Ali Karimi
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Ali Karimi (born November 8, 1978) as Ali-Mohammad Karimi-Pashaki (علی کریمی in Persian and Arabic) is an Iranian football player, and is current Asian Player of the Year. He plays for the United Arab Emirates side Al-Ahli. He is currently the world's best-paid Asian player. He will move to German giant football club Bayern Munich at start of 2005-2006 season.
He started his career in Fath Football Club and experienced high growth during the time he was playing Persepolis football club and got offers from Atletico Madrid and other European clubs. However, he did not accept them and chose to play in the U.A.E. because he wanted to stay close to Iran. He is the best dribbler in Iran and his ball skills are amongst the best in the world. His skills are often compared to those of Cristiano Ronaldo and also received title of Asian Maradona from world newspapers. He showcased his skills in the Iran-Germany friendly game for Bam victims. He is generally regarded as the best player in Asia, along with team mate, Mehdi Mahdavikia. Karimi, in 2004 was given the prestigious Asian Player of the Year, like his fellow Iranians, Mehdi Mahdavikia in 2003, Ali Daei in 1999, and Khodadad Azizi in 1996.
Ali Karimi performed well at the 2004 Asian Cup, where he tied for most goals scored with five. Iran placed third in the overall tournament, behind Japan and China.
On May 3, Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich's website announced that they have signed one year contract with Ali Karimi who becomes the third Iranian after Ali Daei and Vahid Hashemian to try his luck on Bayern. [1] (http://www.fcbayern.t-com.de/de/aktuell/news/2005/03933.php?fcb_sid=898705c142953a2190ab51b5384e74a0) [2] (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SPORT/football/05/03/germany.bayern/)de:Ali Karimi