Mohammad Reza Adelkhani

Reza Adelkhani

Adelkhani before Shahbaz's match against Persepolis at Aryamehr Stadium in April 1978
Personal information
Full name	Mohammad Reza Adelkhani
Date of birth	(1947-02-13) February 13, 1947
Place of birth	Tehran, Iran
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1960–1962	Taj
1962–1964	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1964–1966	Bayern Munich
1966–1968	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen
1968–1969	Wuppertaler SV	41	(6)
1969–1970	Bonner SC
1970–1971	SG Wattenscheid 09
1971–1972	VfL Klafeld-Geisweid
1972–1976	Taj
1976–1977	Shahbaz
1977–1979	Taj
International career
1973–1978	Iran	17	(2)
Medal record Representing Iran Asian Games 1974 Tehran Team Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mohammad Reza Adelkhani (Persian: محمدرضا عادلخانی, born February 13, 1947, in Tehran, Iran) is a retired Iranian footballer and former Iran national football team player.

Adelkhani achieved the UEFA Pro Licence, the first Iranian to do so.

Early life

He was born on 13 February 1947 in Tehran, Iran. He began playing in football in 1960 playing at Shahin.

Club career

Adelkhani played for SG Wattenscheid 09, Wuppertaler SV, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, Bayern Munich and VfL Klafeld-Geisweid before moving back to Iran. He was the first Iranian player to move to Europe to play football. When he was in Turkey with Taj SC for a friendly match, German talent scouts saw his performance and signed him for Bayern Munchen.

Adelkhani's first senior club in Iran was Taj SC with whom he reached champion title in the Iranian league in Takht Jamshid Cup. He then joined Shahbaz F.C., where he reached third place in the Iranian league in 1976/77.

International career

Between 1973 and 1978, he played 17 times for the national team and scored 2 goals.

Iranian football fans will never forget the Asian football Olympic final 1974 in Aryamehr Stadium between Iran and Israel, in which Adelkhani forced Shum's own goal, which led Iran to win this tournament.

He was part of the Iran squad that qualified for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. However, an injury he sustained while saving his young daughter from falling down the stairs kept him out of the competition.

He was a left-footed player.