Former Iran national team midfielder Hamid Estilli has been appointed as the country under-23 manager, replacing Esteghlal legend Farhad Madjidi.
Estilli has been the team’s technical director but his disagreement with Madjidi led to former striker’s resignation.
Estilli who had been a combative midfielder, scored Iran first goal in memorable match against USA at 1998 World Cup but his managerial career has been far from fruitful. His last stint as manager was a short term with Malavan Bandar-e-Anzali four years ago.
Iran will face Uzbekistan, China and South Korea in next year’s Olympic men’s football qualifying tournament in Thailand.
The U-23 tournament, scheduled to run from Jan. 8-26 across Thailand, will double as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.