After Javad Nekounam was replaced in the second half of a friendly against Sweden on March 31 and hung up his boots as skipper of Iran's national soccer squad, Andranik Teymourian took over the captaincy of the national team.

It is still unclear whether the decision to give him the captaincy is final, but if it is confirmed, he will be the second Iranian player of Christian faith to lead the national team on the pitch.
He is the first Iranian Christian footballer to have played in two World Cup finals and if he secures a ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, he will be the first Iranian player ever to participate in three world cups.
Andranik, who is widely known as Ando, the Samurai in Iran, has scored eight goals for the national team in his 90 caps.

This news was translated by IFP from Shargh Newspaper