Iran vs Japan; World Volleyball League final Playoff Games 1 & 2.

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This is it.

The real chance for Iran to make to the elite class of Volleyball if they qualify for next years World Volleyball League. Iran is within two games of making it after the third attempt , but this time under the a legendary coach who goes by the name of Julio Velasco.

In the last round , they beat Egypt comprehensively in Cairo. The same Egypt that twice denied Iran a chance to make the final qualifying rounds pf the World League. Iran will be meeting Japan in a two match decider. The first game will start 7 PM Tehran time. Two hours before the match , the Azadi arena is full to the ream. The Radio and TV announcers are pleading for people NOT to go to Azadi because there is simply no place available and there is already a huge crowd outside the gates making movements quite difficult.

Truly incredible for Iran's volleyball. It is becoming a very popular sport specially after winning the Asian Championship for the first time in history and winning against big teams in the last World Championship.

Game will be live on IRIB TV3

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Zorzi on Velasco ahead of World League qualifiers


Lausanne, Switzerland, August 16, 2012 - Iran are just about to challenge for a place in the 2013 FIVB Volleyball World League and will be led by legendary coach Julio Velasco. Here he is profiled by former player and student Andrea Zorzi in a an article which recently featured in VolleyWorld.
Lausanne, Switzerland, August 16, 2012 - Iran are just about to challenge for a place in the 2013 FIVB Volleyball World League and will be led by legendary coach Julio Velasco. Here he is profiled by former player and student Andrea Zorzi in a an article which recently featured in VolleyWorld.

Volleyball has given me many gifts, not least the opportunity to travel the world and visit many new countries. When I met my former coach Julio Velasco in Italy just before Christmas I congratulated him on the excellent performance of the Iranians at the 2011 World Cup, and mentioned that I would love to visit Iran. It was a country that I knew very little about, and I was intrigued by the sharp contrast between ancient Persian culture and the current image of Iran.

At Julio’s suggestion I sent a letter to the Iranian Volleyball Federation’s president, Mr Davarzani, who was quick to respond with an invitation to visit his country. From the moment I set foot there, Iran turned out to be an endless source of surprises. I had expected to find nothing but deserts, yet was instead greeted by snow-capped mountains. And nestled at the foot of these mountains is the capital city, Tehran, a huge metropolis with 15 million inhabitants.

I had been under the impression that volleyball was just a marginal sport there, but it plays a very important role in Iran, second only to football in terms of popularity. The country boasts a strong club championship – the Iranian Super League – with a healthy following, and sports venues well suited to hosting high-level events. The volleyball movement is growing rapidly, although it is in need of further technical and organisational development.

There are plenty of sponsors all keen to be associated with the sport, and this year for the first time a privately owned team, Kaleh Mazandaran from Amol, finished as champions. The top players command surprisingly lucrative contracts. Each team is allowed up to two foreign players, most of whom are from Bulgaria, but the domestic game would certainly benefit from having players from other countries too, as this would enable local players to learn different techniques and, above all, different approaches to the sport.

For me, first and foremost, my visit to Iran was an opportunity to spend time with Julio Velasco. Our last game working together was 16 years ago, when the Italian national team won the gold medal in the 1996 FIVB World Super Six in Tokyo, shortly after suffering terrible disappointment at the Olympics in Atlanta. Velasco is a celebrity in Iran. The gold medal at the 2011 Asian Championships, and victories over Serbia, Poland and Argentina at the 2011 World Cup earned him universal acclaim and affection there.

Everywhere he goes people recognise him. At the sports arenas he needs an escort to protect him from the attentions of excited young fans. In the streets of Tehran, people are constantly stopping him to congratulate him and ask about Iran’s prospects of qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics.

Julio takes it all in his stride, doing his best to temper the raised expectations of the locals. He has a young team, who are physically strong but have relatively little international experience. He knows there is considerable work to be done on some basic aspects of their technique (especially receiving) if they are to continue to progress. He stresses the need for intelligent solutions on the court, because many Iranian players rely overly on strength, often forcing their shots unnecessarily.

For me it was very interesting to watch some of Julio’s training sessions with the second team (the first team were involved in the Super League playoff finals). His approach was instantly recognisable: well organised and balanced drills, with no time wasted. Everyone, from the players to the assistant coaches, knew exactly what they were meant to do.

Over the years, Julio has continued to keep himself up to date with all the latest developments in modern volleyball. These days he tends to structure his training sessions differently, with less focus on individual drills and more of a global approach. What remains the same as when he coached Italy is his passion for helping players to improve as quickly as possible.

Back in 1989 I remember he was very good at creating an environment that protected the Italian players from any kind of distraction, and in Iran he has created a similar environment, with a dedicated coaching and technical staff. They have a united group, one that shares a common goal, and is determined to realise its Olympic dream.

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TEAM COMPOSITION

IRI / Iran

Team manager KHOSHKHABAR Amir Coach VELASCO Julio Assistant coach CICHELLO Juan Doctor AFROOZI Siyamak Physiotherapist

No. Name Lastname Shirt Name Birthdate Height Weight Spike Block Club 1 Shahram MAHMOUDI SH.MAHMOUDI 20.07.1988 196 89 296 279 KALLEH 2 Saeed MOSTAFAVAND S. MOSTAFAVAND 04.02.1983 195 88 340 322 UROUMIEH 3 Saman FAEZI S.FAEZI 23.08.1991 204 87 347 340 SAIPA 4 Mir Saeid MAROUFLAKRANI S. MAROUF 20.10.1985 189 68 332 320 KALLEH 5 Farhad GHAEMI F. GHAEMI 28.08.1989 197 73 330 315 HAVOSH 6 Seyed Mohammad MOUSAVI ERAGHI M. MOUSAVI 22.08.1987 203 86 348 328 GITI PASAND 7 Hamzeh ZARINI H. Zarini 18.10.1985 198 91 336 318 KALLEH L 8 Farhad ZARIF AHANGARAN V. F.ZARIF 03.03.1983 165 60 290 271 GITI PASAND C 9 Alireza NADI A. NADI 02.09.1980 200 90 334 320 KALLEH 10 Amir GHAFOUR A.GHAFOUR 06.06.1991 203 78 338 333 BARIJ ESANS 11 Mojtaba MIRZAJANPOUR M. M.MIRZAJANPOUR 07.10.1991 195 88 325 315 PAYKAN 12 Pourya FAYAZID. P.FAYAZI 12.01.1993 195 85 330 310 SAIPA 13 Mehdi MAHDAVI M.MAHDAVI 13.02.1984 185 82 335 330 SAIPA 14 Arash KESHAVARZI A.KESHAVARZI 16.02.1987 198 94 350 340 PAYKAN 15 Alireza MOBASHERI DEMNEH A. MOBASHERI 10.06.1988 195 90 345 335 PISHGAMAN L 16 Yashar SHAHINI Y. SHAHINI 11.05.1983 185 80 300 280 PISHGAMAN 17 Peyman KARIMI P.KARIMI 09.05.1984 198 90 334 320 MIZAN 18 Mohammad Taher VADI M.T.VADI 10.10.1989 192 72 327 315 BARIJ ESANS L 19 Naser RAHIMI P. N.RAHIMI 27.06.1991 191 73 326 310 BARIJ ESANS 20 Mohammadreza SOLEIMANI M. SOLEIMANI 21.09.1983 190 85 310 300 SAIPA

C=Captain L=Libero

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eam profile

The Iran men’s team has been enjoying a fine run in recent years. After a strong finish in 2009, the team qualified for last year’s FIVB World Championship. They were runners-up at the 2010 Asian Games and triumphed in a four-way tournament with Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. On top of that, they became Asian champions and finished ninth at last year’s FIVB World Cup with some favourable results. The Iranians and their federation are under no illusions about how much progress they still have to make. But they are confident they can achieve great things under Julio Velasco, former coach of the Italian men’s team among others, and assistant coach Juan Manuel Cichello, former coach of the successful Argentina youth team. Iran expect to continue playing fast volleyball with a variety of tactics under the two new coaches. In fact, Iran is aiming to achieve success across the board, from the junior level to the senior team. Today’s Iran team is composed of both veterans and younger players. There are several promising players, such as Arash Kamalvand, Amir Ghafour, Amir Hosseini and Farhad Zarif. Participating in a number of different tournaments in recent years has helped the side acquire solid experience and build confidence.

Coach profile

The legendary Julio Velasco started playing volleyball when he was 15 but became a coach soon after. He proved adept, winning four Argentina Championships from 1979 to 1982 and four Italian Championships from 1986 to 1989. He also led the Italian national team to three gold medals at the European Championship. Velasco’s success with Italy, whom he coached from 1989 to 1996, continued as the team won gold in two FIVB World Championships, five FIVB World Leagues, a World Cup and a Grand Champions Cup. The Argentinean also coached the Italian women’s team in 1997 and 1998, the Czech Republic from 2001 to 2003 and Spain in 2009 and 2010.

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also on jaame jam 2

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First set , Iran leading 14-11

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1st set Iran leading in the second technical time out 16- 13

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Iran leading 22-18
Time out Japan.

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set point Iran

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Fantastic

Iran wins the first set

25 -19

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snd set started

3 consecutive points for Iran

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Make that 4 - 0 Iran and time out requested by the panicked Japan coach.

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Unfortunately , Iran lost the final of AVC cup to China 3-1 in Vietnam

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This young man , Farhad Ghaemi is one classy player

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2nd set first technical time out

Iran leading 8-2

Ayvallah...Bacheha..