Ahmadreza Abedzadeh ( fa, احمدرضا عابدزاده, born 25 May 1966) is an Iranian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He played for Esteghlal,

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

and the Iranian national team. He made 79 appearances for Iran and U.S.A , and played for his country at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

Club career

Abedzadeh had an unbeaten record in the Tehran derby with 13 matches, 7 wins and 6 draws. While playing for Persepolis, he went 802 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.

International career

Abedzadeh was called up at the age of 18 for the

Iran national under-20 football team Iran national under-20 football team (also known as Iran Under-20, Iran U-20 or Iran Youth Team) represents Iran in international football (soccer), football competitions in AFC U-19 Championship and FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any other unde ...

in 1984. After his good shows, he was invited to the senior team in 1987 by then-manager

Parviz Dehdari Parviz Dehdari ( fa, پرویز دهداری) (March 21, 1935 – November 23, 1992) was an Iranian football player and coach. Early life He was born on 21 March 1935 in Marvdasht from an Abadani family. His family moved back to Abadan after hi ...

. Abedzadeh made his debut in the match against

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

on 27 February 1987, in which he conceded a goal in a 2–1 victory. He started in the

1990 Asian Games The 1990 Asian Games also known as the XI Asiad and the 11th Asian Games ( zh, c=第十一届亚洲运动会, p=Dì shíyī jiè yàzhōu yùndònghuì), were held from September 22 to October 7, 1990, in Beijing, China. This was the first Asian Ga ...

, where they won the gold medal after defeating

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

in the final and Abedzadeh saved two penalties. At the tournament, he conceded only two goals which were both scored from penalty kicks. Iran defeated

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

to reach

, their second participation in the World Cup and first since

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

. He missed the first match at the World Cup against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

due to injury, then captained Iran at the next two matches against

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Iran finished third at their group and Abedzadeh announced his retirement from international football after the final match.

Post-playing career

Abedzadeh suffered a stroke in 2001 and that was the point in which he let go of professional football. He was released some weeks later, but required a number of surgeries after, and even to this day, has side effects from his stroke. Abedzadeh suffered again on 11 March 2007 when his mother died. He has also been the goalkeeping coach for many clubs after retiring from playing football. He coached

Saipa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

in 2001,

Esteghlal Ahvaz Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال اهواز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Esteqlâl Ahvaz''), commonly known as Esteghlal Ahvaz, was an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, that competed in the khu ...

in 2005,

from 2008 to 2009,

Steel Azin Steel Azin Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استيل آذین, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Estil Âzin'') was an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. The club was owned by Hossein Hedayati, owner of Steel Azin Iranian Holding Co ...

in 2010 and

Los Angeles Blues Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games a ...

from 2011 to 2012.

Legacy

Dubbed the ''Eagle of Asia'' for his ability to protect the net, Abedzadeh's international career stretched for 11 years. In 2009, he was named in a poll as Iran's favorite player of last 30 years. His goalkeeping legacy in Iran is rivaled only by

Nasser Hejazi Nasser Hejazi (Persian: ناصر حجازی ''nāser hejāzi''; 14 December 1949 – 23 May 2011), nicknamed "the legendary Iranian goalkeeper", was an Iranian football player and coach who most notably played for Esteghlal (Taj). Considered a ...

Personal life

Abedzadeh married in 1988 and has one daughter, Negar, and one son,

Amir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

, who is also a goalkeeper and plays for

SD Ponferradina Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Segunda División, holding home matches at the ...

and the Iran national team. Abedzadeh also runs a restaurant in Motelghoo, one of the cities of Northern Iran.

Honours

Club

;Esteghlal *

Iranian Football League The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Persian Gulf Pro League (PGL) is the highest level of club football in Iran. I ...

: 1989–90 *

Asian Club Championship The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

: 1990–91, runner up:

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

;Persepolis *

: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000 *

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Cha ...

: 1998–99

National

;Iran *

Asian Games Gold Medal Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

References

External links

RSSSF archive of Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh's international appearances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abedzadeh, Ahmad Reza 1966 births Iranian footballers Iran international footballers Association football goalkeepers 1988 AFC Asian Cup players 1992 AFC Asian Cup players 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Esteghlal F.C. players Sepahan S.C. footballers Persepolis F.C. players Persepolis F.C. non-playing staff People from Abadan, Iran Living people Asian Games gold medalists for Iran Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games Iranian restaurateurs Association football goalkeeping coaches Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Sportspeople from Khuzestan province