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| Birth Name(s) : Ali Daei |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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Athlete |
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Full Ali Daei Biography
Ali Daei (Persian: علی دایی, born March 21, 1969 in Ardabil, Iran) is a retired Iranian football player who currently is manager of Saipa F.C. in Iran's Premier Football League. He is a former member of the Iran national football team, and is the world's all-time leading goalscorer in international matches.
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).
At the same time he was very successful in international competition scoring in practically every game and making new records. Daei was playing in numerous continental friendlies against world class opposition, yet 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-Shabab 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 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 retirement he signed for another industry linked club from Tehran, Saipa F.C., on August 1, 2006..
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.. 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..
On May 28, 2007 after Saipa won the Persian Gulf Cup (2006-2007) after a match. vs Mes Kerman F.C. Daei announced his retirement from playing club football, he intends to concentrate on his coaching career.
Daei was called up to join Team Melli on June 6, 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.
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.
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 Sport's Wears & Equipments, making sportswear for Iran sporting clubs in various fields and league clubs worldwide. His company also made jerseys 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.
Besides his footballing career, Ali Daei also owns Daei Sport's Wears & Equipments, 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. |
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