During the 1990s, Hejazi was the manager of a number of football clubs including the Mohammedan SC, the Esteghlal (former Taj) and Esteghlal Ahvaz. During his tenure with the Esteghlal, Hejazi won the Iranian League in 1998, then took the club to the final match of the Asian Champions League in 1999. They were beaten by the Júbilo Iwata in Tehran. During his years as a coach, Hejazi was the first to discover several talented Iranian football players, including Rahman Rezaei in Zobahan and Alireza Akbarpour in Machine Sazi Tabriz. In early August 2006 Hejazi announced he signed a one-year contract as head coach of Azadegan League outfit Nassaji Mazandaran. He resigned from the post on 19 January 2007. On 5 August 2007, he was appointed as head coach of Esteghlal for a second time but he was sacked by club on 8 November 2007 because of bad results after 14 matches. Honours Player Club Esteghlal Asian Club Championship (1) 1970 Iranian Football League (1): 1974–75 Tehran Provincial League (2): 1982–83, 1984–85 Mohammedan Dhaka League (1): 1986–87 International Iran Asian Cup (1): 1972 Asian Games (1): 1974 Individual AFC Asian Cup Fans' All Time Best XI: 2018 Manager Mohammedan Dhaka League (2): 1987–88, 1988–89 Esteghlal Iranian Football League (1): 1997–98 Asian Club Championship (Runners-up): 1998–99 Asian Club Championship Political career Presidential candidacy On 3 November 2004, Hejazi announced his nomination for 2005 presidential election. He was rejected by the Guardian Council of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, arguing his lack of political career prior to the election. Later on, he became a supporter of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In 2009 presidential election, he supported Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Opposition to Ahmadinejad He was an opponent to the Economic reform plan of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Government. In April 2011, he made a statement regarding the plan: "I'm very sorry for our people, they have oil, petroleum and ... but some of them are poor". It is known that after this comment, he was unofficially banned from Iranian Television Network. This was later revoked due to his popularity and the perceived side effects that could have come from this decision. Personal life Hejazi married Behnaz Shafie in 1973. They had two children: one daughter, Atoosa and one son, Attila, who both grew up to play soccer just like their father. Attila had been playing in Esteghlal B from 1997 to 2004 and