The 2021 AFC Cup Group Stage will see 39 clubs competing - an increase of three from 2019 - with a newly-introduced Group for the Central Zone.

This edition will also award the winning team a place in the preliminary stage of the 2022 AFC Champions League.

The 2021 AFC Champions League will see 40 teams in the group stage - an increase of eight - with one additional group each in the East and West Zones.

It will come as no surprise that several Persepolis players made up the fans Best XI, as their run to the final inspired their supporters.

Below are the 11 players voted by the public on the-AFC.com, while an XI based on Stats Perform's statistics included as a comparison.

With the continued support of the Member Associations and participating clubs, the AFC has agreed that the AFC Champions League Group Stage West Region matches will be scheduled between April 14-30 while the East Region are planned for April 21-May 7, 2021.

Park, who played eight times as Ulsan won the Asian title last year for the second time in their history, spent three seasons with the club after joining them from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund at the start of 2018.

The 34-year-old was also a member of the Korea Republic side that reached the final of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where they lost in extra-time to tournament hosts Australia.

Having been a pivotal member of the squad since bursting onto the scene, Quang Hai is confident that this generation of Vietnam players have the ability to take the Southeast Asian nation to greater heights.

DID YOU KNOW?

The official 2021 AFC Champions League and 2021 AFC Cup draw is scheduled to take place in a virtual ceremony on January 27, 2021 in Malaysia at 2:30pm and 4:30pm (local time) respectively.

Both club competitions will see a record number of clubs competing in 2021 with two additional groups – one each for the East and West Regions – included in this season’s AFC Champions League Group Stage, which has been expanded from 32 to 40 clubs.

Similarly, the number of clubs in the 2021 Group Stage of the ever-growing AFC Cup may rise to 39 clubs from 36 in the last edition in 2019, with a newly-introduced Group for the Central Zone.