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Coach Ali Daei
Born in Ardabil on March 21, 1969, is perhaps the most famous Iranian football player ever. He holds the world scoring record recognized by FIFA as world's all-time leading goalscorer in international matches. He was also a captain of Team Melli Iran national football team, Daei as of June 2007 is also a member of the FIFA Football Committee.
Shortly after retiring from playing football , Daei started his coaching career at Saipa club On October 8, 2006. The success was imminent as Daei lead this small club , but rich in resources to the championship of Iran's professional league.
On March 2, 2008 Iran's football federation appointed Ali Daei as Team Melli's new head coach. This appointment was due to the poor result of Team Melli since Amir Ghalenoei left the team following the disappointment of the AFC Asian Cup 2007. Mansour Ebrahimzadeh was appointed as an interim coach for 3 matches in which Team Melli failed to score or win a single match. Daei took over from Ebrahimzadeh.
Daei continued to coach club and country for sometime leading Saipa to the Asian Champion League quarterfinals, after which he left Saipa by mutual consent and focused on coaching Team Melli only.
Daei introduced many young players in Team Melli and broke the old tradition of senior players dominance and continual selection regardless of their standards and performance. Under Daei the team became more competitive and many senior players lost their places to younger and more talented players.
Daei managed a series of 8 wins in a row and won the WAFF championship with a youthful Team Melli side in 2008. However , the results in the World Cup qualification matches were not so encouraging as Team Melli struggled to win matches and fell behind the two Koreans in early stages. The shock loss at home in Azadi to Saudi Arabia , their first ever against their nemesis , resulted in his sacking from Team Melli.
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Start:
21-Mar-08
End: :
28-Mar-09
Matches: 25
Won : 16
Drawn : 6
Lost : 3
Winning ratio: 64.00%
Age:
55
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