Iranian Omid Namazi Appointed US U-18 Football Coach
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - US Soccer on Monday announced that Omid Namazi has been appointed head coach of the Under-18 national football team.
According to the federation, former US goalkeeper Brad Friedel was named Under-19 coach.
Namazi has previously worked as assistant coach of the Iranian national team and was most recently assistant coach of the US U-20 national team.
Briefly a member of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the Red Bulls), Namazi had a long playing career in the US before joining the coaching ranks.
“We are thrilled to bring on two guys who have such tremendous experience,” said US national team head coach and US Soccer technical director Jurgen Klinsmann in a statement. “Brad Friedel played at the highest level for almost two decades, and his knowledge will be a huge benefit to our young players."
“Omid Namazi has not only been a professional player at all levels in the United States, he has worked as a coach both here and overseas which adds important perspective."
"They have both been assistant coaches in our youth national teams, so this is another important step in connecting the dots between our teams,” the German added.
Namazi's first camp will be a domestic training camp with 36 players from Jan. 17-23 at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, which will serve as preparation for international games in Argentina in early March.
