German coach Erich Rutemoeller has been appointed interim coach of the Iranian team after head coach Ali Daei was sacked at the weekend. Rutemoeller, 64, who spent 10 years as assistant coach of the Germany team, joined the Iran side in January as advisor, but took over as head coach from Daei after Iran lost a World Cup qualifier 2-1 to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Iran, seeking a fourth appearance in the World Cup finals, are fourth in their qualifying group with six points from five games, managing only a win and three consecutive draws. They need to finish at least in second place to have any chance of reaching South Africa next year. Despite not speaking Iranian, Rutemoeller will over see the friendly game against Senegal on Wednesday in Tehran and told German tabloid Bild he has no idea how long he will remain as interim coach.