Rasoul Khatibi

Football player infobox
playername = Rasoul Khatibi


fullname = Rasoul Paki Khatibi
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|9|22
cityofbirth = Tabriz
countryofbirth = Iran
years =
-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2003 2003-2006 2006-2007 2007-
clubs = flagicon|Iran Mashin Sazi F.C.
flagicon|Iran Teraktor Sazi F.C. flagicon|Iran Pas Tehran flagicon|Germany Hamburger SV flagicon|Iran Esteghlal FC flagicon|Iran Pas Tehran flagicon|Iran Sepahan flagicon|UAE Sharjah FC flagicon|UAE Emirates
currentclub = flagicon|UAE Emirates
clubnumber = 10
position = Forward
caps(goals) =
0040 (0) (10) (32) (12) (14)
nationalyears = 1999-
nationalteam = fb|Iran
nationalcaps(goals) = 0260 (6)
pcupdate = 11 June 2008
ntupdate = 7 September 2007

Rasoul Paki Khatibi (PerB|رسول خطیبی, born September 22, 1978 in Tabriz) is an Iranian football player, currently playing for Emirates in the United Arab Emirates. He is a member of the Iranian national team, playing in the forward position.

Club career

He began his professional football career, playing for his hometown club, Teraktor Sazi F.C., following footsteps of his brother, Hossein Khatibi. He was able to impress, and after scoring many goals for his club, he was transferred to Pas Tehran. He continued to play well, giving himself a chance to join Hamburg in Bundesliga along with fellow Iranian internationals Mehdi Mahdavikia and Vahid Hashemian.

While playing in Hamburg, he only had a couple of appearances, and was not able to make good use of his chances. He soon returned to Iran, back to his old club, Pas. 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. In the 2005/06 season, he was able to score ten goals, completing his impressive record in Sepahan with 32 goals in three seasons. His tally would have been higher if not for his poor chances to goals ratio. In June 2006 he signed a two year contract with UAE club, Sharjah FC, after rejecting an offer from Spanish second division side CD Tenerife. In 2007 Khatibi signed a new contract with Emirates for $700,000 to join his Iranian team-mate Reza Enayati. The contract has a clause which states that if a European club offers Khatibi a contract, then the existing contract with Emirates Club will be canceled.

International career

Khatibi has played for Iranian national teams of various age levels. He was a constant member of the Iran Olympic team team during his time in Teraktor Sazi and Pas, but despite the talent on the team, they were never successful. He gained his first international cap on February 15, 1999 versus Kuwait. His appearances for the national team have been inconsistent, but due to his good form in the 2005-06 season he was called up to the main squad which headed to Germany for World Cup 2006.

As of July 2007 he has 24 caps and 5 goals for the national team.

External links

* [http://www.teammelli.com/Roster/KhatibiRoster.htm Rasoul Khatibi] at [http://www.teammelli.com TeamMelli.com]