Denizli to return to Persepolis?

“We have started the preliminary talks with Denizli; he is the first choice to coach Persepolis,” said the club's chief executive, Abbas Ansarifard, on Saturday.

“He's currently busy with his country's league. We will continue our talks over the next two days and invite him to Tehran,” he added.

“I hope to receive a positive response from him. Otherwise, we will negotiate with other big coaches,” he explained.

The 59-year-old Denizli was hired as the manager of the Iranian giants Persepolis in August 2006. He resigned on 3 June 2007 after an unsuccessful season with the Reds in which he failed in the Hazfi Cup with an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Sepahan FC and more importantly the Iranian Premier League (IPL) in which his immensely talented team only managed a 3rd place finish.

Vingada resigned from his post following his side's 1-0 defeat against Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor in the Asian Champions League at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on May 27.

"This was my last match with Piroozi [Persepolis,]" the Portuguese coach said. "I wrote a letter giving notice of my resignation two days ago. If you're looking for someone to blame [for the elimination], then blame me."