Germany NT 2015

  • Time for a new topic...


    After 9 years with Guidetti it will be a new start for NT with Luciano Pedulla as new coach.


    Most important tournaments:
    - Montreux
    - European Games
    - World Grand Prix
    - European Championship


    In a first interview with Volleyball Magazin, Pedulla said that he intends to play a similar style as he does in Novara with NT, that means many backrow attacks, libero switching between pos. 5 and 6 and quick transition play with players that find solutions also in difficult situations. He is open for many tactical options, for example he could also imagine Kozuch playing as OH if any of the young OPPs will do a good job. So far he has only contacted the players which are in Italy (Brinker, Möllers, Kozuch), but he will talk to Fürst to see if there is any chance she'll change her mind. About new players in this interview he mentioned only Julia Schaefer (1996 OH/OPP from Münster) and Marie Holstein (1997 OH from Schwerin), but he has several more players in mind.


    Time to make some guesses about the roster :D


    Setters: Kathleen Weiss said that she wants to play in Rio, so she'll be there. With Mareen Apitz you never know when she wants to play in NT, but if she wants she'll definitely be there as well. Pedulla has worked with Lena Möllers in Novara and this season she seems to play well in Bolzano so she should be there too. Denise Hanke dropped to 3rd setter in Wroclaw, so it's hard to judge her current level. About new players, I think Mareike Hindriksen really deserves an invitation even though she's already 27. She is playing very well in Stuttgart and I think she fits into the style Pedulla wants to play. If Magdalena Gryka wants to play for Germany she should also be invited, otherwise maybe Denise Imoudu or Irina Kemmsies could be tried as prospect for the future.


    OPP: Maggie Kozuch will be there, no doubt about that. Also Louisa Lippmann will be there even though she is only backup in Dresden and didn't make as much progress as I hoped. Saskia Hippe has recovered from her knee injury but hasn't been convincing in Schwerin, but I guess Pedulla will give her a chance. Carina Aulenbrock wasted a whole season (again) in Schwerin so I see no way why she would be invited. Julia Schaefer when she was healthy had some very good games for Münster this season, she might also play as OH. Hanna Orthmann (1998 ) is a great prospect for the future but this year it's probably still too early for her to be in NT.


    OH: The players from last year Heike Beier, Maren Brinker, Jennifer Geerties, Laura Weihenmaier will surely all be there this year as well. Pedulla said that Lisa Izquierdo already impressed him as Junior player, so maybe he'll give her more chances than Guidetti did. Lena Stigrot had a good season in attack but her reception is weak, she could do better as OPP but she's only 1.80 so that's difficult, however she's an interesting player. Claudia Steger also had a pretty good season but I can't imagine her on international level.


    MB: That's difficult...Christiane Fürst and Stefanie Karg have announced that they won't play for NT anymore, so not many players left. Jennifer Pettke was the positive surprise of NT last summer, this season in the league she was not bad but not outstanding either. Wiebke Silge played more matches as OPP than as MB unfortunately, but she should be there. Anja Brandt played very well in Schwerin in the last few weeks, if she can keep this shape she could even be starter in NT. On the other hand Berit Kauffeldt hasn't shown anything in Wroclaw so she probably won't play a role, but then who else could? Leonie Schwertmann wasn't too convincing this season, Marie Schölzel from Junior NT performed well for VCO Berlin but I don't think she's enough for international level, same for Rebecca Schäperklaus from Wiesbaden. Lisa Gründing was converted from OH to MB this season in Potsdam and did surprisingly well, but also she probably won't be good enough for NT.


    Libero: Lenka Dürr and Lisa Thomsen will be the main candidates for sure. I wonder if Pedulla will invite 30 year old Linda Dörendahl, in terms of performance she'd definitely deserve it. Janine Völker did a decent job in Schwerin but I don't think she's on the same level as Thomsen and Dürr. Among the younger players Lisa Stock and Anna Pogany are not bad but also not really great talents.


    Overall it looks like we can't expect too many new names in NT this year, so I hope all of the "old" players will come and show a good level. Pedulla is a good coach, I hope he'll connect well with the team and make them play on a high level...

  • Both Hanke and Kauffeldt are just useless in Impel so they don't deserve to be in NT


    Beier's performance in Bielsko-Biała was quite good in last year, but she's weaker and weaker nowadays, especially as hitter...


    I wonder what will Magdalena Gryka do :D of course I prefer her to play for Poland because we have some problems with S position - there's Wołosz, but Skorupa and Radecka may refuse, Bełcik is far from convincing shape and youngsters don't play much. Gryka IMHO play quite ok in Wrocław ^^


    S can be a problem if Apitz doesn't appear... Weiss is on decent level for many years, Moellers doesn't impress me, while Hanke's level dropped in last years...


    And MB position is another thing - Karg resigned, maybe Furst can be back after coach's change -something must have been wrong between her and Guidetti... there are Pettke, Brandt, Silge and that's it. Maybe Kauffeldt can be 4th because of lack of better players.


    For main group the best would be: Weiss, Apitz, Kozuch, Lippmann, Hippe, Brinker, Beier, Izquierdo-Mocasqui, Weihenmaier, Pettke, Silge, Brandt, Durr, Thomsen.
    Next would be Moellers, Stigrot, Steger, Schaefer, Kauffeldt, Schwertmann and Völker ^^

    Gold medal - World League 2013 Prediction Game
    Bronze medal - World League 2012 Prediction Game

  • Fürst said that she didn't leave NT because of Guidetti but because she was simply burnt out from playing so many years without break, and she noticed that she started playing some games without real power and motivation and she didn't like that about herself, so she decided to quit NT and for the remainder of her career concentrate on club. However her performance in Eczacibasi doesn't exactly support that decision so far, she's not been as good as she used to lately...

  • I'd like to see Fürst but apparently her current physical condition has been quite bad, well, at least not as good as her best days. I think it may be the main reason she decided not to play for NT anymore. It definitely must be a big blow for German NT, No Fürst, No Ssuschke, No Karg :wavy: Pettke played quite good last year considering it was her 1st season in NT, so I guess she's gonna be able to keep her spot.


    Hanke is a huge disappointment, I can't even guess what's wrong with her. We most likely won't see her this year in NT.

  • 27 year old Italian Riccardo Boieri will be assistant coach of Pedulla in NT. This season he worked as scout in Potsdam, but he already worked with Pedulla in Novara and Sassuolo some years ago (he started working as coach with 17). No info about the rest of the staff yet...

  • Here's the 22-roster for Montreux:


    Jana Franziska Poll, Anja Brandt, Saskia Hippe, Laura Weihenmaier, Jennifer Geerties (Schweriner SC), Linda Dörendahl, Leonie Schwertmann, Wiebke Silge, Julia Schaefer (USC Münster), Louisa Lippmann, Lisa Izquierdo (Dresner SC), Jennifer Pettke (VC Wiesbaden), Lena Stigrot (Rote Raben Vilsbiburg), Marie Schölzel (VC Olympia Berlin), Lenka Dürr (Azeryol Baku/AZE), Lisa Thomsen (Lokomotiv Baku/AZE), Denise Hanke (Wroclaw/POL), Maren Brinker (Montichiari/ITA), Heike Beier (Bielsko-Biala/POL), Margareta Kozuch (Piacenza/ITA), Mareen Apitz (Cannes/FRA), Kathleen Weiß (Prostejov/CZE)

  • Sorting it a little bit by "normal" position:


    S: Denise Hanke (Wroclaw/POL), Mareen Apitz (Cannes/FRA), Kathleen Weiß (Prostejov/CZE)


    OH: Jana Franziska Poll, Laura Weihenmaier, Jennifer Geerties (Schweriner SC), Julia Schaefer (USC Münster), Lisa Izquierdo (Dresdner SC), Lena Stigrot (Rote Raben Vilsbiburg), Maren Brinker (Montichiari/ITA), Heike Beier (Bielsko-Biala/POL)


    OPP: Margareta Kozuch (Piacenza/ITA), Louisa Lippmann (Dresdner SC), Saskia Hippe (Schweriner SC)


    MB: Anja Brandt (Schweriner SC), Leonie Schwertmann, Wiebke Silge (USC Münster), Jennifer Pettke (VC Wiesbaden), Marie Schölzel (VC Olympia Berlin)


    L: Linda Dörendahl (USC Münster), Lenka Dürr (Azeryol Baku/AZE), Lisa Thomsen (Lokomotiv Baku/AZE)

  • No big surprises. Nice to see Dörendahl in the team, she can be a serious contender for Dürr and Thomsen. I'm a bit surprised that Denise Hanke is in the roster and Lena Möllers is not. MB position as expected looks quite weak :S

  • I think this roster is the result of the start of the 'Generationswechsel' :win: Sorry, there is no better word for :D :D


    I have very high expectations about Louissa Lippmann....I remember she played an excellent match in Istanbul against Fener, in CL...she certainly has the physical abilities to become a topplayer. The same for Wiebke Silge.


    The only position, at least in my opinion, that lacks a bit of future-potential is the OH-position. Though, I must admit I don't know well Julia Schaefer.

  • Yes, Lippmann played very well against Fenerbahce and has great physical abilities, but lately whenever she entered for Dresden her game was quite embarassing. She's just not a very technical player and sometimes her timing in attack is way off, she hits the ball almost with the elbow then and has no control where it will land. Athletically she's a great prospect but she needs a coach who can teach her to play volleyball :!: I was hoping that Alex Waibl could do that job the way he did with Kristina Mikhailenko who was a similar player when she first came to Dresden, but so far Lippmann hasn't developed as much as I hoped. Let's see what Pedulla can teach her...


    About Julia Schaefer, she's a different kind of player. Not too athletic because already in her youth she had several injuries (shoulder and weak legs) and her game is not spectacular at all, but still quite efficient. She was best scorer of German youth team in ECH 2013 even though she doesn't jump very high or hits very hard, but somehow she finds a way to score many times. If she can stay healthy she can become a very good player IMO...
    And generally speaking about OH position, I hope Lisa Izquierdo will do better under Pedulla's guidance than she did under Guidetti's, if she plays the way she plays in Dresden she can be starter. She showed very constant performances on a good level this season in all elements.

  • German 22 player roster for European Games:


    S: Denise Imoudu, Denise Hanke, Mareen Apitz, Kathleen Weiß


    OPP: Saskia Hippe, Carina Aulenbrock, Louisa Lippmann, Margareta Kozuch


    OH: Jana-Franziska Poll, Laura Weihenmaier, Jennifer Geerties, Lisa Izquierdo, Lena Stigrot, Maren Brinker


    MB: Anja Brandt, Leonie Schwertmann, Wiebke Silge, Juliane Langgemach, Jennifer Pettke


    L: Janine Völker, Lenka Dürr, Lisa Thomsen



    Changes compared to Montreux roster: Beier, Schaefer, Schölzel and Dörendahl out; Imoudu, Aulenbrock, Langgemach, Völker in. So in sum we now have 26 players nominated by Pedulla for the summer.

  • Still no Lena Möllers... and Magda Gryka is not also there, maybe she wants to play for Poland ?( :roll:

    Gold medal - World League 2013 Prediction Game
    Bronze medal - World League 2012 Prediction Game

  • I think Gryka is just too weak for German and Polish national team :)
    Off course Hanke is to weak too.


    I think Lenka Durr is the best libero in the world

  • Lisa Izquierdo refused the invitation to NT this summer ;( She has some problems with knee and shoulder and wants to use the summer for recovery.

    It's a big pity because seeing Brinker or Beier playing like that she would be starter without doubts, but health is an important thing :teach: any ideas who can replace her ?(

    Gold medal - World League 2013 Prediction Game
    Bronze medal - World League 2012 Prediction Game

  • It sure is a disappointing decision because her performance this season has been very good. So I guess Pedulla will eventually go with the same OHs that played WCH last year and since Beier is not in the roster for European Games probably Lena Stigrot will play there...or maybe Kozuch will play as OH, Pedulla said he'll consider various options...

  • Christiane Fürst says she talked to Pedulla on phone and they agreed to sit together to have a longer talk this summer about her future in NT, so there still is hope :)


    Dresden's American OH with German ancestors Michelle Bartsch says that she could imagine playing for German NT if they're interested in her because right now she doesn't seem to have chances to play in USA NT and she would like to play internationally. It would be really great for German NT because she is exactly the kind of player our NT would need.

  • Christiane Fürst says she talked to Pedulla on phone and they agreed to sit together to have a longer talk this summer about her future in NT, so there still is hope :)


    Dresden's American OH with German ancestors Michelle Bartsch says that she could imagine playing for German NT if they're interested in her because right now she doesn't seem to have chances to play in USA NT and she would like to play internationally. It would be really great for German NT because she is exactly the kind of player our NT would need.



    Some great news! ^^