Ahmadinejad condoles over Hejazi death

In his message, President Ahmadinejad paid homage to Hejazi and characterized him as a renowned and good-tempered Iranian football figure who offered valuable services to national Iranian sport.

Hejazi went into a coma on Friday as he was watching the match between Esteqlal and Pas soccer teams in the final week of the Iranian Premier League.

The Iranian star passed away in Tehran's Kasra Hospital on Monday morning, after a months-long battle with lung cancer.

His funeral procession, with thousands of his supporters in attendance, will be held in the 100, 000 seater Azadi Stadium in western Tehran on Tuesday, and his body will be buried in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran on the same day.

Hejazi had a brilliant record of playing: Twice Asian champion with Iran's national soccer team, the first Iranian goalkeeper to play in the World Cup and a heroic performance for the Iranian national squad at the World Cup 1978 in Argentina, ranked by AFC as 2nd best goalkeeper of the century in Asia, and 131st best goalkeeper in the world for keeping clean sheet for his national team for 5 months or a record 837 minutes.

Hejazi's popularity went beyond Iran's borders as the iconic Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, expressed the club's sincere sympathy for Hejazi's illness in April 2010.

"I know that the last few months have been difficult for you but trust that you will gain some comfort knowing that you are in our thoughts and prayers," said Ferguson in a letter to Hejazi, who had trained with Manchester United for a month.