Gholizadeh’s first assist

The 28-year-old came in from the bench in the last four league games. However, after the great performance in the clash with Raków Częstochowa during which he came close to getting at least one assist, Niels Frederiksen decided to put the Iranian in the starting line-up for the clash with Zagłębie Lubin. Gholizadeh was very active in last weekend’s match and it was his pass that set up Afonso Sousa with a perfect goal-scoring opportunity which the latter converted into a winning goal.

“It wasn’t just my pass. If we look at the goal, it was a great team effort. Of course, I am happy about the assist and I hope that I will continue to improve the statistics, but the most important thing is that we won,” emphasised Ali Gholizadeh.

It looks like the Iranian midfielder has finally dealt with the injuries which have been bothering him since he arrived in Poznań. The 28-year-old suffered two serious injuries over the past 12 months. On top of that, in winter he joined the Iranian national team for the AFC Asian Cup, hence he missed Lech’s winter training camp. Thus, this summer, for the first time, Gholizadeh had the chance to prepare for the upcoming season with his teammates and test his form in friendly games.

“Me and my teammates have done a great job this pre-season. Therefore, I am ready to show what I am capable of. In the match against Zagłębie, I felt good and I am hoping that in the next matches, I will perform even better. I feel that my form is improving and I want to stay on track,” said the 28-year-old.