Esteghlal Tehran Football Club (باشگاه فوتبال استقلال تهران, meaning independence in Persian) known before the Iranian Revolution as Taj Tehran Football Club (باشگاه فوتبال تاج تهران, meaning Crown in Persian) is an Iranian professional Football Club based in Tehran that plays in the Persian Gulf Pro League.Founded in 1945 initially as Docharkhe savaran (دوچرخه سواران) meaning "The Cyclists" in Persian and later in 1949, the name of the club was first changed to Taj (تاج), that means "Crown" in Persian; a name that was quickly transformed into a football powerhouse in Iranian soccer competitions. The name of the club was finally modified into Esteghlal (Persian: استقلال‎‎) that is the current name of the club, meaning "Independence", subsequent to the Islamic Revolution in 1979.In 1970, un