Kahveh Zahiroleslam (Persian: کاوه ظهیرالاسلام; born June 13, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truiden.

Kahveh Zahiroleslam
Personal information
Full name Kahveh Zahiroleslam
Date of birth (2002-06-13) June 13, 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Saratoga, California, United States
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Sint-Truiden
Number 15
Youth career
De Anza Force
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Yale Bulldogs 28 (13)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Chicago FC United 12 (9)
2023– Sint-Truiden 36 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 29, 2024

Early life

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Kahveh Zahiroleslam was born and raised in Saratoga, California to an Iranian-American family.[1][2] He attended Prospect High School and played youth soccer for De Anza Force in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, helping the latter win the Northwest Division of USSDA Academy in the 2018–19 season.[2][3]

College career

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He played college soccer for the Yale Bulldogs, scoring 13 goals and providing 4 assists in 28 games.[2][4][5] During his first season at Yale, he received four Ivy League Rookie of the Week selections, and the conference named him to the All-Ivy second team.[3] In 2022, he joined Chicago FC United in USL League Two during Yale's summer off-season, scoring 9 goals and providing 3 assists in 12 matches.[6]

Club career

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Sint-Truiden

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Following a successful trial with Belgian Pro League side Sint-Truiden, he signed a contract with the club ahead of the 2023–24 season.[7][5][8][9] He made his league debut on September 24, 2023, against Genk at the Cegeka Arena,[10] and scored his first goal for the club on October 31, 2023, in a Belgian Cup round of 32 match against Francs Borains.[11] He provided his first league assist on November 10, 2023, against Westerlo,[12] and scored his first league goal on December 9, 2023, against OH Leuven.[13][14] He scored his following goal and his club's first league goal of the 2024 calendar year in his following match against league leaders Union Saint-Gilloise on January 21, 2024, at the Joseph Marien Stadium in Brussels.[15] He scored his first brace for the club on February 1, 2024, against Gent, bringing his tally to 4 goals in 4 successive matches.[16]

The following season, he scored his first league goal of the season during their home opener on August 3, 2024 against Charleroi.[17] He scored two goals and provided an assist in the following home match on August 17 against Dender to help his team to their first point of the season.[18]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played September 29, 2024[19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sint-Truidense 2023–24 Belgian Pro League 27 5 1 1 0 0 28 6
2024–25 Belgian Pro League 9 3 0 0 0 0 9 3
Total 36 8 1 1 37 9
Career total 36 8 1 1 0 0 37 9

Honors

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De Anza Force

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Sint-Truiden sign Iranian-American Kahveh Zahiroleslam – PersianFootball.com".
  2. ^ a b c d "Kahveh Zahiroleslam - 2022 - Men's Soccer". Yale University.
  3. ^ a b c "SSFC Spotlight: Kahveh Zahiroleslam starting for Sint-Truiden". 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ Hewitt, Owen. "Men's Soccer Falls to Yale, 1-0".
  5. ^ a b "Yale Bull Dogs striker Kahveh Zahiroleslam on trial with Sint-Truiden - Get Belgian & Dutch Football News". getfootballnewsbene.com. June 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "Chicago FC United | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com.
  7. ^ "Nieuwe STVV-spits Kahveh Zahiroleslam ruilde Amerikaanse topuniversiteit in voor Stayen: "In het leven moet je je dromen najagen"". www.hbvl.be. October 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "STVV legt Kahveh Zahiroleslam vast". VoetbalBelgie.
  9. ^ https://www.proximus.be/pickx/nl/2360618/testspeler-kahveh-zahiroleslam-krijgt-contract-bij-stvv
  10. ^ "Americans Abroad weekend review: Pepi delivers again, Tillman oversleeps". www.socceramerica.com. 25 September 2023.
  11. ^ info, R. T. L. (October 31, 2023). "Croky Cup: Anderlecht se défait de La Louvière et file en 8es de finale". RTL Info.
  12. ^ "Westerlo vs. Sint-Truiden - 10 November 2023 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  13. ^ "Sint-Truiden vs. OH Leuven - 9 December 2023 - Soccerway".
  14. ^ https://stvv.com/en/news/gamereport/wedstrijdverslag-stvv-oh-leuve
  15. ^ "Leider Union zweet en zwoegt, maar krijgt STVV in absolute slot toch nog klein | sporza".
  16. ^ "Tienkoppig Gent blijft op de dool en verliest na rampscenario ook tegen STVV | sporza".
  17. ^ "Kaveh Zahiroleslam scores in STVV loss to Charleroi [VIDEO] – PersianFootball.com".
  18. ^ "Encore une pluie de buts en Pro League : Dender arrache un nouveau point en fin de match, STVV reste bon dernier". Walfoot.be. August 17, 2024.
  19. ^ Kahveh Zahiroleslam at Soccerway
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