Ahvaz – Nearly three months have passed since Esteghlal Khuzestan did the impossible by winning the Iranian Pro League and for many Iranian football fans it still seems unreal.
Here we are now, one week into the new season and football fans can only wonder if Esteghlal Khuzestan will be able to repeat last season’s miraculous run. Former head coach and hero Abdollah Veisi has taken the reins of Sepahan Isfahan and that leaves Sirous Pourmousavi in charge of Iran’s Leicester City.
Esteghlal Khuzestan’s supporters must feel they are in good hands considering that Pourmousavi has been with the club since 2011 and was assistant coach for the last four seasons before taking over for Veisi.
Pourmousavi has come a long way going back to his first season with the club when he was head coach of the B team.
Realistically, it comes as no surprise that many Iranian football pundits are not expecting Esteghlal Khuzestan to match their fantastic accomplishment of last season but Sirous Pourmousavi is not ready to just sit back and score moral victories.
Pourmousavi knows his team’s supporters want something to cheer about this season and he will be coaching a squad of players that is very similar to last season’s roster.
The supporters of Esteghlal Khuzestan saw Veisi lead a team of young players all the way to a first place finish and now it is Pourmousavi’s turn.
Coaching Esteghlal Khuzestan may not be a tough job for Sirous Pourmousavi but it will be extremely tough to finish in the top three of the IPL when realizing that teams like Persepolis and Esteghlal Tehran have loaded up their rosters and are ready to dethrone the champions of Iran.
Some of Iran’s best football players have come from Khuzestan and it is only fitting that a forty-five year-old coach from Ahvaz gets the chance to follow in the footsteps of Abdollah Veisi.