TEHRAN - Iranian volleyball expert Mahmoud Afshardoost believes that the appointment of Mauricio Motta Paes as the head coach of the Iranian national volleyball team requires patience and has urged people to not rush to any 'hasty judgement' about the Brazilian coach.

“The Volleyball Federation has been striving for the past two to three months to bring a world-class coach to Iran by valuing the opinions of Iranian volleyball experts and fans. Initially, the names of 14 renowned coaches were considered, each facing some obstacles in coming to Iran,” he said in an interview with Tehran Times.

Afshardoost, a former secretary of the Volleyball Federation and one of the five candidates for the presidency of the Volleyball Federation of Iran in the upcoming elections, emphasized, “It was clear from the beginning that choosing a head coach would be challenging, as none of our options were available.”

Brazilian coach Mauricio Motta Paes has been appointed as the new head coach of Iran’s men’s national volleyball team, as announced by the Iranian Volleyball Federation.

“Iran Volleyball Federation narrowed down its options to five and then to two, Alberto Giuliani and Motta Paes. Since Giuliani showed little inclination to come to Iran, the federation reached an agreement with Paes,” he added.

“Paes' resume includes coaching in national teams of France and Brazil and assistant coaching roles with big coaches. While his name may not be widely recognized among top-level coaches globally, he is not an inexperienced coach and has worked with various national and club teams. He can contribute to the Iranian national volleyball team, and I hope this will happen very soon,” he added.

Addressing criticisms of the Paes' appointment, Afshardoost said, “I understand the criticisms, but we must also understand the Federation's conditions and the current difficulties in finding great coaches who are not employed. We should give Paes a chance, and hopefully, he will achieve good results with the Iranian national team. If not, we should consider another coach for the national team.

“The process of selecting the national team head coach has concluded, and now is the time for all members of the volleyball family to assist and provide accurate information to Paes so that he can start his job with strength and full awareness," Afshardoost concluded.

Paes will lead Team Melli until the conclusion of the 2024 Olympic Games, with the possibility of extending his tenure for an additional two years. Paes has most recently served as the coach of Ukraine’s Epicentr-Podolyany team.