Persepolis makes bid for ex-Fenerbahce coach Kartal: Report
Persian Gulf Pro League champion Persepolis has made a move for former Fenerbahce head coach Ismail Kartal, according to Iranian sports website Varzesh3.
Kartal, 63, has been without a job since parting ways with the Istanbul-based club last June, making way for Portuguese Jose Mourinho ahead of the ongoing Turkish Süper Lig season.
Kartal took charge of the Fenerbahce bench for a second spell by the start of the 2023/24 campaign and led his team to 31 wins in 38 outings as the Yellow Canaries finished second to city rival Galatasaray despite a remarkable 99-point tally.
Persepolis hierarchy has been desperate to appoint a new head coach after sacking Spanish Juan Carlos Garrido in late December, with several high-profile names, including former Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri and Spanish Rafael Benitez, lined up for the role in the Iranian media over the past four weeks.
Varzesh3 added that the Reds’ negotiations with Kartal could fall through as the club is reluctant to meet his massive salary demand of $3.5 million per season.
Karim Baqeri, an assistant to Garrido, took over from the Spaniard as the interim coach and led the Reds to back-to-back home wins against league strugglers Khaybar (2-1) and Havadar (5-0) before his team suffered a 1-0 loss to Sepahan in the Iranian Super Cup match on Friday.
Baqeri insisted after the Sepahan loss that the game was his last in the caretaker role, urging the club to hire the new manager ahead of a hectic fixtures list.
“I have already said that I wouldn’t be the head coach under any circumstances after the Super Cup game. The club is working hard on it and I just hope the new manager is unveiled as soon as possible,” said the Persepolis great, who has been tipped by former teammates and the club veterans to remain at the job until the end of the season.
Chasing an eighth domestic league crown in nine years, Persepolis is third in the table at the halfway point of the campaign with 29 points – three points adrift of Tractor and Sepahan on top.
The Tehran Reds will visit Zob Ahan on return to top-flight action on Tuesday, before taking on Tractor, in the league, and Sepahan, in the Hazfi Cup last 16, as well as Saudi giants Al Hilal and Al Nassr in the AFC Champions League Elite, during a seven-game schedule over the next 30 days.