Former Esteghlal Coach, Player Mansour Pourheidari Dies

Mansour Pourheidari, the veteran Iranian football coach, manager and former player of Esteghlal football club passed away on November 4 in Tehran at the age of 71.

Suffering from cancer, Pourheidari was hospitalized several times in the past year. Last week, he was taken to the ICU at Iranmehr Hospital due to severe lung infection. He passed away on Friday, varzesh3.com reported. 

One of the most popular figures among football enthusiasts in Iran, especially Esteghlal fans, Pourheidari is dubbed as the most successful coach in the club’s history.  He brought victory to club in the Asian Club Championship in 1991.It finished runner’s-up in 1992 and came in third in 2002. As head coach of Esteghlal, he claimed four trophies locally, two at the Iranian Football League and two at Hazfi Cup.

He has a record as a coach at Esteghlal, (309 times) leading the team as the head coach most of the time and 81 times as assistant.

He is the only Iranian who managed to win the Asian Club Championship both as a player and as coach. In 1970, when he was only 25, he played for Esteghlal and repeated the honor in 1991 as coach.

Born in 1945, he began his football career at the age of 17 in Daraei club but was transferred to Taj (now Esteghlal) in 1965 and played as a right defender for ten years. The team won the Asian Championship in 1970. He also played for Iran’s national football team. 

His managerial career began in 1980 as assistant coach in Esteghlal. He was promoted as the club’s head coach in 1983.

After three years, he went to the UAE and became the head coach of Al-Ahli club and led the team until 1989. He was reappointed as Esteghlal manager in 1989 and won the league in the following season. 

Pourheidari was assigned as head coach of Iran national football team in 1998 and led it until 2000 and won the Asian Games’ title in 1998. In January 1999 he was picked as the Asian Coach of the Month.

He was the technical manager and member of the board of the directors of Esteghlal at the time of his death.