April 29 (Reuters) - Javad Nekounam, Iran's most-capped international and former skipper, has been appointed assistant manager of the three-times Asian champions.
The Osasuna midfielder played the last of his 151 matches for his country in the 3-1 friendly loss to Sweden earlier this month, also scoring a penalty.
He will assist former Portugal and Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz, who agreed last week to stay on as boss of Iran through the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign despite announcing he was quitting after the Sweden defeat.
Queiroz had cited a divide in the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) when announcing his resignation but the dispute was resolved by a mediator.