Ali Daei

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Ali Daei
Personal information
Full name	Ali Daei
Date of birth	March 21, 1969 (age 38)
Place of birth	Ardabil, Iran
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Nickname	Shahriar
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Saipa F.C.
Youth clubs
	Javanan Ardabil
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1994 1994-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2006 2006-	Esteghlal Ardabil F.C. Taxirani F.C. Tejarat Bank F.C. Persepolis F.C. Al-Sadd Arminia Bielefeld Bayern Munich Hertha Berlin Al-Shabab Persepolis F.C. Saba Battery F.C. Saipa F.C.	? (14) 38 (23)  ? (10) 25 (7) 23 (6) 59 (6) 25 (11) 24 (16) 51 (23) 19 (9)
National team2
1993-2006	Iran	149 (109)
Teams managed
2006-	Saipa F.C. (interim manager)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 March 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 22 June 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Ali Daei (Persian: علی دایی‎ , born March 21, 1969 in Ardabil, Iran) is an Iranian football player who currently plays for and is manager of Saipa F.C. in Iran's Premier Football League. He usually plays in the striker position. He is a former member of the Iran national football team, and is the world's all-time leading goalscorer in international matches.

Contents 1 Profile 2 Early years 3 Club career 4 Personal character 5 Personal life 6 Honours 7 Criticism and controversy 8 Coaching career 9 Other honours (individual) 10 Famous matches 11 Notes 12 External links

[edit] Profile

• Date of birth: 21 March 1969
• Birthplace: Ardabil, Iran
• Height: 192 cm (6'4")
• Weight: 80 kg (178 lbs.)
• Position: Forward
• Previous Clubs: Esteghlal Ardabil F.C., Taxirani F.C., Tejarat Bank F.C., Persepolis F.C., Al-Sadd, Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich, Hertha BSC Berlin, Al-Shabab, Persepolis F.C., Saba Battery F.C.
• Current Club: Saipa F.C.
• Int'l Goals: 109
• Int'l Caps: 149
• Hobbies: Billiards, Bowling.

[edit] Early years

He graduated from Sharif University of Technology in Materials Engineering (Metallurgical). Born in Ardabil, he played for his hometown club, Esteghlal Ardabil, when he was 19. His next club was Taxirani F.C. in Tehran, where he played for one season, before joining another Tehrani club, Bank Tejarat F.C.. He stayed four years with Bank Tejarat, missing out on a chance to play in the J. League due to military service. Daei's fame is attributed mostly to his renowned goal scoring ability. He managed to score frequently for his clubs, although due to the league schedule at the time he did not play many matches per season. His impressive performance at his club finally got results, and he was called up to join Team Melli in June 1993 in an Eco Cup tournament held in Tehran, where he made his debut for Iran against Pakistan. He continued his national team appearances and was named the top scorer of the final Asian round of 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifications with 4 goals in 5 matches.

Daei was named the world's top scorer in official international competitions by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), having scored 20 goals in competitive matches for Iran in 1996, including his famous 4 goal haul against South Korea in Asian Cup 1996. He is considered to be the finest striker in the history of the game in Asia. By the end of the 1996 Asian Cup, he had scored 29 goals in 38 appeances for Iran. In the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, he was again on top of the charts, scoring 9 goals in 17 matches for Iran, reaching his impressive record of 38 goals in 52 appearances for his country. He is one of the most prolific strikers in the history of football and is now ranked first in most goals in international matches. His experience with world-class football opened the way for other Asian players such as Hidetoshi Nakata and Mehdi Mahdavikia.

[edit] Club career

After playing for a couple of minor league teams, Taxirani and Bank Tejarat, in 1994 Daei joined one of country's premier squads, Persepolis F.C.. Following his impressive performance in Asian Cup in 1996 as Arminia Bielefeld joined the Bundesliga, they signed a contract with Daei and his felow Iranian national team-mate Karim Bagheri. Ali Daei spent one season in Bielefeld and proved to be a successful franchise. He was hand picked for the Bayern Munich club by legendary footballer Franz Beckenbauer, president of the club, who rated him as a world-class centre-forward. He made a famous four million deutschemark move from Arminia Bielefeld to the four-time European Cup winners, which was a record for Asian players at the time. Daei also opened the door for Vahid Hashemian and Ali Karimi who became the second and third Iranians to join the Bavarians (Bayern Munich).

Daei became the first Asian player to feature in a UEFA Champions League match. Yet with Bayern's 15 international players and the Iranian national team's scheduling, Daei had found very little time for playing. In Germany he was known to be a true gentleman, famous for the way he treated the fans. Daei would always sign autographs to Bayern fans and was often the centre of attention, as he was featured in OPEL car commercials. Amazingly, he usually did manage to score when given a chance to play. Still, Ali Daei was unhappy with his position in the club and decided to make a move to Hertha BSC Berlin before the end of his three year contract, when Bayern won the championship title in the 1999 Bundesliga. In 2000 he played in the Champions League with Hertha BSC Berlin, becoming the teams best scorer in the league with 3 goals. His famous match against Chelsea gained him a lot of recognition. Yet even at Hertha he was not the talk of the town, since he was only amongst one of the squad's many successful franchises, who were to fulfill Hertha's Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League dreams.

At the same time he was very successful in international competition scoring in practically every game and making new records. He played in many World Teams in friendly continental games. Yet Daei was still unable to maintain a stable position in his club's starting line-up. In the year 2001 he was not among the top scorers in the Asian Qualifying round and he did not manage to take the team into the World Cup as captain for the first time. After receiving offers from Rapid Vienna, Rangers, the J. League and a few English Premiership teams, he decided that he was no longer fit to play world-class football. He joined the UAE league at 34 years of age, signing a contract with Al-Shabbab as a free agent. In 2003 Daei quit the UAE team and joined his old team in Tehran, Persepolis F.C.. Daei moved from Persepolis to Saba Battery F.C. on a free transfer for a modest contract of around 300,000 American dollars.

He spent two years at Saba Battery, scoring 23 goals, winning the Hazfi Cup and participating in the Asian Champions League. After World Cup 2006 and the arrival of Saba Battery's new manager, Farhad Kazemi, it was announced that he was no longer needed on the team and that his contract would not be renewed. Despite rumors of retirment he signed for another industry linked club from Tehran, Saipa F.C., on August 1, 2006.^[1].

[edit] Personal character

Asides from his great sportsmanship on the pitch, Daei ran many charitable organisations and used a great deal of his money in support of the less fortunate. Today Daei owns his own football jersey manufacturing company called Daei Sportswear Company, making jerseys for Iranian Premiership clubs, 2nd Division clubs world-wide and for the national team. He has made very significant charitable donations and has made appearances in charitable football matches world-wide (featuring in the World vs. Bosnia match with Roberto Baggio and other football legends). He also appeared in a UNICEF commercial with superstar David Beckham and Madeleine Albright, and has regularly been seen working with the organisation. He is also very famous for being a "gentleman", the name which was given to him even in Germany where he used to play, because of his moderate behaviour.

[edit] Personal life

Besides his footballing career, Ali Daei also owns Daei Sportswear Company, his company provides clothing for several Iranian football clubs and previously for the Iran national football team. In 2005 he married a former classmate of his from Sharif University in a lavish ceremony. Though they divorced in late 2006 and Daei's ex moved to the United States.

[edit] Honours

Ali Daei joined the exclusive circle of players with a century of caps. In a November 28, 2003 Asian Cup qualifier in Tehran against Lebanon, he scored his 85th international goal, elevating him past Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás to top the all-time list of scorers in international matches (among men; he trails women's leader Mia Hamm by almost 50 goals). On November 17, 2004, he scored four goals against Laos in a World Cup qualifier, giving him 102 goals and making him the first male player to score 100 goals in international play. As of June 2006, he has 149 caps for Iran, ranked among the top 10 of world's most capped players.

[edit] Criticism and controversy

Daei continued to hold his place in Iran national team by playing for Iran in World Cup 2006 at the age of 37. Despite the numerous criticism from Iranian media calling for his retirement, Ali Daei has always defended his position in Team Melli and has rejected that he is too old to play for the team.^[2].

On March 6th, 2007, Ali Daei was fined $2000 and suspended for 4 games by the Iranian Football Federation after the incidents in a league game where he delivered a head-butt to the face of Sheys Rezaei, the young Persepolis defender.^[3]. In an interview with the Iranian paper, Iran Varzeshi, Daei has criticized this decision and has threatened to take his case to FIFA head-quarters if the decision is upheld by the IFF.^[4].

[edit] Coaching career

On October 8, 2006, upon sudden leave of Saipa's German coach Werner Lorant, he was appointed as the interim coach of Saipa.^[5].

As of March 1st, 2007, Saipa F.C. under the helm of player/manager, Ali Daei, is the current leading team in Iran's Premier League.[1]

[edit] Other honours (individual)

• Most Valuable Player and top scorer of the Asian qualifications for World Cup 1994, final round (4 goals, Doha/Qatar)
• Top scorer of Asian Cup 1996 (8 goals, UAE)
• Named the world's top goal scorer in official international competitions by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), having scored 22 goals in competitive matches in 1996 ^[6].
• Named Asian Player of the Year in 1999.
• Named the world's third top goal scorer in official international competitions by the IFFHS, having scored 20 goals in 2000 ^[7].
• Top goalscorer of the Iran Premier League in season 2003/2004.
• Named the world's top goal scorer in official international competitions by the IFFHS, having scored 17 goals in 2004 ^[8].

[edit] Famous matches

• Iran vs. South Korea (Asian Cup 1996) -- Daei scored four times
• Iran vs. USA (World Cup 1998)
• Iran vs. Germany (World Cup 1998)
• Iran vs. Japan (1999)
• Hertha BSC Berlin vs. Chelsea (UEFA Champions League 2000) -- Daei scored twice
• Hertha BSC Berlin vs. Milan (UEFA Champions League 2000) -- Daei scored once
• Iran vs. Lebanon (2003) -- Daei passes Puskás
• Iran vs. Laos (2004) -- Daei's 100th international goal

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• RSSSF archive of Ali Daei's century of international appearances and goals
• Ali Daei at Fifa World Cup Official Site
• Ali Daei at TeamMelli.com

Preceded by Hidetoshi Nakata

Asian Footballer of the Year 1999

Succeeded by Nawaf Al Temyat

	Iran squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup
1 Abedzadeh | 2 Mahdavikia | 3 Saadavi | 4 Khakpour | 5 Peyrovani | 6 Bagheri | 7 Mansourian | 8 Dinmohammadi | 9 Estili | 10 Daei | 11 Azizi | 12 Nakisa | 13 Latifi | 14 Mohammadkhani | 15 Ostad‑Asadi | 16 Shahroudi | 17 Zarincheh | 18 Hamedani | 19 Seraj | 20 Pashazadeh | 21 Minavand | 22 Boromand | Coach: Talebi

	Iran squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Mirzapour | 2 Mahdavikia | 3 Bakhtiarizadeh | 4 Golmohammadi | 5 Rezaei | 6 Nekounam | 7 Zandi | 8 Karimi | 9 Hashemian | 10 Daei | 11 Khatibi | 12 Roudbarian | 13 Ka'abi | 14 Teymourian | 15 Borhani | 16 Enayati | 17 Kazemian | 18 Navidkia | 19 Sadeqi | 20 Nosrati | 21 Madanchi | 22 Talebloo | 23 Shojaei | Coach: Ivanković