The Croatian coach of Sepahan Esfahan , Zlatko Kranjčar, said that he will think about Team Melli job offer after the World Cup if it was offered to him.
After winning against the city rivals Zob Ahan in a closely fought match 1-0 on Friday , the Croatian coach said that his whole effort at the moment is to win the remaining 4 matches of the current season and challenge for the league title. In the post match press conference , Kranjčar was asked about the Team Melli Job, in which the Croat coach said :
“I think the source of this rumor is no one other than Carlos Queiroz himself. He has been talking to some reporters , and now it is doing the round and hearing it from the press. I think it is not a very wise move by Team Melli coach to say something like that. When he spreads the news that he is leaving and someone else will be taking over, while the players have serious work to do in the World Cup, it will affect Team Melli. Such a fact will diminish the player’s enthusiasm and will reduce their interest in what the coach is saying knowing that he will not be around after the tournament is over. ” The Croat said.
“My whole focus now is on Sepahan both in the league and the Asian Champions League. Team Melli has a coach and in my opinion , he is the best person for the job right now. If he leaves after the World Cup when his contract expires, and if the job is offered to me, then I will certainly think about that offer. I have no other comments on that.”
Kranjčar , however, praised Queiroz saying “Although Queiroz has created a havoc for the league with his program where some teams will be waiting for weeks without playing while others will be playing once every 4 days, I still believe Queiroz is best suited for the job and the federation should keep him. He has achieved quite a bit for Iran including qualification for the World Cup.”
Asked whether he can iron out his problems with Queiroz the way he did with Ghalenoei in a meeting a few days back, Kranjčar responded “First of all , Queiroz did not invite me to that meeting , he also did not come to Esfahan to discuss the issues in question. Most importantly though , I don’t think it would achieve much. I still stand firmly on my point. Arranging a Team Melli camp during the Asian Champions league is plainly wrong and there is no two way about it. And to make it worse , they are asking for our best players to join the camp and do not play in the ACL!”