Molina marked as Seongnam dangerman

AFC – TOKYO, Zob Ahan coach Mansour Ebrahimzadeh picked out Mauricio Molina as the man his side need to stop if they are to defeat Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma at Tokyo’s National Stadium and lift the AFC Champions League trophy for the first time.

The Colombian forward has seven goals to his name in the tournament and heads into Saturday’s game with the chance of claiming the Golden Boot.

A hat-trick against Zob Ahan will be enough for him to supplant Jose Mota at the top of scoring charts, meaning he will no doubt be hungrier than ever to fire his side to victory.

“They are a very clever team and Molina is a very important player,” added Ebrahimzadeh (pictured).

“We will both be giving our best so we cannot predict what will happen. All we can do is set the goal and do our best.”

Whatever happens on Sunday, Zob Ahan can certainly be proud of their performance at the AFC Champions League and are fully deserved of their place in the final having defeated the likes of former champions Pohang Steelers and two-time champions Al Ittihad before overcoming Saudi Arabia giants Al Hilal in the semi-finals.

The Iranians travelled to Japan five days before the final to ensure they are fully prepared for the game against Seongnam and Ebrahimzadeh is confident that if his players stick to their game plan, then they will be heading home with the trophy.

“It is a victory for us to get here and we are confident we can get the win tomorrow,” he added.

“We have done our analysis of their team. They are very clever and very tough so on the pitch we will play with the objective in mind (to win the final)

“We have a plan and with it we will be able to win.”

Zob Ahan captain Mohammad Salsali is hoping to be given the nod by Ebrahimzadeh for a place in the starting line-up after recently recovering from injury.

The defender has largely been restricted to appearances off the bench in recent games but, aside from a slight scare in training on Friday, he is confident he is fit to play against Seongnam.

“I have trained and my condition is good but the decision is up to the head coach,” said Salsali.

“Yesterday I injured myself a little bit but I was taken well care of so tomorrow I hope I can play.”