Iranian Football federation confirms Dragan Skočić removed as national team manager

A spokesman for the Iranian Football Federation’s Technical Committee says Dragan Skočić, the current manager of the National Football Team (Team Melli) will be removed from his post.

The spokesman said the committee decided that Skočić is not qualified to lead the Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

He added that Ali Daei, former manager of the national football team and the world’s top international goalscorer, is the top candidate to replace Dragan Skočić.

The next candidates are respectively Gol Gohar Football Club’s manager Amir Ghalenoei and Foolad Khuzestan Footbal Club’s manager Javad Nekounam.

The spokesman of the Iranian Football Federation’s Technical Committee said a foreign manager is not a priority for the Team Melli and that it chooses to appoint an Iranian coach to the post.

He however said the former manager of Perspolis FC, Branko Ivanković, is a candidate, but not the former manager of the Team Melli, Carlos Queiroz.

Ivanković himself has reportedly ruled out the possibility of accepting a proposal to lead the Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, saying he signed a contract with Oman to be its national soccer team’s manager.

Iran will participate at the World Cup for the sixth time in the country’s history and on a third consecutive occasion.

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