Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Personal
US Citizen
Married, 2 children
Languages
Fluent: English, Spanish, Farsi
Basic Comprehension: Japanese & Korean
Education
USSF A License # 3926, Professional Coaching License
Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering, UCLA
Innovator in Football Analysis & Technology
Presenter, Lecturer, and Motivational Speaker
Playing Career
University of California, Los Angeles (USA) 1981-1985
Alitalia 1981-1982
Autobahn 1983-1986
Valley Eagles1987
Foothill Flyers 1988-91
Managerial Profile
Buriram United
Thailand Premier League
May-August 2016
Coaching Profile
Korea National Team
Assistant Coach
October 2005 - August 2007
2007 Asian Cup (3rd Place)
2006 World Cup, Germany
2006-07 Olympic Qualification
2006 Asian Games (4th Place)
Coaching Profile
American Global Soccer School (AGSS)
Technical Director/Head Coach
April 1988 - December 2001
2002 Nike Coach of the Year
Developed Top US International Players
Consulting & Cooperating with:
USSF (USA), KFA (Korea), CFA (China)
Ajax of Amsterdam, Willem II (Netherlands)
Chivas Guadalajara, Mexico
Master Coach International
Sportstec International
References
Guus Hiddink
Chelsea Manager
Dick Advocaat
Former Sunderland Manager
Pim Verbeek
Former Australia & Korea National Team Coach
Bora Milutinovic
Former Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Nigeria & China National Team Coach
Steve Sampson
Former USA & Costa Rica National Team Coach
A Brief Biography
Afshin Ghotbi has been to three World Cups, won league titles in front of 110,000 fans and worked with some of the best coaches and
players in the business.
Beginning coaching at the age of 14 in California, Ghotbi helped develop some of the best American players and placing them in
professional football and leagues around the world, including John OBrien at Ajax of Amsterdam. Bora Milutinovic, who has led five teams
to the World Cup, challenged Ghotbi to become an international coach.
Ghotbis forward thinking and qualities caught the eyes of Steve Sampson, the coach of the United States and earned him a journey to
France 1998 World Cup as part of his backroom staff. It was here where he realised many things, including the role of technology in football
coaching.
He became a pioneer in the modernization of football creating tactical models and images to communicate and organize teams swiftly and
effectively using the newest computer technology.
A call followed from Guus Hiddink in 2000 and Ghotbi was part of the coaching staff as South Korea went to the semifinals. Four years later,
he was an assistant to Dick Advocaat at the 2006 tournament.
After working with Pim Verbeek with South Korea at the 2007 Asian Cup, Ghotbi was hired as head coach by Asia's biggest club, Persepolis
in Iran. In May 2008, he led the team to its only league title in 14 years, succeeding where many renowned world names -Arie Haan,
Mustafa Denizili, Zlatko Kranjcar etc- had failed.
He was then hired to rescue Iran's faltering 2010 World Cup qualification campaign. With three games remaining in eleven days, one in
North Korea, one in South Korea and one in Tehran -in front of a combined crowd of 270,000 people -Iran collected five points but just
missed out. The games were played out against the background of mass protests in Iran following the 2011 presidential elections.
Ghotbi stayed on to lead the team to the quarter-finals of the 2011 Asian Cup, bringing in new players and laying the foundations for Iran's
qualification for the 2014 World Cup under Carlos Queiroz.
Since then, he has been with J.League team Shimizu S-Pulse, keeping the team in the upper reaches of mid-table despite having one of
the smallest budgets in Japan. Not only that, Ghotbi was the only foreign manager who stayed in Japan after the nuclear radiation threat
that resulted from the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, feeling that the people needed strong leadership, hope and encouragement.
Ghotbi parted company with Shimizu in July 2014, after becoming just the seventh foreign coach in J.League history to start his fourth
season with the same club.