TEHRAN – Veteran coach Firouz Karimi will take charge of the Esteghlal football team for the upcoming Tehran derby, scheduled for Thursday.

Esteghlal’s interim coach, Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, resigned from his position last week, and the club were unable to finalize an agreement with Italian coach Walter Mazzarri.

 Earlier, Pitso Mosimane parted ways with the Iranian side in January due to unpaid wages.

 Karimi, who previously managed Esteghlal during the 2007/08 Iran League season, returns to the helm for this crucial match.