page_title: Ali Daei
section_title: Saipa
hierarchical_section_title: Ali Daei / Managerial career / Saipa
caption_attribution_description: English: Ali Daei coaching Saba in match against Gostaresh
context_page_description: Ali Daei is an Iranian former professional footballer, football manager and businessman. A striker, he was captain of the Iran national football team, and played for clubs such as Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC. He is currently the owner and CEO of Daei Sport.
  A tall forward, Daei was a prolific goalscorer, who was known for his heading accuracy and ability in the air; he is the world's all-time leading goalscorer in the history of men's international football with 109 goals scored for Iran, an achievement listed in Guinness World Records. During his playing career, Daei was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2001. Playing his last game for Iran in 2006, from June 2007 until 2013, Daei was a member of the FIFA Football Committee.
context_section_description: On 8 October 2006, upon sudden leave of Saipa's German coach Werner Lorant, he was appointed as the interim manager of Saipa. He was later officially announced as the full-time manager. On 28 May, Saipa became the Persian Gulf Cup champions in Daei's first season at the helm. Going into his second season as manager Daei relinquished his playing duties for the defending champions and found himself on the sidelines full-time. The results of Saipa's 2007–2008 campaign were not nearly as successful as his team finished 11th in the 18 team Iran Pro League table. However Daei did lead Saipa to an Asian Champions League quarterfinal birth before leaving to take over as the full-time manager of the Iranian national football team.
caption: Daei at the game Gostaresh vs Saba Qom
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