Photo: حسین ظهروند / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What gets me about Javad Nekounam is the sheer durability of his career. Holding the record for the most caps for Iran's national team isn't something you stumble into; it means showing up, fit and trusted, across more than a decade of qualifiers and tournaments. I find that kind of consistency more impressive than any single highlight. The fact that fans simply call him Neku tells me he became a fixture, not just a player. And watching him move from the midfield into management feels like a natural extension of a guy who clearly read the game from the inside out.
Overview
Javad Nekounam (Persian: جواد نکونام; born 7 September 1980) is an Iranian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He holds the record for the most appearances for the Iranian national team with 149 caps. Nicknamed Neku by numerous Iranian football fans, he played as a midfielder, and is also regarded as one of greatest Iranian players of all time as well as of the history of Pas.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Javad Nekounam
- Name (Japanese)
- ジャバド・ネクナム
- Reading
- じゃばど・ねくなむ
- Born
- September 7, 1980 (age 45)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Monkey
- Origin
- Ray, Tehran Province, Iran
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 186 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- association football player / association football coach
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Association football player — see all → · Association football coach — see all → · More people from Iran →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.