Persepolis racing against the clock to name new manager
When Persepolis rounded off a sensational season with a domestic double back in May, thanks to a derby victory over archrival Esteghlal in the Hazfi Cup final, no one in the Reds camp thought the following campaign would be dominated by the biggest turmoil for the club in years.
Less than eight months on, however, rumors and speculations keep swirling around the Persepolis bench as the club’s search for Yahya Golmohammadi’s successor drags on.
Having steered his team to three league crowns and an AFC Champions League final in four years, the decorated manager stepped down from his role on the first day of the new year following a run of only three wins in 12 outings – which saw Persepolis crash out of the Asian elite clubs’ competition group stage – to put a lid on months of rift with chairman Reza Darvish.
Few of the Reds faithful rued Golmohammadi’s departure after a familiar face in Branko Ivankovich – widely regarded as the linchpin of the team’s domestic success over the past seven years – was named as the leading candidate to make a dramatic return to the dugout, but the Oman head coach – also a three-time league champion and an ACL finalist with Persepolis – turned down the offer due to “family and personal” reasons.
With the club confirming that the next manager will come from overseas, several names have been brought up in the media to save the Reds’ season and perhaps embark on another glorious chapter for the team.
An assistant to Carlos Queiroz in Real Madrid and the former manager of Porto and Sporting CP in his home country, Portuguese José Peseiro has been among the rumored candidates in recent days.
Peseiro is no stranger to Asian football as he is also an ex-coach of a number of clubs in the Middle East, including Al Hilal, Sharjah, and Al Wahda, while he was in charge during Saudi Arabia’s ill-fated 2010 World Cup qualification, though he led his team to a first, and only to date, victory over regional rival Iran in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.
The Portuguese, however, is unlikely to return to the Iranian capital’s iconic venue as he is committed to a contract with Nigeria at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, where his team is second in Group A.
Gianni De Biasi has also been linked to the job but his unimpressive CV might be against the 67-year-old Italian being given the role.
Having had mediocre spells at Serie A clubs Torino and Udinese as well as LaLiga sides Alaves and Levante, the former coach of the Albania national team was last in charge of Azerbaijan, before being sacked last November following a run of 10 wins in 39 matches.
With the Iranian top-flight resumption right around the corner – once Iran’s Asian Cup campaign comes to an end – and Golmohammadi’s Brazilian No.2 Osmar Loss Vieira acting as a caretaker in the training sessions, Darvish will be desperate to appoint the new boss in the coming days.