Gianni De Biasi close to becoming Team Melli’s new coach

After the years spent on Albania’s bench, achieving a historic qualification for the 2016 European Championships, Gianni De Biasi is ready to start again for another national team.

After the unfortunate and unhappy experience of Andrea Stramaccioni with Esteghlal Club, it seems that another Italian is ready to land in Iran. This time it is Gianni De Biasi who is very close to becoming the coach of Iran’s Team Melli.

As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, the former Albanian coach has received an offer of a 30 months contract, with the aim of qualification to the World Cup for which the Iranian national team is competing. The deal could be closed within 48 hours.

Gianni De Biasi is ready for a new adventure at the head coach of a national team. The coach, 64 years old in June, is in fact ever closer to the agreement to become the Iran coach. The Iranian Federation offered him a 30-month contract, also thinking about the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Iran has participated in 5 World Cups and has qualified for the last two played in Brazil and Russia (2014 and 2018) in addition to three championships in the AFC Asian Cup (in the last edition of 2019 the Iranian national team was stopped in the semifinals). The deal should be closed by the end of the week.

A new adventure after Albania

For De Biasi it would be the second experience on a bench of a national team. In fact, the coach led Albania from 2011 to 2017, leading to a historic qualification for the 2016 European Championships. A success that made him become a real idol in Tirana, so much so that he was awarded the honorary Albanian citizenship

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (L), the captain of Albania's national soccer team, Lorik Cana (C) and Albania's national football team head coach Gianni De Biasi review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at Mother Teresa airport in Tirana on June 23, 2016. Albania's Euro 2016 squad was welcomed home on June 23 with a formal red-carpet ceremony and National Guard troops on its return from the country's first ever participation at a European Championship. / AFP / GENT SHKULLAKU (Photo credit should read GENT SHKULLAKU / AFP via Getty Images)