Press TV - Former Persepolis coach Afshin Qotbi is one of the candidates who may be chosen to steer Iran's national soccer team, the IFF chief says.

Afshin Qotbi

Iran's national soccer coach Ali Daei was sacked after his team suffered a 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in its fifth World Cup qualifier at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on Saturday.

"Persepolis' coach for last season is one of the options we are considering for handing over the rein of the national team to," chairman of the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) Ali Kafashian told Fars News Agency on Sunday.

The former coach of the Reds stepped down on November 18, 2008 due to the failure of the club's authorities in fulfilling their promises.

Kafashian said that the IFF prefers to appoint an Iranian couch ahead of the upcoming games.

The victory sent Saudi Arabia to third place in Group B with seven points, three points behind North Korea, which beat the United Arab Emirates 2-0 earlier on Saturday to claim top spot.

South Korea, which is in second place with eight points out of four matches, will host first-placed North Korea on Wednesday. Iran is fourth with six points out of five matches.

... Payvand News - 03/30/09 ... --