Mehdi Taremi, Persia and mischief / C1 / Gr. B / Milan-Porto / SOFOOT.com – SO FOOT

April 13, 2021. 93^e minute of the second leg between Chelsea and Porto. Moment when Mehdi Taremi sets off a sublime bicycle, the only gesture capable of beating the raincoat Édouard Mendy. However, in the heart of this hopelessly empty Sánchez-Pizjuán in Seville, the health situation obliges the Iranian to remain stoic. The gaze turned towards the central circle, the attacker knows that this goal, elected then most beautiful of the Champions League season, will not prevent the elimination of his team in the quarter-finals. Behavior that makes the prodigious commonplace. A sign that beyond being an aesthetic goalscorer, the Iranian is first and foremost a competitor at heart, eternally eager for success.
Before making a name for himself in Europe, Taremi first made a name for himself in the Persian Gulf. Quickly outgrown Persepolis, the legendary Iranian football club he joined at age 22, the 1.90m striker wasted no time in overturning the hearts of neighboring countries in the summer of 2016. Çaykur Rizespor ( Turkish D1) smacks of a good deal and wants to secure the services of the best player of the season of the national elite, also at the top of the scorers classification for the second consecutive edition (2014-2015 and 2015-2016). But as a deal is struck with the Black Sea Shore club, Taremi flips around, citing personal reasons. If he trained with the group, he decides to return home three weeks after this aborted transfer without having played a single match with Rizespor. Persepolis, who had seen his star leave for free, welcomes him with open arms.

300,000 euros, a Porsche and a trip to Europe

Faced with this anomaly, Metin Kalkavan, president of Rizespor at the time, brought the case to the FIFA court, demanding financial compensation or the player’s outright return to Turkey. At home, legend has it that the wealthy and controversial Hossein Hedayati, known to have a very long arm in the business of Iranian football, would have given the equivalent of 300,000 euros to Taremi, inviting him to offer this extravagant sum to the president. of Çaykur in order to cover up the affair. Results? The scheme was a failure, and after studying the file, FIFA suspended the player for four months during the 2017-2018 season. Part of the problem, Persepolis also found itself banned from recruiting for a year.

This is not the first time that the Iranian player has found himself sidelined for so long. Before joining Persepolis, Taremi had put aside high-level football when he came of age, for two years, to do his military service. As for the 300,000 euros, neither Metin Kalkavan nor Hossein Hedayati have seen or seen the color. Even if it means no longer treading the green rectangle for long weeks, the clever Mehdi had kept the wheat to afford a white Porsche.

Given the gravity of the situation, the divorce with the Persian club is inevitable, and Mehdi flies to Al-Gharafa (Qatar) in 2019. This time, no problem. Seriously, the Iranian grows up by finding the net 16 times in 37 appearances in all competitions. Honorable performances which opened the doors to Europe and Portugal. Rio Ave first, then Porto, Taremi now appears to be a sure bet. The path was steep, but after climbing all the rungs, it’s hard to say where Taremi will stop. With or without his Porsche.

By Matthieu Darbas