Daei was born in Ardabil, Iran and is an Iranian Azerbaijani.[5][6][7][8][9] Daei graduated from Sharif University of Technology in Materials Engineering (Metallurgical) with a B.Sc. degree. Born in Ardabil, he played for his hometown club, Esteqlal Ardabil, when he was 19. His next club was Taxirani F.C. in Tehran, where he played for one season, before joining another Tehrani club, Bank Tejarat FC. He stayed four years with Bank Tejarat, missing out on a chance to play in the J. League due to military service. Daei's fame is attributed mostly to his renowned goal scoring ability. He managed to score frequently for his clubs, although due to the league schedule at the time he did not play many matches per season. His impressive performance at his club finally got results.
Move to Europe
After playing for a couple of minor league teams, Taxirani and Bank Tejarat, in 1994 Daei joined one of country's premier squads, Persepolis Following his impressive performance in Asian Cup in 1996 as Arminia Bielefeld joined the Bundesliga, they signed a contract with Daei and his fellow Iranian national team-mate Karim Bagheri. Ali Daei spent one season in Bielefeld and proved to be a successful franchise. He was hand picked by Bayern Munich by the club's president, Franz Beckenbauer, who rated him as a world-class centre-forward.[10] He made a four million Deutsche Mark move from Arminia Bielefeld to the four-time European Cup winners, which was a record for Asian players at the time.
Daei became the first Asian player to feature in a UEFA Champions League match. Yet with Bayern's 15 international players and the Iranian national team's scheduling, Daei had found very little time for playing. Daei was unhappy with his position in the club and decided to make a move to Hertha BSC before the end of his three-year contract, when Bayern won the championship title in the 1999 Bundesliga. In 2000, he played in the Champions League with Hertha BSC, becoming the team's best scorer in the competition with three goals. He scored his first and second goal in the UEFA Champions League on 22 September 1999 in group stage match against Chelsea won by Hertha with 2–1. His famous match against Chelsea gained him a lot of recognition.[citation needed] Yet even at Hertha he was not the talk of the town, since he was only amongst one of the squad's many successful players, who were to fulfill Hertha's Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League dreams.
Move to Europe
After playing for a couple of minor league teams, Taxirani and Bank Tejarat, in 1994 Daei joined one of country's premier squads, Persepolis Following his impressive performance in Asian Cup in 1996 as Arminia Bielefeld joined the Bundesliga, they signed a contract with Daei and his fellow Iranian national team-mate Karim Bagheri. Ali Daei spent one season in Bielefeld and proved to be a successful franchise. He was hand picked by Bayern Munich by the club's president, Franz Beckenbauer, who rated him as a world-class centre-forward.[10] He made a four million Deutsche Mark move from Arminia Bielefeld to the four-time European Cup winners, which was a record for Asian players at the time.
Daei became the first Asian player to feature in a UEFA Champions League match. Yet with Bayern's 15 international players and the Iranian national team's scheduling, Daei had found very little time for playing. Daei was unhappy with his position in the club and decided to make a move to Hertha BSC before the end of his three-year contract, when Bayern won the championship title in the 1999 Bundesliga. In 2000, he played in the Champions League with Hertha BSC, becoming the team's best scorer in the competition with three goals. He scored his first and second goal in the UEFA Champions League on 22 September 1999 in group stage match against Chelsea won by Hertha with 2–1. His famous match against Chelsea gained him a lot of recognition.[citation needed] Yet even at Hertha he was not the talk of the town, since he was only amongst one of the squad's many successful players, who were to fulfill Hertha's Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League dreams.