Heshmat Mohajerani

Fact file

Name: Heshmat Mohajerani
Nickname:
Birthplace: Mashad
Birthdate: February 1936
Current occupations: soccer coach - Advisor

Coaching career:

1971-1974 Coach of Iran National Youth Team
1974-1976 Asst Coach. of Iran National Team
1976-1978 Coach Iran National Team

1979-1981- Al Sha'ab Club (Sharjah)

1991 - UAE National Team

Honors/Achievements:
Asian Cup Championship (1976)

Qualification for the World Cup (1978)

Heshmat Mohajerani (born January 1936 in Mashad, Khorasan) is perhaps the most successful Iranian coach of Team Melli. Mohajerani and his brothers formed the Abo Moslem club in Mashad

In his senior years, Mohajerani joined Taj Club ( Esteghlal) and played for this famous club until his premature retirement at the age of 27 years.

At the age of 26-27, after the world military games in Greece, he stopped playing football. He flew to Japan to participate in a 3-month coaching course. In that course, which was under the auspices of Sir Stanley Rose, president of FIFA, and the management of the famous German coach Dietmar Cramer, Mohajerani was joined by Ranjbar, Abu Taleb.

It took a while before Mohajerani was given a coaching job. When he finally did get appointed as a team coach, 2 years after completing the coaching course, he first heard the news through newspapers. The headline would say " ‘Mahmood Bayati, the Men's National Team Coach, and Heshmat Mohajerani, the Youths National Team Coach’.

In 1971 he started his coaching career as the Iranian Youths National Team Coach. During his years as coach, he gave numerous opportunities to youths from cities other than the capital, and many of those youths, Nazari, Barzegari, Ghassempour, and Pezeshkar, found their way into the Senior squad at Team Melli.

Under his coaching and management, Iran won the Asian Youth Championship for 4 consecutive years, while before his time the Youth Team had never won the Asian Championship. This achievement is a record that no other coach in Iran or Asia has been able to accomplish.

After this brilliant record with the youth team, Mohajerani was appointed as the assistant coach to the Irishman, Frank O'Farrell.

The first major achievement of Mohajerani was winning the Asian Cup in 1976 when his team beat Kuwait 1-0 in the final at Azadi.

Shortly, it was qualification for the Montreal Olympic Games, and for the first time in Iran's history, the team qualified for the next round.

The pinnacle of Mohajerani's achievement however was the first-ever success of the Iran National football team to the World Cup finals in Argentine 1976.

Not only Iran was amongst the elite 16 teams of the World, under his astute coaching Iran managed to draw against the mighty Scotland team while performing gallantly against the eventual runners-up Holland.

In one of the most intriguing encounters and a sign of the deep trust in youth, Mohajerani challenged the Kuwaiti Team under the management of Carlos Alberto and Mario Zagalo, on their home turf in the last match of the World Cup preliminary game. Although Iran has already qualified, it was a matter of honor to keep the unbeaten record of the team. Mohajerani fielded a youth team against the full strength Kuwait and still managed to beat them 2-1 in a historic match.

After the 1979 revolution in Iran, Mohajerani moved to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and pursued his coaching with Al Sha’ab, in Sharjah.

Mohajerani's greatest attribute was his tough character and acute motivational skills. He was a great believer in the youth and never shied away from giving opportunities to the young players to shine and excel. He discovered many players who became stars under his guidance or later on in their careers.