Friday, June 4, 1999

A national treasure

By MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, EDMONTON SUN

He is to Iranian soccer what Wayne Gretzky is to Canadian hockey.

The weight of his nation rides on Ali Daei's shoulders and over the span of his career the 30-year-old striker has more than accepted the responsibility with the grace and dignity of Gretzky himself.

Now a member of Champions League finalists Bayern Munich of Germany, Daei is in Edmonton for Canada Cup II in which he once again proudly represents his country.

"The national team can not be compared to anything at all," said Daei through an interpretor when asked the difference between playing for a club and one's country. "I play for 70 million people and they all love me. And every time I put on that Iranian national team jersey it is a great honour to be representing a great nation.

"When we are on the field we want to do it for our nation because they really care about our football."

Easily the most celebrated footballer in Iran, not to mention the centre of attention this week in Edmonton, Daei is well known for leading his nation to the 1998 World Cup.

"It has been one of my sporting achievements," said Daei, who took Iran to a 19th-place showing among the 32 teams in France. "Certainly among the biggest."

And his personal performance was just as large, setting up the winning goal against the United States, much the same way his through ball helped defeat Australia in the final stages of World Cup qualifying.

Idolized by Iranian youngsters and parents alike, Daei began an exodus to Germany following the performance in France. Last year he recorded seven goals in 25 games with Arminia Bielefeld before joining Bayern Munich this past season.

His story is one of inspiration for his entire nation and his battle to become a rising star is now folklore.

"I haven't seen him in person, but I've watched every single game he's played in the last couple of years, including Bayern Munich," said Daei fan Amir Ghorbani, now a Portland, Oregon, resident who made the trip to Edmonton to catch his first real-life glimpse of the star and his teammates. "They call him Shahryar, which means king of football in Iran. By far he is the biggest name in Iranian soccer history."

"Probably 60 million people know his name," added Shahin Dashti, who also made the trek north from San Francisco. "It's interesting that he is the man here, but he is not the man in Bayern Munich. He is just another player. It is pretty interesting the transformation he makes from a team with all these world stars and here (with Iran) he has to lead everybody."

That role may be taking its toll on his play internationally, suggested Ghorbani.

"The fact that he plays for Bayern Munich, one of the biggest clubs in the world, he feels that responsibility to perform, to score. Personally, I think that responsibility is weighing too heavy on his shoulders. If that much pressure wasn't on him I think he could perform even better," he said, noting Daei now draws special attention from opposing defenders.

That was evident in Iran's opening game in Edmonton, a 1-1 draw Wednesday against Ecuador in which he was held off the scoresheet. Daei will attempt to get back on track tonight at 7 against Canada in Iran's second game of the friendly tournament.

With his treasured past Daei can certainly rest easy, though that is not his style. He has nothing to prove.

The native of Ardabil first rose to prominence while earning his degree in metallurgical engineering at university in Tehran. Playing soccer as a youngster, his mother had to smuggle his equipment to him because his father discouraged the sport in favour of studies.

In Tehran he finally had the freedom to express himself on the field and his coach, Manoochehr Nazari, also led a second-division club where Daei eventually exhibited his wares. After scoring 14 goals for that Taxirani club in his first season, he went on to record 27 in 30 games with first-division Bang-e Tejarat in 1993.

In 1995 he joined the largest club in Iran, Perspolis, which he had supported as a child while playing soccer and forming his own team with his four brothers and a handful of cousins. Daei won back-to-back league titles with Perspolis before moving on to play in Qatar.

He made his national team debut as a substitute against Oman during 1994 World Cup qualifying in June of 1993. Within four months he captured the MVP award at the Asian World Cup preliminary competition, despite the team's poor performance.

During the final round of World Cup qualifying in Asia he became the most celebrated player of the entire tournament, despite having played fewer than 10 games. He was the top scorer, with five goals, and that's where he originally caught the eye of German scouts.

He went back to play in Iran and later, in 1996, was dubbed the world's top scorer in international competitions when he logged 20 goals for Iran.

Daei recorded eight goals in six games at the Asian Cup, including four against South Korea in a 6-2 quarter-final victory after being down 2-1 at halftime.

He had also recorded four against Nepal in an 8-0 win and went one better with five goals in a 7-0 drubbing of Sri Lanka. Those nine goals came within two days at Asian Cup preliminary play in June of 1996.

The Iranian star, still looking for stardom in Germany, was on the sidelines when Manchester United stunned Bayern Munich last week with two goals in injury time to steal a 2-1 victory in the Champions League final.

"It was not a bad season at all for me," said Daei of his first campaign with Munich, where he scored six goals in 23 games (he started in 12).

"You need time to adjust to the new system and to settle in, but basically all club officials were very, very satisfied with my performance both on and off the field."

The final result was not the way he intended to go out, however, especially watching helplessly from the sidelines.

"We were quite unlucky. Having dominated the whole match, we basically squandered the 1-0 lead in injury time. It was pure luck on Manchester United's side," he recalled of the horrific ending.

"No words can ever describe that feeling of the players off the field. We were all astounded and we couldn't accept the defeat."

But, not unlike his career to date, he handled it with class and dignity.

Iranians arrive with offence

Joanne Ireland
Journal Soccer Writer
Edmonton

The street urchins would dribble the ball with a flair unique to the province of Khuzestan -- the Brazil of Iran and the province where British oilworkers first introduced soccer to the country.

It was there, in Khuzestan, in the city of Khoramshahr, where Ali Mousavi first toddled after a soccer ball. It would, however, be in another quadrant of the country where he would learn to one-touch passes and create opportunities and finish his chances. Mousavi was five when the war with Iraq broke out. Before long, he was fleeing northeast with his family to Mashad. Their old home was destroyed. So too was the southwestern city. For eight years, the war raged on but always, said Mousavi, there were street games to play. Mousavi, now a 24-year-star in the Azadegan League -- a league named after the prisoners of war -- is in Edmonton this week with the Iranian team.

The national sides from Canada, Iran, Guatemala and Ecuador are here to contest the Canada Cup of Soccer. This marks Iran's second trip to North America, their second appearance in Canada.

In 1997, Iran played the Canucks before an crowd of 15,325 at Toronto's Varsity Stadium. The majority of the game-goers were expatriates. "Prior to our arrival in Canada, we had no idea whatsoever that we would be received that way," said Mousavi through an interpreter.

"When we met those fans and the fans met us and we exchanged stories, we realized we all cared about Iran the country. "Wherever we go, regardless of the country, we have been warmly welcomed by Iranian fans, but that game has a special place with all of us.  "It was the first time a group of people had close contact with the team. And soccer is our passion. Through football, they all come together regardless