Iran NT 2021

  • This team is confirmed now. Mirzajanpour didn't make it at the end.


    I have to say it's still hard to believe that Sharifi is going to play in Tokyo. he wasn't even in the VNL original squad (he got in when Manavinejad got injured) and Alekno didn't even use him for the first half of VNL. and he didn't really "shine" when he got some playing time. I can't understand why but I'm sure Alekno has his own reasons.


    but one thing is for sure, Iran will be in big trouble if either Ebadipour or M.Salehi has a bad day. Sharifi is going to Tokyo only because Fayazi, Mirzajanpour and Manavinejad got injured (and didn't fully recover in time) and Esfandiar didn't convince Alekno in VNL. Alekno claimed he gave Esfandiar lots of opportunities. more than what he deserved but he is overweight and his reception and block are mediocre (his reception is actually terrible) it's clear that Esfandiar was his choice but then he changed his mind.

    Understandable Sharifi can go to Tokyo, considering the team’s current condition. Iran needs at least one defensive/well-rounded OH as backup. Sharifi’s direct competitors are Fayazi, Manavi and Ghaemi; I believe Ghaemi was invited to join the training camp mostly because of Fayazi’s injury. Since his competitors are all injured or not in shape, Sharifi is the only option left.


    Mirzajanpour and Esfandiar are offensive-type OHs and they never compete with Sharifi for a place in the Olympic squad. I believe Alekno would like to bring one of them to Tokyo, but they didn’t make the cut simply because of performance. In addition, the unstable performance of Ebadipour is quite a concern. That paves way for Mirandi to grab the final seat.


    I think Iran is still short of one more OH in the reserve squad, but this hole simply cannot be filled at the moment. It’s a big misfortune that Fayazi is injured; he would be the best backup for Ebadipour, and could also play as Ebadipour’s opposite if needed.

  • Understandable Sharifi can go to Tokyo, considering the team’s current condition. Iran needs at least one defensive/well-rounded OH as backup. Sharifi’s direct competitors are Fayazi, Manavi and Ghaemi; I believe Ghaemi was invited to join the training camp mostly because of Fayazi’s injury. Since his competitors are all injured or not in shape, Sharifi is the only option left.


    Mirzajanpour and Esfandiar are offensive-type OHs and they never compete with Sharifi for a place in the Olympic squad. I believe Alekno would like to bring one of them to Tokyo, but they didn’t make the cut simply because of performance. In addition, the unstable performance of Ebadipour is quite a concern. That paves way for Mirandi to grab the final seat.


    I think Iran is still short of one more OH in the reserve squad, but this hole simply cannot be filled at the moment. It’s a big misfortune that Fayazi is injured; he would be the best backup for Ebadipour, and could also play as Ebadipour’s opposite if needed.

    How bad is Fayazi's injury?

  • How bad is Fayazi's injury?

    he got injured in March (if I'm not wrong) during the Iranian league playoffs which eventually cost his club the title.


    he had a surgery on his knee and he was supposed to be back in 2 months (or something like that) he was in the training camp since the first day. Alekno said in his press conference that Fayazi couldn't even properly walk at first but still tried hard to stay in the team. Alekno said Fayazi needs at least one more month to fully recover. at the moment he is not ready to jump and spike multiple times.

  • According to news sources, Marouf had retired from the national team. He did not return to Iran after the Olympics, and went to the US.

  • I'm still not sure if Marouf's retirement is a 100% thing. but he will rest for a while. that's for sure.


    we will have the Asian Championship in Japan in a month. 7 players from the Olympic squad are being dropped out, some of them are just getting some rest, some of them were not good enough in Tokyo. aside Marouf (which was obvious), both liberos, Mousavi, Ghafour, Sharifi and M. Gholami won't travel to Japan again.


    they invited 15 players


    S; Karimi, Ramezani

    OP: Kazemi, Saadat, Esmaeilnejad

    OH: Ebadipour, Salehi, Esfandiar, Mosafer

    MB: Mojarrad, Toukhteh, Abedini, Jelveh

    L: Hazratpour, Gholipour


    top 2 from the Asian Champs will qualify for the 2022 World Championship. is this team good enough for a top 2 finish? some may say Iran will qualify anyway through the ranking but possible defeats against lower Asian teams will also ruin the ranking, nothing is guaranteed

  • they announced the final squad for the Asian Championship, exactly the same team minus Bardia Saadat, who won't play for the NT for disciplinary reasons. because of his contract with a Korean club he wanted to just join the team in Japan! (and of course the answer was hell no)
    they may still let him play for the World U21 Championship. (the same person will coach both teams)


    people may call this "B team" but I think this is actually the A team from now on. Marouf once again made it clear that he is not coming back. nobody knows about Mousavi's decision about the future and Ghafour is dealing with endless injuries.