Mehdi Mahdavikia

He currently plays for SV Hamburg in Germany, having been signed for that club in 2000. He previously played for the Persepolis (Pirouzi) club in his native Iran and VfL Bochum in Germany. His current position is as a striker, and he has been described as "the greatest winger" in the German Bundesliga. In 2003, he was awarded Asian Player of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation. He was awarded Hamburg Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He was considered Iran's best player in the [[Football World Cup {}|{} World Cup and was named in the list from which the team of the tournament was chosen.

Mehdi Mahdavikia's strongest points are his vision, passing skills, fast paced runs, and set-pieces such as corners, spotkicks and free kicks. 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.

Mahdavikia was one of the influential players that played in Iran's crucial 1-0 victory over Bahrain to qualify for the upcoming held in Germany.