Moharrami, Mojtaba

Mojtaba Moharrami (مجتبی محرمی) is an Iranian former football player who played mainly as a left overlapping defender in spite of being right footed. He started on a dirt field of Nazi Abad known as Milan initially also playing as a forward and sometimes goalkeeper. He played both domestically and abroad although his career was interrupted by a few long-term suspensions.

Born in 1964 in Tehran, he started his career with Rah Ahan’s youth team in 1975 before being promoted to the main team in 1978. Moharrami would transfer to Shahin in 1980 and remain with them until 1985-86 season where they would finish runners up. While he mainly featured as a forward, however, an injury to right back Shakoorzadeh prompted the coach to switch Dinvarzadeh from left to right back and for Moharrami to fill in the now vacant left back slot. 

Moharrami would then move to Nirooyeh Zamini during his mandatory military service. Moharrami would play with them until 1988 at which point he would sign with Persepolis where he would stay for the majority of his career.

Moharrami would win the Tehran League Championship in the 1988-89 season. He made his debut with Persepolis in a Hazfi Cup match against Esteghlal in early 1989, scoring the first goal in the shootout win after a 0-0 tie. He would win two more Tehran League Championships in the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons while taking second place in the 1991-92 season.

On a national level Moharrami would reach the 1989-90 Ghods League final but stumble at the last step against rivals Esteghlal. With the second place finish Persepolis would enter Asia’s Cup Winners Cup competition. In the first round for the game in Pakistan against Punjab Moharrami from his defensive position not only managed to participate in the many attacks, but also score 2 goals to ensure a 4-2 victory for Persepolis. However, he went from hero to goat when late in the game he lost his temper and earned himself an unnecessary red card. He would go on the win the whole championship and help Persepolis be crowned as the first Asian Cup Winners Cup championship.

He would collect two more silver medals in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 Azadegan League. In between he would once again reach the Asian Cup Winners Cup final although this time they would be defeated by Japanese side Yokohama Marinos in the championship game. Persepolis would top their group in the 1994-95 Azadegan League and face Esteghlal in the semifinals. In a physical game Persepolis would take the lead through Pious and shortly afterwards double their lead. Following a red card for Persepolis, Esteghlal managed to tie the game in the 87^th minute. After this goal Moharrami and Ghalenoei tussled with each other resulting in Moharrami punching his counterpart, a mass brawl and field invasion. Persepolis would be declared 3-0 losers while Moharrami would face a three year ban (although it was later reduced to 18 months). He would win another Azadegan title in the 1996-97 season.

Moharrami would leave Persepolis in 1997 and make his sole venture abroad signing with Al Arabi of Qatar and at the conclusion of his tenure with them would finally hang up his boots.

Moharrami got his first taste with the national team during the 1988 Asian Championship qualifiers where he played in all 4 games, starting 3, and helping Iran qualify for the finals. At the 1988 Asian Championship he played in 3 out of 6 games, including the semifinals and third place game in which he converted Iran’s first kick in the shootout enroute to a bronze medal.

Moharrami would be a steady presence during the 1990 World Cup qualifiers although just prior to the crucial home and away series against China he would be suspended by the IFF. The only justification that the IFF gave was disciplinary reasons, but soon rumors began to spread that the actual reason was that during a tour of the Soviet Union, some players, including Moharrami, had gone out and had a few alcoholic drinks.  Moharrami vehemently denied the allegations, pointing out the strict supervision of the coach Monajati but the suspension would stand.

Moharrami would net his first national team goal from the spot in late 1989 in the course of a 1-1 tie with Guinea during the Peace and Friendship Cup. With his club coach Parvin also taking over the national team helm, Moharrami was featured heavily into the buildup for the 1990 Asian Games. He would go on to start every game in the finals although in the semifinals against South Korea he would intercept a harmless ball in midfield with an intentional handball thus earning himself a yellow card and combined with his yellow card in the previous game against Japan, he would serve his suspension in the Final. He would make up for this move in overtime by launching a ball into the Korean box as the defenders were pushing up. Ghayeghran’s perfectly timed run kept him onside as he collected the ball on his chest and chipped the keeper for a 1-0 win. Moharrami, along with the rest of the team would win gold against North Korea.

Moharrami would play in both legs of the 1991 Afro-Asian Cup where Iran would come up short against Algeria on away goals. The following year Moharrami would not only play both qualifiers for the 1992 Asian Championship against Pakistan and India but also score in each match. He would also convert against Cameroon from the spot in a 1-1 tie in preparation for the 1992 Asian Championship. 

He would take part in all 3 of Iran’s matches during the finals although it would be the last match against hosts Japan that would generate the most headlines. Late in the game, Moharrami tangled with a Japanese player and was brought down, laying there injured. He was carried off the field and as he received treatment the ref came over and issued him a puzzling yellow card. Once Iran conceded, a mele occurred as players objected to Mohammadkhani’s red card. Moharrami, who was standing behind Kermani Moghaddam, kicked the ref from in between Kermani Moghaddam's legs for which the ref ejected Pious (who bore some resemblance to Kermani Moghaddam). Subsequently Moharrami would once again express his frustration, this time at the delaying tactics of Ramos, by grabbing and pulling the opponent’s hair. After the tournament, the AFC issued a one year suspension to Moharrami in addition to Mohammadkhani, Kermani Moghaddam, Shahmohammadi and Pious in spite of footage showing he was not the player who had kicked the referee.

Due to his suspension Moharrami would not play a role in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers but he would be recalled for the 1994 Asian Games. Once again Iran would underperform and be eliminated in group play. Moharrami would start against Turkmenistan and come off the bench and score against Yemen in a disappointing campaign.

Moharrami would not play a part in the 1996 Asian Championship qualifiers although he would be included in the final roster for the 1996 Asian Championship. He would serve as a bit player although he would captain the team in the first round game against Thailand. With the semifinals against Saudi Arabia inching towards a penalty shootout, it was expected that Moharrami would be subbed in to take one of the kicks although ultimately he wasn’t. He would be subbed in late for the third place match against Kuwait and would take Iran’s first kick in the shootout which hit the post. Moharrami would be criticized for laughing after missing his shot although he later explained, “Against Saudi Arabia people were chanting my name to take one of our penalty kicks and when I didn’t and we ended up losing they blamed the coach for not picking me. My reaction to my missed kick against Kuwait was essentially me rhetorically asking this is what you guys wanted?” He would win another bronze medal with Iran and bring his national team career to a close.

Following his retirement Moharrami would dabble into coaching by taking the reins of Steel Azin and Persepolis’s youth Team.