Ali Karimi is a former footballer and football coach from Iran. He scored 38 goals in 127 appearances with Iran national team.
Ali has played for clubs including Fath Tehran, Persepolis, Al-Ahli Dubai, Bayern Munich, Qatar SC, Steel Azin, Schalke 04, and Tractor Sazi before his retirement.
He announced his retirement at the end of the 2013–14 season and, on 11 April 2014, played the final game of his 18-year career.
After his retirement, on 25 September 2014, he was appointed as an assistant coach for the Iranian national team.
In the video introducing Iran’s national football team in the 2018 World Cup, by FIFA, he was described as “One of the top 2 players of Iran’s football history”. Today, he is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time.
What is Ali Karimi Famous For?
- Ali Karimi is a football coach and former footballer from Iran.
- He was recognized as Iran’s most popular football player (from 1991 to 2015) in a poll by Navad television program.
- He is known as one of the most popular athletes in the history of Iran.
What is Ali Karimi’s Nationality?
Ali Karimi was born on 8th November 1978. His place of birth is Karaj, Iran. He is an Iranian by nationality. His ethnicity is Iranian-white. His birth sign is Scorpio and his religion is Muslim. His born name is Mohammad-Ali Karimi Pashaki. His present age is 44 as of 2022.
Ali Kirami is the son of Houriyeh Abband Pashaki, Valiollah Karimi. He also has a sibling Farshid Karimi.
How was the Football Career of Ali Karimi?
- Ali Karimi started his career with second-division side Fath Football Club in 1997.
Persepolis
- He joined the Persepolis football club in 1998.
- He also attended a trial with Perugia Calcio but the transfer was aborted when Perugia deemed the transfer fee too high.
Al-Ahli
- He signed with Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates in 2001.
- He managed to win his first trophy with the club.
- He scored a league-high 14 goals for Al Ahli in 2004.
Bayern Munich
- The club signed Karimi with a one-year contract for the 2005-2006 season.
- With the club, he entered the field against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
- He made his 25th appearance for Bayern on 4 March 2006 against Hamburg.
- Scoring against Rapid Vienna, he became the only Iranian Bayern Munich player to score in the UEFA Champions League.
- By the end of the 2006–07 season, he played a total of 16 games (13 Bundesliga games – 2 UEFA Champions League games, and 1 DFL-Ligapokal game).
- In two seasons in Bayern Munich, he played 42 games (33 Bundesliga games, 5 UEFA Champions League games, 2 DFB-Pokal games, and 2 DFL-Ligapokal games).
- He ended his career in Bayern Munich by scoring 4 goals and sending 4 assists.
Qatar SC
- On 3 July 2007, Karimi announced that he had signed a two-year deal with Qatar Sports Club.
- He was believed to have signed a contract worth around £3.2 million.
- He signed a two-year contract with Al-Sailiya that is said to be worth around £4.7 million on 13th July 2008.
Persepolis
- He joined Persepolis on a loan and signed with Persepolis on a one-year contract on 6 September 2008.
- He scored his first goal in the Tehran derby.
- He scored a hat trick against Abumoslem on 9th October 2008.
Steel Azin
- He joined the newly promoted Steel Azin on 29 July 2009 on a one-year deal.
- He scored for four consecutive matches at the start of the season.
Schalke 04
- He signed a five-month deal for Schalke on 31 January 2011 and made his debut game on 5 April 2011 against Inter Milan.
- He won the German cup for the second time before the end of his contract.
Persepolis
- He played for Persepolis in the 2011–12 Persian Gulf Cup and the 2011–12 Hazfi Cup.
- He extended his contract with Persepolis for another season on 18 June 2012.
- Due to injury, he was not able to perform very well, and at the end of the season, he announced his retirement from football.
Tractor Sazi
- He returned from retirement and joined Tractor Sazi on 13th June 2013 and signed a one-year contract with the club.
- He made his first appearance for Tractor Sazi in Iran Pro League against former club Persepolis. He scored his first goal in the Iran Pro League.
Retirement
On 20th July 2014, he announced his retirement by publishing a letter on his YouTube account. At the time, he was aged 35 and played professional football for 18 years.
International Career
- He made his debut for Iran’s national team in October 1998 in a match against Kuwait.
- In 1998, he won the Gold Medal with Iran at the 1998 Asian Games.
- He was also one of Iran’s main players in its 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.
- At the 2004 Asian Cup, Karimi scored five goals.
- He had a poor World Cup final in Germany in 2006.
- He played in the 2007 Asian Cup.
- He played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification for Iran and on 10 June 2009, Karimi scored in a 1–0 victory over U.A.E. to keep Iran’s 2010 World Cup qualifying hopes alive.
- On 3 March 2010, he returned for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification match against Thailand.
- He was invited to the national football team again by Carlos Queiroz in 2011 to play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.
- He played for the team until his retirement in 2013.
- He is currently the third most capped player and the third-highest scorer of Iran.
Managerial Career
- On 25th September 2014, he was named as the assistant coach by Carlos Queiroz in the Iranian national team.
- He stepped down from his role shortly before the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
- In June 2017, he was appointed Naft Tehran manager, but has not signed a contract with the team and left the team before the start of the league.
- He resigned from Naft in September.
- On 1st January 2018, he became the head coach of Sepidrood while Sepidrood was in the bottom two but he kept this team in the Persian Gulf Pro League.
Awards and Achievements
Persepolis
Iranian Football League: 1998–99, 1999–2000
Hazfi Cup: 1998–99
Asian Club Championship: third place 1999–2000, third place 2000–01
Al-Ahli
UAE Cup: 2001–02, 2003–04
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 2005–06
DFB-Pokal: 2005–06
Schalke 04
DFB-Pokal: 2010–11
Tractor Sazi
Hazfi Cup: 2013–14
Iran
Asian Games Gold Medal: 1998
West Asian Football Federation Championship: 2000, 2004
AFC/OFC Cup Challenge: 2003
Asian Cup: third place 2004
Individual
- Asian Footballer of the Year: 2004; runner-up: 2012
- West Asian Football Federation Championship MVP: 2000
- UAE Pro League best foreign player: 2002–03
- UAE Pro League best player: 2003–04
- UAE Pro League top scorer: 2003–04
- Best foreign player in UAE Pro League’s history (based on a poll run by Al Bayan newspaper in 2020)
- Asian Cup top scorer: 2004
- Asian Cup All-Star Team: 2004
- AFC/OFC Cup Challenge MVP: 2003
- AFC Asian Player of the Month: 2000 (June), 2001 (October), 2003 (October)
- iran Pro League top scoring midfielder: 2009–10 (14 goals), 2011–12 (12 goals)
- Top scoring midfielder of Persepolis F.C. in AFC Champions League (ten goals)
- One of the top 2 players of Iran’s football history chosen by FIFA (Iran national football team’s introduction teaser for 2018 FIFA World Cup)
- AFC Asian Cup Fans’ All-time Best XI: 2018
- Marca Fans’ Top Iranian footballer of all time: 2019
How much is Ali Karimi Net Worth?
Ali Karimi is a former footballer and football coach who has made a huge fortune in the football industry. He has accumulated a net worth of $22 million as of 2022. As far of now, he does not involve in any charity or social work. Ali Karimi is fond of luxurious cars. He lives a lavish lifestyle and he is making his salary in millions of dollars. His main source of wealth comes from his football career.
Who is Ali Karimi’s Wife?
Ali Karimi is a married man. He tied the knot to his beautiful wife, Sahar Davari who is from Iran. His wife, Sahar is a former Iranian Grasskilauferin. She participated in the 2005 World Cup and arrived at the top five ranking in the World Cup. The couple is also blessed with three children named Hirsha, Hima, and Hawsh Karimi. Today, the family is living a happy life. His sexual orientation is straight and he is not gay.
How tall is Ali Karimi?
Ali Karimi has a slim body build with a standing height of 5 feet and 10- inches which is around 1.78 m. His bodyweight consists of 79 Kg. He has a salt and pepper hair color. His eye color is light brown. He has got a healthy body with a cool attitude.
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