Qualification for the 1972 Olympics began with a match at home against Kuwait in a qualification phase that also saw Iraq and North Korea as contenders. With Hejazi in goal, Iran opted for a 4-3-3 formation and began the game with numerous attacks on the Kuwaiti goal. Only 19 minutes was what it took for Iranpak to execute a pinpoint pass to Parvin who slammed his shot past the Kuwaiti goalkeeper. Sensing a one goal lead would not be sufficient, Iran intensified its attacks in the 2nd half and managed to score again through a clever shot by Jabbari. Kuwait tried to get back in the game and reduce the deficit, but its attacks bore no results and Iran won the first leg 2-0. Kuwait would later complain about the quality of the pitch and allege that its players had been poisoned (presumably by Iran) prior to the match.
Kuwait’s inability to host the second leg prompted them to schedule it to be played in Egypt, however, shortly before the game Egypt announced it had to turn down both teams as its fields were occupied by their domestic teams. As a result after a two-week delay the return leg finally took place in Athens, Greece. The 1st half was spent fairly equal for both teams, but in the 2nd half it was Iran who got on the scoreboard. Mazloomi headed Jabbari’s cross for the first goal, while a brilliant pass by Mazloomi enabled Parvin to dribble through two players and double the lead, and ultimately win the series 4-0 on aggregate.
The next, and last, obstacle on the way to the Olympics was North Korea who had eliminated a strong Iraqi side. With only a few changes compared to the Kuwait series, Iran took the field away against the Koreans. An all out defense seemed to be Iran’s game plan with at times 10 players coming back to defend, yet the abundance of Iranian players in their own half meant nothing to the Koreans who would be present in the penalty box almost at will. Numerous shots seemed goal bound but Hejazi had a career game and stuffed one Korean chance after another. To the disbelief of most, the game ended scoreless. Three weeks later everyone was under the impression that as hosts Iran would easily overcome the Korean squad, but it almost turned out to be a repeat of the first leg. In an objectionable performance, Iran was very lucky to escape with another scoreless tie with the ref turning a blind eye to the Korean protests for a penalty kick.
With both games ending in a draw, a third game was scheduled on a neutral site, Pakistan, to determine the winner. A similar lineup yet different team showed up in Pakistan and Iran negated most predictions by scoring in the 1st half with a goal by Iranpak. In the 2nd half, Kalani who had created the 1st goal, this time had the finishing touch on Mazloomi’s pass, thus enabling Iran to defeat North Korea 2-0 and book its ticket to the Olympics where it would face Denmark, Hungary and Brazil.
In between qualification and the Olympics Iran had a coaching change with Ranjbar making way for Mahmood Bayati. In a repeat scenario of the 1964 Olympics, a huge chunk of the team failed to make the trip due to retirements, suspensions and questionable omissions by the coach. This omitted group included Arab, Behzadi, Kalani, Hejazi (reportedly due to preparations for his upcoming wedding), Mazloomi and Haghverdian. With two consecutive losses by 5-0 and 4-0 against Hungary and Denmark Iran was mathematically eliminated.
However, that did not stop Iran from turning a few heads in the final group game. A goal courtesy of Halvaei’s thunderous shot was sufficient to bury the Brazilian squad 1-0. Ghelichkhani also missed out on a chance to double the lead with his missed penalty kick, but in spite of this honorable achievement Iran was sent home after the group stage. While looking back, this result would appear impressive, however, in hindsight this Brazilian squad appeared very weak, finishing in last place in the group with only one point. Two youngsters on the Brazilian team, Falcao and Direcu, would later go on to represent Brazil in multiple World Cups although the lack of professionals in Brazil’s roster contributed to their subpar performance.
Roster: Rashidi, Ghoflsaz, Ashtiani, Kashani, Halvaei, Kargarjam, Allahverdi, Monajati, Ghelichkhani, Parvin, Jabbari, Sadeghi, Vafakhah, Ghorab, Azizi, Iranpak, Sharafi, Khordbin, Lavasani. Coach: Bayati
Kuwait’s inability to host the second leg prompted them to schedule it to be played in Egypt, however, shortly before the game Egypt announced it had to turn down both teams as its fields were occupied by their domestic teams. As a result after a two-week delay the return leg finally took place in Athens, Greece. The 1st half was spent fairly equal for both teams, but in the 2nd half it was Iran who got on the scoreboard. Mazloomi headed Jabbari’s cross for the first goal, while a brilliant pass by Mazloomi enabled Parvin to dribble through two players and double the lead, and ultimately win the series 4-0 on aggregate.
The next, and last, obstacle on the way to the Olympics was North Korea who had eliminated a strong Iraqi side. With only a few changes compared to the Kuwait series, Iran took the field away against the Koreans. An all out defense seemed to be Iran’s game plan with at times 10 players coming back to defend, yet the abundance of Iranian players in their own half meant nothing to the Koreans who would be present in the penalty box almost at will. Numerous shots seemed goal bound but Hejazi had a career game and stuffed one Korean chance after another. To the disbelief of most, the game ended scoreless. Three weeks later everyone was under the impression that as hosts Iran would easily overcome the Korean squad, but it almost turned out to be a repeat of the first leg. In an objectionable performance, Iran was very lucky to escape with another scoreless tie with the ref turning a blind eye to the Korean protests for a penalty kick.
With both games ending in a draw, a third game was scheduled on a neutral site, Pakistan, to determine the winner. A similar lineup yet different team showed up in Pakistan and Iran negated most predictions by scoring in the 1st half with a goal by Iranpak. In the 2nd half, Kalani who had created the 1st goal, this time had the finishing touch on Mazloomi’s pass, thus enabling Iran to defeat North Korea 2-0 and book its ticket to the Olympics where it would face Denmark, Hungary and Brazil.
In between qualification and the Olympics Iran had a coaching change with Ranjbar making way for Mahmood Bayati. In a repeat scenario of the 1964 Olympics, a huge chunk of the team failed to make the trip due to retirements, suspensions and questionable omissions by the coach. This omitted group included Arab, Behzadi, Kalani, Hejazi (reportedly due to preparations for his upcoming wedding), Mazloomi and Haghverdian. With two consecutive losses by 5-0 and 4-0 against Hungary and Denmark Iran was mathematically eliminated.
However, that did not stop Iran from turning a few heads in the final group game. A goal courtesy of Halvaei’s thunderous shot was sufficient to bury the Brazilian squad 1-0. Ghelichkhani also missed out on a chance to double the lead with his missed penalty kick, but in spite of this honorable achievement Iran was sent home after the group stage. While looking back, this result would appear impressive, however, in hindsight this Brazilian squad appeared very weak, finishing in last place in the group with only one point. Two youngsters on the Brazilian team, Falcao and Direcu, would later go on to represent Brazil in multiple World Cups although the lack of professionals in Brazil’s roster contributed to their subpar performance.
Roster: Rashidi, Ghoflsaz, Ashtiani, Kashani, Halvaei, Kargarjam, Allahverdi, Monajati, Ghelichkhani, Parvin, Jabbari, Sadeghi, Vafakhah, Ghorab, Azizi, Iranpak, Sharafi, Khordbin, Lavasani. Coach: Bayati
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