Rasoul Khatibi

Rasoul Khatibi
	Khatibi in 2021 as Aluminium Arak manager
Personal information
Full name	Rasoul Paki Khatibi
Date of birth	22 September 1978
Place of birth	Tabriz, Iran
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position	Forward
Team information
Current team	Paykan (president)
Youth career
1993–1996	Machine Sazi
Senior career*
Years	Team
1996–1997	Tractor
1997–1999	Pas
1999–2000	Hamburger SV
2000	→ Esteghlal (loan)
2000–2003	Pas
2003	→ Esteghlal (loan)
2003–2006	Sepahan
2006–2007	Sharjah
2007–2008	Emirates
2008–2009	Dhafra
2009	Sepahan
2009–2011	Gostaresh
2010	→ Tractor (loan)
2011–2012	Machine Sazi
2012–2013	Gostaresh
International career
1999	Iran U23
1998–2008	Iran
Managerial career
2011–2012	Machine Sazi (player-manager)
2012–2014	Gostaresh Foolad
2014–2015	Tractor
2015	Siah Jamegan
2015–2017	Machine Sazi
2019–2020	Machine Sazi
2020–2021	Aluminium Arak
2021	Tractor
2021–2023	Aluminium Arak
2023	Paykan
2024–	Paykan (president)
Medal record
Representing Iran
Asian Games
	* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rasoul Paki Khatibi (Persian: رسول خطیبی; born 22 September 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player who is the president of the Persian Gulf Pro League team Paykan.^[2] He is the younger brother of Hossein Khatibi, who is also a football manager and former professional footballer.^[2]

Club career

Khatibi began his professional football career, playing for his hometown club, Tractor, following the footsteps of his brother, Hossein Khatibi. After scoring many goals for his club, he was transferred to Pas Tehran. He remained in Tehran for over a year before he transferred to Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga along with fellow Iranian internationals Mehdi Mahdavikia and Vahid Hashemian.

While playing in Hamburg, he did not make many appearances. He soon returned to Iran, back to his old club, Pas Tehran. He then briefly played for Esteghlal in the Asian Champions League before signing for Sepahan. Sepahan was able to win the IPL championship in 2003 and Khatibi started showing his good form again. He scored ten goals in the 2005–06 season, completing his impressive record in Sepahan with 32 goals in three seasons. In June 2006, he signed a two-year contract with United Arab Emirates club Sharjah FC, after rejecting an offer from Spanish second division side CD Tenerife. In 2007, Khatibi signed a new contract with Emirates Club for $700,000 to join his Iranian teammate Reza Enayati. The contract had a clause which stated that if a European club offered Khatibi a contract, then the existing contract with Emirates Club would be canceled. He then joined Gostaresh Foulad as player-manager. He announced his retirement on 5 August 2013.

International career

Khatibi represented Iran internationally at various age levels. He was a constant member of the Iran Olympic team during his time in Tractor Sazi and Pas, but despite the talent on the team, they were never successful. He gained his first international cap on 15 February 1999 versus Kuwait. He was called up to the Iran national football team for 2006 World Cup. He has 24 caps and five goals for the national team.

Coaching career

After he joined Machine Sazi Tabriz in summer 2011, he became player-manager on 1 July 2011, and went on to lead the team in the Azadegan league.^[3] After spending one season at Machine Sazi resulting in a third place finish and a loss in the promotion play-off on goal difference, he became head coach of fellow Tabrizi team Gostaresh Foolad. He led the club to promotion to the Iran Pro League. He renewed his contract for another three seasons on 13 May 2013 but resigned on 26 December 2013 after a run of unsuccessful results.

On 31 May 2014, Khatibi was appointed as new manager of Tractor, replacing Toni.^[4] He signed a three-year contract with the club. However, he was sacked on 8 February 2015 after a run of poor results.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hamburger SV	1998–99	Bundesliga	4	0	0	0	–		4	0
Esteghlal (loan)	1999–2000	Azadegan League	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
Pas	2000–01	Azadegan League	14	6	0	0	–		14	6
	2000–02	Iran Pro League	18	8	0	0	–		18	8
	2002–03	Iran Pro League	11	2	2	0	–		13	2
	Total		43	16	2	0	0	0	45	16
Esteghlal (loan)	2002–03	Iran Pro League	0	0	0	0	3	2	3	2
Sepahan	2003–04	Iran Pro League	19	8	0	0	6	2	25	10
	2004–05		27	14	0	0	6	4	33	18
	2005–06		21	10	1	0	–		22	10
	Total		67	32	1	0	12	6	80	38
Sharjah	2006–07	UAE Pro-League	21	12	0	0	–		21	12
Emirates	2007–08	UAE Pro-League	22	14	0	0	–		22	14
Al Dhafra FC	2008–09	UAE Pro-League	9	2	0	0	–		9	2
Sepahan	2008–09	Persian Gulf Cup	8	0	1	0	6	1	15	1
Gostaresh	2009–10	Division 1	23	12	3	3	–		26	15
	2010–11	Division 1	13	4	1	0	–		14	4
	Total		36	16	4	3	0	0	40	19
Tractor (loan)	2010–11	Persian Gulf Cup	11	2	0	0	–		11	2
Machine Sazi	2011–12	Division 1	3	2	1	1	–		4	3
Gostaresh	2012–13	Division 1	10	5	0	0	–		10	5
	2013–14	Iran Pro League	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
	Total		11	5	0	0	0	0	11	5
Career total			352	101	9	4	21	9	352	101

Managerial statistics

As of 20 June 2021

Team	From	To	Record
Team	From	To	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Machine Sazi	July 2011	July 2012	28	12	8	8	35	28	+7	042.86
Gostaresh	July 2012	January 2014	47	19	16	12	66	47	+19	040.43
Tractor	May 2014	February 2015	22	11	5	6	41	26	+15	050.00
Siah Jamegan	June 2015	August 2015	4	1	0	3	2	4	−2	025.00
Machine Sazi	November 2015	December 2016	53	19	18	16	75	61	+14	035.85
Machine Sazi	July 2017	December 2017	15	4	5	6	12	15	−3	026.67
Machine Sazi	June 2019	January 2020	17	6	5	6	17	19	−2	035.29
Aluminium Arak	January 2020	February 2021	32	16	11	5	41	24	+17	050.00
Tractor	February 2021	June 2021	16	4	9	3	14	13	+1	025.00
Total			234	92	77	65	303	237	+66	039.32