Sardar Azmoun is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Iran national team.
50 Facts About Sardar Azmoun
2.
Sardar Azmoun has been a regular with Team Melli playing in the 2015 and 2019 AFC Asian Cup as well as the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
3.
Sardar Azmoun is the youngest Iranian to score in a UEFA Champions League game.
4.
Sardar Azmoun began his career at Oghab Gonbad of Gonbad-e Kavus.
5.
Sardar Azmoun played volleyball and was invited to Iran's national under-15 volleyball team.
6.
Sardar Azmoun became Iran's youngest Legionnaire when later that year he transferred to Rubin Kazan at the age of 17.
7.
In January 2013, Sardar Azmoun received an offer from Russian team Rubin Kazan to join them; meanwhile he had interest from two Iranian teams, Persepolis and Esteghlal, as well as an offer for first team contract in Sepahan.
8.
Sardar Azmoun chose to work with Turkmen speaking Kurban Berdyev and became Iran's first football player in the Russian Premier League.
9.
Sardar Azmoun was picked for the 18-man match day squad on a number of occasions, but failed to make his senior debut.
10.
On 4 July 2014, Rubin Kazan announced through their official website that Sardar Azmoun would remain at the club despite transfer offers from Arsenal, Liverpool and Zenit St Petersburg.
11.
On 26 February 2015, Sardar Azmoun signed a three-and-a-half-month loan deal with relegation-battling Russian Premier League club FC Rostov until the end of the season.
12.
Sardar Azmoun finished seventh in league scoring with nine goals, despite getting half as much playing time as some other top scorers.
13.
Sardar Azmoun was voted as the fifth most valuable player of the league, narrowly behind players such as Fyodor Smolov, Moussa Doumbia, and Brazilian superstar Hulk.
14.
Rubin Kazan denied this clause and claimed Sardar Azmoun was their player.
15.
Sardar Azmoun scored another brace against his former side Rubin Kazan.
16.
Sardar Azmoun appeared in a friendly on 28 June 2017 as a second-half substitute, wearing number 69.
17.
Sardar Azmoun scored two goals and registered one assist in his debut start for Zenit against Fenerbahce in the Round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League.
18.
Sardar Azmoun was chosen as the Player of the Week for his outstanding performance by UEFA.
19.
Sardar Azmoun was overtaken as the league top scorer by his teammate Artem Dzyuba in the last game of the season on 16 May 2021 when Dzyuba scored four to bring his total to 20.
20.
On 22 January 2022, Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen announced that Sardar Azmoun had signed a pre-contract to join the club on a free transfer on 1 July 2022.
21.
Sardar Azmoun broke out while representing the Iran U-20 side when he was first called up for the 2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship, becoming the top scorer of the tournament before repeating the feat in the 2012 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup, scoring seven goals in six games.
22.
Sardar Azmoun was called into the U-23's team for Olympic qualifiers in March 2015.
23.
Sardar Azmoun was the tournament's leading goalscorer going into the final matchday with 4 goals in 3 matches.
24.
On 5 October 2013, Sardar Azmoun was called up to the Iranian national football team against Thailand by Carlos Queiroz.
25.
Sardar Azmoun was selected in Iran's 28-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Queiroz but was one of five players being dropped from the final squad.
26.
Sardar Azmoun made his senior debut on 26 May 2014 in a friendly match against Montenegro, coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute for Reza Ghoochannejhad.
27.
Sardar Azmoun was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad on 30 December 2014 by Carlos Queiroz.
28.
Sardar Azmoun then scored the winner in the second game of the Asian Cup with a great piece of individual skill against Qatar.
29.
Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring against Iraq in the quarter-finals with a header.
30.
On 16 June 2015, Sardar Azmoun scored a goal against Turkmenistan in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
31.
Sardar Azmoun retired from International football at the age of 23 just after Iran's 2018 World Cup exit due to insults he received from fans, which, he said, had caused his mother's illness to worsen.
32.
In October 2018, Sardar Azmoun returned to the Iranian national team and was called up for 2019 AFC Asian Cup by Carlos Queiroz.
33.
Sardar Azmoun indicated his public views could cost him the ability to play in the World Cup, but he said "That is worth sacrificing for one strand of Iranian women's hair".
34.
Sardar Azmoun was nevertheless allowed to play in a friendly against Senegal, at which he scored an equalizing goal which he declined to celebrate.
35.
Sardar Azmoun has been praised for his aerial ability, creativity, and bursts of acceleration.
36.
Sardar Azmoun has been referred to as a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic and has been called the Iranian Messi by mainly British media.
37.
Sardar Azmoun has been touted to be the heir of legendary Iranian striker Ali Daei.
38.
Sardar Azmoun was born into a Sunni family of Turkmen origin.
39.
Sardar Azmoun speaks Persian, Turkmen, Turkish, English and Russian fluently, and is fond of riding on horseback.
40.
Sardar Azmoun communicated with Kurban Berdyev, his Turkmenistani coach at FC Rubin Kazan and FC Rostov, in Turkmen.
41.
Sardar Azmoun decided to wear number 69 at Kazan as a tribute to his hometown's vehicle registration plate.
42.
Sardar Azmoun has stated he is a supporter of Spanish club Real Madrid.
43.
Sardar Azmoun has stated that playing for Fenerbahce is his childhood dream.
44.
Sardar Azmoun decided to retire from International football at the age of 23 just after Iran's 2018 World Cup exit due to heavy criticism he faced from fans, as the criticism caused his mother's illness to worsen.
45.
Sardar Azmoun has returned to the team after taking this break.
46.
Sardar Azmoun is a member of the Humanitarian Association of World Turkmens.
47.
Outside of his footballing life, Sardar Azmoun is a keen equestrian, and is active in thoroughbred horse racing and breeding.
48.
Sardar Azmoun owns the Serik Horse Complex, a major horse racing and breeding complex based in his hometown of Gonbad-e Kavus.
49.
In 2021, Sardar Azmoun bought a second Australian horse for $70,000, a Palentino colt to be trained by Payne.
50.
Sardar Azmoun is the owner of Serik Gonbad Kavus Women's Volleyball Club in Iran.