Ali Daei calls it a day

Iran legend Ali Daei has announced his retirement from professional football after he led Saipa to the Iran Pro League title on Monday.

It has been a long journey. Daei started his football career nearly 26 years ago playing for his hometown club in the north-western town of Ardabil. As a tall and lanky kid he may have looked more suited for volleyball, but football was his true passion, and he played it with uncanny vigour.

Coming from a family that valued education, Daei enrolled in Tehran’s Sharif University. Football was never too far from his mind however, and he managed to maintain a well balanced student/athlete life playing for two minor clubs while he was attending university. He eventually graduated with an engineering degree.

His big break came in 1994 when he was picked up by Tehran giants Perspolis where, over two seasons, he scored 23 goals in 38 games. After one year in Qatar he moved to Germany where he became the first ever Iranian to play in the Bundesliga.

During his four year stay in Germany he played for Armenia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich, and Hertha Berlin with whom he stayed for two seasons. He scored three goals for Hertha during their 2000 UEFA Champions League campaign - two of which came against Chelsea and one against AC Milan.

After Germany came a series of one season stints with UAE’s Al-Shabab, Perspolis, and Saba Battery of Tehran before he landed with Saipa at the beginning of 2006-07 season.

Daei’s career has not been free of controversy. For most of his career he was adored by Iran’s passionate fans. This was most evident when he was dropped from the national squad in 1998 after a dispute with then coach Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan. The move prompted such uproar amongst the Iranian fans that the Daei was reinstated after missing two games and helped Iran qualify for France.

The 38-year-old, who played for Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin, enjoyed an illustrious playing career on the international stage, scoring an impressive 109 goals in 149 games.

In 1996 he was the world's top scorer having scored 29 goals in 38 appearances for Iran, including four goals in one game against South Korea in the Asian Cup that year.

And in the 1998 World Cup he again continued his impressive form in international football by scoring nine goals in 17 games.

The 1999 AFC Player of the Year took over as player-coach of Saipa at the start of the season and led them to the title on the final game of the campaign with a 2-0 victory over Mes, in which he grabbed the second goal.

He said after the match: "This game was the last for me as a player and I'm really happy that I have scored a goal once again. It was great to lead Saipa to the league title and I would like to thank all my fans. After retirement, I will probably start a managerial career with Saipa as a full-time manager next season."

from afc.com