Azizi, Khodadad

Khodadad Azizi (خداداد عزیزی) is a former player who played as a striker. Born in 1971 in Khorasan, he embarked on a playing career that took him to Germany, the US, the UAE and Austria in addition to a number of clubs in Iran’s domestic league. Internationally he represented Iran both at the youth level and full side before beginning his coaching career.

Growing up Azizi played soccer with mismatched pair of shoes and at the age of 11, he worked as a construction worker with his brother to support himself. In high school, he was expelled from Haj Taqi Agha Bozorg High School for insulting the sports teacher. Aziz began his career with the youth team of Abu Moslem in 1983 and managed to make the main squad in 1988, making his senior debut in the 1990–91 season at age 19, initially appearing in the Hazfi Cup before featuring in league play. He would become known to Tehrani teams during a match against Persepolis where in spite of his youth he was trusted with a penalty kick which Persepolis keeper Azizian saved.

In 1992 he would join Fath of Tehran as part of his military service although his start was not without incident. While getting permission to return to Mashad, Abu Moslem players convinced him to join them for their match against Persepolis. He would travel to Tehran and remain hidden in the team’s lodging house (by his own account in a closet) as military units searched for him and announced through loudspeakers that if he took the field the following day he would be arrested. Predicting they would not go through with this in front of spectators, Azizi made up for his prior gaffe by scoring from a tight angle in Abu Moslem’s 1-1 tie. At the conclusion of the game and while in the stadium locker room he would be detained. While his time with Fath was not too memorable, with the team failing to advance from Tehran’s League Championship to the National League, however, behind 2 goals by Azizi Fath managed to demolish Persepolis 6-0 in the 1994 National Cup.

Following the completion of his military service in 1995 Azizi signed with Bahman. He would once again torment Persepolis early in the season when he would dribbled through 3 Persepolis players before beating Abedzadeh to score the opening goal in an ultimate 2-1 win. Bahman would finish the 1995-96 season runners up behind Persepolis.

The following year he would be loaned to Persepolis to strengthen their squad for the Asian Club Championship. He would suit up for Persepolis 4 times, scoring just as many goals. His goals against Saudi Arabia’s Al Nasr and Bahrain’s Al Rayyan (twice) enabled Persepolis to advance to the semifinals. He would score once again against South Korean outfit Pohang Steelers in a 3-1 losing effort.

In the summer of 1997 the World All Star selection defeated an Asian All Star selection for which Azizi not only played for but also scored and assisted on one of the games. This game, recognition as the 1996 Asian Player of the Year, and his displays in the previous year’s 1996 Asian Championship and the 1998 World Cup qualifiers drew the attention of Bundesliga club FC Koln. He would feature in 20 Bundesliga matches during the 1997-98 season, where he scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists, contributing to Koln's efforts despite their eventual relegation. The following year in the 2. Bundesliga, Azizi became a regular starter, appearing in 27 league games and netting 4 goals. His time at Koln tapered off in the 1999–2000 season, limited to just 3 appearances and 1 goal in the league amid reported struggles with form and team integration which prompted his departure. as Koln ultimately secured promotion back to the top flight. Disagreements and altercations between Azizi, his teammates, coaching staff and even fans made him disposable to the club midway through the 1999-2000 season.

A US tour by Iran’s national team in January of 2000 peaked the interest of MLS clubs. “After I saw all the Iranian fans [in California during Iran’s three-game tour in January], I made up my mind to join MLS,” Azizi said. “Hopefully I can be one of the better players [in the league].” Ultimately Azizi joined the San Jose Earthquakes in MLS for the 2000 season. In spite of a lingering hamstring injury that restricted his play, he contributed 20 regular-season appearances, 3 goals, and 4 assists and was selected to the MLS All-Star team. At the end of the season his club failed to make the playoffs and a personal low point for Azizi in April when a confrontation with an opponent’s defender and goalkeeper evolved into a shoving match in which Azizi was given his marching orders.

In early 2001, Azizi briefly moved to Al-Nasr in the  UAE League, where he made 10 appearances and scored 2 goals before departing back to domestic football by signing with Pas of Tehran. He would spend the next four seasons contributing significantly to the club's campaigns in the Persian Gulf Pro League. Although during his time in early 2003 with Pas he would also face a lengthy suspension after an altercation with a Foolad player. Over 82 appearances from 2001 to 2005, he scored 23 goals and provided 6 assists, helping Pas secure the league title in the 2003–04 season. He would play the following season with Pas while simultaneously lining up for them in the initial matches of the 2005 AFC Champions League where Pas advanced out of its group before losing on away goals in the quarterfinals.

In spring of 2005, at age 34, Azizi attempted a short return to European football with Admira Wacker in Austria's Bundesliga. His stay with just a few months and he did not get any playing time during that stretch. He then joined Oghab of Tehran for a brief spell from September to November 2005, marking another short domestic interlude. Azizi concluded his playing career with Rah Ahan FC, signing in late December 2005 and remaining until the end of the 2005–06 season, where he appeared in 11 matches and scored 2 goals. He announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the season at age 35.

Azizi experienced international play with the U23 team during the unsuccessful qualifiers for the 1992 Olympics where he would score 2 goals. He would get his first taste with the full national team in the buildup towards the 1992 Asian Championship although ultimately he wouldn’t make the cut. He would be ignored for almost 4 years before being selected for the 1996 Asian Championship in spite of not playing in any of its qualifiers. Azizi would score against Saudi Arabia and South Korea enroute to a third place finish. A questionable offside call on him in the semifinals against Saudi Arabia robbed Iran of a place in the Final. He would be voted the tournament’s MVP.

Azizi would feature prominently in Iran’s qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup. While he would score 5 goals in the first round, however, he would hit a dry spell as Iran finished behind Saudi Arabia in the second round and as such was sent to a one-off playoff match against Japan. He would score an equalizer although Japan would come back to win the game and force an intercontinental playoff against Australia. In the first leg in Tehran Australia would score first but Azizi would tie the score, lunging in at the near post before halftime.

In the return match in Australia, after falling behind 2-0 Azizi dribbled into the box and after going down, losing possession and some pinball amongst other players, the ball kindly fell to him for him to scoop it to Bagheri for Iran’s first goal. A few minutes later a towering header won at the back falls to Daei. He spun, spotted Azizi, and threaded a perfectly-weighted slide pass to send Azizi one-on-one with Bosnich. The Aston Villa keeper slides at his feet, but Azizi jinks it past him for the equalizer and important away goal that clinched qualification for Iran after the 2-2 tie.

At the 1998 World Cup Azizi would start all 3 games. Against Yugoslavia he would provide three brilliant passes to Mahdavikia and Minavand only for them to miss near certain goals. Afterwards Azizi would claim that if Iran wasn’t better than Yugoslavia that day, they certainly were not worse and the loss was not justified. Against the US Azizi had a brilliant one-on-one where it seemed like the keeper took him down inside the box although the referee would allow play to continue. Iran would win 2-1 with a chance to advance going into the final group game. Against Germany Azizi was chopped down by the German defense and the resulting freekick almost led to a goal as the German keeper spilled it although ultimately it was contained. His brilliant backheel in the second half fell perfectly for Mahdavikia in the box but the German defense were up to the task. A 2-0 loss would spell the end of Iran’s World Cup adventure.

Azizi would not be called up for the 1998 Asian Games or the qualifiers for the 2000 Asian Championship. He would be present in the 2000 Asian Championship when in the opening game against hosts Lebanon Azizi would come off the bench and dance through the Lebanese defense to provide Estili a pass that would double Iran’s lead. In the second match against Thailand Azizi would once again provide an assist as his freekick was headed in by Daei in a 1-1 draw. He would not feature in the last group game or the quarterfinal against South Korea as a loss against the Koreans eliminated Iran.

A new coach for the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup resulted in a clash of personalities with Azizi sparring with the new coach over his shirt number (11) being given to a different player. As a result Azizi would not be included in any of the qualifying games and in fact would not represent the national team until a few friendlies in 2003. During the first round of qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup, a home loss against Jordan put Iran in a desperate situation and finally Azizi was recalled. He lined up in the 2-0 away win against Jordan and then came on as a late sub against Qatar with the game tied. While he would have a goal called back for offside, however, he would provide an assist for the game winner in the 90^th minute for Iran to win 3-2. In spite of his heroics, he would not see anymore playing time with the national team although he would make the bench for a few of the next round of qualifiers.

Following his retirement from professional football at the conclusion of the 2005–06 season, Azizi entered coaching with his appointment as manager of Abu Moslem in December 2006.His next role would come in July 2008 with Payam of Mashad, another short-lived stint that ended in August after just a few weeks which included a physical altercation with a reporter resulting in a one-year suspension and monetary fine. A few more short term positions followed including Esteghlal of Ahvaz, a second stint with Abu Moslem, Shahrdari of Tabriz, Siah Jamegan, Sepidrood of Rasht and Shahr Khodro. In spite of the many short term coaching positions, Azizi joined the Iran national team's coaching staff as a technical coach under head coach Amir Ghalenoei in the summer of 2023 although he would step down before the end of the year. In 2025 he would take the reins of Tractorsazi of Tabriz although his time there would not be without controversy. After using inappropriate language on a live interview Azizi would get fined for reacting to opposing fans by grabbing his genitals.