Abahani Limited’s Iranian coach Ali Akbar Parmoslemi said his first task will be to lift the morale of the side after they registered yet another failure in the season’s curtain-raising tournament, the Federation Cup. Parmoslemi joined Abahani on Sunday, taking over from Amalesh Sen, who guided the side to the Federation Cup semi-final after the club dramatically fired their Australian coach Nathan Hall a day before the tournament.
Abahani had recruited Hall hoping he could return them to their glory days after a trophy-less season that saw them finish fourth in the league and fail to book a finals berth in three tournaments – the Federation Cup, the Independence Cup and the Super Cup.
However, Hall’s attempts to make some radical changes to their playing style did not go down well with some Abahani officials, and they chose to show him the door before the season started.
‘Presently, I know nothing about the players,’ Parmoslemi said before beginning his second stint as the club’s coach.
‘Hopefully I will get an idea after [Monday’s] aerobic training and then I will prepare the training schedules for the team.’
Parmoslemi was the Abahani coach two seasons ago,
when the won a Federation Cup and a league title.
He had been involved in Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned coaching courses in Afghanistan, Malaysia and Pakistan for the last two years after leaving Abahani in the middle of 2011.
His compatriot Ardeshir Purnamate guided Abahani last season, during which they failed to qualify for the second round of the AFC President’s Cup in addition to their domestic shortcomings.
Parmoslemi said he is ready to take on the challenge, though he believes it will be extremely difficult for Abahani to win the league.
‘The League is very close [to starting] but I have no time to work on technical and tactical aspects with the boys.’
‘I would consider the first legs [of the league] as preparation and build-up time. In the last two legs, we will face all opponents with our full strength, I am sure.’
-With New Age input
