Branko Ivankovic is one of the most successful foreign coaches that have trained Team Melli Iran. Ivankovic  (born February 28, 1954)  a Croatian national , holds a PhD in physical education. Ivankovic first assignment with Team Melli was in the capacity of assistant to Miroslav Blazevic. In 2001

Dr. Branko Ivanković  became the assistant coach to Ćiro Blažević who led the Croatian national football team at 1998 World Cup, where they won the bronze medal.

He then headed the Bundesliga team Hannover 96 during the 1999/2000 season. He briefly returned to the Croatian national team as the assistant to Mirko Jozić during the qualifications for 2002 World Cup, before he took over the Iranian team where he replaced Blažević (who had managed them since 2001).

Ivanković was appointed to the head of the Iranian team on January 29, 2002, and reappointed on October 3, 2003. His team succeeded in the qualification for the 2006 World Cup.

Along with temperamental Blazevic, Ivankovic had a mixed fortune. Failure of Iran to make it to the World Cup after the play-off defeat against Ireland, was the end of the partnership of Blazevic and Team Melli, however the valuable lessons learned by Ivankovic during this short stint and partnership and his good-natured approach and temperaments, convinced the IFF administrators to offer him the job replacing his compatriot and ex-boss a year later in 2002.

Ivankovic first match at the helm of Team Melli was against Slovakia in a friendly in Azadi stadium. Despite a narrow 3-2 defeat against the European team, his team played a reasonably good match and beamed with confidence.

Under his guidance, Team Melli enjoyed an immaculate record and was considered as one of the top teams in Asian football.  Ivankovic introduced many young players to Team Melli and also managed to break the monopoly of the two most popular clubs in Iran , Esteghlal and Persepolis on Team Melli squads by selecting many players from the provinces. Many young talents were given the opportunity to shine such as Kaebi , Mobali , Alavi , Teymourian and Jabbari amongst the rest.

The softly spoken Croat , first success was the  in the Asian games where he guided the U23 team to the Gold medal in 2002. In Asian Cup 2004 held in China , Iran performed clinched the 3rd place after an unfortunate penalty kick loss to China in the Semi-finals.

Branko Ivankovic went on to lead Iran to the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany after a smooth ride in the qualifying rounds. In Germany , a narrow loss to both Mexico and Portugal ended the dream of Iran qualifying to the next rounds and a highly critical public and official pressure resulted in Ivankovic leaving Iran's team after the FIFA World Cup.

Ivankovic remains one of the most successful coach in the history of the national Team of Iran. His Charisma  and cool approach made him quite a popular figure in Iran . Affectionately called "Professor" he left Iran with lots of fond memories despite the rough rides and the ever demanding public pressure for success at the highest level.

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