Coaches and Players Reflect on Foolad Sirjan vs Afghanistan Match

Head Coach of Foolad Sirjan Iranian, Behrouz Ataei, stated: “Iraq surprised us with their victory over Qatar, one of the most experienced teams in the Asian Club Championships with a history of winning titles. This shows that volleyball can be full of surprises.”

According to the Communications Department of the Volleyball Federation, the 26th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship began today (Sunday, September 8) at the 6,000-seat Shahidiyeh Indoor Stadium in Yazd.

In the fourth and final match of the first day, Foolad Sirjan Iranian, the champion of the Iranian Premier League, faced Kam Air of Afghanistan and won 3-0.

Here are the comments from the coaches and players of both teams after the match:

Behrouz Ataei, Head Coach of Foolad Sirjan Iranian:

“The gap between Iranian and Afghan volleyball is significant, and we were aware of this. We tried to put on a practice game and used all our players to get them into the competition atmosphere and prepare for the upcoming matches. Playing against Afghanistan was not a suitable benchmark for us, but we are aware of our capabilities and hope to proceed with confidence in the next game. The first day does not reflect the teams’ power, and it takes time for teams to get to know each other’s strengths. However, Iraq’s victory over Qatar, one of the most experienced teams in the Asian Club Championships with a history of winning titles, surprised us and shows that volleyball can be full of surprises. Shahdab Yazd and Indonesia also had a good game, but the level of play between Iran and Indonesia is different. Despite having many stars in the Indonesian team, Shahdab could have finished the game in three sets if they had made fewer mistakes. I hope the Iranian teams continue to perform well in the upcoming matches.”

Hamid Mohaedi, Head Coach of Kam Air Volleyball Team (Afghanistan):

“Foolad Sirjan is a very strong team with outstanding players. The opponents played at a high level today. Afghan players are inexperienced and have less presence in international arenas. I have just started working with this team, and we have been training for a month. We need more time to improve the technical level of Afghan players so they can perform better in future matches. In this tournament, our players are gaining experience and reducing their weaknesses. The technical level of the competition is very high with the presence of top players, and many powerful teams are participating, most of which have prominent foreign players. This can be a good opportunity for our novice players to learn alongside these players and elevate their level to that of top Asian players.”

Ali Hajipour, Opposite Spiker of Foolad Sirjan Iranian:

“The first match in a tournament always has its difficulties, and our team has been away from official games for a while. Our team’s condition is good, and we will be more prepared in the upcoming games. Afghanistan was a good team, and it was my first time playing against them. They were good, but in Asia, Iran leads in volleyball. I feel our toughest match will be the next one against Iraq. They have good players, but we are here to win.”

Gholam Rasoul Haidari, Captain of Kam Air Volleyball Team (Afghanistan):

“We are happy to have played against the Iranian team today. We have been training for a short time, and if we had more training, we would have seen a better performance from the Afghan team.”