Persepolis’s Alipour Nominated for Best Forward of ACL2018 Team

After deciding the top goalkeeper, the best defense in front of him and the playmakers in midfield, the-afc.com has eight players of the 2018 AFC Champions League Best XI confirmed.

Persepolis' run to the final was built on a solid backline, with goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and defenders Shojae Khalizadeh and Jalal Hosseini already included in the relevant categories for the Best 2018 XI, but defense alone does not win games, and Ali Alipour was the main outlet up front for the Tehran giant.

Having scored just one goal in his previous two Continental campaigns, Alipour netted a brace in the 2018 opener against Nasaf before adding another against Al Wasl as Persepolis topped Group C.

Alipour saved his next two goals for vital moments in the knockout stages as he scored against Al Jazira in the Round of 16 and Al Sadd in the semi-finals to help his club into their first AFC Champions League final.

The Iranian striker will compete with Baghdad Bounedjah, Dejan Damjanovic, Youssef El Arabi, Mame Thiam, Kim Shin-wook, Yuma Suzuki, and Alexandre Pato to win the award.