Mr. Sartolayi, creator of 'Shish Tay 52', has passed away

Homayoun Behzadi, a star of the Iranian national football team in the 1960s, passed away early Friday at the age of 73. He had been hospitalized at home due to lung disease. Emergency nurses attempted resuscitation for 40 minutes, but ultimately, at 1 AM, the golden head of Iranian football closed his eyes to the world. His father was an army officer, and Homayoun was born in the winter of 1941 during his father's mission in Khorramabad. He began playing football in Tehran at the youth levels in Shahin Club and the 'Parastouye Shahin' team under the coaching of Hassan Fakhri on a dirt field that is now a parking lot. From there, he moved to Koulak, which was also chosen by Dr. Ekrami, the founder of the club and the Shahin football school. Abbas Hajari, a star forward of Shahin, was not good at heading the ball. Ekrami decided to make a header out of him. He dedicated three months of summer to special training with Homayoun and developed a central defender into a ruler of space against opponents' goals. Training with double jumps under the basketball hoop and learning the three-step jump made Homayoun unmanageable for Iranian football defenders. He played for a long time in the central midfield and left midfield positions, although his right foot was his specialized foot. The structure of Shahin Club was so modern and systematic that Behzadi said he was first invited to the national team and then allowed to play for Shahin! In 1962, he played in his first official national match against Iraq. He had been invited to the national team earlier, but due to his young age, his mother did not agree to his travel abroad. In the game against Iraq, he was alongside his best partner of his football era, Hamid Shirzadegan. Homayoun became famous by the nickname 'Sartolayi', and Shirzadegan was called 'Patolayi' in Iranian football. The duo opened the opponent's goal in both legs of the decisive match against India in the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in June 1964. After that, the dissolution of Shahin was on the way, a topic that still generates contradictory statements even half a century later. Homayoun Behzadi, who was a literature graduate and a writer, published a note five years after the dissolution of his team in the 21st issue of Kayhan Varzesh magazine in November 1972. 'When I came home, I saw my wife holding her head between her hands and crying heavily. I was terrified that something had happened to our child, but seeing him playing in the yard somewhat relieved me. I asked my wife if my parents were okay? While crying loudly, she said: Homayoun, Shahin has closed down.' In the following days, on some days, Dr. Boroumand and sometimes Homayoun himself trained the dissolved Shahin on its dirt field. Meanwhile, Shirzadegan Patolayi went to America for education and to continue football. The Iranian national team also performed brilliantly against Turkey in the Regional Development Cup. He was a member of Shahin from his youth until the day of its dissolution. Then he wore the Persepolis jersey, during which numerous Shahin fans initially supported Persepolis by cheering the name Shahin. Behzadi wrote about the spirit of Shahin residing in the body of Persepolis: 'The kids were tired of this situation. We collectively went to Persepolis. Mr. Abdeh said about his philosophy for forming this team: 'Out of love for the youth of this country, my goal is that these comrades do not fall apart at any cost.' We all loved and will love Abdeh and Persepolis. As long as the club wants, we will remain loyal to it under any circumstances.' Homayoun was the spearhead of the national team in the 1968 Asian Cup and one of the main reasons for Iran's championship. The first championship in the Cup that continued for a decade afterward. Sartolayi was injured before the final against Israel. The coach, Bayati, says: 'I kept Homayoun as a reserve because he was injured. Before the game started, he began to fidget until the spectators made noise, and I had to send him in. I told him to sit still and not move from his place.' From the stands, Mostafa Makri, the president of the federation, requested Behzadi's entry, but 'I told Makri I wouldn’t. When the time comes, I will send Homayoun in.' The time came. The expulsion of an opposing player and the entry of Homayoun Behzadi changed the course of the match, and in the 75th minute of this controversial game, he opened the goal against Israel. Sartolayi stood at the top of the scoring table with 4 goals, surpassing Israeli Giura Ashpigl, one of the most prominent players in Asian football at the time. Persepolis also won their first cup in 1971. Those same kids who had become champions of the cup four years earlier with Shahin. On the opening day of Aryamehr Stadium, 80,000 people came to see the first game in the history of this stadium. Cruzeiro played against Persepolis. The Brazilians won 4-2. Homayoun Behzadi and Safar Iranpak were the first Iranian players to score in this stadium. In the historic derby of 1973, which ended with a 6-0 victory for Persepolis and the slogan 'Shish Tay 52' became a chant for fans for decades, Homayoun Behzadi scored a hat trick, and two goals were scored by Iraj Soleimani, neither of whom are alive today. Among the six goal scorers of the derby in September 1973, only Hossein Ali Kalani is alive. On November 17, 1975, the game against Naftanik Baku was Homayoun Behzadi's farewell ceremony from the field. He retired in Amjadieh while holding the record for national goals, with a simple ceremony. However, bitter moments were ahead. After the revolution, Behzadi was arrested on charges of collaborating with SAVAK. He himself said on September 7, 2014, to ISNA: 'The day after the revolution, Provez Badpa, a famous boxer, broke into my house with five knife-wielding men. I was released a day after my arrest, but Badpa came again, and this time I went for good. I was in Qasr prison for five months. I had no complainant, nothing was proven, and I was released.' Now the titles Sartolayi and Patolayi, belonging to Homayoun Behzadi and Hamid Shirzadegan, were considered 'symbols of the tyrannical regime.' Behzadi said: 'I only have one gold ring, which is my wedding ring. The title Sartolayi was given to me in Amjadieh.' After the revolution, the statement of young Esteghlal striker Abdolali Chengiz appeared on the cover of Kayhan Varzesh, saying: 'Come and see, we are not Sartolayi and Patolayi.' Behzadi was for a long time responsible for the veterans' committee in the football federation, a committee that spent most of its time holding funerals for football veterans from Shiroodi Stadium. He humorously said: 'I am the president of the federation of the deceased.' He said: 'We were with the national team and Persepolis day and night. We gave everything we had to Persepolis, and now I don’t know what is happening. When I retired, I went to the veterans' team and organized this team. My wife washed the veterans' clothes.' ISNA asked him: When was the last time the Persepolis officials came to visit you? - No one has come to this house. Hours after Homayoun Behzadi's death, Mohammad Zadmohar said in a meeting attended by Persepolis greats that it was decided that if approved and permitted, his funeral would be held in front of Shiroodi Stadium with a lap of honor on the field. If permission is not granted, the ceremony will be held at Azadi Stadium.