Krancjar Becomes Head Coach of Iran's U-23 Team Again

Zlatko Krancjar, a 61-year-old from Croatia, has been appointed as the new head coach of Iran's U-23 national team. The last time Iranian football participated in the Olympics was in 1976 in Montreal, and if they can qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, it will end a 44-year absence. In the meantime, Iranian football managed to qualify for the 1980 Moscow Olympics but boycotted it due to the Islamic Revolution. After his appointment, Krancjar told the Football Federation's website, 'After about six years in Iran, I feel a heavy responsibility towards the future generation of football in this country.' This is not Krancjar's first time as head coach of the U-23 team. He took over in November 2014 after the dismissal of Portuguese coach Vingada due to poor results at the Incheon Asian Games. That same season, Krancjar was the head coach of Sepahan in the Premier League before being replaced by Hossein Faraki. However, the Ministry of Sports vetoed Krancjar's appointment. Habib Kashani, the U-23 team manager, stated that a makeshift commission in the Ministry of Sports must approve foreign coaches' activities. According to the news website Khabar Online, Sports Minister Mahmoud Goudarzi said, 'The federation wants to appoint someone as head coach of the U-23 team who drinks alcohol.' Ali Raghbati, the director general of the Ministry of Sports' planning office, who still holds this position, defended the ministry's decision as the secretary of the committee overseeing foreign coaches on the live program 90. Raghbati stated, 'Krancjar is not compatible with the cultural standards of our country and has repeatedly consumed alcohol during training sessions and in the locker room of Sepahan. He was also dismissed from the Montenegro team for the same reason.' Krancjar defended himself, telling the Fararu website, 'If I were an alcoholic, could I have worked in Iran for three years where drinking alcohol is a crime?' In a live television program on Channel 5, Nasrollah Sajadi, the deputy sports minister, was present along with Rahim Zareh, a representative from the Iranian parliament. Sajadi, who now works in the National Olympic Committee, supported the decision of the 'supervisory committee' and stated that Kafashian also confirmed the evidence against Krancjar. Most of the same officials are still present in the management of Iranian sports, but this time there is no opposition to Krancjar's appointment. No explanation has been provided by the Football Federation or the Ministry of Sports regarding whether the accusations from four years ago were unfounded. The Ministry of Sports, Ali Kafashian, Ali Raghbati, and Nasrollah Sajadi have neither expressed regret over their previous opposition nor opposed Krancjar's reappointment.