Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh

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Personal information
Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh
Date of birth	May 25, 1966
Place of birth	Abadan, Iran
Height	1.95m
Position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Retired
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1983-1985 1985-1987 1987-1989 1989-1990 1990-1993 1993-1994 1994-2000	Tam Isfahan Isfahan Selection Gendarmerie Tehran Tam Isfahan Esteghlal FC Sepahan Persepolis FC	? (0) ? (0) ? (0) ? (0) ? (0) ? (?) 91 (0)
National team**
1987-1998	Iran	79 (0)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 October 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 8 October 2006.

Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh (Persian: احمدرضا عابدزاده ‎ , born 25 May 1966) is an Iranian football player who was a goalkeeper for Esteghlal FC, Persepolis later in his career, and Iranian national football team. Without any questions Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh is one of the best known goalkeepers in Iranian football history. His spirit and quick moves led Iran to the World Cup 1998 and his fantastic saves helped Iran attain respectable results in the tournament. He is currently the Iran national under-23 football team goalkeeping coach.

1 Statistics
2 Later years
3 Legacy
4 External link

[edit] Statistics

Number of International Caps: 79

First International Cap: February 27, 1987 Iran Vs. Kuwait 2-1

Last International Cap: June 25, 1998 Iran Vs. Germany 0-2

[edit] Later years

Unfortunately Abedzadeh suffered a stroke in 2002 and that was the point in which he let go of professional soccer. During his time in the hospital, many of his loyal fans and most of Iran prayed for him to be better. He was released some weeks later, but required a number of surgeries after, and even to this day, he has side effects from his stroke.

On January 13, 2006, Abedzadeh had his farewell game, playing for Iranian giants and his former club Persepolis FC in a friendly match against Bayern Munich.

[edit] Legacy

Dubbed the "Eagle of Asia" for his ability to protect the net, his international career stretched for an illustrious 11 years, a tenure that provided stability and uncanny leadership. His goalkeeping legacy in Iran is only rivalled by Nasser Hejazi.

[edit] External link

RSSSF archive of Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh's international appearances

	Iran squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup
1 Abedzadeh \| 2 Mahdavikia \| 3 Saadavi \| 4 Khakpour \| 5 Peyrovani \| 6 Bagheri \| 7 Mansourian \| 8 Dinmohammadi \| 9 Estili \| 10 Daei \| 11 Azizi \| 12 Nakisa \| 13 Latifi \| 14 Mohammadkhani \| 15 Ostad‑Asadi \| 16 Shahroudi \| 17 Zarincheh \| 18 Hamedani \| 19 Seraj \| 20 Pashazadeh \| 21 Minavand \| 22 Boromand \| Coach: Talebi