Esteghlal appoint German coach

AFC - Iranian League giants Esteghlal have appointed German coach Ronald Koch as their head coach for the upcoming season.

Koch, a former assistant coach at German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, will begin working for Esteghlal on Wednesday on a one-year contract estimated to be worth US$739,000.

Koch takes charge of a team that will be seeking to lift itself after a disappointing finish to the 2001-02 season that saw them losing out on a second consecutive league title to bitter rivals Pirouzi on the final day of the season.

Despite the big contract that he has signed with the Tehran side, some Iranian football observers are unconvinced with Koch's coaching credentials.

"I know that he was Christoph Daum's assistant in the past and he has no previous record of team management. Esteghlal must have management and just being foreign is not a complete guarantee of success," said Esteghlal club advisor Parviz Mazloomi to IranMania.

"Everyone can give practices and exercises but management and control of Estehglal is difficult. Koch is like the rest of the foreign coaches who have no problems for the first two or three months and show a few things. Then they gradually come up against problems in discipline and management,” added Mazloomi.