Iran Moves to the Next Round of Qualifying – Daei Shines!

Ali Daei scored four (4) goals against Laos and led Iran pass Laos 7 – 0 on November 17th. These 4 goals allowed Daei to pass the century mark for goals scored by a forward for his national team. Ali Daei is the only player ever to reach this milestone and at 102 goals, he is the all time scorer in national team level. After Daei, Ferenc Puskas of Hungry with 84 goals and unforgettable Pele of Brazil with 77 goals are second and third.

The victory enabled Iran to advance to the next round of the qualifying matches for the World Cup. In the next round, two groups of 4 teams each will battle out and the top two teams will advance to the World Cup. The 3rd place teams then will play each other and the winner will play the 5th place of North and Central America for another spot in the 2006 World Cup.

The journey for Daei started 133 matches ago. He played his first national team match in a late Spring afternoon against Pakistan and Iran won 5 – 0. Interestingly, Daei didn’t score any goals in that match. 132 matches later, in a rainy afternoon in Tehran, Daei scored 4 to reach 102 goals.

During the 133 matches that have taken this 35 years old through many ups and downs, Daei has played in many tournaments and against a variety of opponents. Here are some highlights of his goal-scoring career.

Games Played - 133

Goals Scored - 102

Goals per Match - 0.767

Most goals scored in a single game -

5 - against Sri Lanka (6/12/1996 in an Asian Cup Qualifying match)

4 - - against Nepal (6/10/1996 Asian Cup Qualifying), South Korea (12/16/1996, Asian Cup), Guam (11/24/2000, World Cup Qualifying), Laos (11/16/2004, World Cup Qualifying).

Number of Games with Multiple Goals - 21 games

Number of Goals in Asian Cup - 14 in 16 games

Number of Goals in Asian Games - 9 in 9 games

Number of Goals in World Cup Games - 0 in 3 games

Number of Goals in Asian Cup Qualifying Matches - 22 in 17 games

Number of Goals in World Cup Qualifying Matches - 35 in 46

Most Number of Consecutive Games When Daei Scored - 5. Between 11/12/2003 and 3/31/2004, Daei scored in 5 consecutive matches; a total of 6 goals matches.

Most Number of Consecutive Games When Daei Didn’t Score - 8 games between 11/22/1997 and 1/12/1998.

Most Memorable Match - For many it would be the game between Iran and South Korea on 12/16/1996, when Daei scored 4 goals to lead Iran to a 6-2 Asian Cup victory.

And here is a Year-by-Year break-down of Daei’s goals for the national team:

1993 - 7 goals in 16 games

1994 - 0 goals in 1 game

1995 - 0 goals in 0 games

1996 - 22 goals in 18 games

1997 - 9 goals in 17 games

1998 - 9 goals in 13 games

1999 - 2 goals in 5 games

2000 - 20 goals in 19 games

2001 - 10 goals in 16 games

2002 - 2 goals in 4 games

2003 - 5 goals in 9 games (NOTE: One penalty goal against North Korea is not counted here as North Korean team left the pitch and was awarded a loss 3 – 0)

2004 - 16 goals in 15 games

TOTAL: 102 goals in 133 games

Sometimes, rather than debating how old or young a player is, or how many goals with headers, on shots or penalty kicks he has scored, it is just nice to sit back and appreciate the achievement.

Ali Daei’s performance for the Iranian National Team over the last 11 years is one of those times when we simply should marvel and enjoy. Iran has other capable great forwards like Vahid Hashemian who will be our next superstar or up and coming young Arash Borhani, but this day, this week and this month, belongs to Daei and his incredible record.

His professionalism and positive attitude about the national team and how he plays each game as if it is the most important match is what separates Daei from many other players. Congratulations Mr. Daei. Congratulations to all Iranians.

Enjoy the moment!