The Summer 2007 issue of the World Soccer Magazine, devoted to the greatest goals, matches and teams of all time, includes a listing of an alternate world top 10, with Iran’s former captain and world leading international goals corer Ali Daei among those selected.

Posted on Friday, July 27 2007

(Irankicks.com) The Summer 2007 issue of the World Soccer Magazine, devoted to the greatest goals, matches and teams of all time, includes a listing of an alternate world top 10, with Iran’s former captain and world leading international goals corer Ali Daei among those selected.

In 1999, World Soccer Magazine requested that its readers select the top 10 best players of all time. After the vote tally, the list from number one to ten included: Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Plantini, Di Stefano, Puskas, Best, Van Basten and Eusebio. The Summer 2007 issue praises those players who were not seen at all, or rarely seen by audiences in Europe where votes for greatest players of all time typically come from.

The list of alternate top 10 best players of all time include Zizinho, who played 53 times for Brazil between 1942 and 1957, scoring 31 goals. Zizinho was Pele’s idol. Also on the list is Alberto Spencer, an Ecuadorian who still holds the record as the top goal scorer in Libertadores Cup, playing during an era when most talented South American players did in fact play in South America, rather than Europe. The list also includes Estonia’s Martin Reim, Mexico’s Claudio Suarez, Egypt’s Hossam Hassan, Uruguay’s Obdulio Varela, Chile’s Elias Figueroa, England’s Duncan Edwards, and Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed Al-Deayea.

Ali Daei earns World Soccer Magazine’s top 10 world alternative accolades not simple because of his 147 international appearances for Iran, with a record 109 goals scored. WSM praises Daei as a prolific marksman, strong in air with powerful shots, who had instinctual “ability to be in the right place at the right time.” World Soccer Magazine describes Ali Daei as an elegant, stylish player with superb close control. The article quotes Franz Beckenbauer as saying, “I’d call Daei a world-class striker. He holds the ball up well, is physically durable and is a natural scorer with head or feet.”

Our congratulations to Ali Daei for this achievement.