Ahmed, who didn’t try out, makes it to the Italian league…and plays with a legendary South American setter

After two seasons in the V-League, Ahmed has made it to the big leagues.

Italian Serie A1 team Launch Group Modena announced the signing of Ahmed Iqbairi on social media on Saturday with the caption, “The last player to join our team is Ahmed Iqbairi.” The post was accompanied by a photo of Iqbairi in the club’s signature yellow color. A photo of Iqbairi in a yellow jersey, Modena’s signature color, was also uploaded.

Ahmed played two seasons in the V-League, where he became a fan favorite. He played under the name Iqbairi in the 2022-23 season with Samsung Fire, who drafted him first overall, and Ahmed in the 2023-24 season with Hyundai Capital, 스포츠토토사이트 where he was given a second chance.

In two seasons in the V-League, Ahmed played in a total of 72 games and 284 sets, recording 1,767 points, a 51.24% attack percentage, and 0.405 service points per set. In 2022-23, he won the All-Star Game’s Serve King contest with a 117-kilometer-hit speed and became a five-time Triple Crown winner.

However, Ahmed’s career in South Korea came to an end after last season when he did not reapply for the 2024 Korea Volleyball Organization (KOVO) men’s foreign player tryouts. His choice was to play in Italy, the world’s top league.

Modena, where Ahmed will play next season, had a disappointing season last season, finishing eighth in the league and fifth in the cup competition. The team is making major changes this off-season. They’ve let go of a number of key players, including veterans Bruno Hazende (BRA) and Osmani Huantorena (ITA), and have brought in eight new faces to fill the void. Ahmed is one of them.

Of course, competition is inevitable. There are eight new faces in the squad, and Ahmed is one of them. Apogee Paul Buchsager, an Austrian international who played for FAM Italia Catania, will also play for Modena from next season. After winning both the league MVP and cup competition MVP in Italy’s Serie A2 in the 2022-23 season, he will be competing for an apogee spot with Ahmed, who was born in 1996.

Another reason why Ahmed’s move to Modena is so exciting is that the setter he will be partnering with next season is a legend in the game who has volleyball fans around the world excited. That would be Luciano De Checa (Argentina). After playing the last three seasons for Kuchin Rube Chivitanova, De Cheque will fill Bruno”s shoes next season. It will be interesting to see how the Argentinian legendary setter will synergize with Ahmed.

After Keita Noumouri (Mali), who is currently playing for Lana Verona after a stint in the V-League, another African attacker from the V-League is headed to Italy. How will Ahmed perform in the big league of volleyball, Serie A1?