Ali Daei ( fa, ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player. A striker, he was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Iranian national team between 2000 and 2006 and played in the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

for

Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of ...

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

and

Hertha Berlin Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend (Berlin), Westend of the ...

. He is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time. A tall forward, Daei was a prolific goalscorer and was known for his heading accuracy and ability in the air. He was the world's top international goalscorer with 109 goals, until his record was broken by

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

in 2021. During his playing career, Daei was appointed a

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The United Nations Intern ...

in 2001. Following his retirement, Daei served as a member of the

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Football Committee between 2007 and 2013. In 2014, he was inducted into the Asian Football Hall of Fame.

Club career

Early years

Daei was born in

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

Imperial Iran The Imperial State of Iran ( fa, کشور شاهنشاهی ایران, ), also known as the Imperial State of Persia, was the official name of the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. It was formed in 1925 and lasted until 19 ...

to an

Iranian Azerbaijani Iranian Azerbaijanis (; az, ایران آذربایجانلیلاری, italics=no ), also known as Iranian Azeris, Iranian Turks, Persian Turks or Persian Azerbaijanis, are Iranians of Azerbaijani ethnicity who may speak the Azerbaijani lang ...

family. Daei graduated from

Sharif University of Technology Sharif University of Technology (SUT; fa, دانشگاه صنعتی شریف) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. It is widely considered as the nation's most prestigious and leading institution for science, technology, engineering ...

in Materials Engineering (Metallurgical) with a BSc. degree. He began his playing career at 19 with hometown club Esteghlal Ardabil. His next club was Taxirani F.C. in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, where he played for one season, before joining another Tehran-based club,

Bank Tejarat Tejarat Bank (Persian: بانک تجارت, ''Bank Tejarat'', ''Mercantile Bank'' also "Commerce Bank") is an Iranian Bank. History (1887 – 1995) In 1887 a British bank named The East Modern Bank (Bank Jadid Sharq) established branches in s ...

. His tenure with Bank Tejarat lasted four years, scoring 49 goals in 75 games for the club.

Move to Europe

After his success with Bank Tejarat FC, in 1994 Daei joined one of Tehran's leading clubs,

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

. He went on to score 23 goals in 38 games for the club from 1994 to 1996. Following his impressive performance in the Asian Cup in 1996, he moved to

Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in th ...

for the 1996–1997 season, before joining

side

in 1997 alongside fellow Iranian national teammate

Karim Bagheri Karim Bagheri ( fa, ; born 20 February 1974) is an Iranian professional football coach and former player. He played over half of his professional career for Persepolis in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He is an assistant coach for Persepolis and t ...

. Yet at Bayern he found himself low in the pecking order. This coupled with the Iranian national team's scheduling, Daei had found very little time for playing. Daei was unhappy with his position in the club and decided to make a move to

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

before the end of his three-year contract, when Bayern won the championship title in the 1999 Bundesliga. Daei became the first Asian player ever to feature in a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

match. He scored his first and second goal in the UEFA Champions League on 21 September 1999 in a group stage match against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, won by Hertha 2–1. He also scored in a 1–1 draw against

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

. At Hertha he was a hugely important player, since he was only one of the squad's many successful players, who were to fulfill Hertha's Bundesliga and

dreams.

Return to Asia

Daei was playing in numerous continental friendlies against world class opposition, yet was still unable to maintain a stable position in his club's starting line-up. In 2001, he was not among the top scorers in the Asian Qualifying round and he did not manage to take the team into the World Cup as captain for the first time. He joined the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

league at 34 years of age, signing a contract with Al-Shabab as a free agent. In 2003, Daei quit the

team and joined his team in

Pirouzi FC Persepolis Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پرسپولیس, Bâšgâh-e Futbâl-e Perspolis) is an Iranian professional association football, football club based in Tehran, that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. Persepo ...

. Daei moved from Persepolis to

Saba Battery Saba Battery Club (also Saba Battery Physical and Cultural Gym) is an Iranian sports club based in Tehran, Iran. The club was founded in 2002شود Teams * Saba Battery Football Club, competing in the Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro Leagu ...

on a free transfer for a modest contract of around $300,000. He spent two years at Saba Battery, scoring 23 goals, winning the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Cha ...

and participating in the Asian Champions League. After

World Cup 2006 The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won ...

and the arrival of Saba Battery's new manager,

Farhad Kazemi Farhad Kazemi ( fa, فرهاد کاظمی; born 1 July 1959 in Tehran) is an Iranian football coach With many professional clubs in his résumé, Kazemi has established himself as one of the top coaches in a country which has many enthusiastic f ...

, it was announced that he was no longer needed on the team and his contract would not be renewed. Despite rumours of retirement, he signed for another industry-linked club from Tehran,

Saipa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

, on 1 August 2006. On 6 March 2007, Ali Daei was fined $2000 and suspended for four games by the Iranian Football Federation after the incidents in a league game where he delivered a head-butt to the face of Sheys Rezaei. On 28 May 2007, after

won the 2006–07 Persian Gulf Cup in a match vs

Mes Kerman Mes Kerman Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال صنعت مس کرمان, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Sân't-e Mes Kârman'') is an Iranian professional association football, football team based in Kerman, Iran. They were promoted to Iran's top ...

, Daei announced his retirement from playing club football and that he would concentrate on his coaching career.

International career

Daei was named the world's top scorer in official international competitions by the

International Federation of Football History and Statistics The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

(IFFHS), having scored 20 goals in competitive matches for Iran in 1996, including his famous four-goal haul against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Asian Cup 1996 The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 Decembe ...

. By the end of the 1996 Asian Cup, he had scored 29 goals in 38 appearances for Iran. In the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, he was again on top of the charts, scoring nine goals in 17 matches for Iran, reaching at that time, 38 goals in 52 appearances for his country. Daei joined the exclusive circle of players with a century of

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

. In a 28 November 2003 Asian Cup qualifier in

against

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, he scored his 85th international goal, elevating him past the Hungarian

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...

to top the all-time list of scorers in international matches. On 17 November 2004, he scored four goals against

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

qualifier, giving him 102 goals and making him the first male player to score 100 goals in international play. He has 149 caps for

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and, as of 13 September 2019, is ranked 28th among the world's most capped players list. Daei was called up to join ''

Team Melli ) ''(the national team)' other nicknames'' , Badge = Flag_of_Iran.svg , Badge_size = 190px , Association = Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran , FIFA Trigramme = IRN , FIFA Rank ...

'' on 6 June 1993 in an ECO Cup tournament held in Tehran, where he made his debut for Iran against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He continued his national team appearances and was named the top scorer of the final Asian round of

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification The 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 1994 FIFA World Cup featured 24 teams with one place reserved for the host nation, United States, and one place for the defending champi ...

s with 4 goals in 5 matches. On 17 November 2004, Daei became the first male footballer with 100 international goals when he scored four times against

in a

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

qualifier. Despite criticism, Daei played in the

; the criticisms, however, were directed more at his fitness and the inability of younger players to play a part in the World Cup. From Iranian media calling for his retirement, Ali Daei has always defended his position in ''Team Melli'' and has rejected that he was too old to play for the team. Daei ended his international career with 109 goals, an all-time record which stood until September 2021 when it was surpassed by Portuguese striker

. "I am honoured that this remarkable achievement will belong to Ronaldo," Daei wrote on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

College career

Daei captained

Islamic Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; fa, دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی, ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a private university system headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities, colleg ...

football team in 2007 World Interuniversity Games, scoring a hat-trick in the final match against

University of Osijek The Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek ( hr, Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, la, Universitas studiorum Mursensis), commonly known as the University of Osijek (UNIOS), is a public university based in Osijek, Croatia. ...

and winning the gold medal.

Coaching

2007 Summer Universiade The 2007 Summer Universiade officially known as the XXIV Summer Universiade and commonly known as Bangkok Universiade, was an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport for university athletes that took place from 8 to 18 August 2007 in Bangkok, ...

, Daei was in charge as the head coach of the Iran students national team. He was technical manager of the

team in 2009 World Interuniversity Games.

Managerial career

Saipa

On 8 October 2006, upon sudden leave of

's German coach

Werner Lorant Werner Heinz Erich Lorant (born 21 November 1948) is a German former football player who played as a defender or as a defensive midfielder. He later became a manager, notably managing TSV 1860 Munich for nine years between 1992 and 2001. Playin ...

, he was appointed as the interim manager of Saipa. He was later officially announced as the full-time manager. On 28 May, Saipa became the Persian Gulf Cup champions in Daei's first season at the helm. Going into his second season as manager, Daei relinquished his playing duties for the defending champions and found himself on the sidelines full-time. The results of Saipa's 2007–2008 campaign were not nearly as successful as his team finished 11th in the 18 team

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

table. However, Daei did lead Saipa to an Asian Champions League quarterfinal birth before leaving to take over as the

full-time Full-time or Full Time may refer to: * Full-time job, employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer * Full-time mother, a woman whose work is running or managing her family's home * Full-time fat ...

manager of the

Iranian national football team ) ''(the national team)' other nicknames'' , Badge = Flag_of_Iran.svg , Badge_size = 190px , Association = Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran , FIFA Trigramme = IRN , FIFA Rank ...

Iran national football team

On 2 March 2008,

IRIFF The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) ( fa, فدراسیون فوتبال جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Federâsion-è Futbâl-è Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân) is the governing body of association football in Iran. Formed ...

officially appointed Ali Daei as

's new head coach. Despite admitting that his appointment as manager of the Iranian national team was a "surprise", Daei refused to leave his current coaching job at

Saipa F.C. Saipa Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال سايپا, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Saipa'') is a football club from Tehran, Iran. The team is owned by SAIPA, an Iranian automobile manufacturer. The team has never had a large fanbase, despite so ...

, therefore taking on dual managerial careers until after Saipa had entered the Asian Champion League quarterfinals, after which Daei left Saipa by mutual consent. While Daei guided Iran to a respectable 16–6–3 mark, his third loss on 28 March 2009 to a Saudi Arabian team that was down 1–0 to Iran in Tehran proved to be the final straw. During his tenure as the National Team coach, the Iranian team managed the weakest World Cup Qualification results in its history with only one win out of 5 WCQ games. After the loss in the 2010 World Cup Qualifier, Daei was fired as head coach after the match. While introducing many new players such as

Gholamreza Rezaei Gholamreza Rezaei ( fa, غلامرضا رضایی, born 6 August 1984 in Shiraz, Iran) is a retired Iranian football player who last played for Sepidrood as a forward in the Iran Pro League. Club career Early years He started his career in Fa ...

, and

Ehsan Hajsafi Ehsan Hajsafi ( fa, احسان حاج‌صفی; born 25 February 1990) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Greek Super League club AEK Athens and captains the Iran national team. Hajsafi is regarded as a utility ...

, Daei's squad was often in flux as to who would be invited to a fixture. As well, many critics pointed towards the failures of Daei's team to score and an unsolved weakness in the central defense as causes for his downfall.

Persepolis

In 2009, Daei turned down a job offer as manager of Rah Ahan. It was widely believed that Daei could be next in-line for the coaching position of

but the club chose

Zlatko Kranjčar Zlatko "Cico" Kranjčar (; 15 November 1956 – 1 March 2021) was a Croatian professional football manager and player. Kranjčar started his career as a player with Dinamo Zagreb where he won the Yugoslav First League in 1981–82, then Yugosl ...

. On 28 December 2009, Daei was chosen as a coach of Persepolis. At the end of the 2009–10 Season, Persepolis finished fourth in the league but they became

champions. In the Hazfi Cup final, Persepolis defeated

Azadegan League The Azadegan League ( fa, ليگ آزادگان, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 ( fa, لیگ یک, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from ...

side Gostaresh Foolad Tabriz 4–1 on aggregate to qualify for the 2011 AFC Champions League. In the 2010–11 season, Persepolis finished fourth in the league and was eliminated in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

of the 2011 AFC Champions League but at the end of the season Persepolis won the 2010–11 Hazfi Cup after defeating rivals Sepahan, Foolad and Malavan. Daei had many people against him while at Persepolis, including the chairman

Habib Kashani Habib Kashani ( fa, حبيب کاشانی) is an Iranian politician and businessman. He is an outgoing member of City Council of Tehran since 10 April 2003. He was the chairman of famous multisport club Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club based ...

and after a contention with Kashani, he stated that "I won't work with Kashani Anymore". On 20 June 2011, Technical committee of Perspolis re-appointed Daei as Persepolis's head coach but he resigned on 21 June. The technical committee chose

Hamid Estili Hamid Reza Estili ( fa, حميد استيلی; born 1 April 1967) is an Iranian football coach and former player. Estili was a member of the Iran national team and is mostly remembered for his memorable goal and goal celebration against the Uni ...

as Daei's successor on that day. During his time at Persepolis, Daei brought up many youngsters such as Hamidreza Ali Asgari and Saman Aghazamani and other players such as

Hadi Norouzi Hadi Norouzi ( fa, هادی نوروزی, 22 June 1985 – 1 October 2015) was an Iranian football striker who last played for Persepolis in the Persian Gulf Pro League.

and

Maziar Zare Maziar Zare Eshghdoost ( fa, مازیار زارع عشقدوست, born 22 December 1984 in Bandar Anzali, Iran) is an Iranian former football player and current coach. He was a right-footed defensive midfielder. He is dubbed as ''The New Ghaye ...

were chosen for Team Melli thanks to Daei. Despite the fact that many challenges and difficulties such as the leaders of fans and the clubs' Chairman Kashani were in Daei's way, Persepolis was crowned Hazfi Cup Champions for two successive years and the fans themselves always loved and cheered Daei, but at the same time they did not cheer for any player. Under the management of Daei, Persepolis won back to back trophies for the first time in 13 seasons.

Rah Ahan

On 14 July 2011, Daei signed a one-year contract as head coach of Rah Ahan. In his first match as head coach of Rah Ahan, he made a 2–2 draw with Zob Ahan. In his first season as Rah Ahan's head coach, he led the club to the 11th position. During the 2012–13 season, Ali Daei used many young players such as Mojtaba Shiri and Omid Alishah, and Rah Ahan finished the season in the 8th place which was the clubs' best finish in the league since 1937. Thanks to Daei's popularity, more people started to watch Rah Ahan's matches, and for the second straight year, Daei was able to beat his former club

. Despite many rumors that Daei will leave Rah Ahan for other clubs such as Persepolis or

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

, he decided to stay with the club "to build a team that can qualify for the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

." However, his contract was terminated on 20 May 2013, making ways for him to become head coach of

Return to Persepolis

On 20 May 2013, he signed a three-year contract to become head coach of

after a long negotiation. It was the second time that he signed with Persepolis, he returned to his former side after two seasons. He officially began his work with Persepolis on 1 June 2013. His first match came against

, which Persepolis won 1–0 with the goal coming from

Mehdi Seyed Salehi Seyedmohammadmahdi Seyedsalehi, (more commonly known as Mehdi Seyed Salehi, fa, سیدمحمدمهدی سیدصالحی, born July 27, 1981, in Iran) is a former Iranian football player. He usually played as a striker. Club career Persepolis H ...

. At the end of his first year at Persepolis, his side finished runners-up, two points less than champions

Foolad Foolad Khuzestan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال فولاد خوزستان, ''Bāshgāh-e Futbāl-e Fulād-e Khuzestān'') is an Iranian football club, based in Ahwaz, Khuzestan that plays in Persian Gulf Pro League. Foolad F.C. ...

. He was sacked on 10 September 2014 after a poor start of 2014–15 season.

Saba Qom

On 1 July 2015, Daei became head coach of Saba Qom, signing a two-year contract. In two seasons with Saba he finished ninth and seventh in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He left Saba a few weeks before the start of the 2016–17 season due to uncertainty in the Saba's ownership situation.

Naft Tehran

Daei became manager of

Naft Tehran Naft Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال نفت تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Nuft Teheran'') is an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National Ira ...

on 5 July 2016 with signing a two-year contract, replacing

Alireza Mansourian Alireza Mansourian ( fa, علیرضا منصوريان; born 2 December 1971) is an Iranian football coach and retired player. Club career Mansourian was born in Tehran. During his career, he played for Singapore S.League clubs: Balestier Khals ...

. He led Naft to the

title but left the club at the end of the season.

Return to Saipa

Daei became manager of

on 14 May 2017, a club that he started his coaching career in 2006 and led them to the league title in 2007. He led the club for two seasons and was sacked at the end of 2018–19 season.

2022 FIFA World Cup draw

Daei was one of the Personnel involved for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

draw held in Qatar on 1 April 2022.

Personal life

Relationships

Iranian journalist Camelia Entekhabifard wrote in her memoirs that she was marrying Daei in 1997, but the couple separated.

Business ventures and philanthropy

Daei owns his own football jersey manufacturing company called Daei Sport's Wears & Equipments, making sportswear for

sporting clubs in various fields and league clubs worldwide. His company also made jerseys for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. He has made very significant charitable donations and has made appearances in charity football matches worldwide (featuring in the World vs. Bosnia match with

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...

and others). He also appeared in a

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

commercial with

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

and

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...

, and has regularly been seen working with the organisation. Daei featured on 18 July 2007 in ''

90 Minutes for Mandela 90 Minutes for Mandela was a charity football match held on 18 July 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa, to mark the 89th birthday of Nelson Mandela. The match ended in a 3–3 draw between an African XI and a Rest of the World XI. Africa played i ...

'', a match between the Africa XI and the Rest of World XI to celebrate the birthday of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

. Daei played approximately 10 minutes in the match which ended 3–3.

Religion

Daei is a follower of

Shia islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

. While he played for Bayern Munich, he refused to hold a glass of beer for an

Erdinger The Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu Werner Brombach GmbH (also known as Erdinger Weißbräu) is a brewery in Erding, Germany. Its best-known products are its namesake Weißbiers (wheat beer). History Erdinger is the world's largest wheat ...

advertisement because alcoholic beverages are forbidden in his religion.

Accident

On 17 March 2012, Daei's car overturned as he was driving back to Tehran from Isfahan with his brother. Just prior to the accident, his team, Rah Ahan, had been beaten by

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...

. Daei was then transferred to a hospital near

Kashan Kashan ( fa, ; Qashan; Cassan; also romanized as Kāshān) is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran. At the 2017 census, its population was 396,987 in 90,828 families. Some etymologists argue that the city name comes from ...

. Rah Ahan's Media Officer, Hossein Ghadousi stated that "Daei is in a stable condition with regards to his vital signs and is not currently in any acute danger as a result of the accident". He was transferred to Laleh hospital in

the following day. A statement from the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

(AFC) said: "The AFC wishes Iranian legend Ali Daei, who was involved in a car accident on Saturday, a speedy and full recovery. We stand ready to assist Daei, who is a true icon of Asian football. Our thoughts and prayers are with him."

Sepp Blatter Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result of ...

, President of

, said on his personal

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

page that he was shocked to hear Daei was injured. He also sent his best wishes for his recovery.

Street attack

In November 2020, Daei was attacked by two thieves while they were trying to steal his gold necklace in

. Police announced that the two thieves were arrested a few days after they attacked Daei.

Autobiography

In April 2008, Daei announced that he had begun writing an autobiography, due to be released in March 2010, and that despite reflecting on "bitter and sweet memories" he stated he would "keep some of his secrets in his heart forever". The book has not yet been released.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Persepolis *

: 1995–96 Bayern Munich *

: 1998–99 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

runner-up: 1998–99 Saba Battery *

: 2004–05 *

Iranian Super Cup The Iranian Super Cup (Persian: سوپر جام ایران, ''Super Jam-e 'Iran'') is an Iranian association football trophy awarded to the winner of a match between the Persian Gulf Pro League's season champion and the winner of the Hazfi Cup. It ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Saipa *

Persian Gulf Cup The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

: 2006–07 Iran U23 *

Asian Games Gold Medal Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Iran *

AFC–OFC Challenge Cup The AFC–OFC Challenge Cup was a football tournament, set up as the successor of the discontinued Afro-Asian Cup of Nations. It was a biannual event, with Oceania represented by the winners of the OFC Nations Cup and Asia alternately by the wi ...

: 2003 *

WAFF Championship The West Asian Football Federation Championship (), or simply WAFF Championship, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the g ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Manager

Saipa * Iran Pro League: 2006–07 Iran * WAFF Championship:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Persepolis * Hazfi Cup: 2009–10, 2010–11 Naft Tehran * Hazfi Cup: 2016–17

Individual

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

Team of the Tournament:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

top goalscorer:

* AFC Asian Player of the Month: August 1997 * AFC Asian Footballer of the Year: 1999 *

IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer The IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer is a football award given annually since 1991 to the world's top international goalscorer in the calendar year. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (I ...

: 2000 (20 goals) * Order of Courage: 2005 * Asian Football Hall of Fame: 2014 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Legends: 2016 * AFC Asian Cup Fans' All Time Best XI: 2018 *

MEN TEAM OF THE XXth CENTURY (1901–2000) * Iranian Manager of the Year: 2006

References

External links

* *
RSSSF archive of Ali Daei's century of international appearances and goals

Profile
at TeamMelli.com
Autobiography

Ali Daei News Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daei, Ali Ali Daei 1969 births Living people People from Ardabil Iranian footballers Iran international footballers Association football forwards Persepolis F.C. players Al Sadd SC players Arminia Bielefeld players FC Bayern Munich footballers Hertha BSC players Al Shabab Al Arabi Club Dubai players Saba players Saipa F.C. players Azadegan League players Qatar Stars League players Bundesliga players UAE Pro League players Persian Gulf Pro League players Iranian football managers Iran national football team managers Persepolis F.C. managers Saba Qom F.C. managers Iranian businesspeople FIFA Century Club 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2000 AFC Asian Cup players 2004 AFC Asian Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Sharif University of Technology alumni Asian Games gold medalists for Iran Asian Footballer of the Year winners Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch alumni Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1994 Asian Games Footballers at the 1998 Asian Games Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Recipients of the Order of Courage (Iran) Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Iranian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Iranian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Iranian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Persian Gulf Pro League managers