Tehran — Carlos Queiroz stated that he feels “at home” after returning to Tehran on Wednesday to lead Iran in its third consecutive World Cup campaign.
The 69-year-old Portuguese coach was named to the position on Wednesday, having previously led Iran for eight years, the longest tenure in the history of the national team.
This featured group-stage exits from the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, although Iran defeated Morocco in the 2018 tournament for only their second victory in football’s worldwide championship.
As he arrived at the airport, where he was swarmed by reporters and Iran supporters, he stated, “As I said yesterday, I feel at home, and that’s the nicest feeling you can have.”
“I merely hope that our collaborative efforts in the near future will help Iran realize its aspirations.”
The selection of the former Real Madrid coach was in accordance with a campaign promise made by Mehdi Taj, the new head of the Iranian football association.
Last Monday, Taj was re-elected president of the Iranian football federation, a position he previously held from 2016 to 2019.
Queiroz, who is arguably best known for serving as Alex Ferguson’s assistant coach at Manchester United twice, replaced Dragan Skocic.
Skocic was fired in July before being reinstated a few days later.
Iran will compete in their sixth World Cup finals tournament in Qatar.
In Group B, they will open their campaign on November 21 against England, then play Wales and conclude with a high-octane match against the United States.
In 1998, Iran defeated the United States 2-1 in a group match at the World Cup finals.
In April, Queiroz resigned as Egypt’s manager after failing to negotiate a new deal.
The former national coach of South Africa, Portugal, and Colombia will begin his tenure with two warm-up matches against Uruguay and African champions Senegal on September 23 and 27, respectively, in Austria.