Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
How they qualified: Winners - Iran Pro League 2011
Established 1944
Nickname Yellows
Home stadium Foolad Shahr Stadium (12,000)
Website www.fooladsepahansport.com
Club Honours
Iranian league champions 3 - 2003, 10, 11
Hazfi Cup winners 3 - 2004, 06, 07
Previous ACL appearances
2004 - Group stage
2005 - Group stage
2007 - Runners-up
2008 - Group stage
2009 - Group stage
2010 - Group stage
2011 - Quarter-finals
Eliminated from last year's quarter-finals after a costly administrative error, reigning Iranian league champions Sepahan will enter this year's tournament keen to make amends.
Playing against Al Sadd in the last eight, the Esfahan side battled to a 1-0 victory over their Qatari opponents in the first leg only to have the result overturned to a 3-0 defeat after it was discovered that they should not have fielded goalkeeper Rahman Ahmadi, who had to serve a one-game suspension after he had been shown two yellow cards while playing for Piroozi during the group stage.
Forced to come back from a three-goal deficit in Doha, the Yellows made a valiant effort and reduced the deficit with first-half goals by Emad Mohammed and Hassan Ashjari. But they ran out of steam after the break and lost 4-2 on aggregate to the eventual champions after Mamadou Niang killed off the match with a late goal.
At the time of that defeat, Sepahan had also made a sluggish start to the defence of their Iranian league title and Croatian coach Luka Bonacic was sacked soon afterwards following a 3-0 loss to Mes Kerman left them in fifth place after nine games.
He was replaced by former Montenegro national coach, Zlatko Kranjcar, who engineered a magnificent revival that saw the club win 11 and lose just one of their next 16 games to fire them back up to first place and put them back on course for a third straight Iranian league championship.
Expectations
Sepahan are carrying plenty of momentum into the AFC Champions League group stage after a run of seven straight victories that has powered them to the top of the Iranian league. With the experience that the Sepahan players have gained from playing regularly in the AFC Champions League and the sense of indignation that they may feel about the way that they went out of last season's competition, they should be favourites to top Group C and progress to the knockout stage.
Coach
Zlatko Kranjcar
When Luka Bonacic was dismissed after Sepahan's poor start to the season, the Iranian side turned to his Croatian compatriot Zlatko Kranjcar to take his place. The 55-year-old, who was in charge of Montenegro for much of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, has improved things at the Esfahan club since his arrival and put them firmly on course for a third consecutive league title after an impressive run of results.
Did you know?
Sepahan reached the AFC Champions League final in 2007 despite winning only one game during the knockout stage. The Esfahan club eliminated Japan's Kawasaki Frontale in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals after both legs ended goalless and downed Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates in the semi-finals with a 3-1 home win in the first leg and 0-0 draw in the return match. They lost 3-1 on aggregate to Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in the final.
Key Player
Emad Mohamed Ridha
A key player in Iraq's fairy tale run to the Olympic semi-finals in 2004, forward Emad Mohammed Ridha also played a big role in helping Sepahan to reach the AFC Champions League final three years later. After an unsuccessful spell at Egyptian giants Zamalek, the 29-year-old returned to Sepahan last summer and he has been in prolific form for the Yellows during their recent strong run of form in the Iranian league.