January 03-2014
. . . Tottenham-bound?
National team soccer coach Carlos Queiroz has expressed an interest in leaving Iran and taking the top coaching job at Tottenham Hotspur, one of the major teams in England’s Premier League.
The club is looking for a new man at the top following Monday’s sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, a Portuguese like Queiroz.
The BBC contacted Queiroz, 60, and asked whether he was interested in the Spurs job. Queiroz responded: “Absolutely. Tottenham is a club I really appreciate a lot and I have great admiration.”
Queiroz also said he had had “some private connections in the past” with Spurs owner Daniel Levy.
And he said he wanted to return to the Premier League, where he spent two spells as the deputy coach under the famed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, the world’s wealthiest soccer team. Queiroz was there in 2002-2003 and again in 2004-2008.
“One of my coaching dreams is to get back to English football,” said Queiroz, who has previously been head coach for Spanish club team Real Madrid and for the Portuguese and South African national teams.
“I was very happy in Manchester. It was the most happy and outstanding football period of my entire career.”
Queiroz has been expected to stay with the Iranian national team through the World Cup finals next summer.
With the Premier League season not quite half complete, Tottenham Hotspur is currently ranked seventh of the 20 teams, just above Manchester United.