September 18, 2003

I would like to nominate Buyuk Vatankhah as the Iranian of the Day. He is part of the first generation of contemporary Iranian football players. Football was his passion from an early age, a sentiment which angered his traditional father who wanted his son to pursue more "mainstream" activities. In the early 1950s in Iran, football was very much stigmatised. He began his career with Shahin and then played for Paykan only to later return to Shahin and soon thereafter join the start-up Persepolis. He is one of the original Persepolisis. He was only 17 when he first played for the Iranian national team. He played for Persepolis for many years and later took over as the coach of the team. His younger brother, Reza Vatankhah, was a team mate for many years. In his sixties, he is still toop mizaneh, touring Iran with the other Pishkesvatan. Agha Buyuk damet garm!

Persepolis-dust

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