As the latest edition of the Guinness World Records released last Wednesday stated, the former Iranian soccer player, Ali Daei still remains the world’s all-time leading goal scorer in international matches.
Having left a jaw-dropping record, the former striker has the highest number of goals scored by a man in international competitions, netting an incredible 109 goals in 149 appearances for his country between 1993 and 2006, the Telegraph reported.
With this record, he stands atop world-class players such as Pelé and Ferenc Puskas.
Nonetheless, his world fame did not guarantee long-lasting success in his career as a coach since he was forced to give up the position in the Iranian club Persepolis last week. It was due to the poor performance from the beginning of the year by Iranian Pro League, with just 8 points out of 9 games.
Local & Foreign Clubs
Ali Daei, born in Ardabil in 1969, graduated from one of the most famous universities in Tehran, Sharif University of Technology in Materials Engineering. He has been nicknamed Shahriar meaning king.
Playing for 14 years, Ali Daei has appeared in famous clubs of four different Asian and European countries. Half of his foot-balling years were spent in the Iranian Pro League as he played for the local clubs Persepolis, Saba Battery and Saipa. For two different years he went to play for Qatar’s Al-Sadd, and UAE’s Al-Shabab. However, the highlight of his professional career was playing in Bundesliga for German clubs, Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich, and Hertha BSC for seven consecutive years.
After retirement from football, he took on coaching and started with the local club Saipa. Later he was selected as the head coach of Iran national team. After two years, he went back to the team that years ago introduced him as a new talent in the soccer world and was a platform for his future success, Persepolis. With Ali Daei in charge, the team was crowned Hazfi Cup Champions for two successive years. They also finished as runner-up, just two points less than the champion in the last season. But their good days seem far away now as they are dealing with lots of problems. Having been sacked from the club, Daei is still hopeful to return and compensate for his poor start of this season.
