Flash Back Fridays: Who remembers all the Ali Daei fights on this forum ?

[BacheLot]

I didn’t mind Daie as ourTM forward, although he certainly overstayed his welcome & was utterly useless towards the end & shouldn’t have been taken to WC 06..!but he was an annoying arrogant ass & a total disaster as PP & TMcoach ..!Hated him passionately during those days..!

It seems he’s matured personality wise immensely of late & has become a far less divisive & likable individual these past 4-5 years..! Or it coulda just been a front to endear himself yo TM fans in hopes of retaining TM coaching reigns ..!?

[Paradigm]

Daie's problem was that he started his soccer career late, and by the time he made it big, was already in his late 20s. Players after 32 or 33 should be ready to be relegated to subs and retire at 35.

[scuderia]

Do you guys mind explaining what the exact situation was please. A lot of us are a bit unclear about it.

[Martin-Reza]

^ he was old and slow and yet Branko always played him 90 mins in every game. He kept on scoring, but many felt we had better options available. Especially 2004 - 2006 this was the hottest topic around.

[shahin2000]

Its crazy that 13 yrs have passed since 2006 world cup...some of you werent really around here then or too young to remember but there was a HUUUGE conflict between members here about Ali Daei back then. People used to fosh, curse, call each other names, etc....

Now looking back, I wonder how many of those people are still angry and would repeat the things they said back then.

I also remember Rasoul Khatibi was at his prime and in some interview he kind of pointed to the fact that he should have gotten more playing time.

[shahin2000]

I think the more important lesson was the namak nashnasee of Iranians. After all Daei did he deserved more respect than people wishing death or injury on him and his family.

Also notice we still havent produced 1 striker capable of doing half of what he did. Azmoun has been great, but not quite like our old guard. I think we took him for granted, even though he was not the best player during those later years, but at least his name and frame drew attention of defenders which left our other players like Hashemian and others more open.

I loved Daei very much... in fact remember how the internet petition brought him back to TM in '97? Anyways, Daei was well past his prime in '06. He should have stepped aside and give his spot up.

[shahin2000]

BTW aren't we all missing those days? Especially the days when we had a opportunistic and amazing scorer like Daei who on his worst days and when he would barely touch the ball, still managed to score? Ever since the retirement of Daei, our football has failed to produce a worthy striker who knows how to score. Thanks God we have Azmoun who happens to be the only one who can come close to Daei. Our domestic league desperately lacks a smart striker with good vision, high IQ and decent finishing ability.

Daei was great, no question about it. But he did not produce at the highest level... In 6 WC matches the great international scorer has produced 0 goals. There was a 100% chance against USA in the '98 WC that he missed and a puppy header against Angola in the '06 that he hit over the bar.

[DaNinerMan]

I always have great things to say about Daei when he was a good player. But he had no business being on Team Melli at the 2006 World Cup.

[Kavian]

Although, Karimi was as usual a trouble maker who destroyed the morale of the team during WC06, and Branko even more at fault with his lack of decisiveness and strong coaching, but I have to say, I was very critical of Daie at the time, who should have recognized that his contribution to the team was non existing and should have worked with the coach to let other players fill the role. He was selfish and wanted to be on the team regardless and that pissed off Karimi who is not known for diplomacy and problem solving skills.

Beside the Daie and Karimi situation, the team at WC06 had all sorts of problems. Many of our so called star players did perform to the expectations. The fact that two defenders (Bakhtiarizadeh and Golmohammadi) scored kinda explains how under performing was our offense.

[Paradigm]

Although, Karimi was as usual a trouble maker who destroyed the morale of the team during WC06, and Branko even more at fault with his lack of decisiveness and strong coaching, but I have to say, I was very critical of Daie at the time, who should have recognized that his contribution to the team was non existing and should have worked with the coach to let other players fill the role. He was selfish and wanted to be on the team regardless and that pissed off Karimi who is not known for diplomacy and problem solving skills.

Beside the Daie and Karimi situation, the team at WC06 had all sorts of problems. Many of our so called star players did perform to the expectations. The fact that two defenders (Bakhtiarizadeh and Golmohammadi) scored kinda explains how under performing was our offense.

Also goalkeeping issues.

[KC McElroy]

For the life of me I cannot understand how Daei started and Hashemian was benched in the qualifiers and buildup to the 2006 World Cup.