Mahdavikia with Iran national football team |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 July 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Tehran, Iran | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right Back / Midfielder / Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Persepolis | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1995 | Bank Melli | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1998 | Persepolis | 54 | (18) |
| 1998–1999 | → VfL Bochum (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 1999–2007 | Hamburger SV | 208 | (26) |
| 2007–2010 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 32 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Steel Azin | 34 | (4) |
| 2011 | Damash Gilan | 14 | (0) |
| 2012– | Persepolis | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1994 | Iran U-20 | 2 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Iran U-23 | 9 | (2) |
| 1996–2009 | Iran | 111 | (13) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Mehdi Mahdavikia (Persian: مهدی مهدویکیا, born 24 July 1977 in Tehran) is an Iranian football player who currently plays for Persepolis in Iran Pro League. He has won Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 1997, as well as Asian Footballer of the Year in 2003. He was the captain of the Iran national football team from 2006 to 2009, and currently is the third most capped Iranian International After Ali Daei and Ali Karimi. As a product of Bank Melli, He joined Persepolis and after his performance in FIFA World Cup 1998, he was transferred to Hamburger SV in Fußball-Bundesliga, where he played for eight seasons. He usually plays as a right winger or full-back. He is known for his crossing, speed and dribbling.
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Mehdi first played for Persepolis club in his native Iran before moving to VfL Bochum in Germany. After Bochum's relegation, he signed for Bundesliga side Hamburg where he stayed for the next eight seasons.
His initial position for HSV was right fullback, from which he was known for his attacking runs, as he has previous experience as a right winger and at times has played as a striker. He also played some matches for Pas in Asian games as help for the club. Mahdavikia under coach Frank Pagelsdorf used to play wide striker. For the 2006–07 Bundesliga season he has moved back to his natural position of right wing, in support of Center Midfielder Rafael van der Vaart. He was awarded Hamburg Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004 by the fans, and also attained the envious title of the top assister of goals in the Bundesliga. However, compared to his previous season, he had a poor season in 2004–05 and was benched. In the 2005–06 season he has gained his old form back and was able to regain his spot as a starter, being influential in many of Hamburg's victories, such as scoring the winning goal against Bundesliga heavyweights Schalke.
Mehdi Mahdavikia's strongest points are his vision, passing skills, fast paced runs, and set-pieces such as corners, spotkicks and free kicks. He is usually the right-footed alternative to Van der Vaart's well known left foot. Apart from being a total professional on the pitch, he is also known as a perfect gentleman off the pitch, always finding the time for fans and reporters to answer questions or sign autographs.
His nickname in Hamburg is The Carpet (der Teppich) for his ability to "magically glide past" his opponents like the enchanted carpet.
On 8 June 2007 he signed a 3-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt.[1]
In his first season he had two bad injuries that forced him to miss many matches.In the second season he was mostly benched and not used in many matches which showed that the club did not want him anymore. After 255 Games (26 goals, 55 assists) in the Fußball-Bundesliga for HSV, Bochum and Eintracht Frankfurt, left Germany to sign for Steel Azin in January 2010.[2]
On 4 July 2011, Mahdavikia sign a contract with Amir Abedini, President of the Damash Gilan to join to the club for one year but he was joined to his beloved club, Persepolis in mid-seasion to play for club in his last year of playing football.[3]
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 1995–96 | Persepolis | Azadegan League | 11 | 1 | - | - | 11 | 1 | ||
| 1996–97 | 28 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 37 | 12 | ||
| 1997–98 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 11 | ||
| Total | Club | 54 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 67 | 24 | |
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 1998–99 | Bochum | Bundesliga | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | 12 | 3 | |
| Total | Club | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | |
| 1999–00 | Hamburg | Bundesliga | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 4 |
| 2000–01 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 2001–02 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 10 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2003–04 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2004–05 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 40 | 5 | ||
| 2006–07 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 2 | ||
| Total | Club | 208 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 229 | 28 | |
| 2007–08 | Eintracht Frankfurt | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 20 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | Club | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 2009–10 | Steel Azin | Pro League | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | 11 | 4 | |
| 2010–11 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2011–12 | Damash | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 16 | 0 | ||
| Persepolis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Country | Iran | 102 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 120 | 30 | |
| Germany | 252 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 275 | 31 | ||
| Total | 354 | 49 | 11 | 5 | 30 | 5 | 395 | 61 | ||
| Season | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 09–10 | Steel Azin | 2 |
| 10–11 | Steel Azin | 4 |
| 11–12 | Damash | 2 |
| 11–12 | Persepolis | 0 |
Having been awarded the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 1997, Mahdavikia was considered Iran's best player in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was named in the list from which the team of the tournament was chosen. In 2003, he was awarded Asian Player of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation. He was also the top assister in the 2004 Asian Cup, exhibiting stunning form to steer Iran's attack to superb attacking football. He played in four Asian Cups (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) and two World Cups (1998, 2006).
Mahdavikia was one of the influential players that played in Iran's crucial 1–0 victory over Bahrain to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany. Following the FIFA World Cup in Germany, 2006, Mahdavikia was expected to assume the role of Captain in the Iranian national side, replacing Ali Daei and Yahya Golmohammadi who had publicly announced their intention to retire after the tournament. Mahdavikia was given the captain's band on 16 August 2006 in an Asian Cup qualifier versus Syria.
Mahdavikia has reportedly been forced to "retire" from international football[4] after wearing a green bracelet in the final World Cup 2010 qualification match against the Republic of Korea. The green bracelet was a sign of support for those protesting the highly contested Iranian presidential election.[5] He was forced to retire from Team Melli after 13 years and playing in 2 World Cups (1998, 2006), 4 Asian Cups (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007), 1 Asian Games tournament (1998), 4 World Cup qualifying campaigns (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010), 3 Asian Cup qualifying campaigns (2000, 2004, 2007) and one AFC/OFC Cup.
| Iran national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 |
| 1997 | 21 | 5 |
| 1998 | 17 | 2 |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 |
| 2000 | 15 | 2 |
| 2001 | 11 | 1 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 |
| 2004 | 10 | 1 |
| 2005 | 7 | 1 |
| 2006 | 7 | 0 |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 |
| 2008 | 3 | 1 |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 111 | 13 |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 April 1997 | Tabriz, Iran | Kenya | 3–0 | Win | Friendly |
| 2 | 2 June 1997 | Damascus, Syria | Maldives | 17–0 | Win | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 11 June 1997 | Tehran, Iran | Maldives | 9–0 | Win | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 13 September 1997 | Dalian, China | China PR | 4–2 | Win | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 13 September 1997 | Dalian, China | China PR | 4–2 | Win | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 31 January 1998 | Hong Kong, Hong Kong | Chile | 1–1 | Draw | Friendly |
| 7 | 21 June 1998 | Lyon, France | United States | 2–1 | Win | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 8 | 16 January 2000 | Pasadena, USA | United States | 1–1 | Draw | Friendly |
| 9 | 31 March 2000 | Aleppo, Syria | Maldives | 8–0 | Win | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 10 | 12 October 2001 | Tehran, Iran | Iraq | 2–1 | Win | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 18 February 2004 | Tehran, Iran | Qatar | 3–1 | Win | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 12 | 30 March 2005 | Pyongyang, North Korea | North Korea | 2–0 | Win | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 13 | 15 October 2009 | Tehran, Iran | North Korea | 2–1 | Win | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
With the Iran national football team
With Hamburger SV
With Persepolis F.C.
Mahdavikia is married to Sepideh and has a daughter, Asal.
In April 2006, Mahdavikia caused a stir when it came out he married a second wife named Samira while being in his native Iran, thus practising bigamy. He himself has stated that he made a "big mistake", was "lured into a trap" and ended the affair after a short while. As of May 2006, Mahdavikia plans to prosecute Samira for slander.[7]
Mahdavikia's brother, Hadi currently plays for Homa F.C. and his nephew, Mostafa plays for Foolad Natanz.
Mahdavikia's most prolific club match was Hamburger SV's match against Juventus in the Champions League. He was the impetus that rallied Hamburg back after being down 3–1 by scoring once, assisting one and winning a penalty for Hamburg that saw Hamburg take a 4–3 lead; Juve managed to equalise with an Inzaghi penalty.
Another famous game in the HSV shirt came in week 30 of the 2002–03 season. Mahdavikia scored one and assisted another two goals in Hamburg's 4–0 win over 1. FC Nuremberg. Kicker gave him a much rare perfect note of 1.0.
Mehdi's greatest national team match, arguably, was against South Korea in the 2004 Asia Cup where he assisted three goals in Iran's 4–3 win. Many also point to his dynamic game against the United States in World Cup 1998 that saw him score Iran's second and winning goal, as his best ever. Another excellent match where he scored two great goals was against China in the qualification round for the 1998 World Cup when he was just 20 years old.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Yahya Golmohammadi |
Iran captain 2006–2009 |
Succeeded by Javad Nekounam |
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