Match 82; A Look at the Statistics and Figures of the Great Encounter

In the 81 previous derbies of the Iranian capital, victories have been 24 times for the blues and 20 times for the reds, with 37 matches ending in a draw. The two renowned clubs first met on April 5, 1968, which ended in a goalless draw. The first match of the two teams at the 100,000-seat stadium in Tehran, then known as "Aryamehr," took place on May 25, 1973, ending with a 1-0 victory for the blues, who were then called "Taj." The highest-scoring match between the two teams occurred on September 7, 1973, with a 6-0 victory for Persepolis. The player with the most captaincy in derbies is "Ali Jabbari" from Taj with 11 matches. The most appearances in derbies is held by "Ali Parvin" with 20 matches for Persepolis. The most coaching titles in derbies also belong to Ali Parvin, who has led the reds in 25 encounters between the two teams. The youngest scorer in the derby was "Hasan Roshan," who scored at the age of 18 in derby 14 for Taj. The first hat-trick in the 12th encounter on September 7, 1973, was achieved by "Homayoun Behzadi" from Persepolis. The top scorer in matches between the two teams remains "Sefr Iranpak" with 7 goals from Persepolis. Among the players who have worn the jerseys of both teams, "Mehdi Hashemi Nasab" leads with five goals, four for Persepolis and one for Esteghlal. The fastest goal was scored in the 53rd derby on January 9, 2003, by "Ali Samereh" from Esteghlal in the 48th second. The latest goal was in the 73rd derby in the Cup on December 9, 2011, by "Ismail Sharifat" from Esteghlal in the 107th minute. The most-watched derby in the capital took place on October 7, 1983, with over 120,000 spectators. The 82nd match between the two great clubs of Iran is held while Esteghlal Tehran, despite leading in the Premier League, has lost the top of the table in the final weeks, while Persepolis has climbed from the lower ranks of the table to the top, so that both teams, the reds and the blues, are equal in points.