Khodadad Azizi


Khodadad Azizi is an Iranian retired professional football striker and coach.

Club career

After 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 German Bundesliga.
Having played for three seasons in 1. FC Köln, he signed a contract with California-based club San Jose Earthquakes. In 2001, Khodadad Azizi was transferred to the UAE club, Al Nasr, before returning to Iran and joining Pas Tehran.
In 2005, he signed for Admira Wacker in the Austrian Bundesliga. 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.

Retirement

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. 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.

International career

Azizi 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.

International goals

NoDateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 December 1996Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, UAE?3–03–01996 AFC Asian Cup
2.16 December 1996Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, UAE?2–26–21996 AFC Asian Cup
3.21 April 1997Sahand, Tabriz, Iran?1–03–0Friendly
4.2 June 1997Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria?5–017–01998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
5.2 June 1997Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria?6–017–01998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
6.9 June 1997Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran?3–13–11998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
7.11 June 1997Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran?9–09–01998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
8.16 November 1997Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru, Malaysia?1–12–31998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
9.22 November 1997Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran?1–11–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.29 November 1997Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia?2–22–21998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Coaching career

In 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

Club