Carlos Queiroz is the man for Iran

April 4th, 2011 | by: Afshin Afshar | Comments Off

It is now official; Carlos Queiroz is the new coach of the Iranian national soccer team.

The Portuguese is arguably the highest profile coach to have ever been in charge of Team Melli. His resume is nothing to sneeze at and his mere presence on Team Melli bench brings Iranian Football Federation (IRIFF) instant credibility, something that it has lacked since Germany 2006.

In his first official interview with the Iranian media Queiroz sounded genuinely happy and excited, and was very open, articulate, and friendly. When asked about the goals put in front of him by the IRIFF, the coach named qualifying for Brazil 2014 and London 2012 Olympics as his primary goals.

Queiroz went on to introduce António Simões and Ali Reza Mansourian as his Assistant Managers; Dan Gaspar as the Goalkeeping Coach Mike McDermott as the Fitness Coach.

Those familiar with the inner politics of Iranian football could argue that this might become one of the biggest challenges of Queiroz’s career unless he gets a couple of convincing results right off the bat and buy himself some time to get to know his way around. The following two to three weeks should prove to be interesting as the Iranian tabloids start covering every small move the new coach makes.