Mehdi Mahdavikia
![]() Mahdavikia in 2014 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mehdi Mahdavikia[1] | ||
Date of birth | 24 July 1977 | ||
Place of birth |
Iran | ||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) |
right back | ||
Youth career | |||
1991–1995 | Bank Melli | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1995–1999 | Persepolis | 54 | (18) |
1998–1999 | → VfL Bochum (loan) | 12 | (3) |
1999–2007 | Hamburger SV | 211 | (26) |
2002 | → Hamburger SV Amateure (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2007–2010 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 32 | (0) |
2010–2011 | Steel Azin | 34 | (4) |
2011–2012 |
Damash Gilan | 14 | (0) |
2012–2013 | Persepolis | 27 | (3) |
Total | 386 | (54) | |
International career | |||
1994 | Iran U20 | 2 | (0) |
1994–1999 | Iran U23 | 12 | (2) |
1997 | Iran CISM | 3 | (1) |
1996–2009 | Iran | 110 | (13) |
Managerial career | |||
2013 | Iran U17 (technical manager)[3] | ||
2013–2015 | Iran U19 (technical manager)[4] | ||
2015–2018 | Hamburger SV Academy (offensive coach)[5] | ||
2018 | Hamburger SV U16 (assistant)[6] | ||
2018–2019 | Hamburger SV II (assistant)[7] | ||
2021–2022 | Iran U23 | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Mehdi Mahdavikia (
He is currently under contract by Hamburger SV as a youth coach,[8] and also manages his own youth academy, FC KIA.
Mahdavikia currently represents Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the Football Advisory Panel of International Football Association Board (IFAB), joining the body in 2019.[9] On 15 May 2013, Mahdavikia was appointed as AFC Grassroots Ambassador.[10]
During his playing career, Mahdavikia internationally represented
He won the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 1997 as well as the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2003.[11] He was known for his crossing, speed and dribbling.
Club career
Early career
Mahdavikia first played for Persepolis in his native Iran before moving to VfL Bochum in Germany. After Bochum's relegation, he signed for Bundesliga side Hamburg where he stayed for the next eight seasons.
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Morgenpost estimated market value of Mahdavikia in 1999 as DM6.5 million.[12]
His initial position for HSV was right fullback, from which he was known for his attacking runs, as he has previous experience as a right winger and at times has played as a
In 2003, Die Welt wrote that Mahdavikia is worth €8–10 million.[13]
However, compared to his previous season, he had a poor season in 2004–05 and was benched. In the 2005–06 season he gained his old form back and was able to regain his spot as a starter, being influential in many of Hamburg's victories, such as scoring the winning goal against then Bundesliga heavyweights Schalke.
Mahdavikia's strongest points were his vision, passing skills, fast-paced runs (his nickname in Iran is "The Rocket"), and set-pieces such as corners, spotkicks and
His nickname in Hamburg is The Carpet (der Teppich) for his ability to "magically glide past" his opponents like the enchanted carpet.
Eintracht Frankfurt
On 8 June 2007, Mahdavikia signed a three-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt.[14]
In his first season, he had two bad injuries that forced him to miss many matches. In the second season he was mostly benched and not used in many matches which showed that the club did not want him anymore. After 255 Games (26 goals, 55 assists) in the Bundesliga for HSV, Bochum and Eintracht Frankfurt, left Germany to sign for Steel Azin in January 2010.[15]
Return to Iran
On 4 July 2011, Mahdavikia signed a contract with
Retirement
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Persepolis_Sepahan%2C_Hazfi_Cup_Final_-_Mehdi_Mahdavikia.jpg/220px-Persepolis_Sepahan%2C_Hazfi_Cup_Final_-_Mehdi_Mahdavikia.jpg)
On 2 March 2013, Mahdavikia announced that he would retire at the end of the
Mahdavikia confirmed on 14 March 2013 that he ended his active football career. He played his last match as a football player in the
International career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Mehdi_Mahdavikia-1385.jpg/220px-Mehdi_Mahdavikia-1385.jpg)
Having been awarded the
Mahdavikia was one of the influential players that played in Iran's crucial 1–0 victory over
Mahdavikia has reportedly been forced to "retire" from international football
Managerial career
Mahdavikia was the manager of the Iranian youth teams.[21] In 2015, he founded the KIA Football Academy with Ali Doustimehr. He currently has a role as a youth coach with Hamburger SV.[22]
In May 2019, Mahdavikia obtained
Famous matches
Mahdavikia's most prolific club match was Hamburger SV's match against Juventus in the Champions League. He was the impetus that rallied Hamburg back after being down 3–1 by scoring once, assisting one and winning a penalty for Hamburg that saw Hamburg take a 4–3 lead; Juve managed to equalise with an Inzaghi penalty.[citation needed]
Another famous game in the HSV shirt came in week 30 of the 2002–03 season. Mahdavikia scored one and assisted another two goals in Hamburg's 4–0 win over 1. FC Nuremberg. Kicker gave him a much rare perfect note of 1.0.[citation needed]
Mehdi's greatest national team match, arguably, was against South Korea in the 2004 Asia Cup where he assisted three goals in Iran's 4–3 win. Many also point to his dynamic game against the United States in World Cup 1998 that saw him score Iran's second and winning goal, as his best ever. Another excellent match where he scored two great goals was against China in the qualification round for the 1998 World Cup when he was just 20 years old.[citation needed]
Personal life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Mehdi_Mahdavikia_1.jpg/200px-Mehdi_Mahdavikia_1.jpg)
Mahdavikia played several sports as a youngster and was exceptionally talented at handball, even being named captain of Iran's under 14 team.[23]
Mahdavikia is married to Sepideh and has a daughter, Asal.
In April 2006, Mahdavikia caused a stir when it came out he married a second wife named, Samira Samii, while being in his native Iran in December 2005, thus practising bigamy. He himself stated that he made a "big mistake", and they divorced after a short while.[24][25][26][27]
Mahdavikia's younger brother, Hadi played for Homa F.C. and Persepolis F.C., and now is the head coach of KIA Football Academy. Mahdavikia's nephew Mostafa is also a football player in Iran.
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Bank Melli | 1994–95 | Division 2 | 18 | 10 | ||||||||
Persepolis | 1995–96 | Azadegan League | 11 | 1 | – | – | – | 11 | 1 | |||
1996–97 | 28 | 9 | 2 | 2 | – | 7 | 1 | 37 | 12 | |||
1997–98 | 6 | 6 | – | – | 4 | 3 | 10 | 9 | ||||
1998–99 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 2 | ||||
Total | 54 | 18 | 2 | 2 | – | 11 | 4 | 67 | 24 | |||
Pas (loan)
|
1998–99 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
Bochum (loan)
|
1998–99 | Bundesliga | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 3 | ||
Hamburger SV | 1999–00 | Bundesliga | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | 36 | 6 | |
2000–01 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 40 | 9 | ||
2001–02 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 1 | ||||
2002–03 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 2 | ||||
2003–04 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 6 | ||
2004–05 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | |||
2005–06 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 44 | 6 | ||||
2006–07 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
Total | 211 | 26 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 263 | 34 | ||
Hamburger SV Amateure | 2002–03 | Regionalliga Nord | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
Eintracht Frankfurt | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 0 | ||
2008–09 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 0 | ||||
2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
Total | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
Steel Azin
|
2009–10 | Iran Pro League
|
8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 11 | 4 | ||
2010–11 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 2 | ||||
Total | 34 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | 37 | 6 | |||
Damash
|
2011–12 | Iran Pro League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 0 | ||
Persepolis | 2011–12 | Iran Pro League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
2012–13
|
16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 3 | ||||
Total | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
Career total | 386 | 54 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 51 | 9 | 484 | 80 |
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Iran[30] | 1996 | 3 | 0 |
1997 | 21 | 5 | |
1998 | 17 | 2 | |
1999 | 2 | 0 | |
2000 | 14 | 2 | |
2001 | 11 | 1 | |
2003 | 3 | 0 | |
2004 | 10 | 1 | |
2005 | 7 | 1 | |
2006 | 7 | 0 | |
2007 | 61 | 0 | |
2008 | 3 | 1 | |
2009 | 6 | 0 | |
Total | 110 | 13 |
- 1.^ Excluding a friendly match against Ghana U-23 that is not considered a full international.[30]
- Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mahdavikia goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 April 1997 | Tabriz, Iran | ![]() |
3–0 | Friendly
| |
2 | 2 June 1997 | Damascus, Syria | ![]() |
17–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
3 | 11 June 1997 | Tehran, Iran | ![]() |
9–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
4 | 13 September 1997 | Dalian, China | ![]() |
4–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
5 | ||||||
6 | 31 January 1998 | Hong Kong, Hong Kong | ![]() |
1–1 | Friendly | |
7 | 21 June 1998 | Lyon, France | ![]() |
2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup | |
8 | 16 January 2000 | Pasadena, USA | ![]() |
1–1 | Friendly | |
9 | 31 March 2000 | Aleppo, Syria | ![]() |
8–0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification | |
10 | 12 October 2001 | Tehran, Iran | ![]() |
2–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
11 | 18 February 2004 | Tehran, Iran | ![]() |
3–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
12 | 30 March 2005 | Pyongyang, North Korea | ![]() |
2–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
13 | 15 October 2008 | Tehran, Iran | ![]() |
2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Persepolis
Hamburger SV
- DFB-Ligapokal: 2003
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005[31]
Iran
- Asian Games: 1998
- AFC Asian Cup third place: 1996, 2004
- AFC–OFC Challenge Cup: 2003
Individual
- AFC Goal of the Month: September 1997[32]
- AFC Youth Player of the Year: 1997[33]
- Bundesliga top assist provider: 2002–03[34]
- AFC Player of the Year: 2003[33]
- Asian Cup All-Star Team: 2004
- Hamburger SV All-time Team: 2012[35]
- AFC Asian Cup Fans' All-time Best XI: 2018[36]
- IFFHS Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021[37]
- AFC Asian Cup All-time XI: 2023[38]
See also
References
- ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Iran" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
- ^ a b Mehdi Mahdavikia Club matches, worldfootball.net, retrieved 10 October 2019
- ^ "Iranian legend inspires U-17 side". FIFA. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ Pezhman Pars (20 January 2015). "Iransk U-19-talang: "Jag vill spela i OS 2016"" (in Swedish). SvenskaFans.com. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ Marc-Oliver Robbers (20 January 2016). "Mahdavikia will als Trainer hoch hinaus" (in German). Sportnachrichten. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ Marc-Oliver Robbers (1 June 2018). "Irans Legende Mehdi Mahdavikia im Interview: "Wir haben Bayern geschlagen"" (in German). Comunio. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "Mahdavikia Joins Hamburger U21 Team as Assistant Coach". Financial Tribune. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Kultprofi Mahdavikia besteht A-Lizenz-Prüfung", Hamburger Abendblatt, 24 May 2019, retrieved 2 December 2019
- ^ "IFAB hails Iran's Mahdavikia joining AFC advisory Panel". IRNA. 18 October 2003. 83522358. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Mahdavikia, Lili proud to play ambassador roles". the-afc.com. 15 May 2013. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Mahdavikia scoops Asian best player award". FIFA. 11 December 2003. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ Zimmermann, Kai (7 September 1999). "Weil das Team so stark spielt, steigt der Marktwert von Pagels Profis ganz enorm / Lange Vertragszeiten zahlen sich nun aus 100 Millionen: So wertvoll ist der HSV". Hamburger Morgenpost (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ Linnenbrügger, Matthias (27 May 2003). "Mahdavikia pokert mit dem HSV um Millionen". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ "Eintracht denkt an Mahdavikia" [Eintracht thinks about Mahdavikia]. kicker.de (in German). 8 June 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
- ^ "Mehdi Mahdavikia verlässt Eintracht Frankfurt" [Mehdi Mahdavikia leaves Eintracht Frankfurt] (in German). eintracht.de. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ مهدويكيا قراردادش را با داماش امضا كرد [Mahdavikia signs contract with Damash] (in Persian). 4 July 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ^ مهدوی کیا قراردادش را با پرسپولیس سفید امضاء کرد [Mahdavikia extended contract with Persepolis] (in Persian). fc-perspolis.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ "Mahdavikia will be played his last match against A.C. Milan" [Mahdavikia will be played his last match against A.C. Milan] (in Persian). dsport.ir. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ Robert Tait (23 June 2009). "Iran bans election protest footballers". The guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ "Reports: Iranian Soccer Stars Forced to 'Retire' Over Wristband Protest". foxnews.com. 23 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ "Mehdi Mahdavikia appointed as Youth teams Manager". teammelli.com. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ "Mahdavikia braucht 'nen Nachfolger". mopo.de. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Mahdavikia: "Ich wäre gerne Bundesligatrainer"". DFB (in German). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- ^ "Bigamie in Bundesliga?" (in German). n-tv.de. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
- ^ "Bigamie: Zweitfrau verklagt HSV-Spieler". FOCUS Online (in German). 15 April 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ FOCUS Online (12 April 2006). "Doppel-Ehe: Mahdavikia gesteht "großen Fehler" ein". FOCUS Online (in German). Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ Linder, Armin (12 February 2013). "Samira Samii (Samiee) beim TSV 1860 München zu Gesprächen". TZ (in German). Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ Zarei, Ehsan (10 March 2013), نگاهی به 21 سال فوتبال پر افتخار کاپیتان کیا / دوست داشتنی ترین موشک دنیا (in Persian), KhabarOnline, retrieved 10 March 2013
- ^ Mehdi Mahdavikia, FBref, retrieved 10 October 2019
- ^ a b Mamrud, Roberto (28 August 2009). "Mehdi Mahdavikia – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ^ "Valencia 0-0 Hamburg (Aggregate: 0 - 1)". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Mother of all goals". Asian Football Confederation. 14 May 1998. Archived from the original on 14 May 1998.
- ^ a b Pierrend, José; Garin, Erik. "Asian Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ^ "Bundesliga - Scorer - 2002/03" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "HSV-Presseservice: 125 Jahre HSV - Die große Gala" (in German). Presseportal. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Fans' Best XI Announced!". AFC. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "IFFHS ALL TIME ASIA MEN'S DREAM TEAM". IFFHS. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "#AsianCup2023 five-month countdown: Fan-voted all-time AFC Asian Cup Dream XI revealed". Asian Football Confederation. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
External links
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