Mohammad Ranjbar (‎; 1 January 1935 – 29 June 2004) was an Iranian

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 lea ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. Ranjbar played for Taj Tehran and Pas Tehran. He was a member and captain of Iran national team. He was also head coach of national team in 1972.

Early years

Ranjbar was born on 1 January 1935 in

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

, Iran and lived in

until end of his high school career. He was joined to the Shahin Kermanshah in 1950. After end of his studying and was moved to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and graduated from Daneshkadeh Afsari.

Club career

Ranjbar joined Taj club in 1956 but left the club to move to PAS Tehran in 1964. He was captain of PAS from 1965 to 1970 when he retired from playing football.

International career

Ranjbar was a member of Iran national military team. In 1959 at the age of 25, Ranjbar was invited to the senior team and was a part of the team in the

1960 AFC Asian Cup The 1960 AFC Asian Cup was the 2nd edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by South Korea from 14 October to 23 October 1960. ...

. After Parviz Dehdari's retirement in 1965, he was captain of the national team for two years. He was retired in 1967 after match against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Coaching career

After his retirement from playing football, Ranjbar began his coaching career as manager of

Iran national under-20 football team Iran national under-20 football team (also known as Iran Under-20, Iran U-20 or Iran Youth Team) represents Iran in international Association football competitions in AFC U-20 Asian Cup and FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any other under-20 inte ...

in 1968. He was selected as assistant coach of the national football team in 1970 and was again selected as this position in 1971 by Parviz Dehdari. After Dehdari's resignation in 1972, Ranjbar was appointed as caretaker manager of the national team which he led to the final victory in

1972 AFC Asian Cup The 1972 AFC Asian Cup was the 5th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), that was hosted in Thailand. The finals were held in Thailand between 7 M ...

. After team's success with Ranjbar, Iran Football Federation appointed Ranjbar as team's head coach and signed a two years contract with him but he was resigned after two months. He was out of football from 1972 to 1985. In 1985, he was appointed as technical manager of Esteghlal. Ranjbar was team manager of the national team in from 1998 to 2002.

Illness and death

On 12 January 2004, 69-year-old Ranjbar suffering from his fatal disease for several months was dispatched to

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany to undergo a surgery but the German doctors preferred not to operate due to his critical conditions. He died on 29 June 2004 and succumbed to his cerebral disorder in Iranmehr hospital, north of

.Iran's football manager Mohammad Ranjbar dies of cerebral disorder
/ref>

Honours

Player

Taj Tehran * Tehran Province League: 1956–1957, 1957–1958, 1959–1960, 1960–61, 1962–63 *

Tehran Hazfi Cup The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Pro League is the highest level of club football in Iran. It is also called ...

: 1958–1959 Pas Tehran * Tehran Province League: 1966–67 Iran * RCD Cup:

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

silver medal:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Manager

Iran *

AFC 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 c ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranjbar, Mohammad 1935 births 2004 deaths Sportspeople from Kermanshah Iranian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Iran men's international footballers Iranian football managers Esteghlal F.C. players Asian Games silver medalists for Iran AFC Asian Cup–winning managers Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1966 Asian Games 1972 AFC Asian Cup managers Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games