an injury. On 22 October 2011, he made his debut for Esteghlal and made an assist against Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. He won the Hazfi Cup in his first season. Having been released by Esteghlal on 29 September 2012 Zandi joined the Qatari side Al Ahli. On 5 November 2015, he announced his retirement. International career Raised in Germany, Zandi did not initially have the permission to play for his ancestral Iran as he did not have Iranian citizenship. However, the Iranian Football Federation obtained permission for him to play for them, and Zandi began to compete on the Iran national team in the second round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification against Bahrain. After the qualifications he did not compete again on the team until being invited again for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. He was recalled to the national squad in March 2007 for a friendly against Qatar, included in the Asian Cup squad, and was featured for Iran in the friendly match against Mexico in June 2007. On 15 July 2007, Zandi scored from a free kick for Iran in their 2–2 draw versus China in the Asian Cup. Zandi also played for Iran in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification where after the departure of Ali Daei he was not invited for around a year and was invited again by Afshin Ghotbi for a couple of performances but was dropped again. He was invited again after around 18 months by Carlos Queiroz for a friendly in May 2012 against Albania where before the match On 28 May 2012, Zandi announced his retirement from International football. Coaching career Dynamo Dresden After signing as assistant coach of 2. Bundesliga club Dynamo Dresden in 2020, he was named head coach in March 2022 after Alexander Schmidt was sacked, but was replaced just two days later without managing a match. Traffic accident In 2005, Zandi was victim of a heavy traffic accident on a highway. When another car swerved to the left directly in front of him, Zandi had to evade and crashed into a lorry of the US Army. The lorry took heavy damage, and Zandi's car was utterly wrecked. Zandi made it out with minor injuries only. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zandi goal. Honours Esteghlal Hazfi Cup: 2011–12 References External links Ferydoon Zandi at