Hossein Kalani was born in Tehran on January 23, 1949. He is a retired Iranian football player. He is from Ghaffari family of Kashan. He used to play for the Iranian national football team and spent most of his club career in Persepolis. After completing his playing career, he moved to the United States to study architectural engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Integrated Architecture Engineering from UCLA University. Hossein Kalani, the striker of Persepolis Football Club in Tehran, was able to become Mr. Top Scorer 4 times during his playing career in the fifties, twice in the Iran Regional Cup (once shared with Iranpak), once in Tehran Clubs Cup (1969) and once In 1972 Asian Cup. He scored for Persepolis 6-0 against Taj in the 13^th derby of Tehran.