The head coach of the Iranian national team Carlos Queiroz has stepped down from his managerial position following his side's elimination from the 2019 Asian Cup. Team Melli qualified to the last-four stage of the tournament by seeing off China via a 3-0 score in the quarterfinal but saw its dream of progressing to the final cut short as a result of a 3-0 defeat to Japan on Monday.
Following his appointment in 2011, Queiroz has slowly revolutionized the football of the Iranian national team while simultaneously achieving momentous feats with it. Under his supervision, Team Melli qualified for two FIFA World Cup Finals in 2014 and 2018 respectively and also managed to fire the 1976 Asian Cup winners to the No.1 spot in the continental rankings.
Carlos Queiroz's contract was due to expire after the Asian Cup and multiple reports indicate that he is set to succeed Jose Pekerman as the head coach of the Colombian national team. Ahead of Iran's Round of 16 clash with Oman, the Portuguese manager declared that he was "honored" to be courted by Colombia.
In his post-match interview after Iran's defeat to Japan on Monday, the 65 years old ex-Real Madrid coach expressed ecstasy about how far he had come in his eight-year stint.
"I think the simplest thing to do is to copy the old song: 'and now, the end is here", he said.
"I'm happy and proud to say I did it my way."
A statement on his official Facebook page also reads as follow:
Monday's semi-final encounter with Japan at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain was coincidentally Carlos Queiroz's 100th game in charge as the head coach of Iran. He departs with a record of 60 wins, 27 draws, and 13 defeats.
A total of 181 goals were also scored by Team Melli during his eight-year stint while 60 were conceded.
