Afshin Ghotbi parts from Iran after 21 months

MNA – TEHRAN, Afshin Ghotbi left Iran football team after being in charge for 21 months.

Ghotbi replaced football legend Ali Daei on April 23, 2009 in order to lead the Iranian team in the three remaining matches of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Nonetheless, Iran failed to book a ticket in the World Cup, and instead Ghotbi promised he would put an end to Iran’s 35-year title drought by winning a high place in the 2011 Asian Cup. In the Asian Cup 2011 too, Iran lost to South Korea 1-0 and remained with no title.

As was planned before, the former Persepolis coach will now join the Japanese team Shimizu S-Pulse in the upcoming season of the J-League.