Tag: Ali KArimi

Glorious days for Iranian strikers in Europe.

Team Melli strikers in Europe, are rewriting the history and reaching feats that their predecessors did not manage or was unthinkable. 

Reza Ghoochannejad, Sardar Azmoun , Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Karim Ansarifard the four players who happened to be all playing up front in their teams have done Iran’s football pride by consistently scoring goals in the most competitive of leagues.

Reza “Gucci” Ghoochannejad , who had a torrid couple of season in the lower English League and Persian Gulf countries, gradually found his form after transferring  to SC Heereneveen in the Eredivisie. Gucci scored his 14th goal of the season yesterday in a 3-0 win against Roda JC Kerkrade .

Sardar Azmoun, the golden boy of Iran has scored 7 goals for his team in various competitions, including 4 goals in one season of the UEFA Champions League. He is the only the second Iranian player to score in this competition after Ali Daei who scored 6 goals in two seasons for Hertha Berlin in the UEFA Champions League.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh who has been playing professional in the Eredivisie for 4 seasons now although he is only 23, has enjoyed a good run with his club AZ Alkaamar. He has already doubled his tally from last season scoring 6 goals so far for the Dutch club.

Karim Ansarifard whose football career was seriously being undermined while warming the bench at segunda Division Osasuna in Spain, made it good after transferring to the Greek league. With Panionios he scored 14 goals in one a half season before being grabbed by the league leader Olympiakos Piraeus in the winter transfer window. Karim already opened his account with Olympiakos by scoring a brace in UEFA Europa league against Turkish side Osmanlispor.

.It has never been so good for Iranian players in European leagues. Household names such as Ali  Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Ali Karimi , Vahid Hashemian, Karim Bagheri and host of other Iranian players played in Europe especially after that famous FIFA 1998 World Cup. However, despite the relative success , it is definitely not comparable to the success that the current group is enjoying in Europe despite Team Melli lack of success or achievement.

 

Iran opens Rio Olympics 2016 qualifiers with victory.

Iran Omid team started the AFC Asian U-23 Championship 2016 on the right track by defeating Syria 2-0 in Doha, Qatar.

In the match that was played on Tuesday at Al Sadd stadium, which finished goalless in the first half, Amir Arsalan Motahari opened the scoring in the 63rd minute with a fine individual goal , while Mehrdad Mohammadi (71 minutes)  made it 2-0 with an excellent finish beating the Syrian keeper with a shot on the far end of his right.

Omid’s team performance, however, was from convincing. With 5 Team Melli players and along preparation including several camps and tournaments, the expectation from this team was much higher against a team that lacked preparation coming from a country which is war ravaged.

Knowing their limitation, It was clear that Syria was in the match for damage limitation. Their piling of the defense , sometimes as much as 8 players on two layers in front of their keepers, was meant to not to concede any goals and then hit Iran on the break. Iran’s Omid team midfield was far superior than the opposition and controlled the match at will, however, tension, lack of confidence and some poor passing spoiled any chance of Omid team translating this supremacy into goals that they deserved.

Failure to set up a string of 3 or more passes marred Iran Omid’s team game despite the poor standard of the opposition.

The second half goal scored by Motahari , beautifully slicing through the Syrian defense before hitting the keeper with a close range shot, augmented the team confidence. The passes started to flow much efficiently between the players. Mehdi Torabi was magnificent on the left flank majestically controlling , dribbling and with his burst of speed, passing the Syrians with ease.

It was only a matter of time before the second goal and more would be coming. Mehrdad Mohammadi was at the end of a beautiful diagonal pass from Karimi The Rah Ahan midfielder switched legs , control ed the ball and sent a powerful unstoppable shot to the far right end of Syrian keeper.

Iran could have easily scored another two in the last 15 minutes, but combination of complacency and poor concentration prevented a rout of the uninspiring Syrian team.

Despite the win, and the boost in the confidence, the teamwork needs much improvement against the much stronger next opposition; host Qatar on Friday. For the team to have a genuine chance of qualifying from this group, much work is needed. There was some fine individual performances by Omid Team  players, especially Mehdi Torabi, Mehrdad Mohammadi and Amir Arsalan Motahari, however , Khakpour has much work left to convert these talented players into a force to be reckoned with.

Another Iranian young star bites the dust.

In the last few years of Iranian football,  a few promising talents emerged from the land that has abundant talented young kids. Amongst this group, a unique skilled player who seemed to possess a multiple of skills made the headlines and the media was quick to declare the emergence of the next Ali Karimi and even the Iranian Maradona.

Payam Sadeghian

A star is born

His name is Payam Sadeghian, and to be plainly truthful, the kid had talent, plenty of it, in fact.

From the youth teams in Zob Ahan until he ended up in Persepolis, Sadeghian consistently showed his skills, his courage, passion and zest. He can dribble all right but also has a venomous shoot. His dead ball skills are second to none. There isn’t much that Sadeghian cannot excel in while on the pitch.  For such talent, Sadeghian was selected for every national team age group that existed, from the U14 in 2005 all the way to the senior Team Melli in 2012.

But the kid had one major shortfall. With the praises bestowed upon him, left , right and center, he developed an unwelcome ego and lack of discipline bordering delinquency. Time and again, on and off the field, Sadeghian was involved in unruly, disruptive and troublemaking scenes. He had several disputes with coaches and managers.

mohsen-mosalman-and-payam-sadeghian-7681

NAVAD V show interview

In an interview with TV Show Navad, Ferdowsipour asked him about this side of his “ugly” football and why does he seem to be in the news for the wrong reasons? Payam Sadeghian’s  answer was evident of a  young man is living in denial and has no real clue how his misbehavior is slowly destroying what looks like a promising career , regardless to his inherit and undeniable talents . Sadeghian accused some people of exaggeration and said that he is not the evil person that some of his enemies portray him! Obviously, Payam Sadeghian believed that he is doing fine and there is no sense in addressing his character or behavior.

However, the biggest failure in Sadeghian case is the fact that his club managers and coaches have failed to truly address his trouble case and deal with it by providing the proper solution. His poor disciplinary record was even defended by some of his peers. Even Ali Daei, who always portrays himself as a strict disciplinarian and law abiding person, miserably failed in tackling Sadeghian while he was the head coach of Persepolis. Daei is famous for being very quick in finding faults in others!

Daei was sacked , then Derakhshan came and gone and now one Branko Ivankovic , a household name in Iranian football, has taken the helm at the most popular club in Asia. Ivankovic, a disciplinarian but one of the most approachable and likable characters, has had enough of Payam Sadeghian only few weeks of working with him. The Croat head coach of Persepolis announced that he will not allow Sadeghian in his team. Asked if Sadeghian will be in Persepolis team next year, he simply said “NO.”

 Bleak future

Payam Sadeghian is a regretful case of a young footballer failure. Of course, there is a long road to recovery if he wishes, but the signs are there to assume that he has not repented. It is a personal failure and the responsibility is upon his own shoulder.  He went astray and off-course somewhere along the line regardless to the reasons. It is also another failure for Iranian football management which consistently fails to handle indiscipline players. This Persepolis team alone has half a dozen players or more in the same category, but Sadeghian is the most regrettable because the kid has talents that might never materialize and blossom the way it deserves to.

One think is taken for granted. Carlos Queiroz has no time for such delinquency. The chances of Sadeghian ever making one of Queiroz squads is quite remote knowing the Portuguese coach strict requirement by his player for disciplinary compliance.

Omid team rout Nepal 5-0

Iran’s U23 team (Omid Team)  defeated Nepal U23 5-0 in Group C of the AFC U-23 Championship match held at Azadi today. The first half ended 2-0 for Iran U23.

Iran’s goal were scored by Arsalan Motahari  minute 15 [1-0]  , Behnam Barzay from the penalty spot in the 28th minute [2-0]  , Sardar Azmoun on the 54th [3-0] , Ali Karimi on the 67th minute [4-0] and Shahin Saghebi on 88th minute [5-0].

IRN-NEPAL P4

Unfortunately, the match was played in front of empty Azadi Stadium bar a few hundred that turned up to cheer the Omid players. Nowrooz Holidays is one of the reasons for lack of interest by the fans.

The match was a one sided affair where Iran’s Omid controlled from the beginning not allowing the Nepalese team any time on the ball. Nepal, despite having a few good players, lacked in confidence and ambition and seemed to focus on conceding the least number of goals.

Despite the supremacy of Omid Team , the result does not truly reflect the game as the Iranian players wasted a handful of scoring chances. Considering the opportunities missed, the result could have been easily in double figure by minute 75 of the match. Some slack finishing, lack of vision, complacency and inaccuracy in the last shoot by the Iranian forwards, saved the blushes of the Nepalese team. Credit must also be given to the Nepalese goalkeeper , who was their best player by far, who executed some heroics to keep the powerful Iranians at bay.

 

Alireza Jahanbakhsh was given a rest day after his long journey from Holland where he played his last game in the league by winning promotion for NEC some 10 weeks before the league conclusion.

Azmoun played with finesse and style however, he was found wanting on several easy balls that he should have scored. One of the more beautiful scenes of the match was his close range powerful header that was spectacularly saved by Nepal keeper.

IRN-NEPAL P18

Despite the emphatic result and the supremacy of the Omid Team against what was a weak opponent whose priority was damage limitation and time wasting, the overall shape of the team was lacking in several areas. The team looked and played like 11 individual talented players each with his own excellent skills.  What blemished the display, however, was the poor teamwork especially in the finishing.

Improved and more efficient Teamwork is needed against the better oppositions. With more games ahead and practice sessions, it is hoped that weakness areas are covered , although none was apparent against a weak team. The are enough talented players in this current Omid team for Iran to stand a very good chance on making it to the Olympics. The onus is on the coaching staff to maintain discipline and good standard in the long road to qualification.

For the first official match , the team gave the few hundred fans in Azadi , quite a lot of hope and by the time Saudi Arabia meets Iran in the last match , the team should have jelled together much better and understanding between the players improved.

IRN-NEPAL P8

 

 

 

the-afc.com

Tehran: Iran took the early initiative in Group C of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers as the Group C hosts ran out comfortable 5-0 winners over Nepal in Monday’s later match at the PAS Stadium following Palestine’s 2-0 defeat of Afghanistan.

Arsalan Motahhari, who came off the bench to score in Naft Tehran’s 2-1 come-from-behind win over Al Shabab in last week’s AFC Champions League, put the home side one up after 14 minutes before a 27th minute penalty from skipper Behnam Barzay gave Iran a 2-0 lead to take into the interval at the PAS Stadium.

Sardar Azmoun, scorer of two goals for the senior side at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, made it 3-0 ten minutes into the second half and after Ali Karimi added to the Russia-based winger’s strike with Iran’s fourth in the 67th minute, Shahin Saghebi rounded off the victory three minutes from full time, with the substitute getting his name on the score sheet ten minutes after coming on to replace captain Barzay.

Iran are not in action again until Friday when they take on Palestine who will be looking to go into the meeting with the Group C hosts having recorded their second win of the campaign when they face Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.

Javad Nekounam breaks the record of Team Melli all time appearnces

Finally , the current Captain of Team Melli, Javad Nekounam , broke Ali Daei’s record for the most number of matches while playing his 150th match against Qatar in Sydney.

Javad Nekounam , who started his international career in 2000 while a midfield player at Pas Tehran , has been consistently playing for Team Melli in the last 14 years in which he played in 2 World Cups (2006 , 2014) and 5 AFC Asian Cup ( 2000, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015).

Nekounam is also the 4th highest scorer in Team Melli history , behind Ali Daei, Karim Bagheri and Ali Karimi , the 3 legendary stars of Iranian football. Nekounam has accumulated 37 goals , one less than Ali Karimi who is the third on the list.

Our sincere congratulation to Nekounam on this achievement.

Messi-Nekounam

 

 

 

Season Openin. Subst. Goals Yellows Reds
2000 1 5 0 0 0
2001 6 4 0 1 0
2002 11 1 0 1 0
2003 13 0 1 2 0
2004 18 0 7 3 0
2005 11 0 4 2 0
2006 11 0 2 2 0
2007 8 0 4 3 0
2008 8 0 4 1 0
2009 8 0 2 3 0
2010 6 0 1 1 1
2011 10 0 5 0 0
2012 8 1 1 1 0
2013 8 0 6 0 0
2014 8 1 0 3 0
2015 2 1 0 0 0
Total 137 13 37 23 1
By season | In opening squad | Substituted in | Goals | Yellow cards | Red cards

 

 

Iran vs. Qatar : “keep it tight at the back”

14th January 2015

In addition to being the match that could decide Team Melli qualification, the match against Qatar on Thursday, will also be another test of Carlos Queiroz’s defensive game plan. A win by Team Melli will take it to the sixth consecutive quarter finals appearance of the Asian Cup. Iran’s proud record started in 1996 edition , in which Team Melli played in 5 consecutive tournament and never losing a match in regulation time.

Iran will be facing a wounded Qatar, and that could be a two edged sword. The multi-National team of Qatar could have already conceded although publically they are putting up a brave face and a defiant attitude. On the other hand, they still believe that there is nothing to lose, they still stand a chance for qualifying and end up playing their best football, the one that we have seen they can excel in, in front of Team Melli.

Ismaeel Abdulatif batteling with Morteza Pouraliganji

Djamal Belmadhi has assembled a decent team including many new faces. He dispensed with the Latin American contingents as they were failing to deliver and instead he picked a few North Africans and players from his native Algeria to replace the likes of Fabio Cesar, Andrés Sebastián Soria. Neutralizing foreign players is a fundamental standard procedure in Qatar sport including the National Football team.

The result against UAE was hardly an indication of Qatar weakness neither was it in any way and sign of the might of the UAE team. The difference between these two Gulf nation teams are minimal hence a 4-1 result was a freak result that should not be read too much into.

The reality remains that Qatar is strong opponent for any team and still stands a chance in the tournament. The Qataris will be hoping that Thursday’s match will be the turnaround point in their fortunes.

On the other hand, Iran is placed comfortably in the table. A win will be a perfect result, but a draw is not going to be a disaster either. No Team Melli fan should hold his breath hoping that Team Melli will be going to the jugular either. Carlos Queiroz will stick, and religiously so , to his strong defensive ideology regardless to the opposition.

 Since the World Cup and the term parking the bus was associated with Team Melli , even the offensive minded Iranians are becoming convinced with the Queiroz ideology in a classic bandwagon effect. The reality is that Team Melli does not have the ingredients of an lethal offensive team , so why play some tactics that the coach does not have the right resources for it? It makes sense to everyone even with a stronger position and a few field advantages over Qatar, for Team Melli to play the same old game plan hoping for a low margin win.

If you do not have the players like Khalatbary to run havoc on defenders , or a schemer such as Mojtaba Jabbari or Ali Karimi to masterfully orchestrate the midfield and feed your forwards, then offensive plans have to be shelved and Queiroz stick to “keep it tight at the back” approach.

Carlos Queiroz has to be credited with introducing the new players in the defense line, hopefully he would give more playing time to Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh instead of the inert Shojae, whose selection remains an enigma with his pathetic and lethargic performances.

also It will be a tight match but surprises in football can be expected. We hope those would be in the shape of a handsome victory for Team Melli.

Reza Ghoochannejad chased by Hussain Ali Baba of Bahrain

[divider]

Head 2 Head

This will be only the second time that Iran and Qatar meet in the Asian Cup. The first was in Doha in 1988 edition when Team Melli beat the host nation Qatar 2-0 with goals from Karim Bavi and Farshad Peyous. That match was also the first official game between the two teams.

H / A / N Matches W D L Goals + / –
Home 6 4 2 0 16 – 4 +12
Away 13 7 3 3 15 – 11 +4
Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 +0
Total 19 11 5 3 31 – 15 +16
Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
04.06.2013 World Cup Qualifier A 1 – 0 AlSadd Stadium , Doha 11872
12.06.2012 World Cup Qualifier / Round 4 H 0 – 0 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 80000
29.02.2012 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E H 2 – 2 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 55000
06.09.2011 World Cup Qualifier / Round 3 – Group E A 1 – 1 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium , Doha 8125
28.12.2010 Friendly A 0 – 0 Khalifa Stadium , Doha 3000
28.12.2009 Friendly / Qatar Intl. Friendly Tournament A 2 – 3 Suhaim Bin Hamad-Doha Qatar Stadium 3000
09.11.2008 Friendly A 1 – 0 Al Saad Stadium , Doha 5000
11.08.2008 WAFF H 6 – 1 Takhti Stadium , Tehran 5000
10.01.2008 Friendly A 0 – 0 Al Saad Stadium , Doha 2000
24.03.2007 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 0 AlGharafah Stadium , Doha 7000
13.10.2004 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ A 3 – 2 Doha 3000
18.02.2004 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ H 3 – 1 Azadi – Tehran 0
01.08.2001 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 2 Doha 0
27.09.2000 Friendly A 2 – 1 Al Sadd Stadium , Doha 5000
07.11.1997 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ A 0 – 2 Doha 20000
03.10.1997 World Cup Qualifier / WCQ H 3 – 0 Azadi – Tehran 70000
01.06.1996 Friendly / Friendly A 1 – 0 Khalifa Stadium , Doha 10000
17.05.1996 Friendly H 2 – 0 Takhti Stadium , Tabriz 30000
02.12.1988 Asian Cup / Group 1 A 2 – 0 AlAhli FC Stadium , Doha 20000

5th consecutive Asian Cup for Nekounam and approaching record.

Team Melli Captain, Javad Nekounam is on the brink of breaking a record of total match played for Team Melli. The current record holder is Ali Daei with 149 match appearances, while the Osasuna Captain is lagging behind by 2 matches with 147.

The next competition that Nekounam can equal or overtake Daei record is the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. Barring any surprises or injuries, Nekounam is assured at least the 3 matches he requires to take the all time record of matches. This will also be a record breaking 5th consecutive AFC Asian Cup appearance for Nekounam who played in the 2000 edition of Asian cup in Lebanon.  Javad Nekounam ( 34 years) made his debut for Team Melli against Syria on the 28th May 2000 at the age of 20 when he was a Pas Tehran player. Jalal Talebi was Team Melli coach who gave Nekounam his debut. For the next 14 years, the midfielder ‘s name was ever present in the list of Team Melli , with a character and performances which made it easy for the various Team Melli coaches to pick him.

Unlike many of his contemporaries , Nekounam kept a steady form , high level of discipline and avoided side issues and problems off the field. Despite being on the same age group of Ali Karimi , and Mehdi Mahdavikia, both household names in Iran and well-known beyond the national border , Nekounam managed to easily overtake both in number of matches played for Team Melli. while the Karimi was busy involving himself in all types of disputes and trouble making that kept him away from Team Melli on several occasions , Nekounam simply pressed on. Mahdavikia , on the other hand, suffered from the fact that he played in Germany which restricted his number of games especially the friendly matches.

In the list of top players who played 50 matches or more, the only player that seem likely to overtake both Daei and Nekounam , is Sepahan’s Ehsan Hajsafy. The young player is going from strength to strength with some wonderful performances. His consistency and discipline is exemplary and that should allow him . like Nekounam , to be on the selection list of Team Melli for many years to come.

TEAM MELLI

LIST OF TOP APPEARANCES

TeamMelli-caps

 

The difference between Football laws of Spain & Iran.

While Iran’s Ali Karimi is appointed as the assistant coach of National Team without any training credentials  , in Spain the legendary Zinedine Zidane  is banned from coaching a reserve team because he does not hold the right qualification.

The former France international did not possess the necessary certificates to train the Blancos’ second-string side and, as a result, cannot return to the bench until 2015

Real Madrid reserve team boss Zinedine Zidane has been banned from the bench for three months over missing coaching qualifications.

There was a complaint made against Zidane’s position as Real Madrid Castilla head coach in August, a position he had taken during the summer after choosing to step aside as Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant with the club’s first team.

The former midfielder has a Uefa A Licence – equivalent to Level 2 qualifications in Spain – but needed Level 3 badges to hold the position to take charge of the Blancos’ second string.

Zidane’s deputy, Santiago Sanchez, has been handed the same ban as he used his qualifications to shield Zidane from being pulled up on his lack of coaching badges, which the Champions League winner now must obtain before early April to avoid further sanctions.

Obviously , Iran Football Federation does not believe in such unnecessary Spanish bureaucracy which mars the progress of football in the Iran !

Asian Icons: Ali Karimi

AFC Player of the Year 2004, Ali Karimi, who recently announced the end of his compelling playing career, kicks-off the first of the-afc.com’s ‘Asian Icons’ series as we build up to the AFC’s 60th Anniversary celebrations in November by profiling the individuals and incidents that have impacted on the Asian game over the years.

The charismatic Karimi will undoubtedly go down as one of Iran’s greatest footballers who, on his day, could dazzle Iranian and Asian football fans with his silky passing, unbelievable imagination and light feet as he orchestrated attacks for club and country.

Standing proudly alongside other Iranian football legends such as former team-mates Ali Daei, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Karim Bagheri, Karimi is third in the all time Team Melli scoring chart with 38 goals from 127 matches in an international career that was not without its tensions as major disagreements between strong personalities were not uncommon in Iranian football over the years.

Top scorer as Iran finished third at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, Karimi has also helped Team Melli win the 1998 Asian Games gold, two WAFF Championships and a 2003 AFC/OFC Challenge Cup title in which he scored twice in a 3-0 win over New Zealand and was named MVP.

The Karaj-born attacking midfielder was even more successful at club level and after winning two league titles with Persepolis and two UAE Cups with Al Ahli, Karimi followed in the footsteps of compatriots Bagheri, Daei, and Mahdavikia and made the move to the German Bundesliga.

Karimi, nicknamed ‘the Asian Maradona’ by fans in Iran, won the 2005/06 league and cup double with Bayern Munich before winning his second DFB Cup winner’s medal with Schalke 04 following a brief spell back in Germany in 2011 following a stint in Qatar with Qatar Sports Club and Al Siliya and two seasons back in Iran with Steel Azin.

Karimi-Ali-Kahn-Bayern

After his second stint in Germany Karimi returned to Persepolis for a third stint at the Tehran giants before calling time on an illustrious career that spanned almost two decades at his final club Tractorsazi Tabriz, where he had a final cameo appearance on Asian club football’s biggest stage, the AFC Champions League

Ali Karimi Pashaki

Asian football is all the poorer for the retirement of a genuine legend.

Asia loses a legend as Karimi retires

 

JOHN DUERDEN

espnfc.com

 

Ali Karimi has finally hung up his boots after a fine career.

 

Not many football players were mentioned by name in those diplomatic cables released to the world by WikiLeaks a few years ago but Ali Karimi was. Even Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad found the time to get involved in the career of the man they called ‘The Wizard Of Tehran” who finally pocketed his wand and hung up his boots earlier this week. Having threatened to quit before, this time it is for real and Asian football has lost a little of its sparkle as a result.

His 117 caps for Iran, Bundesliga success with Bayern Munich and three separate spells with his beloved Persepolis in Tehran don’t tell anything like the full story. Karimi is one, some say the best, of the most talented players Asia has ever produced.

Special barely begins to describe the quarterfinal of the 2004 Asian Cup against South Korea, almost exactly a decade ago. Jinan is one of the grittier Chinese cities but if you wanted beauty and magic, it was the place be on that sticky Saturday night as it hosted one of the greatest individual performances ever seen on the continent. Scoring a hat trick in a 4-3 win was always going to grab the headlines but there was something different about his performance that only a true great can claim. Iran coach Branko Ivankovic recalled later on how he realised early in the game that his star man was in special form; the instructions from the bench and the half-time team talk were basically to give it to Karimi.

Some of the Korean defenders were still shaking their heads an hour after it all finished and the tormentor is still talked about and respected in Seoul. Karimi was more than the difference between the two teams, he was the difference between witnessing an exciting game of knockout football in a major competition and something unforgettable. A few months later, he was named Asia’s player of 2004.

It was almost a perfect year with the only frustration that he was still playing for Al Ahli in a UAE league where he lingered too long. It was like Park Ji-sung starring in the 2002 World Cup and deciding to stay at Kyoto Purple Sanga for another season or two instead of heading to PSV Eindhoven, the latter stages of the Champions League and then Manchester United. In typical Karimi fashion however, when the move came, it was a big one as he left Dubai for Bayern Munich, just weeks before Park was pictured holding the famous red shirt at Old Trafford in July 2005.

Karimi’s first game against Bayer Leverkusen was watched by millions back home. It is hard to think of an Asian player who had managed such an impressive big league debut after a direct switch from east to west and the midfielder basked in the plaudits after helping his new club to a 5-2 win.

He continued to look solid over the next six months or so, before an ankle injury in arctic conditions against Hamburg in March 2006 ended his first campaign. He never really got going again, perhaps it was being injured a long way from home, perhaps it was the fall-out of that summer’s World Cup, perhaps it was issues behind the scenes at FC Hollywood, but the injury as good as ended his time with Bayern. It was made official in May 2007 and, soon after, he returned to the Middle East and Qatar. Apart from the briefest of spells with Schalke, his European career was over.

There will be regret that the wider world outside Asia didn’t get to see much of what he could do. 2006 should have been the time but the World Cup was a disaster for both player and country. Karimi was still not match fit after the Hamburg injury and was taken off on the hour of the opening game against Mexico. Shortly after, a 1-1 scoreline became a 3-1 defeat. Worse was to follow. He was one side of a major split in the dressing room opposite Ali Daei, a legend who was past his best by the time the tournament kicked off, and for Iranian football, the lack of unity off the pitch was more painful than results on it.

Controversy was never far away from Karimi — given the tag “Asian Maradona,” the nickname was accurate in more ways than one as he was not afraid to speak out about some of the issues in Iranian football, a trait that won him enemies as well as public affection. In 2008, the Iranian FA banned him from the national team after he publicly criticised the federation for incompetence. He was reinstated thanks to the efforts of President Ahmadinejad.

 

Ali Karimi: The deep-lying forward has played 112 times for Iran
Karimi was never one to hold his tongue.

 

Perhaps, however, Iran’s leader regretted the intervention the following year. In June 2009, Karimi headed to South Korea as part of a team needing to win to keep hopes of automatic qualification for the 2010 World Cup alive against a backdrop of major protests back home. The president had just won re-election but the opposition claimed their man, Mir Hossein Mousavi, as the real winner. The favoured colour of the challenger during the election was green, and six of the Team Melli XI took the pitch in Seoul sporting wristbands of the same colour. Whatever the official explanation soon given — namely that the gesture was a religious one — it was certainly interpreted by many as support for the opposition.

Many thought that was it for Karimi in terms of the international stage, especially when in 2010, his club Steel Azin banned him from playing after he was reportedly seen drinking water in a training session during Ramadan. The ban didn’t last long though and he was soon back playing for his country but, in truth, his best years were behind him.

Even so, he managed to play a sizable part in Iran’s successful qualification for the 2014 World Cup until the historic defeat to Lebanon midway through the final stage. Many fans campaigned for him to be summoned to Brazil but it was not to be, though coach Carlos Queiroz reserved some special words for the player when naming his final squad, who took the omission with the kind of grace he often showed on the playing field. In the end, it was hard to imagine the 35 year-old matching younger compatriots in their defensive discipline against Argentina but then, perhaps, it is easy to imagine him coming up with the goal that Iran deserved against the eventual runners-up too.

Karimi wasn’t perfect. He upset plenty and his performances didn’t always match his skill but that was part of his charm. He divided opinion as easily as he divided a defence with a deft backheel, but surely all can agree that Asian football is all the poorer for the retirement of a genuine legend.