'It's all over for Ahmedreza Abedzadeh' declared most of Iran as chronic knee injuries forced the Pirouzi custodian onto the operating table. His club contract was cancelled and plans were in place for his testimonial match, but, after a long and lonely recovery, the World Cup veteran is back.

wo huge feet dangle off the end of the bed as Ahmedreza Abedzadeh, a man who has become a legend in Iran with his goalkeeping exploits for both club and country, receives his daily rub-down from the Pirouzi physiotherapist. He props himself up on his elbows and flashes a huge, welcoming smile.

Ahmedreza Abedzadeh

The 34-year-old looks fit, healthy, happy to be here and is ready to end the rumours of his demise, rumours that have been swirling around the goalkeeper's head for much of the last year-and-a-half.

Operations on both knees and a prolonged period of recovery fuelled the stories that Abedzadeh's days as a key player for both Iran and Pirouzi are over. International websites run by Iranian fans all over the planet picked up on stories in the nation's press that the Abadan-born goalkeeper was finished.

Not true, says Abedzadeh, and he's going to prove he is back to the standard that saw him hailed as one of the very best in his position in Asia, to prove that the problems that started even before the World Cup are behind him.

"After we qualified for France we were in camp and I had some problems," he says, rubbing his right leg before wrapping both knees with ice packs. "For 50 days I couldn't play football. I had an operation on my knee and went back to the team but I only got to play against the USA and Germany. After the World Cup I just concentrated on recovering from the surgery. I was still engaged in our club games but when I knew that we had won the championship I didn't want to play."

Pirouzi won the Azadegan league title for the fourth time in five seasons in May last year and, with the championship sewn up, Abedzadeh was free to finally correct the problem in his knees. It was a decision that had to be made and one that kept him out of football for more than half a year.

"I went away for seven months of last year. I went to Germany for more surgery. My doctor operated on both knees, and now I have power in my muscles so I can play again. About one-and-a-half months ago I came back to Pirouzi. I played against the Qatar national team (Pirouzi won 2-0) and now I'm here."

That Abedzadeh is back playing at all is something of a miracle when you consider the catalogue of injuries and time spent out of the game as a result (he's spent well over three years out of the game in total as a result of injury). With the goalkeeper approaching the end of his career, you would have thought the desire to return would have diminished. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"I have a lot of motivation, and I know that I was motivated to train and work hard," says Abedzadeh of his recovery. "My muscles were badly damaged and they took a long time to repair. Even up to now it's not the end of my recuperation. It will take longer but I'll have to try and not pay attention to any gossip about me not coming back.

"The idea of people thinking that I couldn't come back is good motivation to come back. Some people thought that I couldn't come back and some thought I could. That made me more determined to work hard. If my doctor says I have to train six or eight hours a day, I would do more than that to make sure I succeed.

"I'm still not prepared 100 percent, but I've used my experience and my knowledge to play in goal for Pirouzi. I've trained more than I was advised to so I could be successful."

At the recent quarter-finals of the Asian Club Championship Abedzadeh looked sluggish and less mobile than he has in the past. Time and training should help chisel off the rust that accumulates over a long period of injury and recovery. Besides, injured or not, Abedzadeh's desire to play for the club he supported since he was a boy would be enough to drive him onward and back into the position he has made his own for the last six years.

Abedzadeh is one of the few players in Iran to have played for both Pirouzi and their bitter cross-Tehran rivals Esteghlal, although he is at pains to point out that his love for his club has always been strong. It's a loyalty the club would eventually repay.

"Pirouzi was my passion and when I joined them I came back to my home. All of the fans can understand me, they knew I was a Pirouzi man and they understood my situation when I was with Esteghlal. The Esteghlal fans never behaved well towards me in the stadium, but I'm a player and I have to tolerate them even if they can't tolerate me.

Ahmedreza Abedzadeh

"I was at Esteghlal for two years and I've been here for six. I had eight years at Tahm in Ishfahan, where I started my career. Two years in Esteghlal and then one year at Sepahan. After that I was out injured for one-and-a-half years and when I came back, I came back to Pirouzi.

"The club had agreed to help me when I was injured in 1993. I was in Germany and they paid 60,000 marks for my treatment. That was just for the treatment. I was in a hotel and they paid for that. It wasn't just the club, it was the fans who helped me as well. What Pirouzi did was something that the other clubs could do but they didn't, and because of that I knew I had to go to Pirouzi when I returned. It makes the relationship between me and the club even better."

While the relationship between club and player remains strong, if not stronger than ever, the ties between Abedzadeh and the national association are strained to say the least. Injury has meant he has not played for the national team since the World Cup but, even fully fit, Abedzadeh says he's unlikely to play for Iran again.

"I will never come back while the system is run by our football federation. I won't come back. They don't work systematically and they don't have any regulations."

Harsh words, perhaps, but the man adored by millions throughout his homeland seems adamant that he will remain on the sidelines of international football, turning out only for his beloved Pirouzi, enjoying the memories of an illustrious career and keeping his people happy.

"Every player, when he looks at his career, he can find many good memories," says Abedzadeh. "But memories don't have to be sweet and that's the same for me too. Qualifying for the World Cup, winning the gold at the Asian Games in Beijing, playing and winning against the US in 1998 are all great memories for me but the most important thing is the reaction of the people.

"Seeing that I have done something for them and that they value it is most important to me. It's the reaction of the people in the stadium makes me happy. For example, when I'm walking in the street and a 60-year-old man and his wife say they want to live forever because of what they have seen us do, it gives me a great feeling."