Doha (CNN) — For a man who had spent the first 13 years of his life growing up in pre-Revolution Iran, Afshin Ghotbi’s first job in Iranian football was all about going back to basics: He had to relearn his mother tongue, Farsi, almost from scratch.
“Coming back to my roots, speaking very little Farsi, I had to communicate with my heart,” explained the 46-year-old coach of Iran’s national team, talking in a pronounced west coast American drawl. “The connection I made with the Iranian people was fascinating.”
He has taken a circuitous and remarkable route to leading a side which is this month seeking to win its first Asian Cup title since 1976.
