Zob Ahan Isfahan F.C.

Zob Ahan
ذوب آهن
	File:Zob Ahan F.C. logo.png
Full name	Zob Ahan CSC
Nickname(s)	Crocodiles
Founded	6 July 1969; 45 years ago
Ground	Foolad Shahr Stadium
Capacity	15,000
Owner	Isfahan Steel Company
Chairman	Saeed Azari
Head Coach	Yahya Golmohammadi
League	Persian Gulf Pro League
2014–15	Persian Gulf Pro League, 4th
Website	Club home page
	Current season

Zob Ahan Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال ذوب آهن‎‎) is an Iranian football club based in Isfahan, Iran. They compete 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.

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 Leaguem 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 three occasions (2002–03, 2008–09 and 2014–15) 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).

After the arrival of Yahya Golmohammadi in 2014 the club became known for playing beautiful and possession based football.^[2]

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.

IPL (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.^[3] This feat was repeated in the 2008–09 Hazfi Cup, when the club beat Rah Ahan to re-claim the title after 6 years.^[4] 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.^[5]

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 November 13, 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

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.

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

As of 7 January 2016^[6] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Mohammad Bagher Sadeghi
2	DF	Mohammad Nejad Mehdi
3	DF	Walid Ismail
4	DF	Hadi Mohammadi
7	FW	Masoud Hassanzadeh
8	MF	Ghasem Hadadifar (Captain)
9	FW	Kaveh Rezaei
11	FW	Morteza Tabrizi
12	GK	Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri
13	FW	Mohammad Reza Hosseini
15	MF	Ehsan Pahlevan ^U23
16	MF	Mehdi Mehdipour ^U23
17	FW	Marco Aurélio Iubel
18	DF	Ali Hamam
19	DF	Mehrdad Ghanbari
20	DF	Hojjat Haghverdi ^U23

No.	Position	Player
21	DF	Saeb Mohebi ^U23
23	FW	Danial Esmaeilifar ^U23
24	MF	Reza Shekari ^U21
25	FW	Mohammadreza Abbasi ^U21
26	DF	Nima Taheri ^U21
28	FW	Ali Khodadadi ^U21
30	FW	Mehdi Rajabzadeh (Vice captain)
32	MF	Mehran Derakhshan Mehr ^U21
33	GK	Mohamamd Amin Bahrami ^U21
35	MF	Kamran Momeni ^U21
36	DF	Kianoush Eghbali ^U21
40	GK	Peyman Salmani ^U23
	DF	Vahid Mohammadzadeh
	MF	Ahmad Amir Kamdar
	DF	Hashem Beikzadeh

For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2015–16.

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.

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	Farshid Talebi Mohammad Reza Khalatbari Ghasem Haddadifar Shahab Gordan
2014 FIFA World Cup	Ghasem Haddadifar

Club captains

#	Name	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	Ghasem Hadadifar	2003–	2014–	8

Club officials

IPL managers

Only IPL matches are counted.

Last updated 15 May 2015.

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
Name	Nat	From	To	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
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	Present	47	22	16	9	46.7%	(14-15) 4th

Current coaching staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	Yahya Golmohammadi
Assistant Coach	Mojtaba Hosseini
Assistant Coach	Hassan Esteki
Goalkeeping Coach	Davoud Fanaei
Fitness Coach	Behzad Noshadi
Physiotherapist	Abbas Moradi
Performance Analyst	Reza Nasr Esfahani
Analyzer	Mohammad Askari
Doctor	Dr. Amir Hossein Sharifianpour
Logistics	Mahmoud Mehruyan
Team Director	Ali Shojaei

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

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

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 76 goals in 219 games. This list includes goals from Iran premier league.

File:Mehdi Rajabzadeh.jpg

Mehdi Rajabzadeh is all time goalscorer for the club.

**Top Ten Highest Goalscorers**
Player		Period	Appearances	Goals
1	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	2003–07; 2010–11; 2012–present	219	76
2	Esmaeil Farhadi	2005–present	280	44
3	Mohammad Reza Khalatbari	2006–11	128	34
4	Igor Castro	2008–12	121	30

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

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-Ittihad	1–0	2–2	1	Runners-up
		Bunyodkor	3–0	0–1
		Al-Wahda	1–0	1–0
	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)	Al-Rayyan	0–1	1–3	1
		Emirates	2–1	0–1
		Al-Shabab	0–1	0–0
	Round of 16	Al-Nassr	4–1	–	4–1
	Quarter-finals	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–1	2–1	2–3
2012	Qualifying play-off	Esteghlal	–	2–0	2–0	Not Qualify

Top Goalscorers in AFC Champions League

Rank	Player	Goals	Seasons
1	Igor Castro	8	2010,2011,2012
2	Mohammad Reza Khalatbari	6	2010,2011
2	Mohammad Ghazi	6	2010,2011,2012
3	Seyed Mohammad Hosseini	2	2010,2011
	Ghasem Haddadifar	2	2010,2011
	Esmaeil Farhadi	2	2010,2011,2012
4	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	1	2004,2010
	Shahin Kheiri	1	2010,2011
	Emmanuel Ezukam	1	2004
	Ali Tahmasebi	1	2004
	Reza Azizi	1	2004
	Hamid Azizzadeh	1	2004

Club honours

Domestic

Iran Pro League

Runners-up (3): 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10

Hazfi Cup:

Winners (3): 2002–03, 2008–09, 2014–15

Runners-up (1): 2000–01

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

External links

External

Player Statistics

Official

Official club website

Achievements
Preceded by Al-Ittihad	ACL Runner-up 2010	Succeeded by Jeonbuk
Preceded by Esteghlal F.C.	IPL Runner-up 2004–05	Succeeded by PAS Tehran
Preceded by Sepahan F.C.	IPL Runner-up 2008–09	Succeeded by Holders
Preceded by Holders	IPL Runner-up 2009–10	Succeeded by Esteghlal F.C.
Preceded by Esteghlal F.C.	Hazfi Cup Champions 2002–03	Succeeded by Sepahan F.C.
Preceded by Esteghlal F.C.	Hazfi Cup Champions 2008–09	Succeeded by Perspolis F.C.
Preceded by Tractor Sazi F.C.	Hazfi Cup Champions 2014–15	Succeeded by Incumbent

[1] ttp://www.worldstadiums.com/middle_east/countries/iran.shtml

[2] ttp://video.varzesh3.com/iran/premier-league/%D8%AA%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B0%D9%88%D8%A8-%D8%A2%D9%87%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7/

[3] ttp://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/27160

[4] ttp://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/27160

[5] ttp://images.the-afc.com/mediakit/acl2010/acl2010-presskit-qf2-zob-poh.pdf

[6] ttp://ffiri.ir/club/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B4%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%84%DB%8C%DA%AF-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B1/101/%D8%B0%D9%88%D8%A8-%D8%A2%D9%87%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%81%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86/10009/

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Departments of Zob Ahan

Football (men)	Basketball (men)	Volleyball (men)

Taekwondo (men)	Swimming (men)	Futsal (men)

Football (women)	Basketball (women)	Taekwondo (women)

v t e Zob Ahan Isfahan Sport Club
Football Basketball Players Current squad Managers
Ground Foolad Shahr Stadium
Seasons 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2015–16
Rivalry Naqsh-e jahan derby

v t e Persian Gulf Pro League
2015–16 teams	Esteghlal Esteghlal Khuzestan Esteghlal Ahvaz Foolad Gostaresh Malavan Naft Tehran Padideh Persepolis Rah Ahan Saba Saipa Sepahan Siah Jamegan Tractor Sazi Zob Ahan
Former teams	Aboomoslem Aluminium Hormozgan Bargh Shiraz Damash Esteghlal Rasht Fajr Sepasi Gahar Zagros Mes Kerman Mes Sarcheshmeh Naft Masjed Soleyman PAS Hamedan Pas Tehran Payam Mashhad Paykan Pegah Gilan Sanat Naft Shahin Bushehr Shahrdari Tabriz Shamoushak Shirin Faraz Steel Azin Tarbiat Yazd
Competition	Champions Iranian league system Foreign players
Statistics and awards	Winning managers Top scorers all-time by season Football Awards
Associated competitions	Hazfi Cup Iranian Super Cup Azadegan League 2nd Division 3rd Division
Seasons	2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16
List of transfers	summer 2012 winter 2012–13 summer 2013 winter 2013–14 summer 2014 winter 2014–15 summer 2015 winter 2015–16

v t e Football in Iran
League competitions	Persian Gulf Pro League Azadegan League 2nd Division 3rd Division Provincial League Kowsar league
Cup competitions	Hazfi Cup
Defunct competitions	Super Cup Takht Jamshid Cup
National teams	Men's B-team Women's M U-23 M U-20 W U-20 M U-17 M U-15
Lists and categories	League system Champions Foreign players List of clubs List of venues List of managers Top goalscorers all-time by season Clubs in the AFC Champions League
Iran Football Federation Iran Football League Organization Football Association of Iranian Club