freemystic

The comments made by Coach Voronkov are the very same comments made by Alekno before the 2011 World Cup Finals in Japan. Alekno was technically saying that Russia doesn't lack in technique. But what Russia lacked is a sense of team belongingness. That is why he resolved that the players would have to belong to the same age bracket so that they could understand and help each other out -- even in areas outside volleyball. The only holdover from previous Olympic tournaments then is the great Sergey Tetyukhin who promised to take home the Olympic gold for his country. Now that barriers for understanding the complexity of playing against Brazil have been removed, Russia has been enjoying playing volleyball more and more. It helps that these players are getting the best technical and support assistance from the coaching and support staff. And it also helps that they're getting paid hefty sums of money for playing in the Russian League. It would seem to me that regardless of the coach of the national team, Russia will remain strong for many years to come. The coaching system is very well in place and there's a throng of young and tall Russian players who would die just to be part of the NT. (They won the Under 19 World Championships.) Players should just be allowed to play even if their national volleyball committees are not functioning. Russia might be experiencing problems in its economy and politics but these do not deter the team from excelling. I supposed $1M is just fine with them.

He sounds sourgraping. It also looks like that because Kaziyski is already out of the team, Bulgaria started to play "real" volleyball. Sokolov has been given the playing time and exposure that he deserves in the team. Likewise, Aleksiev is showing that he could also be the leader of the squad -- although Bulgaria needs to do some mental toughening if they want to win against Italy for that elusive bronze medal.

He was very good during the match against Italy at the World Cup 2011. This is what I remember.

I could understand Bruno's frustration after losing the final game against Russia. After all, they had two match points, after winning the first two sets. The only thing I couldn't understand why this grown-up kid had to cry on Giba's shoulders before the awarding of medal ceremony. He was like a child bawling over a lost toy or something. To my mind, he should be proud of his accomplishment -- defending against Tetyukhin and Muserskiy. He did a wonderful job setting to Wallace and to his middle hitters. I think he really needs to grow up fast. For his age, he's a little bit immature for me. That's only my opinion.

All Russian players want to be part of their Olympic team. Everyone among them wants to play for Vladimir Alekno. I assume all these Russians are not seeing bronze or silver; they're smelling GOLD.

Russia is in Pool A, along with Japan, Cuba and Serbia. Of the list above, Russia will be allowed to pool a total of 19 players during the preliminary round, of which between 12-14 can play at any given time (14 if there are 2 liberos). The 1st round will be played in Japan. The last three preliminary rounds will be played for three consecutive weekends, with the rest of the pool-members serving as host-countries, except for Cuba, who is not ready to host the 2nd round of pool play. Games will be played in the Dominican Republic.

I suppose Alekno will not risk right away his First 6 to play all together in Japan and the Dominican Republic. I suppose all of them will play in front of the hometown crowd when they host Pool A in Kaliningrad in the middle of June. The goal is to qualify for the finals in Sofia in July -- and to be physically fit in time for the Olympic Games. Given that Khtey and a few others from the NT are reeling from injuries, the coaching staff will not risk anymore injuries to their core players before they leave for London.

And I don't think this will pose a problem for the other members of the World League pool. I would like to believe that everyone among them wants to play for the NT and share a taste of the NT's recent victories and how it is to play for the now famous and much-loved Vladimir Alekno. As Tetyukhin had previously warned the rest of the world, Russia now wants to win everything.

Anyway, I just hope that everything goes well for the Pool A members. I wish them all the best of luck and good health.

From this pool will come the Olympic team which will only consist of 12 players, nothing more and nothing less. Replacements are not allowed so only the best will go to London. But basing on the list, anyone can be a part of the Russian contingent at the Olympics. Alekno will have a headache deciding who goes with him to London. From my reading of the recent games Russia had played in, here's my composition for the Olympics:

Setters: Butko and Grankin
Liberos: Sokolov and Obmochaev
Outside Hitters: Biryukov; Mikhaylov (Opposite); Tetyukhin; Khtey; Kruglov (Opposite)
Middle Blockers: Volkov; Apalikov; Muserskiy

There's a possibility that Shivozhelez can replace any of the wing spikers, should anyone among them encounters injury.

With this probable line-up in the Olympics, Russia will be very, very difficult to beat. ?

I agree that for Russia to win the gold in London, everyone must contribute to the cause. But I just could not help but laud Apalikov's presence on court. It just changes the complexion of the game for Russia. Two World Cup games come to mind: against the USA and against Poland. His blocking and ability to read Priddy and Kurek in the 3rd and 5th sets, respectively, decisively won the matches for Russia. While Russia had already won the WC after getting two sets from Poland, the last set win established Russia, not just as a powerhouse team but as a "mental" team as well. Nikolay's seeming doggedness and fearlessness helps Russia finish games ahead of the competition. Of course, his determination is greatly helped by Biryukov's on-court intelligence and especially Sokolov's "intuition" on court.

Okay. We do not want to put too much pressure on Russia. But for them to just lose one match -- against Brazil -- and winning the rest with 3 points each -- fans expect no less than the gold in London. (I'm just echoing other fans' expectation. ?)

Other teams would just find it difficult to evade the Great Russian Wall, especially with Apalikov in front.

Just praying that all members of the squad would be injury-free in time for the Olympics. (And also Giba, Lasko, Kurek, Stanley and my other favorites, Jarosz and Nikic. Ok. Just about everybody.)

_k-is-for-kate, sorry for that. It was a matter of one sentence juxtaposed to the other, that's why the meaning came out garbled. On the contrary, what I mean to say is that Apalikov will win the gold for Russia. As I'm studying the games of the World Cup, Apalikov comes off as a "bad boy" on court -- he's always intense and deliberate in his actions and he gets angry at himself when he commits a mistake. Russia needs someone with his attitude -- gutsy and dominant.

Russia will win the Olympic gold medal because of Apalikov.

As Tetyukhin had said, they want to win everything. I don't think the World League is Russia's priority right now. I wouldn't be surprised if Alekno only fields the second stringers for the preliminary round. I think Russia's priority is the health of the players -- no one wants to risk having their players injured just before the Olympic Games.

The Russians believe the gold in London is theirs to lose. Let's see what Apalikov has to say about this. He's the guy who's going to make it happen for Russia.

He speaks very good English. He seems to be a very nice guy that's why fans all over the world just love him. Very intelligent too.

If Brazill doesn't win the Olympic gold in London, I think Bruno's father will be sacked as coach of the national team. At least that's what Bernardo Rezende is saying: that people want him out of the team. As for Bruno, I find him to be an intelligent setter.

He maybe old but he's still talking sense. He has seen it all. He's like a walking volleyball database.

Now, will the Russian national women's volleyball team be able to re-capture old glory by winning the gold medal in London? It's still up in the air. But Kosheleva has already warned everybody that they are still a strong team. The problem is the United States is also setting their sights on the gold medal. So it will be a very interesting Olympic Games.

I wonder how Karpol will react once Russia loses again the gold medal.

I admire this player very much. While Bartman has the power, Jarosz has the smarts. He's such an intelligent player.

champion, thanks for this. Tetyukhin and Yakovlev did not divulge anything about the internal workings of the team. But they hinted at one thing: the morale of the team is very high, despite the loss at the European Championships. (But probably the interviews with Tetyukhin and Yakovlev were done before the World Cup.) Tetyukhin admonished Alekno to check out his performance in his local team. Presumably, his great showing in the Russian League was the reason why Alekno picked him to play for the NT at the World Cup. I've been watching his games (against Italy and China) and I can say that he's playing superbly. Much like what Murilo said about Giba still playing like a boy, Tetyukhin is playing the games of his life. He does not move like a 36-year old. He's fast; he blocks very well; and he still hits the ball very hard. I observed that he's a perfectionist -- his facial expression is very transparent whenever he commits an error. But somehow, he manages to smile when approached by his team mates. (I also noticed that Muserskiy often talks with Butko if he does not get the set that he wants.) Yakovlev on the other hand is still playing great. But I suppose he needs to tone up his muscles. He's not that agile anymore; that's why he gets blocked every so often. Alekno, when asked why Roman is part of the team, said that the things that Yakovlev says, either short or long, help the team keep their mental focus since the World Cup schedule is grueling. Alekno told the press in Japan that he just flatly asked Yakovlev if he wanted to play for the NT and Yakovlev, without hesitating for a moment, said yes right away. I observed that the team's synergy, rigorously harnessed by Alekno, is working wonders for everybody -- from the coaching staff, to the trainers, to the players and down to the fans and supporters of the national team. The presence of the two players from a previous generation helps to direct the focus of the team toward winning everything -- they're like gurus to the neophytes -- while the youthful energy of Mikhailov and company rubs on the aging physical bodies of the two -- this keeps Tetyukhin and Yakovlev work really hard during training. Alekno is very happy because he has finally completed the jigsaw puzzle that he has been arduously trying to put together since the time he initially served as coach of the NT. He is happy because the hard work that was put up by everybody is finally paying off. Next goal: The Olympic gold medal.

Can anyone translate in English the interviews of Yakovlev and Tetyukhin? I'm figuring they're talking about the internal changes that are taking place within the national team and how they're coping with such changes -- in particular, how Alekno is putting things in order. I'd greatly appreciate it. :)

It's too early to call.

I think it will depend on a number of factors which include: the health of the players; the level of training that the teams will receive a few months before the Olympics -- those that did not qualify at the World Cup I think will be the most affected; and the overall mental conditioning of the team, including the coaching staff.

I remembered the Russian team saying that their main motivation to win the 2011 World League was to defeat Brazil because Brazil had been winning all the tournaments. This was also the main motivation for Italy in the WC -- they just have been used to losing to Giba and his teammates.

Having said this -- I've been watching and closely studying some of the World Cup 2011 games in the internet -- Russia has transcended this "mental" side of their game. The win against Poland after Poland posted 5 match points, and the come-from-behind win in the 3rd set against the United States, send a strong message that Russia is not only a physical team but has evolved to be an all-around one.

Brazil on the other hand still has the traditional firepower in the likes of Giba, Murilo and Sergio. But the attitude of some of their players toward their coach -- I could only cite the case of Sergio during their match against Argentina -- is quite telling for me. The fact that some of the national teams have already caught up with Brazil's style of playing should be a main cause of concern for the Brazilians. They're being targeted by all of the teams as the main team to beat every time.

I would like to put my wager on Russia. They have a big chance of winning the gold medal if only for the respect that they're showing Vladimir Alekno. Certainly, this coach has been doing great things for the team, pushing the right buttons on the likes of Volkov, Tetyukhin and Muserskiy, not to mention his other wards in Zenit Kazan who are playing for the NT.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to reading news about the World League and the Olympic qualification tournaments. We'll be able to gauge the physical and mental preparations of the teams after these tournaments.

I think what makes Butko a very good setter is that he's very efficient. It just takes him a few steps to be in position. Because of this, he seems to conserve a lot of energy. Also he's a thinking setter. He knows exactly where he's going to set the ball once he receives it. I thought he adjusted well to suit the demands and preferences of his hitters, Volkov and Apalikov in particular. Grankin definitely has his merits. But Butko is coming into his own. I won't be surprised if he is elected as the primary setter for the Olympic Games. He has the confidence of his team mates.