The End of the Saga: Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh to Continue as Esteghlal Coach

The End of the Saga: Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh to Continue as Esteghlal Coach

After a period of uncertainty and searching for foreign candidates, the Iranian football club Esteghlal officially announced that Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh will continue to lead the team as head coach in the upcoming season. The decision was reached following a series of "professional discussions" involving the technical committee and club management, as reported on Varzesh3.

According to the Football 360 channel (Ft360_ir), which is associated with analytical coverage of Iranian football, negotiations with Croatian coach Dragan Skočić failed due to financial gaps, as the coach demanded a salary of $2 million. The report adds that Bakhtiarizadeh, who returned to the club toward the end of the previous season and succeeded in leading the team to qualify for the Asian Champions League ("Elite League"), earned the management's trust after becoming the preferred candidate.

The Esteghlal Fan Channel (es_qb) also confirmed the decision, emphasizing that the selection of Bakhtiarizadeh comes after "an examination of numerous local and foreign options." The channel, which serves as a platform for the team's fans, presented the appointment as the successful conclusion of a prolonged search period.

The decision reflects the club's preference to continue with the stability of a local coach who proved his ability to achieve results at the end of the previous season, rather than an expensive signing of a foreign coach, a trend that received broad agreement in the various media outlets that followed the affair.