TEHRAN - Mostafa Karkhaneh, the Iranian volleyball expert and current head coach of the Saipa volleyball team, supports Vladimir Alekno as the new head coach of the Iran national volleyball team.

Some Iranian volleyball figures believe that the Russian coach has a coaching style that is not suitable for Iran’s volleyball national team due to the players' qualities, who are more technical rather than physical.

However, Karkahaneh, the former head coach of the Iran national team, believes that a great coach with a decorated career as Alekno can get the best out of the players.

In an exclusive interview with Tehran Times, Karkhaneh supported the Islamic Republic of Iran Volleyball Federation (IRIVF) to appoint Alekno as the country’s national team manager.

“He has achieved all the successes that every coach wants to achieve them. Alekno got the bronze and gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games respectively with the Russian national team and is one the best managers in the world,’ Karkhaneh said.  

“Our national team will play at the Olympic Games and it’s so important for us to appoint a great head coach who has experienced the Olympics. We have not a lot of time to prepare the team, but a coach of Alekno’s caliber can make the best use of the qualities of the Iranian players in a short time plan,” he added.

Mostafa Karkhaneh is known for his successful career as a coach in Iran, building the Iranian national volleyball team into an international contender. He managed all national Iranian volleyball teams throughout his career, including the youth, junior, and senior teams, helping many young players develop their skills.

He believes that Iran national team have raised the expectations with their formidable performance, especially at the FIVB Volleyball World League games.

“The International Volleyball Federation has accepted Iran as one the world’s volleyball powers. Therefore, Iran’s federation needs to spend money to keep our country’s volleyball at this level. Winning a medal in the Olympics is one of the honors that we have not experienced yet. Alekno can make our dreams come true,” Karkhaneh concluded.