The Esfahan side, who finished runners-up after losing 3-1 to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in November’s final in Tokyo, were pooled with Qatar’s knockout competition champions Al Rayyan, Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia and Emirates, who qualified having won the 2010 UAE President’s Cup in the same season that saw the Ras Al Khaimah-based side relegated from the UAE Premier League.
"This is not a bad group for us,” admitted Dalili following Tuesday’s ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Petaling Jaya.
“We are targeting the championship so whichever team we are grouped with should not be big deal for us as we should aim to win every single match until we have won the title.”
Zob Ahan’s run to the decisive match of the 2010 AFC Champions League saw the Mansour Ebrahimzadeh-coached side claim a number of notable scalps en route to the final, including the then defending champions Pohang Steelers and two-time ACL winners Al Ittihad.
And while Dalili suggests that the core of the side will remain the same the 2010 Iran Pro League runners-up are aiming to fine-tune the team ahead of next year’s continental campaign.
“Zob Ahan will maintain the same skeleton,” he continued.
“We will look at the team more deeply to find out and fix our weaknesses. You will see a stronger Zob Ahan.”