{{Short description|Iranian football club}} {{unreferenced|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox football club | ground = [[Shahid Derakhshan Stadium]] | capacity = 12,000 | current = 2018–19 Rah Ahan F.C. season | pattern_la1 = _bluelines | pattern_b1 = _thinyellowides | pattern_ra1 = _bluelines | leftarm1 = FFFF00 | body1 = FFFF00 | rightarm1 = FFFF00 | shorts1 = 0000ff | socks1 = 0000ff | pattern_la2 = _bluelines | pattern_b2 = _thinwhitesides | pattern_ra2 = _bluelines | leftarm2 = ffffff | body2 = ffffff | rightarm2 = ffffff | shorts2 = ffffff | socks2 = ffffff| | clubname = Rah Ahan FC | fullname = Rah Ahan Sports Club | founded = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1927|01|02}} | owner = | chairman = | mgrtitle = Head Coach | manager = | league = [[Tehran Province league]] | season = | position = | image = | image_size = 180px }} '''Rah Ahan Sports Club''' ({{langx|fa|باشگاه ورزشی راهآهن}}, ''Bashgah-e Vârzeshi-ye Rahâhen''), commonly known as '''Rah Ahan Football Club''', was an Iranian professional [[association football|football]] club based in [[Tehran]]. They last played in the [[Azadegan League]]. Rah Ahan is one of the oldest Iranian football clubs.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
==History==
===Establishment=== Rah Ahan was formed in 1927 in [[Tehran]] by [[Islamic Republic of Iran Railways|Iran Railways]] but were bought by [[Mehr Afarin Holding]]. They are one of the oldest [[Football in Iran|Iranian football clubs]] still in existence.
In 1939 Rah Ahan participated in the Tehran Local League for the first time. Their first official match was on 4 January 1940 against Bazargani F.C.; they won the game 11–0.
Rah Ahan is currently owned by Mehrafarin Holding.
===1950s=== During the [[World War]] in the 1940s Rah Ahan dissolved its football operations, and did not restart its team until the 1950s. After its re-establishment the club under the name of ''Pirouz'' played on the dirt pitches near the railway station. The players of the team were railway workers. In 1955 with the arrival of Rasoul Madadnavi from [[Tabriz]], the club was again renamed to ''Rah Ahan'' and began to attract players from outside the railway company. After achieving good results in the 1958 season Rah Ahan was promoted to the 1st Division Tehran League. However, due to new restrictions regarding private clubs in the Tehran Local Leagues, the club was denied the right to compete and eventually ceased its operations.
===Pre-Revolution=== In 1963 Rah Ahan was again re-established and were placed in the 2nd Division Tehran Local League. In 1966 Rah Ahan was finally promoted to the top division of the Tehran Local Leagues. In 1973 the [[Takht Jamshid Cup]], Iran's first national league, was founded. In their first two years in the Cup, Rah Ahan finished a respectable 7th and 9th. In 1976 they were relegated to the [[Iran Football's 2nd Division|2nd Division]]. In their only season in the 2nd Division, Rah Ahan finished 1st in the league and were again promoted to the [[Takht Jamshid Cup]]. In 1978 they were again relegated to the 2nd Division, but they could not finish the 2nd Division season because of the [[Iranian Revolution]].
===Iran Pro League=== After the establishment of the [[Iran Pro League]] in 2001, Rah Ahan was placed in the second tier [[Azadegan League]]. In 2005 Rah Ahan was promoted to the [[Iran Pro League]] after a second-place finish in the [[Azadegan League]]. Since then they have mostly been an average team and have finished in the mid-table, but since the arrival of [[Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard|Ansarifard]] as the chairman they have looked more stable. They finished 11th in the 2008–09 season and avoided relegation in the season after the last week.
===Ali Daei=== In the 2012–13 season, under [[Ali Daei]], the team got out to an early start, and were 4th in the [[Iran Pro League]] after the opening few weeks. After that the team had an average year, dropping to 8th by the season's end. In the same year they went on tour in Turkey, beating [[Galatasaray|Galatasaray A2]] 4–1, and losing to [[Super Lig]] side [[Istanbul BB]] 3–2. At the end of the 2012–13 season [[Ali Daei]] left Rah Ahan to sign with [[Persepolis F.C.|Persepolis]].
===Trouble years=== [[Mansour Ebrahimzadeh]] was announced as Rah Ahan's new manager for the 2013–14 season. With him in charge Rah Ahan finished an average 11th place. At the end of the season, Ebrahimzadeh announced that he was stepping down as Rah Ahan's manager. Former Persepolis manager [[Hamid Estili]] was named as his replacement. Rah Ahan encountered severe financial problems and under Estili the club performed poorly. Estili was soon fired and replaced with former [[Rah Ahan]] player [[Farhad Kazemi]].
In the 2015–16 season, Rah Ahan ran into financial troubles, finished 15th in the [[Persian Gulf Pro League]] and were relegated. This was the first time Rah Ahan would play in the [[Azadegan League]] in 12 years.
==Season-by-season== The table below chronicles the achievements of [[Rah Ahan F.C.]] every season, from 1968 to the present day.
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center; font-size:normal;" |- style="background:#f0f6fa;" !Season !Div. ! League ! Position ![[Hazfi Cup]] !Notes |- |1968–69 |'''1''' |[[Tehran League]] |10th |rowspan=5|''Not held'' |rowspan=5| |- |1969–70 |'''1''' |Tehran League |8th |- |1970–71 |'''1''' |Tehran League |10th |- |1973–74 |'''1''' |[[1973–74 Takht Jamshid Cup|Takht Jamshid Cup]] |7th |- |1974–75 |'''1''' |[[1974–75 Takht Jamshid Cup|Takht Jamshid Cup]] |9th |- |1975–76 |'''1''' |[[1975–76 Takht Jamshid Cup|Takht Jamshid Cup]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|15th |Quarterfinal |style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|Relegated |- |1976–77 |'''2''' |[[1976–77 Iran Football's 2nd Division|2nd Division]] | style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|'''1st''' |1/16 Final |style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|Promoted |- |1977–78 |'''1''' |[[1977–78 Takht Jamshid Cup|Takht Jamshid Cup]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|16th |rowspan=9|''Not held'' |style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|Relegated |- |1978–79 |'''2''' |[[1978–79 Iran Football's 2nd Division|2nd Division]] |N/A |League not finished |- |1979–80 |'''1''' |Tehran League |''Not held'' |rowspan=5| |- |1980–81 |'''1''' |Tehran League |''Not held'' |- |1981–82 |'''1''' |Tehran League |5th |- |1982–83 |'''1''' |Tehran League |9th |- |1983–84 |'''1''' |Tehran League |10th |- |1984–85 |'''1''' |Tehran League |N/A |League not finished |- |1985–86 |'''1''' |Tehran League |8th |rowspan=5| |- |1986–87 |'''1''' |Tehran League |6th | |- |1987–88 |'''1''' |Tehran League |6th | |- |1988–89 |'''1''' |Tehran League |12th | |- |1989–90 |'''1''' |Tehran League |9th |''Not held'' |- |1990–91 |'''1''' |Tehran League | style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|17th | |style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|Relegated |- |1991–92 |'''4''' |Tehran 2nd Division |5th | | |- |1992–93 |'''4''' |Tehran 2nd Division | style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|2nd |''Not held'' |style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|Promoted |- |1993–94 |'''3''' |Tehran League |7th | | |- |1994–95 |'''3''' |Tehran League | style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|2nd | |style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|Promoted |- |1995–96 |'''2''' |[[1995–96 Iran Football's 2nd Division|2nd Division]] |5th | |rowspan=9| |- |1996–97 |'''2''' |[[2nd Division 1996/97|2nd Division]] |6th | |- |1997–98 |'''2''' |[[1997–98 Iran Football's 2nd Division|2nd Division]] |6th |''Not held'' |- |1998–99 |'''2''' |[[1998–99 Iran Football's 2nd Division|2nd Division]] |4th | |- |1999–00 |'''2''' |[[1999–2000 Iran Football's 2nd Division|2nd Division]] |6th | |- |2000–01 |'''2''' |[[2nd Division 2000/01|2nd Division]] |4th | |- |2001–02 |'''2''' |[[Azadegan League 2001/02|Azadegan League]] |8th | |- |2002–03 |'''2''' |[[Azadegan League 2002/03|Azadegan League]] |11th | |- |2003–04 |'''2''' |[[Azadegan League 2003/04|Azadegan League]] |11th | |- |2004–05 |'''2''' |[[2004–05 Azadegan League|Azadegan League]] | style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|2nd | |style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|Promoted |- |2005–06 |'''1''' |[[2005–06 Iran Pro League|Pro League]] |13th | |rowspan=10| |- |2006–07 |'''1''' |[[2006–07 Iran Pro League|Pro League]] |16th |1/16 Final |- |2007–08 |'''1''' |[[2007–08 Iran Pro League|Pro League]] |12th |Quarterfinal |- |2008–09 |'''1''' |[[2008–09 Persian Gulf Cup|Pro League]] |11th |bgcolor=silver|Final |- |2009–10 |'''1''' |[[2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup|Pro League]] |14th |1/16 Final |- |2010–11 |'''1''' |[[2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup|Pro League]] |15th |1/16 Final |- |2011–12 |'''1''' |[[2011–12 Persian Gulf Cup|Pro League]] |11th |1/16 Final |- |2012–13 |'''1''' |[[2012–13 Iran Pro League|Pro League]] |8th |1/8 Final |- align="center" | 2013–14 |'''1''' | [[2013–14 Persian Gulf Cup|Pro League]] | 11th | 1/4 Final |- | 2014–15 |'''1''' | [[2014–15 Persian Gulf Cup|Iran Pro League]] | 12th | 1/8 Final |- |2015–16 |'''1''' |[[2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League|Iran Pro League]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|15th | 1/16 Final |style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|Relegated |- |2016–17 |'''2''' |[[2016–17 Azadegan League|Azadegan League]] |15th | 1/32 Final |- |2017–18 |'''2''' |[[2017–18 Azadegan League|Azadegan League]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|18th |1/32 Final |style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|Relegated |- |2018–19 |'''3''' |[[2018–19 League 2 (Iran)|2nd Division]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|Did Not Participate |Did Not Participate |style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|Relegated |}
=== Reserves ===
The table below shows the achievements of the club's reserve team in various competitions.
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center; font-size:normal;" |- style="background:#f0f6fa;" !Season ! League ! Position ![[Hazfi Cup]] |- |2010–11 |[[2010–11 Iran Football's 3rd Division|3rd Division]] |9th/Group 2 |Did not qualify |- |2011–12 |[[Tehran Provincial League]] |7th/Group 1 |Did not qualify |- |2012–13 |[[Tehran Provincial League]] |7th/Group 1 |Did not qualify |- |2013–14 |[[Tehran Provincial League]] |bgcolor=gold|1st/Group 1 |Did not qualify |}
==Managers== {{main article|List of Rah Ahan F.C. managers}}
===IPL managers=== {{updated|23 October 2017}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |- !Name !Nat !From !To |- |align=left|[[Firouz Karimi]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|June 2004 |align=left|February 2006 |- |align=left|[[Abbas Razavi]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|February 2006 |align=left|November 2006 |- |align=left|[[Akbar Misaghian]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|December 2006 |align=left|February 2008 |- |align=left|[[Davoud Mahabadi]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|February 2008 |align=left|October 2008 |- |align=left|[[Mahmoud Yavari]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|October 2008 |align=left|April 2009 |- |align=left|[[Mehdi Tartar]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|April 2009 |align=left|June 2009 |- |align=left|[[Ernie Brandts]] |align=left|{{flagicon|NED}} |align=left|July 2009 |align=left|December 2009 |- |align=left|[[Mehdi Tartar]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|December 2009 |align=left|June 2010 |- |align=left|[[Rasoul Korbekandi]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|June 2010 |align=left|September 2010 |- |align=left|[[Mehdi Tartar]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|September 2010 |align=left|July 2011 |- |align=left|[[Ali Daei]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|July 2011 |align=left|May 2013 |- |align=left|[[Mansour Ebrahimzadeh]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|July 2013 |align=left|June 2014 |- |align=left|[[Hamid Estili]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|June 2014 |align=left|February 2015 |- |align=left|[[Ali Latifi]] (Interim) |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|February 2015 |align=left|February 2015 |- |align=left|[[Farhad Kazemi]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|February 2015 |align=left|September 2015 |- |align=left|[[Mehdi Tartar]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|September 2015 |align=left|February 2016 |- |align=left|[[Ioannis Topalidis]] |align=left|{{flagicon|GRE}} |align=left|February 2016 |align=left|May 2016 |- |align=left|[[Mehdi Pashazadeh]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|July 2016 |align=left|January 2017 |- |align=left|[[Sirous Dinmohammadi]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|January 2017 |align=left|October 2017 |- |align=left|[[Mohsen Bayatinia]] |align=left|{{flagicon|IRN}} |align=left|October 2017 |align=left|''present'' |}
==Coaching staff== {| class="wikitable" !Position !Name |- |Head Coach |{{flagicon|IRN}} [[Mohsen Bayatinia]] |- |Goalkeeping Coach |{{flagicon|GER}} Niko Sternberg |- |Athletic Coach |{{flagicon|GER}} Dominic Palmer |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Rah Ahan FC}}
{{Azadegan League seasons}} {{Hazfi Cup}} {{Football in Iran}}
[[Category:Football clubs in Tehran]] [[Category:Association football clubs established in 1927]] [[Category:1927 establishments in Iran]]