The on-going dispute between the two Portuguese nationals that occupy the most sensitive posts in Iran’s football, continues unabated.
The dispute between Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz , the head coach of Team Melli and Manuel José de Jesus Silva , the head coach of Perspolis club of Tehran, goes back from the days when both were coaching in Portugal. The disagreements continued even as both left Portugal to world abroad.
In a statement to Fars News Agency , Queiroz accused his compatriot of attempting to sow seeds of differences between himself and Team Melli players by unsubstantiated allegations, thereby undermining the interest of the national football team
Queiroz stated that he intended to answer the allegations of his compatriot, Manuel Jose, after the coach of Perspolis was interviewed by a local newpaper in which he claimed that Queiroz is having a negative influence on his club. “The interview was published a few days before the game between Iran vs. South Korea national teams in which Jose attacked me and some players. I wanted to answer him, but due to the proximity of the match with South Korea and its sensitivity, I decided against doing so and opted to leave the matter with the IFF disciplinary committee to deal with this matter. However, that was not done and I am obliged now to respond to all those allegations made against me.” Queiroz explained.
Referring to Manuel Jose comments “it evidently illustrates the characters of that individual. It is helpless and confused, and in the process, he decided to try to confuse and mislead the masses.” Queiroz said of his compatriot.
“Mr. Manuel Jose utterance is quite disrespectful towards Team Melli and is completely unacceptable and deserves a serious response from the authorities. Jose Manuel behavior and morality does not surprise me at all. When I look at the present situation of morality in Persepolis, coach Jose is hiding from reality and is on denial. The current situation in that club is a witness to this fact.” Queiroz added
“Through this public statement, I invite Mr. Manuel José to provide documents and clear statements to prove the charges made in that interview. I want to stress that I am pretty sure that that Mr. Manuel Jose will not be able to demonstrate and validate his allegations.”
Queiroz concluded his statement by saying. “At the end of the day, Jose has no option but to apologize for his disrespect towards Team Melli and some of the players”
While full details of their dispute and disagreements are vague, (some claiming that it was fundamentally to do with football ideology) it is obvious that these two do not see eye to eye. Such disputes or differences between coaches occur globally, but in this particular case, the problem between these two is magnified by the fact that Perspolis has the largest number of players in Team Melli.from .
In clear defiance to Manuel Jose and Perspolis Club , Carlos Queiroz selected Ali Karimi in his squad to play Korea Republic, despite the fact that the midfielder was suspended from club due to disciplinary reasons and out of match practice.
Jose Manuel claimed that Karimi is influenced by Carlos Querioz and implied that this was a source of the player’s revolt in the club.