Winfried Schäfer - Esteghlal Coach

Cameroon
Schäfer won the African Nations Cup in 2002 with Cameroon.

Al-Ahli
In 2006, he won the UAE national championship with Al-Ahli Football Club. He worked then from 2007 to 2009 for UAE League side Al-Ain FC.

FK Baku
On 10 June 2010, Schäfer signed a two-year contract with FK Baku. On 18 January 2011 his contract was ended.[2]

Thailand

Schäfer with coaching Thailand against Oman in 2011
In June 2011, Schäfer was hired as Thailand manager on a three-year contract.[3] In June 2013, Schäfer and Football Association of Thailand mutually agreed to cancel the contract.[4]

Jamaica
On 17 July 2013, it was announced that Schäfer will become the new coach of Jamaica replacing Theodore Whitmore.[5] Schäfer was assisted by Vin Blaine In June 2015 at the Copa América, Jamaica put in an incredible performance, being drawn in the same group as regional powers Argentina and Uruguay, who both defeated Jamaica by a single goal. Shortly after, on July 22, 2015 Schäfer's team reached the Final of the Gold Cup after beating tournament favourites the United States.

In February 2017 he was one of a number of managers on the shortlist for the vacant Rwanda national team manager role.[6]

Esteghlal
On 2 October 2017, Schäfer was chosen to become the new manager of Iranian club Esteghlal, following Alireza Mansourian's resignation as team's head coach.[7] The next day, he signed his official contract with Esteghlal until the end of the season.[8]

Schäfer with Esteghlal in 2017
Upon being appointed, Schäfer re-called Esteghlal's captain Mehdi Rahmati who was banned from joining the team by the previous coach, Alireza Mansourian,[9] as well as asking the management to re-sign Behnam Barzay whose contract wasn't renewed and became a free agent in summer.[10] Schäfer also chose to continue working with Mick McDermott (whom he worked with as fitness coach in Al Ain) as Esteghlal's assistant manager,[11] however they had a conflict later on and McDermott left the club on 30 October.[12] Jiri Sanak and Miguel Coley were announced to replace him as Schäfer's assistant coach.[13]

His first official match as Esteghlal's coach was the 0–0 against Foolad in Azadi Stadium on 13 October.[14] His first victory came against Nassaji Mazandaran in Hazfi Cup, which Esteghlal won the match 2–1.[15] He won his first league match on 31 October beating Naft Talaieh 2–0.[16]

During the winter transfer window, he offloaded players which were not part of his plans for the rest of the season. Hassan Beyt Saeed joined Foolad[17] whlie Yaghoub Karimi went to Esteghlal Khuzestan.[18] Sajjad Shahbazzadeh joined Qatar SC on a free transfer.[19] In association with Esteghlal vice president Seyed Pendar Toufighi, two new signings were made by Schäfer; free agent's Bojan Najdenov and Mame Baba Thiam arrived at the club.[20][21][22]

On 28 December Schäfer's Esteghlal beat Esteghlal Khuzestan 3–0 and became the first team to reach a total of 900 points in all-time Persian Gulf Pro League table.[23][24] In the 2018 AFC Champions League, Schäfer's team were drawn against Al-Rayyan, Al Ain and Al-Hilal in the competition's group of death.[25] However, they did not lose a game, topping the group with some impressive performances.[26] On 1 March 2018, Schäfer won his first Tehran derby as a manager in a 1–0 victory;[27] this was also his third win against Branko Ivanković, having previously beaten him twice in 2. Bundesliga with Tennis Borussia Berlin when Branko was the manager of Hannover 96 during the 1999–2000 season.[28] On 3 May 2018, Schäfer extended his contract until June 2020.[29] On the same day, Schäfer won his first trophy with Esteghlal, the Hazfi Cup, when his side defeated Khooneh be Khooneh 1–0, with Mame Baba Thiam scoring the only goal. Esteghlal extended their record of 7 Hazfi Cups.[30]