Mehdi Pashazadeh is an Iranian football coach and former player who played as a defender. He played for several clubs, including Esteghlal Tehran, Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Fortuna Köln (Germany), Rapid Wien (Austria) and Sturm Graz (Austria). He played for the Iran national team and was a participant at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Esteghlal Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال استقلال;, commonly known as Esteghlal, is an Iranian football club based in Tehran that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1945 as 'The Cyclists' and was known as Tâj between 1949 and 1979. The club is part of the multisport club Esteghlal Athletic and Cultural Company of Iran. They were the first team to reach 1,000 points in Persian Gulf Pro League.