TEHRAN — Trained at Saint-Étienne, then moved to Algeria, and now at 29 years old, Alexis Guendouz is in Iran, defending the colors of Persepolis in Tehran.

Since last October, he has gradually established himself as a regular starter with the Algerian national team.
“The first time I was contacted by Iranian team Persepolis  I thought, “Wow, Iran indeed!” I immediately called Bryan Dabo, whom I knew from Saint-Étienne. I knew he had signed with Sepahan in 2023. He told me, ‘If the contract suits you, forget everything you’ve heard in the media or what you’ve been told about this country. Come—you're going to live something incredible, especially at Persepolis.’ So, I signed, and honestly, I am pleasantly surprised by Iran,” Guendouz said in an interview with lequipe.fr.
“Persepolis are Iran’s most successful club, the most supported in the country and even among the diaspora abroad. They have excellent facilities and invest heavily to attract players to this league. I’m in Tehran, and there’s a fierce rivalry with Esteghlal—trust me, the derby is something else. It’s similar to Algeria, with incredible fervor,” the goalie said.

“Personally, things are going very well (14 clean sheets in 35 matches across all competitions). We hope to finish second and qualify again for the Asian Champions League. This season, we narrowly missed out on the second phase. The competition was disrupted due to geopolitical issues—playing in Qatar or Dubai without our passionate fans. When we host a team from Qatar in Qatar, it’s definitely not the same atmosphere,” Guendouz stated.