Esteghlal edged out Khooneh-Be-Khoobeh 1-0 on Thursday in Khorramshahr, Khuzestan Province, to win the Hazfi (elimination) Cup.
The Tehran club, which finished the Persian Gulf Pro League third behind Persepolis and Zobahan, was determined to grab the cup and directly qualify for the next AFC Champions League and did so with the only goal its Senegalese striker scored at the 35th minute.
The cup is the first trophy collected by the Blues under the management of German coach Winfried Shaefer, 68, who was assigned head coach of the team last October.
Winning seven titles, Esteghlal has the highest number of trophies in Hazfi Cup.
Before the match started, Schaefer signed a two-year contract extension with the club for an undisclosed fee.
His first contract with Esteghlal was till the end of season (ended last week) with the option of extension. After about two months of negotiations with the team’s officials, the German coach agreed to stay at the club for two more years and bring the team and its fans more glory. The Blues have now qualified for the current AFC Champions League Round of 16 where they will face Zobahan in an all Iranian clash.
Schaefer started his coaching career with German association football club Borussia Monchengladbach II in 1982. He then signed up with Karlsruher SC and led the team to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup in the 1993–94 season.
The German has also worked at VfB Stuttgart and FK Baku as well as for Jamaica, Cameroon and Thailand national football teams.
