Rouzbeh Cheshmi
Cheshmi in Esteghlal training in July 2022
Personal information
Full name Rouzbeh Cheshmi[1]
Date of birth (1993-06-24) 24 June 1993 (age 30)
Place of birth Tehran, Iran
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Esteghlal
Number 4
Youth career
2005–2008 Paykan
2008–2013 Persepolis
2011–2013 → Moghavemat Tehran (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Saba Qom 49 (1)
2015–2020 Esteghlal 89 (4)
2020–2021 Umm Salal 18 (1)
2021– Esteghlal 61 (2)
International career‡
2008–2011 Iran U17 15 (1)
2011–2012 Iran U20 16 (2)
2014–2016 Iran U23 12 (2)
2017– Iran 34 (3)
Medal record
Representing  Iran
AFF U-19 Youth Championship
Winner 2012 Vietnam
CAFA Nations Cup
Winner 2023 Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan
AFC Asian Cup
Winner 2023 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 February 2024

Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Persian: روزبه چشمی; born 24 June 1993) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre-back for Esteghlal in the Persian Gulf Pro League and the Iran national football team.[2]

Early life

Cheshmi was born in Tehran to a family originally from Chesham in Sabzevar.[3]

Club career

Early career

Cheshmi began his career with Paykan, before moving to Persepolis in 2008. In 2011, he was loaned to Moghavemat Tehran to complete his mandatory military service.[4] In 2013, Cheshmi handed a transfer request after Ali Daei asked him to have a trial with Persepolis' senior team and moved to Saba Qom.[4] In his first season with Saba, Cheshmi made 25 appearances and scored one goal.

Esteghlal

Cheshmi signed a two-year deal with Esteghlal on 30 June 2015.[5] He later revealed that he down offers from a Bundesliga club to join Esteghlal.[4][3] Upon his arrival, he chose to wear number 4 which was previously worn by Amir Hossein Sadeghi.[6]

Cheshmi (left) playing against Pars Jonoubi Jam in 2017.

Cheshmi made his debut for Esteghlal on 30 July 2015 against Siah Jamegan.[7] On 3 March 2015, he torn his Cruciate ligament in a match against Padideh which caused him to miss the rest of the season.[8] It was also reported that he will miss the first half of 2016–17 season and the team coach Alireza Mansourian decided to exclude his name from Esteghlal's list for the first half of the season and was reported that he would return to the squad in January.[9] On 29 June 2016, he signed a 3-year contract extension with Esteghlal.[10] He returned to training on 30 December 2016.[11] However, due to the club's transfer ban which did not allow it to register any new players, Esteghlal could not include his name in their squad for the rest of season and meant that he would not be able to play for Esteghlal until the end of the season.[12]

Cheshmi scored his first goal for the club against Zob Ahan in a 1–1 draw on 20 September 2017.[13] On 13 February 2018, Cheshmi made his AFC Champions League debut in a 2–2 group stage draw with Qatari club Al-Rayyan.[14][15]

International career

U17

He played 3 games at the 2010 Asian U16 Championships.

U20

He is part of Iran U–20 during 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, 2012 CIS Cup, 2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship and 2012 AFC U-19 Championship.

U23

He invited to Iran U-23 training camp by Nelo Vingada[16] to preparation for Incheon 2014 and 2016 AFC U-22 Championship (Summer Olympic qualification). He named in Iran U23 final list for Incheon 2014.[17]

Senior

Cheshmi (right) playing for Iran, against Morocco in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Cheshmi was called up for the first time for the Iran senior team in August 2017 by coach Carlos Queiroz for Iran's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Korea and Syria.[18] He made his official debut as a substitute in 0–0 draw against South Korea on 31 August 2017.[19]

In May 2018, Cheshmi was named in Iran's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[20] He made his debut in the competition on 15 June, playing the whole 90 minutes of the 1–0 group stage win against Morocco, helping his team to win their first World Cup match since 1998.[21] After helping Iran to keep a clean sheet in their opening win over Morocco, the World Cup turned out to be a personal disappointment for him, as he suffered an injury during training session prior the game against the Spain, which ruled him out of the competition.[22]

Cheshmi was also selected for 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[23] He was in the initial lineup during the match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup against England. He scored the winning goal in the match against Wales in injury time, before Ramin Rezaeian doubled the lead minutes later, thus giving Iran their first victory against a European team at the World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 February 2024
Club Division Season League Hazfi Cup Asia other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Saba Persian Gulf Pro League 2013–14 25 1 1 0 0 1 — 26 1
2014–15 24 0 1 0 0 0 — 25 0
Total 49 1 2 0 0 0 — 51 1
Esteghlal Persian Gulf Pro League 2015–16 22 0 4 0 0 0 — 26 0
2016–17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017–18 26 3 5 0 9 0 0 0 40 3
2018–19 19 0 2 0 4 1 0 0 25 1
2019–20 22 1 3 0 6 0 0 0 31 1
Total 89 4 14 0 19 1 0 0 122 5
Umm Salal Qatar Stars League 2020–21 18 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 20 1
Esteghlal Persian Gulf Pro League 2021–22 19 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
2022–23 27 2 5 0 0 0 1 0 33 2
2023–24 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Total 61 2 8 0 0 0 1 0 70 2
Career Total 217 8 26 0 19 1 1 0 263 9

International

As of 3 February 2024[24]
National team Year Apps Goals
Iran
2017 5 0
2018 10 1
2019 3 0
2022 3 1
2023 8 0
2024 5 1
Total 34 3

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 19 May 2018 Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran  Uzbekistan
1–0
1–0
 Friendly
2. 25 November 2022 Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Wales
1–0
2–0
 2022 FIFA World Cup
3. 9 January 2024 Al Rayyan Training, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Indonesia
2–0
5–0
 Friendly

Honours

Esteghlal

Iran

Individuals

References

  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: IR Iran (IRN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ دعوت 27 بازيکن به اردوي تيم فوتبال جوانان (in Persian)
  3. ^ a b "روزبه چشمی، پدیده‌ای تازه در فوتبال، از زندگی شخصی و کاری اش می‌گوید" [Rouzbeh Cheshmi talks about his personal life]. مهارت های زندگی (in Persian). 30 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "چشمی: الگویم پوگباست؛ بخاطر استقلال قید بوندسلیگا را زدم" [Cheshmi: Pogba is my idol; Gave up playing in Bundesliga to play for Esteghlal] (in Persian). 22 October 2015.
  5. ^ "روزبه چشمی رسما به آبی پوشان پیوست (عکس)" [Rouzbeh Cheshmi officially joined the blues] (in Persian).
  6. ^ "چشمی: از حضور در استقلال خوشحالم؛ شماره چهار را می پوشم" [Cheshmi: Happy to join Esteghlal; I will wear number four] (in Persian). 15 July 2015.
  7. ^ "سیاه جامگان مشهد 1 - 2 استقلال تهران؛ افتتاحیه سه امتیازی آبی ها" (in Persian). 30 July 2015.
  8. ^ "رسمی؛ روزبه چشمی رباط صلیبی پاره کرد" [official; Cheshmi torn his Cruciate ligament] (in Persian). 11 March 2016.
  9. ^ "خارج شدن روزبه چشمی از لیست استقلال!" (in Persian).
  10. ^ "چشمی سه فصل دیگر با استقلال تمدید کرد" [Cheshmi extended his contract for another 3 years] (in Persian). 29 June 2016.
  11. ^ "بازگشت چشمی به تمرین استقلال" [Cheshmi's return to training] (in Persian). Varzesh3. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  12. ^ "استقلال به یک شرط می‌تواند 3 بازیکن آزاد جذب کند؛ چشمی هم قادر به ثبت قرارداد با استقلال نیست" (in Persian). Tarafdari. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  13. ^ "استقلال 1-1 ذوب آهن؛ تساوی با طعم شکست برای منصوریان" [Esteghlal 1–1 Zob Ahan] (in Persian). 20 September 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  14. ^ "اولین تجربه آسیایی چشمی و شجاعیان برابر الریان" [First Asian experience for Cheshmi and Shojaeian] (in Persian). Varzesh3. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  15. ^ "الریان 2 - استقلال 2؛ برد از دستمان پر زد" [Al-Rayyan 2 - Esteghlal 2] (in Persian). Varzesh3. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  16. ^ "لیست ۳۱ نفره وینگادا برای تیم ملی امید".
  17. ^ "بازیکنان اعزامی تیم ملی امید به اینچئون مشخص شد". ffiri.ir. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  18. ^ "اعلام اسامی بازیکنان تیم ملی برای دیدار با کره و سوریه" (in Persian).
  19. ^ "کره جنوبی 0-0 ایران؛ یوزها همچنان حریفی در آسیا ندارند" [South Korea 0–0 Iran; Cheetas have no competitor in Asia] (in Persian). 31 August 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  20. ^ "World Cup 2018: All the confirmed squads for this summer's finals in Russia".[dead link]
  21. ^ "Iran won their first match at a World Cup finals since 1998 as Morocco substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz scored an own goal in injury time". BBC Sport. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  22. ^ "Iran's Cheshmi misses 2018 World Cup". MNA. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  23. ^ "FINAL REGISTRATION CALL UP LIST". FFIRI. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  24. ^ "Iran – R. CHESHMI – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". ca.soccerway.com.
  25. ^ "AFC Champions League 2018 Technical Report". AFC. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
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External links

Esteghlal F.C. – current squad
Iran squads
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