Türkiye head coach Slobodan Kovac received the perfect birthday gift on Saturday as his squad pulled off a stunning upset of World No.5 Japan in Pool G of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ranked 16th in the world, the Turkish spikers showed remarkable composure and crisp execution, fending off every comeback attempt from the Ryujin Nippon to secure a 25-19, 25-23, 25-19 sweep.
“Congratulations to them. I can’t ask for more because they gave me, for my birthday, a fantastic gift,” said Kovac with a smile.
“Thank you to my players for tonight. We will move on immediately after the last point and focus on the next game.”
The 57-year-old Serbian tactician heaped praise on his players for standing tall — and dominating — against the highest-ranked team in their group and one of the world’s best squads. He credited their steady service and impenetrable blocking as the keys to victory.
“We played really good. Tactically, my players played good volleyball. You know our problem at some moments is discipline. The other side played with great discipline and has players with fantastic technique,” Kovac said.
“Today, we stopped that, especially because we served and blocked really good.”
Kovac admitted that beating Japan felt special, especially since many had already counted Türkiye out even before the tournament began.
“Our power today, before this championship, it’s totally normal. We are nobody. Everybody thinks we are some team that will play here and after the second round go home,” he said.
“I try to explain to my players that we don’t want to be nobody. We want to demonstrate, because my players play against the best European teams, and they have the quality to compete at the highest level.”
