Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C.

Zob Ahan Esfahan Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال ذوب‌آهن اصفهان‎) is an Iranian football club based in Fuladshahr, Iran. It competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The team is sponsored by the Isfahan Steel Company, which also goes by the name Zob Ahan. The club's main rival is fellow Isfahani team Sepahan, which is also sponsored by the rival steel mill Mobarakeh Steel Company.

Zob Ahan

Full name	Zob Ahan Esfahan Football Club
Nickname(s)	Gondos (The Crocodiles)
Founded	6 July 1969
Ground	Foolad Shahr Stadium
Capacity	15,000[1]
Owner	Isfahan Steel Company
Chairman	Ahmadjamshidi
Head Coach	Rahman Rezaei
League	Persian Gulf Pro League
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Departments of Zob Ahan
Football (men)	Basketball (men)	Volleyball (men)
Taekwondo (men)	Swimming (men)	Futsal (men)
Football (women)	Basketball (women)	Taekwondo (women)

Zob Ahan club also has a basketball team, sponsored by the same Isfahan Steel Company, which is one of the teams in the Iranian Super League.

In the 2010 AFC Champions League. Zob Ahan finished as runners-up losing 3–1 to South Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the final.

Zob Ahan has won the Hazfi Cup on four occasions (2002–03, 2008–09, 2014–15 and 2015–16) and have finished as runners-up one time (2000–01). The club has also finished as League runners-up three times (2004–05, 2008–09 and 2009–10) and has won the Iranian Super Cup once (2016).

Club history

Early years (1969–1980)

Mohammad Ali Taghizadeh Farahmand established the club in 1969. They entered the Takht Jamshid Cup in 1973 and end season in the 10th place. They promoted to the quarterfinals of the Hazfi Cup in 1976. Their best results in Takht Jamshid Cup was earned in 1977–78 in the 8th place. Zob Ahan prepared its team by buying 14 players from their local rivals Sepahan.

Azadegan League (1980–2001)

The team has participated in the highest division of the Iranian league system since 1973, except for the 1995 season when they played in the 2nd division. After Iranian Revolution in 1979, Takht Jamshid Cup was suspended due to Iran–Iraq War. After the end of the war, league began again in the title of Azadegan League. They were once again promoted to the 1st division the year after.

PGPL (2001–present)

Zob Ahan currently play in the IPL starting from 2001. The club's first honor, remains the winning of the Hazfi Cup in 2003, after defeating the Shiraz-based team Moghavemat Sepasi in the finals.[2] This feat was repeated in the 2008–09 Hazfi Cup, when the club beat Rah Ahan to re-claim the title after 6 years.[3] The club made its first appearance in the AFC Champions League in 2004, as the winners of the 2003 Hazfi Cup, but were eliminated in the group stages.

Having missed out so narrowly on winning their first-ever domestic league title in the 2008–09 season, Zobahan were one of the title contenders once again in the 2009–10 season, never dropping out of the top-four positions throughout the season. However, at the end, they had to settle for second place once again after finishing six points behind their city rivals Sepahan. They also lost their grip on the Hazfi Cup after a shock 0–2 loss to a second-division side Gostaresh Foulad in the semi-finals.[4]

2010 AFC Champion League

In the 2010 AFC Champions League Zob Ahan finished first on the group stage that included FC Bunyodkor, Al-Wahda and Al-Ittihad. By finishing first they qualified for the first time for the Knockout stages. On the Round of 16 they draw country neighbours Mes Kerman winning 1–0. The club then qualified to the Quarter-finals and were drawn with title holders Pohang Steelers, Zob Ahan won 2–1 at home and draw 1–1 on Korea, knocking-out shockingly the title holders. Zob Ahan played against Saudi powerhouse Al Hilal which they won 1–0 at home, and won 1–0 on Saudi Arabia with a goal from Igor Castro leading the club to an historical Asian Champions League final where they face Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. On 13 November, in the final Zob Ahan lost 1–3 to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. At half-time the score was 0–1 with a goal from Saša Ognenovski, in the second-half Zob Ahan conceded an early goal scored by Cho Byung-Kuk making the score 0–2, Zob Ahan finally scored the goal from Mohammad Reza Khalatbari making 1–2, but on the last minutes of the game Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma scored the 1–3 and killed the game. Zob Ahan couldn't be the champions on their 2nd Asian Champions League participation always being under-dogs, but they fought like warriors and made Iran proud. The following year the club made it to the quarter finals but lost to Korean club Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

Dark years

After the 2011 Champions League, Zob Ahan's golden age seemed all but over. A 6th place league finish in 2012 meant that the club failed to retain its spot in the Champions League. The following year, the club finished 14th in the league, narrowly avoiding relegation through a play-off. Fan attendance started to dip and Zob Ahan had another sub par year in the 2013–14 Iran Pro League season, finishing 13th, changing three managers during the course of the season and again narrowly avoiding relegation.

Resurrection under Golmohammadi and Hosseini

Zob Ahan players celebrating Hazfi Cup title in 2015

In summer of 2014 Zob Ahan announced Yahya Golmohammadi as the club's new manager. Golmohammadi introduced a possession based philosophy to Zob Ahan and after a poor start to the season, Golmohammadi's tactics and the addition of Kaveh Rezaei paid off and Zob Ahan when on a six match unbeaten run which placed them 6th in week 23. On 5 December 2015 Zob Ahan defeated Persepolis 2–1 in the Hazfi Cup semi-final to advance to the final for the fourth time in club history. On 15 May 2015 after a 0–0 draw against Padideh, Zob Ahan finished fourth and returned to the AFC Champions League after five years. Zob Ahan also won their third Hazfi Cup title after defeating Naft Tehran 3–1 in the final.

On 23 February 2016 Zob Ahan won its first match AFC Champions League since 2011, defeating Lekhwiya of Qatar 1–0. Zob Ahan qualified for the Round of 16 of the AFC Champions League on 20 April 2016 after defeating Saudi club Al Nassr 3–0 in match day 5. However, Zob Ahan were defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Emirati club Al Ain in the Round of 16. Zob Ahan once again qualified for the final of the 2016 Hazfi Cup to defend their crown against Esteghlal. Zob Ahan defeated Esteghlal in penalties and won the Hazfi Cup for the fourth time in the club's history. Zob Ahan won the Iranian Super Cup after beating Esteghlal Khuzestan 4–2 in extra time. This was the first trophy that Zob Ahan won in Foolad Shahr Stadium.

In the beginning of the 2016–17, after poor results, Golmohammadi was fired as manager of the team and was replaced by Assistant coach Mojtaba Hosseini. Hosseini led Zob Ahan to the semi finals of the Hazfi Cup, where they lost to Tractor in extra time.

Colours and crest

One of Zob Ahan's nicknames is Sabzpoushan ("The Greens", Persian: سبز پوشان‎), stemming from their traditional kit, which is predominantly green. From the foundation of the club, the common home kit includes a green shirt, black or white shorts, and white or yellow socks. White and black colours are also seen in the kit. The away kit of the club is commonly with a white background.

Stadium and facilities

The home stadium of the club is Foolad Shahr Stadium located in Fooladshahr, Isfahan. The stadium had 20,000 capacity but was renovated to hold about 30,000 people in 2011. The stadium was built in 1998. There training stadium is located outside of Isfahan named Zob Ahan Private Stadium.

Rivalries

Zob Ahan is part of the Esfahan derby or Naghsh-e-Jahan derby, one of the biggest derby's in Iran. According to Iranian football journalist Afshin Afshar, the rivalry between Zob Ahan and Sepahan is one of the most important matches in the Iran Pro League.

The Esfahan derby goes back to the 1970s, when Zob Ahan and Sepahan faced each other in Takht Jamshid Cup seasons (1974/75, 1975/76, 1976/77, 1977/78). Their rivalry resumed in the 1990s when they faced each other in Azadegan League seasons (1993/94, 1996/97, 1997/98) and from then on the two met each other twice a year.

Players

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IRN Shahab Gordan 2 DF  IRN Hamid Maleki ^U25 3 DF  IRN Vahid Mohammadzadeh 5 DF  IRN Abdollah Hosseini 7 DF  IRN Masoud Ebrahimzadeh 8 MF  IRN Ghasem Hadadifar (Captain) 9 MF  IRN Ali Dashti 10 MF  SRB Ivan Marković 11 MF  IRN Milad Jahani 12 GK  IRN Yousef Behzadi 14 MF  IRN Hossein Shenani 16 FW  IRN Erfan Pourafzar 18 FW  SRB Darko Bjedov 19 DF  IRN Mehrdad Ghanbari 20 FW  IRN Abolfazl Akasheh ^U23 23 MF  IRN Reza Habibzadeh ^U25 24 DF  IRN Mohammad Ghoreishi 25 MF  IRN Mehdi Rezaei ^U19 26 DF  IRN Mohammad Ali Kazemi ^U23

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 MF  IRN Danial Momeni^U23 31  IRN Morteza Estaki ^U21 35  IRN Seifollah Shirmardi ^U19 36  IRN Ali Deymyar ^U21 37  IRN Amir Mohammad Lotfpour ^U19 39 MF  IRN Alireza Ghaderi ^U21 44 DF  IRN Farshad Mohammadi Mehr 66 MF  IRN Mohammad Soltani Mehr ^U23 74 MF  IRN Mojtaba Haghdoost 88 MF  IRN Ali Nabizadeh 99 FW  IRN Alireza Monazzemi ^U19 — DF  IRN Mohammad Reza Khaki ^U23

• U21 = Under 21 Player
• U23 = Under 23 Player
• U25 = Under 25 Player

Loan list

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  IRN Mohammad Bakhtiari ^U21 (at Niroo Zamini until June 2020) — FW  IRN Ali Khodadadi ^U23 (at Niroo Zamini until June 2020)

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2018–19.

Retired numbers

No.	Player	Position	Zob Ahan debut	Last match	ref
30	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	AM	June 2003	15 May 2018	[5]

On 18 June 2018, the club decided to retire the squad number 30 in memory of Mehdi Rajabzadeh.

Notable players

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.

Famous Players

For notable players see List of Zob Ahan F.C. players.
For details on former players see Category:Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. players.

Players on international cups

Cup	Players
1978 FIFA World Cup	Rasoul Korbekandi
1996 AFC Asian Cup	Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi
1998 FIFA World Cup	Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi
2007 AFC Asian Cup	Mehdi Rajabzadeh
2011 AFC Asian Cup	Shahab Gordan Ghasem Haddadifar Mohammad Reza Khalatbari Farshid Talebi
2014 FIFA World Cup	Ghasem Haddadifar
2018 FIFA World Cup	Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri

Club captains

#	Name	Nat	Career in Zob Ahan	Captaincy	Shirt Num
1	Rasoul Korbekandi		1969–80	1970–80	1
2	Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh		1976–86	1980–86	7
3	Rahman Rezaei		1996–01	1997–00	10
4	Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi		1995–03	2000–03	15
5	Sepehr Heidari		2000–07 2012–14	2003–07	3
6	Mohammad Salsali		2004–14	2007–14	7
7	Mehdi Rajabzadeh		2003–07 2010–11 2012–18	2014–18	30
8	Ghasem Haddadifar		2003–	2018–	8

Club officials

IPL managers

Only IPL matches are counted.

Last updated 14 January 2020.

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	Win %	Final Position
Nasser Hejazi		Jul 2001	Dec 2001	20	8	6	4	40%	3rd (until week 20)
Bahram Atef		Dec 2001	Jul 2002	6	2	3	3	33.4%	(01-02) 6th
Samvel Darbinyan		Jul 2002	May 2003	52	21	11	20	40%	(02-03) 8th (03-04) 4th
Rasoul Korbekandi		May 2003	Jun 2007	90	39	26	25	43.4%	(04-05) 2nd, (05-06) 6th, (06-07) 8th
Zoran Đorđević		Jun 2007	Oct 2007	10	3	4	3	30%	17th (until week 10)
Bijan Zolfagharnasab		Oct 2007	May 2008	24	8	11	5	33.4%	(07-08) 6th
Mansour Ebrahimzadeh		Jul 2008	Jun 2012	134	62	48	24	46.3%	(08-09) 2nd, (09-10) 2nd,(10–11) 3rd, (11-12) 6th
Rasoul Korbekandi		Jun 2012	Oct 2012	11	3	1	7	27.3%	15th (until week 11)
Farhad Kazemi		Oct 2012	Jul 2013	23	6	10	7	26%	(12-13) 14th
Mahmoud Yavari		Jun 2013	Jul 2013	2	1	1	0	50%	Win in the Relegation play-offs
Luka Bonačić		Jul 2013	Jan 2014	20	3	7	10	15%	14th (until week 20)
Mojtaba Taghavi		Jan 2014	Feb 2014	7	1	4	2	14.3%	15th (until week 27)
Firouz Karimi		Feb 2014	Jun 2014	4	3	0	1	75%	(13-14) 13th
Yahya Golmohammadi		Jun 2014	Sep 2016	67	26	26	15	38.8%	(14–15) 4th (15–16) 6th (16–17) 14th (until week 7)
Mojtaba Hosseini		Sep 2016	Jun 2017	23	11	7	5	47.8%	(16–17) 4th
Amir Ghalenoei		Jun 2017	Jun 2018	30	15	10	5	50.0%	(17-18) 2nd
Omid Namazi		Jun 2018	Nov 2018	11	2	5	4	18.1%	(18–19) 11th (until week 11)
Alireza Mansourian		Nov 2018	Dec 2019	35	10	14	11	36.8%	(18-19) 6th (19–20) 11th (until week 16)
Miodrag Radulović		Jan 2020	Jun 2020	5	2	1	2	40.0%	(19–20) 11th (until week 21)
Luka Bonačić		Jun 2020	Present	0	0	0	0	—

Current coaching staff

[6]

Position	Name
Head Coach	Luka Bonačić
Assistant Coaches	Hassan Esteki Mohammad Salsali
Goalkeeping Coach	José Caetano Mendes
Fitness Coach	Glydiston Egberto de Oliveira Ananias
Analyst	Kianoush Forouzesh
Physiotherapist	Abbas Moradi Behzad Moradi
Doctor	Amir Hossein Sharifianpour
Logistics	Mahmoud Mehruyan
Team Director	Rahman Rezaei
B team manager	Mehdi Rajabzadeh
Media Officer	Ehsan Baeedi

Chairpersons

Chairperson	Tenure
Mohammad Mehdi Taghizadeh	July 1969 – July 1977
Mostafa Ghanei	July 1977 – February 1979
Asghar Nilchian	May 1979 – May 1984
Fazollah Omranian	May 1984 – May 1988
Heydar Taheri	May 1988 – May 1992
Nematollah Zargar	May 1992 – June 1996
Alireza Shogi	June 1996 – June 2004
Saeed Azari	June 2004 – June 2009
Asghar Dalili	June 2009 – August 2011
Khosro Ebrahimi	August 2011 – September 2013
Saeed Azari	September 2013 – present

Season-by-season

For details on seasons, see List of Zob Ahan F.C. seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Zob Ahan since 1973.

Season	League	Position	Hazfi Cup	ACL	Notes
1973–74	Takht Jamshid Cup	10th	Not held	Did not qualify
1974–75		11th
1975–76		9th	1/8 Final
1976–77		15th	1/16 Final
1977–78		8th	Not held
1978–79		N/A			did not finish
1981–82	Isfahan's 2nd Division	1st			Promoted
1983–84	Isfahan League	3rd
1984–85		2nd
1991–92		5th
1993–94	Azadegan League	4th	1/8 Final
1994–95		8th	1/16 Final		Relegated
1995–96	2nd Division	2nd	1/8 Final		Promoted
1996–97	Azadegan League	10th	1/8 Final
1997–98		3rd	Not held
1998–99		12th	Third Round
1999–00		5th	First Round
2000–01		4th	Final
2001–02	Iran Pro League	6th	Quarterfinal
2002–03		8th	Cup
2003–04		4th	Semi-Final	First Round
2004–05		2nd	1/8 Final	Did not qualify
2005–06		6th	1/8 Final
2006–07		8th	1/16 Final
2007–08		6th	1/8 Final
2008–09		2nd	Cup
2009–10		2nd	Semi-Final	Runner-up
2010–11		3rd	1/16 Final	1/4 Final
2011–12		6th	1/8 Final	Play-off
2012–13		14th	1/4 Final	Did not qualify
2013–14		13th	1/4 Final
2014–15		4th	Cup
2015–16		6th	Cup	1/8 Final	Super Cup
2016–17		4th	Semi-Final	First Round
2017–18		2nd	1/16 Final	1/8 Final
2018–19		6th	1/16 Final	1/8 Final
2019–20		12th	1/16 Final	Did not qualify

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, (players in bold signifies current Zob Ahan player). Mehdi Rajabzadeh is the club's all-time most capped player and top scorer with 93 goals in 296 games. This list includes goals from Iran Premier League.

Most appearances

As of 6 May 2020

	Name	Nationality	position	total
1	Ghasem Haddadifar	Iran	Midfielder	330
2	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	Iran	Forward	296
3	Esmaeil Farhadi	Iran	Forward	280
4	Rasoul Korbekandi	Iran	Goalkeeper	265
5	Mohammad Salsali	Iran	Defender	220
6	Sepehr Heidari	Iran	Defender	175
7	Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi	Iran	Defender	164
8	Mohammad Mansouri	Iran	Midfielder	155
9	Hassan Ashjari	Iran	Defender	139
10	Morteza Tabrizi	Iran	Forward	138

Top Goalscorers

As of 6 May 2019

Player		Period	Appearances in PL	Goals in PL	Appearances	Goals
1	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	2003–07; 2010–11; 2012–18	296	93	353	106
2	Morteza Tabrizi	2013–18	138	39	179	53
3	Esmaeil Farhadi	2005–15	280	44	308	47
4	Mohammad Reza Khalatbari	2006–11; 2019–	129	34	157	43
5	Igor Castro	2008–12	121	30	153	42

Top Scorers by season

Season	Player	Goals
2001–02	Reza Sahebi	7
2002–03	Reza Sahebi	6
2003–04	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	9
2004–05	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	8
2005–06	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	14
2006–07	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	17
2007–08	Esmaeil Farhadi	9
2008–09	Igor Castro	16
2009–10	Mohammad Reza Khalatbari	11
2010–11	Seyed Mohammad Hosseini	12
2011–12	Mohammad Ghazi	7
2012–13	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	8
2013–14	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	9
2014–15	Masoud Hassanzadeh	9
2015–16	Morteza Tabrizi	7
2016–17	Morteza Tabrizi	11
2017–18	Morteza Tabrizi	13
2018–19	Amir Arsalan Motahari	6

Asian record

Gordan

Talebi

Ahmadi

Hosseini

Mahini

Kheiri

Haddadifar

Igor Castro

Khalatbari

Rajabzadeh

Ghazi

Zob Ahan's starting line-up Final against Seongnam, 2010 AFC Champions League

Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League

Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League
Season	Round	Rival	Home	Away	Rank/Agg.	Notes
2004	Group Stage (Group A)	Pakhtakor	1–0	2–0	2
		Qatar SC	3–3	0–0
		Riffa	–	–
2010	Group Stage (Group B)	Al-Wahda	1–0	1–0	1	Runners-up
		Al-Ittihad	1–0	2–2
		Bunyodkor	3–0	0–1
	Round of 16	Mes Kerman	1–0	–	1–0
	Quarter-finals	Pohang Steelers	2–1	1–1	3–2
	Semi-finals	Al-Hilal	1–0	0–1	2–0
	Final	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	–	–	1–3
2011	Group Stage (Group D)	Emirates	2–1	0–1	1
		Al-Shabab	0–1	0–0
		Al-Rayyan	1–0	1–3
	Round of 16	Al-Nassr	4–1	–	4–1
	Quarter-finals	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–2	1–1	2–3
2012	Qualifying play-off	Esteghlal	–	2–0	2–0	Not Qualify
2016	Group Stage (Group B)	Lekhwiya	0–0	0–1	1
		Bunyodkor	5–2	0–0
		Al-Nassr	3–0	0–3
	Round of 16	Al-Ain	0–2	1–1	1–3
2017	Group Stage (Group C)	Al-Ain	0–3	1–1	3
		Al-Ahli	1–2	2–0
		Bunyodkor	2–1	0–2
2018	Qualifying play-off	Aizawl	3–1	–	3–1	Qualify
	Group Stage (Group B)	Al Wahda	2–0	3–0	2
		Lokomotiv	2–0	1–1
		Al-Duhail	0–1	3–1
	Round of 16	Esteghlal	1–0	3–1	3–2
2019	Preliminary round 2	Al-Kuwait	1–0	–	1–0	Qualify
	Qualifying play-off	Al-Gharafa	–	2–3	3–2
	Group Stage (Group A)	Al-Zawraa	0–0	2–2	1
		Al-Wasl	2–0	1–3
		Al-Nassr	0–0	2–3
	Round of 16	Al-Ittihad	3–4	2–1	4–6

Club honours

Domestic

• 1st Division/Persian Gulf Pro League

Runners-up (4): 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2017–18

• Hazfi Cup:

Winners (4): 2002–03, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2015–16

Runners-up (1): 2000–01

• Super Cup

Winners (1): 2016

Continental

• AFC Champions League

Runners-up (1): 2010

Ownership

The owner of the Zob Ahan FC is Isfahan Steel Company. Company is the first Iranian steel maker opened in late 1960, based close to the cities of Fooladshahr and Zarrinshahr, Isfahan Province.

Zob Ahan-e Esfahan and Iran's first car manufacturer, Iran National (renamed Iran Khodro after the Iranian revolution) were parts of a significant move from mainly agriculture-based economy toward industrialization by the pre-revolutionary government of Amir Abbas Hoveida.

References

1. "World Stadiums - Stadiums in Iran". www.worldstadiums.com.
2. http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/27160%5B%5D
3. http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/27160%5B%5D
4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. varzesh3. "رجب زاده خداحافظی کرد شماره 30 بایگانی شد". Retrieved 18 June 2017.

External links

• Official website

External

• Player Statistics