Tehran - Iran's newly-appointed coach Mohammad Mayelikohan
resigned Tuesday after only two weeks in a fresh blow to the national
team as it struggles to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals.
ISNA news agency reported that Mayelikohan sent a resignation
letter to the Iranian Football Federation (FFI) after quarrelling
with a Tehran club coach.
The FFI appointed Mayelikohan two weeks ago as successor to Ali
Daei who was dismissed following a 2-1 home defeat against Saudi
Arabia in a World Cup qualifier on March 28.
The result has left Iran with an uphill battle to qualify for the
2010 finals in South Africa.
Since the new FFI board started its work in January 2008 it has
made five coaching appointments for the national team.
Following the initial appointment of an interim coach, the
federation reportedly signed a contract with Spain's Javier Clemente
who however rejected the job as he did not want to live in Iran.
After Clemente, the FFI turned in March last year to
Iranian-American coach Afshin Qotbi but at the last minute chose
national team skipper Ali Daei instead.
Mayelikohan's appointment was not a popular one amid speculation
it was a political decision due to his closeness to the country's
sports organization, which is headed by a deputy of President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
Before even naming his assistants, Mayelikohan was involved
in quarrels with the media and club coaches who were against his
appointment.
Local sports media said that a national coach who could not
control his temper was not qualified to lead the team to the 2010
World Cup.
Daei's earlier appointment had also been seen as a political
decision as Qotbi was widely regarded as far more qualified than the
inexperienced former Bayern Munich striker.
Iran will now again have to appoint a new coach ahead of a vital
match against North Korea in June, when a defeat in Pyongyang would
mean the end of their hopes of going to South Africa.
Iran has only six points from five games and must still play in
Group B against the two Koreas in Pyongyang and Seoul as well as
against the United Arab Emirates in Tehran.
The top two teams qualify directly for the World Cup while the
third-placed team goes through playoffs.
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