1. Reza Ghoochannejhad Nournia is an Iranian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
34 Facts About Reza Ghoochannejhad
1. 2.
Reza Ghoochannejhad is known as Gucci in Belgium and Netherlands.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad scored 17 goals in 44 appearances for Iran and participated in the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad spent twelve years in the Eredivisie side Heerenveen's academy, rising through the ranks at Leeuwarden clubs LAC Frisia 1883 and Cambuur, before making his senior Heerenveen debut against AZ Alkmaar in 2006.
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On 14 February 2011, Reza Ghoochannejhad scored a hat trick against FC Emmen.
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In June 2011, Reza Ghoochannejhad transferred to Sint-Truiden, scoring his first goal in the Belgian Pro League against Club Brugge.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad joined Standard Liege in January 2013 after signing a three-and-a-half-year deal, while scoring 10 goals in 12 matches in the half-season he remained with Sint-Truiden.
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On 30 January 2014, Reza Ghoochannejhad joined Championship side Charlton Athletic on a two-and-a-half-year deal, becoming the second Iranian after Karim Bagheri to play for the Addicks.
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On 6 August 2014, Reza Ghoochannejhad joined Al-Kuwait on a season-long loan deal.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad then scored a hat trick in 14 minutes in another game for Al-Kuwait.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad scored 11 goals in 10 league matches with the club.
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In February 2015, Reza Ghoochannejhad signed a four-month loan deal with Qatar Stars League club Al-Wakrah.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad scored his first goal on 27 February 2015 against Umm Salal.
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In total, Reza Ghoochannejhad made 42 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals.
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On 22 June 2016, Reza Ghoochannejhad returned to former club Heerenveen with a two-year contract, In his first friendly match with the club he scored twice and earned an assist.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad scored twice in January 2017 in a match against ADO Den Haag, it was his second brace of the season and lifted Heerenveen to fourth place in the league.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad did not continue his good work in his second season in Heerenveen and finished the season with 7 goals and became Heerenveen's top scorer.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad signed for Cypriot First Division club APOEL on 23 July 2018 on a two-year contract.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad played there for half of a season and scored two goals as well.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad signed for A-League club Sydney FC on loan for six months on 31 January 2019.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad later scored the winning penalty in the 2019 A-League Grand Final and became the first Iranian to win the title in the Australian A-League.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad represented the Netherlands from 2003 to 2007, having played for the Netherlands U19 national team.
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On 4 June 2013, Reza Ghoochannejhad scored the lone goal in a World Cup qualifier against Qatar.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad scored on 5 March 2014 against Guinea in a friendly to bring his record to seven goals in seven matches with a total of nine goals in eleven matches.
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On 1 June 2014, Reza Ghoochannejhad was called into Iran's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad by Carlos Queiroz.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad became the first ever Charlton Athletic player to score at a FIFA World Cup.
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On 30 December 2014, Reza Ghoochannejhad was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad scored the only goal in the team's final group stage match against the United Arab Emirates, ensuring Team Melli qualified from Group C in first place.
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On 27 June 2018, Reza Ghoochannejhad announced his retirement from international football on his Instagram.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad has been praised mostly for his sense of goal scoring and his ability to find the right spot in attacking situations.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad has been compared to Iranian legend Khodadad Azizi.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad can speak at least four languages including English, Dutch, French and Persian as his mother tongue and he understands German too, he has said that he has learned Italian and Portuguese.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad is keen on playing musical instruments and he can play violin.
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Reza Ghoochannejhad's uncle, Jabar Ghoochannejhad, is a volleyball coach in Iranian Volleyball Super League.