Khodadad Azizi (Persian: خداداد عزیزی; born 22 June 1971) is an Iranian football coach and former player who played as a striker.
 Azizi in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Khodadad Azizi | ||
| Date of birth | 22 June 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Fariman[1],Iran | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1983–1988 | Aboomoslem | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1993 | Aboomoslem | ||
| 1993–1995 | Fath Tehran | ||
| 1995–1996 | Bahman | ||
| 1996–1997 | Persepolis | 4 | (4) |
| 1997–2000 | 1. FC Köln | 50 | (10) |
| 2000 | San Jose Earthquakes | 20 | (3) |
| 2001 | Al-Nasr | 10 | (2) |
| 2001–2005 | Pas | 82 | (23) |
| 2005 | Admira Wacker | 0 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Oghab | ||
| 2006 | Rah Ahan | 11[2] | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 1992–2004 | Iran | 45 | (11) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Aboomoslem | ||
| 2008 | Payam Khorasan | ||
| 2009 | Esteghlal Ahvaz | ||
| 2011–2012 | Aboomoslem | ||
| 2015 | Shahrdari Tabriz | ||
| 2016–2017 | Siah Jamegan | ||
| 2018 | Sepidrood Rasht | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editAfter playing for a few clubs in Iran and following his performance in Asia, he moved to Germany in 1997 to play for 1. FC Köln. Azizi, along with his Iranian national teammates Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri, were among the first Iranians to enter the Bundesliga.
Having played for three seasons in 1. FC Köln, he signed a contract with California-based club San Jose Earthquakes, became the second Iranian player to play in the United States' Major League Soccer. In 2001, Khodadad Azizi was transferred to the United Arab Emirates club Al Nasr, before returning to Iran and joining Pas Tehran.
In 2005, he signed for Admira Wacker in the Austrian Bundesliga.[3] He returned to Iran soon after and signed for lower division club, Oghab. His stay there was not very lengthy as he signed for Rah Ahan in late 2005.
After the 2005–06 season, Azizi retired from club and international football. He finished his international career with 47 caps and 11 goals. Following his retirement, Azizi was employed by his hometown club, Aboomoslem, as club chairman advisor.[4] Azizi also co-owns a sports clothing label called Majid with financial backing from Abdol Majid Saedifar who put a $400,000 into the company. In September 2011, Khabaronline.ir reported Azizi to be the owner of Siah Jamegaan of Khorasaan, a spin-off of F.C. Aboomoslem.[5]
International career
editAzizi represented Iran at the 1996 Asian Cup, 1998 FIFA World Cup, and the 2000 Asian Cup. He was named Asian Player of the Year in 1996, as well as the Asian Cup Most Valuable Player in the 1996 Asian Cup.
Azizi is best remembered for scoring the equaliser against Australia in the second leg World Cup qualifier in November 1997, sending Iran into France 98.
Coaching career
editIn December 2006, Azizi was appointed the manager of Aboomoslem, a Mashhad based football club that he had started his career with in the early 1990s. He was replaced by Parviz Mazloumi in October 2007. He was head coach of Payam Khorasan and Esteghlal Ahvaz for a short time. In 2011, he was appointed as head coach of Aboomoslem for a second time but parted company with the club on 1 June 2012.
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Persepolis | 1996–97 | – | – | – | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1. FC Köln | 1997–98 | Bundesliga | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | 21 | 5 | |
| 1998–99 | 2. Bundesliga | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 28 | 4 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 1 | |||
| Total | 50 | 10 | 2 | 0 | – | 52 | 10 | |||
| San Jose | 2000 | MLS | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 22 | 3 | |
| Al-Nasr | 2000–01 | UAE Pro-League | 10 | 2 | ||||||
| Pas | 2001–02 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 19 | 8 | – | |||||
| 2002–03 | 21 | 4 | – | |||||||
| 2003–04 | 25 | 9 | – | |||||||
| 2004–05 | 17 | 2 | ||||||||
| Total | 82 | 23 | ||||||||
| Admira Wacker | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| Oghab | 2005–06 | Azadegan League | – | |||||||
| Rah Ahan | 2005–06 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 10 | 2 | – | |||||
| Career total | ||||||||||
International
edit- Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Azizi goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 December 1996 | Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Saudi Arabia |
3–0 | 3–0 | 1996 AFC Asian Cup |
| 2 | 16 December 1996 | Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  South Korea |
2–2 | 6–2 | 1996 AFC Asian Cup |
| 3 | 21 April 1997 | Sahand, Tabriz, Iran |  Kenya |
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 2 June 1997 | Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria |  Maldives |
5–0 | 17–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 6–0 | |||||
| 6 | 9 June 1997 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran |  Kyrgyzstan |
1–0 | 3–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 3–1 | |||||
| 8 | 11 June 1997 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran | Maldives |
9–0 | 9–0 | |
| 9 | 16 November 1997 | Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru, Malaysia |  Japan |
1–1 | 2–3 | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Play-off) |
| 10 | 22 November 1997 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran |  Australia |
1–1 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off) |
| 11 | 29 November 1997 | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia | Australia |
2–2 | 2–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off) |
Honours
edit1. FC Köln
Pas
Individual
- AFC Player of the Year: 1996
- AFC Asian Cup Most Valuable Player: 1996
- MLS All-Star: 2000[6]
- MasterCard Asian/Oceanian Team of the 20th Century: 1998[7]
References
edit- ^ "Statistics: Iran [ Team Melli]". www.teammelli.com. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ "Event /مصاحبه با فوتبالیست محبوب ایران: خداداد عزیزی" (in Persian). irani.at. Retrieved 11 July 2006.
- ^ "阿齐兹与足协主席对骂 称其不知西瓜足球区别" (in Chinese). CCTV体育频道. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
- ^ قلعه نويى مربى شجاعى است – عزيزى: به فكر يك مربى خارجى هم باشيم (in Persian). Iran Varzeshi Newspaper. Archived from the original on 21 July 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
- ^ پرسپولیس تیم خداداد را برد (in Persian). khabaronline.ir. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "2000 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. 29 July 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Ramos, Balboa named to MasterCard CONCACAF 20th Century team". Soccer Times. 15 May 1998. Archived from the original on 21 February 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
External links
edit