Khodadad Azizi
: the hero of Melbourne. Azizi ensured that his name will
be remembered for a long time in history when he scored the equalizer
against Australia to clinch the last World Cup spot of 1998 tournament
for his country. Azizi talents was evident from early ages. He was
picked for the Youth National team. He was picked up several times after
his debut but the most powerful impact was during the Asian Cup in UAE
in 1996.
Along with a relatively young Iranian team under the leadership of
Mayeli-Kohan, Azizi and co excelled in Emirates. They eventually
clinched the third place after winning the match against Kuwait. the
biggest result of the tournament for Azizi and Iran was the humiliation
of Republic of Korea 6-2 and the clean sheet defeat of Saudi Arabia (
the Eventual champion) 3-0 in group matches.
After the World Cup and victory against USA, Azizi went on to join
several clubs abroad. From Germany he moved to USA and back east to UAE
before finally settling down at Pas Club in Tehran.
Azizi's undoubted talent and crowd pleasing moves have been tarnished by
his frequent bust ups with the hierarchy and the press.
