In a press conference held today, Ali Daei the current Rah Ahan coach has denied rumors that he has been approached to take over the Team Melli coaching job. The pre-match press conference was being held ahead of Rah Ahan match against Mes Kerman in the Persian Gulf League.

Daei , who was the Team Melli coach in the last World Cup qualification, said that ” Team Melli already has a coach. I was not offered nor approached by the federation to take over the coaching of Team Melli, but even if they do offer me the job , I would respectfully decline.”

Commenting on Ali Karimi’s nomination for the Asian Player of the year , Daei said “This shows the value of Ali Karimi despite his age. I sincerely hope that he wins this award for the second time in his career and also hope that he quickly recovers from his injury so that we can see him perform for Team Melli and his club.”

Asked about the merits of nominating Mohsen Bengar along with Ali Karimi , Daei said that he was not in the committee to justify such nominations and asked the reporter to direct his question at those who have nominated him. However, Daei admitted that he is not aware of the criteria for nomination players in the AFC player of the year awards but commented on the good performance of Bengar in Sepahan in the last season competition and speculated that this could be one of the reasons for Bengar’s nomination.

After the disappointing results of Team Melli and the real concern that the team might fail to qualify to the World Cup finals in Brazil , there has been strong rumors regarding changes in the Team Melli technical cadre and coaching. The names of Amir Ghalenoei and Ali Daei , both former Team Melli coaches, have been mentioned in various circles as possible replacement for the current coaching team.

Ali Kaffashian has denied that there is any intention in changing the current coaching staff and has been backing Carlos Queiroz even during the poor performances and the poor results of the team.