Mehrab Shahrokhi ( fa, محراب شاهرخی; February 2, 1944 – February 1, 1993) was an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He was an Afro-Iranian from

Khuzestan Province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it cover ...

. He was nicknamed ''The Black Bomber'' ( fa, بمب افکن سیاه, links=no) because of his style of play and dark skin and his strong kicks.

Club career

Shahrokhi began his football career in his birthplace,

Ahvaz Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is home ...

, playing for Shenaye Ahvaz Club. In 1963 he moved to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

and began playing for

Shahin F.C. Shahin Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال شاهین تهران, Shāhīn meaning '' Falcon''), also spelled Shaahin or Shaheen, from 1973 to 1979 known as Shahbaz ( fa, شهباز, Shahbāz, meaning '' Shahbaz''), is an Iranian ...

Shahrokhi left for Daraei F.C. in 1966, after problems with Shahin's management. His spell at Darei was short-lived, moving first to Paykan F.C. and then to Persepolis F.C. There he could win the Iranian championship in 1972 and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

. He continued playing with Persepolis until 1974 and retired from football in 1975.

International career

While still in Ahvaz, in 1963 Shahrokhi was invited to join the

Iranian national football team ) ''(the national team)' other nicknames'' , Badge = Flag_of_Iran.svg , Badge_size = 190px , Association = Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran , FIFA Trigramme = IRN , FIFA Rank ...

. He was to participate in the football tournament of the 1964 Summer Olympics, but he missed out after boycotting the team along with a number of other Shahin players. They refused to accompany the national team because the national team director — a fan of Shahin's rival, Daraei F.C. — had decided to drop several Shahin players from the squad in favor of Daraei players. A number of players including Shahrokhi were banned from any involvement in football for one year. In 1968, he won with the national team its first major title, the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

in Iran.

Retirement

In 1976 came Shahrokhi's debut in

Iranian cinema The Cinema of Iran (Persian language, Persian: سینمای ایران), also known as the Cinema of Name of Iran, Persia, refers to the cinema and film industries in Iran which produce a variety of commercial films annually. Iranian art films ha ...

, acting in a movie called ''Alafhaye Harz''. Acting was not his passion though, and he became the manager of several teams after retirement, but was not able to achieve anything impressive, as the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

and

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...

caused football's presence to diminish in 1980s Iran.

Death

Shahrokhi died on February 1, 1993.

References

* Iranian footballers Iran international footballers Association football defenders Shahin FC players Persepolis F.C. players Paykan F.C. players 1943 births 1993 deaths Persepolis F.C. managers Asian Games silver medalists for Iran Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games 1968 AFC Asian Cup players Iranian football managers Iranian people of African descent Sportspeople from Khuzestan province {{Iran-footy-bio-stub