Iraj Danaeifard (, 11 March 1951 – 12 December 2018) was an Iranian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played most of his career for Taj and also the

Iran national football team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...

Club career

Danaeifard became involved in football at a young age. His father, Ali Danaeifard was one of the founders of

Taj SC Esteghlal Football Club (استقلال), commonly known as Esteghlal (meaning 'The Independence'), is the oldest Iranian professional football club based in Tehran that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1945 as 'T ...

football club. He became famous in Iran while playing for the club, winning the Iranian league in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. He also played for

Oghab F.C. Oghab Tehran Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e 'Qab Tehran'') is an Iranian soccer, football team based in Tehran, Iran. They currently compete in the Tehran Province league and it is owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. History ...

and

Pas F.C. Pas Tehran Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Pas Tehran'') was an Iranian association football, football club based in Tehran, Iran. Pas F.C. was the association football, football club of the multisport club, multisport Pas Cultural and Spo ...

, where he won the Iranian Takht Jamshid in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. In 1977, he returned to Taj. In 1980, he moved to the United States and started playing for the NASL team, the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

. He remained in the club until 1984 when the league folded, and retired from football soon thereafter.

International career

Danaeifard was invited to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

for the first time in 1977 and helped the team qualify for 1978 World Cup. He played well in the tournament and many still remember his goal against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, which was Iran's first goal ever at a World Cup. After the Asian Cup in Kuwait in 1980 and reaching the third place he retired from international football with 17 caps and 3 goals for his country.

Death

Danaeifard died on 12 December 2018 of liver failure. He was 67.

Career statistics

International goals

References

External links

National Team Statistics

Interview with Irankicks.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danaeifard, Iraj 1951 births 2018 deaths Esteghlal F.C. players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1980 AFC Asian Cup players Iranian expatriate men's footballers Iranian men's footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players Iran men's international footballers Footballers from Tehran Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Iranian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Men's association football midfielders Deaths from liver failure 20th-century Iranian sportsmen