The story of Iran’s qualification for its first major tournament
The team practiced in Khorasan Square, took shower in Amjadieh, utilized the dormitory at Daraei club, and had their meals in Kakh Varzesh (Sports Palace) and played their matches in Amjadieh. With such an arrangement, Iran’s Team Melli, The national football team, qualified for the Olympics through the last match in Calcutta in the next year.
The team that achieved Iran’s first international success was wearing a green jersey with white shorts and red socks representing the Iranian tri-color flag. The word “Iran” in bold was proudly printed on the player’s jerseys.
All the squad wore short or kernel hair. With the exception of Mohammad Ranjbar’s Douglas Mustache, no one had a beard, even the head coach Hussein Fekri.
On October 4th, 1963, Team Melli played its first-ever game in the Olympics Games qualifiers against Pakistan in Amjadieh. Referring to the emblems emblazoned on the two countries’ flag, Keyhan Varzeshi described the match as the contest of the “Moon and Star” battle with the “Sun”. The Land of the “Moon and Star” drew first blood and managed to score the first goal against the host Iran, but that Pakistani goal was short-lived as the host replied with 4 goals scored by Mehrab Shahroukhi,Hameed Shirzadegan and Homayoun Behzadi (twice)
There were no TV cameras to record the game at the stadium but Atta Behmanish, sitting close to the touchline, was the radio commentator. Keyhan Varzeshi reporter, who was in the stands with the fans reporting for the sports weekly, said “It’s a fine autumn afternoon. A gentle and kind father brought along his two daughters and a sandwich bag. They were sitting behind me. The two sweet girls had two flowers which they intended to throw at their heroes when they appear on the field. “
“While the game was tied at 1-1, the roar of the fans in Amjadieh could be heard from across the city. Iran was attacking with intensity, unfortunately, no visual record or pictures exist as to witnesses to all those offensives except for illustrations by the most widely circulated sporting magazine “Keyhan Varzeshi”.
“A good-hearted Pakistani player wants to dance with Shirzadegan by putting his arms around him in a penalty area. The Referee was not amused with such dance and blows his whistle declaring a penalty for Iran. Tense moments ensued as the crowd went dead silent in anticipation. The Pakistan goalkeeper was attempting to break Shirzadegan’s concentration by his constant lateral moves on the goal line, like a fish. but the Shirzadegan threw his prey the opposite corner and his ball hit the wavy breasts of the nets. “
Despite a 0–1 defeat in Lahore ten days later, Iran qualified to the next round with an aggregate of 4-2. Of the 16 places in Tokyo Olympic Games, Asia had three straight places with Japan’s qualification as host of the Games assured. Of the three teams headed to the Olympics, North Korea won the qualifiers versus Myanmar and Thailand, but eventually refused to participate in the Olympics!
South Korea was eliminated in the first round by China, but the Chinese lost their place because they refused to play in the neutral ground in the next round, and thus the defeated South Korean qualified instead of China. In the next round, the Philippines withdrew so South Korea with just one win and a draw against South Vietnam qualified for the Olympics. It has to be the luckiest qualification for a major tournament ever. However, the result of such a shaky and poor qualification record by the Koreans was evident as they ended up conceding 20 goals in the Olympic Games to gain the title of the weakest Asian teams in the Olympics.
In the last month of autumn, Iran hosted Iraq on in the second round of qualification. Despite the illness of Captain Dehdari, he and his teammates still scored 4 goals in Amjadiah. Hamid Shirzadegan the star of Iranian football those days scored a hat-trick. Mansour Amir Asefi put a sterling performance to be labeled as one of Iran’s greatest right-backs on the day which also witness the dazzling performance by Aziz Asli in goal saving 3 certain scoring chances by the Iraqi team.
Jasemian, Ranjbar, Arab, Jamali, Nourian and Saedi were other Iranian players along with Homayoun Behzadi, a 21-year-old rising star who looked like a lost man on the left-wing rather than his original post.
Iraqi coach Major Adel believed Iran was far ahead of its time. Their goalkeeper Anwar Morad said, “In the first goal I was not out of the 5m line.” Morad did not speak to reporters about the third and fourth goals.
The return match of the two teams took place in the winter in January 1964, the beginning of the Olympic year.
After 40 hours of traveling by train, ship, and bus, the Iranian squad finally arrived in Baghdad
Sahat Al-Kasahfa Stadium in Baghdad hosted the return match in which both teams failed to score. “We could have won, but the desire to score ‘own goal’ eradicated that,” Dehdari said. With the elimination of Iraq, it was time for the ultimate finale game. Whoever wants to qualify for the Olympics must deal with India. Meanwhile, Iran’s coach Hossein Fekri protested: “Everybody wants to play the first match away and the return at home, to compensate any deficit in their own ground, but why is it that Iran hosting always plays the first games home?”
In those days, each team had its own referee. Referees who had no interest in commenting! “India is stronger and if we are to be fair, India should win,” said Provat, an Indian referee.
Shahin players were forming the majority of Team Melli, even with the absence of Parviz Dehdari due to injury, there were still 6 Shahin players in the squad against India. However, after clinching qualification, a dispute between Shain Club and the Federation officials resulted in the dropping of all Shahin players from Team Melli which flew to Tokyo practically reducing the team strength to half!
June 1, one development – Shahin player replaces another. Hamid Barmaki, replaces the injured captain Parviz Dehdari, and soon made the headlines. “When Barmaki opened the scoring against India, I went frantic” Shirzadegan said after the game.
After Barmaki scored, both “Sar Tala’ae” and “Pa “tela’ae” ( Golden head and Golden foot) scored. Homayoun Behzadi and Hamid Shirzadegan were on the scoresheet to compliment Barmaki’s opener.
This would be the last time that Hamid Shirzadegan plays for the national team in this grand old stadium. Amjadiah, the scene of the greatest achievements for Iranian football. In 2007, 43 years after that day, Shirzadegan’s body was buried in the same stadium.
After defeating India, Kayhan Varzeshi wrote “The celebrations of the victory lasted up to the early hours of the morning. It was the awakening until dawn.”
“This is the most glorious day of my life, Bravo Fekri Bravo…!” said Hossain Mobasher, The President of the Iran Football Federation. Mobasher was the nephew of Esmat Dolatshahi’s the last wife of Reza Shah. A month and a half after the Shirzadegan’s passed away, Hossain Mobasher followed him and left the world.
The big margin win by 3 goals was a great result for the away game. On the return match, the Indian spectators had to carry umbrellas to protect themselves against the scorching sun, the headline in the local newspapers declared “The fans were hotter than the scorching sun.”
In the return game in Calcutta, India opened the scoring early through Chuni Goswami, their folk hero, when he struck in the 10th minute. This early goal boosted the Indian players’ hopes and immediately they were looking to increase the tally. India has represented Asia in the last 4 editions of the Olympics and was determined to make it 5 in a row. But Calcutta became the platform for Iran’s qualification to the Olympics. Behzadi scored two goals and Shirzadegan added another to mark a historic day for Iran’s football.
For the first time in history, Iran qualifies for the Olympic Games under the coaching of a local hero Hossein Fekri.
