Vahid Amiri; Persepolis Key Man in 2021 ACL Group Stage: ACL

The Group Stage of the AFC Champions League arrives in India for the first time in the competition’s history, and Group E brings together a fascinating mix of the old and new as two-time finalist Persepolis from Iran, Qatar’s Al-Rayyan, host FC Goa and Al-Wahda from the United Arab Emirates face off.

Veteran winger Amiri returns to the AFC Champions League for another crack at the title, having missed out on last year’s final after picking up a suspension that ruled him out of the defeat at the hands of Ulsan Hyundai FC.

Now 33 years old, Amiri brings creativity, resilience and versatility to Yahya Golmohammadi’s team and is as important defensively as he is in attack.