Slobodan Kovac Sees Sixth Place as "Fantastic Result"
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's national volleyball team coach Slobodan Kovac said that sixth place overall is a fantastic result in the FIVB Men’s World Championship.
Russia defeated Iran in straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-18) in the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship at the Atlas Arena on Saturday.
“When a team like Russia is playing its best volleyball, it is very difficult to beat them. I am so angry my players did not show motive to play hard to get at least fifth place,” Iran coach Slobodan Kovac said in the post match news conference, fivb.org reported.
“We qualified in the top six but for the first time, the entire motivation of the team disappeared. Russia, being the Olympic champion, was clearly motivated to get at least fifth place, while my team did not feel really motivated to win."
“We were thought to be better than Germany and France, but then we just lost on the court. Iran changed the coach, the style of play, but apparently we still did not manage to change the mentality," Iran's coach noted.
“Of course, sixth place overall is a fantastic result, that is 13 positions better compared to four years ago, but we had the possibility to go further. We were in an easier pool with Germany and France. In four days, we have another important competition, the Asian Games and there are high expectations in Iran for us to win this competition,” Kovac added.