Exciting midfielder who arrives in Germany with a huge reputation after being named Asian footballer of the year in 2004. Karimi has been afforded hero status in Iran for his goalscoring exploits for the national side and his impressive displays earned him a move to Bayern Munich in 2005. Karimi scored five times and finished joint top-scorer as Iran finished third at the 2004 Asian Cup, while on the domestic stage he has claimed everything there is to win in Iranian football. The 27-year-old will no doubt be hoping to use the World Cup to showcase his talents to Bayern coach Felix Magath, who is considering handing him the key midfield role vacated by Michael Ballack.