Ali Karimi
the wizard of Tehran who burst into the
international football arena when he had a splendid debut for Team Melli
in a friendly match versus Kuwait and capped a successful year by
scoring for his country in the final of the Asian Games and winning the
Gold Medal.
His mesmerizing runs, driving style and outrageous skill have alerted
the likes of Italy's Perugia and Atletico Madrid of Spain to the
potential of the 22-year-old Perspolis striker. But Karimi chose a foreign
club much closer to home by joining Al Ahli of Dubai.
Karimi's rise has been remarkable given that before joining the
Perspolis at the start of the 1998-99 season he was at Second
Division Fath, where training was conducted on the streets with a
plastic ball.
Karimi was quick to find success with Perspolis, winning the domestic
Double in 1999 and the championship again in 2000. International honors
came even more rapidly, as he helped Iran to win the 1998 Asian Games,
most notably by scoring in the Final.
After the disappointment of missing the World Cup 2002 in the final
hurdle, Karimi joined Al Ahli and it did not take much time to show his
magic and skill in the UAE league. He was nominated as the Best League
player against some tough competition. His goals and trickery and the
ability to beat defenders en mass, has caught the eyes of the media and
the fans in a big way. AL Ahli a pedigree team in the UAE league , but
one that missed on silverware for a long time, managed to win its first
trophy thanks to Karimi, when they became the Winners of the President
Cup in 2001-2002 season.
In what is arguably the best performance of his career, Karimi was the
star of the show in Asian Cup 2004 where he helped Iran win the 3rd
place and scoring 5 goals as a joint top scorer. Unfortunately, despite
his exceptional performance, the corridor of power , elected a Japanese
player as the tournament MVP.
Ali Karimi crowned his performance in 2004 by being selected at the AFC
Asian Football of the Year an accolade that attracted the interest of
many European clubs.
Bayern Munich eventually succeeded in signing Karimi after the end of
his contract with Al Ahli. Karimi will be playing next season in the
Bundesliga.
Despite being a rookie in the Team , Karimi managed several appearances
until an injury cut short his season with Bayern. Millions of his
supporters , watching the televised match when he was injured , sent
goodwill messages to him hoping that he recovers in time to perform his
wizardry in the World Cup.
Just prior to Asian cup 2007 , Karimi signed a 2 year contact to play
with Qatar Club .
During Team Melli preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2010
, Karimi was suspended due to his public criticism of the Football
Federation , later on he was pardoned but was could not make the squad
for the preliminary matches.
In a surprise move , Karimi joined Al Saliya club after
Qatar FC did not wish to continue with his services only after one
season with the club.
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WORLD CUP Statistics
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World Cup Qualification Matches = 24
World Cup Matches = 2
World Cup Qualification Matches goals = 6
World Cup Matches goals= 0
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A member of Iran's squad for
FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany
