Ali Karimi

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Ali Karimi
Personal information
Full name Mohammad Ali Karimi Pashaki
Date of birth November 8, 1978 (age 28)
Place of birth Karaj, Iran
Height 1.78m
Nickname Asian Maradona
Wizard Of Tehran
Position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Bayern Munich
Number 8
Youth clubs
 ?-1998 Fath Tehran
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
1998-2001
2001-2005
2005-present		 Persepolis FC
Al Ahli
Bayern Munich		 68 (9)
(44)
26 (2)
National team**
1998-present Iran 97 (35)

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 9 November 2006.
** National team caps and goals correct
as of 15 November 2006.

Mohammad Ali Karimi Pashaki (Persian: محمد علی کریمی , born on November 8, 1978 in Karaj) is an Iranian football player. He was the Asian Player of the Year in 2004. He currently plays for the German giants Bayern Munich. He is often referred to as the "Asian Maradona" and is believed to be one of Asia's greatest players.

Contents

[edit] Profile

  • Date of Birth: November 8, 1978
  • Place of Birth: Karaj, Tehran Province, Iran
  • Nicknames: Asian Maradona, The Wizard Of Tehran
  • Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
  • Weight: 165 lb (73 kg)
  • Marital Status: Married, 2 sons
  • Profession: Professional Football Player
  • Previous Clubs: Fath Tehran, Persepolis FC, Al Ahli FC
  • Hobbies: Beach Volleyball

[edit] Career

Image:Karimi Asia.jpg
Ali Karimi awarded as the Asian Player of the Year of 2004.

Ali Karimi started his career in Fath Football Club and experienced significant improvement during the time he was playing for Persepolis football club where he got an offer from Atlético Madrid, among other European clubs. However, Karimi did not accept them and chose to play in the UAE, because he wanted to stay close to Iran. He is arguably the best dribbler in Iran and his ball skills are amongst the best in Asia. His skills are often compared to those of Maradona and therefore received the title of Asian Maradona from world newspapers. He showcased his skills in the Iran-Germany friendly game for Bam victims.

He is generally regarded as the best player in Iran, along with team mate, Mehdi Mahdavikia. Karimi, in 2004 was given the prestigious Asian Player of the Year award, like his fellow Iranians, Mehdi Mahdavikia in 2003, Ali Daei in 1999, and Khodadad Azizi in 1996.

Ali Karimi performed well at the 2004 Asian Cup, where he tied for most goals scored with five to his name. Iran placed third in the overall tournament, behind Japan and China.

Unfortunately, coming off an extremely difficult injury, Karimi had a wretched World Cup finals at Germany 2006, with many commentators singling him out as one of the key players who had failed to perform. Short on fitness and form as a result of the injury, he was unable to exert much influence on proceedings as the Iranians lost 1-3 to Mexico and 0-2 to Portugal. He was substituted in the second half against the Portuguese and kicked a bag full of drink bottles on his way to the dugout. He was omitted from the team in the final group game against Angola, with many considering this to be a punishment for his indiscipline at the Portugal game. Iran came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw. Upon returning to Iran, the national football federation decided to part ways with coach Branko Ivankovic.

As of October 2006, he has 96 caps and has scored 35 goals for Team Melli.

[edit] Bayern Munich

On May 3, 2005, Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich's website announced that they signed a one year contract with Ali Karimi who becomes the third Iranian after Ali Daei and Vahid Hashemian to try his luck with Bayern.[1][2]

Despite initial skepticism, due to the overwhelming uncertainty regarding Karimi's physical aptitude and feelings that his transfer was nothing but a marketing gag, Karimi did not waste any time in proving his critics wrong. On August 14, 2005, for the first time, Felix Magath put Karimi on the starting line-up of a 5-2 victory against Bayer Leverkusen on the 2nd day of Bundesliga. Karimi's assist to Roy Makaay for Bayern's second goal followed by his first goal of Bundesliga capped a great performance that earned him a spot on Kicker's team of the week.

In the following period, Karimi established himself as a regular in the Munich squad, not a small feat with a stacked midfield featuring Michael Ballack, Sebastian Deisler, Martin Demichelis, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Owen Hargreaves, Mehmet Scholl or Ze Roberto. With his finesse, his playmaking skills and his versatility, he is seen as a great asset. Karimi's contract with Bayern has been extended one more year because he has made his 25th appearance for the club. unfortunately, in that game against Hamburg, he injured his ankle, but was back in time for the World Cup. Karimi also scored on his first UEFA Champions League appearance against Rapid Vienna.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Bayern swoop for Iran star Karimi. The official FC Bayern Munich website. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.
  2. ^ Iran star Karimi seals Bayern move. CNN. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.

[edit] External links

Preceded by:
Iran Mehdi Mahdavikia		 Asian Footballer of the Year
2004		 Succeeded by:
Saudi Arabia Hamad Al-Montashari
Iran Iran squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Iran

1 Mirzapour | 2 Mahdavikia | 3 Bakhtiarizadeh | 4 Golmohammadi | 5 Rezaei | 6 Nekounam | 7 Zandi | 8 Karimi | 9 Hashemian | 10 Daei | 11 Khatibi | 12 Roudbarian | 13 Ka'abi | 14 Teymourian | 15 Borhani | 16 Enayati | 17 Kazemian | 18 Navidkia | 19 Sadeqi | 20 Nosrati | 21 Madanchi | 22 Talebloo | 23 Shojaei | Coach: Ivanković
FC Bayern Munich - Current Squad

1 Kahn | 2 Sagnol | 3 Lúcio | 5 Van Buyten | 6 Demichelis | 7 Scholl | 8 Karimi | 10 Makaay | 11 Podolski | 14 Pizarro | 17 van Bommel | 18 Görlitz | 19 dos Santos | 20 Salihamidžić | 21 Lahm | 22 Rensing | 23 Hargreaves | 24 Santa Cruz | 25 Ismaël | 26 Deisler | 29 Dreher | 30 Lell | 31 Schweinsteiger | 36 Fürstner | 37 Saba | 39 Ottl | Coach: Magath
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