The 67-year-old German coach has signed a $280,000 contract with the Iranian side, according to a member of Esteghlal’s Technical Committee.
Schäfer, who will start his work as of tomorrow, is expected to save the popular football team from the bottom of Iran Professional League.
During his career as a football player, he played 403 Bundesliga matches and scored 46 goals in the (West) German top-flight.
He won the 1970 Bundesliga title and 1970 DFB-Pokal with two different clubs – because the West German Cup final was played after the 1970 FIFA World Cup and his move from Mönchengladbach to Offenbach.
Later as a head coach, he managed several German clubs like Karlsruher SC and VfB Stuttgart and national teams like Cameroon, Thailand, and Jamaica.
In Esteghlal, Schäfer will secede Alireza Mansourian, the former head coach who was recently sacked after poor performance.