Déjà vu in Bahrain:
Iran U21 beats Italy to regain world volleyball crown
Bahrain proved to be the promised land for the Iranian under-21 volleyball.
Four years after Behrouz Ataei – now in charge of the seniors’ team – had led Iran to a five-set victory over Italy in the Bahraini city of Riffa for a maiden title, the Asian powerhouse again came from behind to beat the European giant 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-9) to lift a second trophy at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship in capital Manama.
Iranian opposite Amirmohammad Golzadeh rounded off his MVP performance at the event by chipping in 20 points, while outside-hitter Pouria Hossein Khanzadeh, who joined the team midway through the competition after his Volleyball Nations League duty, contributed with 18 points – including five aces.
Shayan Sepehrifard also finished in double figures for Iran, scoring 12 points.
Alessandro Bovolenta had a game-high 21 points for the Italians, with Mattia Orioli finishing on 17.
“We are a very good team. We know our potential, and some of our stars can join the senior team,” Golzadeh said after the game.
“I had also received the MVP award with the junior team and now my goal is to get the prize with the senior team, along with the world title at the highest level. You cannot gain anything without pain,” Golzadeh told Volleyball World.
The Iranian young gun, who was the leading scorer in Manama with a total of 136 points – 107 successful spikes, 11 blocks and 18 aces – also took the Best Opposite prize and was joined by two other teammates in the Dream Team.
Arshia Behnejad was named the Best Setter, while Mobin Nasri was the joint Best Outside Hitter – alongside Italian Orioli.
Gabriele Laurenzano took the Best Libero prize, with his fellow Italian Filippo Bartolucci and Bulgaria’s Lazar Bouchkov sharing the Best Middle Blocker award.
The triumph in Manama came as a consolation for the Iranian fans, who had to watch their national team suffer 10 defeats in 12 outings and finish third from bottom in the 16-team table of the preliminary round in the Volleyball Nations League last week.
“This victory shows the strength of the Iranian volleyball,” head coach Gholamreza Momeni-Moqaddam said after the match, while he was full of praise for his players.
“Winning the world title is a great honor for the country and I’m proud of my players for that. They worked hard for two years and were rewarded for their relentless efforts. When you’re trailing 2-1 against a team like Italy it would be so hard to get back in the game but that’s what my players did, which indicates the determination and confidence of the team. They are the future of the Iranian volleyball,” added Momeni-Moqaddam, whose team was the only unbeaten side in Manama.
For the Italians, who stepped into the competition as the defending champions, the silver in Manama was the eighth U21 World Championship medal.
Earlier in the day, Bulgaria – beaten by Italy in the semifinals – came out on top against Argentina in straight sets (25-22, 28-26, 25-19) to claim the bronze medal.