Iraj Danaeifard ( fa, ايرج دانايی فرد, 11 March 1951 – 12 December 2018) was an Iranian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played most of his career for Taj (currently Esteghlal) and also the

Iran national football team ) ''(the national team)' other nicknames'' , Badge = Flag_of_Iran.svg , Badge_size = 190px , Association = Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran , FIFA Trigramme = IRN , FIFA Rank ...

Club career

Danaeifard became involved in football at a young age. His father,

Ali Danaeifard Ali Danaeifard ( fa, علی دانایی‌فرد, 2 October 1921 – 5 November 1979) was an Iranian football player. He was first head coach of Esteghlal Tehran. Many people call him ''Father of Esteghlal''. His son Iraj Danaeifard Iraj Dan ...

was one of the founders of

Taj SC Esteghlal Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال, ''Bâšgâh-è Futbâl-è Esteqlâl''), commonly known as Esteghlal ( fa, استقلال, meaning 'The Independence'), is an Iranian football club based in capital Tehran th ...

football club. He became famous in Iran while playing for the club, winning the Iranian league in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. He also played for

Oghab F.C. Oghab Tehran Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e 'Qab Tehran'') is an Iranian football team based in Tehran, Iran. They currently compete in the Tehran Province league and it is owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. History Establi ...

and

Pas F.C. Pas Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پاس تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Pas Tehran'') was an Iranian association football, football club based in Tehran, Iran. Pas F.C. was the association football, football club of the ...

, where he won the Iranian Takht Jamshid in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

. In 1977, he returned to Taj. In 1980, he moved to the United States and started playing for the NASL team, the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

. He remained in the club until 1984 when the league folded, and retired from football soon thereafter.

International career

Danaeifard was invited to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

for the first time in 1977 and helped the team qualify for

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by ...

. He played well in the tournament and many still remember his goal against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, which was Iran's first goal ever at a World Cup. After the Asian Cup in Kuwait in 1980 and reaching the third place he retired from international football with 17 caps and 3 goals for his country.

Death

Danaeifard died on 12 December 2018 of liver failure. He was 67.

Career statistics

International goals

References

External links

National Team Statistics

Interview with Irankicks.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danaeifard, Iraj 1951 births 2018 deaths Esteghlal F.C. players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1980 AFC Asian Cup players Iranian expatriate footballers Iranian footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players Iran international footballers Sportspeople from Tehran Expatriate soccer players in the United States Iranian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Association football midfielders Deaths from liver failure 20th-century Iranian people