Asia 50 Reflections: Stars of Europe over the past 20 years [Iran]

FourFourTwo – LONDON, The success of Asian players in the 1990s and 2000s led to more European teams looking at players from the continent.These players would waltz into FourFourTwo’s Asia50 if their exploits were in the present day…

ALI DAEI

Daei isn’t quite a name as prominent as the other two featured above, or some of those listed below, but the Iranian holds his own despite not being a regular starter with Bayern Munich in the 1998/99 season.

The forward still managed 31 appearances and six goals across all competition as Bayern won the Bundesliga and finished runners-up in the Champions League.

Daei, Asia’s Footballer of the Year in 1999, then spent three seasons with Hertha Berlin before joining Al-Shabab in the United Arab Emirates and then returning to Iran in 2003.

As a coach, Daei returned to Persian Gulf Pro League side Saipa in 2017, the same team he ended his playing career with and also made his managerial debut with back in 2006. He has coached six other teams in between, including Team Melli.

ALI KARIMI

Once labelled the ‘Asian Maradona’, Karimi’s route to Germany was similar to Daei, only that it was a shorter affair.

He joined Bayern in the summer of 2005 and stayed for two seasons before leaving for Qatar SC in 2007. His first season in Germany saw him lift the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal.

Karimi later returned to Iran, playing for Persepolis and then Steel Azin before agreeing on a short return to Germany with Schalke O4, where he made only a handful of appearances during his five-month stay before going back to his homeland.

Now 39, Karimi calls the shots in the dugout with Sepidrood, who were promoted to the Iranian top-flight after the 2016/17 season.