Majid Hosseini & Ali Karimi @ Kayserispor | 2021-22

[O-ZoNe]

Maybe your post is a bit of a joking exaggeration, but I'm going to make the case that AK8 is not remotely deserving of any TM honor even close to having his number retired.

He may have been a highly skilled player, but what did he do with that potential or accomplish for TM that is noteworthy? He only made 1 World Cup in his 14 years of service (and acted like a fool and helped sabotage a fairly talented squad with his unprofessionalism). We did finish 3rd in the 2004 Asian Cup and perhaps that's the highlight of his TM career. He only lasted two years in Europe, not opening any doors for other Iranians to make the move. Then, in his retirement, he has been a constant distraction weighing in on TM decisions, including bad mouthing CQ right before the 2018 WC.

He gave many years to TM, but I don't regard that as the threshold for putting his jersey up in the rafters. Mahdavikia with his decade in Germany, Daei with the scoring record, Nekounam pioneering Spain and having our caps record, even Shojaei making it to 3 WCs...those guys are a solid cut above in terms of their service and accomplishments. Perhaps Taremi, who has opened up Portugal and is achieving continental success in Europe, will reach that level one day too.

It can't just be about skill when we put together our list of greats. It has to be about accomplishments and the body of work. No one makes the Hall of Fame because they were a first round draft pick or were athletic freaks -- they make it because they set records and won trophies. Truth is...AK8 was a bust!

Asian Games 1998 champion
Asian Cup 2004 bronze...

Individual honours from Wiki:

Asian Footballer of the Year: 2004; runner-up: 2012

West Asian Football Federation Championship*MVP: 2000

UAE Pro League*best foreign player: 2002–03

UAE Pro League best player: 2003–04

UAE Pro League top scorer:*2003–04

Best foreign player in*UAE Pro League's*history (based on a poll run by Al Bayan newspaper in 2020)

Asian Cup*top scorer:*2004

Asian Cup All-Star Team:*2004

AFC/OFC Cup Challenge*MVP: 2003

AFC*Asian Player of the Month: 2000 (June), 2001 (October), 2003 (October)

iran Pro League*top scoring midfielder:*2009–10*(14 goals),*2011–12*(12 goals)

Top scoring midfielder of*Persepolis F.C.*in*AFC Champions League*(ten goals)

One of the top 2 players of Iran's football history chosen by*FIFA*(Iran national football team's introduction teaser for 2018 FIFA World Cup)[65]

AFC Asian Cup Fans' All-time Best XI: 2018[66]

Marca*Fans' Top Iranian footballer of all time: 2019[67]



I think if a Team Melli player wins footballer of the year that is enough to warrant recognition. Not only did he win it once he was runner up as well.

You don't retire a TM players number cause of his club performances...thats the clubs decision. At TM level he is certainly in the conversation along with a few you others like Daei and Kia.

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[PSGman#19]

They lost 3/0

[ABalls]

Asian Games 1998 champion
Asian Cup 2004 bronze...

Individual honours from Wiki:

Asian Footballer of the Year: 2004; runner-up: 2012

West Asian Football Federation Championship*MVP: 2000

UAE Pro League*best foreign player: 2002–03

UAE Pro League best player: 2003–04

UAE Pro League top scorer:*2003–04

Best foreign player in*UAE Pro League's*history (based on a poll run by Al Bayan newspaper in 2020)

Asian Cup*top scorer:*2004

Asian Cup All-Star Team:*2004

AFC/OFC Cup Challenge*MVP: 2003

AFC*Asian Player of the Month: 2000 (June), 2001 (October), 2003 (October)

iran Pro League*top scoring midfielder:*2009–10*(14 goals),*2011–12*(12 goals)

Top scoring midfielder of*Persepolis F.C.*in*AFC Champions League*(ten goals)

One of the top 2 players of Iran's football history chosen by*FIFA*(Iran national football team's introduction teaser for 2018 FIFA World Cup)[65]

AFC Asian Cup Fans' All-time Best XI: 2018[66]

Marca*Fans' Top Iranian footballer of all time: 2019[67]



I think if a Team Melli player wins footballer of the year that is enough to warrant recognition. Not only did he win it once he was runner up as well.

You don't retire a TM players number cause of his club performances...thats the clubs decision. At TM level he is certainly in the conversation along with a few you others like Daei and Kia.

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Its certainly an interesting question, and I agree the 1998 Asian Games championship, 2004 Asian footballer of the year, and 2004 Asian Cup top scorer achievements are impressive. Heck, even his domination of the IPL and UAE leagues is impressive. If I'm to make a comparison to other sports, its like Rich Gannon from the NFL or Jason Giambi in MLB. Both great players, both won MVPs and made All-Star games. But neither won any major hardware with their teams, neither dominated their sport/position for a prolonged period of time, and neither is going to have their number retired. And that's fine -- they can be great players like Ali Karimi, but not among "the greats". Compare that to a Dan Marino or Ken Griffey Jr for those two sports (both Hall of Famers). Neither won a championship, but both changed the way their game was played at their time. Similar to Mahdavikia, Daei and Nekounam for Iranian football, who shifted the culture of our football during their eras and did so for a sustained period of time.

[taremiscores]

[Altamonte]

His team won 2-1 today against Goozteep and he played... Wtf nobody covered this? 😂

[inarsenewetrust]

started again vs rizespor.

Currently 1-1 in last 5 mins.

Majid just hit the post with good header off corner

[inarsenewetrust]

Finished 1-1. Kayserispor are 11th. Considering they were looking like relegation candidates when he first joined they turned it around and had a solid year.

Majid redeemed himself to good extent this season. His situation could have been really bad and harmed TM like Milad and Saeid, but he made smart move going somewhere we he could start every game, get past his injury issues, and really work on his game in decent environment. Sure his situation is not spectacular yet, but it is better than a year ago barely playing. It made him a much more usable asset for TM and now he is getting TM starts and looking solid there too.

[Futbaldoost]

Big match coming up on Tuesday (April 19), Leg 1 of the Turkish Cup semifinals at Trabzonspor's. Kayserispor making it this far is definitely an accomplishment. Let's see if they can pull off another surprise and make it to the final. It is great that Majid is again peaking right in the year of WC.

Go Majid!

[Abtin]

So happy Majid is getting consistent playing time, such an important asset for us in a few months in Qatar! 💪🏻🔥

[PSGman#19]

Where is AK btw? Training since months but not even in the squad?

[Ghermez Agha]

Where is AK btw? Training since months but not even in the squad?

He just got back to full training in the last few weeks. When he started training a month or so ago it was just running exercises he just started training with the ball…so probably not going to feature until maybe the last couple games.

[Karimi 8]

We need Majid to get a lot of playing time with the WC coming up. it'll help him to become a more consistent player on the national level.

[Gol Bezan]

He just got back to full training in the last few weeks. When he started training a month or so ago it was just running exercises he just started training with the ball…so probably not going to feature until maybe the last couple games.

Actually Karimi is fit and ready to go. But he can't play because Kayserispor cannot register him outside the transfer window. So he has to wait until next season.

[O-ZoNe]

Hosseini starting against Trabzonspor.

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[inarsenewetrust]

http://www.hesgoal.com/news/101233/T...yserispor.html

link. Cup semi final, first leg