Denizli close to Persepolis return

TEHRAN

Hürriyet photo

Mustafa Denizli is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of Turkish football, holding the record of being the only coach to lead Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, country’s ‘big three,’ to the league title.

There are rumors that veteran Turkish football coach Mustafa Denizli could return to Tehran’s Persepolis, the Tehran Times reported. 

Denizli and former Italian manager Roberto Donadoni are shortlisted for the job, the early candidates of which were Sven Göran Eriksson and Bora Milutinovic. 

“We are negotiating with Donadoni and Denizli, however we have not reached an agreement with them,” Persepolis general manager Mohammad Royanian was quoted as saying. 
“Mustafa Denizli is close to signing a 1.5 year deal with Persepolis,” TRT Türk’s Tehran correspondent Hakan Çelik wrote on his Twitter account. “Denizli will be in Tehran Friday evening.” 
Denizli, who is the only coach to lead three top Turkish teams, Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, to the national league title, worked two years in the Iranian League. The 62-year-old led Pas FC to a sixth-place finish in 2006 and coached Persepolis to a third-place finish the following year. 
Denizli has not been coaching a team since the summer of 2010 after stepping down as Beşiktaş coach citing health reasons.