Street cleaner, car-washer, pizza shop worker to the goal keeper with longest throw: Alireza Beiranvand, the man who saved a goal in WC game against ENG and suffered a bloody nose

Beiranvand had fled family after his father ripped up his gloves, telling him he could never be a footballer. His father wanted him to be a shepherd but he had bigger dreams.

Iran's goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand is attended by team support staff after he was injured during the World Cup group B soccer match between England and Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

When the Harry Kane cross came with Saka and Sterling ready to leap to head in the first goal, Alireza Beiranvand intervened with a leap of his own. A brave charge, considering he would smash face-on with Majid Hossein and suffer a nose-bleed that had him on the ground for nearly 6 minutes. But he wouldn’t leave the field and took his position to a great ovation from the Iran section in the crowd. But he would soon go down again in pain.

It was no surprise that he didn’t want to give away his spot so easily.

Beiranvand had fled family after his father ripped up his gloves, telling him he could never be a footballer. His father wanted him to be a shepherd but he had bigger dreams.

🌍 Alireza Beiranvand is now a @GWR world record holder!

Alireza’s 61-metre throw in a match vs. South Korea (October 11, 2016), was the longest recorded throw in a football match.

Congrats to Alireza for his Guinness World Records achievement! pic.twitter.com/zP8WijEjIK

— Persian Soccer (@prznsoccer) November 25, 2021

In pursuit of his dream, he worked in a car wash, a pizza shop, dress factory, and cleaned the streets for money and roof on his head in the nights.

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He convinced a football coach to waive off a 200,000 Toman fee to let him train with a local club. He kept progressing, eventually becoming Iran’s goalkeeper in 2015.

Eventually, he would get an opportunity at Naft-e-Tehran and battle his way through life to become Iran’s first-choice goalkeeper in 2015.

𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗭𝗔 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗡𝗢 𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦!🥇🌟

O guarda-redes entrou para o livro de recordes pelo lançamento de bola mais longo com a mão num jogo oficial ⚽

🔗 https://t.co/6xFtINmY5C #BoavistaFC #AlirezaBiranvand #GuinnessWorldRecords pic.twitter.com/64qyUCEN8W

— Boavista FC (@boavistaoficial) November 25, 2021

Next year, he set a new world record for the longest throw in a football match during a clash with South Korea.

He threw 61 metres, considered the longest throw by Guiness Record. He even received a plaque which reads: It reads: “The further distance throw of a football (soccer ball) in a competitive match is 61m 26mm, (200 ft, 1.57in) and was achieved by Alireza Beiranvand (Iran) playing for Iran against South Korea at the Aradi Stadium, Tehran, Iran on 11 October 2016. “Officially amazing.”