Greatest Iranian footballer in history!

[Makaveli]

Irans always had a good team and always had great stars like ali parvin, hossein kalani, iraj daneifard, alidaei etc.

but i wonder if any of you guys would agree with Darioush Zahab when he said on his the other night that in all of his life following Irans football, Mehdi Mahdavikia is overall the best in Irans history.

Indeed Mahdavikia is known for his tremendous zeal(gheyrat), work ethic, excellent crossing, and off the field personality. And hes personally very inspirational to the players as well as the fans like me who admire him for all he's done.

...but would anyone here go as far to say he is Irans greatest ever? if not who would u pick instead and why?

[soniq]

thats a hard question,i have to think about it,ill be back

[Salar]

Well to be honest, i haven't seen much of our 70s 80s team so i cant really judge them, but in todays football, I can 100 % agree with that. Mehdi is by far our most professional and most successful player to date. If you guys go to AOL Arena, he is like a hero, last year when i was there, after Barbarez, i saw more Mehdi shirts than anyone else. Respect to him.

[BehzadB]

...but would anyone here go as far to say he is Irans greatest ever? if not who would u pick instead and why?

I would.

simply because he has sustained and continured to play at one of the highest level of football competition and for longer than any other Iranian player in the history.

Kia has been a Key player for a top EU club for a long time. that has not been done before by an Iranian player.

and I haven't even said anything about his imprtance to Iranian National team. he is the most accomplished, therefore the best ever.

did i mention he is good;)

[soniq]

well i thought about it,im only 17 so i only saw the likes of daei and mahdavikia play,between the two i'm gonna say mehdi is the better one,with his amazing speed,free kicks,goals,his goal in the world cup,his success in hamburg,his reputation in germany, his gheyrat against the bahrain team makes him one of iran best players.
i may be wrong because i never saw guys like hasan roshan,ali parvin ,dadkan,faraki play.

[KasraKhan]

I agree with Zahab

Kia is the only player that has been with his club for a long period of time. Kia is HSV's longest term player, and he has been with them for 7 years now. That shows that he is consistent and a true professional. Daei never did that. He has been one of TM's best players for 8 years now also.

[redlover]

if we r talking history by far soltan ali parvin but if u r talking about active players no doubt the other red soldier mehdi mahdavikia

[Nokhodi]

For TM Daei, outside of that though Kia is better then most other Iranian players by a mile.

[Mr.Click]

Daei of course :bow:

[Muradistan]

Best Player Ever-Karimi
Best Club player-Kia
Best TM player-Daei....I hate when people can't give a straight answer and disect the question, and I've done the same. :o

Personally I'd pick Karimi as the greatest because I believe he's the most talented footballer ever to come out of Iran, although lacks the European success of Kia and Daei. So Karimi, final answer.

[ray]

overally ... I should say Mehdi Mahdavi kia!

[sycho67]

you guys are lost the best player in IRAN s history is Kayvan Shahrokni aka me !

BY FAR

[1908]

Kia for sure ...........

but my all time player would b Karimi .....

[Spyder]

Kia is just wonderful. No doubt. But for me the toss up between him and Daei is a close one.

[bobby a]

Ghlichkhani

[omidagha]

in terms of name recognition... ali daei
in terms of professional development and sportsmenship....mahdavikia
in terms of TALENT... ali karimi

[Makaveli]

intreresting but i cant beleive noones meniton ghalichkhani so far. also hasan nazari, god if we only had someone like him in our left back right now.

i have to recall tho i remember in an interview Mahdavikia once said that growing up there were soo many players far better then him but that never got the oppartunity to show themselves because they had to take up jobs and help out their parents and families

[yashar_fasihnia]

its very hard to single out just 1 iranian footballer as the greatest ever for many reasons:
1)They play different positions: u have candidates ranging from goalkeepr like nasser hejazi, defense andranik eskandarian & parviz gilichkhani, midfield ali parvin, kia, karim bagheri forwards ali daei, hassan rowshan. To most people, a forward or a midfield will be the best player cos he is scoring and this is the advantage they have over defenders and goal keepers who are more in charge of defense than offense. unfortunately, defensive abilities cant be measured as clearly as offense can on a scale.
2)They all came in different eras which plays a huge role. there wer players who were superstars during the times of iranian revolution but they couldnt show themselves that time cos of political instability of iran. then others were unlucky cos they played in a time where football wasnt really professional and salaries were not paid or paid very little and so, they had a lot of financial problems and had to look for a job and play football at the same time. some others were lucky to be able to participate in a worldcup and display their talents on an international stage and get purchased by european clubs. Some were lucky cos they didnt have many rivals for their position in TM, they just had to play for esteghlal or perspolis to play for TM unlike today where u have rivals playing in 16 premier league teams and maybe some even in azadegan first division. obviously its much more difficult now. And finally while some of them have already retired and showed us wat they were capabilities are, others are still playing and are still improving their record. So, its very hard to actually compare players of different generations
3)They played under different coaches with different mentalities. some coaches dont mind risking youngsters in huge matches. some others prefer the old and the experienced. maybe if one of these stars wouldnt get a chance to play at such an early age cos of some other star playing in his post, he would never be able to shine.

So, its really hard to say who is the single best iranian footballer ever.
Differnt players have different glories,
while daei has an international goal scoring record and has scored against milan and chelsea, kia has been our longest european serving player and ofcourse its almost impossible to even EXPECT kia to score as many goals as Daei does cos their posts are different.
While ali parvin has won so many different tourneys under his captaincy, nasser hejazi has been the only iranian to be in demand by the worlds biggest club man utd.
Andranik eskandarian and iraj danaeifard were chosen for the world team after the worldcup 1978 but parvin and hejazi werent.

And none of these could be achieved without gheyrat or hardwork! specially the older players who used to play for passion, not for the money and they had to spend their time, earning bread else where as well!

Its really hard for me to single just a single iranian footballer as the best ever, in my eyes, they are all champions, all stars, all equally important and contributed to irans success and recognition in international soccer!

[Adesor Vafaseya]

from what I have seen till now; the - by far - the best Iranian players ever were:

Parviz Ghlichkhani
Ali Parvin


and no one-else.....


(my oppinion)

[atishbazar]

Ali Parvin
Hamid Derakhshan

[Kaveh Ahangar]

Mehdi Mahdavikia is the best!

[ShirFarhad]

Without any doubt Mahdavikia is the best Iranian midfielder and maybe even player in history. Thats why I became surprised and shocked that some compare van der Vaart to someone like Mahdavikia.

But I think Hassan Rowshan would have been a great football player too. I have seen some matches of him and he was simply GREAT. Its sad that he retired at the age of 23(?) because of the war and the revolution otherwise our complete team would have been playing in great European clubs now.

[Asghar Agha]

Hassan Roshan was excellent in the 70s. And Karimi is exceptional.

[maij]

Parviz Ghleechkhani

Arguably one of the best football player ever produced by Iran. 3 times Champion of Asian Cup , and the most talented overall player ( played as defender , midifield and forward). During his era , he was an icon and the player that the rest wanted to follow.

It was regretable that he got involved in politics and the turmoils of the seventies which hindered his career. It was even more regretable to see him miss the 1978 World cup squad.







Ali Daei
The player who is credited for introducing Team Melli to the Football World. His name remains synonyms with Iran in the global media. His appurtenance and success in Europe , his goal scoring records and number of appearance puts him right at the top of the echelon of Iran's football. It will be a long time for anyone to match Daei's record and achievements.

[Martin-Reza]

I think Karimi will be it, but we need to wait for another 10 years to find out.

[MOMO]

no one comes close to the king ALI DAEI

[Mansoor]

1-Karimi
2-Parvin
3-Kia
4-Rowshan
5-Ghelich Khani

Only Karimi's magic beats Parvin's unbelievable talent in play making, leadership, scoring, freekicks and technique. During Parvin's era, Iran won every competition in Asia. But, no one would even come close to Karimi.

As for Kia, he is doing excellent right now, but has had his ups and downs. Being witness to all top five, I can't see him close to either Parvin or Karimi as for their effect and presence in TM. I think Kia will be our best weapon in World Cup but I can't rank him above Parvin and Karimi.

Rowshan could have been top two if his career didn't get effected by that damn injury. Amazing runs, techniques, play-making forward, and above all natural born scorer.

Ghelich was also a great leader, play maker, and had amazing long distance shots.

Daei, Azizi, Hejazi, Abedzadeh, and Bagheri are in the lower half.

Naser Mohammad Khani, Changiz, Derakhshan, Hashemian, Danaei, Rezaii, Eskandarian, Barzegari (this one could have been top 5 if not caught in revolution and war), Alidoosti, Pious, Ghayeghran, Nazari, Nekunam, Arab, Ashtiani, Namjoo Motlagh, Kashani, Kalani, Ali Jabbari, Behzadi, Mazloomi, Rashidi, Ghasempour, Kargar Jam, and Abdollahi are members of Iran top 50.

[gdoggali]

Kia - consistency
Karimi - raw talent
Azizi - raw talent/well rounded player
Abedzadeh - raw GK talent

[fairplay]

1-Karimi
2-Parvin
3-Kia
4-Rowshan
5-Ghelich Khani
Only Karimi's magic beats Parvin's unbelievable talent in play making, leadership, scoring, freekicks and technique. During Parvin's era, Iran won every competition in Asia. But, no one would even come close to Karimi.
As for Kia, he is doing excellent right now, but has had his ups and downs. Being witness to all top five, I can't see him close to either Parvin or Karimi as for their effect and presence in TM. I think Kia will be our best weapon in World Cup but I can't rank him above Parvin and Karimi.
Rowshan could have been top two if his career didn't get effected by that damn injury. Amazing runs, techniques, play-making forward, and above all natural born scorer.
Ghelich was also a great leader, play maker, and had amazing long distance shots.
Daei, Azizi, Hejazi, Abedzadeh, and Bagheri are in the lower half.
Naser Mohammad Khani, Changiz, Derakhshan, Hashemian, Danaei, Rezaii, Eskandarian, Barzegari (this one could have been top 5 if not caught in revolution and war), Alidoosti, Pious, Ghayeghran, Nazari, Nekunam, Arab, Ashtiani, Namjoo Motlagh, Kashani, Kalani, Ali Jabbari, Behzadi, Mazloomi, Rashidi, Ghasempour, Kargar Jam, and Abdollahi are members of Iran top 50.
Add Kazarani to that list.

[Mansoor]

Add Kazarani to that list.

Go'ud one. That list was not complete for all 50 players, and Hossein Kazorani sure would be one of the top 50.

[gol_kuchik]

Begoo Mashalla.

I don't think you can compare players from different eras, as it becomes
meaningless, with the sport changing as for traning, diet, science
of the game etc.

But I fully agree, if you asked who is the best overall player in TM, Mehdi is
the man. Don't take anyone's word for it, in the west they say money
talks and he is the highest paid Iranian player for a reason:)

[abouzar]

daei without a doubt.. you say iran.. people say daei.. there's a reason for that!

[Abed1]

Without a doubt Mehdi Mahdavikia; he is the only Iranian player in Europe that people think of as not having created a permanent ass groove on the bench of his club team. He was successful in Europe, in both the league and Champions League (man of the match against freaking Juventes and scored against Deportivo La Coruna in Spain) assist leader in the Bundesliga, scored 2 times against one of the strongest national teams we have ever played against (the USA) was our strongest player in the '98 World Cup, is regularly selected for the best 11 of the Bundesliga by Kicker, etc. There is not one single Iranian player around that can even come close to matching Mehdi's resume/credentials.

I'll never forget how he literally sacrificed his health for TM back in 2001; he played with a bad back against Ireland, the Hamburg doctors told him not to do it ..... but he did it anyway which is why he needed that back operation back in 2002. After that operation, he came back and became the freaking assist leader in one of the most respected leagues in the world.

Ali Daei doesn't even deserve to carry Mehdi Mahdavikia's jock strap.

[Abed1]

Ali Daei
The player who is credited for introducing Team Melli to the Football World. His name remains synonyms with Iran in the global media. His appurtenance and success in Europe

Success in Europe? Daei didn't even score one single goal in his final year at Hertha Berlin. You can say that Mehdi Mahdavikia was successful in Europe (scored against two very strong Champions League opponents - Juventes and Deportivo, Bundesliga assist leader, etc.) but Daei?

[News-Breaker]

1. Ali Daei
2. Mahdavikia
3. Parvi Ghelichkhani
4. Abedzadeh
5. Ali Parvin
6. Ali Karimi
7. Karim Bagheri

[faraz]

Well, I was never able to see the Parvin's, Ghelich Khani's, Hejazi's or any other of the superstars. So judging from today's players, i'd say:

b) Daei. Can't deny Daei from being the best of the best.
a) Kia. Can't put Karimi above him YET. Not just yet.
c) Karimi. Soon, he will move up the ranks.

[erik74]

Guys you can name who ever you want
but fact is the we have only one player the plays in the worlds most dificult and best league and that person in Rezaei
he plays every weekend against the best strikers that the world has to offer
and he does that with style and since many years.
none of the player you named would even try to play in italy because they would fail and none of them had even a chance to play there because ther were not good enough
for example daei and his manager treid very hard to get an offer from itlay but no one wanted him!!!!
but greatness comes with achievment and titles and i dont think we have even one player who has achieved anything or played a major role in his team wining a title
Cafu has been in 3 worlcup finlas!!!!
lizarazu has won the world cup, the european cup, championsleague, german league the cup
the french .. and ............
End of the story...............

[IronSheik]

Ive only been watching Iranian football since about 1997 but i can't imagine there has been a more talented footballer than Ali Karimi

I just hope he shows his class at the world cup.

[Red]

The Ali Parvin

[ashkan90]

1. Ostad Assadi
2. Naim Sadaavi
3. Ebrahim Tahami

:rolleyes: :rofl:


I watch TM/iranian football since 97, so i can't say much about Parvin, Rowshan etc.

But come on man, how can you guys say that Kia or Daei are better than Karimi? :rolleyes: I love them & they are very good players, but Karimi is a different caliber man...Come on just think about it...

[Kaveh Ahangar]

I believe only a fan who has seen both eras of Iranian football can make a valid contribution to this thread. That probably means maij and Mansoor, though I'm not saying you guys are old or anything! :p

My father always tells me about how great Parvin, Rowshan et al were back in the glory days of Iranian football when we won the Asian Cup three times in a row. I only wish I could have witnessed some of this golden era. A golden set of players who never realised their full potential as circumstances conspired against them in the form of a revolution and devastating war.

From the games I have seen in the last decade or so, I would have to say Ali Daei has been the greatest. I dislike his attitude today, but nobody can deny his efforts and all he has done to progress football in Iran. The top International goalscorer and in his day he was a real asset to the team. Mahdavikia comes a close second for his consistency and spirit, with Abedzadeh, Azizi and the rest following on from there.

[Darvish11]

Well, I was never able to see the Parvin's, Ghelich Khani's, Hejazi's or any other of the superstars. So judging from today's players, i'd say:

b) Daei. Can't deny Daei from being the best of the best.
a) Kia. Can't put Karimi above him YET. Not just yet.
c) Karimi. Soon, he will move up the ranks.
you may want to brush up on your abc's...

anyway, i think the greatest player is Daei!!

[soniq]

faraz, the english alphabet:

a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y, z.

it was my duty to inform u.

[milad]

the best TM player to date is daei- he has scored so much for so long.
the best player (most skill overall) is karimi.
the best overall iranian player is mahdavikia.

[Aryan]

Ahmadinejad by far the best Iranian footbal playerhe can kick a ball and a nation

[persianbruin]

You guys are """""ALLLLL"""" either from the late 90's on or 70's. How about the 80's and early 90's???

I have seen all these ages and unfortunately for the people who were either too young to see the 80's or were too old and fled Iran after the revolution, you didnt get a chance to see our stars back then. Not one post here has mentioned, Farshad Pius argubly the best forward we ahve ever had and yes that includes Ali Daei( I am dei fan and I want him to be in the wc squad dont call me Daei basher)

Nobody here named Majid Namjoo Motlagh, The esteghlalee player who ali parvin ALLOWED to wear his old #7 on the natinal team as a sign of utmost respect in the asian games of 1990. He scored the championship clinching penalty in that tourny. He was our best all around player and yes that includes kia and he was our best dribbler and yes that sure as hellllll includes karimi. Anyone who saw namjoo-motlagh play would agree with me. At the age where no asian players would even dream of playing in europe, european powerhouse and most powerful team at the time olympic Marseilles wanted him. Too bad he got injured.

GO BRUINS!!!!

[Makaveli]

how about Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh??? im ashamed of myself for not even having him cross my mind, our team right now lacks a leader like him

[Mansoor]

. Not one post here has mentioned, Farshad Pius ... Nobody here named Majid Namjoo Motlagh

I did ;) But neither one of them were top 10 in my opinion.

[persianbruin]

I did ;) But neither one of them were top 10 in my opinion.
Thats because they played in a day and age when there was no internet and the only iran fans were inside the country. Plus when you play in an era where the country is in crisis from war and immidiate postwar problems. You are running after the game to get to work cuz the games dont pay shit (compare that to the millions players are gettin now) and you still kick asia's A$$ and you play at that level, well that shows with our guys today is a lot more about hype than substance. I love them all but "oona tok.... pius and namjoo motlagh ham nemeeshan"!

Give me a break!!These days one player has a nice dribble in a game, 10 sites show footage of it and we discuss it for days here!! back then many cases they didnt even show some of the most important footbal games on TV.

Just to give you an example especially youngsters what Iran people lived in during the 80's:

WE COULD NOT BUY A SODA BY ITSELF. YESS! WE COULDN'T THE SUPPLY WAS SO LOW, THAT YOU HAD TO BUY A SANDWICH IF YOU WANTED TO BUY A SODA. SODA'S WERE ONLY FOR PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT FOOD. JUST IMAGINE THAT ENVIRONMENT!

[avicenna 18]

Thats because they played in a day and age when there was no internet and the only iran fans were inside the country. Plus when you play in an era where the country is in crisis from war and immidiate postwar problems. You are running after the game to get to work cuz the games dont pay shit (compare that to the millions players are gettin now) and you still kick asia's A$$ and you play at that level, well that shows with our guys today is a lot more about hype than substance. I love them all but "oona tok.... pius and namjoo motlagh ham nemeeshan"!
Give me a break!!These days one player has a nice dribble in a game, 10 sites show footage of it and we discuss it for days here!! back then many cases they didnt even show some of the most important footbal games on TV.
Just to give you an example especially youngsters what Iran people lived in during the 80's:
WE COULD NOT BUY A SODA BY ITSELF. YESS! WE COULDN'T THE SUPPLY WAS SO LOW, THAT YOU HAD TO BUY A SANDWICH IF YOU WANTED TO BUY A SODA. SODA'S WERE ONLY FOR PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT FOOD. JUST IMAGINE THAT ENVIRONMENT!

Totally Agree!
Most people on this site(around 80%) cannot relate to what you say though,we've talked about this before...players like Motlagh,Pius,Abtahi,Ghayeghran,etc were far far far far far better than Navidkia,Mobali,Borhani,etc..but they never got the attention and media publicity due to the reasons that you pointed out
Hope all is well with you Shahriar jan:)

[avicenna 18]

1. Ostad Assadi
2. Naim Sadaavi
3. Ebrahim Tahami
:rolleyes: :rofl:
I watch TM/iranian football since 97, so i can't say much about Parvin, Rowshan etc.
But come on man, how can you guys say that Kia or Daei are better than Karimi? :rolleyes: I love them & they are very good players, but Karimi is a different caliber man...Come on just think about it...
These are the most good-looking players of Iran history:rolleyes:

[avicenna 18]

From what I've seen myself:

Most Famous,influential,powerful and dedicated player: King Ali Daei
Most consistent,passionate: Mahdavikia
Most entertaining and talented: Karimi,Namjo Motlagh,Azizi,Nasser Mohammadkhani
And a few others like : Bagheri,Abedzadeh,Pius,Abtahi,Ahadi,Ghayeghran,Moh arrami,Changiz,Alidoosti,Derakhshan(only at club level) were amazing players who didn't reach their potential...A player like Abedzadeh could've played in some good european teams,Bagheri never achieved anything special in Germany,....

I never got to watch other legends fom older generation (Parvin,Hejazi,Rowshan,Ghleechkhani,..) ,their era was very different,so you cant say they were better or worse...back then it wasnt too much about power and speed though

[persianbruin]

Totally Agree!
Most people on this site(around 80%) cannot relate to what you say though,we've talked about this before...players like Motlagh,Pius,Abtahi,Ghayeghran,etc were far far far far far better than Navidkia,Mobali,Borhani,etc..but they never got the attention and media publicity due to the reasons that you pointed out
Hope all is well with you Shahriar jan:)
agha eidet mobarak! Long time!! how is life in Sandiego?:D

[Mansoor]

Thats because they played in a day and age when there was no internet and the only iran fans were inside the country. Plus when you play in an era where the country is in crisis from war and immidiate postwar problems. You are running after the game to get to work cuz the games dont pay shit (compare that to the millions players are gettin now) and you still kick asia's A$$ and you play at that level, well that shows with our guys today is a lot more about hype than substance. I love them all but "oona tok.... pius and namjoo motlagh ham nemeeshan"!
Give me a break!!These days one player has a nice dribble in a game, 10 sites show footage of it and we discuss it for days here!! back then many cases they didnt even show some of the most important footbal games on TV.
Just to give you an example especially youngsters what Iran people lived in during the 80's:
WE COULD NOT BUY A SODA BY ITSELF. YESS! WE COULDN'T THE SUPPLY WAS SO LOW, THAT YOU HAD TO BUY A SANDWICH IF YOU WANTED TO BUY A SODA. SODA'S WERE ONLY FOR PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT FOOD. JUST IMAGINE THAT ENVIRONMENT!

I read your post, and I must say very correct post. But are you mixing talent level with performance level? Talent wise, who knows what we had done with the pool of "properly trained" talented youngsters of late 70s, and I mean way under 18 youngsters, who then came to surface in 80s.

More than that, I'll give you a team that could have done 10 times better than Iran's 70 team if war and revolution hadn't effected Iran's football: Barzegari, MohammadKhani, Alidoosti, Derakhshan, Bayani(s), Changiz, Nazari, Estkandarian, Rowshan, Panjali, .... Are you kidding me (not you :) )! This pool of players were meant to go way beyound the Asia but were wasted after all that happened.

And then the next generation which were also developed before war and revolution in early early ages came along. Those players that you mentioned all had EXCELLENT foundation, a matter that upto today has been forgotten and now gradually is coming back; The youth development in early stage.

But to compare their performances to others, they were below top 10 and more of a top 50 "in my opinion". And I don't think the internet and TV coverage had anything to do with it. It was the circumstances surrounding our football that did, and Iran's over all performance in those years is a good indication; The lowest since 1970.

[persianbruin]

I read your post, and I must say very correct post. But are you mixing talent level with performance level? Talent wise, who knows what we had done with the pool of "properly trained" talented youngsters of late 70s, and I mean way under 18 youngsters, who then came to surface in 80s.
More than that, I'll give you a team that could have done 10 times better than Iran's 70 team if war and revolution hadn't effected Iran's football: Barzegari, MohammadKhani, Alidoosti, Derakhshan, Bayani(s), Changiz, Nazari, Estkandarian, Rowshan, Panjali, .... Are you kidding me (not you :) )! This pool of players were meant to go way beyound the Asia but were wasted after all that happened.
And then the next generation which were also developed before war and revolution in early early ages came along. Those players that you mentioned all had EXCELLENT foundation, a matter that upto today has been forgotten and now gradually is coming back; The youth development in early stage.
But to compare their performances to others, they were below top 10 and more of a top 50 "in my opinion". And I don't think the internet and TV coverage had anything to do with it. It was the circumstances surrounding our football that did, and Iran's over all performance in those years is a good indication; The lowest since 1970.

How do you judge talent manssor jaan?

1) performance

2) observing the performance.

Both of the above were drastically effected by what I mentioned earlier:)

[Mansoor]

How do you judge talent manssor jaan?
1) performance
2) observing the performance.
Both of the above were drastically effected by what I mentioned earlier:)

Oh, I meant "talent" in terms of "talent that was not fully utilized". As you correctly said, their "performance" was drastically effect by such. And unfortunately history will judge them by what they did (performance) rather than by what they could have done (potential). And that is why I thought they were not top 10. Out of all the "wasted" ones, I think Abdolreza Barzegari will go down in the history as "the most" talented one that was "wasted".

Mokhlesim

[Aria]

PARVIZ DEHDARI
http://www.geocities.com/sanatnaft/parviz-Dehdari.jpg

[avicenna 18]

agha eidet mobarak! Long time!! how is life in Sandiego?:D
happy new year to you too
Actually I was in Europe for a long time(3months)including eid...but I am back in SD and it feels great
I am sure you've been answering on my behalf in my absence this whole time as we're both from the same generation and we dont seem to disagree on anything about Football ;)
What you said about soda and sandwich is something that I recall now but I had totally forgotten....:D

[ramingeles2000]

without a DOUBT, mahdavikia. he is a good 15% of our team.

[186forever]

Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh
The most valuable player on the field ever..... not because he is protecting the goal....but the way he did it.

We all know if we had the same connection with europe in the 80s and 90s like we do now, he would be selected by one of the best clubs in the world and would become even better...

[babak_australia]

1) Abedzadeh
2) Daei
3) Mahdavi Kia

Players that have showed there worth at the highest of levels.
I dont have Karimi in there because he has not done wat these three have done at International level. What Karimi does in Germany 06 could make him either an Iranian football legend or he will just be another one of those "what if" scenarios.

[Coastie]

I'd say it's the same for both Bresc and Karimi ;)

Alot of what is written down in history for these two will depend largely on their team mates as well and for Australia or Iran to kill a giant or two in Germany.

Although it was Bresc's goal that got us into the world cup :bow:

[babak_australia]

I really hope those two ppl u mentioned do well. They have such potential, to shine at the biggest stage is the difference between football immortality.

P.S got my tix to Aust vs Greece today. CANT WAIT

[Siavash]

Hard to say, However Daei is my first choice

[Amir-Che]

70's:
Parvin, Hejazi, Ghasempour, Barzegar, Eskandarian, Ghlech Khani, Roshan, Danaye-fard, Nazari
80's:
Naser Mohamad-Khani, Derakhsahn, Panjali, Changiz, Alidosti, Fariba, Peyous, Ghayeghran, Namjoo Motlagh
90's:
Daie, Mahdavi Kia, Abedzadeh, Azizi, Bagheri, Zarinche
00's:
Rezaie, Hashemian
My top three:
1) Parvin
2) Daie
3) Mahdavi Kia

[persianbruin]

PARVIZ DEHDARI
http://www.geocities.com/sanatnaft/parviz-Dehdari.jpg
ey baba!! 90% of the people here dont even know who dehdari is!! Delet khosheh!!:D

roohash shad:bow:

[persianbruin]

happy new year to you too
Actually I was in Europe for a long time(3months)including eid...but I am back in SD and it feels great
I am sure you've been answering on my behalf in my absence this whole time as we're both from the same generation and we dont seem to disagree on anything about Football ;)
What you said about soda and sandwich is something that I recall now but I had totally forgotten....:D
wlcome back. what part of europe? as for me, I wasnt as active as I used to be. been very busy.

[Soccer4ever]

Overall, three players stick in my mind: Ali Parvin, Ali Daei, and Naser Hejazi.

Most consistent player at the club level: Mehdi Mahdavikia.
Most talented young player for TM: Hassan Roshan, Kaabie.
Most talented TM Player: Ali Karimi.
Most dedicated player (gheyrati): Hossein Kalani.
Most cleaver attacking player: Homayoun Behzadi, Hamid Shirzadegan.
Most dangerous attacking mid-fielder: Khodadad Azizi.
Most effective mid-fielder: Karim Bagheri (in his good days), Javad Nekonam.
Most devastating long shots on goal: Parviz Ghelichkhani.
Most technical forward: Akbar Eftekhari.
Most technical mid-fielder: Fereydoon Zandi.

[persianbruin]

Overall, three players stick in my mind: Ali Parvin, Ali Daei, and Naser Hejazi.
Most consistent player at the club level: Mehdi Mahdavikia.
Most talented young player for TM: Hassan Roshan, Kaabie.
Most talented TM Player: Ali Karimi.
Most dedicated player (gheyrati): Hossein Kalani.
Most cleaver attacking player: Homayoun Behzadi, Hamid Shirzadegan.
Most dangerous attacking mid-fielder: Khodadad Azizi.
Most effective mid-fielder: Karim Bagheri (in his good days), Javad Nekonam.
Most devastating long shots on goal: Parviz Ghelichkhani.
Most technical forward: Akbar Eftekhari.
Most technical mid-fielder: Fereydoon Zandi.
what a shocker!! another collection of names just from the 70's and the late 90's on!! Only people who ahve seen the 80's and first half of ninties would understand what I saying: cyrus ghayeghran and majid namjoo motlagh on a bad day would be good enough that zandi can only dream about becoming one day!!

[zzgloo]

When we talk about a player, we talk about his best performance age and era.....
currantly, mahdavikia,and karimi are our best,and since we have the best all time team at this moment, I believe,our best players in our history,are the currant ones...with one exception........
ALI DAEI is ,in my opinion, is the only player in Iranian history,who has been internationaly respected the most.....he also has been the most famouse Iranian player,internationaly....and lets not forget,he has the record,which may never be broken by anybody in the whole world...he has been a bright star,specialy in a position we historicaly been behind, and that is a tall, header specialist,and a killer instinct forward....
Ali Daei ,on his best days, will be a tough act to follow for history of football in Iran.

[avicenna 18]

Overall, three players stick in my mind: Ali Parvin, Ali Daei, and Naser Hejazi.
Most consistent player at the club level: Mehdi Mahdavikia.
Most talented young player for TM: Hassan Roshan, Kaabie.
Most talented TM Player: Ali Karimi.
Most dedicated player (gheyrati): Hossein Kalani.
Most cleaver attacking player: Homayoun Behzadi, Hamid Shirzadegan.
Most dangerous attacking mid-fielder: Khodadad Azizi.
Most effective mid-fielder: Karim Bagheri (in his good days), Javad Nekonam.
Most devastating long shots on goal: Parviz Ghelichkhani.
Most technical forward: Akbar Eftekhari.
Most technical mid-fielder: Fereydoon Zandi.

You got a good list but as my friend pointed out below,you're missing out a whole extremely talented generation who would've made it to Europe and succeeded as well..players like Nasser MohammadKhani,Changiz,Alidoosti,Ahadi,Namjo-Motlagh,Ghayeghran,abtahi,Ghalenoii,Bayani,Mokhtar ifar,Moharrami,Pius(amazing in front of goal),Ashoori (Mohsen Tigana),and many othe more

IMO,players like Zandi,Mobali,Navidkia,Borhani,Enayati,Kazemian,etc should be their"toop jamkoon" as far as technique,talent.
Even Nekounam who happens to be a great player isn't in the same league as Ghayeghran or even Behtash Fariba
Peace

[avicenna 18]

wlcome back. what part of europe? as for me, I wasnt as active as I used to be. been very busy.
I was in Greece,France,and a few weeks in Switzerl;and...only for work though
Sick'n tired of hotels now:mad:
I did check the PFDC website every once in a while,but didnt have the password stuffs
Speaking of the topic,I wish we had the tape of Namjo Motlagh against Algeria back in late 80's or so when he was toying the Algerian defenders..do you remember that?
He was a outstanding and way above Asia in terms of class & technique
can we compare that with Zandi,or Mobali against Shamooshak or some Al-ashghal team in Dubai???!:rolleyes:

[persianbruin]

I was in Greece,France,and a few weeks in Switzerl;and...only for work though
Sick'n tired of hotels now:mad:
I did check the PFDC website every once in a while,but didnt have the password stuffs
Speaking of the topic,I wish we had the tape of Namjo Motlagh against Algeria back in late 80's or so when he was toying the Algerian defenders..do you remember that?
He was a outstanding and way above Asia in terms of class & technique
can we compare that with Zandi,or Mobali against Shamooshak or some Al-ashghal team in Dubai???!:rolleyes:
It was 1991 after Iran became the asian champions in 1990, as you know algeria was the african champion with the legendary robah majer who scored both against Bayern Munich and the german national team in the WC. The game was the intercontinental championship between africa and asia with namjoo givin the mother of all asists on both goals. his first goal the way he dribbled past 2 defenders with the head fake:D do you remember that?? If karimi does that today in such an important game( the one agaisnt balack doesnt count cuz he eventually lost the ball) we would be watchin the clip for weeks and months. different guys on different websites make a movie out of it and we declare him national hero!! Exactly my point. There is no footage of it therefore no hype. It was after that game that Marseilles and beckenbaur and toppi were lloking forward to sign him. This is back in a day and age where going to europe for playing football was beyond a dream.

[avicenna 18]

It was 1991 after Iran became the asian champions in 1990, as you know algeria was the african champion with the legendary robah majer who scored both against Bayern Munich and the german national team in the WC. The game was the intercontinental championship between africa and asia with namjoo givin the mother of all asists on both goals. his first goal the way he dribbled past 2 defenders with the head fake:D do you remember that?? If karimi does that today in such an important game( the one agaisnt balack doesnt count cuz he eventually lost the ball) we would be watchin the clip for weeks and months. different guys on different websites make a movie out of it and we declare him national hero!! Exactly my point. There is no footage of it therefore no hype. It was after that game that Marseilles and beckenbaur and toppi were lloking forward to sign him. This is back in a day and age where going to europe for playing football was beyond a dream.

Very true..It was the same game that Panjali(the rishoo guy) retired from TM.
To make our point,let's not forget that namjo-Motlagh has always been Karimi's idole(all these karimi worshipers can check the Fifa website and the interview with Karimi on that)
There is no doubt that Karimi is very talented,but putting zandi,or Mobali in the list of best Iranian players is an insults to players like Motlagh:nono:
I also remember that my all-time favorite player Michel Platini had admired Namjo-Motlagh( I read that in France Football,but I can't find the paper)
IMO the only exceptional player we have right now who we can't compare with any generation is Mahdavikia,in terms of consistency,efficiency and being able to play at the highest level for soooo long
As far as talent and techniques go,we've had players like Karimi...I hear that Barzegar was very technical too...or lets not forget Azizi whose desire and determination to change a game is(was) better than Karimi,but he never had the physics and attitude as Karimi does..he's a troublemaker

[persianbruin]

Very true..It was the same game that Panjali(the rishoo guy) retired from TM.
To make our point,let's not forget that namjo-Motlagh has always been Karimi's idole(all these karimi worshipers can check the Fifa website and the interview with Karimi on that)
There is no doubt that Karimi is very talented,but putting zandi,or Mobali in the list of best Iranian players is an insults to players like Motlagh:nono:
I also remember that my all-time favorite player Michel Platini had admired Namjo-Motlagh( I read that in France Football,but I can't find the paper)
IMO the only exceptional player we have right now who we can't compare with any generation is Mahdavikia,in terms of consistency,efficiency and being able to play at the highest level for soooo long
As far as talent and techniques go,we've had players like Karimi...I hear that Barzegar was very technical too...or lets not forget Azizi whose desire and determination to change a game is(was) better than Karimi,but he never had the physics and attitude as Karimi does..he's a troublemaker
kia for us is like ballack for germany. Basically stick a fork in us without kia cuz we are DONE!!:D also, yeah I remember panjali he was the #5 and was captain of perspolis for years until he retired that day

[pas-bedeh]

Persianbruin,

Thanks for the post, you said everything I was thinking.

The players you mentioned brought so much joy and hope to us football fans/players at a time when every day seemed darker than the last. It's truely a shame that those players didn't get the recognition and opportunity they deserved.

[ramingeles2000]

was abedzadeh overrated in anyones opinion? not as a leader and a great character, but as a goalie?

[186forever]

was abedzadeh overrated in anyones opinion? not as a leader and a great character, but as a goalie?
not that I know of.....
if anything...he is way underrated with all the hipe about daei and blablabla and I feel he never really got the appreciation he deserved......

go look at WCQ 89 against japan and how he fought for TM with one leg and messed up hips and ribs...

[Abed1]

When Bayern was playing against Persepolis, and Ferdowsipour said, "Abedzadeh bayad bazi shoruh-koneh", and then hearing the crowd roar as he took the kick ...... ahhhhhhh it was like music to my ears :) :)

[persianbruin]

no goalie even comes close to abedzadeh. If he was playing today, he would had offers lined up from top teams in europe and I remmeber him from the day he blossomed and he truly made a name for himself when he stopped all 4 penalties against him in 1988 asian cup(3 from china and 1 from KSA)

[doody82]

Abedzadeh the great lion

[faraz]

was abedzadeh overrated in anyones opinion? not as a leader and a great character, but as a goalie?

OVERRATED?

I completely disagree. He was a true leader and his presence put confidence throughout the whole team.

[persianbruin]

Persianbruin,
Thanks for the post, you said everything I was thinking.
The players you mentioned brought so much joy and hope to us football fans/players at a time when every day seemed darker than the last. It's truely a shame that those players didn't get the recognition and opportunity they deserved.
your welcome. There are only a few of us from that generation on this board. We better represent!:D

The players and people in general had it easy back in the 70's. I was in Iran over the summer and got together with an old classmate of mine from 7th and 10th grade. He has been playing for 15 years and when he was young he was a memeber of some of the top teams in Iran. His dad was a STARTER for the national team in the 70's that is why I dont name him since almost everyone from that generation knows him.

He was saying the players have it so easy these days, not only they dont have to work, they make good money. I remember 5 years ago I saw ali mousavi in Fereshteh st with a Mercedes. Back them our top players could barely afford a mottor cycle! You dont have enough money, you have to work hard, you HAVE to pay for your own soccer shoes(truth) that is gonna effect your performance but not once they made any excuses and they won the asian cup for a country trying to get back to normal from 8 years of destructive war.

Remember those days when we were sitting in our living room and all of a sudden we saw the light from the Iraqi rockets and the noise of its explosion? Remember when we were sleeping at night like a baby only to all of sudden hear the radi go off with siren asking us to go underground? Times sure have changed.

My favorite lineup for Iran(1990) the team that brought us us back to where we belong,TOP OF THE CONTINENT:

goalie:abedzadeh(eses)

defenders: Moharami(pers), hassanzadeh(eses), zarincheh(eses),

midfielders: Shahrokh Bayani(eses), namjoo motlagh(eses), ghayeghran(malavan)(RIP), eftekhari(eses anzali), abtahi(vahdat)


Forwards: Pius(pers), marfavi(eses)

Coach:parvin(pers)......although I hate him now, he was good for our team back then.

[avicenna 18]

was abedzadeh overrated in anyones opinion? not as a leader and a great character, but as a goalie?

Don't ever say that:furious:
There are some die-hard fans of abedzadeh in this forum,including myself who get pretty pissed to hear that:D (just kiddin,I am not rfeally furious)
Abedzadeh was extremely under-rated...he was a separate team himself,if it wasnt for him,we wouldnt be in WC 98....thats a fact most people overlook

[avicenna 18]

Remember those days when we were sitting in our living room and all of a sudden we saw the light from the Iraqi rockets and the noise of its explosion? Remember when we were sleeping at night like a baby only to all of sudden hear the radi go off with siren asking us to go underground? Times sure have changed.
.

I can never ever forget that siren for the rest of my life:
Tvajjoh tavajjoh,alamati ke ham aknon mishenevaid elan khatar ast.......:fear:

[persianbruin]

I can never ever forget that siren for the rest of my life:
Tvajjoh tavajjoh,alamati ke ham aknon mishenevaid elan khatar ast.......:fear:
tavajoh tavajoh, alamati keh ham aknoon meeshenavid elam vaz-e khatar ya ajeereh ghermez hast! I think we are all traumatized for the rest of our lives. The guys's voice was so horrific it smelled like death!! He could told you a joke and you would shit your pants.

[foadm_2000]

Don't ever say that:furious:
There are some die-hard fans of abedzadeh in this forum,including myself who get pretty pissed to hear that:D (just kiddin,I am not rfeally furious)
Abedzadeh was extremely under-rated...he was a separate team himself,if it wasnt for him,we wouldnt be in WC 98....thats a fact most people overlook


When I was a kid watching Tm games. I used to think to myself that no one can score a goal as long as Abedzade was the goali..And i mean i seriously believed that.
That man was a legend

[persianbruin]

When I was a kid watching Tm games. I used to think to myself that no one can score a goal as long as Abedzade was the goali..And i mean i seriously believed that.
That man was a legend
In 1991 I went to azadi to watch pas and SS in the hazfi cup semi's and it was rainin cats and dogs. the game went to penalty kicks and for me the battle between abed and gholampour wasnt eeven a battle!! I was just waiting for the game to be over so SS could be declared the winner!! Thats how confident I was that he was going to kick butt. Ofcourse it didnt hurt that virtually the whole SS squad were penalty kickin experts.

I remember arash noamouz sucked for pas and slipped in the rain so 4 years later when the LA galaxy made it to the mls finals and it was rainin, i kinda expect him to cost the galaxy the first mls championship ,which he did :D

[186forever]

Abedzadeh used to live 2 blocks down our house
too bad I was too young then.....

[persianbruin]

Abedzadeh used to live 2 blocks down our house
too bad I was too young then.....
you know there is a word for "king Jr". Its called "prince":D

[avicenna 18]

In 1991 I went to azadi to watch pas and SS in the hazfi cup semi's and it was rainin cats and dogs. the game went to penalty kicks and for me the battle between abed and gholampour wasnt eeven a battle!! I was just waiting for the game to be over so SS could be declared the winner!! Thats how confident I was that he was going to kick butt. Ofcourse it didnt hurt that virtually the whole SS squad were penalty kickin experts.
I remember arash noamouz sucked for pas and slipped in the rain so 4 years later when the LA galaxy made it to the mls finals and it was rainin, i kinda expect him to cost the galaxy the first mls championship ,which he did :D
My dad was in Iran a few years ago and since he knows Modir Roosta's father ,he talked to him too about Football and apparently he was a close friend of Abedzadeh...he said some stuffs about Abedzadeh that I dont want to say in this forum,but it's basically about government giving him a reallly hard time for his business..this is before Abedzadeh's health problem BTW
Apparently he was pretty popular amongst other players
I never liked Noamoz and his dad,he looks like "gorohban Ghandi":D

[186forever]

you know there is a word for "king Jr". Its called "prince":D
hal giri nakon dige;)

[morti]

ALI KARIMI

[Makaveli]

Sooooooooo

in light of the recent events...


does everyone that said Mahdavikia is Irans greatest footballer still show their full support?

[amused_to_death]

Sooooooooo
in light of the recent events...
does everyone that said Mahdavikia is Irans greatest footballer still show their full support?

MAHDAVIKIA RULES! who can forget the two beautiful goals he scored against china, and all the good performances he's had with TM.... and one the best moments he's had (maybe you dont agree with this) is the time when he attacked the bahraini player... sheeereh gheirat... who's with me on this one?

[Makaveli]

MAHDAVIKIA RULES! who can forget the two beautiful goals he scored against china, and all the good performances he's had with TM.... and one the best moments he's had (maybe you dont agree with this) is the time when he attacked the bahraini player... sheeereh gheirat... who's with me on this one?
im with you, in fact maybe you dont know about this. but in an interview after the game he said that hes 'allergic to Bahrainis'. that to me showed the height of his gheyrat. true Sheer, although he could do without the unibrow. but thats a different matter haha

[avicenna 18]

Mahdavikia shireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh

[amused_to_death]

im with you, in fact maybe you dont know about this. but in an interview after the game he said that hes 'allergic to Bahrainis'. that to me showed the height of his gheyrat. true Sheer, although he could do without the unibrow. but thats a different matter haha
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: now you're funny

[CowTown]

Mahdavikia ALL THE WAY.

[TheAli]

The greatest Iranian footballer ever: Ali Daei

The most successful in Europe: Mehdi Mahdavikia

The most talented: Ali Karimi

The most I like(d): Karim Bagheri

[KasraKhan]

I say how Daei is now

[persianbruin]

The greatest Iranian footballer ever: Ali Daei
The most successful in Europe: Mehdi Mahdavikia
The most talented: Ali Karimi
The most I like(d): Karim Bagheri
you might as well call this thread "the best iranian football player ever since 1993"!! come on man!! do you even know anyone before that( please dont say parvin and gheleechkhani)

[Abed1]

The title of this thread is "Greatest Iranian Footballer in history" ..... not "Which TM player is the most loyal to his wife". A grown man's personal/private life has no bearing on the subject of this thread.

Mehdi Mahdavikia is the greatest, end of story.

[Ata]

man I say the one and only ABEDZADEH!

[exxet]

It´s difficult for us younger to say..But amongst the recentplayers that I know of..

1. Mahdavikia (now)
2. Karimi (now)
3. Bagheri (-93?)
4. Azizi (97-98)
5. Abedzadeh
6. Kaebi (WC 2006) =)
7. Ali Daei (1688 B.C)