Ali Karimi

This article is about the Iranian footballer born 1978. For other people, see Ali Karimi (disambiguation).

Ali Karimi
Ali Karimi 2015
Personal information
Full name Mohammad Ali Karimi[1]
Date of birth (1978-11-08) 8 November 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Karaj, Iran
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, forward
Youth career
1990–1991 Naft Tehran[3][4]
1991–1994 Saipa[5]
1994–1996 Fath Tehran
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1998 Fath Tehran
1998–2001 Persepolis 42 (11)
2001–2005 Al-Ahli 69 (45)
2005–2007 Bayern Munich 33 (3)
2007–2008 Qatar SC 26 (5)
2008–2009 Persepolis 21 (5)
2009–2011 Steel Azin 40 (14)
2011 Schalke 04 1 (0)
2011–2013 Persepolis 40 (13)
2013–2014 Tractor Sazi 26 (5)
Total 298 (101)
International career
1999 Iran U23 3[6] (2)
1998–2012 Iran 127 (38)
Managerial career
2014 Iran (assistant)[7]
2017 Naft Tehran
2018 Sepidrood
2018–2019 Sepidrood
Medal record
Representing  Iran
Asian Games
First place 1998 Bangkok Team
AFC Asian Cup
Third place 2004 China
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mohammad Ali Karimi (Persian: محمدعلی کریمی Persian: [ɑli kæriˈmi] ⓘ; born 8 November 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former professional footballer. During his professional football career, he has played as a playmaker in the Iran Pro League, UAE Pro League, Qatar Stars League and Bundesliga. Karimi has scored 38 goals in 127 matches for the Iran national team. In 2004, he was recognized as the best scorer of the AFC Asian Cup and received the Asian Footballer of the Year award in the same year. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2013–14 season and, on 11 April 2014, played the final game of his 18-year career.[8]

Karimi's professional career began with Fath Tehran, where he made his first-team debut in 1996, aged 18. He then played three seasons with Persepolis, winning the Iranian league twice and the Hazfi Cup once with the club. In July 2001, Karimi signed a two-year contract with UAE Pro League club Al-Ahli Dubai.[9] While an Al-Ahli player, Karimi won two cup titles, and was the top goalscorer in the 2003–04 season, an impressive feat for a midfielder. After leaving the club in 2005 aged 26, Karimi made a long-awaited move to Europe to play for Bayern Munich. At the club, he had relative success, winning both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal in 2005–06 season. Later in his career, he rejoined former coach Felix Magath and won a second German Cup with Schalke 04. Karimi ended his playing career in Iran with Persepolis and Tractor Sazi, and with the latter won the Hazfi Cup in the final season of his career.

In international football, Karimi made his Iran debut on 13 October 1998 at the age of 19. He made 127 career appearances in total, appearing at five major tournaments, including 1998 Asian Games, 2000, 2004, and 2007 Asian Cups and 2006 FIFA World Cup. Renowned for his on-the-ball skill, dribbling runs and playmaking ability, he was often referred to as the Asian Maradona[10]‏[11] and The Magician.[12] In the video introducing Iran's national football team in the 2018 World Cup, by FIFA, he was described as "One of the top 2 players of Iran's football history".[13] He is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time.[14]‏[15] In 2017, AFC named Karimi as "one of the icons of Asian football history".[14]

Karimi is known as one of the most popular athletes in the history of Iran. In April 2015, he was recognized as Iran's most popular football player (from 1991 to 2015) in a poll by Navad television program.[16]

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Iran" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany". FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Tamashagar Vol. 23 pp 46–47" (PDF). hamshahrimags.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2012.
  4. ^ يک بازي بزرگ حداقل شايستگي سربازان فوتبال ايران (in Persian). Mardomsalari Newspaper. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Ali Karimi's official website". Archived from the original on 11 December 2011.
  6. ^ Bobrowsky, Josef (15 December 1999). "Dunhill Cup 1999 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Karimi to Assist Queiroz". Financial Tribune. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Esteghlal TEH 1 – 3 Traktor TBZ". iplstats.com. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Karimi is Iran dangerman". BBC. London. 5 November 2001. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  10. ^ Duerden, John (26 April 2011). "Karimi could rise to the top". ESPN FC. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Iran: Star der Mannschaft freut sich auf das Duell gegen die Klinsmann-Elf.Asiens Maradona". kicker. 4 October 2004. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Wizard back to steer Iran". FIFA website. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fifa TV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b "Asian Icons: Ali Karimi". AFC website. 8 November 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018.
  15. ^ Duerden, John (27 July 2014). "Asia loses a legend as Karimi retires". ESPN. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Ali Karimi Chosen as Iran's Most Popular Player: TV Poll". Tasnim News Agency. 28 April 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016.