A Page from History: Karim Bagheri Takes Iran to Paris! (Photo)

Historic headline of the sports newspaper Akhbar Varzesh on October 4, 1997. A account of Karim Bagheri's historic inclusion in Iran's national team lineup against Australia and qualification for the 1998 World Cup.

According to the report of "Verzeh Se", sometimes the history of football can be summarized in a newspaper headline. A title that, years later, by revisiting those days, finds a deeper meaning. "Karim, the knight who takes Iran to Paris". The phrase that Akhbar Sport chose for Karim Bagheri on the 12th of October 1376.

The story started from the days when the Iranian national team was going through a difficult path to reach the 1998 World Cup in France. In this way, various events happened and one of the most important of them was related to Karim Bagheri's condition. A player who missed the first leg against Australia after being sent off in the match against Qatar and was also suspended for the second leg.

However, the efforts of the late Dariush Mostafavi, the head of the Iranian Football Federation at the time, to reduce his ban paid off. Mostafavi's meeting with João Havelange, then president of FIFA, and Mustafavi's consultations finally made Bagheri play for Iran in Melbourne.

On the 8th of December 1376, the Iranian national team faced Australia in the cricket stadium. The match that determined the assignment of the last quota of the 1998 World Cup. The first leg in Tehran ended in a 1-1 draw, and now Iran had to use their last chance at the opponent's home.

The situation went dark for Iran in the second half. Australia took a 2-0 lead with the goals of Harry Kewell and Aurelio Vidmar, and Iran's dream of promotion was on the verge of collapse. In those moments, few people imagined that the match sheet would turn in a historic way.

The 71st minute arrived and Karim Bagheri, the same player whose presence in this match was once in doubt, opened Australia's goal. Four minutes later, it was Khodadad Azizi's turn. Ali Daei got the chance with Bagheri's header and then Azizi got the chance and Iran's speedy striker scored the second goal with a spectacular escape and a precise shot.

A 2-2 draw in Melbourne brought the two-match aggregate to 3-3 after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. But thanks to the home goal rule, Iran won the right to participate in the World Cup in France.

Years later, when we look at the headline of that newspaper, the phrase "The knight who takes Iran to Paris" takes on a different color. Regardless of the circumstances in which it was written, that headline is linked to an enduring image of Karim Bagheri in the history of Iranian football. A player who scored a goal and influenced the second goal in one of the most sensitive nights in the history of the national team to be the knight who will take Iran to Paris.