TEHRAN - Following the departure of Andranik Teymourian and Aliasghar Ghorbanalipour from the Iran national team coaching staff, head coach Amir Ghalenoei has bolstered his backroom team with the additions of Mehrdad Khanban and Pepe Losada.

The Football Federation of Iran began negotiations with several candidates identified by Ghalenoei to complete the coaching staff, eventually confirming the appointments of Khanban and Losada as the national team prepare for the next stage of their campaign.

Khanban, 44, is a familiar figure within Iranian football and has extensive experience with the national team. He began his professional coaching career with Persepolis club and later worked under Carlos Queiroz with Iran. His first spell with the national team lasted until 2018, when he left the coaching staff ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Following Dragan Skocic’s appointment as Iran head coach, Khanban returned to the national team setup. He subsequently spent several years at Persepolis, working alongside coaches including Gabriel Calderon, Yahya Golmohammadi and Osmar .

Khanban was part of the Persepolis staff during their title-winning campaign before moving to Tractor. Last season, he worked on the coaching staff under Dragan Skocic and Mohammad Rabiei. He also took charge of Tractor on an interim basis during their AFC Champions League Elite clash with Al-Gharafa.

Khanban will now return to the national team, although in a different capacity, joining Ghalenoei’s staff as one of his assistant coaches.

Meanwhile, Spanish fitness coach Pepe Losada has been appointed as the national team’s new conditioning coach.

The 50-year-old has extensive experience in physical preparation and has previously worked in Iranian football with Persepolis, Nassaji Mazandaran and Gol Gohar.

Losada enjoyed one of the most successful spells of his career at Persepolis. During the 2022/23 season, he was part of the squad that won the Iranian Pro League, Hazfi Cup and Iranian Super Cup. The following season, he remained with the club as Persepolis again lifted the league title and Super Cup.

According to Spanish club Balompédica Linense, Losada has more than two decades of experience in physical preparation. Earlier in his career, he also spent around 12 years working within the Cádiz setup in Spain.

With Khanban and Losada now joining Ghalenoei’s staff, Iran have reshaped their coaching team as preparations continue for the next stage of the national team’s campaign and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.