Büyük Vatankhah

Buyuk Vatankhah (Persian: بیوک وطنخواه) or Ezzatollah Vatankhah (Persian: عزت الله وطنخواه) (born February 1, 1943 in Tabriz, Iran) is a retired Iranian football player and currently a scouter. He has played in Rah Ahan, Taj, Shahin and Persepolis.[1] After he retired in 1972, he became manager of Persepolis U20 team and then selected as first-team manager in 1975. He is the first Iranian manager that could win Iranian top division league. His younger brother, Reza, was a team mate at Persepolis for many years.[2]

Buyuk Vatankhah
Personal information
Full name Ezatollah Vatankhah
Date of birth (1943-02-01) February 1, 1943
Place of birth Tabriz, Iran
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre Back
Youth career
1955_1957 Rah Ahan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1958 Rah Ahan 18 (3)
1958–1960 Taj 26 (4)
1960–1967 Shahin 95 (8)
1967–1974 Persepolis 137 (12)
National team
1973–1974 Iran 6 (0)
Teams managed
1975–1976 Persepolis
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Buyuk Vatankhah is part of the first generation of contemporary Iranian football players. According to interviews he has given to Iranian press, football was his passion from an early age, a sentiment which angered his traditional father who wanted his son to pursue more "mainstream" activities. In the early 1950s in Iran, playing football beyond a certain age was very much stigmatised. He was only 17 when he first played for the Iranian national team, and it was only then he told his family about his great passion. His career took off after he began to play for Shahin and then played for Paykan only to later return to Shahin and soon thereafter join the start-up Persepolis. He is one of the original Persepolisis. He continues to live in his beloved Tehran, although he has made many visits to Europe and the Persian Gulf States.

Buyuk has a son, Alex Vatankha, currently a Senior Fellow at Middle East Institute and Jamestown Foundation.

References

Notes

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Alan Rogers
Iran Pro League Winning Manager
1975–76
Succeeded by
Hassan Habibi


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