Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Zob Ahan

Full name	Zob Ahan Esfahan Football Club
Nickname(s)	Gandos (The Marsh Crocodiles)
Short name	Zob Ahan
Founded	6 July 1969; 55 years ago (1969-07-06)
Ground	Foolad Shahr Stadium
Ground Capacity	15,000
Owner	Isfahan Steel Company
Chairman	Nima Nakisa
Head Coach	Mohammad Rabiei
League	Persian Gulf Pro League
2023–24	Persian Gulf Pro League, 5th
Home colours Away colours

Zob Ahan Esfahan Football Club is a professional football team from Fuladshahr, Iran. They play in the Persian Gulf Pro League, which is the top football league in Iran. The team is supported by the Isfahan Steel Company. Zob Ahan's biggest rival is Sepahan, another team from Isfahan.

Zob Ahan also has a basketball team. This team is also sponsored by the Isfahan Steel Company. It is one of the top teams in the Iranian Super League.

In 2010, Zob Ahan reached the final of the 2010 AFC Champions League. They finished as runners-up after losing to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma from South Korea. The club has won the Hazfi Cup four times and the Iranian Super Cup once.

Club History

How it Started (1969–1980)

The Zob Ahan football club was created in 1969 by Mohammad Ali Taghizadeh Farahmand. They joined the Takht Jamshid Cup in 1973. Their best finish in this cup was 8th place in 1977–78.

The Azadegan League Years (1980–2001)

Zob Ahan has almost always played in Iran's top football division since 1973. The only exception was in 1995 when they played in the second division. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the Iran–Iraq War, the Takht Jamshid Cup was stopped. A new league, the Azadegan League, started later. Zob Ahan was promoted back to the top division the year after.

Playing in the Persian Gulf Pro League (2001–Present)

Since 2001, Zob Ahan has been playing in the Iran Pro League (IPL). Their first major trophy was the Hazfi Cup in 2003. They won it by beating Moghavemat Sepasi in the final. They won the Hazfi Cup again in 2009.

Zob Ahan played in the AFC Champions League for the first time in 2004. They qualified because they won the 2003 Hazfi Cup. However, they were knocked out in the group stage.

In the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons, Zob Ahan came close to winning the league title. They finished second both times. In 2010, they also reached the semi-finals of the Hazfi Cup but lost.

AFC Champions League Success (2010)

In the 2010 AFC Champions League, Zob Ahan did very well. They finished first in their group, which included strong teams like FC Bunyodkor and Al-Ittihad. This was their first time reaching the knockout stages.

In the Round of 16, they beat fellow Iranian team Mes Kerman. Then, in the quarter-finals, they surprised everyone by knocking out the defending champions, Pohang Steelers. Zob Ahan continued their amazing run by beating Saudi powerhouse Al Hilal in the semi-finals. This led them to the final against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. On November 13, Zob Ahan lost the final 3–1. Even though they didn't win, reaching the final was a huge achievement for the team. The next year, they reached the quarter-finals again but lost to Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

Tough Times and Comeback (2011-Present)

After their great run in 2011, Zob Ahan had some difficult years. They finished 14th in the league in 2013 and 13th in 2014. They barely avoided being moved down to a lower league.

Zob Ahan players celebrating their Hazfi Cup title in 2015.

In 2014, Yahya Golmohammadi became the new manager. The team started to improve. In 2015, Zob Ahan reached the Hazfi Cup final again and won their third title by beating Naft Tehran. They also finished fourth in the league, which meant they qualified for the AFC Champions League again after five years.

In 2016, Zob Ahan continued their success. They won their first AFC Champions League match since 2011. They made it to the Round of 16 but were defeated by Al Ain. Zob Ahan also won the Hazfi Cup for the fourth time in 2016, beating Esteghlal in a penalty shootout. They then won the Iranian Super Cup by defeating Esteghlal Khuzestan. This was their first trophy won at their home stadium, Foolad Shahr Stadium.

Later in 2016, Golmohammadi left, and Mojtaba Hosseini took over as manager. Hosseini led the team to the semi-finals of the Hazfi Cup.

Team Colors and Logo

Zob Ahan is often called Sabzpoushan, which means "The Greens". This is because their main uniform is mostly green. Their home kit usually has a green shirt, black or white shorts, and white or yellow socks. White and black colors are also part of their uniform. When they play away from home, their kit is usually white.

Home Stadium

The team's home stadium is Foolad Shahr Stadium. It is located in Fooladshahr, Isfahan. The stadium was built in 1998. It used to hold 20,000 people, but it was updated in 2011 to hold about 30,000 fans.

Rivalries

Zob Ahan has a big rivalry with Sepahan. This rivalry is known as the Esfahan derby or Naghsh-e-Jahan derby. It started in the 1970s when both teams played in the Takht Jamshid Cup. They have continued to play each other twice a year since the 1990s.

Players

Current Team Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Parsa Jafari 2 DF Amirhossein Jeddi 3 DF Hesam Nafari 4 DF Mohammad Ghoreishi (Captain) 5 DF Ramtin Soleimanzadeh 6 MF Fardin Yousefi 7 FW Majid Aliyari Fs player|no=9|pos=MF|nat=IRN|name=Mehdi Mamizadeh}} 10 FW Morteza Tabrizi 11 MF Kamal Kamyabinia 12 GK Davoud Noushi Soufiani 14 MF Pouya Mokhtari 16 DF Pouria Aria Kia 17 MF Ahmad Shariatzadeh 18 MF Mehran Nafari 19 DF Pedram Ghazipour

No. Position Player 20 FW Hadi Baghban 23 FW Mohsen Azarbad 26 DF Abolfazl Hosseinifar 28 FW Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana 30 FW Ali Eslami 33 GK Mohammad Sadegh Salehi 35 DF Grigol Chabradze 40 DF Fariborz Gerami 55 DF Hossein Shaverdi 63 DF Danial Eiri 69 DF Shayan Mosleh 70 FW Omid Latifi 77 DF Davoud Rajabi 79 MF Sobhan Khaghani 88 MF Hassan Shoushtari

Retired Jersey Numbers

Sometimes, a club will stop using a jersey number to honor a special player. Zob Ahan retired the number 30 jersey on June 18, 2018. This was done to remember Mehdi Rajabzadeh, a great player who wore that number.

No.	Player	Position	Zob Ahan debut	Last match	ref
30	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	Attacking Midfielder	June 2003	15 May 2018

Players in International Cups

Many Zob Ahan players have represented their country in big international tournaments like the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup.

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

Team Captains

Here are some of the players who have been captains for Zob Ahan:

#	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		2003–2021	2018–2021	8
9	Masoud Ebrahimzadeh		2018–2023	2021–2023	7

Club Officials

Head Coaches in the IPL

Here is a list of the head coaches who have managed Zob Ahan in the Iran Pro League:

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%	(19–20) 11th (until week 21)
Luka Bonačić		Jun 2020	Aug 2020	9	2	2	5	22.2%	(19–20) 12th
Rahman Rezaei		Sep 2020	Feb 2021	15	1	8	6	6.6%	(20–21) 14th (until week 15)
Mojtaba Hosseini		Mar 2021	Aug 2021	12	3	3	6	25%	(20–21) 14th
Mehdi Tartar		Aug 2021	Present	30	10	7	13	30%	(21–22) 7th

Current Coaching Staff

This is the team that helps the head coach manage the players:

Position	Name
Head coach	Mehdi Tartar
Assistant coaches	Hossein Pashaei Mohammad Salsali Mohammad Nouri
Goalkeeping coach	Hossein Inanlou
Fitness coach	Amir Jamali
Analyst	Kianoush Forouzesh
Physiotherapist	Abbas Moradi Behzad Moradi
Doctor	Amir Hossein Sharifianpour
Logistics	Mahmoud Mehruyan
Team Manager	Mahmoud Yazdkhasti
B team Head Coach	Mehdi Rajabzadeh
Media Officer	Ehsan Baeedi

Club Chairpersons

The chairperson is like the president of the club. Here are the people who have held that role:

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 – August 2019
Javad Mohammadi	August 2019 – January 2020
Ahmad Jamshidi	January 2020 – September 2020
Javad Mohammadi	September 2020 – January 2021
Mojtaba Fereydouni	January 2021 – July 2023
Nima Nakisa	July 2023 – present

Season by Season Performance

This table shows how Zob Ahan has performed in different leagues and cups 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		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
2020–21		14th	1/16 Final	did not qualify
2021–22		7th	1/16 Final	did not qualify

Player Records

Most Appearances

These players have played the most games for Zob Ahan:

As of 6 May 2020

	Name	Nationality	position	total
1	Ghasem Haddadifar	Iran	Midfielder	410
2	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	Iran	Forward	348
3	Rasoul Korbekandi	Iran	Goalkeeper	308
4	Esmaeil Farhadi	Iran	Forward	303
5	Mohammad Salsali	Iran	Defender	235
6	Sepehr Heidari	Iran	Defender	183
7	Morteza Tabrizi	Iran	Forward	178
8	Rashid Mazaheri	Iran	Goalkeeper	175
9	Mohammad Mansouri	Iran	Midfielder	163
	Sina Ashouri	Iran	Midfielder	163

Top Goal Scorers

These players have scored the most goals for Zob Ahan:

As of 6 May 2019

Player		Appearances	Goals
1	Mehdi Rajabzadeh	348	106
2	Morteza Tabrizi	178	54
3	Reza Sahebi	147	49
4	Esmaeil Farhadi	303	47
5	Mohammad Reza Khalatbari	160	44
6	Igor Castro	153	42
7	Mohammad Ghazi	111	28
8	Mohammad Hosseini	111	25
9	Ghasem Haddadifar	410	22
10	Mohsen Mosalman	157	21

Top Scorers Each Season

This table shows the top goal scorer for Zob Ahan in each 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 Competition Record

Zob Ahan has played in the AFC Champions League, which is Asia's biggest club football competition.

AFC Champions League Matches

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 Trophies

In Iran

• 1st Division/Persian Gulf Pro League
  • Runners-up (4 times): 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2017–18
• Hazfi Cup
  • Winners (4 times): 2002–03, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Runners-up (1 time): 2000–01
• Super Cup
  • Winners (1 time): 2016

In Asia

• AFC Champions League
  • Runners-up (1 time): 2010

Who Owns the Club?

The Zob Ahan FC is owned by the Isfahan Steel Company. This company was the first steel maker in Iran, starting in the late 1960s. It is located near the cities of Fooladshahr and Zarrinshahr in Isfahan Province.

The creation of the Isfahan Steel Company and Iran National (now Iran Khodro, a car manufacturer) was part of a plan to change Iran's economy. The country wanted to move from being mostly based on farming to having more industries.

See also

In Spanish: Zob Ahan FC para niños