Daei nominated for Asian all-time striker

Tehran Times – HONG KONG, Ali Daei, former captain of the Iranian national football team, has been nominated for the all-time striker in the history of Asian football by the Fox Sports Asia website.

On the 66th birthday of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Fox Sports Asia has selected some of Asia’s current heroes, future stars, and all-time legends, including nine prolific attackers with Daei from Iran among them. Fans can cast their votes and pick three from the nine introduced forwards.

Daei, who is the world’s all-time leading goalscorer in the history of men’s international football with 109 goals scored for the Persians, was the captain of the country’s team.

As a striker he played for clubs such as Persepolis, Al-Sadd (Qatar), and German teams Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC.

The list for the best strikers in the history of Asian football includes some well-known players such as Son Heung-min, the South Korean winger of Tottenham Hotspur and Hidetoshi Nakata, the Japanese former midfielder who won the Scudetto with Roma and Copa Italia with Param during his successful career.

Ali Daei’s achievement as the leading goalscorer of the World’s international football is listed in Guinness World Records. He also won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1999.

The Ardabil-born player, while playing at Bayern Munich in 1998-1999 season, became the first Asian player ever to feature in a UEFA Champions League match.

He started playing in Iran national team on 6 June 1993, in a friendly match against Pakistan and continued to make 149 appearances for Iran.

Daei played his last game for Iran in the 2006 World Cup.