Iran men's national volleyball team
National Iran Volleyball team
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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 (IRIVF) and takes part in international volleyball competitions. Iranian volleyball is one of the best teams in the world. Iranian volleyball has a history of being ranked sixth in the world rankings.[2]
As of 11 September 2022, Team Melli is considered as the First team in Asia, as it ranks 7th in the FIVB World Rankings.[3]
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.
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 national volleyball team dates back to around 1942 when Alireza Beiranvand brought volleyball regulations to Iran. During World War II, Allied forces occupied Iran, and Iranians participated in sports, including volleyball, with soldiers. At that time a friendly match was arranged between the Iranian and Russian Army teams. In 1958, for the first time, national men's team of Pakistan was invited to Tehran for some friendly matches with the national team, club teams and the Army team. Iran's national team first attended an international competition at the 1958 Asian Games, where they won the silver medal.[4]
Tournament records
Olympic Games
| Olympic Games record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | |||
 1964 | Did not participate or Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | ||||||||||
 1968 | Did not participate or Did not qualify | |||||||||||||||
 1972 | ||||||||||||||||
 1976 | ||||||||||||||||
 1980 | ||||||||||||||||
 1984 | ||||||||||||||||
 1988 | ||||||||||||||||
 1992 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
 2004 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 11 | |||||||||||
 2008 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 16 | |||||||||||
 2012 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 9 | |||||||||||
 2016 | Quarterfinals | 5th place | 6 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 | Squad | 7 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 11 | |||
 2020 | Preliminary round | 9th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | Squad | 8 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 7 | |||
 2024 | Did not qualify | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 2028 | Future event | Future event | ||||||||||||||
| 2032 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 2/16 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 23 | — | 49 | 27 | 22 | 96 | 85 | ||||
World Championship
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World Cup
| World Cup record (Defunct) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad |
 1965 | Did not participate | |||||||
 1969 | ||||||||
| 1977 | ||||||||
| 1981 | ||||||||
| 1985 | ||||||||
| 1989 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1991 | 7th–12th places | 11th place | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 23 | Squad |
| 1995 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1999 | ||||||||
| 2003 | ||||||||
| 2007 | ||||||||
| 2011 | Round-robin | 9th place | 11 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 25 | Squad |
| 2015 | Round-robin | 8th place | 11 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 24 | Squad |
| 2019 | Round-robin | 8th place | 11 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 25 | Squad |
| Total | 4/14 | 41 | 14 | 27 | 56 | 97 | — | |
World Grand Champions Cup
Third place Fourth place
World League
Fourth place
| World League record (Defunct) | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | |||
| 1990 | Did not participate | Did not participate | ||||||||||||||
 1991 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | ||||||||||||||||
 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | ||||||||||||||||
 1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | ||||||||||||||||
 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 2011 | Via World Rankings | |||||||||||||||
 2012 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2013 | Intercontinental round | 9th place | 10 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 21 | Squad | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |||
| 2014 | 3rd place match | 4th place | 16 | 7 | 9 | 28 | 32 | Squad | Directly qualified | |||||||
| 2015 | Intercontinental round | 7th place | 12 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 21 | Squad | ||||||||
| 2016 | Intercontinental round | 8th place | 9 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 22 | Squad | ||||||||
| 2017 | Intercontinental round | 11th place | 9 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 23 | Squad | ||||||||
| Total | 5/28 | 56 | 25 | 31 | 99 | 119 | 56 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | ||||
Nations League
| Nations League record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad |
| 2018 | Preliminary round | 10th place | 15 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 30 | Squad |
| 2019 | Final round pool play | 5th place | 17 | 12 | 5 | 41 | 21 | Squad |
| 2021 | Preliminary round | 12th place | 15 | 5 | 10 | 25 | 32 | Squad |
| 2022 | Quarterfinals | 7th place | 13 | 7 | 6 | 24 | 22 | Squad |
| 2023 | Preliminary round | 14th place | 12 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 31 | Squad |
| 2024 | Preliminary round | 15th place | 12 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 34 | Squad |
| 2025 | Preliminary round | 9th place | 12 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 24 | Squad |
| 2026 | Qualified | |||||||
| Total | 8/8 | 96 | 41 | 55 | 174 | 194 | — | |
Asian Championship
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
| Asian Championship record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad | |
| 1975 | Did not participate | ||||||||
 1979 | Classification 5th–8th | 6th place | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 10 | Squad | |
| 1983 | Did not participate | ||||||||
 1987 | 9th place match | 10th place | 7 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 12 | Squad | |
| 1989 | 7th place match | 8th place | 8 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | Squad | |
| 1991 | 7th place match | 7th place | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 14 | Squad | |
 1993 | 5th place match | 5th place | 7 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 11 | Squad | |
| 1995 | Championship | 4th place | 7 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 13 | Squad | |
 1997 | Classification 5th–8th | 6th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | Squad | |
 1999 | Classification 5th–8th | 5th place | 6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 10 | Squad | |
| 2001 | 5th place match | 5th place | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 | Squad | |
| 2003 | Championship | 3rd place | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 12 | Squad | |
| 2005 | 5th place match | 6th place | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 10 | Squad | |
 2007 | Championship | 5th place | 9 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 18 | Squad | |
 2009 | Final | Runners-up | 8 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 10 | Squad | |
| 2011 | Final | Champions | 8 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 2 | Squad | |
 2013 | Final | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1 | Squad | |
| 2015 | Final | Runners-up | 8 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 9 | Squad[a] | |
| 2017 | 5th place match | 5th place | 8 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 10 | Squad[b] | |
| 2019 | Final | Champions | 8 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 4 | Squad | |
| 2021 | Final | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1 | Squad | |
| 2023 | Final | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 4 | Squad | |
| 2026 | Future event | ||||||||
| Total | 4 Titles | 20/22 | 139 | 96 | 43 | 313 | 187 | — | |
Asian Games
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
| Asian Games record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad | |
| 1958 | Round-robin | Runners-up | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | Squad | |
| 1962 | Did not participate | ||||||||
| 1966 | Final round | 3rd place | 8 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 14 | Squad | |
| 1970 | Round-robin | 5th place | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 14 | Squad | |
 1974 | 3rd place match | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | Squad | |
| 1978 | Did not participate | ||||||||
 1982 | |||||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||
| 1990 | |||||||||
| 1994 | 5th place match | 5th place | 9 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 16 | Squad | |
| 1998 | Did not participate | ||||||||
| 2002 | Final | Runners-up | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | Squad | |
| 2006 | 5th place match | 6th place | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | Squad | |
| 2010 | Final | Runners-up | 9 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 4 | Squad | |
| 2014 | Final | Champions | 8 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 2 | Squad | |
| 2018 | Final | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | Squad | |
| 2022 | Final | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 2 | Squad | |
| 2026 | Future event | ||||||||
| 2030 | |||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||
| Total | 3 Titles | 11/17 | 69 | 49 | 20 | 156 | 84 | — | |
Asian Cup
Champions Runners up Fourth place
| Asian Cup record (Defunct) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad | |
| 2008 | Final | Champions | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 8 | Squad | |
| 2010 | Final | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 6 | Squad | |
 2012 | Final | Runners-up | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 7 | Squad[a] | |
 2014 | 3rd place match | 4th place | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 9 | Squad[a] | |
| 2016 | Final | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 5 | Squad[a] | |
 2018 | Final | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 5 | Squad[a] | |
| 2022 | 5th place match | 5th place | 5 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 8 | Squad[c] | |
| Total | 3 Titles | 7/7 | 40 | 33 | 7 | 107 | 48 | — | |
Other tournaments
Islamic Solidarity Games
Champions
West Asian Games
Runners up
| West Asian Games record (Defunct) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad |
| 2005 | Round-robin | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 4 | Squad |
| Total | 1/1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 4 | — | |
Central Asian Nations League
Champions Runners up
Results and fixtures
A team
Team
Current squad
Representing Iran at the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship
| No. | Name | Date of birth | Height | Weight | Spike | Block | 2024 club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arshia Behnezhad | 4 August 2003 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | 78 kg (172 lb) | 363 cm (143 in) | 366 cm (144 in) | Saipa Tehran |
| 1 | Ali Hajipour | 1 July 2001 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | 88 kg (194 lb) | 363 cm (143 in) | 366 cm (144 in) | Foolad Sirjan |
| 2 | Ali Ramezani | 14 April 2001 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 363 cm (143 in) | 366 cm (144 in) | Foolad Sirjan |
| 3 | Morteza Sharifi | 27 May 1999 | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | 79 kg (174 lb) | 373 cm (147 in) | 354 cm (139 in) |  Galatasaray, Turkey |
| 9 | Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh | 1 July 2004 | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 325 cm (128 in) | 320 cm (130 in) | Volley Lube, Italy |
| 6 | Bardia Saadat | 12 August 2002 | 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 292 cm (115 in) | 281 cm (111 in) | Alanya Belediyespor, Turkey |
| 21 | Arman Salehi | 29 October 1992 | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | 81 kg (179 lb) | 375 cm (148 in) | 345 cm (136 in) | Shahdab Yazd |
| 12 | Amirhossein Esfandiar | 24 January 1999 | 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) | 110 kg (240 lb) | 355 cm (140 in) | 348 cm (137 in) | InPost ChKS Chełm, Poland |
| 8 | Mohammad Reza Hazratpour | 31 March 1999 | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 375 cm (148 in) | 355 cm (140 in) | Shahrdari Urmia |
| 22 | Ali Haghparast | 16 December 2004 | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | 95 kg (209 lb) | 380 cm (150 in) | 360 cm (140 in) | Seoul Woori Card WooriWON, South Korea |
| 66 | Seyed Eisa Naseri | 18 February 2001 | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | 329 cm (130 in) | 315 cm (124 in) | Paykan Tehran |
| 20 | Yussuf Kazemi | 17 November 1998 | 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) | 100 kg (220 lb) | 383 cm (151 in) | 355 cm (140 in) | Shahdab Yazd |
| 7 | Ehsan Daanesh-Doost | 7 January 2003 | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | 95 kg (209 lb) | 373 cm (147 in) | 355 cm (140 in) | Mehregaan Noor |
| 27 | Mohammad Vali-Zadeh | 27 May 1999 | 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | 340 cm (130 in) | 320 cm (130 in) | Foolad Sirjan |
Head coaches
Note: The following list may not be complete.
A Team
| Name | From | To | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sardar Nasrollahkhan[5] |
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 | 1993 | Acted as head coach from 1991 to 1993 and as the general technical manager of all age groups from 1991 to 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 | 2023 | 2021 Asian Championship Champions 2023 Asian Championship Runners-up 2022 Asian Games Champions |
| Maurício Paes |
2024 | ||
| Peyman Akbari |
2024 | ||
| Roberto Piazza |
2025 | ||
Technical Staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Roberto Piazza |
| Assistant Coach | Tomaso Totolo |
| Assistant Coach | |
| Abdolreza Alizadeh | |
| Mohammad Reza Tondravan | |
| General Manager | Amir Khoshkhabar |
| Strength and Conditioning Coach | Giovanni Rossi |
| Physiotherapist | Ali Haddadi |
| Masseur | Mohammad Nasser Noghreh |
| Analyzer | Mohammad Amin Shakeri |
Stadium
The team's home arena are Azadi Indoor Stadium, Azadi Volleyball Hall.
Kit providers
The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Iran national volleyball team.
Sponsorship
Primary sponsors include: main sponsors like MCI and Bank Pasargad, Refah Stores other sponsors: Roamer.
