Daei received head injuries the night of March 17 and underwent surgery the next morning. He is now recovering, according to hospital reports. News reports said the injury was serious, but not life-threatening. He was operated on in Kashan’s Shahid Beheshti Hospital and transferred to Tehran’s Laleh Hospital the afternoon after the operation.
Daei has since left the hospital and is reportedly recovering well.
Daei, currently the coach of Rah Ahan of Rey, was in Esfahan for his team’s match against Sepahan of Esfahan. Rah Ahan lost 3-2.
Daei was returning to Tehran in his own SUV with his brother and one of the team’s staff members when the vehicle left the highway near Kashan and rolled over. The news reports did not say who was driving, what caused the vehicle to leave the highway or whether the passengers were wearing seat belts. But PressTV quoted police sources as saying Daei’s vehicle was speeding, without explaining how they concluded that.
The two others with Daei received minor injuries and were quickly released from the hospital after treatment.
Daei, who turned 43 on Now Ruz, still holds the world record for scoring the most goals in international games, a total of 109 goals over 149 matches.
Daei shifted to coaching in 2006, taking the helm at Saipa and leading it to first place in the 18-team Iranian premier league. That was the first time the team had finished above third place since finishing first 12 years earlier and it immediately dubbed Daei as a skilled coach.
But the next year, Saipa fell to 11th place.
Daei then took over the national squad. It did very poorly as it started its quest for the Asian Cup and Daei was fired after a few months.
He then coached Persepolis for two seasons, both of which the team ended in fourth place, about average for the squad.
Last year, Daei took over at Rah Ahan, a team with a miserable record. The previous two seasons it finished in 15th place. This season, it is currently in 15th place with only six of 34 games left to be played.
Under the rules, the bottom three teams in the league—16th, 17th and 18th placers—at the end of the season are relegated to a lower league for the next season. Rah Ahan is now only one point out of 16th place and two out of 17th so Daei is facing a serious challenge to save it from relegation.
Daei was the first Iranian soccer player to be signed to play in Europe. He played in Germany from 1997 to 2002 for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin.
