Ali Karimi (علی کریمی) is a former professional player who spent his professional football career in the Iran Pro League, UAE Pro League, Qatar Stars League and Bundesliga. Born in November of 1978 in Karaj, he played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Due to his amazing dribbling skills he was aptly nicknamed the Asian Maradona and the Magician.
Karimi began his youth soccer career with Naft of Tehran in 1990 before joining Saipa and subsequently Fath. He managed to sign with Fath’s main team in 1996. At the time Fath played in the second division and during Karimi’s two seasons with them they came close to being promoted to the first division at the end of the 1997-98 season although ultimately they were unsuccessful. Along the way Fath also took part in the Ramazan Futsal Cup where, competing against 31 other teams, Fath defeated Persepolis in the semifinals and then courtesy of Karimi’s 3 goals and one assist, destroyed Esteghlal 7-3 in the final to take first place. With such a performance not only did Karimi announce his arrival on the Iranian soccer scene, but also caught the eye of Persepolis officials.
Due to his suspension his second season at Persepolis would start late but nevertheless he would still manage 4 goals and another league championship while winning bronze in the Asian Club Championship. In his first full season with Persepolis in 2000-01, Karimi would score 9 goals while finishing second in the league and once again claiming third place in the Asian Club Championship. It was during this time that Spain’s Atletico Madrid and Italy’s Perugia expressed interest in him although they could not agree on terms. Ultimately he would join Al Ahli of the UAE for the 2001-02 season.
Karimi would spend 4 seasons with Al Ahli, winning 2 cup championships in the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons and one league silver medal. He would score 45 goals in 69 games while finishing the league top scorer in the 2003-04 season with 14 goals. During his time there he would also be selected as the League best foreign player in the 2002–03 season and the League best player in 2003–04.
Having impressed German officials in a friendly in 2004, Bayern Munich signed Karimi in May of 2005 to a year long contract with an option for a second. In this two-year span Karimi would lineup 42 times for Bayern across all competitions, scoring 4 goals and winning the 2005-06 German league and cup.
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Injuries limited his time during his second season and ultimately he would move to Qatar SC with a two-year contract. Karimi would play 30 times in his first year and score 6 goals as his team finished fourth. At the end of the season Karimi (along with all other foreign signings) left the club. He would join Al Sailiya SC and play a few preseason games although prior to the start of the season he would return to Iran and rejoin Persepolis.
Karimi would spend just the 2008-09 season with Persepolis, appearing in 28 games and scoring 7 goals, including 5 in his first 5 games in the league and one in the Tehran derby against Esteghlal. He would join Steel Azin at the end of the season. Persepolis officials would regret the decision and indicate their desire for Karimi’s return. In spite of Karimi’s willingness, Steel Azin refused the offer. During the 2009-10 season, Karimi would score 15 teams in 31 games and also receive 9 yellow and 3 red cards. One red card would be in the match against Persepolis where his two assists led to a 2-1 win. Following his late red card Karimi would toss aside his Steel Azin jersey and reveal a Persepolis one that he was wearing underneath.
The following season Karimi butt heads with the club management and would be fired by the club for not fasting during Ramazan although he would shortly afterwards be reinstated. In January of 2011 Karimi starred as a guest player in his former club Al Ahli’s match against AC Milan only to learn afterwards that his contract had been terminated. In the January transfer window Karimi would return to the Bundesliga and sign a 5-month contract with Schalke 04. During his time with them he would only make 2 substitute appearances, once in the league and once in European competition. He would win a German Cup championship with Schalke 04 in spite of not participating in any of its games.
Karimi would start his third stint with Persepolis at the start of the 2011-12 season. In spite of his 37 games and 15 goals overall, Persepolis would finish in a distant 12th spot. The 3 goals that he scored in the Asian Club Championship would bring his total over the years to 10. The following year a combination of management criticisms and injuries would limit him to only 15 games and a single goal. While Persepolis would reach the Cup Final, however, following a loss to Sepahan, Karimi would announce his retirement.
Karimi would reneg on this decision and play a final season with Tractorsazi. He would appear for them in 34 games notching 5 goals. While Tractorsazi would finish in 6th place, however, Karimi would win one more title, contributing an assist in defeating Foolad Khuzestan in the Cup Final. At the end of the season, Karimi would permanently retire.
Karimi would represent Iran both at the U23 and full national level, albeit making his national team debut first in a friendly game against Kuwait shortly after the 1998 World Cup. His first taste of competitive matches would come at the end of the year during the 1998 Asian Games in which Iran would win gold with Karimi heading the opening goal in the Final for his first international goal.
In early 1999, Karimi would accompany the U23s in the Dunhill Cup in Vietnam and would appear in 3 games. In the third group game against hosts Vietnam and with Iran trailing 2-0, the ref issued a red card to Ansarian. To show his disagreement and disgust with the call, Karimi proceeded to shove the referee thus also earning himself a red card and subsequently a one-year suspension from all competition.
Coming back from his suspension, Karimi would feature heavily in the 2000 Asian Championship qualifiers, playing in all 6 games and registering 1 goal as Iran topped the group. In between the qualifiers and 2000 Asian Championship, the national team and Karimi would win the West Asian Championship with him contributing 4 goals. While Karimi would feature in all 4 games at the Asian Championship (once as a starter), however, he would not score as Iran would be eliminated in the quarterfinals.
In 2001 Karimi would represent Iran in 2 LG Cups (one championship) and the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. Scoring 4 goals against Guam, Karimi got Iran’s campaign off to a flying start with a 19-0 victory. He would score again against Iraq both home and away in identical 2-1 wins. While Iran topped its group until the final day, a 3-1 loss against Bahrain would send it to the playoffs. Having defeated the UAE, Iran faced Ireland in a game where Karimi came close to scoring twice only to be thwarted by the Irish keeper. A 2-0 loss combined with a 1-0 win at home denied Iran a spot at the World Cup.
He would win another LG Cup in 2002 and go on to score twice in 2003 in the 3-0 win against New Zealand in the AFC-OFC Challenge Cup. Karimi would play all but one of the 2004 Asian Championship qualifiers, contributing two goals. Karimi would have a remarkable performance at the 2004 Asian Championship. He would end up as joint top scorer with 5 goals (including a hattrick against South Korea in the quarterfinals) and make the team of the tournament. He would win bronze with Iran after a 3rd place finish. But perhaps more remarkably he would be remembered for a dribbling run from the halfway line during the semifinals against the hosts in which he alluded three Chinese players and with only the keeper to beat was chopped down from behind – an offense that only resulted in a yellow card. He would become Asian Footballer of the Year in 2004.
Karimi would be ever present in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers and while he wouldn’t score, however, he would win penalties and provide assists. Given the talent at hand – and the easy group – much was expected at the 2006 World Cup, however, the team self-imploded. With an aging Daei still on the roster, the team was split into pro-Daei and anti-Daei camps, the latter led by Karimi. Karimi who had suffered a serious ankle injury in the Bundesliga, only lined up for Iran a mere 2 weeks prior to the World Cup. He would start in the first two games but be subbed off both times, the second time showing his displeasure by kicking a sports bag as he walked off the field. He started on the bench for the third game and was asked to warm up to be subbed in but declined to do so. Afterward Karimi would accuse Daei of being a selfish player who was playing just for his own reputation and not for team. He would round out 2006 by winning another LG Cup.
Now coached by Ghalenoei, Iran would progress from the 2007 Asian Championship qualifiers with Karimi participating in 4 of the games and scoring a brace against Taiwan. He would earn his 100th cap in the opener of the 2007 Asian Championship against Uzbekistan. Karimi would play in every game and would win a penalty against Malaysia although ultimately Iran would lose to South Korea in a shootout in the quarterfinals.
In 2008 as a result of criticisms of the IFF, Karimi was removed from the national team. His excellent form after returning to Persepolis led newly appointed national team head coach Daei to invite him back although Karimi would reject the invitation, prompting Daei to declare that as long as he was coach Karimi would not be invited again. A home loss against Saudi Arabia during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers would end Daei’s tenure as national team coach and his replacement, Afshin Ghotbi, included Karimi in the 3 remaining qualifiers where he would score the lone goal in a 1-0 win against the UAE. During the last game against South Korea, several Iranian players, Mahdaviakia included, started the match wearing green armbands or wristbands, a symbol of protest at the outcome of the Iranian presidential election. Afterwards it was reported that Karimi, Mahdavikia, Kaebi, and Hashemian had received life bans from the Iranian FA for the gesture although the Iranian FA denied this claim.
Karimi would appear sporadically afterwards including a single 2011 Asian Championship qualifier but would be excluded from the 2011 Asian Championship. Afterwards with the appointment of Carlos Queiroz as coach, Karimi’s national team career was revived. He participated in 8 of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and would become runner up for Asian Footballer of the Year in 2012. However, ultimately he was not selected for the 2014 World Cup roster which coincided with his retirement announcement. Overall he represented the national team 127 times scoring 38 goals.
Karimi remained involved in the game taking an assistant coaching position with the national team and later head coach of Naft of Tehran and Sepidrood of Rasht. In 2020 he ran for the position of president of IFF although he did not receive the necessary votes.
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