Mohammad Reza Adelkhani Explained

Reza Adelkhani
Fullname:Mohammad Reza Adelkhani
Birth Date:1947 2, mf=yes
Birth Place:Tehran, Iran
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:1960–1962
Youthclubs1:Taj
Youthyears2:1962–1964
Youthclubs2:Bayern Munich
Years1:1964–1966
Years2:1966–1968
Years3:1968–1969
Years4:1969–1970
Years5:1970–1971
Years6:1971–1972
Years7:1972–1976
Years8:1976–1977
Years9:1977–1979
Clubs1:Bayern Munich
Clubs2:Rot-Weiß Oberhausen
Clubs3:Wuppertaler SV
Clubs4:Bonner SC
Clubs5:SG Wattenscheid 09
Clubs6:VfL Klafeld-Geisweid
Clubs7:Taj
Clubs8:Shahbaz
Clubs9:Taj
Caps3:41
Goals3:6
Nationalyears1:1973–1978
Nationalteam1:Iran
Nationalcaps1:17
Nationalgoals1:2

Mohammad Reza Adelkhani (Persian: محمدرضا عادلخانی, born February 13, 1947, in Tehran, Iran) is a retired Iranian footballer and former Iran national football team player.

Adelkhani achieved the UEFA Pro Licence, the first Iranian to do so.

Early life

He was born on 13 February 1947 in Tehran, Iran. He began playing in football in 1960 playing at Shahin.

Club career

Adelkhani played for SG Wattenscheid 09, Wuppertaler SV, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, Bayern Munich and VfL Klafeld-Geisweid before moving back to Iran.[1] He was the first Iranian player to move to Europe to play football. When he was in Turkey with Taj SC for a friendly match, German talent scouts saw his performance and signed him for Bayern Munchen.

Adelkhani's first senior club in Iran was Taj SC with whom he reached champion title in the Iranian league in Takht Jamshid Cup. He then joined Shahbaz F.C., where he reached third place in the Iranian league in 1976/77.

International career

Between 1973 and 1978, he played 17 times for the national team and scored 2 goals.

Iranian football fans will never forget the Asian football Olympic final 1974 in Aryamehr Stadium between Iran and Israel, in which Adelkhani forced Shum's own goal, which led Iran to win this tournament.

He was part of the Iran squad that qualified for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. However, an injury he sustained while saving his young daughter from falling down the stairs kept him out of the competition.

He was a left-footed player.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fussball Daten. Reza Adelkani. German. October 12, 2009.