News / Sports

Top Thai soccer club in chase of ex-Iran team coach

Tuesday, 15 December 2015 1:37 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 15 December 2015 1:37 PM ]

Former Iranian football head coach Afshin Ghotbi (file photo)

Former Iranian football head coach Afshin Ghotbi is poised on the threshold of taking charge of Thai professional football club Suphanburi, which is currently playing in the Thai Premier League.

Informed sources said the management of Suphanburi Football Club is on the hunt for a big-name foreign coach after Brazilian Sergio Ricardo de Paiva Farias stepped down from his post in August, and 51-year-old Ghotbi is fairly appropriate for the job.

An announcement on the club’s new coach is expected within the next few days. Suphanburi is under the tutelage of caretaker Worrawoot Srimaka, who recently led the soccer club to a third-place finish in the Thai Premier League.

Ghotbi was appointed as the head coach of Tehran-based Persepolis football club in July 2007. He led the Reds to Iranian Pro League championship in May 2008, and left the club the following month.

He returned to Persepolis on July 3, 2008, after signing a two-year deal. Ghotbi had poor results afterwards, and opted for resignation on November 18, 2008. He left Iran the next day.

Ghotbi was in charge of Iran men’s national football team between April 22, 2009 and January 22, 2011. He officially resigned after his team lost to South Korea and got knocked out of the 2011 Asian Cup.

He is out of work after assisting Patrick Kluivert at Curacao team for the Caribbean island's World Cup qualifier against El Salvador.

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