Koch under fire at Esteghlal

AFC - Esteghlal's German coach Ronald Koch has come under fire at the club after the former Bayer Leverkusen coach had failed to steer the Iranian club giants to the semi-finals of the inaugural AFC Champions League.

Esteghlal chairman Fathol Lahzadeh and team manager Mansour Pourheidari have both questioned Koch after Esteghlal were dumped out of the championship.

"Koch did not put his substitutions to good use. There was not much difference in the team's play even after three substitutions and I do not understand that," said Lahzadeh. "We have very good players at the club but they were all ineffective during the tournament."

"Koch had complete responsibility of the team," added Pourheidari. "He was given all that he needed and no one had overlooked his coaching methods.

"However, with the disappointment at the AFC Champions League, he will need to explain what had gone on and the reasons for the failure."