TEHRAN — So many young football fans don’t know “what we’re talking about when we talk about Mehdi Mahdavikia”, but he has already written his name in Iranian football history.

Mahdavikia, nicknamed “The Rocket”, belongs to the golden generation of Iranian football in the 90s with Karim Bagheri, Ali Daei, Khodadad Azizi, Ahmadreza Abedzadeh and Mehdi Pashazadeh.

He started his playing career at Tehran-based club Bank Melli in 1991 as a child and later joined popular Iranian football team Persepolis.

Four years later, he joined German club VfL Bochum. After Bochum’s relegation, he signed for Bundesliga side Hamburg where he remained for the next eight seasons.

His strengths were his vision, passing skills, quick runs and set pieces such as corners, kicks and free kicks.

Arguably Mahdavikia’s biggest national team game was against South Korea in the 2004 Asian Cup, where he assisted three goals in Team Melli’s 4–3 win. Many also point to his dynamic play against the United States in the 1998 FIFA World Cup which saw him score Iran’s second goal, their best ever. Another excellent match where he scored two superb goals against China in the qualifying round for the 1998 World Cup when he was only 20 years old.

Mahdavikia, widely regarded as the best winger in Iranian football history, currently leads the country’s U21 football team.

The legendary icon turned 45 on July 24.

Happy birthday.