The appointment of Nilo Vingada as an honorary coach with a week left to Iran’s vital clash with Qatar in the World Cup qualifiers would result in one certain thing. The Portuguese coach will replace his compatriot on the bench of Team Melli acting as the de facto coach as Carlos Queiroz earned himself a two match ban after his outburst in the Korea Match that led to his dismissal from the game and was sent to the stand by the Singaporean coach.
Carlos Queiroz has a several assistant coaches to help him in his duty amongst them Iranian/American Omid Namazi , and another Portuguese household name Antonio Simoez, a famous player in his own right in the bygone years. It was customary for Omid Namazi to take the helm in case of voluntary absence of Queiroz for one reason or another during friendly matches and Namazi has also been actively involved during official matches as well perhaps more as an interpreter rather than leader or tactician for the team. Simoez, on the other hand has taken a backseat role during matches and rarely seen venturing out of the bench to guide play. Simoez job is focused in training sessions and practices.
With such a vital period in Iran’s football consisting of 3 crucial and defining matches, the absence of Queiroz from the bench in Qatar’s game seems to be a massive drawback to Iran’s team. Lack of leadership from the bench with requirements to change tactics, players tasks as the game progresses and results dictate, is of a vital importance to any team. With Queiroz being deprived of this role during his suspension for the Qatar match, it seemed that Team Melli is facing a perilous situation. Omid Namzi lacks the international experience to take such a vital role. His last performance at the helm during the West Asian Footfall Federation (WAFF) championship did not augur well for his resume as Iran was eliminated from the group stage for the first time in the history of this competition.
Taken all the circumstances into account, the appointment of an experienced coach even for one match, nonetheless an imperative one for that matter seems to be like a astute move by Queiroz. However , whether such appointment is a brilliant move or a last gasp attempt for survival , can only be determined by June 18th when the fate of Team Melli as far as World Cup qualification is concerned will be decided.
In what seems to be unrelated move, but interesting none nonetheless, a Perspolis club official announced that his club will be settling the financial dispute with Vingada this week. Amir Moshiri , Perspolis’s public relations manager announced that he will be travelling to Dubai ON Wednesday 29th May , to hand over a check with a value of US$ 110,000 to Vingada as part of the final settlement between the two parties. Moshiri claimed that this fund was awarded to the ex-Perspolis coach but was held up in a Turkish bank for a month! As luck and fortune would have it the fund release from the bank in Istanbul conveniently occurred in conjunction with the appointment of Vingada which necessitated the travel of the Perspolis official to Dubai to hand him the check.