Turkiye coach Slobodan Kovac couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift on his 58th birthday—an opening sweep against crowd-favorite Japan at the FIVB Men's World Championship. It's a strong statement he wants to make.
Turkiye coach Slobodan Kovac couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift.
On Saturday, September 13, World No. 16 Turkiye opened its 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship against a Philippine crowd favorite—the World No. 5 Japan—at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 58-year-old tactician from Serbia got a fantastic gift from his Turkish players, a 25-19, 25-23, 25-19 sweep.
"I can't ask for more today, my birthday, fantastic gift," Kovac told reporters after the match. He was hired for Turkiye just over two months ago.
[ALSO READ: Türkiye sweeps Japan in straight sets to open FIVB Men’s World Championship campaign]
This is the first time since 2016 that Turkiye beat Japan. And Kovac wants to send a strong statement.
"I think our power before the [World] Championship is totally normal. We are nobody. Everybody speak like we play here and after the second round, we go home," he began.
"I try to explain to the players: We don't want to be normal. We have the quality to play high-level volleyball."
And Turkiye did silence the 7,518-strong crowd at the Araneta Coliseum. They outscored Japan, 37-33. They outblocked the Asian champions, 8-6. They also aced the serves, 7-1.
"Everybody was against us. And to win 3-0 against this kind of team that played amazing... let's say [it's] a little reward for the beginning of the World Championship," said Adis Lagumdzija, who chipped in 15 points from 11 attacks, three blocks, and an ace.
"I think we are a physical team. And when we receive as good as we receive today and we serve as good, there is no team we cannot beat. I think we showed that today because Japan is like a defense-heavy team," he noted.
There won't be too much birthday celebration though for Kovac, Lagumdzija, and the rest of Turkiye. They play Libya on Monday at 10:30 a.m.
The goal is clear, it's not just to survive the group stage, Turkiye wants to finish at the top of it.
[ALSO READ: SCHEDULE, RESULTS | 32 teams compete in 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship]
Katrina Alba is a sports journalist and producer, notably with SportsCenter Philippines before taking on her current role at One Sports.
She primarily writes about basketball and volleyball, with experience covering the SEA Games, Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup.
Outside of work, her hobbies include running, swimming, pickleball, yoga, arnis, and krav maga.