Nasser Hejazi:
Nasser Hejazi (Persian: ناصر حجازی, born December 19, 1949 in Iran) is an Iranian football coach, manager, and former player. One of the most famous football players in Iran. In 2000, the Asian Football Confederation ranked him the second best Asian goalkeeper of the 20th century. He was the head-coach of Esteghlal F.C. in Iran's Premier Football League.
[edit] Club career
Hejazi was the goalkeeper of the Taj F.C. and Iran during the 1970s. Hejazi first broke into the Taj side when he was only 18 years old and won the Asian Club Championship in 1970.
After the 1978 FIFA World Cup Hejazi received an offer from Manchester United F.C., he trained and played with them for a month even appearing in a reserve match against Stoke City at which time Dave Sexton was coach. Manchester United F.C. wanted him to stay for another two or three months and then they would officially sign him. Unfortunately there was no-one at the IRFF at the time of the Islamic Revolution to arrange the extension so Manchester United F.C. signed Gary Bailey. He remained as Esteghlal's main goalkeeper until his retirement in the mid-eighties.
[edit] International career
Hejazi joined up with the Team Melli, just in time to feature in the squad that won the Asian Cup in 1968 and picked up two more in 1972 and 1976. He represented Iran at the 1972 Munich Olympics and was Iran's starting goalkeeper at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. He was captain of the national team during the 1980 Asian Cup and played his last match for Iran in the semi-final match versus Kuwait. After the tournament a member of Iran's Physical Education Department implemented a plan in which athletes older than 27 years of age would no longer be allowed to compete internationally. Hejazi was effectively forced to retire from international football because of this rule despite being only 29 years old at the time of implementation.
[edit] Managerial career
During the 1990s, Hejazi was the manager of a number of football clubs including the Mohammedan SC, the Esteghlal (former Taj) and Esteghlal Ahvaz. During his tenure with the Esteghlal, Hejazi took the club to the final match of the Asian Champions League in 1998. They were beaten by the Jubilo Iwata in Tehran. During his years as a coach, Hejazi was the first to discover many talented Iranian football players, including Ali Daei and Rahman Rezaei. In early August 2006 Hejazi announced he signed a one year contract as head coach of Azadegan League outfit Nassaji Mazandaran. He resigned from the post in January 2007.
[edit] Honours
Club
International
Managerial
[edit] Legacy
Nasser Hejazi is considered by many to be one of the greatest Iranian and Asian goalkeepers of all time. Hejazi was a member of the all-conquering Team Melli of the 1960s that won the Asian Cup a record three times in a row and represented Iran at 1978 FIFA World Cup. His goalkeeping legacy in Iran is only rivaled by Behrouz Soltani and Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh.
[edit] Presidential ambition
On November of 2004, Hejazi announced his nomination for the 2005 Iranian presidential election. He was rejected by the Guardian Council of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran. He was subsequently rejected a few weeks prior to the election.
[edit] Trivia
[edit] External links
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