Norman Wisdom, icy pools and a giant trophy: How Palace became champions of Iran

You may now wonder if some of the above text is missing, or if you suffered a minor blackout between sentences. It is, after all, odd to start a piece with two seemingly unrelated pieces of information.

But sat outside the boardroom at Selhurst Park is a giant, glistening trophy which, for years, has remained something of a mystery. Even now, it remains shrouded in intrigue.

“Is it really?!” says former Palace goalkeeper John Jackson when he hears of the trophy still in south London.

“Crikey!” laughs Don Rogers. “That’s good – we must have won it then!”

This is the story – the untold, strange, confusing, and often unbelievable story – of Palace conquering Iran, told by those who were there.

In October 1972, St Johnstone were flying high. After a third-place finish in 1971, they qualified for the UEFA Cup and embarked on a European adventure the like of which few fans could ever imagine.

They knocked out German champions-in-waiting Hamburg and previous European Cup semi-finalists Vasas Budapest, before being eliminated in Yugoslavia to NK Zeljeznicar Sarajevo. All very exotic.

After a taste of action on the continent, St Johnstone’s eyes turned further afield – and the perfect opposition presented themselves.

“Football had only arrived in Iran in the 1920s but it was soon as popular as traditional sports such as wrestling,” remembers former Iranian international Büyük Vatankhah. “It was an immensely popular sport by the 1950s.

“Footballers were very much admired, although there was no money in it as such. In fact, most players were usually from working-class or poor backgrounds, and often sons of rural immigrants that had come to Tehran in the 1950s in search of jobs.

“Their sons played in the urban poor streets and this class of people were to be the future of Iran’s professional football class.”

Iran’s best football team were Persepolis, recently crowned champions and now looking to go professional. As the first professional club in Iran, they chose not to enter the domestic league and instead looked to face clubs from abroad.

Their new status came with perks – but dangerous disadvantages too.

“There was more attention, more money – more press attention and excitement around the team,” Vatankhah recalls. “But most of us still had day jobs for income.

“There was also more interest from the intelligence services. We had players on the team that were politically communists, to Islamists, to die-hard Shah loyalists, so you can imagine the interest of the state.

“On occasions, some players were not allowed to go to the Communist bloc states due to their political sympathies with the left.”

Nonetheless, offers for friendlies were coming in thick and fast. A top Yugoslavian side were arriving in October, and German giants Bayern Munich had signed up to travel in November.

St Johnstone were also lined up to feature – but not for long. Palace were in town.

Scotland’s Press and Journal newspaper reported on Halloween: “Saints’ proposed friendly in Iran against Persoplois [sic] is off. Crystal Palace have now been brought in for the trip to Iran as Saints aren’t a ‘big name’ side.”

St Johnstone were out. To accompany Bayern Munich, the boys from south London were on the bill instead.

Bert Head was not your usual manager. He liked doing things his own way.

“Bert signed me – I played with him as a 15- or 16-year-old at Swindon,” says Don Rogers. “I knew him very well. He was the one who signed me from school, he brought me into the first-team at Swindon.

“We used to do some strange things at Swindon when he was there. We used to go down to Weymouth in Dorset for a fortnight to do our training, [all staying] under one big tent. A fortnight in a big tent! Can you imagine 40-odd men in a big tent?

“It was really good actually, I was only 17 at the time. I was getting the food ready for the pros and training at a school not far away. I’ve got fond memories of that.”

When Rogers signed for Palace, he was immediately met with another of Bert Head’s intriguing ideas: playing in the Middle East.

“That was my first week there,” he laughs. “I signed on the Monday, played on the Saturday and went to Iran on the Sunday!”

Head himself was still unsure of the idea – with plenty of considerations that don’t come with a usual away day.

“Flying out to Iran last week… I was still weighing up the pros and cons of the trip,” he later wrote. “The journey can be rather tedious, especially with the necessary searches that have to be made because of the threat of sky-jacking.

“And remember that the area over which we passed is the centre of some of the world’s major troubles.”

Palace flew via Tel Aviv and were instantly reminded of the potential dangers present in the Middle East.

“We landed at night and went to [where we were staying],” Jackson remembers. “It was two or three guys to a bungalow.

“We got up the next morning and opened the curtains and there are 15-foot high barbed wire fencing, and a soldier on guard walking up and down. I thought: ‘That’s interesting!’”

Eventually, Palace arrived – and to some fanfare.

“An English team playing in Tehran was always bound to be a big event,” Vatankhah says. “English football was the top of the top, at least in the minds of the Iranian fans.

“That was the gold standard. Manchester United and Arsenal were the biggest names in Iran. [Three weeks later, Palace would beat Man Utd 5-0 at Selhurst Park.]

“[Playing in England] would have been any Iranian footballer's dream. The game was just played at such an advanced level in England at the time than was the case back in Iran.

“Back in those days in Iran, it was okay for boys to chase a ball but grown men were supposed to go out and become professionals like doctors and engineers. But already back then in England they had far more reverence for football players.

“I don’t know where football really started in the world, but for my generation English football was the climax.”

As Palace touched down, they were pleasantly surprised. The climate was mild, the hospitality was generous and the organisation was faultless. Head explored Tehran and laid a wreath at the mausoleum of the Shah’s father while Rogers made a bee-line for the bazaar to buy gifts for the family.

That night, the squad piled into a cabaret club to see legendary comedian Norman Wisdom. “He was really funny!” laughs Rogers. “I think we made Norman feel as much at home as he did us,” wrote Head.

Back at the hotel, preparations for the fixture began.

“The hotel we were staying in had a swimming pool – I dived in and nearly never came out,” says Jackson. “It was ice-cold water.

“I made a comment to someone who was looking after us. He pointed to the mountains in the distance and said: ‘See the snow up there? It’s come from there.’

“They sent it all down in pipes and channels and that’s where this hotel got the water from. I have dived in cold water before and it's never a bother, but that really was.

“I only just managed to get out – it took my breath away!”

As the squad drove to the stadium, Bert Head puffed his cheeks out and gripped his seat. The roads were hectic and disorderly, and he made a note of each near miss as the bus wobbled towards the arena.

The tally reached nine. “Talk about every man for himself,” he remarked.

A crowd of 32,000 turned out to watch the English side. Persepolis themselves had an English touch, managed by legendary journeyman Alan Rogers – a formidable character replete with flowing hair and aviator sunglasses.

“[He was] a tough, no-nonsense coach driven by seeking results but knew also how to mingle and be accepted by the team players,” Vatankhah says. “He introduced more modern football to us in terms of how to prepare and how to play.

“[He] learned a few words of Persian but we had a translator for his communication with the team – although some players spoke English.

“[Alan] was about an offensive style of play. It was entertaining and he surely made himself into a celebrity at the time.

“I have very fond memories. At my wedding, he told player [Esmaeil] Haj Rahim-pour: ‘You don’t do much at practice sessions but I see you dance very energetically here!’”

But Palace were the superior side, and after taking a slender lead into half-time they switched up a gear and ran out 5-1 winners – with a brace apiece from Alan Pinkney and John Craven, and the fifth added by Bobby Kellard.

“I thought: ‘Crikey me, it’s not bad this,’” remembers Don Rogers. “I remember some fires starting in the stadium – it was all concrete, so it was never going to hurt anyone. It was just what they did!”

Head was impressed with the atmosphere: “The way they supported the home team whenever they got near to our goal line was something of an eye-opener and an ear-shatterer, especially to our younger lads like Bill Roffey.

“And you should see the size of the cup we won!”

It’s a cup that remains on display at Selhurst Park 50 years later.

Palace’s journey home was equally arduous, stopping over in Rome and Paris for security checks and baggage searches – with the difficult prospect of a trip to champions Derby County the next day. It didn’t stop them, and Rogers scored his first goal for the club in a well-deserved draw.

The trip, it seemed, had been a success.

So much of Palace’s journey to Iran remains a mystery. Who awarded Palace the giant trophy? Who took it home? What was the club’s legacy in the country?

What we do know is that, half a century later, there is great fondness and nostalgia for a time when, just briefly, the Eagles were the champions of Iran.

“So much so,” wrote Head, “that we are thinking of taking on another trip.”