Iran’s Mahdavikia voted best all-time Asian Cup defender
Former Iranian international and Hamburger SV right fullback Mehdi Mahdavikia was voted as the best defender in the AFC Asian Cup history by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) official website viewers.
Capable of playing on the right side of defense and midfield, Mahdavikia was one of the finest talents to ever represent his country at international tournaments.
Having first played at the Asian Cup in 1996 in the UAE, former Persepolis player played a massive part in his team’s decent run at the competition in 2004 – finishing in third place – which earned him a place in the Team of the Tournament.
The 2003 AFC Player of the Year spent the majority of his career playing in the German Bundesliga and is the fourth most capped player in the Iranian outfit with 110 appearances, including two FIFA World Cup campaigns in 1998 and 2006.
The Iranian dominated the poll by claiming 79 percent of the votes, followed by Saudi Arabia’s Saleh al Nuaimah (12 percent) – who lifted back-toback titles in 1984 and 1988 as the team captain – and Zheng Zhi (six percent) – a runner-up in the tournament in 2004 and a former AFC Player of the Year in 2013.
Also among the candidates were Hong Myung-bo (South Korea), Jamal Mubarak (Kuwait), Yuji Nakazawa (Japan), Lucas Neill (Australia) and Soh Chin Aun (Malaysia).
In a series of polls the-afc. com has asked its viewers to choose their all-time best team of Asia’s most prestigious continental competition.
Iran’s sensational striker Ali Daei was named the best forward to have ever played at the tournament while in the midfielders’ poll his national teammate Ali Karimi claimed the top spot.