Mazloomi, Gholam Hossein

Gholam Hossein Mazloomi (غلام حسین مظلومی), nicknamed Sar Talaei (Golden Head), was an Iranian football player, coach and football administrator. Born in 1950 in Abadan, he spent his career in Iran and the UAE playing as a forward for Taj of Abadan, Taj of Tehran (currently Esteghlal), Shahbaz, Al Wasl and Shahin.

After turning heads in school competitions, Mazloomi signed with Taj of Abadan at the age of 15. Following some heroic displays in the 1969 Asian Youth Championship in Bangkok, he would transfer to Taj of Tehran. He would finish runner up in the Tehran Cup before also winning India’s invitational Delhi Cloth Mills Cup and adding another silver medal from Tehran’s League. He would score the lone goal in the Tehran derby against Persepolis in a match that would ultimately go unfinished with 8 minutes remaining.

A successful year would follow as he would earn a barrage of gold medals in the 1970 Asian Club Championship (scoring 5 goals in the process), the 1970 Delhi Cloth Mills Cup, the 1970-71 Iranian League and 1970-71 Tehran League, where he would once again score against Persepolis. 

Taj would not be able to replicate their continental championship and finished third in the subsequent 1971 Asian Club Championship with Mazloomi scoring twice in the preliminary round and once in the 3^rd place match. He would also pick up a bronze medal in the 1971-72 Iranian League Championship in addition to a third Delhi Cloth Mills Cup championship and a Tehran Friendship Cup. He would take part in the 1972 Delhi Cloth Mills Cup as well but as a result of fixture congestion, Taj would desert the competition in the semifinal stage in spite of Mazloomi’s 6 goals in the 3 games played. He would win the 1972-73 Tehran League before the establishment of the national Takht Jamshid Cup.

The Takht Jamshid Cup would debut in the 1973-74 season with 12 teams. Taj would finish in second place, two points behind Persepolis although Mazloomi would score against the eventual champions. While Mazloomi would fall behind Malavan’s Jahani for the goal scoring title in the first half of the season, he would catch up in the second to last game and ultimately become the top scorer with 15 goals. 

The following season Mazloomi would compete with Espandar, another Malavan player, and while they would end up tied at 10 goals to share the goalscoring title, Mazloomi would win the national championship with Taj. Him and his club would have a sub par 1975-76 season with Taj finishing a distant fourth and Mazloomi netting only 8 goals, two of them against Persepolis. Disagreements with his coach prompted Mazloomi to leave Taj and sign for Shahbaz.

The change of scenery suited Mazloomi well and while Shahbaz would finish in third place, Mazloomi would score a record 19 goals, more than twice as many goals as his nearest competitor (Jahani). In a game against Behshahr of Rey in the National Cup, he would score 6 goals in a 12-1 victory. Mazloomi extended his goal scoring streak into the 1977-78 season but only 3 games in he would suffer an injury against Sepahan and require surgery. While he would ultimately return to the field mid season, however, a subsequent injury with 3 games remaining ended his season prematurely and would once again land him on the operation table. He would score a mere 3 goals this season. 

The 1978-79 season, the last of the Takht Jamshid Cup, would  go unfinished after 12 weeks. Mazloomi would have a slow return to the field starting from the ninth week, playing bit parts against Persepolis, Homa and Pas and one full game against Rastakhiz. His output would be limited to a single goal. Upon the dissolution of the Takht Jamshid Cup, Shahbaz topped the table while Mazloomi would end up as its all-time top scorer with 56 goals. 

He would play a final season with Al Wasl of the UAE, scoring 9 goals and winning the UAE Cup. He would then return to Shahbaz/Shahin for a lone appearance in the 1979 Shahid Espandi Tournament before finally hanging up his boots at age 28.

Mazloomi received his first international experience during the 1969 AFC Youth Championship where he would score 6 goals and ultimately win bronze medals.  Later that year he would receive his first adult cap against Pakistan. While he would be absent from Iran’s roster for the 1970 Asian Games, however, he would take part in the 1970 AFC Youth Championship and while Iran would be eliminated in the quarterfinals, Mazloomi would once again bag 6 goals. In 1971 he would win gold in the Cyrus International Tournament in Tehran. While only taking the field in 2 games (including the final), Mazloomi would score against a Czechoslovak selection in what he would later describe as the most beautiful goal he had ever scored.

Mazloomi would take part in qualification for the 1972 Olympics, scoring once and assisting twice in Iran’s successful campaign. 

Mazloomi would line up for Iran in the 1972 Asian Championship, coming on as a sub after Thailand’s second goal. While much of the attention regarding this match circled around Jabbari and his hatrick that overturned the 2-0 deficit, however, Mazloomi’s presence jumpstarted the comeback with a move that initiated an attack that rattled the post. He would also come on as a sub in the semifinals against Cambodia where after only a minute on the field he drew a penalty which resulted in Ghelichkhani’s match winning goal. He would start the Final and assist on Jabbari’s opening goal enroute to Iran’s second consecutive championship. As Asian Champions Iran and Mazloomi would take part in the Brazil Independence Cup where he would play in all 4 games. Subsequently he would not make the 1972 Olympics roster due to injury.

Mazloomi would be recalled to the national team during the 1974 World Cup qualifiers and play in both legs against Australia. In the return match with Iran needing a 3-goal win, Mazloomi set up Ghelichkhani for Iran’s second goal, however, the third goal would elude them and Iran would fail to qualify. 

The following year he would line up for Iran and win the 1974 Iran International Tournament against foreign opposition, scoring the lone against the Soviet Union’s U23 team in the process and a goal from the spot in the shootout in the Final. Later that year he would not only win the 1974 Asian Games but also end up as top scorer with 5 goals.

Mazloomi would go on the score 4 goals in 4 games to enable qualification for the 1976 Olympics. He would play in the 1975 Iran International Tournament although in this edition he would go scoreless while Iran would be eliminated in group play. Iran would host the 1976 Asian Championship and would win all 4 games via 4 shutouts to win a third championship. Mazloomi would end up joint top scorer with 3 goals. In the 1976 Olympics Mazloomi would score once against Cuba and also draw a penalty against the Soviet Union in Iran’s quarterfinal finish.

Mazloomi would take part in the early stages of 1978 World Cup qualification, particularly a 3-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia where he would score twice and assist once. However, injuries would prevent him from contributing to the second round of qualification and ultimately the 1978 World Cup itself. He would end his national team career with 19 goals in 42 games.

Following his retirement, he became head coach of Esteghlal's youth team in 1980. In 1988, he was promoted as first team manager, replacing Abbas Razavi. Esteghlal finished third in Mazloomi's first season in charge. He left the club after two games in his second season and was replaced with Mansour Pourheidari. He later managed Iran’s U20 team, Esteghlal of Ahvaz, Moghavemat of Tehran, Petroshimi of Mahshahr and Payam of Tehran. He was elected as chairman of Shahin of Bushehr in July of 2011 but would resign 2 years later due to illness. Mazloomi was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2012 and would pass away on November 19, 2014 in Naja Hospital in Tehran.