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Iran name Artur Jorge as coach of soccer team

Iran on Wednesday named Port-ugal's Artur Jorge as their new coach to revive the fortunes of its national soccer team, ending months of uncertainty when one of the top sides in Asia was without a coach.

Jorge, known as "King Artur" to his fans, was officially appointed coach after a meeting of the Iranian Football Federation's transitional committee, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Artur Jorge took over as the head coach of the Iranian national soccer team for the qualification games for the 2010 World Cup" in South Africa, IRNA said.

The semi official Fars news agency cited federation spokesman Ali Reghbati as saying that two foreign assistants were being appointed to work alongside Jorge as well as Iranian assistant coach Mansour Ebrahimzadeh.

The appointment comes just in time for the national side's warm-up games against Germany's Hansa Rostock and Qatar, which are to be played in Tehran on Saturday and on Jan. 9 respectively.

Many major soccer names had been linked with the job in a long search conducted by the federation, including Germany's Winfried Schaefer, Frenchman Philippe Troussier and England's Peter Reid.

The appointment also comes amid a battle between conservatives and reformists for control of the Iranian soccer federation.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this month pulled his candidate to head the body after FIFA warned political interference in the game could lead to Iran being banned from world soccer.

Jorge enjoyed success at FC Porto and then went on to coach sides including Paris St Germain and CSKA Moscow.
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