Coaches from left to right: Ahmed Zakaria Hassan Amin (Ahly Sporting Club), David Aleman (Arecibo Capitanes Club), Peyman Akbari (Paykan Tehran), Vladimir Alekno (Zenit Kazan), Marcelo Mendez (Sada Cruzeiro Volei), Fabian Armoa (UPCN San Juan).
Belo Horizonte, Brazil, October 26, 2015 - Aiming to inherit Belogorie Belgorod's throne, six world-class teams are ready to battle at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship on Brazilian soil, with the competition scheduled to start on Tuesday at Ginásio Divino Braga in Betim, a state-of-the-art venue near Belo Horizonte.
Paykan Tehran of Iran and Ahly Sporting Club of Egypt are the teams summoned to lead the way in the tournament at 17.10 (local time). After the opener, home favourites Sada Cruzeiro Volei from Brazil will take on Puerto Rico’s Capitanes de Arecibo at 20.10 (local). Russia’s Zenit Kazan and Argentina’s UPCN San Juan will rest on Day 1.
Monday action included training sessions for all six teams, wrapped up with an official press conference held at Belo Horizonte. Here is what the coaches said ahead of what promises to be a thrilling contest:
Marcelo Méndez, Sada Cruzeiro Volei (BRA) coach: “I’m very happy to be again at FIVB Men’s Club World Championship. I think it’s going to be a great tournament, with really good teams. As for us, we want to recover from last year’s edition so we go for a place back onto the podium.”
David Alemán, Capitanes de Arecibo (PUR) coach: “It’s an honour for us to be in Brazil. Due to previous experiences, we are aware this is a very demanding competition. Our only goal is to perform at our best and raise our volleyball level against these great opponents.”
Vladimir Alekno, Zenit Kazan (RUS) coach: “There’s not much to say ahead a tough challenge like this - there’s just playing. We’re here to do our maximum and wish the best luck to all other teams.”
Fabián Armoa, UPCN San Juan (ARG) coach: “It’s our third time in a row here and our goals haven’t changed at all. We have our best expectations towards the competition; we are ready to do our best and hopefully we get to improve our previous outcome.”
Ahmed Zakaria, Ahly Sporting Club (EGY) coach: “It’s also our third time featuring here - twice in Qatar and now our first time in Brazil. We are excited to face the best clubs in the world and our objective would be to make it into the second round, beyond pool play.”
Peyman Akbari, Paykan Tehran (IRI) coach: “We come to this competition to enjoy being among the world’s best. We want to play some good volleyball and achieve good results with that spirit.”