Ansarifard targets IPL scoring crown

PFDC – KARAJ, Standing in seventh position of the table, Saipa Karaj might have little to play for in the last round next week, but striker Karim Ansarifard will still be highly motivated when entering the pitch against Sanat Naft.

The 22-year-old striker broke his own goalscoring record in Iran’s Pro League (IPL) with a brace in Saipa’s 2-2 draw against Shahin Bushehr on Sunday, now having 20 goals to his tally this season.

Only Sanat Naft striker Founeke Sy also has 20 goals to his name, however, Ansarifard overtook veteran striker Gholamreza Enayati to become the best Iranian striker of the league. He also assisted five goals this season, more than Enayati or Sy.

Ansarifard now will be eager to also surpass the Malian in the direct duel in Karaj next Friday, also because it might be his last game for Saipa or even in Iran for some years.

The 186 cm (6”1”) tall striker was already tipped to move to Europe last summer after scoring 19 goals during the 2010/11 IPL season and 13 goals in the season before, and was linked to English, German and Romanian clubs. He, however, surprisingly didn’t even sign with one of the big Iranian clubs but instead extended his contract with Saipa until 2013, citing the possibility to continue his university studies as main reason.

But the biggest attacking prospect in Iranian football might have changed his mind, recently talking about his European ambitons in an interview and thereby inspiring the often creative Iranian media to again link him to different clubs, including the likes of Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Ansarifard is often compared to his discoverer and mentor Ali Daei and already inherited the Iranian legendary striker’s number 10 national team shirt, scoring eight goals in 28 appearances for Team Melli, although the latest of his goals came in an unofficial friendly match against Mauretania in April.

Like the most successful international goalscorer ever, Ansarifard was born in the city of Ardabil, where he spent some years on the Inter Milan campus before joining Saipa after a short spell with Zob Ahan Ardabil.

Should a European club decide to go for the striker, who also can play on the right or left wing if needed, they will most likely have to remit more than 300,000 € (400.000 $) to Saipa – an investment that might well pay off.