|
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.
|
