Hadi Norouzi, captain of Tehran’s Persepolis football club, passed away of cardiac arrest on Thursday, October 1, at the age of 30.
He suffered a heart attack while asleep at his home in Tehran, in the early hours at 4 a.m., and was rushed to hospital. However, attempts to revive him on the way failed and he was declared dead on arrival in hospital, Varzesh3.com reported.
Norouzi’s funeral procession on Friday started from Azadi Stadium in Tehran, where he played many of his matches. Over 20,000 fans along with several football players and managers attended the ceremony.
The coffin containing his body was carried around the stadium by his teammates and friends and then taken to his hometown Babol, Mazandaran Province, in the north of Iran, for burial on Saturday.
Norouzi was picked as the captain of Persepolis before the start of the Iran Pro League 2015-16 season two months ago, after his predecessor Mohammad Nouri left the club.
Playing as a winger and striker, he made 150 appearances for Persepolis and scored 26 goals. He was a member of Iran national football team from 2009 to 2011 and played 9 times for Team Melli.
His last appearance for the club was a 2-1 home loss to Saipa in the league on September 16.
Persepolis Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic described the news as a big shock for him and his team. Team Melli’s Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, Persepolis players and legends Ali Parvin, Ahmad-Reza Abedzadeh, Karim Baqeri and former head coaches Afshin Qotbi and Ali Daei paid tributes to Norouzi and his family in their condolence messages.
