Iranians raise UAE league standards

PLDC - According to Ali Karimi, Iranian striker of Al Ahli of UAE, the presence of Iranian players such as Ali Daei and Mehrdad Minavand has raised the standard of football in the UAE league and has made the game make progress.

He spoke to the UAE press and media in a recent interview and commented, “The coming of Iranian players to the UAE has made me happy and at the same time we are all trying to raise the level of football in the 
UAE. When I play with Daei and Minavand, the memories of the National Team are again brought to life for me.”

“Daei and Minavand are my brothers and best of friends in private and my opponents within the pitch. The technical play of the UAE teams has now become better and their players are learning from the likes of Daei, 
Minavand and Majidi. I expect very good performances this season.”

“As I wanted to play abroad, I decided to begin slowly with an Arab team and make my way up from there. As my present team had put forward an offer at the time, I accepted it. My specialty now is holding onto the ball as long as possible and weaving my way through the defense line of the opponent and using the empty, available spaces to gain an advantage and score.”