even appearing in a reserve match against Stoke City. Manchester United manager Dave Sexton wanted Hejazi to stay for another two or three months before officially signing a contract with him, but there was no-one at the IRFF at the time of the Iranian Revolution to arrange the extension, which led to Manchester United signing Gary Bailey instead. Hejazi remained as Esteghlal's main goalkeeper until 1986. There he won the Tehran Province League in 1983 and 1985 and the runners-up position in 1982. His last station was the Bangladeshi club Mohammedan in Dhaka, where he stayed for one year and could win his last league title. International career Hejazi made his debut for the Iran national team in 1969. He became the first-choice goalkeeper in time for the 1972 Asian Cup, which Iran won for a second time in a row. Later that year, he was part of the Iran squad for the Olympic Games in Munich, where Iran failed to qualify for the second round. In 1974, he shared goalkeeping duties with Bahram Mavaddat and Mansour Rashidi at the Asian Games in Tehran, but played a key role in the 1–0 victory over Israel in the final. In 1976, he was again part of the squad that won the Asian Cup, but as second-choice behind Rashidi, before returning to the starting role for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, playing in all three matches as Iran reached the quarter-finals. Hejazi continued as Iran's starting goalkeeper at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, but Iran conceded eight goals in their three games, managing just one draw. He was then named captain for the 1980 Asian Cup in Kuwait; Iran finished top of their group and faced the host nation in the semi-finals but lost 2–1 as Kuwait went on to win the title. After the tournament, a member of Iran's Physical Education Department implemented a policy in which athletes older than 27 years of age would no longer be allowed to compete internationally. Hejazi was effectively forced to retire from international football, despite being only 29 years old at the time of implementation. International caps Managerial career Hejazi coached Bangladeshi football club Mohammedan from 1987 to 1991. During his time, Bangladeshi football was enlightened with the modern day technique of football and embraced top football coaching. The Bangladeshi football Federation rewarded him by making him national team coach in 1989.