Mahdavi agrees one-year extension to Shahdab contract
Mahdi Mahdavi will stay on as Shahdab Yazd head coach for next season, the Iranian top-flight volleyball club announced on Sunday.
Former Iranian international setter Mahdavi took over from Rahman Mohammadi-Rad, to whom he worked as a number two, on Shahdab bench in February following a disappointing run of results in the Iranian Premier League regular season.
The 41-year-old went on to turn Shadab’s fortune around, steering his side to the domestic league playoffs.
Having stood third in the regular season table, Shahdab overcame Paykan and Chadormalou in the knockout phase to reach the Finals but eventually settled for a runner-up finish after a 2-1 defeat against familiar foe Foolad Sirjan in a thrilling best-of-three series earlier in April.
Mahdavi’s men came from behind to win the first game 3-1 (24-26, 26-24, 25-21, 25-17) but Foolad bounced back to come out victorious 3-2 and 3-1 in the next two outings and defend its title.
This was Shahdab’s third defeat against Foolad in a major final over the past 12 months, following setbacks in the league last year and the Iranian Volleyball Cup, as well as the AVC Asian Club Championship showdown in September.