Hasan Rowshan

Like many Iranians of his generation, Hasan was born in a family of football fans. His father would buy him his own plastic ball, so that he would not bother them while playing football. Hasan played in the neighborhood, and during one of the matches with SaadAbad team, he was approached by none other than Homayoon Behzadi , the famous national team forward, who whispered to him " You are a complete player". Later on, Behzadi recruited Rowshan for "Sharq " a team playing in the third division of Tehran league. His contribution to this team was not too successful and the team failed to gain promotion to the second division and subsequently it was disbanded.

Since little Rowshan tasted competitive football, he was determined to join a club in the league rather than going back to street football. In 1969 Rowshan joined Taj club, one of the two big clubs of Iran.

Born in Tehran in Ikhtiyariyeh Shamiran on the 2nd of 1956, Hasan was only 13 when he first joined Taj youth team. He initially faced many problems at Taj and the most critical was the logistics, His house was quite far from the Taj training ground in Nazi Abad. However, Hasan was determined to succeed. His passion, willingness to compete at the highest level, his hunger for victory and not to mention his extreme love for football at an early age, made him forget all the problems he was facing at the time. The logistics were taken care of by his father, who used to accompany him as a friend would, to the Taj football and training grounds. His father would either wait for Hasan to finish training, carefully watching his moves or given half a chance would joined in a senior matches when the eldest fancied a game of football. During their long trip back home, Hasan's father would always talk football to him, never tiring from the subject and always willing to advise and offer tips on how to improve his game and skills.

Rowshan's first success came at the Schools football championship. While in the sixth grade at Pasargad Shamiran school, he was a member of the school football team. He experienced the sweet taste of championship at that early age, and thought of future championship and grand occasions. Although the championship was sweet at school level, Rowshan did not seriously consider \playing this level of football anything other than a pastime and filing the gap. His first taste of real football came when a visiting Brazilian youth team was in town for a friendly match. 20 thousand spectators were at Amjadiyah eager to observe and enjoy some Brazilian magic. Somehow the trainer decided to give young Rowshan an opportunity to play the last 20 minutes. This was by all means a very difficult experience for a youngster who never played in front of more than a dozen people. His fear of the crowd and the immense pressure he felt, could not be overcome and the team lost the match 2-1.

Rowshan was quickly becoming a household name in Iran. With his club, Taj Tehran, he won many championship and trophies. However, the highlight of his career was the qualification for the World Cup finals in Argentine 1978. During the Asian qualification games, Rowshan excelled. His goals and assists was a major contribution to the success of the team and eventual qualification. This success did not come easy, as his constant runs and skills in maneuvering and dribbling made him a target for some rough tackles. His injusry after the qualification games was a major was for coach Heshmat Mohajerani. When Iran played its first game , Rowshan was doubtful. However, he eventually played a full game and scored the only goal for Iran in a 1-4 drubbing by Peru.

After the World Cup 1978, many critics in Iran indicated that if Iran had a fully fit Rowshan, the results would have been far much better than what was achieved. Although Hasan Rowshan had limited playing time in Argentina, the scouts from several countries discovered his potential and send representations to his club in order to recruit him. Rowshan settled for UAE and in particular Al Ahli Club of Dubai. Jointly with his national team mate, Hasan Nazari, they won several championship for Al Ahli and with his magical touches and splendid goals, he set the stadiums alight. Huge number of spectators and in particular the Iranian expatriates , flocked week in week out to witness the magic of Rowshan.