Rezaei and Gholizadeh celebrating at Charleroi
The rise of Iranian players in Europe can be accredited to the Queiroz philosophy of rewarding players who take leaps into greater leagues. Traditionally, very few Iranian players would leave the domestic league, with those leaving often opting for leagues across the Persian Gulf. The past five years have seen a revolution in the mindset of Iranian footballers. More and more players are giving up their high paychecks and guaranteed starting positions at home for a chance to better themselves and make the national team through Europe. One nation that is gaining traction for Iranian players is Belgium.
The Belgian Jupiler League consists of 16 teams and is ranked 9th in the UEFA Coefficients, above leagues such as Turkey, Greece, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The league is quickly growing and has produced world class talents including Kevin de Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, Ivan Perisic, and rising starlet Youri Tielemans. The league continues to rise in rankings and its teams are performing better in European competition than before.
The league is no stranger to Iranian players. Historically, Emanifar, Mahdavi, Minavand, Sadaghiani, and Yazdani were players who frequented the league in the past century with different levels of success. Five players over the past century aren't too significant, but five players in the past two years are. Last year, Kaveh Rezaei made a name for himself and Iran when he moved to Charleroi and scored 16 goals and assisted 6 across 41 games in the 2016/17 season. Ramin Rezaeian's stint with Oostende had mixed success, with the player featuring in 21 games for his club and scoring two as a right back/right midfielder.
This season, three more Iranians have transferred into the league, with potentially one more on his way. Omid Noorafkan and Ali Gholizadeh joined Rezaei at Sporting Charleroi. Sporting has Iranian links through its leadership in Mehdi Bayat. Additionally, Mohammad Naderi made a surprise move to Kortrijk. The young defender is one of few Iranian centerbacks who have made a move into Europe in history. Out of the three new players, Gholizadeh has lamented himself as a starter on the right wing for Charleroi, having already assisted one of Rezaei's goals this season. Noorafkan and Naderi are still getting into match fitness and are likely to make some starts and sub appearances as the season goes on. The three players are young and low risk additions for their club teams, as their low price tags and experience in the Iranian league ensure that they could at the least develop into squad players.
The Belgian league is on the rise and is famous for feeding players into Ligue 1, the Premier League, and the Bundesliga. Examples include de Bruyne going to Chelsea and Perisic to Dortmund. At the very least, clubs will likely begin seeing Iranian players as cheap investments who can be bought for cheap, developed and sold to other leagues for a big profit. The long term result can be monumental for the development of Iranian football, as promising youth can be shipped off with sell on clauses that bring big money to domestic clubs when their players reach their potential. The profits made through these sell on clauses will help improve Iranian domestic football through further investments into youth development, as well as allowing clubs to perform better in continental competitions such as the Asian Champions League.
Leagues such as the Belgian Jupiler League should be embraced by Iranian youth, as they can be more than just a passageway to Europe. The development, professional environment, and spotlight of training with Belgian teams far exceeds what is available in the Iran Pro League. Belgium is promising for all youth, including Iran's. It wouldn't be too far fetched to see Iran's starting XI consist of mostly Belgian developed players in 5 years time.