Ali Karimi
- friendly game for
Bam victims.
He is generally regarded as the best player in
Iran, along with team mate,
Mehdi Mahdavikia. Karimi, in
2004 was given the prestigious Asian Player of the Year award, like his fellow Iranians,
Mehdi Mahdavikia in
2003,
Ali Daei in
1999, and
Khodadad Azizi in
1996.
Ali Karimi performed well at the
2004 Asian Cup, where he tied for most goals scored with five to his name. Iran placed third in the overall tournament, behind
Japan and
China.
Unfortunately, Karimi had a wretched World Cup finals at
Germany 2006, with many commentators singling him out as one of the key players who had failed to perform. Short on fitness and form, he was unable to exert much influence on proceedings as the Iranians lost 1-3 to
Mexico and 0-2 to
Portugal. He was substituted in the second half against the Portuguese and kicked a bag full of drink bottles on his way to the dugout. He was omitted from the team in the final group game against
Angola, with many considering this to be a punishment for his indiscipline at the Portugal game. Iran came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw. Upon returning to Iran, the national football federation decided to part ways with coach
Branko Ivankovic. It is unknown if Karimi will have any role to play in the plans of the incoming coach, if and when he is appointed.
As of July 2006, he has 92
caps with Iran national team and has scored 33 goals for
Team Melli.
On
May 3,
2005,
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich's website announced that they signed a one year contract with Ali Karimi who becomes the third Iranian after
Ali Daei and
Vahid Hashemian to try his luck with Bayern. [
1] [
2]
Despite initial skepticism, due to the overwhelming uncertainty regarding Karimi's physical aptitude and feelings that his transfer was nothing but a marketing gag, Karimi did not waste any time in proving his critics wrong. On
August 14,
2005, for the first time,
Felix Magath put Karimi on the starting line-up of a 5-2 victory against
Bayer Leverkusen on the 2nd day of Bundesliga. Karimi's assist to
Roy Makaay for Bayern's second goal followed by his first goal of Bundesliga capped a great performance that earned him a spot on
Kicker's team of the week.
In the following period, Karimi established himself as a regular in the Munich squad, not a small feat with a stacked midfield featuring
Michael Ballack,
Sebastian Deisler,
Martin Demichelis,
Bastian Schweinsteiger,
Owen Hargreaves,
Mehmet Scholl or
Ze Roberto. With his finesse, his playmaking skills and his versatility, he is seen as a great asset. Karimi's contract with Bayern has been extended one more year because he has made his 25th appearance for the club. Unfortunatly, in that game against
Hamburg, he injured his ankle, but was back in time for the
World Cup. Karimi also scored on his first
UEFA Champions League appearance against
Rapid Vienna.
*
Official website*
German website*
Ali Karimi at
Fifa World Cup Official Site*
RSSSF archive of Ali Karimi's international appearances*
The Magic8 & Friends - FC Bayern Munich and Ali Karimi fan club
