And the winner is …………..

Three Iranian coaches, namely Amir Ghalehnoei, Afshin Ghotbi, and Bijan Zolfagharnasab have been ask to submit their proposals/programs for Team Melli to the Iranian Football Federation. Yep! IFF wasted months of valuable time just to look back and go after one of the guys who was just under their noses!

It’ll be very funny (Not really!) if former Team Melli coach Amir Ghalehnoei gets the job! The guy was controversially picked a year or so ago, his team failed to impress in the Asian Cup 2007, and then he just faded away! I mean they didn’t even officially fire him. He just disappeared. Now he is back to be rehired, maybe!

Bijan Zolfagharnasab will never get the job, because he is simply not one of “their” guys. Neither is Afshin Ghotbi but he seems to be the best of the three in terms of popularity. 

If I was a betting man, I would narrow it down to Ghalehnoei and Ghotbi. If you push me even further, I’d pick Ghotbi because I think no matter what he’ll be a win-win pick for IRIFF. If he does well, they come out looking like a rose, and if he loses, they’ll just fire him and they’ll be rid of him both TM and Perspolis job. I have a feeling Hamid Estili, Ghotbi’s assistant in Perspolis FC, is also cheering for him to get the TM job.