Esteghlal (Iran) officially announced the departure of Ricardo Sá Pinto from the club's coaching position on Friday. In a statement, the Iranian club thanked the coach for his "efforts," highlighting that "full support" was given to the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the results "were not in line" with Esteghlal's objectives. "The elimination from Asian competitions, which was one of the main priorities of the season, followed the dissatisfaction of the fans and the club's management, and there was no clear vision of improvement as national competitions continued," the statement read, with Esteghlal also pointing to "some unconventional communication challenges from the coaching staff that created conflicts with management" and made the continuation of the relationship "difficult." The new coach will be announced soon, Esteghlal also reported. This was Sá Pinto's second stint at Esteghlal (Iran), having also managed clubs such as Raja Casablanca (Morocco), APOEL (Cyprus), Legia Warsaw (Poland), and Standard Liège (Belgium). In Portugal, the former international has managed Sporting, Belenenses, SC Braga, and Moreirense.
Iran Esteghlal Raja Casablanca remains central to this story.
Iran Esteghlal Raja Casablanca remains central to this story.
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