AFP: Italian coach Giuseppe Materazzi said on Tuesday he had been approached by the Iranian Football Federation about taking the national coaching post and added he would be keen to do so. ROME (AFP) Italian coach Giuseppe Materazzi said on Tuesday he had been approached by the Iranian Football Federation about taking the national coaching post and added he would be keen to do so.
The 62-year-old, the father of World Cup-winning defender Marco, has been without a job since being sacked by Italian second diviison outfit Bari at the end of December.
“They (the Iranian Federation directors) asked me if I was available to coach the national side,” he said. “I immediately said I was available and keen to do so.
“I saw the 0-0 draw between Iran and Syria (a 2010 World Cup qualifier). The Iranians have a side with good individual players. I would be more than willing to go to Tehran to coach them.”
Materazzi’s claim will be a surprise as on Sunday Ali Kafashian, president of the Iranian Football Federation, had said that the new coach would be Iranian.
The vacancy occurred when former Spain and Serbia coach Javier Clemente pulled out of a deal to coach the side amid a wrangle over his living conditions, as he said he could easily do the job by staying in Spain.
Materazzi, who has coached numerous Italian clubs including Pisa, Lazio, Messina, Padova, Brescia, Piacenza, Venice, Cagliari and Bari, has coached twice outside Italy, with Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon and Tian-Jin in China.
