| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kahveh Zahiroleslam | ||
| Date of birth | June 13, 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Saratoga, California, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cracovia | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| 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) |
| 2023–2025 | Sint-Truiden | 47 | (8) |
| 2025– | Cracovia | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | → Cracovia II (loan) | 1 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of August 16, 2025 | |||
Kahveh Zahiroleslam (Persian: کاوه ظهیرالاسلام; born June 13, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Polish Ekstraklasa club Cracovia.
Early life
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Sint-Truiden
[edit]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] Following his good performances, his contract was extended for another season.[17]
The following season, he scored his first league goal of the season during their home opener on August 3, 2024 against Charleroi.[18] 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.[19] In November 2024, he suffered a hamstring injury and missed two months due to the injury.[20] After returning from injury, he was only given substitute appearances, and at the end of the 2024–25 season, he was not offered a contract extension and became a free agent.[21][22]
Cracovia
[edit]On July 31, 2025, he moved to the Polish top division, joining Cracovia on a two-year contract with an option to extend it for another two years.[23] He made his club debut on August 10, 2025 as an 80th-minute substitute in a league match against Jagiellonia at the Stadion Miejski.[24][25] The following week, he scored a goal on his debut for the Cracovia reserves on August 16, 2025 in a league match against Pogoń-Sokół Lubaczów.[26][27]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played May 10, 2025[21]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sint-Truidense | 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 27 | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | 28 | 6 | |
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | |
| Total | 47 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 9 | ||
| Career total | 47 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 9 | ||
- ^ Includes Belgian Cup
Honors
[edit]De Anza Force
- U.S. Soccer Development Academy Northwest Division: 2019[2]
Individual
References
[edit]- ^ "Sint-Truiden sign Iranian-American Kahveh Zahiroleslam – PersianFootball.com".
- ^ a b c d "Kahveh Zahiroleslam - 2022 - Men's Soccer". Yale University.
- ^ a b c "SSFC Spotlight: Kahveh Zahiroleslam starting for Sint-Truiden". 7 December 2023.
- ^ Hewitt, Owen. "Men's Soccer Falls to Yale, 1-0".
- ^ a b "Yale Bull Dogs striker Kahveh Zahiroleslam on trial with Sint-Truiden - Get Belgian & Dutch Football News". getfootballnewsbene.com. June 21, 2023.
- ^ "Chicago FC United | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "STVV legt Kahveh Zahiroleslam vast". VoetbalBelgie.
- ^ "Testspeler Kahveh Zahiroleslam krijgt contract bij STVV".
- ^ "Americans Abroad weekend review: Pepi delivers again, Tillman oversleeps". www.socceramerica.com. 25 September 2023.
- ^ info, R. T. L. (October 31, 2023). "Croky Cup: Anderlecht se défait de La Louvière et file en 8es de finale". RTL Info.
- ^ "Westerlo vs. Sint-Truiden - 10 November 2023 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Sint-Truiden vs. OH Leuven - 9 December 2023 - Soccerway".
- ^ https://stvv.com/en/news/gamereport/wedstrijdverslag-stvv-oh-leuve
- ^ "Leider Union zweet en zwoegt, maar krijgt STVV in absolute slot toch nog klein | sporza".
- ^ "Tienkoppig Gent blijft op de dool en verliest na rampscenario ook tegen STVV | sporza".
- ^ "Belgian Recap: Zahiroleslam Scores but STVV Still Suffers Back-to-Back Defeats". 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Kaveh Zahiroleslam scores in STVV loss to Charleroi [VIDEO] – PersianFootball.com".
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Zahiroleslam's Hamstring Injury Could See Him Sidelined for Two Months". YANKS ABROAD. 2024-12-01. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ a b Kahveh Zahiroleslam at Soccerway
- ^ "Op naar meer (wereld)goals". stvv.com. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "Kahveh Zahiroleslam Piłkarzem Cracovii" [Kahveh Zahiroleslam is a Cracovia player] (in Polish). Cracovia. July 31, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
- ^ "Jagiellonia Białystok vs. Cracovia". Ekstraklasa. 10 August 2025.
- ^ "usmntaut post". X. 10 August 2025.
- ^ "Rezerwy Cracovii z pierwszym zwycięstwem w nowym sezonie III ligi. Niecodzienne bramki ozdobą spotkania z Pogonią-Sokołem Lubaczów".
- ^ "Cracovia II - Pogoń-Sokół Lubaczów [TRANSMISJA WIDEO]".
External links
[edit]- Kahveh Zahiroleslam at Soccerway.com
- Kahveh Zahiroleslam at WorldFootball.net
- Kahveh Zahiroleslam at FBref.com
- Kahveh Zahiroleslam at kicker (in German)
- Kahveh Zahiroleslam at L'Équipe (in French)
