5/4/2006
AFP

FERENC Puskas and Pele step aside for no other striker has been so prolific on international duty as Iran's remarkable skipper Ali Daei, who passed the 100 mark during the World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign.

Even at 36, the former Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin marksman was still scoring goals when Iran qualified for their third World Cup Finals in June 2005.

Four of his eight qualifying goals came against Laos in November 2004, taking Daei's historic career tally to 102 in his 133rd match.

He had already overtaken Hungary's Puskas as the all time top international goal scorer in December 2003, with his 86th strike for Iran in a match against Kuwait.

Daei was born into a large family in the chilly Ardabil region of Azerbaijan and despite his father's early opposition to football, he played for local clubs before winning a scholarship in 1988 to study metallurgy at Teheran University. In the Iranian capital, his role as a Second Division striker earned him a move to Bank Tejarat where he set a record of 27 goals in 30 matches in the 1991-92 season and was the First Division's top marksman three seasons in a row.

And after some 20 goals scored for Iran in 1996, Daei attracted the attention of newly-promoted Bundesliga outfit Arminia Bielefeld where he spent a fruitful 1997-98 season ahead of his country’s second World Cup appearance at France 1998.

By his standards he had an average World Cup, failing to score in the three first-round ties, but he went home satisfied thanks to Iran's 2-1 win over the United States.

Bayern Munich had seen enough of Daei and were willing to fork out around E4 million for his services but with Carsten Janker and Giovane Elber on their books, his performances were rare as Ottmar Hitzfeld's side won the German title in 1999.

His frustration led to a move to Hertha Berlin where in 1999 he scored two goals against Chelsea in a Champions League match, and helped his club to successive League Cup wins in 2001 and 2002.

After a two-year spell with UAE outfit Al Shabab Daei returned to Iran where he is now captain of Saba Teheran.

Daei is preparing for his post football career with an already successful football shirt franchise and a Teheran street is scheduled to be named after him when he hangs up his boots after Germany.