Javad Nekounam had stepped down from his role as the head coach of Iran’s Esteghlal football team earlier.

He resigned from his post following a 2-0 loss against Al Sadd of Qatar in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite.

Bulgarian coach Ivaylo Petev and Portuguese Ricardo Sa Pinto have been shortlisted to take charge of the team.

Bakhtiarizadeh, a former Esteghlal defender, has previously worked as head coach in Esteghlal Khuzestan and Shahr Khodro.