Aziz Asli, Former Goalkeeper of Iran's Football Team, Passes Away

Aziz Asli Manesh, known as Aziz Asli, the goalkeeper of the Iranian national football team and a veteran of Persepolis Club, passed away on Thursday, April 23, 2015, at the age of 79 in Munich, Germany, after battling an illness. Born on April 4, 1937, in Tabriz, he began his professional football career at the Dariy Club, later joined Shahin Team, and then became the goalkeeper for Persepolis, holding this position until the end of his playing career. A graduate of the Physical Education Teacher Training College, Asli was called up to the national team from Persepolis and served as the national team's goalkeeper for many years. Before turning to football, he had earned titles in wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, and swimming. In 1964, when Iran's football team qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo for the first time, he was the goalkeeper for the team. He also served as the goalkeeper for the national team during the Asian Games in 1963 and 1966. In 1968, Asli helped the Iranian national football team win the Asian Games title by defeating Israel in the final, marking Iran's first official football championship. After this victory, he retired from professional football. Due to his reactions and high jumps, he was nicknamed 'Aziz Fanar' among football fans. Asli was one of the first Iranian athletes to pursue acting in cinema in the 1960s, appearing in eight films including 'Conquerors of the Desert,' 'A Bridge to Paradise,' 'Iron Claw,' 'Tunnel,' 'Noah's Ark,' 'Never Without Love,' 'Goodbye Tehran,' and 'Double Agent.' In the later years of his life spent in Germany, he wrote a book titled 'My Memories' about his life story and biography.