5/30/2006
People's Daily Online

Iranian veteran Ali Daei expects a breakthrough at the upcoming FIFA World Cup, slated for June 9-July 9 in Germany.

"I hope that Iran can produce some great performances and results at the World Cup." FIFAworldcup.com quoted the 37-year-old striker as saying.

The Iranian squad managed to qualify for the finals at the World Cup in Argentina in 1978 and in France in 1998, but didn't go further on both occasion.

As captain, the player finished top of the scoring chart in the Asian Zone after netting nine times to help his team qualify for the finals at the World Cup for the third time.

"Nobody can replace Daei and he is an all-time example for youngsters in terms of attitude and professionalism," said Iranian national coach Branko Ivankovic.

Currently playing in Al-Shabab of the United Arab Emirates, Daei's second-half effort sealed a 3-1 victory against Qatar in Iran's opening qualifier in February 2004.

The next month he scored twice inside the first 17 minutes to set his team on the 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.

In the final qualifying round against Japan in August 2005, Daei scored his ninth goal of the preliminaries, three more than his nearest rival in the Asian Zone.

With an imposing 1.92m tall, Daei was a late starter in football but became an immediate hit in domestic football thanks to his thunderous shot and strength in the air.

His scoring prowess soon earned him an international call-up and he made his debut for Iran in June 1993.

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 struck four goals to secure a remarkable 6-2 victory after his teammate Khodadad Aziz set up the equalizer.

In 1998 he signed Hertha Berlin side of Germany, then he moved on to the country's biggest club, Bayern Munich.

Daei featured for Iran at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was subsequently part of their failed qualifying campaign for Korea/Japan 2002.

Source: Xinhua