Iran men's national volleyball team
The Iran Men's National Volleyball Team is the official national men's volleyball team of Iran. It is governed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Volleyball Federation (I.R.I.V.F.) and takes part in international volleyball competitions.
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| Nickname(s) | Cedar tree Heights سرو قامتان Iranian Cheetahs یوز های ایرانی | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | IRIVF | |||
| Confederation | AVC | |||
| Head coach | Behrouz Ataei | |||
| FIVB ranking | 10 (as of November 26, 2021) | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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| Summer Olympics | ||||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 2016) | |||
| Best result | 5th (2016) | |||
| World Championship | ||||
| Appearances | 7 (First in 1970) | |||
| Best result | 6th (2014) | |||
| World Cup | ||||
| Appearances | 4 (First in 1991) | |||
| Best result | 8th (2015, 2019) | |||
| Asian Championship | ||||
| Appearances | 19 (First in 1979) | |||
| Best result |  (2011, 2013, 2019, 2021) | |||
| iranvolleyball.com | ||||
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As of September 2021, Team Melli is considered as the best team in Asia, as it ranks 10th in the FIVB World Rankings.[1]
The national team won the Asian Volleyball Championship four times: in 2011 Tehran, 2013 Dubai, 2019 Tehran and 2021 Chiba & Funabashi
In its first appearance in the competition since joining the 2013 World League, Iran has been a dominant force in Group 1 of the competition, posing a challenge to any opponent. Defeating Italy and Cuba in these games, Iran introduced itself as a formidable contender.
In 2014 World League campaign, Iran's national team reached fourth place in Group 1 after a straight-set defeat to their Italian hosts in the bronze medal match. In these games, Iran had already defeated Brazil, Italy and Poland.
Iran has also competed in the World Championship four times, with their best result obtained in 2014 Poland where they ended up in 6th place. In those games Iran qualified from the first and second rounds with, respectively, four and five wins; their only defeat was against France.
Iran defeated Japan to win the gold medal at the Asian Games Korea in 2014. Consecutively, in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, Iran cruised past Japan and South Korea to win the gold medal.
Iran made it to the Olympic Games for the first time in their history in 2016 as the top-ranked Asian squad at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan. Iran finished in 5th place in the competition.
History
The history of Iran’s volleyball dates back to around 1920 when Mir Mehdi Varzandeh brought volleyball regulations to Iran. During the World War II, forces of Allies occupied Iran, sport Contacts, especially in volleyball, was done with soldiers of these forces; it was a new way for familiarity with volleyball of the other countries. At that time a friendly match was fixed between the Iran and Russian Army team. In 1958 for the first time, national men’s team of Pakistan was invited to Tehran, guest team had some friendly matches with national team, club teams and Army team. Iran's national team first attended at 1958 Asian Games.[2]
Tournament records
Notes: Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicate 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes, respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.
Olympic Games
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1964 | Did not enter or Did not qualify | |||||
 1968 | ||||||
 1972 | ||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1976 | ||||||
 1980 | ||||||
 1984 | ||||||
 1988 | ||||||
 1992 | ||||||
| 1996 | ||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2000 | ||||||
 2004 | ||||||
 2008 | ||||||
 2012 | ||||||
 2016 | 5th place | 6 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
 2020 | 9th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
 2024 | Future events | |||||
| 2028 | ||||||
| 2032 | ||||||
| Total | 2/15 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 23 |
World Championship
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1949 | Did not enter | ||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1952 | |||||||
| 1956 | |||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1960 | |||||||
| 1962 | |||||||
| 1966 | |||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1970 | 21st place | 11 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 24 | |
| 1974 | Did not enter | ||||||
 1978 | |||||||
 1982 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1986 | Did not enter | ||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1990 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1994 | |||||||
| 1998 | 19th place | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | |
| 2002 | Did not enter | ||||||
| 2006 | 21st place | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 15 | |
| 2010 | 19th place | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
 2014 | 6th place | 12 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 21 | |
 2018 | 13th place | 8 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 16 | |
 2022 | Qualified | ||||||
| Total | 7/20 | 42 | 16 | 26 | 63 | 92 | |
World Cup
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Did not enter | |||||
 1969 | ||||||
| 1977 | ||||||
| 1981 | ||||||
| 1985 | ||||||
| 1989 | Did not qualify | |||||
| 1991 | 11th place | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 23 |
| 1995 | Did not qualify | |||||
| 1999 | ||||||
| 2003 | ||||||
| 2007 | ||||||
| 2011 | 9th place | 11 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 25 |
| 2015 | 8th place | 11 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 24 |
| 2019 | 8th place | 11 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 25 |
| Total | 4/14 | 41 | 14 | 27 | 56 | 97 |
World Grand Champions Cup
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Did not qualify | |||||
| 1997 | ||||||
| 2001 | ||||||
| 2005 | ||||||
| 2009 | 5th place | 5 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
| 2013 | 4th place | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 10 |
| 2017 | 3rd place | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 10 |
| Total | 3/7 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 30 | 34 |
World League
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Did not enter | |||||
| 1991 | ||||||
| 1992 | ||||||
| 1993 | ||||||
| 1994 | ||||||
| 1995 | ||||||
 1996 | ||||||
 1997 | ||||||
| 1998 | ||||||
| 1999 | ||||||
| 2000 | ||||||
| 2001 | ||||||
| 2002 | ||||||
| 2003 | ||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2004 | ||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2005 | ||||||
| 2006 | ||||||
| 2007 | ||||||
| 2008 | ||||||
 2009 | ||||||
| 2010 | Did not qualify | |||||
| 2011 | ||||||
| 2012 | ||||||
| 2013 | 9th place | 10 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 21 |
| 2014 | 4th place | 16 | 7 | 9 | 28 | 32 |
| 2015 | 7th place | 12 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 21 |
| 2016 | 8th place | 9 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 22 |
| 2017 | 11th place | 9 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 23 |
| Total | 5/28 | 56 | 25 | 31 | 99 | 119 |
Nations League
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 10th place | 15 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 30 | |
| 2019 | 5th place | 17 | 12 | 5 | 41 | 21 | |
| 2021 | 12th place | 15 | 5 | 10 | 25 | 32 | |
| 2022 | Qualified | ||||||
| Total | 4/4 | 47 | 24 | 23 | 95 | 83 | |
Asian Championship
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Did not enter | |||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1979 | 6th place | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 10 | ||||
| 1983 | Did not enter | |||||||||
 1987 | 10th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | ||||
| 1989 | 8th place | 8 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | ||||
| 1991 | 7th place | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 14 | ||||
 1993 | 5th place | 6 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| 1995 | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | ||||
 1997 | 6th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | ||||
| 1999 | 5th place | 6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 10 | ||||
| 2001 | 5th place | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 | ||||
| 2003 | 3rd place | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 12 | ||||
| 2005 | 6th place | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 10 | ||||
 2007 | 5th place | 9 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 18 | ||||
 2009 | Runners-up | 8 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 10 | ||||
| 2011 | Champions | 8 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 2 | ||||
 2013 | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||||
| 2015 | Runners-up | 8 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 9 | ||||
| 2017 | 5th place | 8 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 10 | ||||
| 2019 | Champions | 8 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 4 | ||||
| 2021 | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||||
| 2023 | Future events | |||||||||
| Total | 19/21 | 129 | 87 | 42 | 286 | 178 | ||||
- Note: Iran played their B team in 2015 and U23 team in 2017.
Asian Games
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Runners-up | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | |||
| 1962 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1966 | 3rd place | 8 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 14 | |||
| 1970 | 5th place | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 14 | |||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1974 | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | |||
| 1978 | Did not enter | ||||||||
 1982 | |||||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||
| 1990 | |||||||||
| 1994 | 5th place | 9 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 16 | |||
| 1998 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 2002 | Runners-up | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | |||
| 2006 | 6th place | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | |||
| 2010 | Runners-up | 9 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 4 | |||
| 2014 | Champions | 8 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |||
| 2018 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | Future event | ||||||||
| 2026 | |||||||||
| 2030 | |||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||
| Total | 10/16 | 64 | 44 | 20 | 141 | 82 | |||
Asian Cup
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L | SW | SL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Champions | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 8 | ||||
| 2010 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 6 | ||||
 2012 | Runners-up | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 7 | ||||
 2014 | 4th place | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 9 | ||||
| 2016 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 5 | ||||
 2018 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 5 | ||||
| 2022 | Qualified | |||||||||
| Total | 7/7 | 35 | 30 | 5 | 96 | 40 | ||||
- Note: Iran played their B team in 2012, 2014, 2016 & 2018.
Other tournaments
Note: Iran played their B team in 2013 and U21 team in 2017.
- West Asian Games
- 2005 –
Runners-up
- Central Asian Championship
2007 – Runners-up- 2010 –
Champions
Note: Iran played a club team in 2007 and B team in 2010.
- Universiade
- 2017 –
Champions
Results and fixtures
Previous matches
Forthcoming matches
| Date | Location | Competition | Opponent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ||||
| 7 June 2022 | Brazil |
2022 Nations League | China | |
| 10 June 2022 | Brazil |
2022 Nations League | Netherlands | |
| 12 June 2022 | Brazil |
2022 Nations League | Australia | |
| 12 June 2022 | Brazil |
2022 Nations League | Japan | |
| 21 June 2022 | Bulgaria |
2022 Nations League | Bulgaria | |
| 23 June 2022 | Bulgaria |
2022 Nations League | United States | |
| 24 June 2022 | Bulgaria |
2022 Nations League | Brazil | |
| 25 June 2022 | Bulgaria |
2022 Nations League | Canada | |
| 5 July 2022 | Poland |
2022 Nations League | Poland | |
| 7 July 2022 | Poland |
2022 Nations League | Serbia | |
| 9 July 2022 | Poland |
2022 Nations League | Italy | |
| 10 July 2022 | Poland |
2022 Nations League | Slovenia | |
| 27 August 2022 | Poland or Slovenia |
2022 World Championship | Netherlands | |
| 28 August 2022 | Poland or Slovenia |
2022 World Championship |  Egypt | |
| 29 August 2022 | Poland or Slovenia |
2022 World Championship | Argentina | |
Team
Current squad
Representing Iran at the 2021 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship.
- Head coach: Behrouz Ataei
| No. | Name | Date of birth | Height | Weight | Spike | Block | 2021 club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mehdi Jelveh | 21 May 2001 | 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 355 cm (140 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | Foolad Sirjan |
| 2 | Milad Ebadipour (C) | 17 October 1993 | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | 78 kg (172 lb) | 350 cm (140 in) | 310 cm (120 in) | Skra Bełchatów |
| 3 | Reza Abedini | 19 May 1991 | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | 354 cm (139 in) | 348 cm (137 in) | Shahdab Yazd |
| 5 | Amir Hossein Toukhteh | 9 April 2001 | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | 79 kg (174 lb) | 360 cm (140 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | Radnički DOO |
| 6 | Aliasghar Mojarrad | 30 October 1997 | 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 330 cm (130 in) | 310 cm (120 in) | Shahrdari Varamin |
| 7 | Esmaeil Mosafer | 21 November 1997 | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | 71 kg (157 lb) | 310 cm (120 in) | 290 cm (110 in) | Paykan Tehran |
| 8 | Mohammad Reza Hazratpour | 31 March 1999 | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 300 cm (120 in) | 290 cm (110 in) | Shahrdari Urmia |
| 10 | Meisam Salehi | 17 November 1998 | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | 89 kg (196 lb) | 345 cm (136 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | AZS Olsztyn |
| 11 | Saber Kazemi | 24 December 1998 | 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 340 cm (130 in) | 325 cm (128 in) | Al Arabi |
| 12 | Amir Hossein Esfandiar | 24 January 1999 | 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) | 119 kg (262 lb) | 330 cm (130 in) | 310 cm (120 in) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Greenyard Maaseik |
| 13 | Ali Ramezani | 5 May 1998 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 320 cm (130 in) | 300 cm (120 in) | Labanyat Haraz Amol |
| 14 | Javad Karimi | 1 March 1998 | 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) | 104 kg (229 lb) | 330 cm (130 in) | 310 cm (120 in) | Greenyard Maaseik |
| 17 | Amin Esmaeilnejad | 17 December 1996 | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 343 cm (135 in) | 332 cm (131 in) | Saipa Tehran |
| 19 | Abolfazl Gholipour | 21 January 1993 | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | 63 kg (139 lb) | 295 cm (116 in) | 275 cm (108 in) | Shahrdari Qazvin |
Head coaches
Note: The following list may not be complete.
A Team
| Name | From | To | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sardar Nasrollahkhan[3] |
1958 | 1958 Asian Games Runners-up | |
| Fereydoon Sharifzadeh |
1958 | 1963 | |
| Hossein Jabbarzadegan |
1964 | 1966 | 1966 Asian Games 3rd place |
| Miloslav Ejem |
1970 | 1972 | |
| Tadaee Korada |
1974 | 1974 Asian Games 4th place | |
| Park Sung |
1979 | ||
| Yadollah Kargarpisheh |
1979 | 1981 | |
| Farough Fakhredini |
1987 | ||
| Masoud Salehieh |
1987 | 1989 | |
| Hossein Ali Mehranpour |
1989 | 1991 | |
| Mohammad Heidarkhan |
1991 | ||
 Ivans Bugajenkovs |
1991 | 2007 | Acted as head coach from 1991–1993 and as the general technical manager of all age groups from 1991–2007. |
| Fumihiko Matsumoto |
1994 | ||
| Masoud Salehieh |
1995 | 1995 Asian Championship 4th place | |
| Mehdi Saberpour |
1997 | ||
| Fumihiko Matsumoto |
1998 | ||
| Mostafa Karkhaneh |
1999 | 2001 | |
| Hossein Ali Mehranpour |
2001 | ||
| Park Ki-won |
2002 | 2005 | 2002 Asian Games Runners-up 2003 Asian Championship 3rd place |
| Milorad Kijac |
2006 | ||
| Zoran Gajić |
2007 | 2008 | |
| Hossein Maadani |
2008 | 2010 | 2008 Asian Cup Champions 2009 Asian Championship Runners-up 2010 Asian Cup Champions 2010 Asian Games Runners-up |
| Julio Velasco |
2011 | 2014 | 2011 Asian Championship Champions 2013 Asian Championship Champions 2013 World Grand Champions Cup 4th place |
| Slobodan Kovač |
2014 | 2015 | 2014 World League 4th place 2014 World Championship 6th place 2014 Asian Games Champions |
| Raúl Lozano |
2016 | 2016 Olympic Games 5th place | |
 Igor Kolaković |
2017 | 2020 | 2017 World Grand Champions Cup 3rd place 2018 Asian Games Champions 2019 Nations League 5th place 2019 Asian Championship Champions 2020 Olympic Games Qualification |
| Vladimir Alekno |
2020 | 2021 | 2020 Olympic Games 9th place |
| Behrouz Ataei |
2021 | present | 2021 Asian Championship Champions |
Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head Coach & U21 Coach | Behrouz Ataei[4] |
| Assistant Coach | Alireza Tolookian Azim Jazideh Tomaso Totolo |
| Doctor&Physiotherapist | Janas Wojciech |
| Analyzer | Hossein Khouriani |
| U23 Coach | Vacant |
| U19 Coach | Mohammad Vakili |
| Team Manager | Amir Khoshkhabar |
Last updated: 10 August 2021
Source:
B Team
| Name | From–To | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Vakili |
2012 | 2012 Asian Cup Runners-up |
| Hossein Maadani |
2013 | 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games Champions |
| Peyman Akbari |
2014–2015 | 2014 Asian Cup 4th place 2015 Asian Championship Runners-up |
| Nasser Shahnazi[5] |
2016 | 2016 Asian Cup Champions |
| Juan Manuel Cichello |
2017 | |
| Behrouz Ataei |
2018 | 2018 Asian Cup Runners-up |
Stadium
The team's home arena are Azadi Indoor Stadium, Azadi Volleyball Hall, Rezazadeh Stadium and Ghadir Stadium.
Kit providers
The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Iran national volleyball team.
| Period | Kit provider |
|---|---|
| 2000–2008 | Asics Mikasa Fuerza Mizuno Ideal |
| 2008– | Merooj |
Sponsorship
Primary sponsors include: main sponsors like MCI and Tourism Bank, Refah Stores other sponsors: Roamer.
References
- "FIVB Senior World Ranking - Men". FIVB website. FIVB. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- "Brief History of Iran Men's Volleyball". I.R Iran VolleyBall Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- http://press.jamejamonline.ir/Newspreview/1232048689498797894
- "OFFICIAL: Raul Lozano takes over Iran!". 16 November 2015.
- http://www.varzesh3.com/news/1316742/%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%A8-%D8%B3%D9%87%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B9%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA
- (in Persian) Asian Volleyball Championship
- (in Persian) Volleyball at the Asian Games
- (in Persian) Iran Volleyball History
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iran men's national volleyball team. |
Notable squads
Olympic Games squads | |||||||
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World Championship squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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World Cup squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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World Grand Champions Cup squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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World League squads | |||||||
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Nations League squads | |||||||
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Asian Championship squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Asian Games squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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