New era for Esteghlal as fans’ favorite Nekounam takes charge
Weeks of speculations over the future of Esteghlal’s bench came to an end on Tuesday after former Iranian international midfielder Javad Nekounam was named as the new manager of the Persian Gulf Pro giant.
Numerous names were brought up in the Iranian media over the last fortnight, including Spanish coaches Juan Ramón López Caro and Quique Sánchez Flores as well as ex-Mes Rafsanjan boss Mohammad Rabiei, though it was always a matter of time before the 42-year-old manager – backed by the majority of the club faithful – would win the race for the Tehran Blues’ job.
Nekounam takes over from passionate Portuguese Ricardo Sa Pinto, who ended his season-long stint at the club – best remembered by touchline rows with the referees and the opposition camps – after a third-spot finish in the league and a 2-1 defeat against Persepolis in the Hazfi Cup final to join Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia.
The frustrating quest for a new head coach in the preseason has been a constant scenario for Esteghlal fans in recent years as Nekounam will be the seventh manager in as many seasons to start a new league campaign on the Blues bench.
“Welcome home dear Javad. Your arrival at Esteghlal as a player was followed by silverware. Let’s hope you will also lift the championship trophy as the manager,” Esteghlal wrote on social media when announcing the appointment of Nekounam, who won the domestic league title with Esteghlal in his first season back in the Iranian club football in 2012 – in the latter stages of an illustrious career, which included a six-year spell at La Liga club Osasuna.
The most capped player in the history of the national team with 151 appearances under his belt, Nekounam had been without a team since leaving Foolad Khuzestan in the most controversial fashion in February.
Having led the southern Iranian club to a maiden knockout spot in the AFC Champions League, Nekou stepped down from his role right after a 1-0 victory over Saudi club Al Faisaly in the last-16 round in Doha over a rift with the new club board, before Foolad’s run at the continent’s elite clubs competition came to an end by Al Hilal days later.
Nekounam will begin a new chapter in his career on the back of a decent run with Nassaji Mazandaran and Foolad, as he steered the former to a first promotion for the Iranian Pro League in 2018, before winning the domestic cup and Super Cup trophies with Foolad.
However, the Iranian is fully aware of the size of the new task in Esteghlal which is in stark contrast with all he has ever faced in his previous teams.
Expectations will be sky high in the capital as the Blues fans will be eager to see Nekounam end the dominance of their archrival and reigning domestic double champion Persepolis over the Iranian top flight since 2017 – a feat only achieved by former Esteghlal coach Farhad Majidi in the 2021/22 season.
A long-time admirer and protégé of Iran’s former Portuguese head coach Carlos Queiroz, who has also been outspoken in praising Atletico Madrid’s Argentine tactician Diego Simeone as a managerial role model, Nekounam is best known for adopting an accurate defensive gameplan against stronger oppositions.
That is the kind of approach that helped his Foolad team hold Persepolis to a goalless draw at the Azadi Stadium last season before walking away with a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture at home.
His recent record against Persepolis coach Yahya Golmohammadi surely offers hope among Esteghlal supporters for a first derby victory in the league since March 2018.
Nekounam also knows how important it will be to get off to a decent start in the new season to avoid an early pressure from the stands and the club hierarchy.
To that end, he needs to make sure he will make the right signings in certain positions in what was blamed as an unbalanced squad last season, while retaining the star players of Sa Pinto’s team, most significantly frontline international duo Mehdi Qayedi and Mohammad Mohebbi, who are at end of their loan spells at the club, and versatile Frenchman Kevin Yamga – reportedly on the Portuguese’s whishlist in his new job.