Ali Daei among Five AFC Asian Cup Legends
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Some of Asia’s biggest superstars as well as its most promising young talents will be in action as 24 nations from across the continent battle each other for supremacy in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 which gets underway on January 12.
The continental showpiece, entering its 18th edition, has provided the perfect stage for many to write their names into Asian football folklore and a number of players have grown their legends with stellar displays during the tournament’s 67-year history.
With the excitement building ahead of the latest edition of the tournament, the-AFC.com looks at five such names who weaved magic on the pitch and became synonymous with the AFC Asian Cup.
At the start of 1996, a 27-year-old Ali Daei had scored just seven goals for Iran. But the qualification campaign for the AFC Asian Cup 1996 and the tournament proper transformed him into the predatory striker who would hang up his boots a decade later with a record 109 international goals.
Daei finished the qualifiers with 12 goals before emerging as the hero for his country in the Finals. He was on the scoresheet in all three group stage fixtures, but it was in the quarter-finals that Daei put on his greatest show.
Iran and Korea Republic traded blows to be tied 2-2 with 24 minutes left when the striker stepped up and pulled Iran into a 3-2 lead. He would then score one of the greatest AFC Asian Cup goals – expertly bringing down a cross on the edge of the box and firing a half-volley into the top corner.
Daei completed his hat-trick in the 83rd minute before sealing the 6-2 win with his fourth from the penalty spot. Team Melli was beaten on penalties in the semi-finals by eventual champion Saudi Arabia, but Daei struck again in the third-place playoff win over Kuwait to top the scoring charts on eight goals.
Though Daei scored three in each edition as he captained his country in 2000 and 2004 – the latter seeing another third-place finish – a winner’s medal proved elusive for the Iranian. But there’s no doubt that the AFC Asian Cup’s all-time leading scorer, with 14 goals, has left an indelible mark on the competition.
Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan), Younis Mahmoud (Iraq), Tim Cahill (Australia) and Saleh Al Nu’eimah (Saudi Arabia) are four other legendary players in the list.
