Javad Nekounam, Iranian footballer
Javad Nekounam (Persian: جواد نکونام; born 7 September 1980) is an Iranian retired professional footballer who played as a central midfielder who is the manager of Foolad FC.

He spent most of his professional career with Pas and Spain's Osasuna, appearing in 197 official games and scoring 31 goals over his two spells with the latter club and also being team captain. He also competed in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, in 18 seasons as a senior.

Nicknamed Neku, and widely regarded as one of Asia's greatest footballers, Nekounam represented the Iran national team a record of 148 times, playing several major tournaments including two World Cups and four Asian Cups.