Ali Karimi - King of Asia

Asian Player of the year 2004 ‘Asian Maradona’, ‘The Iranian Wizard’ Ali Karimi! Everybody knew who deserved to win AFC's most prestigious award for 2004 but many doubted that the corrupted AFC would give the award to an Iranian two times in a row with Mehdi Mahdavikia the previous winner of the award in 2003. The streetboy from Tehran ‘was robbed’ by the corrupt organization which is in charge of footballing matters in Asia only a few months ago. The player of the tournament award was given to Japan’s Nakamura at the conclusion of Asian Cup in a decision that shocked many football experts and football fans. Many expected another day light robbery by AFC in picking Asian Player of the Year, but at least AFC are consistent in inconsistency. Ali Karimi deserved to be named 2004 Asian Player of the year, and even AFC could not stop him this time, as they announced him the ‘King of Asia’ late on Wednesday in a ceremony held in Kula Lumpur.

Karimi who recently turned 26 is now reaching his prime. Never has he been so popular with Iranian fans, and never has there been so many articles written about Ali Karimi in foreign newspapers before. Probably more scouts and clubs in Europe are keeping an eye on Karimi than they have ever done before. In other words, never has the buzz around Karimi been so big.

Iran's national team is currently overcrowded by stars, Vahid Hashemian (Bayern Munich), Mehdi Mahdavikia (Hamburg SV), Khodadad Azizi (Pas) and Ali Daei (Saba) are among the biggest stars in the team. But in the eyes of many inside and outside Iran, Ali Karimi is Iran’s biggest star in the national team at the current time. Not to mention how they see him in South Korea after what Karimi did to them in the Asian Cup.

The story of Ali Karimi started out with what looked like a ‘fairytale’ with him being picked up from ‘the streets’ to one of the biggest clubs in Iran, Perspolis. "Before I went to Perspolis I was still playing on the streets with a plastic ball on cement. We didn’t have any fields to play on. We had the worst conditions but that’s how we played. I didn’t have any great facilities to learn in. We didn’t have anything" said Karimi after joining Perspolis.

Karimi improved his popularity quickly within most ‘red’ fans and it seemed even more eyes had been raised for him as Perugia offered Karimi a trial with the Serie A club. Karimi impressed the Italians who were keen on signing the Iranian but rejected the high price tag set by Perspolis management (around two million dollars). Later Atletico Madrid (then being a top side in the second division) showed serious interest in Karimi but that deal also fell through. "when I went to Italy I saw so many things that we don’t have in Iran. In Iran the facilities for the clubs are not good but there they have everything, all of the right equipment. Going to Perugia made me realize that if I want to improve I have to go abroad", said Karimi after his trial with Perugia.

Instead of Europe, Karimi went ‘abroad’ to play his football in the ‘reds’ of UAE, Al-Ahli. Karimi immediately became a favorite with the fans. He shined like no one else and was seen as the biggest star in the league that was no short of other foreign players. Karimi was doing everything right, scoring goals, assisting goals, showing off his dribbling skills, scoring free-kicks, taking corners from right with right foot and corners from left with left foot. Four years later, Karimi is still playing his football in Al-Ahli club and still he's seen as probably the biggest star in UAE football. No wonder, after all Karimi had one of his better seasons last year , becoming the UAE league’s top scorer with 14 goals. He was a key figure throughout the season, scoring a total of 27 goals in league and Cup competitions. Two of his goals came in the President's cup final which Karimi won on his own for Al-Ahli.

But nothing lasts forever and as Karimi's two year contract with Al Ahli is reaching its end (for the second time) it looks like maybe this time Karimi could actually finally sign a contract with a European club. There are rumors that top clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are interested in Karimi but it looks as if Hertha BSC Berlin and Hamburger SV might be the two more realistic options for Karimi. I believe if Karimi receives a good offer this time around he will accept it…

What Karimi did to the German national team in Azadi on October 10^th is something he will do week after week in the German Bundesliga next season so stay tuned and fasten your seatbelts because Europe is to experience something new, something they never experienced before…