Turkish Kartal on Reds rescue mission
Persepolis supporters will be hoping to see new head coach Ismail Kartal make an instant impact to save the Persian Gulf Pro League champion’s domestic and continental campaigns ahead a hectic, season-defining fixtures list over the next month.
The former Fenerbahce boss was unveiled as the Tehran Reds’ manager on Friday, bringing an end to weeks of speculation swirling around their bench.
Kartal, 63, replaces Juan Carlos Garrido, who was appointed to the job in June but parted ways with the club following a fourth defeat in six league outings – a 3-1 home loss to Mes Rafsanjan – on December 21, with the Spaniard’s assistant Karim Baqeri serving as the interim coach for four games.
Numerous high-profile coaches, including ex-Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri, Spanish Rafa Benitez, and Croatian Niko Kovac, had been brought up in the Iranian media for the Reds’ role, before Persepolis signed a contract with Kartal, which will run until the end of the next season.
Kartal had been without a job since leaving Fenerbahce last June, making way for Portuguese Jose Mourinho ahead of the ongoing Turkish Süper Lig season.
A Turkish Super Cup champion with Fenerbahce in 2014, Kartal returned to the Istanbul-based club for a third spell for the start of the 2023/24 season and led his team to 31 wins in 38 outings as the Yellow Canaries finished second to city rival Galatasaray in the league despite a remarkable 99-point tally.
His team scored 149 goals in 58 games across all competitions last season, reaching the Europa Conference League last eight before being knocked out by eventual champion Olympiacos.
The second Turkish manager in Persepolis history, following Mustafa Denizli more than a decade ago, Kartal was accompanied by his coaching staff in arriving in Tehran on Saturday, but is unlikely to sit on the bench for today’s crunch league encounter with Tractor at the Azadi Stadium, with Baqeri making instructions from the touchline for a fifth successive game.
Sitting fourth in the table with 30 points after 16 games, Persepolis is five points adrift of the top two Tractor and Sepahan and a defeat against today’s formidable opponent will all but finish the Reds’ bid for an eighth league crown in nine years.
Kartal’s first game in charge will come against third-place Foolad Khuzestan and ex-Persepolis boss Yahya Golmohammadi in Ahvaz on Friday.
Persepolis will resume AFC Champions League Elite action on February 4 with a visit to Saudi heavyweight Al Hilal.
The Reds have endured a below-par run in the revamped Asian elite clubs’ event, managing a single victory – a 2-1 win against bottom-club Al Shorta last time out in the competition – in six games to stand sixth in the West Zone’s 12-team table with six points.
An Asian finalist in 2018 and 2020, Persepolis will be hoping to remain on course for a top-eight finish, and a knockout spot, when taking on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr at home on the final day of the league phase on February 17.
Kartal’s men will play away to defending champion Sepahan in the Iranian Hazfi Cup last 16 on February 12, with tricky league tests against Golgohar Sirjan, Iralco, and archrival Esteghlal also coming their way over the next 30 days.