of the national team during the 2006 World Cup. Pictures of an emotionally and physically drained Teymourian at the end of Iran's last game of the 2006 World Cup have begun to take the shape of Iranian football's most notable photograph from the event. Teymourian dropped to the grass and began sobbing while trainers attended to him. He has started to be recognized as a national hero in Iran because of the passion he showed for his country in the 2006 World Cup. He played in the 2007 and 2011 Asian Cups, as well as the WAFF Championships. The midfielder cemented his spot as a starter next to Javad Nekounam, leading Iran to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. On 18 May 2014, Teymourian captained Iran in the match against Belarus, making him the first Christian to captain the Iranian national team. On 1 June 2014, he was called into Iran's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad by Carlos Queiroz. He played the full 90 minutes in all three group stage matches, becoming the most capped Iran player at the World Cup with six matches alongside Mehdi Mahdavikia. He was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad on 30 December 2014 by Carlos Queiroz. He provided three assists in the tournament. Prior to the start of qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Teymourian was appointed as the new captain for Iran after Javad Nekounam's retirement. He is notably the first Christian to captain the Iranian national team. Teymourian won his 100th cap for the national team in a 1–0 win over Uzbekistan. Personal life Andranik's elder brother Serjik Teymourian, was also a football player and played in Germany for 1. FSV Mainz 05 as a defensive midfielder. He died at the age of 46 in 2020, from a traffic collision. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Teymourian goal. Honours Esteghlal Hazfi Cup: 2011–12 Naft Tehran Hazfi Cup: 2016–17 Individual Persian Gulf Pro League Best Player of the Year: 2013–14 Persian Gulf Pro League Best Midfield of the Year: 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League Team of the Year: 2013–14, 2014–15 See also List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps References External links 1983 births Sportspeople from Tehran Living people Iranian people of Armenian descent Iranian footballers Iran international footballers Iranian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in