Omid Namazi named as US U-18 men’s national team head coach

PressTV – CHICAGO, Retired Iranian-American soccer defender Omid Namazi has been appointed as the head coach of the United States U-18 men’s national soccer team.

The 50-year-old will replace Javier Perez, who departed the team to become an assistant coach at New York City Football Club that currently competes in Major League Soccer (MLS).

“Omid Namazi has not only been a professional player at all levels in the United States, he has worked as a coach both here and overseas which adds important perspective,” US men’s national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a press release on Monday.

Namazi started his professional career with the Washington Diplomats of the American Soccer League in 1988. He moved to the Maryland Bays of the American Professional Soccer League two years later.

He played for Reading football club during the winter of 1992–1993. The Iranian-American signed a contract with the Los Angeles Salsa of the APSL in April 1993, and played two seasons with them.

Namazi continued playing for American football clubs, and had his name on the roster of the US national futsal team in 2002 and 2003.

On April 28, 2011, Namazi was named as assistant coach to the national Iranian soccer team alongside Portuguese football coach Carlos Queiroz and goalkeeping coach Dan Gaspar.

Iran qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on June 18, 2013, months before qualifying for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which was held between January 9 and 31 in Australia.

On March 26, 2014, Namazi was appointed as the assistant coach of the national US women’s soccer team.

He became the assistant coach to 49-year-old American Tab Ramos with the national US men’s under-20 soccer team later that year.