Ryan Tafazolli

Ryan Tafazolli
Personal information
Full name Ryan Sirous Tafazolli[1]
Date of birth (1991-09-28) 28 September 1991
Place of birth Sutton, England
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Peterborough United
Number 5
Youth career
2005–2011 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Southampton 0 (0)
2009 → Salisbury City (loan) 9 (0)
2011 → Salisbury City (loan) 5 (0)
2012–2016 Mansfield Town 99 (8)
2016– Peterborough United 11 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:36, 2 December 2016 (UTC).


Ryan Sirous Tafazolli (born 28 September 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for League One club Peterborough United. Born in Sutton, London, he was originally a member of the Southampton youth system, and plays primarily as a centre back.

Early life

Ryan Tafazolli has Iranian ancestry.[2]

Club career

Early career

Ryan Tafazolli originally joined the Southampton Academy in 2005. He went on to captain the successful Under-18 youth team and also the reserve team.[3]

His first taste of first-team football came after he joined Conference Premier team Salisbury City on a one-month loan starting October 2009,[3] but his professional debut against York City on 10 October 2009 was a disaster, with him was sent off in the second half. Nevertheless, Salisbury City won the match 1–0.[4] Tafazolli later played five league games and one FA Cup fixture[5] before returning to his parent club in December.[6] After still not breaking into the squad at Southampton, he returned to Salisbury in 2011 for three months, playing three times in the FA Trophy.[5]

After being released by Southampton,[7] Tafazolli went on trial with Eastleigh[8] and Reading in an effort to win a contract with the club.[9] However, Tafazolli's best efforts to win a contract with these clubs failed.[10]

Mansfield Town

2012–13

After a year out of football, Tafazolli signed for Conference club Mansfield Town on 20 August 2012.[11][12] Tafazolli made his Mansfield Town debut on 15 September 2012, in a 2–0 win over Braintree Town.[13] Despite an injured hamstring for most of the campaign,[14] during which time he only picked up five league appearances, at the end of Mansfield's title-winning season he was offered a new contract with the club.[15][16]

2013–14

At the start of the 2013–14 season, Tafazolli changed his shirt number from 32 to 12.[17] Tafazolli started the season on the bench, making his first start in a 3–0 win over Northampton Town on 21 September 2013.[18] Tafazolli soon suffered a knee injury that kept him out for a month.[19] He made his return on 29 December 2014, when Mansfield Town won 2–1 against Cheltenham Town.[20] From that point on, Tafazolli established himself and joined up with various partners in defence. His first goal for the club came on 8 March 2014 in a 2–1 win over Newport County[21] and he scored another in a 3–0 win over Rochdale a week later.[22] At the end of the 2013–14 season, Tafazolli won three awards; Fans' player of the season, Chairman and Directors' player of the season, and the Stags' Association player of the season despite only making 24 appearances.[23]

On 18 June 2014, Tafazolli accepted a new contract offered by the club.[24]

2014–15

In the pre-season of the 2014–15 season, Mansfield turned down a bid from Scottish Professional Football League side Dundee United for Ryan Tafazolli.[25] The club explained their decision on their website.[26] Tafazolli scored his first goal for the club at the start of the season in a 2–1 win over Oxford United.[27] Things went well until he injured a hamstring during a match against Accrington Stanley in early October, which Mansfield Town lost 1–0.[28] This left him on the sidelines until 15 November 2014 in a 2–0 loss against Shrewsbury Town.[29] Tafazolli was sent off after a second bookable offence in a 1–1 draw against Hartlepool United on 26 December 2014.[30] After serving a one-match ban, Tafazolli suffered a virus that kept him out for weeks. [31] He made his return to the first team in a 0–0 draw against Wycombe Wanderers on 24 January 2015.[32] Tafazolli made 42 appearances and scored once in all competitions. [33] At the end of the season, Tafazolli signed a contract with the club.[34]

2015–16

Tafazolli scored in a 2–0 league win over Stevenage on 29 September 2015.[35]

Peterborough United

On 6 June 2016, Tafazolli signed a three-year deal at League One club Peterborough United.[36]

References

  1. ↑ "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 5. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Reed, Tom (2014-08-12). "Gripped by the Cobblers: The Tom Reed column - Northampton Town show match-winning credentials | Northampton Herald & Post". Northampton-news-hp.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  3. 1 2 "Loan Move for Ryan". Southampton F.C. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Salisbury City 1–0 York City". BBC Sport. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Ryan Tafazolli". FootballDatabase.eu. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Weymouth v Salisbury City preview / Tafazolli returns to Saints". Southampton Daily Echo. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Southampton duo prepare for talks". BBC Sport. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Eastleigh hand trial to ex-Saint Ryan Tafazolli". Southampton Daily Echo. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Why Aaron Martin is a great incentive?". Southampton Daily Echo. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Eastleigh Make Late Signings". The Official Football Conference League Website. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Mansfield Town sign defender Ryan Tafazolli". BBC Sport. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  12. ↑ "Mansfield Town sign former Southampton trainee Ryan Tafazolli". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "Tafazolli set for debut". Mansfield Town F.C. 15 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Cox will play strongest side v Slough". Mansfield Town F.C. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "Mansfield Town give defender Ryan Tafazolli new deal". This is Nottingham. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "Mansfield Town: Lee Beevers one of 11 offered new deals". BBC Sport. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "Squad numbers announced". Mansfield Town F.C. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Two changes for Cobblers clash". Mansfield Town F.C. 21 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Preview: Torquay vs Stags". Mansfield Town F.C. 18 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "Match Report: Cheltenham Town 1 – 3 Mansfield Town". Mansfield Town F.C. 29 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  21. ↑ "Mansfield Town 2–1 Newport County". BBC Sport. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Mansfield Town 3 – 1 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "In pictures: Annual Dinner Awards". Mansfield Town F.C. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "Duo agree Football League deals". Mansfield Town F.C. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "Dundee United fail with bid for Mansfield defender Ryan Tafazolli". BBC Sport. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Stags reject bids for duo". Mansfield Town F.C. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "Mansfield Town 2 – 1 Oxford United". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  28. ↑ "Defensive duo face spells on the sidelines". Mansfield Town F.C. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "Team news from Greenhous Meadow". Mansfield Town F.C. 15 November 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  30. ↑ "Mansfield Town 1 – 1 Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  31. ↑ "I've experienced the difference the fans can make says boss". Mansfield Town F.C. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  32. ↑ "Mansfield Town 0 – 0 Wycombe Wanderers". BBC Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  33. ↑ "Tafazolli casts eye to the future". Mansfield Town F.C. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  34. ↑ "Gaffer expects trio to stay". Mansfield Town. 9 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  35. ↑ "Match Report". Mansfieldtown.net. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  36. ↑ "Ryan Tafazolli & Andrew Hughes join Peterborough United". BBC Sport. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
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