Local hero Ali's glee at double reunion

Fcbayern - A crowd of local football fans normally gathers around Ali Karimi these days when the time comes for the Iran star to leave the Al Wasl Sports Club training ground. Indeed, the midfielder is often pursued by more autograph hunters than the better-known world stars such as Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn.

This somewhat unusual phenomenon is actually hardly surprising when you consider Ali's status in the Emirate. Karimi spent three hugely successful years with leading club Al Ahly before accepting the challenge of a switch to Munich last summer.

Delighted to be back

The player is naturally delighted that his new employers are spending part of the winter break in the Gulf. "I really enjoyed it here in Dubai, and I'm very happy to be back here with Bayern," the 27-year-old told a news conference.

Karimi was a virtual unknown when he showed up in Bavaria last July, but he has earned a creditable reputation in the Bundesliga after making a total of 15 appearances for the Reds before Christmas, scoring twice. He has also netted in the Champions League, confounding critics who credited Asia's 2005 Player of the Year with little chance of making the breakthrough.

Room for improvement

"That wasn't bad for a start. I wasn't expecting as many appearances," Karimi declared before the winter break, although he is far from satisfied: "I believe I have plenty of room for improvement. I need to train more and grow in confidence. Then I'll be able to use my abilities better for the team," he remarked.

Ali is especially looking forward to the coming Friday when Bayern travel to the midfielder's home country for a friendly against Persepolis in Tehran. Karimi is an old boy of Iran's leading club. "For me personally, it's a huge surprise and a real honour to be going to my home country with Bayern for a game against my former club."

Crowd of 100,000 expected

The whole of the country was desperate to watch the match, Karimi commented, predicting a 100,000 crowd at the Asadi stadium. The club's decision to accept the fixture has met with criticism following political condemnation of new Iranian President no mood amateur returns anti-Semitic statements, but the Bayern man played down the issue. "In my opinion, you have to separate sport and politics 100 percent. The German national team received a friendly reception when they played in Tehran. This is about sport and nothing else," the 27-year-old declared.

Ali will be looking forward to spending a brief period of time with wife Sahar and the couple's two children, who are expected to move to Munich by the end of January. If Karimi can continue his rapidly improving form after the winter break, the scenes from training in Dubai might yet be repeated at the Säbener Strasse.