Print
AFC Champions League 2017   Zob Ahan   Morteza Tabrizi  

Tasnim - Asian Football Confederation (AFC) site has said Morteza Tabrizi is an integral part of the Zob Ahan in the AFC Champions League.

Iran’s Zob Ahan has been drawn in Group C along with Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli, Al Ain of the UAE and Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor.

Zob Ahan retained the Hazfi Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Esteghlal after a 1-1 draw in May’s final to ensure a return to the AFC Champions League for a second successive year.

In 2016, the Isfahan based club won four and drew two of their six Group Stage games to advance to the knockout phase ahead of Lekhwiya, Al Nassr and Bunyodkor.

The Iranian side exited in the Round of 16, though, as eventual runner-up Al Ain ran out 3-1 aggregate winner.

Zob Ahan’s best ever performance came in 2010 when they finished runner-up to Korea Republic’s Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, while they also reached the quarter-final a year later.

Now in his fourth year with the club, forward Morteza Tabrizi has established himself as an integral part of the Zob Ahan side, finishing as its top scorer in the 2015/16 domestic season.

Mehdi Rajabzadeh, who boasts more than 250 appearances over three spells with the club, continues to supply goals and the 38-year-old captain netted twice in last season’s AFC Champions League.

Goalkeeper Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri kept five clean sheets in the 2016 Group Stage as Zob Ahan stormed into the Round of 16. The talented custodian made his national team debut last year.