Queiroz, Ivankovic Among Top Asia Football Managers

Carlos Queiroz, manager of Iran national football team, and Branko Ivankovic, manager of Persepolis club have taken two places in the list of top Asian managers selected by the Football Tribe website, a Japan-based independent network dedicated to bringing fans the latest news, analysis and commentary about football from across Asia.

Team Melli manager Quiroz was crowned the top manager in Asia ahead of Asian top football clubs managers in the five-man list.

According to Football-tribe.com, Iran is considered by some to be a strong dark horse at this year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia, and the reason is Carlos Quiroz. What he has done over the last four years has been nothing short of tremendous but 2017 was truly a positive year for Iran’s national team.

Team Melli never lost any official matches last year, also not conceding in 12 consecutive matches in the process. At the same time, the Iranian squad clinched positive results against teams like Russia and Venezuela. Iran was one of the first teams to secure their ticket to Russia and the former Manchester United assistant manager deserves much of the credit for that.

Branko Ivankovic, former Team Melli manager and current coach of Persepolis is ranked fifth in the list. In 2015, he signed a contract with Tehran giants Persepolis to resurrect the team.

In his first full season on the Persepolis bench, his side fell just short in the league on goal difference but in the second one, Ivankovic’s men clinched the trophy three weeks before the end of the season. In 2017 Persepolis also won the Super Cup and reached the AFC Champions League semifinals.

More than their results, Persepolis performance in the last two years have cemented Branko’s position amongst the Reds fans. In the current campaign they remain on top with a nine-point buffer ahead of second place, and it looks as though Branko will have another successful year ahead of him.

There are three other names filling the gap between Queiroz and Ivankovic. Argentinean manager of Al Hilal club of Saudi Arabia, Ramon Diaz, enjoys the second place in the list. On third place sits South Korean manager of Cerezo Osaka, Yoon Jung-hwan And after him, Urawa Reds of Japan manager Takafumi Hori comes in fourth.