Mehdi Mahdavikia

Mehdi Mahdavikia (Persian: مهدی مهدوی‌کیا ‎, born 24 July 1977) is an Iranian professional football coach and former player usually played as a right winger or full-back.

Mehdi Mahdavikia

Mahdavikia in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Mehdi Mahdavikia
Date of birth	24 July 1977
Place of birth	Ray, Iran
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 ^1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Right back, Midfielder, Winger
Club information
Current team	Hamburger SV (coach)[1] KIA Academy (owner)
Youth career
1991–1995	Bank Melli
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–1999	Persepolis	54	(18)
1998	→ Pas (loan)	0	(0)
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)
National team
1994	Iran U20	2	(0)
1994–1999	Iran U23	12	(2)
1997	Iran CISM	3	(1)
1996–2009	Iran	111	(13)
Teams managed
2013	Iran U17 (technical manager)[2]
2013–2015	Iran U19 (technical manager)[3]
2015–	KIA Academy (technical manager)
2015–2018	Hamburger SV Academy (offensive coach)[4]
2018	Hamburger SV U16 (assistant)[5]
2018–2019	Hamburger SV II (U21) (assistant)[6]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He is currently under contract by Hamburger SV as a youth coach,[1] 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.[7] On 15 May 2013, Mahdavikia was appointed as AFC Grassroots Ambassador.[8]

During his playing career, Mahdavikia internationally represented Iranian national team, which he captained from 2006 to 2009, and currently is the fourth most capped player of all-time. He played for Iranian clubs Bank Melli, Persepolis, Steel Azin and Damash Gilan, as well as German clubs VfL Bochum, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt, spending 12 consecutive seasons in Bundesliga.

He won the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 1997 as well as the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2003.[9] 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.[10]

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 striker. He also played some matches for Pas in Asian games as help for the club. Under coach Frank Pagelsdorf Mahdavikia used to play wide striker. For the 2006–07 Bundesliga season he moved back to his natural position of right wing, in support of Central Midfielder Rafael van der Vaart. He was awarded Hamburg Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004 by the fans, and also attained the title of the top assister of goals in the Bundesliga.

In 2003, Die Welt wrote that Mahdavikia is worth €8–10 million.[11]

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 free kicks. He usually was the right-footed alternative to Van der Vaart's well known left foot. Apart from being a total professional on the pitch, he is also known as a perfect gentleman off the pitch, always finding the time for fans and reporters to answer questions or sign autographs.

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 he signed a three-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt.[12]

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.[13]

Return to Iran

On 4 July 2011, Mahdavikia signed a contract with Amir Abedini, President of the Damash Gilan to join to the club for one year but he was joined to his beloved club, Persepolis in mid-season to play for club in his last year of playing football.[14] He extended his contract with Persepolis for another season on 19 June 2012.[15]

Retirement

Mahdavikia in his last match for Persepolis

On 2 March 2013, he announced that he would retire at the end of the 2012–13 season. Persepolis also announced that Mahdavikia's farewell match would be in a pre-season friendly match against A.C. Milan in June 2013, played in the Azadi Stadium,[16] but it was later announced that Mahdavikia's last match would be against his former side, Hamburger SV in June 2013 in the same stadium.

Mahdavikia confirmed on 14 March 2013 that he ended his active football career. He played his last match as a football player in the 2013 Hazfi Cup Final, coming on extra time as a substitute. On 28 November 2013, he played a farewell match at Azadi Stadium between Persepolis XI and A.C. Milan XI. Participants in the match included former teams' legends like Hamid Derakhshan, Mohammad Panjali, Farshad Pious, Karim Bagheri, Hamid Estili, Nasser Mohammadkhani, Pejman Jamshidi, Edmond Bezik which played for Persepolis and Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Daniele Massaro, Gennaro Gattuso and Alberigo Evani for A.C. Milan. Persepolis were managed by the club's most successful manager Ali Parvin. When Mahdavikia came on as a substitute in the 32nd minute, Pious gave his shirt to Mahdavikia, in a remarkable replay after seventeen years that Pious did so in Mahdavikia's first match for Persepolis. The match was won by A.C. Milan XI 3–1 with Mahdavikia assisting the only goal.

Club career statistics

Source:[17][18][19]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
1994–95	Bank Melli	Division 2									18	10
1995–96	Persepolis	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
1998–99	Pas	–	–						2	0	2	0
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		DFL-Ligapokal		Europe		Total
1998–99	Bochum	Bundesliga	12	3	0	0	–		–		12	3
1999–00	Hamburg		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
	Hamburg Amateure	Regionalliga Nord	2	0	0	0					2	0
2003–04	Hamburg	Bundesliga	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
2007–08	Eintracht Frankfurt		20	0	1	0	–		–		21	0
2008–09			12	0	2	0					14	0
2009–10			0	0	0	0					0	0
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2009–10	Steel Azin	Pro League	8	2	3	2	–		–		11	4
2010–11			26	2	0	0					26	2
2011–12	Damash		14	0	2	0					16	0
	Persepolis		11	0	0	0			3	0	14	0
2012–13			16	3	2	0			–		18	3
Country	Iran		129	25	9	4	–		16	4	172	43
	Germany		255	29	14	3	6	0	35	5	310	37
Total			384	54	23	7	6	0	51	9	482	80

• Assist Goals

Season	Team	Assists
09–10	Steel Azin	2
10–11		4
11–12	Damash	2
	Persepolis	1
12–13		4

International career

Mahdavikia in August 2006

Having been awarded the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 1997, Mahdavikia was considered Iran's best player in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was named in the list from which the team of the tournament was chosen. In 2003, he was awarded Asian Player of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation. He was also the top assister in the 2004 Asian Cup, exhibiting stunning form to steer Iran's attack to superb attacking football. He played in four Asian Cups (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) and two World Cups (1998, 2006).

Mahdavikia was one of the influential players that played in Iran's crucial 1–0 victory over Bahrain to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany. Following the FIFA World Cup in Germany, 2006, Mahdavikia was expected to assume the role of Captain in the Iranian national side, replacing Ali Daei and Yahya Golmohammadi who had publicly announced their intention to retire after the tournament. Mahdavikia was given the captain's band on 16 August 2006 in an Asian Cup qualifier versus Syria.

Mahdavikia has reportedly been forced to "retire" from international football[20] after wearing a green bracelet in the final World Cup 2010 qualification match against the Republic of Korea. The green bracelet was a sign of support for those protesting the highly contested Iranian presidential election.[21] He was forced to retire from Team Melli after 13 years and playing in 2 World Cups (1998, 2006), 4 Asian Cups (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007), 1 Asian Games tournament (1998), 4 World Cup qualifying campaigns (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010), 3 Asian Cup qualifying campaigns (2000, 2004, 2007) and one AFC/OFC Cup.

Iran[22]
Year	Apps	Goals
1996	3	0
1997	21	5
1998	17	2
1999	2	0
2000	15	2
2001	11	1
2003	3	0
2004	10	1
2005	7	1
2006	7	0
2007	6^1	0
2008	3	1
2009	6	0
Total	111	13

• 1.^ Excluding a friendly match against Ghana U-23 that is not considered a full international.[22]

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 April 1997	Tabriz, Iran	Kenya	3–0	Win	Friendly
2	2 June 1997	Damascus, Syria	Maldives	17–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	11 June 1997	Tehran, Iran	Maldives	9–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	13 September 1997	Dalian, China	China PR	4–2	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	13 September 1997	Dalian, China	China PR	4–2	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	31 January 1998	Hong Kong, Hong Kong	Chile	1–1	Draw	Friendly
7	21 June 1998	Lyon, France	United States	2–1	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup
8	16 January 2000	Pasadena, USA	United States	1–1	Draw	Friendly
9	31 March 2000	Aleppo, Syria	Maldives	8–0	Win	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
10	12 October 2001	Tehran, Iran	Iraq	2–1	Win	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	18 February 2004	Tehran, Iran	Qatar	3–1	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	30 March 2005	Pyongyang, North Korea	North Korea	2–0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	15 October 2008	Tehran, Iran	North Korea	2–1	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial career

He was the manager of the Iranian youth teams.[23] In 2015, he founded the KIA Football Academy with Ali Doustimehr. He currently has a role as a youth coach with Hamburger SV.[24]

In May 2019, Mahdavikia obtained UEFA A Licence and plans to enter DFB's Fußballlehrer course.[1]

Honours

Persepolis

• Azadegan League: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99

Hamburger SV

• DFB-Ligapokal: 2003
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005[25]

Iran

• Asian Games: 1998
• AFC Asian Cup third place: 1996, 2004
• AFC–OFC Challenge Cup: 2003

Individual

• AFC Goal of the Month: September 1997[26]
• AFC Youth Player of the Year: 1997[27]
• Bundesliga top assist provider: 2002–03[28]
• AFC Player of the Year: 2003[27]
• Hamburger SV All-time Team: 2012[29]
• AFC Asian Cup Fans' All-time Best XI: 2018[30]

Personal life

Mehdi Mahdavikia in 2012

Mahdavikia played several sports as a youngster and was exceptionally talented at handball, even being named captain of Iran's under 14 team.[31]

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.[32][33][34][35]

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.

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.

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.

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.

References

1. "Kultprofi Mahdavikia besteht A-Lizenz-Prüfung", Hamburger Abendblatt, 24 May 2019, retrieved 2 December 2019
2. "Iranian legend inspires U-17 side". FIFA. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
3. Pezhman Pars (20 January 2015). "Iransk U-19-talang: "Jag vill spela i OS 2016"" (in Swedish). SvenskaFans.com. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
4. Marc-Oliver Robbers (20 January 2016). "Mahdavikia will als Trainer hoch hinaus" (in German). Sportnachrichten. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
5. Marc-Oliver Robbers (1 June 2018). "Irans Legende Mehdi Mahdavikia im Interview: "Wir haben Bayern geschlagen"" (in German). Comunio. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
6. "Mahdavikia Joins Hamburger U21 Team as Assistant Coach". Financial Tribune. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
7. "IFAB hails Iran's Mahdavikia joining AFC advisory Panel". IRNA. 18 October 2003. 83522358. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
8. "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.
9. "Mahdavikia scoops Asian best player award". FIFA. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
10. 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.
11. Linnenbrügger, Matthias (27 May 2003). "Mahdavikia pokert mit dem HSV um Millionen". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2020.
12. "Eintracht denkt an Mahdavikia" [Eintracht thinks about Mahdavikia]. kicker.de (in German). 8 June 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
13. "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.
14. مهدوي‌كيا قراردادش را با داماش امضا كرد [Mahdavikia signs contract with Damash] (in Persian). 4 July 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
15. 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.
16. "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.
17. 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
18. Mehdi Mahdavikia, FBref, retrieved 10 October 2019
19. Mehdi Mahdavikia Club matches, worldfootball.net, retrieved 10 October 2019
20. Robert Tait (23 June 2009). "Iran bans election protest footballers". The guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
21. "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.
22. Mamrud, Roberto (28 August 2009). "Mehdi Mahdavikia – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
23. "Mehdi Mahdavikia appointed as Youth teams Manager". teammelli.com. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
24. "Mahdavikia braucht 'nen Nachfolger". mopo.de. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
25. "Valencia 0-0 Hamburg (Aggregate: 0 - 1)". uefa.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
26. "Mother of all goals". Asian Football Confederation. 14 May 1998.
27. Pierrend, José; Garin, Erik. "Asian Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
28. "Bundesliga - Scorer - 2002/03" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
29. "HSV-Presseservice: 125 Jahre HSV - Die große Gala" (in German). Presseportal. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
30. "Fans' Best XI Announced!". AFC. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
31. "Mahdavikia: "Ich wäre gerne Bundesligatrainer"". DFB (in German). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
32. "Bigamie in Bundesliga?" (in German). n-tv.de. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
33. "Bigamie: Zweitfrau verklagt HSV-Spieler". FOCUS Online (in German). 15 April 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
34. 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.
35. Linder, Armin (12 February 2013). "Samira Samii (Samiee) beim TSV 1860 München zu Gesprächen". TZ (in German). Retrieved 12 January 2015.

External links

• Official website
• RSSSF archive of Mehdi Mahdavikia's international appearances