range shots. He represented his national team over 120 times.
Contents
Club career
Early years / UAE
Having played for Pas Tehran F.C. for several years and played in AFC Champions League for PAS, in 2005 Nekounam signed a 5-month contract to play for Al-Wahda in the UAE for $1M.[1]
In January 2006, he joined another club in the country, Sharjah FC, although some European clubs such as 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Tottenham Hotspur had shown interest in him.[2]
Osasuna
After his performance at the 2006 World Cup many clubs in Europe were in the running to sign Nekounam, mainly Hertha Berlin of the Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Lyonnais, but he eventually joined La Liga side CA Osasuna on a two-year contract,[3] with an option to a third year with player and club agreement, with a €5 million minimum release-fee clause on his contract. He thus became the first Iranian player to be signed by a Spanish club.[4] After a particularly successful first season, Nekounam began to attract interest from other European clubs noticeably Scottish club Rangers, who had a £1 million pound offer rejected.[5]
On August 14, Nekounam suffered an ACL rupture in his right knee[6] and, after undergoing a successful surgery in Augsburg, Germany, missed eight months of action. His number 24 was given to new signing Jaroslav Plašil, as he recovered from his injury.
On 24 November 2007, Osasuna showed faith in Nekounam signing a three-year contract extension on his existing contract that was set to end on 30 June of the following year, with a €5M buy-out clause for the first two seasons and €2.5M for the last.[7]
In February 2008, Nekounam made his first training appearance since the injury. Incidentally, a week later, Swiss Xavier Margairaz (teammate and also a central midfielder) suffered a similar injury, missing an estimate period that could amount to one year. On 27 April, he made his long-awaited return against Valencia CF, replacing Francisco Puñal in the 70th minute, in a 0–3 away loss.
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.[8] In November/December, he also netted, but the Navarrese failed to win at Málaga CF (2–4)[9] and with Real Valladolid (3–3),[10] also scoring, on 18 January 2009, the opener against Real Madrid, in a 1–3 away loss.[11]
On 22 March 2009, Nekounam scored a last-minute goal against RCD Espanyol (1–0 home win),[12] and finished the season as Osasuna's second goalscorer, behind Walter Pandiani, scoring nine times in the league (a career-best in Spain). In the 2009 summer, Osasuna received offers from both Espanyol and Villarreal, with the latter in particular being ready to pay the €5M buy-out clause in Nekounam's contract. However, the player repeatedly insisted to be "happy at the club", waiting until he "hears some better deals".[13][14]
Nekounam was again a regular starter for Osasuna in the 2010–11 season, but also spent one month at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup with his national team. On 20 February 2011, in the second game upon his return from Qatar, he scored twice in a 4–0 home win against Espanyol,[15] and eventually finished the campaign with six goals in 26 appearances, as his team again avoided relegation.
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]
International career
Nekounam after match with Syria in 2006
Nekounam received his first call-up to Iran in May 2000. He became a starter for the national side during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers and, already a key midfield element, played in two of Iran's games during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, being suspended for the final group game against Angola, after his second yellow card, against Portugal.
He won the 2002 Asian Games and 2004 West Asian Football Federation Championship, and also represented Iran in the 2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship and 2004, 2007 and 2011 Asian Cups.
International goals
International goals # Date City Opponent Final Score Result Competition 30 15 November 2011 Jakarta, Indonesia 
Indonesia4–1 Win 2014 World Cup qualification 29 5 October 2011 Tehran, Iran 
Palestine7–0 Win Friendly 28 2 September 2011 Tehran, Iran Indonesia3–0 Win 2014 World Cup qualification 27 2 September 2011 Tehran, Iran Indonesia3–0 Win 2014 World Cup qualification 26 2 January 2011 Al Rayyan, Qatar 
Angola1–0 Win Friendly 25 3 March 2010 Tehran, Iran 
Thailand1–0 Win 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification 24 14 November 2009 Tehran, Iran 
Jordan1–0 Win 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification 23 11 February 2009 Tehran, Iran 
South Korea1–1 Draw 2010 World Cup qualification 22 15 October 2008 Tehran, Iran 
North Korea2–1 Win 2010 World Cup qualification 21 6 September 2008 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 
Saudi Arabia1–1 Draw 2010 World Cup qualification 20 22 July 2008 Tehran, Iran 
Kuwait2–0 Win 2010 World Cup qualification 19 25 May 2008 Tehran, Iran 
Zambia3–2 Win Friendly 18 18 July 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
Malaysia2–0 Win 2007 Asian Cup 17 15 July 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
China PR2–2 Draw 2007 Asian Cup 16 2 July 2007 Tehran, Iran 
Jamaica8–1 Win Friendly 15 2 July 2007 Tehran, Iran Jamaica8–1 Win Friendly 14 6 September 2006 Tehran, Iran 
Syria1–1 Draw 2007 Asian Cup qualification 13 16 August 2006 Damascus, Syria Syria2–0 Win 2007 Asian Cup qualification 12 24 August 2005 Tehran, Iran 
Libya4–0 Win Friendly 11 24 August 2005 Tehran, Iran Libya4–0 Win Friendly 10 29 May 2005 Tehran, Iran 
Azerbaijan2–1 Win Friendly 9 30 March 2005 Pyongyang, North Korea North Korea2–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualification 8 17 November 2004 Tehran, Iran 
Laos7–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualification 7 17 November 2004 Tehran, Iran Laos7–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualification 6 6 August 2004 Beijing, China 
Bahrain4–2 Win 2004 Asian Cup 5 20 July 2004 Chongqing, China Thailand3–0 Win 2004 Asian Cup 4 25 June 2004 Tehran, Iran Syria4–1 Win 2004 WAFF 3 23 June 2004 Tehran, Iran 
Iraq2–1 Win 2004 WAFF 2 17 June 2004 Tehran, Iran 
Lebanon4–0 Win 2004 WAFF 1 1 February 2003 Hong Kong, Hong Kong Stadium 
Denmark1–0 Win 2003 Carlsberg Cup Club statistics
- As of 20 November 2011
Club performance League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total 1998–99 Pas Azadegan League 23 2 - - 1999–00 24 5 - - 2000–01 21 5 - - 2001–02 Iran Pro League 25 4 - - 2002–03 25 7 - - 2003–04 25 10 - - 2004–05 25 9 8 4 2005–06 11 3 0 0 - - 11 3 United Arab Emirates League President's Cup Asia Total 2005–06 Al-Wahda UAE League 11 3 0 0 - - 11 3 Al-Sharjah 11 5 3 3 - - 14 8 Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total 2006–07 Osasuna La Liga 24 2 3 0 11 1 38 3 2007–08 2 0 0 0 - - 2 0 2008–09 35 8 2 0 - - 37 8 2009–10 31 3 2 0 - - 31 3 2010–11 26 6 2 0 - - 28 6 2011–12 9 2 0 0 - - 9 2 Total Iran 179 45 8 4 United Arab Emirates 22 8 3 3 - - 25 11 Spain 127 21 9 0 11 1 145 22 Career total 326 74 19 5 Iran national team Year Apps Goals 2000 6 0 2001 10 0 2002 12 0 2003 12 1 2004 18 7 2005 11 4 2006 11 2 2007 8 4 2008 8 4 2009 8 2 2010 6 1 2011 13 4 Total 123 29 Honours
Team
- PAS Tehran
- Iranian League: 2003–04
Country
- AFC – OFC Challenge Cup: 2003
- Asian Games: 2002
- WAFF: 2004; Third-place 2002
- Asian Cup: Third-place 2004
Individual
- Football Iran News & Events:
- Player and midfielder of the year (Osasuna, 2006–07)
References
- ^ "Nekounam states Euro ambition". Sky Sports. http://msnsport.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=347894&plid=45818&clid=163&cpid=22. Retrieved 7 April 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "Buh, Bye". The Guardian. 10 July 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2005/jul/10/newsstory.sport2.
- ^ "Osasuna sign Javad Nekounam". Persian Football. http://www.persianfootball.com/pfdcnews20060705451580103617.htm. Retrieved 7 July 2006.[dead link]
- ^ Javad Nekounam - Osasuna's new star
- ^ Gers miss out on Iranian ace
- ^ Nekounam sidelined at Osasuna; UEFA.com, 16 August 2007
- ^ Javad Nekounam renueva su contrato hasta 2011 (Javad Nekounam renews contract until 2011); Osasuna's website, 24 November 2007 (Spanish)
- ^ "Osasuna 1-1 Villarreal". ESPN Soccernet. 31 August 2008. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/252846?cc=5739. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Málaga 4-2 Osasuna". ESPN Soccernet. 30 November 2008. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/252923?cc=5739. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Osasuna 3-3 Valladolid". ESPN Soccernet. 7 December 2008. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/252782?cc=5739. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Real Madrid 3-1 Osasuna". ESPN Soccernet. 18 January 2009. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/252960?cc=5739. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Osasuna 1-0 Espanyol". ESPN Soccernet. 22 March 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/253042?cc=5739. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ Javad Nekounam not interested in leaving Osasuna; Goal.com, 21 June 2009
- ^ Villarreal looking to recruit Iran's Nekounam; Press TV, 17 June 2009
- ^ "Nekounam at the double". ESPN Soccernet. 20 February 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/301870?cc=5739. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ Iranian duo to stay at Osasuna; Persian Football, 31 May 2011
- ^ "Javad Nekounam - Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/nekounam-intl.html. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
External links
- Osasuna official profile (Spanish)
- BDFutbol profile
- TeamMelli official profile
- Javad Nekounam - Century of International Appearances; at RSSSF
- Javad Nekounam at National-Football-Teams.com
- Javad Nekounam – FIFA competition record
- Transfermarkt profile
CA Osasuna – current squad 1 Ricardo · 2 Bertrán · 3 Rubén · 4 M. Flaño · 5 Lolo · 6 Nekounam · 7 Sola · 8 Masoud · 9 Lekić · 10 Puñal (c) · 11 Calleja · 12 Echaide · 13 Riesgo · 14 García · 15 Rovérsio · 16 Cejudo · 17 Nino · 18 Annunziata · 19 Ibrahima · 20 Raitala · 21 Lamah · 22 Timor · 23 Sergio · 24 Damià · 25 Andrés · Coach: Mendilibar
UAE President Cup top scorers 2006: Musallam / Nekounam / Al-Wehaibi | 2007: Jestrović | 2008: Ahmad Khalil / Oliveira / Obaid / F.Khalil | 2009: Andre DiazSporting positions Preceded by
Mehdi MahdavikiaIran national football team captain
2009–PresentSucceeded by
IncumbentCategories:- 1980 births
- Living people
- People from Rey
- Iranian footballers
- Association football midfielders
- Pas players
- Al-Wahda FC (Abu Dhabi) players
- Sharjah FC players
- La Liga footballers
- CA Osasuna footballers
- Iran international footballers
- 2004 AFC Asian Cup players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- 2007 AFC Asian Cup players
- 2011 AFC Asian Cup players
- Asian Games gold medalists for Iran
- FIFA Century Club
- Iranian expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
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