Exclusive interview with Mahan Baghdadi

Persianfootball.com – STOCKHOLM, Ferydoon Zandi opened up new doors for Iranian footballers who were raised outside of Iran. Many, including current Team Melli stars Reza Ghoochannejhad, Ashkan Dejagah, Steven Beitashour and Daniel Davari, followed. Mahan Baghdadi – born in Tehran but raised in Sweden – has also chosen to play for Iran. Persianfootball.com has exclusively talked to Baghdadi.

PFDC: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Mahan: I was born in Tehran, I’m 19 years old and we moved to Sweden from Iran when I was four. At age of six I started playing football in Brommapojkarna, Stockholm (note by PFDC, BP is known as one of the big youth clubs in Sweden and have developed famous Swedish players like Anders Limpar, John Guidetti and Bojan Djordic). Later I’ve played in Lidingö, Täby, Vasalund and now AFC United. Our men’s team was just promoted to Superettan, the second highest division in Sweden. From young age I’ve worked hard on the football pitch and I also practiced a lot outside of team practices.

PFDC: Tell us about your experience with Iran u-19 team.

Mahan: Summer of 2013? when I was in Iran I practiced with Esteghlal u-23 team. Iran u-19 head coach Ali Dostimehr noticed me and later invited me for the Valentin Granatkin tournament in Russia. In our first game against Belarus I managed to score right away after coming on in the second half. I scored the 2-0 goal less than one minute after coming on. We won the game 3-0. At this point I had only practiced once with the team. In our second match we played Finland and again I came on for the second half and scored the 4-0 goal five minutes later. We also won against Greece and Slovenia and finished fifth.

PFDC: How come you didn’t get a call for the U-19 championships in Myanmar?

Mahan: I got injured for a couple of months prior to the Myanmar trip. This and perhaps a few side issues left me outside the squad. Since Iran struggled in attack they might regret leaving me at home. I think the team would have benefited from inviting players from outside of Iran.

PFDC: What do you think of Atletico Madrid’s Saeid Ezzatollahi, your teammate in the U-19 national team?

Mahan: Saeid is a good friend of mine and a very a good kid. He’s one of the brightest talents in Iran today and can become a very big footballer someday.

PFDC: Mehdi Madavikia was among the coaching staff, what role did he play?

Mahan: Mehdi was the assistant coach and his focus was on the forwards during practices.

PFDC: There have been rumors of you joining Esteghlal, is it true?

Mahan: I did practice with the team this summer and head coach Amir Ghalenoei has shown interest in me. I would have military issues though and we could never reach any deal. I do have other offers from Iran and also from Spain, Portugal, Russia and Thailand. I’m still young and I feel I’m developing. Since our team just got promoted I could be staying here as well, we will have to see.