Iran talisman enjoying Indian summer

Fifaworldcup - By the age of 36, most footballers have already conceded defeat to Father Time. But in the twilight of his playing career, Iran's talismanic striker Ali Daei is still going strong, still adding to what is already a world-record tally of international goals. Despite having more than a century of strikes to his name, Daei retains a hunger for more. The veteran finished top of the scoring chart in the Asian Zone after netting nine times to help propel Team Melli to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.
Daei was a late starter in football but wasted no time making his mark after his graduation from university. With his thunderous shot and strength in the air, and standing at an imposing 1.92m tall, the forward was an immediate hit in domestic football. His scoring prowess soon earned him an international call-up and he made his debut for Iran in June 1993. His first goal for his country came against Chinese Taipei in 1994 and he has not looked back since.

Arguably Daei's finest hour in an Iran shirt came against Korea Republic in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, a match he has described as "the most unforgettable of my life". With Iran trailing 2-1 early in the second half, Daei took the game by the scruff of the neck. After setting up the equaliser for Khodadad Aziz, he then struck four goals to secure a remarkable 6-2 victory.

Daei's feats did not go unnoticed and in 1998 he left Iran for Germany and Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin. From there he moved on to the country's biggest club, Bayern Munich. If his cool head and superb vision had not already marked him out as Iran's key player then his experiences in Europe confirmed Daei's status as their inspiration and leader.

Daei featured for Iran at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and was subsequently part of their failed qualifying campaign for Korea/Japan 2002. That disappointment led Iran's new Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic to rebuild the team, introducing an exciting array of young talents. A new generation emerged but there was never any question of a loss of faith in Daei. "Nobody can replace Daei and he is an all-time example for youngsters in terms of attitude and professionalism," said Ivankovic.

Daei showed just why that faith was justified during the qualifying campaign for Germany 2006. The captain's second-half effort sealed a 3-1 victory against Qatar in Iran's opening qualifier in February 2004 and the next month he scored twice inside the first 17 minutes (the second a penalty) to set Iran on their way to a 7-0 thrashing of Laos. After Iran's subsequent stumble in losing at home to Jordan, Daei helped them make amends when his injury-time goal put the seal on a 2-0 win in the return meeting in Amman in September 2004. And he finished the preliminary group stage with eight goals after netting four times as Iran put another seven goals past Laos in Tehran.
In the final qualifying round, Daei limped out of the home qualifier with Japan in March this year with an injury and his younger team-mates subsequently assumed the scoring responsibilities as Iran secured their qualification for Germany with a game to spare. However, as if a reminder of his qualities were needed, Daei rounded off the campaign by scoring Iran's goal in their 2-1 away defeat by Japan in their final qualifier in August - his ninth goal of the preliminaries, three more than his nearest rival.

Any player with so many achievements to his name could be called a happy man. But Daei does not sit on his laurels and looks only to the future. Speaking in December 2004, he said: "I hope I can get to 120 goals before we go to Germany and that Iran can produce some great performances and results at the World Cup." That final qualifying goal against Japan put his total for Iran at 106 and number 107 followed in a friendly against fellow FIFA World Cup finalists Togo. Daei will be 37 by the time next summer's showpiece comes around but he is not ready to give up scoring goals just yet.