TEHRAN – Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh, the outside hitter of Iran's volleyball team, has praised Roberto Piazza for restoring the fighting spirit and confidence to Team Melli.

Iran narrowly missed qualifying for the Finals of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL). However, Khanzadeh was one of the standout players for Iran during the competition.

“Our coaching staff gave us confidence. The team had been lacking self-assurance over the past two years. We are a young team, and it was tough to compete against the stronger teams, but we managed to do it. We owe this newfound confidence to the coaching staff, who brought it back to us,” Khanzadeh said.

“The support this year has been incredible and significantly contributed to our strong performances. Even when we didn't qualify, many believed we deserved more. The fact that the people are happy despite the circumstances—that truly satisfies us,” he added.

“Mr. Piazza is a very skilled tactician, and we saw his exceptional performance firsthand. More importantly, he restored the fighting spirit and confidence within our team. He genuinely cared about us and worked tirelessly to boost our morale. Bringing the team back together under such difficult conditions was no easy task—perhaps no one else could have done it,” Khanzadeh stated.

Iran will participate in the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship, where Team Melli are drawn in Pool A against the Philippines, Tunisia, and Egypt.

“We need to maintain this momentum. Teams come to the World Championship prepared to achieve strong results, and we are moving forward with that goal,” Khanzadeh concluded.