Karimi lives up to Magath's expectations

fcbayern - Back in May, Bayern announced their first new face for the 2005-6 campaign after completing the signing of Iran star Ali Karimi from Dubai outfit Al-Ahli. The 26-year-old, a relative unknown in Europe but named Asian Player of the Year last term, moved on a free transfer and put his name to a one-year deal with an option for a further season.

Karimi topped Felix Magath's summer wish list after catching the Munich boss's eye some years ago. "He made a name for himself before moving to Dubai. He was always there or thereabouts at the back of my mind," the Bayern coach told fcbayern.de. As the player's contract in the Gulf approached its expiry date, Magath renewed his long-term interest and signalled to the board they should attempt to secure the midfielder's services if at all possible.

Karimi as versatile attacking option

Karimi has now spent four weeks in pre-season training with the Munich outfit. "He's already proved he's a quality footballer," Magath declared after fielding the player in a number of attacking positions during Munich's warm-up friendlies. "He's highly versatile up front. He can go left, right, or through the middle," the coach commented. Karimi turned in a lively display down the inside left channel against FC Tokyo, supplying a textbook lay-off for Roy Makaay to open the scoring.

The achievement is the more creditable for the fact Magath regards the player as exhausted after Bayern's arduous fitness-oriented pre-season programme. Karimi arrived with a reputation as a gifted but erratic performer with a distaste for the hard grind of training. "Pre-season's been especially tough for him as he doesn't have the reserves of strength enjoyed by most of the squad, but he's pulled through," the coach explained.

Ballack impressed by Karimi's potential

Karimi would need time to acclimatise to the higher tempo in the German top flight, Magath continued, although the 52-year-old refused to rule out an appearance by the Iran star in next Friday's Bundesliga opener at home to Borussia Monchengladbach: "We'll have to wait and see how long he needs to absorb the demands of our training routines."

The player's team-mates have recognised the talent embodied by the new arrival. "Once he's up to speed and has a couple of games under his belt, I'm expecting great things of him," vice-captain Michael Ballack declared following the FC Tokyo match. "He'll make us stronger," the Germany playmaker added.